Are we really that sensitive?

watching the news again and i heard about the flap over the President making a "lazy" remark about America. of course, the 2 sides were in disagreement about the "we" in the statement. in one corner it referred to "business investment" and the other was the overall American people.

NEWS FLASH!!!!!

YOU ARE BOTH CORRECT!

it is really that bad to say we have gotten lazy? i don't think so. maybe, it might be the slap in the face or the kick in the ass that we collectively need. of course, it is a broad brush-stroke that we are applying. and, to often the image is only of physically being lazy. trust me, there is plenty of lazy to go around; intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and politically.

(the list continues on...)

and, you know what? we have made several advances in technology that have allowed us to have more time, and freedom to do other things that are not historically called worked. this could be seen as lazy when viewed from an older generation.

we are no longer a society that takes the time to have full-length conversations on anything, except fantasy football and reality show voting results. in my opinion, this is the worst lazy we are faced with . if we can NOT even have a full-contact, feature film length conversation on issues then we will continue to stay on the "couch".

i make no promises that i know all the answers or even most of the questions. but, i am willing to other my ideas and welcome the opportunity to discuss yours.

oh, and anyone who says that it is un-patriotic to say that America needs some work is just out of touch. i love America as much as anyone but we do have things we need to work on. and, to sweep garbage under the table is offensive and in my opinion un-American. America is about facing your problems and striving to resolve them. Hey, we do it for everyone else in world. Now, it is time to work a little bit at home.

GOD BLESSS ALL OF THE WONDERFUL MEN AND WOMEN WHO PROTECT US EVERYDAY. WE CAN NEVER SAY THANK YOU ENOUGH.

YOU ARE THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FREEDOMS THAT WE ENJOY!

AND, WE NEED TO BE ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU!

disguises

funny, how things can be packaged as one thing but really be something completely different.

i started to think how things, ideas, feelings, or whatever are one thing on the "inside" but often are the opposite on the outside.

just a few examples:

- Hostility masking Indifference

yeah, this one has a political undercurrent. if you stop, listen to the news (why?) you will be blasted with the vitriol of partisan and polarizing political speech. the "blame game" goes back and forth, the ends playing off against each other and unfortunately the "sane" middle. the pendulum swings back and forth but never moves anywhere, net effect is zero. "+500" plus "-500" equals ZERO. basic math, people. i have mentioned this before but both parties love the status quo and strive to keep it there. and, that is the indifference. no real desire to make any change to the system.

ok, so there is the problem. what is my resolution? much to long to put here. :)

term limits, campaign finance, and legitimate third voting option.

-Brashness masking Scared

yeah. who hasn't been here? what is the saying,"put on a brave face" or "don't let them see you sweat"? and, for the most part it isn't a bad thing when combined with moderation (secret for everything = moderation). however, this can be a problem when you don't truly allow yourself to be open to you situation, willing to learn from situation. i have never learned truly learned anything unless there has been pain associated with it. pain can come in many forms, financially, physically, mentally, or maybe the worse emotionally. however, all this does is lead to making your stronger. so, let yourself be out there at times because there are more people in the same boat. and, 2 paddlers is better than 1.

i know that i have been in both of those examples to often in my life. i like to thing that they were in my past BUT i know that i still dip my toes in those ponds. how can i not? life is tough and always changing. sometimes, you need to put up walls to stop the "elements" but you have to still get outside the walls. all storms will pass. and, then you gather up what you need and venture out beyond the walls again!

-happy trails!

higher standards

well, there is a phrase that gets thrown around a bunch, especially these days.

and, you know they are right we should hold people to higher standards.

BUT, HOW ABOUT WE HOLD OUR INDIVIDUAL SELVES TO THAT HIGHER STANDARD FIRST?

wow! wouldn't that be a nice change. maybe just maybe we wouldn't have all the craziness that seems to hang over our collective being, like a thunder cloud. maybe, then we can stop the blame game and work to resolve the underlying problem's root cause. oh, this by no means that people should not be held accountable for their inaction or actions. like i have said in the past, freedom carries with it a corresponding accountability & responsibility for the actions & deeds you exercise.

notice that i am not weighing on specifics of right or wrong. hey, i am no perfect being or bearer of the "higher standard". i know that i have to continue to strive for that but i like to believe that i am accountable for my actions and deeds. i make mistakes. you make mistakes. mistakes happen but are "we" learning from them and not repeating them? God/ Allah/ Buddha/ Jevoh/ Mother Nature helps us if we are not.

just a few thought for today.

quality is...

been thinking about quality, its implications, its impact, and how i related to it.

now, this is probably been heightened by job search process and starting back on a fitness regimen. maybe, i can figure out a good marketing tag-line for myself in the process :)

QUALITY IS...

- PATRIOTIC;

from a pure manufacturing pov, if you make a great product then you will develop a market. that can't be to bad for our economy, right?

- CONTAGIOUS;

the more success you have, then the more you want. imitation is the highest form of flattery, or why not follow the best in a particular industry. makes sense to me.

- HARD-WORK;

you have to be honest, being the best takes work. however, isn't the other option just a really shitty choice? we as a country have gotten away from this...we want our cake but refuse to bake it!

- TEAMWORK;

this is really easy to see when compared against the partisan nature of our government and politics. nothing is done alone. we all require help, even if really small in nature. even a huge loner, like the unabomber, needed help like the postal service. (ok, that example was out there).

the idea being great things are done not by individual efforts but with team work

- CONTINUOUS;

kinda like a snowball rolling down a hill. (it's november in buffalo...of course a snow reference)

similar to contagious. you want to keep making improvements. we know that nothing stands still, change is going to happen. why not, get in front of it and build the fix before it is even needed. i know we can do it.

just a few ideas about quality. i think i have a good basis for something here. but, feel free to help yourself to the idea and build upon for yourself.

-just a few of my "quality" thoughts

VETERANS DAY. THANK YOU!

this is quite simply a BIG ASS THANK YOU to all of our veterans. they are the real backbone of our country. sure, the country has is principles, norms and freedoms that define us.

however, it is our veterans that support and protect those principles and freedoms. they are the muscle to the words of the CONSTITUTION and DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. they give of themselves so that ALOT of us do not have to give of ourselves. i know that i am touched by their gift, and far to many times their ultimate gift.

take a moment, think about the true and real gifts you have been given through your life and be grateful. and, hopefully you can start to pay it forward, even if just 0.00001% of what you have received.

THANK YOU TO ALL VETERANS; PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE!

Up Again.

yeah, getting up again.  and, not about waking up.  about getting shit down for my own well being of mind and body.  for to long i sit and think about what i need to do.  well,  it is time to get up and out and start doing some more.  

so, i am back on the workout kick.  back to doing the p90x.   funny, that thanksgiving is a few weeks away, but what better reason to start.  and, besides there is always a reason not to.   bullshit.  there is aways a reason to DO IT.     got my tracking sheet, took my day 1 pictures... not quite as svelt as i used to be, so here we go.

been working on the mind, now is time to work on the mind.

Dangerous Expectations

isn't funny how expectations can work out?   this is primarily the case when reality doesn't match up the predicted or expected version of reality.  no where is this more evident than in the world of sports.   and that is exceptionally true here in buffalo.  actually, it is funny because there currently is a case of high and low expectations.

the low expectations deal with a 5-2 football team that is performing beyond anyone's expectations except for maybe those of the actual team.   key part here is that the team believes in what they can accomplish and damn anyone else's take on what reality would be.   this is just a great example of knowing your own path, sticking to it and making your own reality happen.   key take away is "nothing is ever as bad as can be made out to be".   if you focus to much on other people's negativity and bullshit then you deserve to not reach your own potential.  put more faith in what you can accomplish, and yes you will need help because we don't work or live in a vacuum.

well, high expectations can be just as shitty to a person.   the example that i am thinking of is of a certain hockey team.  a team that made so many moves on paper to improve (notice the on paper part) was supposed to be the cream of the crop.  well, after 12% of the entire season they are 6-5.   hey, still over .500,  but to listen to fans and experts  the team is in rough shape.   now, high expectations will cause you to wear 'rose-color lenses' and not really see the severity of a possible real situation.   it can be said that "nothing is ever as good as it made to seem".   not truly seeing a problem can be a huge because a head up the ass can be difficult to explain to a doctor or an insurance company when making the claim.   when you don't acknowledge a problem then you will never be able to fix that problem.

i am always amazed at how sports is such a wonderful metaphor for what we deal with in life.   it would be nice to deal with those salaries, oh what a pain that would be!   it just seem like such a powerful metaphor when looking at how each of the teams have performed against the expectations from experts.  it is something that i have been dealing with the last few years both in my professional and personal life.   it doesn't matter what others think, it matters what you think and what you can accomplish.  nothing like accomplishments to change somebody's expectations.  

Expectations; they are  never as bad AND never as good as they seem.  somewhere in the middle.  to dwell to much on either expectation is no good because it is preventing reality from being made.

-just my thoughts

That is just lazy...

i really could not believe what i had heard this morning.   while listening to some podcast, and only ones that deal with humor, i heard a promo about a company that is a modern day answering service.   but, it seemed the big modern spin was that they would transcribe your missed phone call and convert into an email for your reading leisure.

i nearly shit my pants.  (nice image, huh?)

i could not believe that there was a market for people to have their phone calls transcribed like somebody in court.  really, are you that GD lazy that you can't answer your own phone, check your GD voicemail and return a call.   but apparently there is a huge need.

this just seemed to smack of everything that is wrong with where we are as a society these days.  people are lazy and don't want to do even the most basic things for themselves.  people think think more of their position than what they are actually doing in the position.   if we are keeping up with the 'joneses' great, but somebody better check to see if they are actually in a job, in a house, not in debt or all the other shit that people are dealing with in the world.  but, hey maybe we are keeping up with the real jones and not the "reality jones".   (interesting thought there)

so, how about we get lazy on all of this extra crap that is out there.  maybe, work to try and make a smaller imprint but an imprint that actually brings good to somebody else and yourself.
for me the easiest way is to cook for people i care about.

Southern Fried Xmas Dinner '10; CFS w/ white gravy, mashed taters, bacon-brussel sprouts, honey carrots, and cornbread.   Dear Santa, can i have some cholesterol meds?

-just my thoughts

More than words...

we all know how the phrase goes,

 a picture is worth 1000 words.

these pictures just seem to hit my mood today.   we ALL have something that is holding us back, maybe it is scary even.   and, sometimes you need to step back to see your "full and layered" self.

-just my thoughts(images)

Dilemmas...

ok, it isn't really that dire of a situation.  but, the word dilemmas does seem to suggest there is an issue/question that requires an answer.   an answer that is difficult to generate or to implement or maybe both.

so, which is the tougher of the two?   thinking of the solution or making the solution actually happen.   i suppose it would be implementation.   big idea are easy, especially if will allow yourself to think that way.    but, to make something happen that requires more of yourself and of others.   and, there is the tough part, getting others to see your idea, agree with your idea, and then participate in making your idea tangible.
so, i guess that wasn't that hard to answer.  :)

i think all the tough questions/ dilemmas have that common thread to them.   the idea versus the actual performing tasks to make the idea happen.  performing requires moving from potential to kinetic which requires more energy.   now, this simple analysis doesn't even factor in the results that will occur, both good and bad.  see, now this is were it gets interesting.   positive results make it all worthwhile all the effort put forth with the implementation of an idea.  however, when the results suck this is where you have the camp that is all for "its better to just have the idea".   but, i think it is still tougher but more meaningful to implement the idea regardless of the result.

OK,
just a few random thoughts:
-if you tend to focus on bad luck rather than good luck, are you a optimist?
my thinking is that the optimist doesn't really believe in luck because they focus on doing what is required to make good things happen for themselves.   OR can you believe in one type of luck but not the other type?  
i tend to believe that an optimist would not believe in luck, but rather they made decisions that make positive or negative results likely based on their decisions.   things tend to be more in their control rather than some higher-being or fate.

so, with all of  that said, i would say that pessimist believe in luck (either good or bad) more than an optimist.   the pessimist has little belief in themselves and thus puts their hopes for results in the hands of luck.   just a thought and not where i thought this would go.  :)
oh well.

-just my thoughts.