Thoughts

Barack Obama has been elected president in a landslide victory over Senator John McCain. However, listening to the pundits, commentators and citizenry today, this is an aside compared to the history-making of the assention of the first “African-American” to the highest office in the land. To me, this begs the question, “Did we elect the right man, or simply the black man?” Although I hope its the former, I can’t help but be troubled by the role race appears to be playing in this election. When 9 out of 10 voters claim race was not an important factor in this election, yet nearly every “African American” voted for Obama, then race did matter.

If the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency does nothing else, it should put an end to the disparaging cries of racism in this country. After all, in addition to the black vote, Obama drew the votes of more than half of women, two-thirds of Hispanic voters and took the under-30 vote by a 2-1 margin. Impressive, indeed. Obama’s race certainly didn’t hold him back, did it? So, to those who wish to point the finger at white America and cry “racism”, just remember:

If there was racism in this election, it was the reverse kind.

“Tilting at Windmills” is a metaphoric expression of the futility of fighting a battle one cannot win. The idea is the product of an adventure experienced by the hero in Cervantes’ Don Quixote. In the story, Quixote, a slightly off-kilter errant-knight, mistakes a row of windmills for evil giants and charges them with his lance at full tilt. As his lance tore through the windmill’s sail,”the wind whirled it round with such force that it shivered the lance to pieces, sweeping with it horse and rider, who went rolling over on the plain, in a sorry condition”.

Still, sometimes the battles that seemingly cannot be won are those that must be fought. As Rand’s John Galt fought the increasing nationalization of business by government, so too, we must fight against our government’s increasing intrusion into our lives. In the end, Galt was successful in stopping the motor of the world, and so I write, though often I feel I’m tilting at windmills.

ABSTRACT: Change happens.  It is an inevitable part of life and the manner in which we react to change will ultimately determine its level of success.  A review of the books, Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, and Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under any Conditions, by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber, reveals a standard change management methodology that emphasizes the importance the role of emotion plays in the process.  The ability to manage the emotional response of both oneself and others will make the change process easier.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of my biggest interests is technology. Not that I’m the first one in line to buy the latest gadget, but I’m probably not too far behind. I had the opportunity to explore the new Kindle, Amazon.com’s wireless reading device. I have to say it’s pretty darn cool! The “electronic paper” is a 600×800 pixel, 167-pixels per-inch screen covered with a layer of transparent electrodes, a technology designed by E Ink of Cambridge, MA. The display is very crisp, the text is sharp and easy to read (and it does kinda look like paper). The electronic pages “turn” with a simple click and the reader can bookmark passages and write notes using the keypad. The Kindle comes with 256 megabytes of internal flash memory, with 180 megs available for storage (which equates to about 200 books). Its wireless connectivity means you can download a book directly from the Kindle and, according to Amazon, the process takes less than a minute. It runs on a modified version of the Linux 2.6.10 kernel, so the modified source code is freely available for developers to play around with. It also uses an easily replaceable lithium-polymer battery and Amazon says with the wireless connectivity turned off, you can read for a week on one battery charge.

Cool indeed!

So, I’m not going to buy one.

Why? Because reading a book is an experience to savor. Imagine the sound of the rain as it descends outside your window…the gentle litany is soothing and the quiet rumbling of distant thunder relaxes your mind. The chill in the air is dispelled by the warmth of the cup clasped between your palms. You inhale the evaporating steam and take a sip…the liquid warm and pleasing. The candle’s flicker draws your attention to the table where a book beckons. You replace the drink in your hand with the familiar tome…the nostalgic fragrance of time permeates your memory as you turn the book to that one dog-eared page…

And therein lies my heart. Therein is my joy.

(h/t Spree at Wake up America) Army Major Andrew Olmsted was killed in Iraq on January 3rd and leaves to a friend the task of putting up his FINAL POST

I didn’t know Major Olmsted before I read Spree’s blog post this morning, and feel that I have missed a great opportunity. I wish I had found his blog sooner. In reading through it, Major Olmsted appeared to be a very practical, centered and honorable human being with a wonderful sense of humor. It appears he quit posting to his personal blog in February 2007 because

“…it turns out that I have been blogging in violation of a Department of Defense directive that restricts how much political activity soldiers may be involved with.”

Still, Olmsted kept blogging, publishing his experiences in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain News.

Major Olmsted’s final post is very emotional, extremely honest and funny!

What I don’t want this to be is a chance for me, or anyone else, to be maudlin. I’m dead. That sucks, at least for me and my family and friends. But all the tears in the world aren’t going to bring me back, so I would prefer that people remember the good things about me rather than mourning my loss. (If it turns out a specific number of tears will, in fact, bring me back to life, then by all means, break out the onions.)”

and being a military man myself, I respect and admire his singular sense of duty:

“As a soldier, I have a duty to obey the orders of the President of the United States as long as they are Constitutional. I can no more opt out of missions I disagree with than I can ignore laws I think are improper. I do not consider it a violation of my individual rights to have gone to Iraq on orders because I raised my right hand and volunteered to join the army. Whether or not this mission was a good one, my participation in it was an affirmation of something I consider quite necessary to society. So if nothing else, I gave my life for a pretty important principle; I can (if you’ll pardon the pun) live with that.”

To Major Olmsted’s wife, Amanda, and his family: You’re in my thoughts and prayers. God bless you.

Democratic Presidential hopeful John Edwards, on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, touted his qualifications for office. Evidently, among those qualifications is a southern accent:

“The last two Democratic presidents, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, both talk like me.”

Have you ever heard anything more asinine?

The following is the first in what will probably be many more posts of this nature. This stuff just bugs me…

• People who leisurely stroll through crosswalks while I’m waiting for their ass to cross the street!
• People who say, “irregardless”! It’s “regardless”…get a dictionary!
• Employees who cry in my office!
• On the airplane, people who pull the back of my seat to lift themselves out of their seat!
• People who refer to the “fiscal” year as the “physical” year
• Those who pronounce “nuclear” as “nuk-u-ler”
• Those who think a “moot” point is a “mute” point
• Rap music
• Small talk
• In the grocery store, people who leave the check-out line to go find something they forgot
• The far left!
• The far right!

This quote from an Air Force officer was in last week’s base newspaper:

“Diversity is important because it’s important to be diversified.”

Just because one has a college degree doesn’t mean he or she isn’t a fucking idiot!

A friend sent this to me in an email…

As many are aware, the French government recently announced a raise in its terror alert level from “RUN” to “HIDE.” The normal level is “GENERAL ARROGANCE,” and the only two higher levels in France are “SURRENDER” and “COLLABORATE.” The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France’s white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country’s military capability.

Although in jest, this is actually an excellent commentary on the French government and it’s response to national emergencies, particularly invasions by a foreign military.

In a previous post I put down some true life lessons from the movie, “The Godfather.” What makes a quote from a book, movie, song or television show a “life lesson?” For me, it’s anything that forms a profound and relevant thought, image or idea–something that represents or triggers any aspect of my personal belief system. Just as Vito and Michael demonstrated, there’s also much to learn from Mulder and Scully…

• Trust no one.
• Apology is policy.
• Deny everything.
• Everything dies.
• They’ve been here for a long, long time.
• You may not be who you are.
• If you’ve heard the truth, demand the answers.
• The conquest of fear lies in the moment of its acceptance.
• There is plenty of room in that cold dark place for liars.
• There can always be another explanation.
• Nothing happens in contradiction to nature; just what we know of it.
• The laws of physics don’t always apply.
• We all have a natural instinct to propagate.
• Never be afraid to believe.
• Don’t unlock doors you’re not ready to go through.
• The truth is out there, but so are lies.
• Long life is a mixed blessing.
• We are not alone.
• Some secrets should remain secret.
• Never give up as long as the truth is out there.
• Not everything dies.
• Never over-estimate your position in the chain of command.
• Not everyone’s out to get you.
• Never seek the truth if you’re not ready to accept it.
• Someone’s ideas are always weirder than yours.
• A dream is an answer to a question that you haven’t figured out how to ask.
• Never say it can’t happen to you.
• Never take siblings for granted.
• Some one is always paying attention.
• You are being watched.
• False history is written in the blood of those who might remember, and those who seek the truth.
• You can’t blame yourself for what you could only hope.
• I am you and you are me, and we are all together.
• Open yourself up to extreme possibilities, but only when it’s the truth.
• People with ten-inch fingers tend to stick out in a crowd.
• It takes a lot to climb the ladder.
• Never assume anything.
• Smoking is a very bad habit.
• The truth can be a dangerous thing to posses.
• Expect the unexpected.
• Nothing is just what it seems.
• Sometimes, you just know.
• People who wish to control history are dangerous.
• Its not always about you.
• The truth is out there.

…and now that Cancer Man is dead, will the Bills win the Super Bowl??

If natural food is so good for you, why do 80 percent of Americans die of natural causes?

Still sick and feeling worse today. I left work early and crashed on the couch for a couple of hours. When I got up, I fixed a cup of tea (PG Tips with a splash of milk). I’ll be going to bed early tonight after another dose of Nyquil.

Presently, I’m sitting here thinking about a poster I saw the other day with a list of life lessons learned from a dog. I suppose there are things I can learn from my pet dog, or from a cow, or from The Simpsons, but truth be told, I probably learned more about life and leadership from the movie “The Godfather” than from anywhere else. Such as:

• A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.
• Businessmen understand offers they can’t refuse.
• Never let anyone outside the family know what you are thinking.
• Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
• Never hate your enemies, it affects your judgment.
• If history has taught us anything, it’s that you can kill anybody.
• Every once in a while you have to settle all family business.
• Leave the gun, take the canoli.
• Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.
• If you spoil your children, they’ll talk when they should listen.
• Don’t ever take sides, with anyone, against the family…ever.
• It was Barzini all along.
• There’s no better consiglieri than your father.

A lot of insight in these snippets of wisdom, don’tcha think? Certainly more profound than anything a dog can teach you!

Now just how do I get rid of this cold? I feel like Luca Brasi…

It’s hard to believe the amount of attention being paid to the plight of Terry Schiavo. For 15 years she’s been in what doctors’ refer to as a “persistent vegetative state,” and in light of her husband’s latest court victory and the impending removal of her feeding tube, everyone suddenly has a stake in her life or death. Even Congress has added their two cents in what I believe to be a flagrant overstepping of federal authority. Frankly, it’s none of our concern. This is an issue between Terri’s husband and her parents. Is Michael Schiavo really the sleaze they’re making him out to be? Or are the Schindlers’ just being selfish in keeping Terri alive year after year? None of our business! Speaking for myself, a life like Terri’s is not worth living. I would not want my loved ones put into a position such as this. If anything positive has come from Ms Schiavo’s plight, it’s the importance of a living will.

Well, Brian Nichols is behind bars. An interesting footnote to the event is that the judge who met his demise at the hands of this deranged killer is the same judge who allowed a plea bargain that effectively freed a woman who killed her 5-month old daughter. Although the judge really isn’t to blame, he doesn’t have much choice in the matter when the accused pleads out. After all, it was the district attorney, Paul Howard, who failed to protect the community he was elected to serve. Maybe Mr. Howard should have been standing in the way of the judges bullet.