February 01

I revised my web page description last month to include "micro rants" but have never gotten around to writing one. Today is the start.

Rant

Over the past 50 years, pro sports salaries have risen astronomically. The situation today is obscene. Sulky, overpaid footballers threatening a strike next year, demanding more money. I kept thinking - how can owners be such suckers (admiting their greed is also off the scale - e.g. billion + Cowboy stadium). I was passing the obligation to do something about this to the owners.

Today I'm thinking "I" need to act. It is time to find a new way, a better way, to spend Fall Sunday afternoons (even Saturdays) than watching this bloated industry. So, I am going to quit it. No more pro sports until that industry has shrunk to some reasonable portions. No more publicly financed stadiums. No more passing the responsibility. There won't be money for these extreme salaries if we refuse to contribute.

I quit. I invite you to join me. Turn my "I" into our "we" quit.

January 31

Instead of always speaking your mind, learn the value of silence
Punture 013101
Sooner or later, lunkheads always reveal themselves by what they say.

People want to be valued and appreciated
Patch 013102
So, use your voice instead to tell them they are valued and appreciated

January 30

I do not deserve everything
Puncture 013001

I do not need everything I want
Patch 013002
Two notices for citizens of consumer societies. You have been warned.

January 29

Listen closely
Puncture 012901
Never stop thinking, questioning, and learning


Speak carefully
Patch 012902
Do not be hasty or evasive. Ever the politician / salesperson.

January 28

Content is not enough
Puncture 012801
Perception is key

Know your deficiencies
Patch 012802
And conciously assign other to cover your gaps

January 27

Anyone who buys a bargain, thinks the seller a fool
Puncture 012701
Sometimes to be a winner, you have to be willing to be thought a fool

You have to insulate yourself from unsuitable people
Patch 012702
No excuses required. You do not have to avoid them, just stay insulated.

January 26

Circulate, communicate, stay in touch
Puncture 012601
Small message with a big tail. I am not refering to texts, tweets and emails. Put the human voice back in the equation.

Excessive talking is boring and monopolizing
Patch 012602
Stay in balance, do not take too far in either direction.

January 26

To be a good boss is to be a true servant
Puncture 012601

By providing a person the chance to make amends, you give them an opportunity to still be of use
Patch 012602

January 25

Do not confuse time served with results
Puncture 012501
Let accomplishments speak for themselves

Most people do not care what you are thinking. They care what you are doing, and mostly only if it affects them.
Patch 012502

January 24

Tell high achievers what you want - and then just let them go for it
Puncture 012401

Ignore minor faults
Patch 012402

January 23

Do not waste your time trying to teach the uninterested or incapable person
Puncture 012301

Beware of asking too little of a person with high capabilities
Patch 012302

January 22

What is said cannot be unsaid
Puncture 012201
You might consider more thinking and less talking

Good books are both mirrors and windows
Patch 012202
They help us understand both ourselves and others

January 21

There are only two limitless things; the universe and stupidity
Puncture 012101
Of course, recent cosmology has raised some questions about the size of the universe.

Successes will necessitate some failures
Patch 012102

January 20

A dumb rich person is still dumb.
Punture 012001
Same goes for politicians, teachers, etc.

Your principles can, and will sometimes, conflict.
Patch 012002
For example, honesty versus kindness

January 19

Don't hesitate to ask, or be ashamed to learn from anyone.
Puncture 011901
If you make or recognize a mistake, do not fear or hesitate to make a correction.

Teachers get to keep on learning.
Patch 011902
The teacher is only an advanced student

January 18

Fresh audiences and fresh perspectives.
Puncture 011801
The great source for great ideas.

Articulate the unarticulated.
Patch 011802
Summon your courage and say what isn't being said.

January 17

Not the best idea - rather many ideas.
Puncture 011701
Become a massively productive thought factory. Keep on searching - do not let a good idea stop you from finding a great idea.

What is the next real world action I am going to take?
Patch 011702
The end and object of thought should be right action. Look for the next step, the solution.

January 16

Sometimes you need the fertilizer of crappy ideas to make the good ones flower.
Puncture 011601

Head toward anxiety.
Patch 011602
Pursue novelty and uncertainty.

January 15

Stick to observable behavior.
Puncture 011501
You never really know what others are thinking and what they value.

Often we introduce unnecessary complications.
Patch 011502
Establish just the basic, simple facts.

January 14

It isn't enough to simply blame or shame people.
Puncture 011401
If you want others to change, they need to be offered a viable alternative.

Don't assume every problem should be solved.
Patch 011402
It sometimes is best to let the situation stand as is. Of course, it may fix itself - given time.

January 13

Appeal to virtue
Puncture 011301
Do your fair share, sacrifice for the good of others, and know that sometimes you should accept that "this is the way things are done around here."

None of us is as dumb as all of us.
Patch 011302
We are always torn between community interests and our personal welfare. Large crowds can be dangerous. Do not surrender your individuality.

January 12

There is a need for collective vigilance
Puncture 011201
Larger groups have a higher threshold to act and they can keep us from being impulsive. Also, a group has more knowledge and therefore may make better decisions.

It is dangerous to be on the wrong side of a herd.
Patch 011202
Sometimes going along is an effective risk minimizing strategy. But strange things can happen when peer pressure overwhelms our common sense.

January 11

Good decisions can come from disagreement as often as from compromise.
Puncture 011101
Do not draw back from confrontation between ideas. Learn from your faults and appropriate what is better.

Work in small groups.
Patch 011102
Stay below the critical mass where the herd instinct asserts itself. This will lessen complexity and help avoid mindless action.

January 10

Tucson Victims
Mini Rave 011001
What a remarkable group of people the emotionally disturbed person shot. Good people all, several even exemplary. They were involved and contributing.
Such a contrast with what we have learned about the shooter. I am pleased to know the victim's stories, to balance the impact of this random act of cruelty. They are reminders of the many good people who live among us.

Spaces between things provide a special opportunity
Bit of thought 010102
The Tucson shootings have created a space to talk about uncivil political talk. I do not know if there is a causal relationship between the shootings and radio/TV talking heads. I don't think it can be proved. However, this trajedy has made a space for talking about this disgraceful feature of our society. So - shame on these powerful plutocrats and the people who support them.

January 09

A crowd can turn into a mob when people surrender their private judgement.
Puncture 010901
People will surrender their personal wisdom to match the social context. The instinct to conform is powerful.

Use the gift of reason to counteract instincts that do not make sense.
Patch 010902
Focus on doing the right thing.

January 08

Someone has to go first, to prime the pump, and pressure others to action.
Puncture 010801
Provide the critical information. It only takes about 5% of a group to get something going.

Action brings results but awareness and kindness make things sacramental.
Patch 018002
Emotions provide leverage and can produce results far in excess of the efforts.

January 07

World War Two Deaths (military and civilian)
Micro Rant 010701
Ask a friend how many people were killed in WWII. Go ahead and guess yourself now.
Total - between 50 to 70 million, and more than half were civilians (adults and children).
How many for the U.S? - about a half million (same for Brits and French)
How many Jews and Germans? - each about 6 million
Japanese - about 2 million
How many Russians (USSR) - over 25 million !
Incidentally, and surprisingly, Asian (Chinese, Filipinos, etc.) deaths were about 10million. Most people were not even aware that China participated.
My non-scientific poll among friends average guesses were about 2 million total deaths, with the U.S number at 40,000. Incredible. Think how our skewed understanding might affect our world view, our feelings about war and, for instance, Russian paranoia about NATO troops at their borders.

Iraq War Deaths Since 2003
Even shorter Micro Rant 010702
Underreporting is a problem. You might guess that from the U.S. governments ban of photos of returning caskets. They still do not want us to grasp what is going on over there.
The current consensus is about 150,000 deaths, more than 2/3 are civilians, more than half are women and children non-combatants. The U.S. portion is less than 5,000.
There have been about 500 U.S. amputations and it is estimated that a third of returning troops have PTSD or other emotional problems related to combat activities, even suicides.

January 06

Join some madness with your talent
Puncture 010601
Explore the mystery and strangeness of life.

Originality, courage and eloquence
Patch 010602
Look for what will change you completely.

January 05

Her wealth of charms were predatory tools.
Puncture 010501
Danger often comes from places we never suspect.

Hurt can be a great teacher.
Patch 010502
Pain is a useful part of our toilsome journey beneath the stars.

January 04

Become skilled in the grand larceny of stealing the best ideas.
Puncture 010401
Become a prospector in the gold fields of the world's great thoughts.

Books form a great wall before the assembled forces of ignorance and chaos.
Patch 010402
So, read !

January 03

Awaken from this half dream of a barely lived life.
Puncture 010301
Go beyond a troubled, dreamless existence. Open an artery that flows from your interior headwaters.

His grandfatherly gifts lay in his grave, never used.
Patch 010302
Another part of what is lost when the young die.

January 02

His critical nature overpowered his creative impulses.
Puncture 010201
Constant fault finding does not find progress.

Ambition must be the handmaiden of talent.
Patch 010202
Discover and nurture your natural talents.

January 01

There is something to do out there that will lift your head instinctively, like the napping lion does when he smells the wildebeest.
Puncture 010101
Look for a cause that is instinctual and incurable. A calling, not a choice.

We are both devotees and prisoners of our childhood.
Patch 010102
Write a letter to the child you once were.