Surprising food...

Okay, this is going to seem like a paid spot for Hardee's, but I just finished eating on of their new thick burgers, and I do have to say that it was a very good burger. The bacon actually tastes like bacon, the beef is good, nice cold iceberg lettuce, all in all a successful burger experience. So when you see those commercials, well, you can believe them.

Until next time, Hershberger...out.

Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?

I have a concern that is as old as concern itself. Today's youth seem to exhibit some worrisome characteristics, namely apathy and irresponsibility. Now I know that parents have been saying the same thing for generations giving life to a myriad of cliches. But it seems to me that the problem is getting worse. I have daily contact with this age group as I have a 16 year old step daughter, and I teach college undergrads. Now my concern would not be very acute if I was only basing my opinion on my step-daughter's seemingly bizarre behavior. The indiscretions of a single 16 year old are not cause enough for me to claim that the world is coming to an end. The fact that she cares less about her grades than she does about her hair color is attributable to kids being kids. Although the lack of awareness of consequences is a bit alarming. She claims to want to go to college, but makes no effort to even pass her classes. But as I said, I am not going to create a societal judgement using a sample of one. It's my students that are my true concern, because they exhibit many of the same behaviors that my 16 year old does. Apathy is part of it, but the apathy seems to be the result of a larger problem, and that is the belief that they deserve success, regardless of their actual performance. Believe it or not, I have a theory about this. Let's think about it in terms of timelines, working in reverse chronological order.

Todays teens were born from 1985-1991. This means that they have parents who were born, roughly estimating, from 1955-1970. So the parents of our teens had parents who grew up roughly from 1935-1950. WWII era parents raised the current parents of our teens. So how were these parents raised? To oversimplify and overgeneralize, they were raised during hard times, when people were expected to work hard for what little they had. Because they grew up in homes that had little, they grew up saying to themselves "when I have kids, they wont have to go through this." In fact it is every parent's desire, I believe, to give their children a better life than they had. And so their set of parenting objectives includes giving their kids all the things they never had. Unfortunately this mentality has resulted in teens today who are used to getting the things they want and need with little if any effort on their part. So what is to come of this generation of self-proclaimed slackers? When laziness and apathy are character traits that are admired and pursued, what will our world look like 20, 50, 100 years from now?

Maybe that basket weaving class was a good idea after all.....

Until next time, Hershberger...out.

And another thing

Why do dogs smell so bad when they get wet? Do humans smell that bad? Is it a chemistry issue? Or is it that dogs don't bathe as often as humans (generally speaking) and the rain brings out the ground in sludge? It's a curiosity of mine. Don't let it get to you.

Until next time, Hershberger...out.

Rainy days and Thursdays?

I consider myself to be a relatively intelligent guy. I also consider myself to be pretty easy going and insensitive. In a good way. What I mean is that I don't let much really get to me, especially things that are just not that important, like stuff for example. By stuff I mean things. Belongings. You know, that stuff you fill your house with, only to complain that you have too much stuff. And so you go and buy more stuff to organize or even dispose of your stuff. Now a lot of people would not mind having the problem of "too much stuff," and I can understand that. But at the same time, stuff really isn't all that important, is it? I can't provide attribution for this, but I heard a really good quote the other day: "He who dies with most toys wins...but he still dies." When it comes right down to it, why is stuff important? Largely because stuff provides us with some sort of value, be it entertainment, safety, esteem, convenience or anything else that you value. And all of these have one thing in common: experience. I think few would argue that life can be measured by the experiences we have. Stuff is seen as a surrogate for experience under the idea that more stuff will provide enhanced experiences. And to a certain extent I agree. But honestly, does a $2000 kitchen table really provide that much better an experience than a $200 kitchen table? Does it make my life better in any meaningful way? I mean other than keeping my wife happy, which itself is of immeasurable value. What I am saying is that I have a hard time spending money on things that do not accomplish one of the following goals: 1) provide a direct experience, 2) make attainment of other experiences easier or more likely, or 3) satisfy some physiological need. Now that I have committed that into type, I am sure that I am leaving some important category out, but at the end of the day (or life) what we have is memories of experiences. What about personal relationships, you ask? When decomposed into the value that they provide, I think you will see that relationships provide direct experiences, and so spending money on relationship maintenance is perfectly acceptable. What about "doing good" through charitable donations or other forms of service to those unknown to you. While I certainly have no moral objection to charity, I personally do not engage in such behavior. Although one could suggest that giving to charity provides a direct experience because it makes you feel good. Whatever floats your boat I say.

Until next time, Hershberger...out.

Don't you just hate when....

Do you watch Fox's hit TV show '24'? I do...religiously. Most often used line this season? "Chloe, just do it." If you watch the show, you know what I am talking about.

Funny thing about entertainment such as dramatic TV, movies, novels...half the fun for most people is trying to figure out what's going to happen next. Solve the mystery. Figure out who's the bad guy. I am not one of those people. When I read a murder mystery, I just read it. I don't analyze it. I don't try to solve the murder. I don't try to predict the next twist. Why not? Because I would prefer to let the author take me on a ride. Same with TV shows and movies. At a particular point during '24' my wife might say something like "Oh I saw that coming" or "That's so predictable," and usually follow it up with "What, you didn't figure that out?" No woman, I did NOT figure it out, because I didn't WANT to figure it out! Let me enjoy the ride. I spend most of my days solving problems, analyzing situations, figuring out what should happen next. That's the last thing I want to do when I am supposed to be relaxing and enjoying some pop culture. So don't tell me who you think did it. Don't say "I bet 'so-and-so' is really a bad guy." Don't tell me when you've figured out the Wheel of Fortune puzzle. Enjoy the entertainment in whatever way you choose to, but don't ruin it for me with your predictions. I just don't want to know. For that very reason I avoid watching the "Next week, on 24" segment after the show, and would much prefer to see a movie without having seen the previews. There are so few surprises left in life, why take these away from me?

Until next time, Hershberger...out.

Well that didn't take long

Okay, I have made the necessary decisions for this blog. I am not going to concern myself with anonymity. That way I can just write what I want and not have to worry about trying to hide myself. Likely no one will be reading this anyway, and even if they did, let's be honest...nobody would take me seriously here anyway. So here goes.

My name is Edd Hershberger, and I am a professor of Marketing at a small Midwestern state school in Edwardsville, IL, which is about 15 miles east of St. Louis, MO. I have been in Illinois for about 9 months now and honestly, I am still getting used to it. I have always prided myself on my ability to adapt to new situations. When I was 18, I went off to college to live in the dorms, away from home. While this is usually a tough time for many people, I adjusted to the new situation with little problem. After I finished my undergrad degree (BSBA) in economics, I entered graduate school to get my MBA. This transition was pretty seamless as well, although it was a minor transition because I stayed at the same school, and even in the same dorm room. After I received my MBA, I took a job in my home state on North Carolina, and transitioned into the working world as if I had been doing it my entire life. I worked in industry for four years before deciding to go back to school to get my Ph.D. So I quit my job of four years, moved to Atlanta to attend Georgia State University's Doctoral program in Marketing. This was my first experience in a big city, and I had no friends or family there. Plus I was entering an academic program that I wasn't entirely sure I could handle. And yet I made the transition seamlessly, and again, felt like I was perfectly at home there. During my doctoral studies, I met my wife, and we were married on July 14, 2001. Less than a year later, I became a father with the birth of my daughter, Sydney Nicole, on May 21, 2002. After 5 years in Atlanta, I received my Ph.D. in Marketing, and the entire time there I never felt out of place. I took my current position and began teaching in August of 2003, and this move, this new job, this new life, somehow feels wrong. For the first time in my life, I feel out of place. I am not making the transition like I have made every other major transition in my life. And I have no idea why. Maybe at some point I strayed from a path that was my destiny. If you believe in that sort of thing, which I personally do not. Maybe this is the first true challenge I have ever faced, and the others were simply warm ups. Maybe it has to do with responsibility. Every other major change in my life has only affected me directly. This one has affected my entire family. My wife has uprooted her life for me, and is not entirely happy here. My 16 year old step-daughter is miserable here, and makes us aware of that at every opportunity. Sydney hasn't really noticed the move. She's not even 2 yet, so she's pretty resilient. But perhaps the fact that I have changed not only my own life, but the lives of two people who I care for very much, has made this transition much more traumatic. And I don't mean to sound like I am placing blame on them for my inability to feel comfortable here. In fact, I place blame on myself for making them move, and most likely that is why I feel so out of place. It's a guilt thing. Something I have always been too susceptible to. But more about that later. For now I suppose I will leave well enough alone.

It's nice to have this outlet I think. Therapeutic in a way. So maybe I'll keep doing this. Or maybe not. We'll see. Until then, Hershberger...Out.

Giving it a shot

Okay, so I have been hearing all about this cultural phenomenon called "blogging" for long enough. It's time for me to see what all the hubbub is about. After all, I like to think that part of my job is keeping current with pop culture, especially when it comes to interactive communication. Or mass media. Or sports. I have a great job. As the saying goes, "It's good work, if you can get it." And I got it. I am trying to decide whether or not to actually tell you what my job is. See, I have read a few of these weblogs, and many people do not want to be personally identified, I suppose out of fear of personal consequences. And given the nature of what I do, perhaps I should attempt to retain some anonymity. Then again I suppose this depends largely on what I intend to say here. And if I plan on having an audience. See, there's another issue altogether. Most likely everything I write here will not be read by anyone, and that may be okay with me. Then again I may decide to make this public, and if this is the case, I may want to protect myself from any personal or professional consequences. I'll make these decisions later. For now, I will only introduce myself by saying that I am a yankee-southerner transplanted to the midwest for professional reasons. I may decide to use this as a venting source, or I may decide to use it to actually write something that may be of value to me, if no one else. So until I make all of these very important decisions, I will simply say welcome to my personal blog, and I hope that you get everything out of it that you thought you would. And that is likely as long as you expect nothing except wasted time. Until next time....