Made in Japan, Outsourced Globally

Scary stuff. I kid you not.

At the customs compliance conference, a federal customs officer shared an anecdote about some of the illegal activities that go on today. A security personnel at the Long Beach, CA ocean terminal looked at a container one day and said, "Let's inspect that container over there. Something ain't right about it."
The federal customs officer looked at it and said, "but that's a clean container with 25 secure locks on it. Why that one?"
"A hunch. It says it's a reefer (refrigerated cargo) going to Grenada. Something ain't right..."

Lo and behold... a container full of armed weapons and twenty million dollars in cash.

Yup. And they only happened to catch it this time because the security guy 'had a hunch'. 75% of illegal container seizure comes from snitching. The rest depend on how good the security personnel are.

I have been in Virginia Beach all week for a shipping course and certification. The Port of Virginia prides itself in security, due to its heavy military ties. And they have the world's largest gantry cranes - so I hear. It was quite impressive to see the longshoreman load up the containers on the vessels at lightning speed.



I'm learning heaps about ocean liner trade, US customs requirements, and the actual port operations. I know it should be all serious, but I can't help but giggle when I hear the jargon.

For instance, when we went to the port, we saw a yard hustler 'plucking some chassis'. But you ain't seen nothing till they start loading up on the reefers. And the port was busy enough today that it was unlikely for there to be deadheads leaving the gates.

Yeah. I'm a geek.

There's a buzz in the air. I've been fascinated by some of the people I have met lately. My colleague and I giggled in half-skepticism as we walked into the conference seminar called "Grooming the Men of Today," but came out impressed with the business model for a "gentleman's spa" in NY. Men don't want bad haircuts - give them luxury & service, and throw in a beer & big screen TV while you're at it! While I don't know too many guys around me who would go for $63 haircuts, the guy had a point. There's no place for men in today's haircut & grooming industry. They either feel jipped off at a super expensive salon - or - get treated like an afterthought at a unisex salon.

Bottom line, the men who built it were the same guys who felt disgruntled with the metro/retro-sexual labeling world that left 60% of the I'm-neither-metro-or-retro male population out to dry. You could tell that the room was tinged with excitement, especially the women already eyeing the "perfect gift" for their husbands/fiancee/boyfriends this Christmas. The guys looked curious too. The panel speaker wasn't even selling it - he was just getting synchronized lemur-like nodds from the audience every time he spoke of his dissatisfaction. It was one of the best marketing I have ever seen.

Jump a week from then, and I'm in Virginia. I'm taking a class on shipping, conducted by a woman who has been in the ocean liner business for over 30 years. She offers introductory courses to anybody who wants to learn about the ocean liner business and global commercial trade regulations. It's a 101 course, but I learned quickly how scarce such training is in the industry. There are 2 women from the Federal Maritime Commission who are saying "we wish we knew about this earlier." Kudos for them for taking the course now, but this also means that there is a large population of people in international trade who don't quite know what they are doing (or are wingin' it by the seat of their pants). Proper training & education is so key - yet too often, people are thrown at the wolves for on-the-job training.

All this is starting to make me think about how I would want to approach building a business. Tapping into the daily dissatisfactions - what isn't offered in today's world? Is there enough demand for it? Let's exhaust all the things that it doesn't do - and then figure out what would answer to those needs. Be selective. Focus. Everyone on board should get orientation to the vision/big-picture of the business, followed by a comprehensive training to start off on the right foot. Buzz, buzz, buzz. Stumbling upon an awesome organization has also got me psyched.

I'm learning, I'm learning. I'm information gathering. There's just so much amazing people & ideas going around - I'm feeding off that energy. Grrr!

Make me feel alive.
I want that rush,
Ripping through my veins.

I dare to swim outside the fishbowl,
Only to see what flipping in the air is like.
My gills will evolve,
When I can't breathe anymore.

Make me wide-eyed.
Surprise me, world.
Show me that you can dazzle.
Sometimes, there's too much beauty -
It kills me.

All the tenderness, complexity, colourfulness,
Brilliance, savageness, power...
I'm in absolute awe.

I can't wait for tomorrow,
So I'll cherish the bursting moments today.