Category: Everything Else

The Purposes and Power of Conversation

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As We Careen into the Midterm Election, Let Us Reflect on the Art of Conversation.

This blog began last Summer in part to provide improved dialog opportunities.

Our diminishing ability to talk with each other in this country should be a matter of concern for all. Disagreements are natural – and healthy. But if we are unwilling to talk at all with millions of our fellow citizens, this is problematic. Not easy stuff, but we need to try.

It cannot bode well for the health of this country to continue down this path.

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Night Owls, Early Birds, and Variations Thereof

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When do YOU Do Your Best Work?

We all know the stereotypes. Heck, most of us ARE the stereotypes.

Night Owls tend to get their second wind about the time most people are going to bed. Around midnight or so, these people hit their stride in productivity or creativity. They tend not to be especially happy to be awake (sort of) to attend a breakfast meeting.

Early Birds are the opposite, of course. They like to rise before the sun. The US Army had a slogan in its advertising some years ago wherein a soldier says,

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The Relationship Between Science and Science Fiction

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An Ideal Partnership That Nourishes Both Partners

 

For as long as I can remember, I have loved science. Not to say I always understand it. A good case in point: a couple of years ago I watched a program about string theory. It looked fascinating. I understood almost 5% of it. Five more repeats of the program and I understood enough to grasp the essentials. By the next day, much of that was gone. But I loved it anyway!

One of the things I really like about science is scientists. As a group,

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Can We Put a Dagger in the Heart of Muzak?

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A Plea for the Blessings of Silence

For readers of a certain age, know that I am about to unleash my inner Andy Rooney. Whose bright idea was it that we needed, much less wanted, background music everywhere we go? What seemed like a simple and benign idea has spread noxiously.

Background music has been with us forever. Remember those paintings of medieval courts? Many showed musicians playing in the background while everyone feasted. But with what we generically refer to as Muzak (or canned music), the sound is now everywhere.

Muzak,

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The Joy of Flying

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Life is More Three Dimensional Than We Acknowledge. Here is a Way to Regain That Perspective.

By the time you read this, I will have finished a couple of days of commercial flying with one of the three remaining large airlines in this country. Rest assured, this blog post is not being published to sing the praises of commercial flight as we know it today.

We could talk about that, but why do that to our blood pressure?

No, today I want to encourage you to listen to the siren song of flight on a small scale.

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What Invisible, Unfair Taxes Are You Paying?

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Everyone Complains About Taxes – There Are Some You Might Even Know You Are Paying

First, a word about taxes in general.

The political discourse in this country about taxes is generally a waste of words. Sure, everyone would like to pay less in taxes, but that is only half the question. The other half, what would we want to give up in return for lower taxes, is seldom addressed.

We saw this mindless approach to taxes carried out full scale in Kansas. Governor Sam Brownback came into office on a Trickle Down,

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Quotes to Carry Around

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Here are Some Thoughts to Carry You Through the Weekend

I confess to being a collector of quotable phrases. I have pages of them at this point. I enjoy reading them and sharing them.

I offer you today a baker’s dozen from my collection.

Some are profound, some are funny – some are both. They all seem timely. They are food for thought and an antidote to mundane thinking.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. More of this to come in the weeks ahead.

  1. Hold your heroes to a high standard.

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Carl Sandburg Was Right- We Need Loneliness and Wilderness

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A  Visit to Sandburg’s Home Brought a Valuable Lesson

I have the good fortune of living not far from the booming (NOT) metropolis of Flat Rock, NC. Not a place on many bucket lists, but it should be. It is the rural home of the excellent State Theater and home to some exceptional BBQ.

But the real attraction is the country home of Carl and Lilian Sandburg. They lived here for many years, until his death in 1967. I feel an extra connection to Sandburg. He was America’s voice in so many ways (prose, poetry, music).

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In Business? Those Footsteps Behind You are Closing In

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The Lesson of Toys R Us, Blockbuster, et. al.

Our local Sears closed its doors this month, as are so many around the country. Speculation is that the corporation may not make it to the end of the year. That got me thinking.

I spent most of my adult life in government service, as an Army officer. I was in the nonprofit sector for 5 years. Between those two adventures, I spent more than a decade in the private sector. My time in the corporate world gave me an education for which I am most grateful.

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