In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.
Yogi Berra
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Pencil Production
I read an interesting comment the other day. It said that not one single person in the whole wide world knows everything needed to produce a single, simple pencil.
Think about it, growing the wood, molding the metal, processing the graphite and the eraser. Not to mention assemply, sales, marketing, financing and distribution.
The morale is that we all need to share the knowledge we have to the benefit of all of us.
Think about it, growing the wood, molding the metal, processing the graphite and the eraser. Not to mention assemply, sales, marketing, financing and distribution.
The morale is that we all need to share the knowledge we have to the benefit of all of us.
Monday, March 9, 2009
What I have learned about Contentment
Contentment is personal
It cannot be given to you
It cannot be taken from you
It cannot be given to you
It cannot be taken from you
What I have learned about Forgiveness
Forgiveness
There are two kinds: divine and human
Divine forgiveness is from God
When God forgives, events are forgotten
"remembered against us no more"
Human forgiveness is from man
These events cannot be forgotten, but must be forgiven, if repentence is offered
If no repentence is offered, we must accept it, and move on
Let God be the judge
There are two kinds: divine and human
Divine forgiveness is from God
When God forgives, events are forgotten
"remembered against us no more"
Human forgiveness is from man
These events cannot be forgotten, but must be forgiven, if repentence is offered
If no repentence is offered, we must accept it, and move on
Let God be the judge
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The Impact of Immediately Available News
This truly is the information age. It seems contradictory that newspaper subscriptions are rapidly declining. This is not because the daily bulletins no longer provide valuable news information, but because the news is already widely known by the time the newspapers are printed and distributed. The availability of the internet, portable computers, cell phones, digital cameras and especially personal digital devices, make the dissemination of news nearly instantaneous. Newspapers are just not current enough.
But that is not my main point. The question I ask is, “how do our leaders make decisions in such an environment?” In the past, decision makers were able to ponder their positions and gauge the potential reaction of the public to unfolding events over a period of time; even attempting to mold this reaction a bit. More recently, astute politicians began to use opinion polls to help manage their philosophies. Nowadays every event is met with millions of personal opinions instantly. Bloggers, u-tubers, and Instant Messengers are flying everywhere. Innumerable fragments of knowledge do not constitute a philosophy for living one’s life, managing a business, or running a country. It’s difficult to determine fact from fiction. Long term considerations give way to emotions and first impressions. To respond to such a flurry of information is impossible, but not to react may be seen as insensitive or uninformed.
Adding to the difficulty in sustaining a long-term decision making perspective is how social programs are been labeled, in contrast with the actions actually necessary to achieve them. Who could oppose “Fair Housing”, “Americans with Disabilities”, “Drug Prevention” or “National Defense” legislation? Yet when the actions required to accomplish the stated goals are revealed, they may be far more onerous than voters are aware. This is not to mention the modifications, amendments and stipulations attached to the original documents.
So are we doomed? Perhaps not. If we can use the power of prayer, our personal intellect, as well as our hearts, we can elect wise leaders based on their character, not the flashiness of their campaign themes. We can then trust them to honestly lead us down the path to long term wellbeing.
But that is not my main point. The question I ask is, “how do our leaders make decisions in such an environment?” In the past, decision makers were able to ponder their positions and gauge the potential reaction of the public to unfolding events over a period of time; even attempting to mold this reaction a bit. More recently, astute politicians began to use opinion polls to help manage their philosophies. Nowadays every event is met with millions of personal opinions instantly. Bloggers, u-tubers, and Instant Messengers are flying everywhere. Innumerable fragments of knowledge do not constitute a philosophy for living one’s life, managing a business, or running a country. It’s difficult to determine fact from fiction. Long term considerations give way to emotions and first impressions. To respond to such a flurry of information is impossible, but not to react may be seen as insensitive or uninformed.
Adding to the difficulty in sustaining a long-term decision making perspective is how social programs are been labeled, in contrast with the actions actually necessary to achieve them. Who could oppose “Fair Housing”, “Americans with Disabilities”, “Drug Prevention” or “National Defense” legislation? Yet when the actions required to accomplish the stated goals are revealed, they may be far more onerous than voters are aware. This is not to mention the modifications, amendments and stipulations attached to the original documents.
So are we doomed? Perhaps not. If we can use the power of prayer, our personal intellect, as well as our hearts, we can elect wise leaders based on their character, not the flashiness of their campaign themes. We can then trust them to honestly lead us down the path to long term wellbeing.
Friday, December 12, 2008
The Irony of Current Politics
The Presidential candidate Barack Obama ran on the motto of “change”, yet his cabinet appointments are very familiar faces. And many of his appointments are former adversaries.
The Republican party has always been seen as the pro-business party and Democrats as anti-business.
Now the lame duck Republican president is being criticized by his party for supporting the Automobile industry bailout and the Democrats are fully supporting it. I guess the Democrats see this as entirely consistent; whatever George Bush does is stupid.
The normally adversarial UAW is now supporting the business leaders’ appeals; but, one might ask, is this to help these businesses, or to help themselves? But I really can’s criticize them for that.
Business leaders are declaring that they will try to "hang on" until a more receptive Democratic President is in office.
The most divisive Senator in Washington, Harry Reid, is now calling for bi-partisan support of the newly elected President, saying he was elected as the President of "all the people"; to "give him a chance", and the need to "reach across the aisle". I wonder where this call for unity and support was when our President Bush needed it.
The Republican party has always been seen as the pro-business party and Democrats as anti-business.
Now the lame duck Republican president is being criticized by his party for supporting the Automobile industry bailout and the Democrats are fully supporting it. I guess the Democrats see this as entirely consistent; whatever George Bush does is stupid.
The normally adversarial UAW is now supporting the business leaders’ appeals; but, one might ask, is this to help these businesses, or to help themselves? But I really can’s criticize them for that.
Business leaders are declaring that they will try to "hang on" until a more receptive Democratic President is in office.
The most divisive Senator in Washington, Harry Reid, is now calling for bi-partisan support of the newly elected President, saying he was elected as the President of "all the people"; to "give him a chance", and the need to "reach across the aisle". I wonder where this call for unity and support was when our President Bush needed it.
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