Sunday, March 17, 2013
Motivation Monday
I was going to post this on Friday Funnies, but then decided it was more motivating than funny. Ahhh...the optimism of youth!
Friday, March 15, 2013
USS Stevens...I Think Not
So a group of Senators has passed a Sense of the Senate resolution that they'd like a capital ship named after the late Sen Ted Stevens. You can read about it here.
Naming of ships has become pretty interesting. There was a small uproar when Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, named a ship the USS Gabrielle Giffords a year or so ago. It is one of the Littoral Combat Ships. The outrage isn't that she isn't deserving of recognition. She is. She is a former member of Congress from Arizona and a brave woman. She is married to a retired Navy Captain (and astronaut). But not this. It's not in keeping with the naming conventions of that ship and it's just not appropriate. But Mabus is a political beast and knows how to make hay.
Then he names one of the new LPD-17 class ships after former Congressman John Murtha. Murtha was a retired Marine. He was also the king of pork. He was also among the first to criticize the military in Congress. He also had his problems with corruption. But now his name will be on a Navy warship. Unbelievable.
So given that some Senators want Stevens name on a ship and that Mabus cowtows like the political lackey that he is, watch for the next big ship naming to be Stevens. But here's the deal. He was a WWII veteran but in the Air Corps. Never had anything to do with the Navy. He spent his life as a politician. If Murtha was the king of pork, Stevens was the prince. Remember the bridge to nowhere? Yep...that was his. He was also indicted and convicted on seven counts of corruption. The conviction was later overturned but...where there's smoke, there's fire.
So I think it's a bad idea. It dishonors all those who should be considered for having their name on a capital warship. It's controversial and demeaning. But...it's political...so it will probably happen.
Naming of ships has become pretty interesting. There was a small uproar when Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, named a ship the USS Gabrielle Giffords a year or so ago. It is one of the Littoral Combat Ships. The outrage isn't that she isn't deserving of recognition. She is. She is a former member of Congress from Arizona and a brave woman. She is married to a retired Navy Captain (and astronaut). But not this. It's not in keeping with the naming conventions of that ship and it's just not appropriate. But Mabus is a political beast and knows how to make hay.
Then he names one of the new LPD-17 class ships after former Congressman John Murtha. Murtha was a retired Marine. He was also the king of pork. He was also among the first to criticize the military in Congress. He also had his problems with corruption. But now his name will be on a Navy warship. Unbelievable.
So given that some Senators want Stevens name on a ship and that Mabus cowtows like the political lackey that he is, watch for the next big ship naming to be Stevens. But here's the deal. He was a WWII veteran but in the Air Corps. Never had anything to do with the Navy. He spent his life as a politician. If Murtha was the king of pork, Stevens was the prince. Remember the bridge to nowhere? Yep...that was his. He was also indicted and convicted on seven counts of corruption. The conviction was later overturned but...where there's smoke, there's fire.
So I think it's a bad idea. It dishonors all those who should be considered for having their name on a capital warship. It's controversial and demeaning. But...it's political...so it will probably happen.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
California
California is many things to many people. It has a sort of mystique. Land of opportunity. Land of fruits and nuts. The Golden State. Californication. Whatever. But it's getting to be a frustrating place to live. High taxes. Political correctness gone rampant. Haves and have nots. Coastal snobs and inland poor. Many things. I ran across the article below by Victor Davis Hansen that expresses the reality of living in California pretty well. Crazy...but here we are...likely to stay...
March 14, 2013
The California 'Mordida'
Tribune Media Services
California now works on the principle of the mordida, or "bite." Its government assumes that it can take something extra from residents for the privilege of living in their special state.
Gov. Jerry Brown made that assumption explicit in his latest back-and-forth with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who keeps luring Californians to lower-tax, higher-employment Texas. Recently, Brown said of Texas, "Who would want to spend summers there in 110-degree heat inside some kind of fossil fuel air conditioner?"
Translated, Brown's retort meant that despite California's sluggish economy, high taxes and poor services, it's still worth staying there to enjoy its beautiful climate — especially along the 1,000-mile-long coast, where most of the state's elites live comfortably without a need for high-priced air conditioning.
In November, California approved a measure to raise its sales tax and its income tax rates on the wealthy. According to the California Taxpayers Association, the state now has the highest sales tax and the highest top income tax rate in the nation. The state also just upped its gasoline taxes by nearly 10 percent to make them the costliest in the United States — about 70 cents a gallon in combined federal, state and local taxes. The state already has among the most expensive refinery regulations in America. That means California pump prices, at well over $4 per gallon, are second only to Hawaii's.
Yet, unlike Hawaii, California's wells still produce more than 500,000 barrels of crude oil each day — behind only Texas and Alaska. Its newly discovered Monterey Shale Formation may hold some 30 billion barrels of oil and gas. Perhaps no state has so much recoverable petroleum and yet such high fuel taxes and pump prices.
California's record taxes are not reflections of the costs incurred ensuring superior California public education. In fact, its public schools, in some surveys of national performance tests in math and English, rank near the nation's very bottom.
Nor do record gas taxes equate to wonderful freeways. The federal government concluded that only half of California's roads rate as acceptable. Private rankings put California's roads near dead last.
The problem is that California has exorbitant built-in costs unlike any other state and, in politically correct fashion, usually tries to keep mum about them. As the home to about a quarter of the nation's illegal immigrants, most from poorer areas of Latin America, California has public schools that enroll millions whose first language is not English. Someday, the infusion of young, motivated new Californians may prove a fiscal plus, but for the foreseeable future, illegal immigration translates into years of soaring healthcare, housing, transportation, education and law-enforcement costs — and billions of much-needed dollars lost from the state economy each year in remittances to Latin America.
California public unions are among the highest-paid in the nation. While Brown may have balanced next year's budget through higher taxes, he cannot do much about the more than $300 billion in unfunded pension fund liabilities and municipal bonds that were incurred, in part, to ensure the state and its localities could afford their public workforces.
Elite environmentalists — who feel that to extend the conditions of their own affluent coastal enclaves to millions of others would tax the ecosystem — have blocked new housing developments, cut off irrigation water to farmland, and opposed new energy production.
Yet if California has self-induced crises, it also has innate advantages. Aside from the best climate in North America, it has the richest farming area in the nation, along with huge natural endowments of gas, oil, minerals and timber.
California also enjoys an extravagant inheritance. Universities such as Stanford, Caltech and UC Berkeley continually rate among the best in the world. For decades, Silicon Valley, Napa Valley, Hollywood and Central Valley agriculture have earned hundreds of billions of dollars in the global marketplace.
In short, California is a wonderful place to live for Bay Area, 30-something Google executives; young, rich Stanford students; and Malibu celebrities — or recent indigents fleeing the abject misery of Latin America and needing generous public help. But it is not such an accommodating landscape if you are in the shrinking middle class and seeking a good-paying job in energy, construction or manufacturing; a safe daily commute on good roads; reasonable taxes; an affordable house; or a good public school.
The governor and the legislature believe that higher taxes, higher prices and more regulations are worth the pleasures of California's weather, natural beauty and chic culture. Who would leave all that for low-tax but scorching Texas or Nevada?
They may be right. I am still here, writing this column in 70-degree March weather, gazing out at the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains, amid blooming almond orchards on the small farm of my ancestors — while computing my soaring taxes and picking up the daily litter tossed by the roadside, after another near-death experience on an archaic California freeway.
March 14, 2013
The California 'Mordida'
Tribune Media Services
California now works on the principle of the mordida, or "bite." Its government assumes that it can take something extra from residents for the privilege of living in their special state.
Gov. Jerry Brown made that assumption explicit in his latest back-and-forth with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who keeps luring Californians to lower-tax, higher-employment Texas. Recently, Brown said of Texas, "Who would want to spend summers there in 110-degree heat inside some kind of fossil fuel air conditioner?"
Translated, Brown's retort meant that despite California's sluggish economy, high taxes and poor services, it's still worth staying there to enjoy its beautiful climate — especially along the 1,000-mile-long coast, where most of the state's elites live comfortably without a need for high-priced air conditioning.
In November, California approved a measure to raise its sales tax and its income tax rates on the wealthy. According to the California Taxpayers Association, the state now has the highest sales tax and the highest top income tax rate in the nation. The state also just upped its gasoline taxes by nearly 10 percent to make them the costliest in the United States — about 70 cents a gallon in combined federal, state and local taxes. The state already has among the most expensive refinery regulations in America. That means California pump prices, at well over $4 per gallon, are second only to Hawaii's.
Yet, unlike Hawaii, California's wells still produce more than 500,000 barrels of crude oil each day — behind only Texas and Alaska. Its newly discovered Monterey Shale Formation may hold some 30 billion barrels of oil and gas. Perhaps no state has so much recoverable petroleum and yet such high fuel taxes and pump prices.
California's record taxes are not reflections of the costs incurred ensuring superior California public education. In fact, its public schools, in some surveys of national performance tests in math and English, rank near the nation's very bottom.
Nor do record gas taxes equate to wonderful freeways. The federal government concluded that only half of California's roads rate as acceptable. Private rankings put California's roads near dead last.
The problem is that California has exorbitant built-in costs unlike any other state and, in politically correct fashion, usually tries to keep mum about them. As the home to about a quarter of the nation's illegal immigrants, most from poorer areas of Latin America, California has public schools that enroll millions whose first language is not English. Someday, the infusion of young, motivated new Californians may prove a fiscal plus, but for the foreseeable future, illegal immigration translates into years of soaring healthcare, housing, transportation, education and law-enforcement costs — and billions of much-needed dollars lost from the state economy each year in remittances to Latin America.
California public unions are among the highest-paid in the nation. While Brown may have balanced next year's budget through higher taxes, he cannot do much about the more than $300 billion in unfunded pension fund liabilities and municipal bonds that were incurred, in part, to ensure the state and its localities could afford their public workforces.
Elite environmentalists — who feel that to extend the conditions of their own affluent coastal enclaves to millions of others would tax the ecosystem — have blocked new housing developments, cut off irrigation water to farmland, and opposed new energy production.
Yet if California has self-induced crises, it also has innate advantages. Aside from the best climate in North America, it has the richest farming area in the nation, along with huge natural endowments of gas, oil, minerals and timber.
California also enjoys an extravagant inheritance. Universities such as Stanford, Caltech and UC Berkeley continually rate among the best in the world. For decades, Silicon Valley, Napa Valley, Hollywood and Central Valley agriculture have earned hundreds of billions of dollars in the global marketplace.
In short, California is a wonderful place to live for Bay Area, 30-something Google executives; young, rich Stanford students; and Malibu celebrities — or recent indigents fleeing the abject misery of Latin America and needing generous public help. But it is not such an accommodating landscape if you are in the shrinking middle class and seeking a good-paying job in energy, construction or manufacturing; a safe daily commute on good roads; reasonable taxes; an affordable house; or a good public school.
The governor and the legislature believe that higher taxes, higher prices and more regulations are worth the pleasures of California's weather, natural beauty and chic culture. Who would leave all that for low-tax but scorching Texas or Nevada?
They may be right. I am still here, writing this column in 70-degree March weather, gazing out at the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains, amid blooming almond orchards on the small farm of my ancestors — while computing my soaring taxes and picking up the daily litter tossed by the roadside, after another near-death experience on an archaic California freeway.
Reggie..
Reggie - A Black Lab
They told me the big black Lab's name was Reggie, as I looked at him lying in his pen. The shelter was clean, no-kill, and the people really friendly.
I'd only been in the area for six months, but everywhere I went in the small college town, people were welcoming and open. Everyone waves when you pass them on the street.
I'd only been in the area for six months, but everywhere I went in the small college town, people were welcoming and open. Everyone waves when you pass them on the street.
But something was still missing as I attempted to settle in to my new life here, and I thought a dog couldn't hurt. Give me someone to talk to. And I had just seen Reggie's advertisement on the local news. The shelter said they had received numerous calls right after, but they said the people who had come down to see him just didn't look like "Lab people," whatever that meant. They must've thought I did.
But at first, I thought the shelter had misjudged me in giving me Reggie and his things, which consisted of a dog pad, bag of toys almost all of which were brand new tennis balls, his dishes, and a sealed letter from his previous owner.
See, Reggie and I didn't really hit it off when we got home. We struggled for two weeks (which is how long the shelter told me to give him to adjust to his new home). Maybe it was the fact that I was trying to adjust, too. Maybe we were too much alike.
I saw the sealed envelope. I had completely forgotten about that. "Okay, Reggie," I said out loud, "let's see if your previous owner has any advice."
______________
"To Whomever Gets My Dog:
Well, I can't say that I'm happy you're reading this, a letter I told the shelter could only be opened by Reggie's new owner. I'm not even happy writing it."
He knew something was different.
"So let me tell you about my Lab in the hopes that it will help you bond with him and he with you. First, he loves tennis balls. The more the merrier. Sometimes I think he's part squirrel, the way he hoards them. He usually always has two in his mouth, and he tries to get a third in there. Hasn't done it yet. Doesn't matter where you throw them, he'll bound after them, so be careful. Don't do it by any roads."
"Next, commands. Reggie knows the obvious ones ---"sit," "stay," "come," "heel." He knows hand signals, too. He knows "ball" and "food" and "bone" and "treat" like nobody's business. Feeding schedule: twice a day, regular store-bought stuff; the shelter has the brand."
"He's up on his shots. Be forewarned - Reggie hates the vet. Good luck getting him in the car. I don't know how he knows when it's time to go to the vet, but he knows."
"Finally, give him some time. It's only been Reggie and me for his whole life. He's gone everywhere with me, so please include him on your daily car rides if you can. He sits well in the backseat and he doesn't bark or complain. He just loves to be around people, and me most especially."
"And that's why I need to share one more bit of info with you. His name's not Reggie. He's a smart dog; he'll get used to it and will respond to it. Of that I have no doubt, but I just couldn't bear to give them his real name. But if someone is reading this ... well, it means that his new owner should know his real name. His real name is "Tank", because, that is what I drive."
"I told the shelter that they couldn't make "Reggie" available for adoption until they received word from my company commander."
"You see, my parents are gone. I have no siblings, no one I could've left Tank with ... and it was my only real request of the Army upon my deployment to Iraq, that they make one phone call to the shelter ... in the "event" ... to tell them that Tank could be put up for adoption."
"Luckily, my CO is a dog-guy, too, and he knew where my platoon was headed. He said he'd do it personally. And if you're reading this, then he made good on his word."
"Tank has been my family for the last six years, almost as long as the Army has been my family. And now I hope and pray that you make him part of your family, too, and that he will adjust and come to love you the same way he loved me."
"If I have to give up Tank to keep those terrible people from coming to the US , then I am glad to have done so. He is my example of service and of love. I hope I honored him by my service to my country and comrades."
"All right, that's enough. I deploy this evening and have to drop this letter off at the shelter. Maybe I'll peek in on him and see if he finally got that third tennis ball in his mouth."
"Good luck with Tank. Give him a good home and give him an extra kiss goodnight - every night - from me.
Thank you,
Paul Mallory"
_____________________
I folded the letter and slipped it back in the envelope. Sure, I had heard of Paul Mallory. Everyone in town knew him, even new people like me. Local kid, killed in Iraq a few months ago and posthumously earning the Silver Star when he gave his life to save three buddies. Flags had been at half-mast all summer.
I leaned forward in my chair and rested my elbows on my knees, staring at the dog.
"Hey, Tank," I said quietly. The dog's head whipped up, his ears cocked and his eyes bright.
"C'mere boy."
He was instantly on his feet, his nails clicking on the hardwood floor. He sat in front of me, his head tilted, searching for the name he hadn't heard in months.
"Tank," I whispered.
His tail swished.
I kept whispering his name, over and over, and each time, his ears lowered, his eyes softened, and his posture relaxed as a wave of contentment just seemed to flood him. I stroked his ears, rubbed his shoulders, buried my face into his scruff and hugged him.
"It's me now, Tank, just you and me. Your old pal gave you to me."
Tank reached up and licked my cheek.
"So whatdaya say we play some ball?"
His ears perked again.
"Yeah? Ball? You like that? Ball?"
Tank tore from my hands and disappeared into the next room. And when he came back, he had three tennis balls in his mouth.
-------------------
If you can read this without getting a lump in your throat or a tear in your eye, you just ain't right.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Two Years Later
Does it seem like two years since the earthquake and resulting Tsunami in Japan? The horrific, devastating images were omnipresent and raw in the days and weeks after the disaster. But like many (most?) things, they have faded from our view. One would imagine that with such devastation and only two years later, they would still be digging out. That a significant portion of the population would still be dazed. Well...check out the photos you will find here. If you had any questions about the resilience, grace, determination, or will of the Japanese people, these photos should provide an answer. Amazing!
Cool Pools
These pools are amazing. I've only seen the one in Singapore in person, but they'd all be great to try out!
Sequestration...One Week Later
So we're one week into the dreaded sequestration. If you've been in a cave or living on Mars, sequestration is that mechanism devised by Obama and his gang of Chicago thugs, oops I meant advisors, to drive across the board cuts in case the Dems and Reps couldn't agree on a budget deal. He said it would never happen. He said it could never happen. He wouldn't let it. Of course, we now know that it did. During the run up to implementation we all heard the scare tactics. Doom and gloom. Disastrous cuts! Life as we know it coming to an end. Well...not so much. In reality, the cuts are pretty small. In the scheme of things, they could be managed with some relatively small adjustments. The disappointing, but by now not surprising thing, is all the hysteria. Disappointing because I don't a see that as a leadership technique. Of course, Obama's leadership technique is nothing I'm familiar with. Nothing I've ever seen. But the really disappointing thing is all those in government, especially in DOD, who have gone along with it. Now the stories are coming out about direction to make it hurt. Make the cuts in the most painful manner possible. Show the people how much they need big government. Well...once again not so much. The bad thing is that now that it has happened, it's an event in the past and they'll just move on. To to the next crises. Figure out how to make themselves indispensable. Get their faces in the news (and we know that the compliant media will accommodate). And the other bad thing is I don't know what the solution is...
Friday, March 8, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Cool Pic
One of these was my home for significant periods of my life. Still evokes some pretty strong memories...
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tom Friedman...Again
If you've been reading, you know my love-hate relationship with Tom Friedman. This week his column in the NYT is very thought provoking. You can read it here. The title is "The Professor's Big Stage". It's all about the access to education. And how today's universities better rethink themselves for the future. A couple of really good passages stuck with me.
I also just returned from an international trip, this time to Asia. As is always the case, I return struck by how much Americans can become cloistered, thinking they are the center of the universe. Well...the world is shrinking every day. And our kids are going to have to run to stay even. The other thing that strikes me whenever I travel internationally is what I say to my kids and anyone else who will listen...teach your kids or have your kids taught a language. Preferably Chinese or Japanese or Arabic. That's something that will make a difference.
"Institutions of higher learning must move, as the historian Walter Russell Mead puts it, from a model of “time served” to a model of “stuff learned.” Because increasingly the world does not care what you know. Everything is on Google. The world only cares, and will only pay for, what you can do with what you know. And therefore it will not pay for a C+ in chemistry, just because your state college considers that a passing grade and was willing to give you a diploma that says so. We’re moving to a more competency-based world where there will be less interest in how you acquired the competency — in an online course, at a four-year-college or in a company-administered class — and more demand to prove that you mastered the competency."And this,
"There is still huge value in the residential college experience and the teacher-student and student-student interactions it facilitates. But to thrive, universities will have to nurture even more of those unique experiences while blending in technology to improve education outcomes in measurable ways at lower costs. We still need more research on what works, but standing still is not an option."And finally,
"Clayton Christensen, the Harvard Business School professor and expert on disruptive innovation, gave a compelling talk about how much today’s traditional university has in common with General Motors of the 1960s, just before Toyota used a technology breakthrough to come from nowhere and topple G.M. Christensen noted that Harvard Business School doesn’t teach entry-level accounting anymore, because there is a professor out at Brigham Young University whose online accounting course “is just so good” that Harvard students use that instead. When outstanding becomes so easily available, average is over."I love that final sentence..."When outstanding becomes so easily available, average is over". Think about that. The world is shrinking. The need to excel is increasing. Competition is thriving. To succeed, kids today will have to work harder and be smarter. Maybe that's always been the case. Every generation needs to be smarter and work harder. But with the world shrinking and technology accelerating...excellence becomes harder to attain. I think about that as my Grandkids age (too fast).
I also just returned from an international trip, this time to Asia. As is always the case, I return struck by how much Americans can become cloistered, thinking they are the center of the universe. Well...the world is shrinking every day. And our kids are going to have to run to stay even. The other thing that strikes me whenever I travel internationally is what I say to my kids and anyone else who will listen...teach your kids or have your kids taught a language. Preferably Chinese or Japanese or Arabic. That's something that will make a difference.
Yucky
I've been out of the country for a while so I've missed some of the events of he day. Just catching up. Funny how when you're on the other side of the world a lot of the "big" events of the day in our news is...well...insignificant. So I'm back to observing events and commenting.
So when I got to Australia and into my hotel room, the Oscars were on TV. I was pretty bushed so I just relaxed and watched them. Usually all the Hollywood crowd giving themselves awards is not something I remotely care about. But I had seen Lincoln. I had seen Argo. And I sorta wondered which would win. For the record and even though I loved Lincoln, I think the right film won.
But the cameo appearance by Michelle Obama with the backdrop of the young military officers in Mess Dress was, to me, sorta yucky! Not terrible, not earth shattering, not the worst thing ever, and certainly understandable given how much the Hollywood crowd is gaa-gaa over the Obamas. I just thought it was yucky. And inappropriate. And unseemly. And...yucky.
An interesting thing to me were all the goofy grins on the officers in the background. Being a military social aide in the White House is sort of a fun gig. They solicit young officers who are stationed in the Washington DC area. Most of them are single. They have the time to run over to the White House to participate in various events. They mostly do stuff like usher duty, escort duty, ensure people move along thru events, and generally serve as eye candy. Like I said, fun duty. But let's be clear, most of the military aren't enamored with Obama. They see him for what he is. They know he doesn't like them. It's not a universal feeling. But pretty generally true.
So why would they all be standing around with goofy grins on their face when Michelle Obama cowtows to a bunch of spoiled artists? Well...it reminds me of when I was attending National War College at Ft McNair in Washington DC. Bubba was President back then. Most of those I knew didn't like him very much. Sorta the same as the feeling about Obama now, only not as bad. Bubba used to come over to Ft McNair for a jog because it was safe, flat, and there was a McDonalds on the way back to the White House. And it never failed. He would be jogging around and cheerfully greeting everyone he saw. And even those who really didn't like him would come into our seminar room with a big goofy grin on their face saying..."I just said hi to the President!". It's the nature of the beast, especially with military officers. They are sworn to uphold the Constitution, not allegiance to a person. But still...it can be pretty cool to see the CINC in person. It can make one giddy. It's not the person, it's the office (although I will stipulate that Bubba had/has huge amounts of charisma).
So when I got to Australia and into my hotel room, the Oscars were on TV. I was pretty bushed so I just relaxed and watched them. Usually all the Hollywood crowd giving themselves awards is not something I remotely care about. But I had seen Lincoln. I had seen Argo. And I sorta wondered which would win. For the record and even though I loved Lincoln, I think the right film won.
But the cameo appearance by Michelle Obama with the backdrop of the young military officers in Mess Dress was, to me, sorta yucky! Not terrible, not earth shattering, not the worst thing ever, and certainly understandable given how much the Hollywood crowd is gaa-gaa over the Obamas. I just thought it was yucky. And inappropriate. And unseemly. And...yucky.
An interesting thing to me were all the goofy grins on the officers in the background. Being a military social aide in the White House is sort of a fun gig. They solicit young officers who are stationed in the Washington DC area. Most of them are single. They have the time to run over to the White House to participate in various events. They mostly do stuff like usher duty, escort duty, ensure people move along thru events, and generally serve as eye candy. Like I said, fun duty. But let's be clear, most of the military aren't enamored with Obama. They see him for what he is. They know he doesn't like them. It's not a universal feeling. But pretty generally true.
So why would they all be standing around with goofy grins on their face when Michelle Obama cowtows to a bunch of spoiled artists? Well...it reminds me of when I was attending National War College at Ft McNair in Washington DC. Bubba was President back then. Most of those I knew didn't like him very much. Sorta the same as the feeling about Obama now, only not as bad. Bubba used to come over to Ft McNair for a jog because it was safe, flat, and there was a McDonalds on the way back to the White House. And it never failed. He would be jogging around and cheerfully greeting everyone he saw. And even those who really didn't like him would come into our seminar room with a big goofy grin on their face saying..."I just said hi to the President!". It's the nature of the beast, especially with military officers. They are sworn to uphold the Constitution, not allegiance to a person. But still...it can be pretty cool to see the CINC in person. It can make one giddy. It's not the person, it's the office (although I will stipulate that Bubba had/has huge amounts of charisma).
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Over There
I'm just back from an international trip. My job takes me to some pretty far-flung places and they can be very interesting and mind-expanding. This time it was Melbourne, Australia and Tokyo, Japan. Talk about two very different places! Thought it might be interesting to provide some comments on what I saw and impressions from across the world.
First, Australia is a really great place! It is very much like the U.S. The people look like us. They act like us. Of course, they drive on the wrong side of the road...but that's okay. It's a very comfortable place for Americans to visit. Melbourne in particular is a lot like SoCal. I think it may be the most sports oriented, outdoor city in the world. Tennis, swimming, F1, beach competitions, water skiing, etc, etc. there is always something going on. The city is on the ocean and downtown is split by a beautiful river and is very vibrant.
And then it was off to Tokyo. It's a lot farther than it looks on a map. But I got to fly on one of the new Airbus A-380s. Cool plane. A real monster! Business class seats very comfortable. Tokyo is the opposite of Melbourne in terms of an American feeling like they are in familiar territory. It's the mysterious orient! Language is different, lifestyle is different, food is different...everything is different. But it is a fascinating and wonderful place. The people are generally warm, welcoming and go out of their way to make guests feel at home. It's difficult because everything is so different, but after a few days, it starts to feel familiar. I think I could live there...of course I'd need to take some serious language lessons!
First, Australia is a really great place! It is very much like the U.S. The people look like us. They act like us. Of course, they drive on the wrong side of the road...but that's okay. It's a very comfortable place for Americans to visit. Melbourne in particular is a lot like SoCal. I think it may be the most sports oriented, outdoor city in the world. Tennis, swimming, F1, beach competitions, water skiing, etc, etc. there is always something going on. The city is on the ocean and downtown is split by a beautiful river and is very vibrant.
And then it was off to Tokyo. It's a lot farther than it looks on a map. But I got to fly on one of the new Airbus A-380s. Cool plane. A real monster! Business class seats very comfortable. Tokyo is the opposite of Melbourne in terms of an American feeling like they are in familiar territory. It's the mysterious orient! Language is different, lifestyle is different, food is different...everything is different. But it is a fascinating and wonderful place. The people are generally warm, welcoming and go out of their way to make guests feel at home. It's difficult because everything is so different, but after a few days, it starts to feel familiar. I think I could live there...of course I'd need to take some serious language lessons!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Motivation Monday
Posting this now because where I am it's very close to Monday. Time zones are funny that way. This has been sitting in my files for a while. I'm thinking its not as motivating as thought provoking. But oh we'll...it's my blog, I can do what I want.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Don't Be Fooled
So the day has finally arrived. Sequester....the end of the world!! Only we're still here. At least I think we are. I happen to be in Asia and things are bustling along. Only real evidence is the foreign press mocking the craziness of our politicians. But that's another story.
Usually, I'm loath to play the blame game. I wrote about it here just because its so maddening. Anyone who thinks this whole mess isn't totally (okay...maybe only 90%) Obama's fault either is
blinded by rhetoric, refuses to see or listen to the truth, or is clueless. This whole thing was his idea! That is clear. He will not or doesn't know how to lead. That is clear. His mindset bigger government, punish the "rich", and make the population more dependent on government
handouts. That is clear.
So I'm in a weird place. I know sequester isn't good. I know it will be tough on many people. There will be painful cuts. Hell, it will have ramifications in my business and my life. But I have come to the point that anything he is for I am against. He started this class warfare crap so I guess I'll just have to join the fight. I've heard it said that the country is strong enough to withstand any foolish President. But I'm not so sure. Certainly if that's true, there needs to be opposition. Count me in.
The thing that really disappoints me is the widespread trust in what he says. It's like 50% of the country are Lemmings. Oh I get political loyalty...I get sticking with your guy...I even get supporting him because he's black and it's cool to support a black dude in the White House. But come on...there has to be basic competence, there has to be love of country, there has to be leadership. I just don't seeany of that in Obama. And that really scares me...
Usually, I'm loath to play the blame game. I wrote about it here just because its so maddening. Anyone who thinks this whole mess isn't totally (okay...maybe only 90%) Obama's fault either is
blinded by rhetoric, refuses to see or listen to the truth, or is clueless. This whole thing was his idea! That is clear. He will not or doesn't know how to lead. That is clear. His mindset bigger government, punish the "rich", and make the population more dependent on government
handouts. That is clear.
So I'm in a weird place. I know sequester isn't good. I know it will be tough on many people. There will be painful cuts. Hell, it will have ramifications in my business and my life. But I have come to the point that anything he is for I am against. He started this class warfare crap so I guess I'll just have to join the fight. I've heard it said that the country is strong enough to withstand any foolish President. But I'm not so sure. Certainly if that's true, there needs to be opposition. Count me in.
The thing that really disappoints me is the widespread trust in what he says. It's like 50% of the country are Lemmings. Oh I get political loyalty...I get sticking with your guy...I even get supporting him because he's black and it's cool to support a black dude in the White House. But come on...there has to be basic competence, there has to be love of country, there has to be leadership. I just don't seeany of that in Obama. And that really scares me...
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