Its been a week...

It's been a week since my last post...I wanted to give it some time so that I could think of an idea or two to put into queue.  Also, I have been traveling on client business all week and haven't really had any time to put my thoughts together (although I am beginning to think that my thoughts aren't really put together).  

I am trying to listen to a conference call right now while being on Webex and another proprietary web application that Synectics own (www.flyingtable.com) and write this blog.  So to say that I am multi-tasking is an understatement.  I am actually amazed at myself being able to manage this as I got in at 1:00am last night from a business trip.  Either way, I am getting a post out this week!

We never take the time to say thank you anymore; at least not when it means something.   So first, THANK YOU for reading my blog!  It means a lot, I am a neophyte and trying to get a handle on this and how and why it helps society.

A Thank You can go a long way.  Heart felt Thank You's go even longer.  Think about the last time you said thank you to someone and you really meant it.  How did you feel giving the thank you.  I absolutely love saying thank you to people and meaning it.  It makes there day and it makes mine.  There is this renewed energy when someone does something nice for us and we reward them with a Thank you.   

I have been in restaurants, nice restaurants where patrons don't say thank you.  I always try to figure out what the hell is there problem.  I don't care how much you spend on your meal...thank you should be required.   The art of the thank you has been lost and the era of expectations has set in.  It is like how kids these days have expectations of get, get, get versus give, give, give.  What has happened to us?

Which puts me on a soap box right now...parents who have little or no expectations for there children.  It is an abomination that there are no restrictions whatsoever.  Why does a 10 year old need a cell phone.  When I was ten we didn't need them (28 years ago), nor do I think I would be allowed to have one.  Why does a 9 year old need an iPod?  Come on now!  that is absolutely ridiculous.  In the age of excess we are starting to feed the illness versus look for a cure.  

I blame it on these shows on MTV, my sweet 16 or something like that.  Is that crap really aspirational?  A $60,000 Mercedes and the little brat cries over it?  That is absolutely insane.  (By the way I am completely schooled on My Sweet 16, I flew on a red eye back from LA once on Jetblue and nothing was on except a marathon of this show...)  I really don't care how much money you have, please don't do this to your children.  

As a side note:  I want a Mercedes, I think they ride nicely, they are safe and it is after all a Mercedes.  I drive a Corolla...enough said.

Back to this age of excess for a couple of more lines then I will sign off for now.  When did it become protocol to have birthday parties at these places that end up costing $25 per kid to attend?  That is absolutely nuts.  I hate to see parents spend money on Lazer Craze for fifteen 9 year olds to run around and play laser tag.  It costs $15 per kid, then food, then this and then, the worst of it all it becomes a contest on which parents can give the best goody bags.  Believe me, I have fallen into the trap myself...now we give out a book and a lollipop. GO READ!

I guess life has become a series of contests between parents, between kids and between families.  It is this competition that has driven our kids to have expectations that they will always get what they want and we as parents will give it to them because we don't want to deprive little Johnny or May and make them look bad in front of their friends.  If I hear one more time that so-and-so has a Wii or Jimmy (who is 8) has an iPod, I am going to go crazy.  I say "well, go over so-and-so's house and play Wii...just make sure you finished your homework first."  

So, I am totally off on a tangent and I want to sum up my thoughts...

To my six year old:  "Son where do you think all of mom and dad's money comes from?"  In response to a question of wanting to buy a Wii.

From my six year old:  "Dad, you just drive up to the bank and put your credit card in the slot and the money comes out..."

To my six year old:  "How does the money get in the bank?"

Back at me:  "Everyone has the money dad, don't we all share it?"

Enough said.

No Crap...

Some of the most obvious things in life are overstated.  Yes, I said overstated.  My guess is that the reasons are that as a society we are:

• So stupid that we need everything spelled out for us
• So litigious that people, companies and organizations are trying to protect themselves

Which brings me to my first point of order today.  Stupidity.  Now I don't consider myself a brain surgeon by any means, but I like to think I have a whole lot of common sense.  

There used to be a saying when someone gives a "no-duh"--that person is a "master of the obvious."  Since when can we all not put 2 and 2 together to make 4?  I feel like I have to explain more an more to people what I mean...it probably has to do with the way I think and act.  I just expect people to get it, and get it the first time.

I think it starts with the way the news media and Hollywood treats us.  They purposely dumb down just about every single piece of information.  In fact, in doing so, distort every piece of information.  I quick example of distortion and dumbing down--in fact a personal example.

A few years back my wife's colleague was involved in a legal matter (read a quick article here) with her biological granddaughter, her son and his son's former girlfriend.  Long story even shorter than what's posted:  The son and girlfriend had a baby, the girlfriend was into drugs, selling nude photo's on the Internet, meeting people for sex--all the stuff you would want a new mother to be doing.  Now, the son was no angel, and he was trying to straighten himself out with a little pushing from his parents.  The girl then fled to California with the baby--in the end, federal kidnapping charges, and now in a woman's correctional facility in Massachusetts.

In the interim steps between then and now, the media had a field day and sensationalized the whole ordeal.  When the granddaughter was in the grandparents care there was mistreatment and bad care and that's why the biological mother stepped in and fled to California (real reason:  Internet Date, seriously).

The news media created a whole different reality of what was going on because the real reason wouldn't sell papers or get viewers.  Hypothesis:  the dumbing down of our news so that the everyman can relate to what is going on and they are not smart enough to relate to reality and sometimes reality isn't real enough.

Now there is Hollywood.  My favorite "the public is so stupid, we can say anything and they will believe it..."  Let's just throw in for good measure "Based on a true story" and then the mockumentary will instantly become a documentary.    The public is not smart enough to discern real news with our news.  

1. Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko (Michael Moore)--partial truths pasted together to form a solid argument and then sensationalized by some great music and commentary.
2. W--can't wait for this one only because I love Oliver Stone movies...and I love biographical sketches that can't be substantiated (I am still waiting for the Bill and Hillary movie--did you ever see the email about all the people that have died around them in the past 15-20 years?  I did some searching, it's all true.  I would hate to be friends with the Clinton's)
3. Generation Kill a great mini-series on HBO this summer about Iraq and followed a bunch of Marines, based on the writings of a scholarly Rolling Stone reporter (that's when I lost a little respect for it).  Watching it with my brother in-law (retired marine officer who was in Iraq 3 time since 1991) said the portrayal was 75% accurate--verbiage, vernacular, location portrayal.  What didn't jibe with him was the false portrayal of the Marine officers...they actually aren't that stupid.

Three great examples of some quality film making that the dumb public will take as REAL and TRUTH and probably base some major decisions in the next few weeks off of it.

Lastly on this media and Hollywood kick--I hate political commercials.  I live close to the NH border here in MA.  The constant flow of Sununu/Shaheen commercials is almost comical.  Some are "approved" by the candidate, some are by the respective party committees...either way I can't tell them apart anymore as they both seem to have done the same thing over the last few years.  Another note in election year:  Now that many Massachusetts residence have taken up living in NH it is turning blue and some of the long timers are getting upset...its kind of funny.

My last ramble:  Why are we so litigious?  It is ruining our fun!  Quite regularly we go to birthday parties for our kids at play-gyms, laser battle places, etc.  the freakin' forms we have to fill out to free the company of any wrong doing is like a snow storm.  These kids are 9 years old!  They are going to run and bump into things ALL THE TIME.  Am I going to sue if my kid is an idiot?  No, my kids will certainly take responsibility for their actions.  It is these parents whose kids do no wrong (future posting) and it must be someone elses fault because little Johnny or Mary would never do that at home.

Which leads me to:  Caution.  The container of this cup is hot.  It has been brought to 130 degrees F.  Do not put between your legs while driving.  

Now this was the story for the ages.  When the woman put a hot coffee between her legs while driving and burned her thighs and whatnot.  Sued McDonalds and won several hundred thousands of dollars because she was endangered by their actions--MAKING HOT COFFEE.  

If it were up to me, she would have been forced to pay McDonalds for the bad press and then have not been allowed to reproduce because she was tainting our already marred gene pool.

Speaking of endangering...this is how they get their kids around on bikes in the Netherlands:

If this was happening here in the States this would make front page news.  Endangerment!  Call child services, get DSS NOW.  This is an outrage treating this child this way!  Mind your business.  This is totally acceptable over there--no helmet and sitting on the handlebar in a seat. It was awesome.  That's why I took the picture.  

In the end, my point is simple--Smarten Up America!  As a society we are pretty smart (and history has proven that).  Believe half of what your read and all of what you can control.  Formulate your own opinions based on facts that you can prove.  

Also, go to the Netherlands, its pretty cool over there.  And I don't just mean Amsterdam.

A quick commentary on politics...and a few essential paradoxes.

I vote the way I do, because I have to. No one told me I was a republican and many people are telling me I have to be a democrat. There is no party that defines who I am. I don't say I am independent and I think that there are more like me. My fiscal conservatism outweighs my need to be taxed higher and support the layers of bureaucracy that comes with bigger government. I agree with many of the social programs that are needed to support our society and I don't agree with the redistribution of wealth. I am not included in those who are defined as being "RICH" or over $250,000 combined annual income and I want to be. I am for capitalism and free enterprise at its finest. I don't agree with the more you make, the more you should give back and I certainly don't agree with giving back to those who don't give anything (read: who don't pay taxes). I agree with building up our educational infrastructure with sound disbursement of funds and I don't agree with giving illegal aliens access to our state schools and universities. I believe that those who bet on the stock market and lost should suck it up and walk away with their tails between their legs and I believe that giving sub-prime loans that were mandated by government programs were partly to blame for the banking crisis and the other part is just some dumb business practices. I am not upset that these CEO's are escaping with golden parachutes (after all, they were smart enough to have a buyout clause in their contract) and I feel for the everyday worker. I am convinced that Joe the Plumber and Ed the Dairyworker need a break and I am convinced that we need to lower our prices and wages so that we don't import and outsource more (simple laws of supply and demand?). I believe the liberal media is aggressive and has anointed the second coming and the media right is coy and tries to be cute with its quips and barbs at the left (I really believe that they both should stick to reporting weather and sports). I believe Hollywood is trying to have too much of an influence in politics (see this article) and they will shun their own who think differently. I hope that the Hollywood elite (many of whom have actually zero education and a lot of money) will stick to reading scripts and being told what to say and how to think and leave it up to the educated and those who don't show too much emotion as it always gets in the way. I want Sarah Palin to be seen as a mom, the executive of the largest state in the US and actually a smart woman and I think Joe Biden is a dirty old man whose plugs show and mullet gets longer each time he is on television. I think Barry Obama is a very eloquent speaker with little substance and I think Johnny Mac is a poor orator with deep substance. I think experience outweighs passion and passion is needed to win. I think we have come a long way in our fight against racism and if Obama loses it will be the first reason that is given and it will set us back and create much tension across many parts of the US (I can't wait for the polls: 98% of African American voters voted for Obama while only 40% of white voters voted for Obama). I think that our education system is skewing the younger vote to democratic and I think that as these young democrats get older they will make their own decision (liberal at 20, paying taxes at 25, republican by 30). I think that there is little tolerance for conservative views on 90% of our campuses nationwide and I believe that there are closet groups who actually allow for more right leaning views. I want to think that in the next 30 years we may become a multi-party system versus bicameral (impressed?) so that we can have all the needs of our constitutional republic represented and we aren't so binary in our thinking.

I believe in the freedom of speech...that's why I can right this blog.

Welcome to the Jungle...

So...I am trying this blogging thing out...I don't know if it is more out of the need for catharsis or the need to be on a blogging bandwagon...either way I thought about it and decided to go for it.  I don't know what my ramblings may or may not be on nor do I know if they are even going to be grammatically correct.  My dad, the ex-English teacher would probably go crazy, I certainly didn't pick up his fantastic writing skills.  Which brings me to a tangent...

I had that last line originally posted in parenthesis...does that not mean that it was supposed to not be read due to the irrelevant nature of the comment?  I think I need to get back into my little brown handbook which I believe is in a bookshelf somewhere in my house.  I think I use parenthesis way too often in my emails...I am beginning to wonder if half of my emails even get read due to using so much parenthetic speaking.   Also, I just realized that I use ellipses far too often (dot dot dot).  That I am using them to replace commas or semi-colons.  My friggin writing is horrible.  That's why I look forward to trying to keep up with this blogging thing.  A book that I enjoyed reading was entitled Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynn Truss.  It talks about how we have lost our punctuation rules among other things.  Here is the authors take:

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

So punctuation really does matter, even if it is only occasionally a matter of life and death.

I suggest in this day of email...and the amount of writing that we do (notice in this sentence I used both ellipses and these awful parenthesis) that everyone pick up a copy of this book.  It will help us out tremendously, even if we choose not to abide by any of the proper grammar and punctuation rules.

Now back to my normal train of thought being that I remember the days of going to my dad's office when he was a guidance counselor in Medford MA.  His desk was littered with legal notepads with lines and lines of hand written notes and whatnot.  I used to be amazed at his ability to write, he was and is still so eloquent and to the point.  What was really cool was that he would write and write letters, grants and proposals and other things I didn't understand long hand, it was after all the 70's and early 80's and then give it off to a secretary to type up (parenthetically speaking of course, that is one of things I never got to enjoy in my work life was a secretary and the secretarial pool).  It would transform from this magical yellow legal pad to this typed document coming off the IBM typewriter with the round ball. Ahh, the good ol' days.

So, in the end, I think the Microsoft Word has been the death of us.  Spelling doesn't count any more either that's all taken care of with Word.  Also, grammar doesn't really count, although Word sometimes gets it wrong and we can always blame it on that.

Another small stream of consciousness regarding looking back at the 70's and 80's and actually watching my dad work:  Have you ever noticed that things that you pick up from your parents?  Not the stuff that is genetically inclined but the little things that are learned behaviors?  In my later years I find that my signature is almost 100% similar to his.  You can just change the middle initial and it is almost identical.  I tend to bite my pinky, the right one, when I am reading something intently over time like a book or long newspaper article.  I just find myself doing more and more of the things that he did 30 years ago.  I find it absolutely hilarious.  I doodle on my note pads and in the margins of the legal pads, and my desk is a mess.  My wife the other day said, "I didn't marry your dad..."  My response was, "well, I didn't marry your mom, so we are even!"  Why is it so bad that we are starting to act like our parents in our older age?  It was destined to be.  We at least already look like them.  Just remember 30 years from now when our kids are emulating what we are doing today to have patience with them as well.  Maybe I should remind my boys that what ever the don't like about me, they will be doing the same thing in 30 years.

That train of thought is off the tracks now.  Don't really know how I got to this point, well actually now that I think about it everything in life is connected.  I have been working for the last four years for a consulting company that works in the land of connection making and recalling what we know and connect it to the task at hand.  Maybe this is what this blog can become, one giant connection making pad for me to do a brain dump (more on this maybe in future posts).  If you are reading this, please post connections or thought provokers to get us started and maybe we can collaboratively develop a new way to blog or something.

I will stop now.  I need to get back to the grind.