From their album of the same name, 1989.
With the angelic voice of of the late great Carl Wilson.
MP3 File
With the angelic voice of of the late great Carl Wilson.
MP3 File
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Hangar One
It was in my own backyard. I've driven by Moffett Field hundreds of times in my life. A lot of prime, prime, prime, prime, prime real estate there now since the Navy left.
Fun facts.
Admiral William A. Moffett is credited with the creation of the two Naval Air Stations commissioned in the early 1930s to port the two U.S. Naval Airships (dirigibles). One of those stations, the Naval Air Station Sunnyvale, California, was the Pacific coast location selected, with help from northern Californian politicians and the leadership of the Chambers of Commerce from Mountain View to San Jose. The site of the US Naval Air Station Sunnyvale, California, Historic District, consists of a large number of buildings that were constructed from the 1930s on.
The new word ginormous does not do Hangar One justice.
The Ventures - Eight Miles High
A former shipmate of mine came from New Jersey for the wedding. When I found out he was coming I asked him a favor: bring me some of your ELO albums. Years ago he had put a few of their albums on cassette for me.
Well, yes, I got some ELO alright, but along with it he made me, not 1, not 10, not 20, but 33 DVDs full of digitized music.
This is one little song from the 21 albums of the Ventures that he gave me! (From their Greatest Hits.)
Needless to say you will be hearing from PK's collection for a long time. Guaranteed enjoyment.
Fun fact: The DVD with the Ventures albums had 62 albums total on it.
MP3 File
Well, yes, I got some ELO alright, but along with it he made me, not 1, not 10, not 20, but 33 DVDs full of digitized music.
This is one little song from the 21 albums of the Ventures that he gave me! (From their Greatest Hits.)
Needless to say you will be hearing from PK's collection for a long time. Guaranteed enjoyment.
Fun fact: The DVD with the Ventures albums had 62 albums total on it.
MP3 File
Mintzberg On The MBA
Here is a provocative transcript of an interview between Henry Mintzberg and a representative of the Red-Blooded-Corporate-Big-Business Conference Board.
Mintzberg contends that MBAs are fine as far as they go, but they do not produce true managers, nor leaders. Managers and leaders (Mintzberg chafes at the distinction) are developed by managing and leading, not by obtaining an advanced degree.
So I will leave you with a couple of things that Mintzberg says in the way of whetting your appetite for the whole interview, which I hope you will invest your time in reading.
"The more we train for leadership independent of management the more we get hubris - the idea that the leader is somebody big and important, separate from someone who has to deal with the daily nitty-gritty of running an organization."
"Most management is a craft - that is, it relies on experience, on-the-job learning. I put it this way: It's as much about doing in order to think as thinking in order to do."
"So some people are the wrong people to begin with. MBA programs seem to attract more than their share of people whom I characterize as impatient, aggressive, and self-serving. Not all of them of course, but a noticeable number. It doesn't take that many because they're the ones who are grabbing all the attention. Those characteristics in turn are reflected in their management style."
"It's not coincidental that the rise of the term human resources coincided with a wave of downsizing. You can fire resources, but you can't fire human beings very easily."
"The MBA education is unbalanced by denigrating experience in favor of analysis, which in turn leads to two dysfunctional styles of management: the calculating and the heroic."
Los Lonely Boys - Heaven
At least for some of us here in the UStates there is a little bit of heaven in every Friday.
From their 2004 self-titled album.
MP3 File
From their 2004 self-titled album.
MP3 File
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Harvey Korman, R.I.P.
The world is less funny now. Another one of the greats.
I really wanted to find the scene in Blazing Sadles where he stops at the concession stand at the movie theater and asks for a box of Rasinettes. No luck there, so my next favorite scene and that fantastic sendoff to the evil-doers will do just fine.
We must have seen this movie 15 times when it came out. My best friend's girlfriend worked at the theater, of course. We had to pay for our Rasinettes though as I recall.
And then there are the countless laughs he provided on a weekly basis on the Carol Burnett Show.
More here.
I really wanted to find the scene in Blazing Sadles where he stops at the concession stand at the movie theater and asks for a box of Rasinettes. No luck there, so my next favorite scene and that fantastic sendoff to the evil-doers will do just fine.
We must have seen this movie 15 times when it came out. My best friend's girlfriend worked at the theater, of course. We had to pay for our Rasinettes though as I recall.
And then there are the countless laughs he provided on a weekly basis on the Carol Burnett Show.
More here.
Rupert Murdock Believes in Drilling
He had this to say about U.S. energy policy toward domestic oil drilling :"We didn’t buy Alaska to save a couple of elk.”
Somehow I think we can all get along up there.
HT: Drudge
Eclecticity Graphed
Don't ask me to explain it, but this is this blog graphed. Put in any URL and it is put into a visual representation based upon the coding of your site. Fun for the whole family.
HT: Grow A Brain
Let's Talk About It, On Second Thought, Let's Not
(Google Image Search: "Communication Models")Osmo Wiio is a Finnish researcher of human communication. He has studied, among other things, readability of texts, organizations and communication within them, and the general theory of communication. His laws of communication are the human communications equivalent of Murphy’s Laws.
* If communication can fail, it will.* If a message can be understood in different ways, it will be understood in just that way which does the most harm.
* There is always somebody who knows better than you what you meant by your message.
* The more communication there is, the more difficult it is for communication to succeed.
And I particularly like his observation that anytime there are two people conversing, there are actually six people in the conversation:
1. Who you think you are
2. Who you think the other person is
3. Who you think the other person thinks you are
4. Who the other person thinks he/she is
5. Who the other person thinks you are
6. Who the other person thinks you think he/she is
Read more about Osmo and his theories on communication here.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Reinvention of Carly
Failed HP CEO Carly Fiorina stumps for John McCain now. She got a good book deal, probably made a lot of money on the speech circuit, now on to political power. Place your bets. In a McCain administration, what Secretary of Labor? She certainly knows how to fire people.
I know, we're all supposed to be about reinventing ourselves on a regular basis to stay current, up to speed, relevant, in the loop, at the table, etc.
But take a minute and think, who are we really under all this reinvention of ourselves? Do we even know? I think we should take the time to know.
Does Carly?
Don't think Carly didn't play her part in the mess this country is in. She followed the CEO-as-rockstar/corporate savior model. I bought one of her printers and it broke almost immediately. But oh well, she can advise Senator McCain. He need all kinds of help. (Update, some are throwing out the the possibility of Veep)
My aren't we opinionated today?
HT: Real Clear Politics
Dead Horse Update: Carly Quotes Machiavelli. Surprise, surprise!
Cat Stevens - If I Laugh
14-year-old boy buys his first LP in the fall of 1971, from the J.C. Penny in downtown San Jose.
I took the bus to my high school and boy did we take the long way home.
Seems late in life, but up to that point it had been all 45s all the time for me. But I would often sneak listen to my older brother's albums. He loathed me for that and I didn't care one bit. He'd pound on me a bit for that too. We would go to a place called "Campies Music" in the Valley Fair Mall where they would let you play the record and listen to it through a headphone, much like they let you do now at Borders or B&N! They had thousands of 45s, albums, as well as instruments and sheet music as I recall. That little shop must have been a labor of love (of music) for that fella. (He tolerated us.) And we usually bought a few.
Then it was off to Woolworth's for other adventures not worth mentioning here. They sold 45s and albums there too.
MP3 File - From Teaser and the Firecat
I took the bus to my high school and boy did we take the long way home.
Seems late in life, but up to that point it had been all 45s all the time for me. But I would often sneak listen to my older brother's albums. He loathed me for that and I didn't care one bit. He'd pound on me a bit for that too. We would go to a place called "Campies Music" in the Valley Fair Mall where they would let you play the record and listen to it through a headphone, much like they let you do now at Borders or B&N! They had thousands of 45s, albums, as well as instruments and sheet music as I recall. That little shop must have been a labor of love (of music) for that fella. (He tolerated us.) And we usually bought a few.
Then it was off to Woolworth's for other adventures not worth mentioning here. They sold 45s and albums there too.
MP3 File - From Teaser and the Firecat
What was your first album purchased dear non-readers, and what does it say about you and/or the times. For me Cat Stevens was gentle mostly, touched upon love, thought provoking, spiritual, but he would really rock now and then too.
James Brown Cam
If ever in Augusta, you simply have to do this. A free picture of you and JB in the late great's hometown.I Have A New Favorite
(Click on to enlarge)
Perfectly suited for such a blog as this. Like me, like (at least some of) my Favorites. So I'm not telling you where these were found. Discover my Favorites for yourself.And I've added a new label today, fitting for this prolific artist me thinks: "Certifiable."
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Mess This Country Is In
There is no one reason that we are careening downhill economically these days. There have been reasons galore. Henry Mintzberg shares his thoughts about our decline and I thought they are worth sharing.And with all the talk of "leadership" in the past 15 years. Lots of talk indeed.
Points can be argued I'm certain. It is just one man's opinion. It resonated with the Eclectipundit though.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Loggins and Messina - Golden Ribbons
From their live 1974 On Stage album.
Another kind of Memorial Day tribute.
If this song doesn't touch your heart...
MP3 File
Another kind of Memorial Day tribute.
If this song doesn't touch your heart...
MP3 File
The Beach Boys - Hot Fun In The Summer Time
In honor of the honorary beginning of summer.
Beach Boys version from their (apparently now rare) 1992 Summer in Paradise album. Available used from Amazon.com for $44.
MP3 File
Beach Boys version from their (apparently now rare) 1992 Summer in Paradise album. Available used from Amazon.com for $44.
MP3 File
Friday, May 23, 2008
Swing Out Sister - Communion
From their great It's Better To Travel album of 1987.
Love the percussion in this song. Melody and voices too!
MP3 File
Love the percussion in this song. Melody and voices too!
MP3 File
Bitch, Bitch, Bitch
Besides all this, that's all they ever do!
THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES
Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.There is no fast food.Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry , and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing.Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right To be called Mother!After you get done laughing, send this to as many females as you think will get a kick out of it and as many men as you think can handle it. Just don't send it back to me.... I'm going to bed.
HT: My Beloved (What's she trying to say anyway?)
THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES
Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.There is no fast food.Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry , and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing.Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right To be called Mother!After you get done laughing, send this to as many females as you think will get a kick out of it and as many men as you think can handle it. Just don't send it back to me.... I'm going to bed.
HT: My Beloved (What's she trying to say anyway?)
How Much Is Inside
Candy bars that used to cost us a nickle are now about a dollar right? And they're probably smaller. This group of young people spend their Friday nights non-scientifically analysing food products mostly, to show us what we are not getting for our money. Sometimes they are drunk, like when they see how much celery can be filled with a jar of peanut butter.It's Friday right? Kill some time. And smile. Here.
HT: Fred
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Attachment To The Email That I Will Never "Send"
There just might be something in the ether today.From Indexed, of course.
Kama Sutra For IT Guys
It matters not whether you are a PC or a Mac person. The sensations are the same, (I would guess.)
HT: Grow A Brain
HT: Grow A Brain
A Modest Proposal
Yes! Talk back to the president. Why the hell not? A little bit of the maverick coming out in McCain. My hat would be off to any president who got this going here.
HT: The other guy with the same name
HT: The other guy with the same name
The E-Mail To The Boss That I Will Never "Send"
I was naive enough once to email a very senior exec my "helpful" advice (considering my position in the company) about him not attending most of a very important management retreat with his management team. He did eventually come on that day in the afternoon and publically praised me to everyone at that retreat for my honesty with him. He got me in the end. But good.So there I was, about to hit "Send" on this email to my boss:
Hi _____: To me is seems irresponsible for --------------'s (my company's name) leadership to not at least get some conversation (if not firm action) going about succession planning and developing others to assume larger responsibilities when the early boomers leave.
This enterprise is expected to be here and prosper once our current senior leaders depart, correct?
Alternatively we can wish, pray and hope.
This got me thinking about the topic: Baby Boomer Execs Retiring En Masse
I changed my mind.
It seems like good advice to me, (considering my role and position in the company.. again!) but a lot more snarky than it ever should be I admit. Impulsivity and email are not a good mix.
I've decided to print out the email, use it to focus on the basic point I'm trying to make, and talk about it with him rationally and helpfully at our next meeting.
My naivety has diminished hasn't it? I guess you have to learn something about some things sometimes.
Update: If you are riding into town to tell the people the truth, you'd better keep one foot in its stirrup. - Unknown Origin, but fitting, huh?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
"Money is No Object"
I got to sit in an idea-dump session with a woman who is an HR consultant for a new medical center opening in 2011 in the middle-east kingdom of Qatar. She wanted to pick our brain for some reason. (Maybe we are doing some things right?)
Fun facts that she related:
Money is no object.
They don't know what to do with the interest they are earning on the $20 Billion that is sitting in the bank.
There will be 1.8 FTEs for each position.
She will be hiring their first 5000 employees from the West, over time they will have to begin having a percentage of their staff be from Qutar.
All employees will be provided housing for themselves and family
7 weeks off per year with a round trip ticket to anyplace in the world each year for each ee
Free health care for all ees
6 hour
They don't know what to do with the interest they are earning on the $20 Billion that is sitting in the bank.
There will be 1.8 FTEs for each position.
She will be hiring their first 5000 employees from the West, over time they will have to begin having a percentage of their staff be from Qutar.
All employees will be provided housing for themselves and family
7 weeks off per year with a round trip ticket to anyplace in the world each year for each ee
Free health care for all ees
6 hour