Recently had the chance to go see Arsenic and Lace at the Guthrie and was reminded of one of the great things about this city is its amazing cultural performing art centers.
That said I would like to comment on "Dressing for a Play"
I heard several comments on this topic and find it kind of interesting. Apparently you have to dress for the theater. Which means suit tie and or dress. I think people might have this a little confused. I think you should dress for a play the same way the culture of the day expects you to dress for a night out. I mean if we want to get all technical on this topic when ever we dress for plays we should be putting on out formal togas since that is how the people who invented the concept of our modern theater dressed.
But at some point someone said you know I think togas are a little dated maybe we should wear bloomers or what ever came next.
I think we should be at that point in our own culture where we can say you know jeans and a button down are ok..and stop with all the pretentiousness.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Friday, May 06, 2011
Listen to Your Body?
In the age of the biggest loser I think this is very interesting advice. Listen to your body.
When listening to my body I hear it crying out for a cheese cake, for a bag or pretzels and BBQ chips, for a bottle of wine washed down with a few vodka red bulls. It doesn’t say just have a few chips, it says how come you only got one bag? My body isn’t crying out to hit the gym it wants to nap on the couch and watch Seinfeld episodes.
I don’t want to listen to my body I want take his dumbass outside and beat the shit out of him for being stupid.
Better advice for large people…everything you have done before do the opposite.
When listening to my body I hear it crying out for a cheese cake, for a bag or pretzels and BBQ chips, for a bottle of wine washed down with a few vodka red bulls. It doesn’t say just have a few chips, it says how come you only got one bag? My body isn’t crying out to hit the gym it wants to nap on the couch and watch Seinfeld episodes.
I don’t want to listen to my body I want take his dumbass outside and beat the shit out of him for being stupid.
Better advice for large people…everything you have done before do the opposite.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Innovating Our Way Out
One of the assumptions that I have always held is that America is a land of opportunity and that with hard work and innovation we will be able to overcome any obstacle and maintain a sense of global dominance as long as we invest in research and development at a greater scale than anyone else. I mean we have a 100 year head start right? In a sobering change of view I no longer see that as the case.
1.)A head start for innovation is becoming more and more meaningless as people can catch up at a much more rapid pace.
2.)If I take some technical companies like say 3M or Medtronic or name a few other whose budget might be 50% RD and still can’t come up with very many new products each year let alone products that are considered innovations. Then the tiny percentage of our GDP that we allocate to RD is probably nowhere close where it should be.
3.)We have so much legislation and red tape and political and procedural bureaucracy that even if someone invented a product it would take a life time to realize it. Say for example today I invented an magic engine that could make its own energy, that no longer required gas, that could power a hover craft that could travel from Minneapolis to London in 5 seconds. This invention would be amazing. It would reduce carbon emissions since we no longer need oil, it would save time, the environment, it would reduce prices since this engine could also make electricity without coal all of a sudden you could power the entire world for pennies a day. Until you realize that the government says your patent can not do any of these things since it is matter of national security. Then after 20 years the oil, car manufacture, coal lobby bog your approval bill down in appropriations committees, you cannot get approval from them to fly the things until they have been studied for environmental impacts for 20 years, pass zoning ordinances, get approval from the TSA etc and all of a sudden you realize that while we are pegging the hopes of our prosperous future on innovation there is a million people for every one innovator that have a vested interest in keeping things just the way they are and unfortunately that place we are is on the declining decent of a aging empire.
1.)A head start for innovation is becoming more and more meaningless as people can catch up at a much more rapid pace.
2.)If I take some technical companies like say 3M or Medtronic or name a few other whose budget might be 50% RD and still can’t come up with very many new products each year let alone products that are considered innovations. Then the tiny percentage of our GDP that we allocate to RD is probably nowhere close where it should be.
3.)We have so much legislation and red tape and political and procedural bureaucracy that even if someone invented a product it would take a life time to realize it. Say for example today I invented an magic engine that could make its own energy, that no longer required gas, that could power a hover craft that could travel from Minneapolis to London in 5 seconds. This invention would be amazing. It would reduce carbon emissions since we no longer need oil, it would save time, the environment, it would reduce prices since this engine could also make electricity without coal all of a sudden you could power the entire world for pennies a day. Until you realize that the government says your patent can not do any of these things since it is matter of national security. Then after 20 years the oil, car manufacture, coal lobby bog your approval bill down in appropriations committees, you cannot get approval from them to fly the things until they have been studied for environmental impacts for 20 years, pass zoning ordinances, get approval from the TSA etc and all of a sudden you realize that while we are pegging the hopes of our prosperous future on innovation there is a million people for every one innovator that have a vested interest in keeping things just the way they are and unfortunately that place we are is on the declining decent of a aging empire.
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Hubris
Hubris (hjuːbrɪs/), means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power.
It is easy to get a full head. To feel like everything you have is earned and destined to be.
I also am becoming increasingly aware of how fatal that mind set really is.
I would like to use the word luck here not as a superstitious force that can somehow be conjured or manipulated but in the sense that sometimes you are randomly at the right place at the right time and favorable events manifest themselves in a way that is advantages to you or the opposite.
I have always been a huge believer in hard work, the harder you work the more successful you will be on average and nothing is changed here but even in this mindset there is an element of chance that has to be acknowledged.
I could work 80 hours a week for 60 years on a cure for cancer and not find it or have someone else find it a week before I could, making them successful and me not. That is not to say you should not work hard and be diligent but just that in the real world there are many variables outside of your control at work in the outcome.
I think it is healthy to recognize these variables. It is humbling. It is helpful
In this sense this is my combating of hubris. It is my reminder to myself of this random chance, which luck has played a role in where I am. That the random chance that has brought me to this point should be celebrated as well as the effort.
When I recognize this fact I am more grateful. I empathize more with others who might not have had the lucky breaks. It also makes me aware that the lucky breaks will go the other way at times and I should plan for contingencies.
It is easy to get a full head. To feel like everything you have is earned and destined to be.
I also am becoming increasingly aware of how fatal that mind set really is.
I would like to use the word luck here not as a superstitious force that can somehow be conjured or manipulated but in the sense that sometimes you are randomly at the right place at the right time and favorable events manifest themselves in a way that is advantages to you or the opposite.
I have always been a huge believer in hard work, the harder you work the more successful you will be on average and nothing is changed here but even in this mindset there is an element of chance that has to be acknowledged.
I could work 80 hours a week for 60 years on a cure for cancer and not find it or have someone else find it a week before I could, making them successful and me not. That is not to say you should not work hard and be diligent but just that in the real world there are many variables outside of your control at work in the outcome.
I think it is healthy to recognize these variables. It is humbling. It is helpful
In this sense this is my combating of hubris. It is my reminder to myself of this random chance, which luck has played a role in where I am. That the random chance that has brought me to this point should be celebrated as well as the effort.
When I recognize this fact I am more grateful. I empathize more with others who might not have had the lucky breaks. It also makes me aware that the lucky breaks will go the other way at times and I should plan for contingencies.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Interesting Perspective on Time
Interesting Perspective on Time
This is an exert from an interview with Joshua Foer the Author of Moon walking With Einstein (I just ordered it and it is in my queue to be read in July so I will let you know how it is)
This exchange stuck with me and thought I would pass it on.
Q: What is the connection between memory and our sense of time?
A: As we get older, life seems to fly by faster and faster. That's because we structure our experience of time around memories. We remember events in relation to other events. But as we get older, and our experiences become less unique, our memories can blend together. If yesterday's lunch is indistinguishable from the one you ate the day before, it'll end up being forgotten. That's why it's so hard to remember meals. In the same way, if you're not doing things that are unique and different and memorable, this year can come to resemble the last, and end up being just as forgettable as yesterday's lunch. That's why it's so important to pack your life with interesting experiences that make your life memorable, and provide a texture to the passage of time.
So time begins to fly the older we get because we are not doing enough new things. The routine actually makes our lives fly by quicker. It one of the reasons I try to incorporate new experiences, places, etc into my daily grind. Maybe I need to do more.
If you want your life to slow down do something new.
This is an exert from an interview with Joshua Foer the Author of Moon walking With Einstein (I just ordered it and it is in my queue to be read in July so I will let you know how it is)
This exchange stuck with me and thought I would pass it on.
Q: What is the connection between memory and our sense of time?
A: As we get older, life seems to fly by faster and faster. That's because we structure our experience of time around memories. We remember events in relation to other events. But as we get older, and our experiences become less unique, our memories can blend together. If yesterday's lunch is indistinguishable from the one you ate the day before, it'll end up being forgotten. That's why it's so hard to remember meals. In the same way, if you're not doing things that are unique and different and memorable, this year can come to resemble the last, and end up being just as forgettable as yesterday's lunch. That's why it's so important to pack your life with interesting experiences that make your life memorable, and provide a texture to the passage of time.
So time begins to fly the older we get because we are not doing enough new things. The routine actually makes our lives fly by quicker. It one of the reasons I try to incorporate new experiences, places, etc into my daily grind. Maybe I need to do more.
If you want your life to slow down do something new.
Monday, May 02, 2011
Civil Union
The republicans in my great state of Minnesota ran a relentless campaign this past election on primary notion of reigning in Government spending that apparently had gone awry.
Their first act of legislation?
Fix the budget?
Put a vote to the people to constitutionally ban gay marriage.
With all the problems we have going on in our fair state this non-issue is where you start?
It makes me sick.
Let everybody get a civil union. Take love out of it, take god out of it.
Every man and woman should be allowed to form a union with another person for the purposes of handling medical issues if they become ill, managing their estates if they die, looking after their child if something happens to them.
Even if I am not gay I should have the right to appoint who ever I want man or woman to this role period.
To do otherwise is a violation of the constitution and the separation of church and state. If you confer these rights to people for a religious reason and refuse to confer these rights to people outside of that religion you are in violation of the 14th Amendment and its Equal Protection Clause.
Apparently when you were grand standing on the floor and reciting the constitution out loud you failed to understand the meaning.
Their first act of legislation?
Fix the budget?
Put a vote to the people to constitutionally ban gay marriage.
With all the problems we have going on in our fair state this non-issue is where you start?
It makes me sick.
Let everybody get a civil union. Take love out of it, take god out of it.
Every man and woman should be allowed to form a union with another person for the purposes of handling medical issues if they become ill, managing their estates if they die, looking after their child if something happens to them.
Even if I am not gay I should have the right to appoint who ever I want man or woman to this role period.
To do otherwise is a violation of the constitution and the separation of church and state. If you confer these rights to people for a religious reason and refuse to confer these rights to people outside of that religion you are in violation of the 14th Amendment and its Equal Protection Clause.
Apparently when you were grand standing on the floor and reciting the constitution out loud you failed to understand the meaning.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Gas Prices
I heard this on my local news channel a republic representative says that if gas hits $5 a gallon Obama will loss the White House in 2012.
1.)Interfering in capital markets to fix or set prices is the opposite of free capital market system which I thought was a republic core value? It is actually a form of communism something that they are often accusing others of.
2.)Anyone who is telling you that drilling oil beginning right now will have any impact on what you will pay for gas this summer is lying to you.
3.)The president does not have control of gas prices. This is basic economics. Oil is a scarce resource. When the supply chain is threatened by things like civil wars in Libya, Africa, Iraq etc the supply and pipeline of gas gets more expensive. If anything this flux of prices should cause more people to support the president and his renewable energy programs to avoid these price swings in the future.
1.)Interfering in capital markets to fix or set prices is the opposite of free capital market system which I thought was a republic core value? It is actually a form of communism something that they are often accusing others of.
2.)Anyone who is telling you that drilling oil beginning right now will have any impact on what you will pay for gas this summer is lying to you.
3.)The president does not have control of gas prices. This is basic economics. Oil is a scarce resource. When the supply chain is threatened by things like civil wars in Libya, Africa, Iraq etc the supply and pipeline of gas gets more expensive. If anything this flux of prices should cause more people to support the president and his renewable energy programs to avoid these price swings in the future.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Be That Guy – Friday Update – Talk Really Loud on the Phone
In an effort to save all of us from the over indulgence of worrying about everybody’s feelings all the time and testing the bounds of the long held assumption that nice guys finish last I am giving everybody permission to be an asshole, tool box douche once a week.
This weekend’s challenge - Loud Talking in confined spaces.
Talk on your phone at a tone just shy of shouting. Pepper the conversation with terms like slut, construction costs, forecasting meeting, how much money you are going to make and whose ass you want on the line. Perfect spaces to do this are elevators, line for coffee in the morning, while you are going to the bathroom, etc.
People surprisingly think that the louder people talk on their phones in public the more powerful they are at their line of work.
Things not to do…..
1.) Never switch to an inside voice…you are that guy remember
2.) Don’t put someone on hold or change your conversation as you are paying for an item.
This weekend’s challenge - Loud Talking in confined spaces.
Talk on your phone at a tone just shy of shouting. Pepper the conversation with terms like slut, construction costs, forecasting meeting, how much money you are going to make and whose ass you want on the line. Perfect spaces to do this are elevators, line for coffee in the morning, while you are going to the bathroom, etc.
People surprisingly think that the louder people talk on their phones in public the more powerful they are at their line of work.
Things not to do…..
1.) Never switch to an inside voice…you are that guy remember
2.) Don’t put someone on hold or change your conversation as you are paying for an item.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
My Love State Senate
The people of Minnesota voted a bunch of people into office to fix the deficit and trim government.
What do they do as the first agenda point?
"Senate approves voter ID bill" Great now you need a valid id to vote just like before except it is going to add more expense to the voting process which is already good.
That is right they passed a bill that will require more government and do nothing!!!
Next on their agenda....Banning Gay Marriage.
Don’t we have real problems we could be fixing? Like Potholes or the 5 billion dollar deficit?
I think politicians should actually be public servants…and pick up trash, fix potholes, walk around at night with a flash light do something constructive. How about a community garden ? I am afraid if we don’t give them something to do they are going to come up with more and more useless stuff in their free time.
What do they do as the first agenda point?
"Senate approves voter ID bill" Great now you need a valid id to vote just like before except it is going to add more expense to the voting process which is already good.
That is right they passed a bill that will require more government and do nothing!!!
Next on their agenda....Banning Gay Marriage.
Don’t we have real problems we could be fixing? Like Potholes or the 5 billion dollar deficit?
I think politicians should actually be public servants…and pick up trash, fix potholes, walk around at night with a flash light do something constructive. How about a community garden ? I am afraid if we don’t give them something to do they are going to come up with more and more useless stuff in their free time.
Shampoo – Conditioner = Bald?
I have heard this from two different sources lately and I wonder if there is any validity to this case. The joke is that you never see a bald homeless person.
The logic here is that your hair produces natural oils that help nourish the roots and protect it against the environment. When you shampoo you strip your hair of these natural oils so harshly that you have to buy another product called conditioner to put the oils back into your hair.
The hypothesis is that homeless people don’t loss their hair because they don’t shower often.
That men lose their hair more often than women because they are more likely to shampoo everyday and not put conditioner in their hair.
What if going bald had just as much to do with whether you used conditioner as it does with your genes.
Can you imagine the class action lawsuit against shampoo companies?
What if baldness can be reduced just by washing your hair less and always using conditioner?
The logic here is that your hair produces natural oils that help nourish the roots and protect it against the environment. When you shampoo you strip your hair of these natural oils so harshly that you have to buy another product called conditioner to put the oils back into your hair.
The hypothesis is that homeless people don’t loss their hair because they don’t shower often.
That men lose their hair more often than women because they are more likely to shampoo everyday and not put conditioner in their hair.
What if going bald had just as much to do with whether you used conditioner as it does with your genes.
Can you imagine the class action lawsuit against shampoo companies?
What if baldness can be reduced just by washing your hair less and always using conditioner?
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