Life In The Weeds

Six months in the books!

Well, our little Blog experiment seems to have taken hold!

We have successfully been blogging for 6-months, or at least, we have been blogging for 6-months...who's to say if we have been successful.

How would you gage success in blogging?  Not sure you can...

Our goal was not to win "blogger of the year", rather, we wanted to put pen to paper and get some interesting thoughts and ideas out there in the blogosphere.

For that, we have succeeded.

Life In The Weeds is on the map!

mj

Decade ReCap

Where did the time go?  Here is a [quick] recap:

2000: Terrorists attack the USS Cole. The presidential election recount drags on more than a month until Vice President Gore concedes to George W. Bush.

2001: The dot-com tech bubble bursts. Nearly 3,000 people are killed in the 9/11 attacks. The anthrax mailings kill five people and sicken 17. American Airlines Flight 587 crashes in New York, killing 265. U.S. troops invade Afghanistan. FBI agent Robert Hanssen pleads guilty to espionage and is sentenced to life in prison. Enron files for bankruptcy amid reports of accounting fraud. The iPod is released.

2002: Ten people are killed and three seriously injured by the "Beltway Sniper" in the Washington, D.C., area.

2003: U.S. troops invade Iraq. The space shuttle Columbia disintegrates during re-entry to Earth, killing its crew of seven.  MySpace starts up.

2004: The Abu Ghraib, Iraq, prisoner abuse scandal unfolds. The Boston Red Sox win the World Series. Bush is re-elected over John Kerry. Facebook launches.

2005: Hurricane Katrina ravages the Gulf Coast. Baseball's steroid scandal brings Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and other stars before Congress. Pope John Paul II dies. YouTube is founded.

2006: D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff, accused of defrauding Indian tribes and corruption, pleads guilty to fraud and conspiracy. Ex-Enron chief Kenneth Lay is convicted of securities fraud but dies before sentencing. Twitter debuts.

2007: The housing bubble bursts. A mass shooting at Virginia Tech University leaves 32 dead, plus the gunman. Nine are killed and two critically wounded in shootings at an Omaha shopping mall. A Minneapolis interstate highway bridge collapses, killing 13 and injuring 145. Amazon.com releases the Kindle. A recession begins. The iPhone is introduced

2008: Barack Obama becomes the first African-American elected president. The video website Hulu launches.

2009: Investment adviser Bernard Madoff pleads guilty to defrauding investors of billions and gets 150 years in prison. The unemployment rate tops 10%. General Motors and Chrysler file for bankruptcy. A massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, kills 13; Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan is charged. Tiger Woods, amid revelations of extramarital affairs, takes a break from the pro golf tour.

mj

Just think about it

Ever have someone, namely a higher ranking person at work or in life, share one of his ideas and then he ends by saying "just think about it".

My father, a very smart and equally intimidating and persuasive person, used that phrase a lot as he softly tapped your arm or leg for emphasis. 

It took me awhile but I realized it was not a request but a not-so-subtle directive, as in "think about how you will agree with me and do what I suggest".

Next time you hear that phrase, (re)listen to the tone and the body language and make sure you interpret it right. 

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.   

Thoughts from the Road

I'm in San Francisco this week...flew out yesterday!  There was a monstrous head-wind, so we were in flight for 6.5 hours...man, that's long!

Here are some thoughts:

Why is it that people in wheel chairs do not have to wait in line at security?  They get wheeled right up front, accompanied by all their companions and skip ahead of everyone!  Why?  Why can't they just wait in line like everyone else.

Why don't they show movies anymore.  I flew US Air...6.5 hours in the air and NOTHING.  Could this possibly be a cost savings?  Impossible, right.  Get a movie on NetFlix for crying out loud and throw it in the DVD player!

Why do people yell at the ticket agents at the gate when there is a delay?  We were delayed two hours because they had to change the tires...major bummer, but I'd rather have new rubber, as opposed to skidding off the runway.  Many folks were convinced this delay was somehow the agent fault!  I'm all for great customer service, but some folks feel a little too privileged these days!

Arrived safely!

mj

Oh, the Humanity...

Yesterday, I endured what no man should ever be asked to do.  It was, by most accounts, the bravest and most unconditional form of love I have expressed in 2009...

I went to the American Girl Doll Store!!  [insert shriek here!]

This happens to be an experience I have endured...once, last Christmas season.  I swore I would never again expose myself to such visual pollution, but my wife reminded me..."it's for the kids."  Before she hung up the phone, I thought I detected a snarky tone, as if to say, better you than me!  

I must admit, I could not have accomplished my mission without my wife!  She was by my side throughout the experience...talking me through each outfit I described...she was carving up the American Girl homepage like a trained Army Ranger, as I awaited instructions for my every move.

What my wife could not help me with was...all the people I was seeing.  Moms and daughters BOTH dressed like "their" doll...Nannies and children awaiting their table for "tea"...with their dolls.  Double strollers, triple strollers...more nannies...face-lifts and caked-on make up...woman dressed to the nines, boasting their cherished AG bags, as if they were just awarded the MVP of shopping!

There I was in the middle...well, actually, I was squirreled away in the corner, making calculated moves to get what I needed.  But, yes, I was among them!

I escaped unscathed, but, oh the humanity!

mj

Do you Woot!

You have to check out Woot!

Woot.com is an on-line store and community that focuses on selling cool stuff cheap. Here is the catch, they only sell one item per day until it is sold out!

mj

What Matters Now

Looking to follow relevant and breakthrough thought leaders and people of action? Looking to get inspired?  Looking for ideas to get from point A to B or even Z?  Looking to get moving? Looking to get yourself over the hump?

You MUST read this post, then download and read the FREE ebook.

The book as described by Bill Taylor, co-founder Fast Company magazine:

Seth Godin, the innovator, writer, and blogger extraordinaire, has persuaded 70 other innovators, writers, and bloggers to participate in a project he calls What Matters Now. The idea is simple: Each of us suggests one word — literally one word — that all of us should think about in 2010, and then takes one page to explain why and how that word matters. The result is an intriguing, inspiring, and at times downright moving collection of unconventional wisdom that is available free to everyone.

O.D.O.o.O.D.B. 

Teacher

You Tube is under-rated and under-hyped, it is.

If you want to learn how to do, solve, correct, modify, improve just about anything, you can find a helpful tutorial on You Tube.

Skip a rock, bake a pizza, braid hair, kissing, business plan, smoking trout, upgrade Windows O/S, dance like Michael Jackson, referee a basketball game, Twitter, face painting, how to use You Tube (go figure) and using RSS Feeds are just a few - check a topic that is of interest to you.

Why don't brands direct people to the best (user generated) tutorials on You Tube relating to their product and other items of close interest. Their customers are more likely to trust tutorials created by "peers", there are a helluva more choices and often they are better than the (one) option a brand might provide and it would be another way to show customers that the brand is "with it". 

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

Space - the party frontier

The most overlooked ingredient to make sure you have a really good (house) party is the space.

For a party to be fun, there needs to be lots of energy and energy is directly related to interaction. Energy and interaction can only be achieved if the group is mashed together, not in an uncomfortable way but in a way that causes everyone to rub elbows and get face time. It is common to hear people say that the best parties are always in a kitchen but that is due to the fact that the kitchen is often the smallest public space in the house, not that you are nearby the stove or fridge.

Now, the space is no substitute for item #1A, which is the who - as in, who is invited. If you don't invite the right people then nothing can make up for it. The quality and amount of food, drink, music, games, decorations and so forth are a very distant second.

It often seems that parties at mega-homes are less than they could be because everyone is too spread out and hence, people naturally herd into groups (husbands, wives, best friends, etc.) and minimal energy gets built.  

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

What if I were a street-person

Lately, when I see a street-person I ask myself, what I would do if I were him. 

Suppose today, God allowed me to keep all my experiences (school, work, family, church, social, etc.), my good health, my faculties and the clothes on my back but he took away my money, home and all my support network of family and friends. What would I do? 

Go into every business with a help-wanted sign and ask for work? Go to church? Find a soup kitchen? Find a shelter to sleep at night? Cry?

Suppose I was hired but would not be paid for a week or more? How would I get food?

Suppose I lived in an area where there was no soup kitchen or shelter or there was just not enough soup or a bed for me?

How would I go about getting hired if my clothes were dirty, I smelled and had no opportunity to get showered or groomed?

Pretty damn depressing to think about, especially during the Christmas season, isn't it?

When this scenario crosses my mind, I feel a lot less self-righteous and incredibly blessed. "There but for the grace of God, go I" has to be one of the most true and revealing statements (or maybe it's a question) ever created.

What would you do?

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.