Quote of the Day

Immortality is a long shot, I admit. But somebody has to be first.

- Bill Cosby

Astrology: It's All Rock and Roll to Me

From law professor Jonathan Turley's site:

The Minnesota Planetarium Society’s Parke Kunkle has caused astrological mayhem by releasing this new chart:

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.
Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11.
Pisces: March 11-April 18.
Aries: April 18-May 13.
Taurus: May 13-June 21.
Gemini: June 21-July 20.
Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10.
Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.
Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30.
Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.
Scorpio: Nov. 23-29.
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17.
Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.

Council Presentations Book Review

What a pleasant surprise!

There's a very nice review of my council presentations book at Dr. Helen's blog.

Half-Way House

Dismissing the idea that he sought a $400,000 bribe as ridiculous, he said: "If I were in a position to extort a spoiled kid who inherited $600 million, do you think I would ask for $400,000? I'd have hit him up for maybe $40 million."

Read the rest of the NPR report on the release of former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards.

Back By Popular Demand: Taxi

A classic from Taxi: The Reverend Jim selling vacuum cleaners.

Unconventional Questions - Update

Here's another interesting response on the previous post about unconventional interview questions. (I missed it because it was tucked in another category.)

DarkoV said...
Back in the day when DuPont was Wilmington,DE and Plastics was the magic word, H/R (or whatever it was called back it those days) @ DuPont wuld cull some of their work force from the loccal Catholic high schools. After interviewing the candidates, H/R would call the high school offices and ask one question.What was the student's attendance record.Not, what were their grades.Not, what extracurricular activities they were engaged in.Not, what were their science projects about.Simply, did they show up on time and did they stay all day.Seemed to work out fine for the DuPont Company back in their Big, Powerful, & Successful days.

Budget Gimmicks

Writing in City Journal, Steven Malanga looks at state budget games. An excerpt:

Not all of the state budget trickery involves borrowing; some of it simply betrays pledges to taxpayers. One common example is “sweeps,” a term that refers to shifting money from adequately funded accounts into depleted ones. In some cases, the revenues that get “swept” come from taxes and fees that politicians had promised would pay for specific tasks—maintaining roads, say, or improving emergency services, or even paying for unemployment insurance. With the transfers, however, the money gets used for something entirely different.

The Frustration of Systems

As an advisor to many American presidents, Bryce Harlow saw his share of politics. In an interview, he once observed that although people often complain of the partisan bickering in Congress, that is a sign that the system is working because it forces compromise and saves us from intemperate actions.

We see similar frustrations in organizations. The same irritating personnel procedures that make it a hard slog to get rid of the oaf or jerk also make it difficult to get rid of the good employee who just happened to cross an executive. Systems are trade-offs. Whenever wishing that one characteristic would be dominant, consider the negative effects that would accompany that power.

The Holders

Political Calculations: Who owns the U.S. national debt?

Sledding with the Dog

From Eclecticity. You will smile.