Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Rhone's Dash/Plus System
For those of us who use a bunch of note cards (and I'm a proud member of that tribe), Patrick Rhone has created a Dash/Plus tracking system for keeping tabs on your projects.
[BTW: I also like the Levenger's Circa products he mentions.]
If You Do . . .
If you do ...
- One important thing today, that will put this day far ahead of days when you hoped to achieve much but scattered your focus on trivial matters.
- Two important things today, then mark this down as a productive day.
- Three important things today, then you deserve to celebrate. Three may not seem like much but that puts you in the heavy hitter category.
- Four or more important things today and you've achieved more than many people do in a week or even a month.
- This measurement only works if you don't fudge with the definition of what is important.
- The amount of time should not be confused with importance. A very important item may be done in a short amount of time and a minor item may consume hours.
- One item of mega-importance can outweigh a bundle of important but less significant achievements.
Kicker:
- Sometimes you don't know what was important until years later.
The Crookedest Street in the World
Google Maps (March 2011): Lombard Street, San Francisco, California.
Quote of the Day
Here's something to consider: If you have a friend whose friendship you wouldn't recommend to your sister, or your father, or your son, why would you have such a friend for yourself?
- Jordan Peterson
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
SOTU at The Mos Eisley Cantina
And as the camera scans the House Chambers for the State of the Union. . . .
We need to return to the days when presidents simply sent over a written copy of the State of the Union. Regardless of who is president, the event has turned into a combination circus/student council meeting.
We need to return to the days when presidents simply sent over a written copy of the State of the Union. Regardless of who is president, the event has turned into a combination circus/student council meeting.
Miscellaneous and Fast
- Not flu but serious: The adenovirus. [I may have had it.]
- This Jeep Matters: The story of Reagan's Jeep.
- Wally Bock: Leadership's dirty little secret.
- The trailer for "Monsieur Chocolat."
- Future Lawyer: A lesson from Admiral Stockdale.
- TaxProf: IRS targeting of Tea Party groups.
- Slate: An article re the advantages of a good tour guide.
- The trailer for "Journey's End."
A Drop of Cruelty
A bit of cruelty in a dispute is the equivalent of a drop of black ink in a glass of milk. Despite efforts to dilute it, the effects will remain and all of the other merits of the drink will be forgotten.
Lapse into cruelty and you can lose the argument and your reputation.
Fix Yourself
At Prager University, psychologist Jordan Peterson gives one of the more practical self-help programs.
Monday, January 29, 2018
Testing Font Sizes
As many of you know, I'm revising the blog's format. One item that is being considered if the size of the font. The Blogger program used for this site gives limited options.
Here is the current font size:
I waited for the green again. That scant little flash of green as the sun winks out behind the horizon. That's where the magic was. In the flash. That's what she said. That's what she always said. Not that I believe in magic. I'd like to, but I know better. The world isn't built of that. It's built of churning molten metal, minerals and stone, a thin wisp of atmosphere, and a magnetic field to keep the worst radiation out. Magic was just something people liked to believe in, something they thought they could feel or sense, something that made everything more than just mechanical certainty. Something that made them more than flesh and bone.
From Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
Here is the same text with the old font size:
I waited for the green again. That scant little flash of green as the sun winks out behind the horizon. That's where the magic was. In the flash. That's what she said. That's what she always said. Not that I believe in magic. I'd like to, but I know better. The world isn't built of that. It's built of churning molten metal, minerals and stone, a thin wisp of atmosphere, and a magnetic field to keep the worst radiation out. Magic was just something people liked to believe in, something they thought they could feel or sense, something that made everything more than just mechanical certainty. Something that made them more than flesh and bone.
From Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
Here is the same text with a smaller font size:
I waited for the green again. That scant little flash of green as the sun winks out behind the horizon. That's where the magic was. In the flash. That's what she said. That's what she always said. Not that I believe in magic. I'd like to, but I know better. The world isn't built of that. It's built of churning molten metal, minerals and stone, a thin wisp of atmosphere, and a magnetic field to keep the worst radiation out. Magic was just something people liked to believe in, something they thought they could feel or sense, something that made everything more than just mechanical certainty. Something that made them more than flesh and bone.
From Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
So it boils down to Large, Medium or Small. Is this a Goldilocks choice where the medium wins, a space-conscious one where the small wins, or an easy-on-the-eyes one where the large font wins?
I won't automatically go with the most votes but would like your thoughts. I can see advantages with each.
Incidentally, sometimes Blogger kicks in an even larger font when the large font is being used. I'm not sure what triggers that.
Thanks!
Here is the current font size:
I waited for the green again. That scant little flash of green as the sun winks out behind the horizon. That's where the magic was. In the flash. That's what she said. That's what she always said. Not that I believe in magic. I'd like to, but I know better. The world isn't built of that. It's built of churning molten metal, minerals and stone, a thin wisp of atmosphere, and a magnetic field to keep the worst radiation out. Magic was just something people liked to believe in, something they thought they could feel or sense, something that made everything more than just mechanical certainty. Something that made them more than flesh and bone.
From Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
Here is the same text with the old font size:
I waited for the green again. That scant little flash of green as the sun winks out behind the horizon. That's where the magic was. In the flash. That's what she said. That's what she always said. Not that I believe in magic. I'd like to, but I know better. The world isn't built of that. It's built of churning molten metal, minerals and stone, a thin wisp of atmosphere, and a magnetic field to keep the worst radiation out. Magic was just something people liked to believe in, something they thought they could feel or sense, something that made everything more than just mechanical certainty. Something that made them more than flesh and bone.
From Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
Here is the same text with a smaller font size:
I waited for the green again. That scant little flash of green as the sun winks out behind the horizon. That's where the magic was. In the flash. That's what she said. That's what she always said. Not that I believe in magic. I'd like to, but I know better. The world isn't built of that. It's built of churning molten metal, minerals and stone, a thin wisp of atmosphere, and a magnetic field to keep the worst radiation out. Magic was just something people liked to believe in, something they thought they could feel or sense, something that made everything more than just mechanical certainty. Something that made them more than flesh and bone.
From Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
So it boils down to Large, Medium or Small. Is this a Goldilocks choice where the medium wins, a space-conscious one where the small wins, or an easy-on-the-eyes one where the large font wins?
I won't automatically go with the most votes but would like your thoughts. I can see advantages with each.
Incidentally, sometimes Blogger kicks in an even larger font when the large font is being used. I'm not sure what triggers that.
Thanks!
First Paragraph
I waited for the green again. That scant little flash of green as the sun winks out behind the horizon. That's where the magic was. In the flash. That's what she said. That's what she always said. Not that I believe in magic. I'd like to, but I know better. The world isn't built of that. It's built of churning molten metal, minerals and stone, a thin wisp of atmosphere, and a magnetic field to keep the worst radiation out. Magic was just something people liked to believe in, something they thought they could feel or sense, something that made everything more than just mechanical certainty. Something that made them more than flesh and bone.
From Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
From Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Saturday, January 27, 2018
"The Shallows"
Something to ponder this weekend:
A speech by Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows, on how the Internet is changing us.
A speech by Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows, on how the Internet is changing us.
Jordan B. Peterson
Professor Jordan B. Peterson is getting a lot of publicity lately due to the lively back-and-forth in the interview by Cathy Newman.
Here is his website.
Here is his Twitter site.
And here is an announcement of an upcoming speech in Los Angeles. He also talks a bit about his new book.
I'm almost half-way through the book and have found it to be extremely interesting.
Here is his website.
Here is his Twitter site.
And here is an announcement of an upcoming speech in Los Angeles. He also talks a bit about his new book.
I'm almost half-way through the book and have found it to be extremely interesting.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Daniel Krauthammer, writing in The Weekly Standard, on a visit to the site of the Auschwitz death camp. An excerpt:
The extermination camps were different. The Nazis built only six, and for just one overriding purpose: the destruction of European Jewry. The vast majority of the 1.1 million Jews deported to Auschwitz never entered its concentration camp at all. They didn’t last the few weeks that most other prisoners did. They lasted less than an hour.
Birthday Boy
It's Mozart Day at Cultural Offering with fine features of the young genius's work.
In the spirit of the day, check out this clarinet concerto by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.
Reprise: Some Saturday Noir
At one o'clock in the morning, Carl, the night porter, turned down the last of three table lamps in the main lobby of the Windermere Hotel. The blue carpet darkened a shade or two and the walls drew back into remoteness. The chairs filled with shadowy loungers. In the corners were memories like cobwebs.
Indianapolis for Amazon's HQ 2?
Althouse discusses the possibility that Amazon will pick Indianapolis for its second headquarters.
I suspect that Amazon will choose Denver because it has a major airport, beautiful surroundings, and is hipster enough to attract the Seattle crowd.
But Indianapolis would be a sound choice.
I lived there for several months while attending Adjutant General training at Fort Benjamin Harrison. [It was my first exposure to the work of Peter Drucker.]
Alas, Fort Ben is no more but I really grew to like the area and its residents. True, there was the occasional tornado warning but, aside from the remote possibility that your home and all of your belongings might be blown away, the place was green and pleasant.
Perhaps Amazon doesn't need a place that's "cool."
I suspect that Amazon will choose Denver because it has a major airport, beautiful surroundings, and is hipster enough to attract the Seattle crowd.
But Indianapolis would be a sound choice.
I lived there for several months while attending Adjutant General training at Fort Benjamin Harrison. [It was my first exposure to the work of Peter Drucker.]
Alas, Fort Ben is no more but I really grew to like the area and its residents. True, there was the occasional tornado warning but, aside from the remote possibility that your home and all of your belongings might be blown away, the place was green and pleasant.
Perhaps Amazon doesn't need a place that's "cool."
Ten Minutes
It is disturbing to think of how often I've seen executives and managers who, although urged to seek legal counsel, decide that doing so would be too expensive and time-consuming. They instead wind up making a decision which blows up and consumes far more time and money.
In the great majority of those instances, calling their attorney would have taken around ten minutes. I'll grant that lawyers have a reputation for complicating matters but there are many times when a trusted advisor will simplify the situation and avoid needless complications.
Ten minutes without sound advice can be jarringly expensive.
Friday, January 26, 2018
First Paragraph
"You're new here, aren't you?" Those were his first words to me. (His last, twenty-five years later, would be "I'm sorry.") Already he had turned the tables on me. After all, I was the reporter. The one who was supposed to be asking the questions.
- From Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli
- From Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Today's Math
Nicholas Bate provides a simple but important rule.
[I've been rigorously following it this week and can attest to its effectiveness.]
Miscellaneous and Fast
Fortune: Elton John is retiring.
Trailer: "Steve Jobs."
Sohrab Ahmari: The invisible crisis in Europe.
The Ghan: Australia's outback train.
Bunga bunga: Italy's Berlusconi may be coming back.
TaxProf Blog: California bar exam zings out-of-staters.
Trailer: "Mad to Be Normal."
The Sun: Labor Party "charging whites more" reversal.
Bruce Bawer: The Islamization of Oslo.
Sports Illustrated: Upcoming swimwear fashion.
Forbes: Tesla locks in Musk.
Trailer: "The Great Beauty."
Re-Reading a Classic
My bedtime reading has been Olivia Manning's The Balkan Trilogy. I first read it several years ago and my latest reaction is: "Wow. This is even better than I recall."
A novel about a young British couple in Romania at the start of World War II may not sound intriguing but the story succeeds on several levels. Truly extraordinary.
And don't miss the sequel, The Levant Trilogy. It's equally great.
Get Out There
"Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen."
- Benjamin Disraeli
[Photo by Averie Woodard at Unsplash]
Quote of the Day
Office hours are from twelve to one, with an hour off for lunch.
- George S. Kaufman, on the U.S. Senate
- George S. Kaufman, on the U.S. Senate
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
What They Use
A fascinating look at the pens, journals, datebooks and more used by the folks at The Cramped.
At least one may surprise you.
"Mrs. Peel. We're Needed."
My morale has greatly improved due to the kindness of Steve Layman, a gentleman and scholar who knows the power of The Rigg.
What If?
One of the items to watch for in any analysis of options is whether the possibility of failure has been adequately addressed.
You may be surprised by how often it is shunted aside as highly unlikely or as no big deal if it does occur.
It is more impressive when someone describes their fall-back plan and especially when they already have built-in ways to mitigate the adverse impact if things don't go as planned.
I recall a meeting where the response to the "What if?" question was a smug "Don't worry. It won't."
That was far from reassuring.
[Photo from the Wikipedia entry on the Maginot Line.]
Peter Jackson's World War I Film
The Imperial War Museum clips shown in this Mirror post are amazing.
Quote of the Day
The chief object of education is not to learn things but to unlearn things.
- G. K. Chesterton
- G. K. Chesterton
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
The Jordan Peterson Interview
Cultural Offering looks at the now-viral interview of Jordan Peterson by Cathy Newman.
Also see this excellent article by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.
Also see this excellent article by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.
When Life Adjusts the Schedule.
Yesterday morning I went to the dermatologist so he could carve off what is probably a skin cancer and zing other portions of my head with blasts of dry ice. I now have a round bandage in the center of my forehead and am glad no workshops are scheduled for this week.
But at least it wasn't a pirate bandage.*
Then I went home where, feeling cocky because of major progress with a bad back, I boldly bent over to pick up something, only to be quickly reminded that the back has a schedule of its own.
The rest of the day was spent doing Herman Munster imitations.
Minor salves are now abandoned. It is time for the Sloan's Liniment; a.k.a. The Nuclear Option.
*On second thought, that would have been amusing.
Lessons
What lessons may be drawn from that:
- marketing campaign?
- proposal?
- client?
- meeting?
- misunderstanding?
- retreat?
- lay-off?
- lawsuit?
- memo?
- crisis?
- resignation?
- recruitment?
- promotion?
- termination?
And will anyone take the time to search for them?
[Photo by Olu Eletu at Unsplash]
[Photo by Olu Eletu at Unsplash]
The Roll
- Althouse
- Anderson Layman's Blog
- Art Contrarian
- Christina Sommers
- Cultural Offering
- David Kanigan
- Dr. Helen
- Eclecticity Light
- FutureLawyer
- Instapundit
- Jason Riley
- Jim Stroup
- Joel Engel
- Jonathan Haidt
- Matthew Lang
- Mitigating Chaos
- Niall Ferguson
- Nicholas Bate
- Patrick Rhone
- Scott Adams Blog
- SCOTUS Blog
- SquawkPoint
- Stephen Landry
- Tanmay Vora
- The Cramped
- The Hammock Papers
- The Sovereign Professional
- Wally Bock
- Werner Twertzog
Quote of the Day
Never work before breakfast; if you have to work before breakfast, get your breakfast first.
- Josh Billings
- Josh Billings
Monday, January 22, 2018
Miscellaneous and Fast
- The trailer for "The Final Year."
- Roy Orbison and Friends: "Dream Baby."
- The National Interest: The math behind a Canadian sniper team's shot.
- City Journal: Heather Mac Donald on policing sexual desire.
- The trailer for "Mon Oncle."
- Glenn Harlan Reynolds on ridiculous licensing rules.
Remember
You may not recognize the great thing you are doing today because it will be disguised as a lot of little things.
[Photo by Aaron Burden at Unsplash]
The Wisdom of Sam Rayburn
In The Best and The Brightest, David Halberstam recounted a story about a conversation between Lyndon Johnson and Sam Rayburn regarding the qualifications of the Kennedy cabinet:
Stunned by their glamour and intellect, [LBJ] had rushed back to tell Rayburn, his great and crafty mentor, about them, about how brilliant each was, that fellow Bundy from Harvard, Rusk from Rockefeller, McNamara from Ford. On he went, naming them all. "Well, Lyndon, you may be right and they may be every bit as intelligent as you say," said Rayburn, "but I'd feel a whole lot better about them if just one of them had run for sheriff once."
Stunned by their glamour and intellect, [LBJ] had rushed back to tell Rayburn, his great and crafty mentor, about them, about how brilliant each was, that fellow Bundy from Harvard, Rusk from Rockefeller, McNamara from Ford. On he went, naming them all. "Well, Lyndon, you may be right and they may be every bit as intelligent as you say," said Rayburn, "but I'd feel a whole lot better about them if just one of them had run for sheriff once."
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Miscellaneous and Fast
- Wally Bock on Andrew Jackson's leadership in adversity.
- Cultural Offering on the meeting agenda.
- Fine Young Cannibals: "She Drives Me Crazy."
- FutureLawyer on machine-enabled humans.
- The Sovereign Professional with advice from Seneca.
- Robert Palmer: "Addicted to Love."
- Tanmay Vora on leaders who create the future.
- Commentary: "The Method in North Korea's Madness."
10 Management and Leadership Books
Dan McCarthy lists his ten favorites.
The Lessons of Experience is one that I've returned to many times.
Pondering
An organization that regards employees as parts of a well-oiled machine (and thus easily replaced) will be run differently than one in which employees are regarded as people with skills that need to be developed.
An organization that believes a job recruitment is solely done to fill a vacancy is quite different from one that believes the recruitment is only part of a larger process to evaluate the skills of internal and external candidates.
An organization that hires on the basis of inflated job requirements may be more unlikely to get a good employee than one which hires on the basis of basic job requirements.
An organization with a large workforce in which roles are not clarified will be less successful than a much smaller competitor in which roles are clear.
[Photo by Danielle MacInnes at Unsplash]
The Great Unmentioned
Workplaces are awash with The Great Unmentioned.
- "Crazier than a bed bug."
- "Has a voice that could cut iron."
- "The great undecider."
- "The command presence of Don Knotts."
- "Could not sell beer on a troop ship."
- "A legend in her own mind."
- "A knife without a blade or a handle."
[Photo by Tim Gouw at Unsplash]
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