New Holiday Maybe?!?
The Russian’s have a holiday that us in the West maybe should take on (Conception Day)! Interesting is the idea of getting prizes and such nine months later.
Tags: conception, sex, holiday
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Entries Tagged as 'SysVal'
Rats!
I never thought that I would have an issue with rats. For a couple of weeks, Scruffy (my Cairn terrrier) has gone nuts and has alternately sat staring at various corners in the house. I was in denial, I am doing some work on my computer in the living room last night and I see a couple of rats essentially hanging out at Sakima’s dog dish. The scatter when they see me (at least two of them). THEN this morning, they come out again, and they pretty much could care less if I am there or not. If I entered the kitchen they would run but making noise did nothing.
Well, I called Terminix and set an appointment. Called Animal Control to see what their thoughts were. And off to Home Depot to see what might be the short term options. I was hoping to get sometype of humane trap where they could be "released into the wild" after capture. No such luck. Humane pretty much means quick death. Poison was out of the question (kids, pets and uncertain burial location). Ended up with something that said it was considered to be ‘humane’ because it electrocutes the little critters, and they supposedly do not suffer.
I have mixed feelings about all this. The decision that one never thought they would have to face. Where is Simba in all of this? The cat is clueless!
Eating their young…
Recently I observed that I have seen a few times. It is or seems to be a tendency for women to be tough on one another. It is like trying to ‘undo’ or remove someone that might otherwise be an ally. I find it interesting and disturbing at the same time.
Women are often the more relational, yet this type of behavior seems to be the antithesis. In this particular case, these were some of the supervisors discussing the potential of a new manager. Only one of the supervisors is male (not in on the discussion). What struck me as odd, is that of the two candidates they were discussing — I believe the woman was more qualified. But they were suggesting that they should not hire her unless she had worked there a while. They were creating a ‘higher’ bar for the woman, and making excuses as to why the other candidate would likely be fine even though the experience was not as good of a fit.
It is very interesting…
Leadership in the Napa Wineries
You would think that wineries that are as progressive in their treatment of grapes might also be progressive in other areas. The more stories that I hear and experiences that I have seems quite the contrary. Wineries, even the larger ones often do not have as many working for them as one might think. You add in laws about how vineyards and wineries of certain sizes need to keep wine making and grape growing separated, and silos get created. Silos such as vineyard, marketing admin and tasting rooms seem to keep everything separate.
It seems that management is the key. It is not about creating an environment for good management to occur (leadership), it is about managing situations. This makes for a very reactionary situation. I have not seen a ton of wineries’ leadership approach, but enough to know that it rare that they are proactive rather than reactive.
Tags: leadership, management, wineries
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Evil is…
I was just perusing Matt Mower‘s thoughts on Google‘s motto of "Do no evil". What is the nature of evil? Does it exist? Or is it made? Many branches of Christianity believe that satan is constantly trying to take you down. This suggests that evil exists unto itself. Is evil, simply the absence of good? I know it is possible to ‘train’ someone to be bad. But can you be born evil? The "Omen" movies would have you think so I am not so sure. Also, whose is deciding that something is evil? Foucault would have us believe that it is those that are in a position of power in a given moment and given context that define what is evil. Cigarette companies are ‘evil’ in the current time, but were not thought so in the 1950s.
Tags: google, evil, religion, nature, nurture, philosophy
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New Beginnings and Transformation
My theme or vision of the Phoenix needs to start changing. I need to do more than rise from the ashes, but move towards transformation. While I am not one to get my philosophical thinking from the rapper Eminem, I am finding that I need to do more than just keep reaching for the brass ring and take maybe a stronger two prong approach.
In the movie, 8 Mile, Eminem’s character, "Rabbit", asks when do you stop living up here and start living down there. Essentially saying that if you want to reach your dreams that you may need to start at a lower level and make your own opportunities. I am working at a winery here in Napa Valley. It is definitely not at the level that I tend to envision myself (someone with solid tech skills and a Ph.D.), but it is remarkably useful in starting a build up of self-esteem. Now all my co-workers are not virtual.
I am going to focus more on getting Metaxio up and running, and partnering with key people. I have about 8 or so started blog articles that I need to finish. Well, onward and upward.
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Meaning and Leadership
I was thinking the other day about how there are so many approaches to leadership. I think the key is for the leader to get some type of meaning from their personal leadership environment. The next is how others get meaning from their interaction. A good leader helps others get more meaning from their experiences. If there is no direct personal connection, I think is done by creating an environment where people are most likely to be successful in the organization while at the same time finding the experience most meaningful. Just some thoughts … I need to ponder on this a little more. The notion here does not seem to be quite coming together.
Tags: meaning, leadership, values, personal, environment
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The ‘God’ Particle
At the risk of offending the people, I find this article from the Guardian (or maybe more accurately the title) intriguing even though it does not really look at the issue of a ‘God’ particle, per se. But the idea of trying to recreate the conditions of the Big Bang, and seeing it as a search for a ‘God’ particle is thought provoking.
I have been seeing some interviews, articles, etc. from physicists that wonder/hope that it will reconcile some faith issue for themselves (and possibly for others). Not that science can help explain faith so much as where science leaves off and faith begins (that does not do justice to thinking but hopefully you get the idea).
Something or somebody had to get the whole thing (Big Bang) rolling….
Tags: faith, religion, big bang, God, science, physics
Death of the Renaissance Man
It seems to be that there is the death of the Renaissance Man. If you are skilled in many areas it seems much harder to get a job these days. Searching through a job board does not do it. Unless you get so vague that you get thousands of items to mull your way through.
Matt Mower and I have been discussing this lately, and it is getting quite frustrating — Maybe we should jump to the Startup we have been talking about (Metaxio).
We are two great guys that seem to be languishing away to oblivion.
Tags: jobs, careers, startups, renaissance, resume, matt mower, docmartin, martin hall, metaxio
Places I have Lived
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Canada:
- London, Ontario, Canada
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Mexico and Central America
- San Jose, Costa Rica
- Cueranavaca & Mexico City, Mexico
- San Salvador, El Salvador
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US:
- Pomona (Los Angeles), CA
- Crown Point, IN
- Indianapolis, IN
- Brown County (Unionville), IN
- Santa Clara, CA
- San Jose, CA
- Napa, CA
Tags: central, south, america, us, san jose, costa rica, el salvador, san salavador, mexico city, london, ontario, california, napa, santa clara, indianapolis, travel, live