My ten year-old daughter, Katie, and I sat down for a few minutes to discuss her summer plans, her friends, her messy room and what it’s like being an only child (for a few weeks, at least, before big brother returns from the Far East).
The interview, below, is in .mp3 format:
I had a great opportunity for some guilt-free time with my baby this weekend. Yum-yum…
Several of us with mid-life issues (and the various toys to wallow in them) met early Sunday morning for a quick breakfast, and then a tour through the heart of Vermont on motorcycles and roadsters.
Look at them — you just feel like somebody’s gonna get hurt, don’t you?
Anyway, the plan was to crisscross the spine of the Green Mountains, from south to north, at least four times: Killington Pass, Brandon Gap, Middlebury Gap and Appalachian Gap. Here’s the actual route:
The total distance is just over 157 miles; it took us just under four hours, mainly because these coots have to pee every twenty minutes.
The route is an adreneline-pumping race of endless s-curves, undulating straightaways and hairpin turns up, over and around mountains and slicing through remote gorges — and a constant reminder of what a physically beautiful state this is, and why the rest of the world is often drawn here.
This was taken from the top of the Appalachian Gap, looking west, just before we headed down the mountain. Into a massive downpour. With the top down. As it turns out, the faster you drive, the drier you stay…
Actually, it was the very first time that my beloved Blonde had ever had a raindrop touch her luminous skin.
Here she is, waiting for me demurely in the background:
You’re in corrupt company, honey.
Overall, a great day. Lots of fun, challenging driving; good company; and a gratuitous waste of carbon-based fuel.
There are few more overused words in public life than “think tank.”
What, exactly, does that mean anymore? On one hand, it can describe organizations so dense, serious and obtuse that they can’t even explain what it is they do — so they fall back on an easy, throwaway phrase that not only keeps prying eyes away, it just sounds so darn impressive.
On the other hand, organizations who are utterly weightless often use it because…well, it just sounds so darn impressive.
I think part of the problem is the word “tank.” It just sounds so darn…self-absorbed.
Anyway, for the sake of argument, let’s suggest an alternative. I propose “think pond.” Or, “think puddle,” depending on your ambitions and/or abilities.
“Pond,” and I guess I’m actually being three-quarters serious here, is a better metaphor. A pond, because it is a biological system, is more open, adaptable and hospitable to life (or, in this case, ideas and creativity).
A pond is less self-absorbed — more inclusive, if you will; it supports life (ideas) in itself and around its edges. It is also a source of water outflow (again, ideas) and an aggregation of water (ideas) from different sources.
A “think pond” is a good thing for any organization to be, from a family to a work team, from small businesses to large, multinational corporations.
Yes, yes indeed. I believe “think pond” is the next big thing. Everybody will be talking about it tomorrow, I’m sure.
My son, Andrew, turned 15 this weekend and, in the wisdom of the State of Vermont, he is eligible for his driving learner’s permit. Tomorrow morning, I will take him to the Department of Motor Vehicles and, with any luck, he will be annointed as another member of the gas-guzzling public. How will we ever make any headway against global warming?
In reality, he is a very sensible young man who will make a skilled and responsible driver. He and I sat down today and talked about what he’s looking forward to, and what he’s nervous about, once he gets his learner’s permit.
The interview, below, is in .mp3 format:
Like sweepin’ dust bunnies out from under the bed:
Victor Davis Hanson. Like any great historian, particularly classical, Hanson helps make sense of the present. Some reflections on world events and politics, including this key passage:
We shall see what liberal therapeutics accomplishes in this war that started on September 11 when Hillary & Co. come to power—or rather relearn the lessons of everything from the Khobar Towers and East African embassy bombings to the USS Cole.
After all the lectures about not being safe after 9/11, and taking our eye off bin Laden, we await her revocation of the Patriot Act, wiretaps on terrorists, etc., and planned intrusions and hot pursuit into nuclear Pakistan—and, of course, calls for national unity during time of war, a renunciation of the politics of personal destruction, and a plea to tone down the strident rhetoric.
Imagine, if she were elected, that a Bush emeritus played Jimmy Carter to her presidency, or documentaries came out calling for scenarios about her demise, or Alfred Knopf published a book about shooting the president— or any of the other reprehensible things we have witnessed the past six years, all to the silence of the liberal opposition.
To get to the presidency, the Democrats must demonize the war effort and assume we will lose in Iraq; but to run the country, they would almost immediately have to reverse course, call for unity, and explain why we must continue anti-terrorism at home, and fighting al Qaeda abroad. And if they adopted a truly pacifist stature, a single 9/11 like attack would ruin their fides for a generation. Politics is to be accepted, but in wartime one expects a modicum of national interest first.
My only complaint: he doesn’t blog enough (look who’s talking - ed).
Guy Kawasaki Runs the Numbers. And the numbers are amusing. Interesting, even. But Guy should have taken the time to stress that what builds successful businesses (websites, products or services) is quality. And the quality that built this business is reputation, and meeting people’s need to participate, to join the conversation. Unfortunately, my $12,000 won’t do what his can do.
Time is the one truly limited resource (Signal vs. Noise). Yes, yes it is. Sadly, in my experience, the prescription discussed here is almost pathologically beyond the grasp of most managers and leaders I come in contact with.
Happiness is a moral obligation. “We should regard bad moods as we do offensive body odor. Just as we shower each day…
…so as not to inflict our body odors on others, so we should monitor our bad moods so as not to inflict them on others. We shower partly for ourselves and partly out of obligation to others. The same should hold true vis a vis moods; and just as we avoid those who do not do something about their body odor we should avoid whenever possible those who do nothing about their bad moods.”
