Here it is, nearly the year 2007. As I look at the dwindling days left on my calendar, I also look at the huge pile of 2007 calendars I have. Where do they come from? Mostly from well meaning friends and family, people I do business with, and every single charity that I have ever contributed to, and a few that I don’t contribute to even though they send me a calendar each year. Some come to me with thanks for doing business and giving referrals, even though I have never done either.

When did giving out calendars become such a common practice? Choosing a calendar is really a very personal thing. We have to use it for a whole year, and maybe I really do prefer to look at different puppy pictures each month.

The marketing use of calendars makes no sense to me. Sure, I can see the value from their point of view. What better way to keep your customers or donors thinking about you all year long? But when a marketing gimic becomes popular, every other organization wants to use the same gimic. Ironically, nearly all of them end up in the recycling bin. I simply don’t need a calendar on the wall of every room in my home. This is particularly sad when the calendars are coming from environmental groups. Do you know what eventually happens? I might pick out one or two for my home, but the one that hangs in my home office (the one I view most often) is usually one of my own choosing that I have bought during the 50% discount sales shortly after New Year’s Day.

So please - come up with a new marketing tool, something I can actually use. A brand new year is nearly upon us, so you have plenty of time to come up with something different.

By the way, would anyone like a free calendar?

Okay, it isn’t exactly stealing, but it is awful close. The Bush administration wants to modify the 82 mile long “All-American Canal” - a major water canal along the U.S. - Mexico border in the San Diego area. The canal distributes water from the Colorado River that is used for agricultural purposes on both sides of the border.

What our government wants to do is to seal the water canal with concrete in order to prevent millions of gallons of water from seeping south each year. Based upon a 1944 treaty, the U.S. has “allowed” 489 billion gallons of water to flow across the border each year. The treaty does not include “seepage” - which many Mexican farmers depend on to water their crops.

The purpose of reclaiming this “seepage”? It will provide water for 135,000 new homes to be built in the San Diego area. How arrogant is that?