Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Fundamentalist Trash Pickup
8:36 PM | Posted by
Steve |
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There's a street not far from my house, and on this street lives a man. I've seen him for ten years.
Each Tuesday morning he places his recycle bin and his trash bin at the curb, just as I do. Except the trash doesn't run every Tuesday. Holidays that are celebrated on Mondays cause our city services to be delayed one day. I sometimes forget and take my bins to the curb on those Tuesdays. But, I sometimes remember not to take them. And, sometimes when I forget, I go back to the curb and retrieve my bins and put them out the following day.
This fellow always takes his bins to the curb. Every Tuesday. Regardless of holidays. It's as if he has his schedule, and the fact the city changes its schedule has no impact on him.
I also happen to know that this man is staunchly fundamentalist in his faith. He's also incredibly giving, doing things I can scarcely dream. But, staunchly fundamentalist. And, I couldn't help but wonder if there is something that underlies both an unwillingness to alter his trash bin schedule and his view of God. Perhaps the thing that drives him to take his trash the curb even when the city isn't going to pick it up is the same thing that makes him comfortable with a rigid view of the world and the world beyond.
At some level, though, he must know the trash schedule is different. At some level, though, he must alter his approach to trash. After all, he doesn't retrieve his still full bins on those holiday week Tuesday nights. He leaves them out until Wednesday.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Problem Awareness
1:36 PM | Posted by
Steve |
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I have a coffee cup on my desk that I use throughout the day. It seldom has coffee in it. Much more often it has water or diet soda.
The cup has a phrase imprinted on one face
The quote applies equally to many endeavors. Who hasn't been in an unfamiliar situation, such as, oh, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and thought, "Isn't there a better way?" If we're so bold as to utter the question aloud, we're met with, "Well, there's a lot you don't understand." Clearly.
This is a primary reason why organizations invite outsiders inside to offer advice and even pay them for it. We call them consultants, but, really, they are observers who ask the question, "Isn't there a better way?" Because we invited them in, and because they are experts, and because we are paying them, we usually try to find one.
We often expect people who've spent long years developing expertise in a certain field to be able to raise our awareness and help us solve the problems we face in that field. But, we seldom approach those folks about problems in other areas because, well, there's a lot they don't understand.
That's unfortunate. The experts didn't become smart because they were experts. They became experts because they were smart. And, smart folks have something to offer in a variety of areas. Besides, why would we want to limit our resources at the exact time when we need the best and brightest we can muster?
If you need any further encouragement to seek out good people wherever you find them to help change your awareness, perhaps it would help to know which great observer of human psychological behavior provided the quote
None other than Albert Einstein, a smart guy known more for physics and forgetting his phone number than for his grasp of human behavior; but, he certainly had insight about that, too.
The cup has a phrase imprinted on one face
Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.This may be my favorite quote. It has certainly kept my attention longer than any other favorite quote. I often refer to it when discussing a work situation; and, those of us in the know knowingly nod.
The quote applies equally to many endeavors. Who hasn't been in an unfamiliar situation, such as, oh, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and thought, "Isn't there a better way?" If we're so bold as to utter the question aloud, we're met with, "Well, there's a lot you don't understand." Clearly.
This is a primary reason why organizations invite outsiders inside to offer advice and even pay them for it. We call them consultants, but, really, they are observers who ask the question, "Isn't there a better way?" Because we invited them in, and because they are experts, and because we are paying them, we usually try to find one.
We often expect people who've spent long years developing expertise in a certain field to be able to raise our awareness and help us solve the problems we face in that field. But, we seldom approach those folks about problems in other areas because, well, there's a lot they don't understand.
That's unfortunate. The experts didn't become smart because they were experts. They became experts because they were smart. And, smart folks have something to offer in a variety of areas. Besides, why would we want to limit our resources at the exact time when we need the best and brightest we can muster?
If you need any further encouragement to seek out good people wherever you find them to help change your awareness, perhaps it would help to know which great observer of human psychological behavior provided the quote
Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.
None other than Albert Einstein, a smart guy known more for physics and forgetting his phone number than for his grasp of human behavior; but, he certainly had insight about that, too.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Vitality
9:05 AM | Posted by
Steve |
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Yesterday the Israeli election produced unexpected results. The Kadima Party won 28 seats, one more than the Likud Party which had, till then, a ruling coalition. Some Israeli sources called the unpredicted preference for Kadima a "victory for the vital center."
The phrase "vital center" has become popular. It's not exactly clear whether we mean "Lively Center" or "Necessary Center", but we don't often argue the point that the Center is vital. The Center is the segment that keeps the group from devolving to the point where it accomplishes nothing and the group itself becomes no longer vital. Crucially, we mean the middle ground the Center occupies and not the methods it employs or the people it puts forward. We mean the work of crafting effective solutions by taking good ideas from everywhere and anywhere.
Vital Center. It has a nice sound, and you can dance to it.
But, what would happen if the Left were suddenly to disappear? Certainly, the Center would lose a source of good ideas. Soon, the Center and the Right would vie for control, and a new Center would emerge that is as much Right as it is Center.
If the Center is vital, then that which keeps it in the middle is also vital. Therefore, along with the Vital Center, shouldn't we also say the Vital Left?
It's no stretch to make the same observance if the Right were suddenly to disappear. The Center would, again, lose a source of good ideas. The Center would be pulled to the Left and would no longer occupy its former ground. So, shouldn't we also say the Vital Right?
Now we have a conundrum. The Center, the Left, and the Right are all vital if we want to have as many good ideas as possible from which to create effective solutions to our problems. Too often, we focus on the methods and personalities of each segment, and then vilify the segment, much to the detriment of finding effective solutions.
While it's good fun to watch the next installment of "Vilifying the Vital", we would be better served to acknowledge that all are vital and take good ideas from everywhere and anywhere. We need them.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Instructions Included
2:56 PM | Posted by
Steve |
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From time to time I take advantage of a spin class at the gym. One arrives early, selects a stationary bicycle, adjusts it to fit, and begins to ride. I find, like most parts of life, I get more out of riding when I'm in a group. This is true in spin class, in particular, because each member tries to live up to the cues given by the instructor. "Add resistance." "Out of the saddle." "You should be nearly breathless." She's right.
Almost without fail, the instructor reminds us to make nice round circles with our feet. Of course, that's the only way feet can move when attached to the pedals. But, the point is to make a constant effort all the way around the pedal stroke, pushing over the top and down, and pulling under the bottom and up. And, if we trace the orbits of the balls of our feet, the only parts in contact with the pedals, they do make nice round circles but our heels make imperfect ones. We struggle to push at the right times and pull at the right times.
This morning I participated in a class that I don't usually, so I had an instructor I've never had. During one of the all-too-brief recovery periods, it occurred to me that our instructor had not once reminded us to make nice round circles with our feet. Then, it occurred to me that I didn't need to be reminded. Then, it occurred to me that no one should need to be reminded - the very word bicycle tells us that we are using a tool with circles and one that has a periodic aspect to its operation.
There are many similar items that include instructions for use directly in the name of the item - toothbrush, hairspray, garage door opener. There are also many that don't, such as "father". These, psychologists say, excite some memory or concept of "father" in our brains so that the word has no meaning apart from the image and characteristics implanted in our minds.
Psychologists also tell us that we can take advantage of the way our brains process information to create objects that require no instructions, either explicitly written or implied by their name. Such items have "demand characteristics" - the basic character of the item demands that we use them in the way they were intended.
To prove their point, the next time you approach a door with a large, flat, rectangular metal panel near one side try not to push on it to open the door. One is almost compelled to push on the panel. And, if you were to walk up to the door and saw the word "pull" engraved in the panel, you might still be standing there. This is so engrained, in fact, that there is a special curse we utter when the item doesn't work the way it tells us it is supposed to work. "What were they thinking?"
All of this flashed through my mind this morning during that all-too-brief recovery period. Then, I thought of the words "govern" and "congress" and the President's call for common sense last evening. I wonder if anyone else feels that the terms "govern" and "congress" no longer mean what their words tell us they mean.
"What are they thinking?"
Almost without fail, the instructor reminds us to make nice round circles with our feet. Of course, that's the only way feet can move when attached to the pedals. But, the point is to make a constant effort all the way around the pedal stroke, pushing over the top and down, and pulling under the bottom and up. And, if we trace the orbits of the balls of our feet, the only parts in contact with the pedals, they do make nice round circles but our heels make imperfect ones. We struggle to push at the right times and pull at the right times.
This morning I participated in a class that I don't usually, so I had an instructor I've never had. During one of the all-too-brief recovery periods, it occurred to me that our instructor had not once reminded us to make nice round circles with our feet. Then, it occurred to me that I didn't need to be reminded. Then, it occurred to me that no one should need to be reminded - the very word bicycle tells us that we are using a tool with circles and one that has a periodic aspect to its operation.
There are many similar items that include instructions for use directly in the name of the item - toothbrush, hairspray, garage door opener. There are also many that don't, such as "father". These, psychologists say, excite some memory or concept of "father" in our brains so that the word has no meaning apart from the image and characteristics implanted in our minds.
Psychologists also tell us that we can take advantage of the way our brains process information to create objects that require no instructions, either explicitly written or implied by their name. Such items have "demand characteristics" - the basic character of the item demands that we use them in the way they were intended.
To prove their point, the next time you approach a door with a large, flat, rectangular metal panel near one side try not to push on it to open the door. One is almost compelled to push on the panel. And, if you were to walk up to the door and saw the word "pull" engraved in the panel, you might still be standing there. This is so engrained, in fact, that there is a special curse we utter when the item doesn't work the way it tells us it is supposed to work. "What were they thinking?"
All of this flashed through my mind this morning during that all-too-brief recovery period. Then, I thought of the words "govern" and "congress" and the President's call for common sense last evening. I wonder if anyone else feels that the terms "govern" and "congress" no longer mean what their words tell us they mean.
"What are they thinking?"
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Ballet of the Possible
8:09 AM | Posted by
Steve |
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This morning at the gym I watched a man playing with a basketball by himself. He didn't look like a basketball player. In fact, he looked more like a football. Not a football player but a football - pointed at the ends and round in the middle.
I envied his ability to dribble the ball between his legs, a technique I've never mastered. By quickly raising his considerable body onto his toes, he made enough space for the ball to pass through his legs before his body lowered again. Then again. And again. The ballet of the possible.
The spell was broken when he shot the ball toward the basket. It was a missile that fell short of its goal by almost the length of his body. He retrieved the ball and shot again - another dart that passed under the rim, not by inches, but by feet. Over and over and over again I watched this man miss shot after shot after shot. Sometimes the ball fell well short, sometimes it hit the backboard so hard it ricocheted over his head, sometimes it struck the rim and shook the mounts. He was a caricature of a ball player, and I felt embarrassed for him.
Then I thought, what sort of confidence must he possess to be shooting a basketball so horribly in a gym where NBA players are known to play? He had no qualms about being bad; he just kept shooting and shooting and shooting, and occasionally dribbling between his legs. He was practicing to be better, occasionally reminding himself of what he had already achieved.
I have no doubt that one day he will master his shot just as he found a way to master the between the legs dribble. It won't look conventional, but it will work.
While watching him I listened to a 1964 speech by Malcolm X he titled "The Ballot or the Bullet." I know little of Malcolm except the small amount the mainstream media has offered to me over the years. Based on this recording, he was a gifted speaker and a visionary. He was also a strident separatist, advocating that the black community buy only from black merchants and encouraging black citizens to try the American government before the United Nations. In this speech, he felt change might never come, and, if it did come, it would arrive only through aggressive means, not through government action nor any group's participation in it - not through the ballot. The ballet of the impossible.
Having just returned from Washington, D. C. where I witnessed the inauguration of Barack Obama in person (joyful!), it occurred to me that there is a correlation between these three people - the ballplayer, the activist, and the President.
The activist felt change would never come. But, the two ballplayers, having nothing in common but confidence and belief, felt that not only would change come, but that they could help it come.
The Ballot over the Bullet. The Ballet of the Possible.
I envied his ability to dribble the ball between his legs, a technique I've never mastered. By quickly raising his considerable body onto his toes, he made enough space for the ball to pass through his legs before his body lowered again. Then again. And again. The ballet of the possible.
The spell was broken when he shot the ball toward the basket. It was a missile that fell short of its goal by almost the length of his body. He retrieved the ball and shot again - another dart that passed under the rim, not by inches, but by feet. Over and over and over again I watched this man miss shot after shot after shot. Sometimes the ball fell well short, sometimes it hit the backboard so hard it ricocheted over his head, sometimes it struck the rim and shook the mounts. He was a caricature of a ball player, and I felt embarrassed for him.
Then I thought, what sort of confidence must he possess to be shooting a basketball so horribly in a gym where NBA players are known to play? He had no qualms about being bad; he just kept shooting and shooting and shooting, and occasionally dribbling between his legs. He was practicing to be better, occasionally reminding himself of what he had already achieved.
I have no doubt that one day he will master his shot just as he found a way to master the between the legs dribble. It won't look conventional, but it will work.
While watching him I listened to a 1964 speech by Malcolm X he titled "The Ballot or the Bullet." I know little of Malcolm except the small amount the mainstream media has offered to me over the years. Based on this recording, he was a gifted speaker and a visionary. He was also a strident separatist, advocating that the black community buy only from black merchants and encouraging black citizens to try the American government before the United Nations. In this speech, he felt change might never come, and, if it did come, it would arrive only through aggressive means, not through government action nor any group's participation in it - not through the ballot. The ballet of the impossible.
Having just returned from Washington, D. C. where I witnessed the inauguration of Barack Obama in person (joyful!), it occurred to me that there is a correlation between these three people - the ballplayer, the activist, and the President.
The activist felt change would never come. But, the two ballplayers, having nothing in common but confidence and belief, felt that not only would change come, but that they could help it come.
The Ballot over the Bullet. The Ballet of the Possible.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
My Money is Your Money
11:19 AM | Posted by
Steve |
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My morning podcast is a wonderful thing. Last year I stepped into the iPod world, finally convinced to do so by iTunes U (I like music but don't make time to listen to it). Now, when I manage to make it to the gym, I like to listen to lectures, interviews, and essays.
This morning I listened to a podcast that begins this way:
This morning I listened to a podcast that begins this way:
Since 1980, adjusted for inflation the total national income of the U.S. rose by 70%. During that time 90% of Americans had an income growth of 0%.
Well, it's no secret I suppose that the podcast is about taxes, but, believe it or not, it isn't much about income taxes.
I plan to make the book one of my airplane companions. I've not read it, so I can't endorse it wholeheartedly.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Sustainability of Sustenance
10:43 AM | Posted by
Steve |
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At the gym this morning I listened to an interesting podcast on food and how we get it.
Of the many interesting facts, I'll stick with two.
I invite you to listen here or see The Omnivore's Delimma. Or, maybe you want to read more about the author.
Of the many interesting facts, I'll stick with two.
- About the middle of the 20th century we used 1 calorie of energy to get 2 calories of food. Today, we use 10 calories of energy to get 1 calorie of food.
- Recently, the FDA approved a process to raise chickens in the U.S., harvest them, ship whole fozen chickens to China where they are cut into pieces, and ship them back to the U.S. for sale and consumption.
I invite you to listen here or see The Omnivore's Delimma. Or, maybe you want to read more about the author.
Labels:
farming,
food,
free range,
local produce,
omnivore,
pasture fed,
sustainability
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- Sometimes you think I'm daydreaming, but I'm actually thinking about something. No, really. Honestly. Sometimes.