do your homework

September 30, 2014 6:18 AM , Leave a Comment ,

I find that when people complain about things at work going badly or not turning out the way that they expected it’s due to a lack of focus on fundamentals.

One production guy that used to work with me always complained that he was constantly behind and that he didn’t understand certain procedures or how the rest of the company did things.  I pointed out that he never took the time to do the extra reading and work necessary to keep up.

No matter what industry or specialty you are in one thing that is for certain is that things won’t stay the same.  Someone, somewhere will introduce changes, improvements, or just make what you do obsolete.  If you don’t put in the extra effort you will find yourself slowly losing ground till one day you’re totally out of touch.

Most people don’t get to that point of course but they do slack off from time to time and find themselves behind the curve.

Not only does this apply to work and business but I have found that it applies equally will to other facets of life such as books, movies, music, and culture in general.

We should all strive to keep up to date and spend extra time keeping up.  Now obviously everyone is different and we all have different priorities so you may want to keep an eye on one thing or a few things and let others slip from time to time.

Cancel one night out with friends or a night watching TV and catch up on your vital reading, research something you’re not too good at and see how others are doing it.  Find out something about current trends and what’s going on.  If you’re an artist or an athlete or do something physical take some time off and work on some of the fundamentals of your craft.

The main point is though that life doesn’t sit still and neither should you.

Posted in: business, standards and practices, work

Conspiracies V

September 28, 2014 6:38 AM , Leave a Comment ,

In the US big business has always been a magnet for conspiracy theories.  In Europe it’s usually the nobility or the landed gentry that gets blamed for the oppression of the common man but as we had no system of nobility the next best thing we had were faceless and distant corporations always either seeking to rob the poor or steal their land.  I could say that for the most part that business doesn’t deserve this reputation but then again there have been some glaring examples of misbehavior on their part.  I will look at 3 such verifiable conspiracies.

 

In the 19th century the Old West was opening up and there was seemingly an unending amount of territory available to anyone who cared to settle and work the land.  Of course this was not true and soon people began to fight over the most desirable pieces of territory.  One such fight took place in Wyoming.

The open grazing laws in the state meant that various cattle herds would mix together at times and some people used this as an excuse to take unbranded cattle as their own.  A powerful and influential group of cattle breeders took on a smaller less organized group of breeders in what would be known as the Johnson County war.  The Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA) took on a loosely affiliated group of smaller ranchers and hired groups of thugs to kill and intimidate what they called rustlers.

At the height of the tensions a party of 50 men (mostly hired guns from Texas) from the WSGA “invaded” Johnson County with a secret list of alleged rustlers with the intent of murdering these men.  The party took care to cut the telegraph lines and to sneak into the county to not alarm the locals.

Although successful at first, they were eventually met by a larger party of County citizens numbering around 200 that cornered and then besieged them at the TA ranch.  One expedition member escaped the ranch and telegraphed the Governor who in turn contacted the local US Cavalry commander to apprehend and arrest the WSGA expedition. In reality they were rescuing them.

A long trial ensued and was held in Johnson County.  Most of the hired guns left Wyoming.  The few expedition members that did face prosecution had the benefit of expert legal counsel, paid for by the WSGA, that endlessly stalled the trial until the County could no longer support the cost of continued prosecution and all charges were dropped.

 

Now we enter the 20th century and things get extremely vague.  In 1929 there was a worldwide economic collapse known as the great depression.  Millions were out of work and starving.  Three political-economic theories competed for dominance; capitalism, fascism, and communism.

In the US president Roosevelt had been elected on a platform to rescue the nation from the depression.  He chose a left leaning policy of supplying relief to the poor.

In higher circles this was looked upon as a direct threat to the upper class and the capitalist system.  Men such as Henry Ford, Irene Du Pont, and others thought that the great depression was proof that the democratic process was a failure and that a small group of men or a single leader should lead the nation.  They looked at examples from Germany and Italy as models for them.

Gerald Macguire, a wall street investor, approached a former US Marine General called Smedley Butler with a proposition.

Butler had been a World War I hero and had been awarded the Medal of Honor twice.  He was also the unofficial leader of the “bonus army”.  The bonus army had been a group of veterans that had marched on Washington DC seeking a monetary bonus that the government had promised them for their service.  Instead the government turned the regular Army loose on them and several people were injured or killed.  This action made Butler very bitter and vocal about his opposition to the government.

Macguire intimated that he represented some powerful business leaders.  His idea was to have Butler march on Washington with the bonus army.  The veterans would receive arms from the group of business men and take over the capital.  They would then install Roosevelt as a figurehead president and run things behind the scenes.

Butler however was not interested.  Rather than lead the bonus army, Butler took the plot to the US congress in late 1934 and began telling the story in public.  Finally a congressional committee was convened to review the matter behind closed doors.

Portions of the committee hearings were leaked.  The story was carried in the New York Times and was ridiculed.  Congress took less than 4 days to research it and concluded that although some discussions took place that nothing could be proven or warranted more investigation.  Large parts of General Butler’s testimony were “lost” and to this day cannot be found.

It is interesting to note that most major newspapers at the time were privately owned and the owners were friends with some of those associated in the plot. Also of interest is that Gerald Macguire died in 1935 of “natural causes” at the age of 37.

Butler became an ardent critic of capitalism and the “banana wars”.

 

In 1918  statistician for an insurance company noted the number of deaths among workers that dealt with asbestos and reported this to the government.  In the 1930s the primary manufacturer of Asbestos in the US had this and other reports rewritten to minimize the effects that asbestos had on health.

Internal memos written in the 1940s within the company showed that upper management had direct knowledge of the health risks associated with asbestos but chose to suppress all stories and studies relating to this.

In the 1950s the company used its influence to rewrite safety warnings issued by government agencies about its product.

Finally in the late 1980s studies run by the medical industry show a link between asbestos and lung cancers.  In 1999 a Florida jury finally finds that the company willfully tried to suppress evidence concerning asbestos safety.

 

As I said before, the majority of businesses in the US operate in a manner that is both ethical and fair and for the most part they are a benefit to society but when they decide to skirt the law or even break it, they can cause fearful damage to the average individual.

Posted in: life in general, myths

rhythms of business

September 26, 2014 6:15 AM , Leave a Comment ,

Every aspect of life has rhythms and cycles that are evident if you think about them.  Even business has these cycles that run throughout the year and throughout the life cycle of a project.  The savvy individual will learn to follow and interpret these signs much like a hunter seek out and follow a herd of animals looking to pick off their own fair share.

This time of year is my favorite for more reasons than the cooling weather and colorful leaves.  End of the year budget spending.  That special moment when a department or project has excess funds and needs to spend them before the fiscal year ends.  Pet projects and extras are purchased and possible future work is arranged.  It’s something that comes round every year round this time.  Sales folk like me wait with bated breath hoping some big corporations have something left over.

Timing is crucial.  You don’t want to start pestering too early and become a nuisance but it is crucial that you are among the first to approach them. Keeping your ear to the ground and communicating with their personnel is vital.  Not just to see what projects are going that directly affect you but other projects that they are doing.  Maybe you can suggest some solutions that don’t involve you but benefit them.  Evolve that relationship.

Customize your pitch to match their needs.  Don’t just come out with a cookie cutter approach.  Ask questions and refine your product or service to meet their needs and most important to meet their budget.  You may not score a big victory but a small project now may lead to something big.

Work with your team.  It doesn’t matter who scores the contract as long as all your company benefits.

Be gracious if it doesn’t work out.  Maybe not this time but surely next time.  If however you’re not gracious then there may not be a next time.  Above all things, think of the relationship.

Remember this is not a singular event or just something that happens once.  Next year the same thing will happen and you want to lay the ground work for future success.

Posted in: business, plans, sales

Dune – book review

September 24, 2014 6:26 AM , Leave a Comment ,

[Author’s note – I’ve been wanting to write this for a while (in fact since watching Alejandro Jodorowski’s Dune documentary) but it’s a huge post as you will soon see and I’ve had to piece this together over several weeks.  This will be a review of the book Dune and there will also be a short discussion about the 1980s movie Dune at the end.  I am going to start a new review category of classic sci-fi books.  Possibly one per month.  We’ll see how this goes.  Anyways, as always, spoilers from here on out so if you don’t want to know, stop reading.]

 

 

I first came across Dune in my brother’s personal book collection back in the 1980s.  I remember my first impression that this was a literal brick of paper and that no one could read all of that.  Indeed at nearly 800 pages in length and with an appendix of more than 100 pages it is more than a daunting challenge.

However Frank Herbert’s writing style is fairly easy and the only challenge I found was keeping all the esoteric terminology straight in my mind. Once you do keep it straight it turns out to be a fairly straightforward read.

I think I will begin this with a little preface on the story’s background and an explanation of some of the key concepts.

The story takes places in the distant future (the year 10191) and humanity has spread to every corner of the universe.  This exodus was made possible through the use of “space folding”, a technique that allowed instantaneous travel between different parts of the universe.  Although possible it was also dangerous as many ships became lost. This was mitigated by the use of artificial intelligence computers.

Over time these artificial intelligence computers became a part of all aspects of human life.  Humans grew lazy and dependent on these computers.  The machines finally began to rule humanity.  A great revolt ensued (the Butlerian Jihad) and the machine overlords were cast down.  A new feudal order was established with several key families elevated to the status of nobility.

Artificial intelligence was banned and humans were forced to develop their minds to do the calculations required for interstellar travel.  This was accomplished in part with the use of mind altering substances discovered on other planets.

A word on mind altering substances (drugs) and sci-fi writers of the mid 20th century.  Frank Herbert drew upon the speculation of scientific researchers of what might be possible to accomplish by using mind altering substances.

This speculation stemmed from research carried out in the late 19th and early 20th century by researchers like Sigmund Freud who believed that drugs like opium and cocaine would help relax mental inhibitions and allow the mind to have full command of its faculties.  What he found to his horror was that these substances were very addictive and could inflict psychological and physiological damage in untutored hands.  Freud himself later denounced the use of these substances but some of his disciples continued on the research.

In the middle of the 20th century writers like Herbert turned to this research as well as studies delving into eastern meditative practices and the latest research in western medicine and concluded that humans had not yet reached their full developmental potential and that with the proper regimen that humans could in fact become super humans.  In this spirit Herbert introduces the notional spice Melange, known simply as spice.

Spice is only found on a desert planet called Arrakis.  A planet without water and plagued by giant underground worms that attack anything that moved.  At first spice was found to extend life and promote health but it was later learned that it could also expand consciousness and allow the mind greater flexibility and latitude.  These characteristics allowed humans to create living human computers that could make space travel safe.  Due to this, spice has become the most valuable commodity in the universe.  Those that control the spice have great economic as well as political power.

All the mental training schools use spice.  Three of these mental training schools are the Spacing guild, the Mentats, and the Bene Gesserit sisterhood.  The spacing guild concerns itself with the mental calculations needed for space travel.  The Mentats are humans trained to do all manner of mental calculations and have perfect memory.  The Bene Gesserit sisterhood use spice to develop their bodies and minds.

The Bene Gesserits believed that it might be possible to create a supreme being (called the Kwizatz Haderach) by the careful manipulation of royal bloodlines.  They would then control this being and through him control the universe.  To that end the Bene Gesserits made themselves available to the royal houses as concubines and would act as advisers to the royal houses and subtly manipulate the politics of the empire over millennia.

So, the story begins as the royal lady Jessica (a Bene Gesserit and concubine to Duke Leto Atreides) receives Reverend Mother Superior Helen Gaius Mohiam.  The reverend mother is cross with Jessica due to the fact that she had a son and had been ordered to only bear a daughter to Duke Leto.  The Bene Gesserit plan was to marry an Atreides daughter to a Harkonnen (The enemies of the Atreides) son and move their overall plan forward.  Jessica had put this plan in jeopardy by having a son.

The mother superior had arrived to test Jessica’s son, Paul, to see if he could serve the sisterhood.  Although rare some men also served the Bene Gesserits.  She finds that Paul has excellent physical and mental control and admits he may not be a waste after all.

Paul has had the benefit not only of his mother’s Bene Gesserit training but that of Thufir Hawat, the duke’s Mentat adviser, Gurney Halleck, the warmaster of House Atreides, and Duncan Idaho, the swordmaster of House Atreides.  The training and education provided by all these separate individuals has altered and enhanced Paul’s mental and physical attributes to the point that Jessica suspects that he may be the Kwizats Haderach.

In the background a plot is developing.  Emperor Shaddam had grown jealous and fearful of Duke Leto’s political power and has devised a plot with their Harkonnen enemies to destroy the Atreides.  The Emperor will grant Leto control of the planet Arrakis and all its spice wealth and lull him into a false sense of security.  Meanwhile he will support the Harkonnen to launch a sneak attack on the Atreides and destroy him.

Everyone seems to know of the plot including Leto but he decides to willingly step into the trap in hopes of turning the tables and gaining an advantage.  Jessica advises Leto not to step into this trap but Leto insists that they can defeat this threat.  After hearing this she decides not to tell Leto that she is pregnant with their daughter as it would distract him from the planning he must do.

Thufir and Duncan believe that they can find some allies on Arrakis called the Fremen that would help defeat the Harkonnens and the Emperor.  The Fremen are the nomadic tribesmen of the deep deserts of Arrakis and are fiercely independent.  Duncan has made some preliminary contacts and believes some sort of alliance is possible.

As Paul prepares for the trip to Arrakis Dr Yueh, the family physician, gives Paul a miniature copy of the Orange Catholic Bible as a gift for the trip.  Paul begins to read and absorb the teachings in the bible.

Leto, Jessica, and Paul arrive on Arrakis and have to accustom themselves to life in the desert planet.  Water is the most precious thing here.  Even the moisture in a moist hand towel is not allowed to escape but sold and fought over.

Jessica makes contact with some of the locals.  She uses their religious beliefs and superstitions to protect herself and her son from assassination.  The Bene Gesserit sisterhood had manipulated and altered the local religious beliefs thousands of years earlier through the use of the Missionaria Protectiva, a form of religious engineering, to exploit the local population.  The locals see Jessica and her son as part of their prophecy, the Lisan Al-Gaib, the voice from the outer world that would lead them to freedom.

In the meantime the Harkonnens are moving forward with their plot.  Baron Harkonnen’s Mentat, Pieter DeVries, has secretly suborned Dr Yueh, to betray the Duke and to sabotage the Atreides defenses at a key moment.  DeVries had captured Yueh’s wife and promises Yueh to return her if he betrays the Duke.  The Harkonnens have amassed a giant invasion force and even have access to some Imperial Sardaukar soldiers, the elite forces of the imperial army.

Duke Leto makes contact with the Fremen and both sides seem disposed to an alliance.  The Fremen warn Leto that they know that there is a traitor in Leto’s household but not who.  Leto discusses this with Paul and he decides to frame his concubine Jessica as the traitor in hopes of drawing out the real traitor. He allows Thufir and Gurney to believe this as well.

Yueh disables the defenses and drugs the Duke.  The Harkonnens attack and massacre the Atreides troops.  The plan however goes awry.  Yueh has known all along that the Harkonnens have been lying but he wants revenge for his wife’s murder.  He implants a poison gas tooth in the Duke’s mouth and tells the Duke in exchange for saving Paul and Jessica that he wants the Duke to kill Baron Harkonnen.

The Baron and Pieter soon arrive.  They kill Yueh and inspect the sleeping Duke.  The Baron orders Pieter to retrieve the Ducal signet ring for him but as he does the Duke exhales the poison gas killing himself and Pieter.

Jessica and Paul in the meantime have been taken to the desert by the Harkonnens to die but Yueh has loosened the straps for Paul to escape and he kill the guards.  They rendezvous with Duncan Idaho and meet the local Fremen leader, Liet.  Liet gives them directions to a sietch, a mountain hideaway, where they can hide.  Just then the Sardaukar show up.  Duncan and Liet die holding off the Sardaukar while Jessica and Paul flee.

In the aftermath it is revealed that Thufir has been captured and is now in the employ of the Harkonnens.  He is tricked into working for them as he believes Jessica was the traitor that betrayed the Duke.  Gurney has also escaped and is now in the employ of spice smugglers on Arrakis, he also believes Jessica was the traitor.  The reason they both believe this is that it is revealed that Jessica is the daughter of Baron Harkonnen.  An unknown Bene Gesserit sister was a concubine to the Baron at one time and became pregnant with Jessica.  Only a few people know this fact.

Baron Harkonnen returns to his home world and leaves his stupid nephew Rabban in charge of Arrakis.  The Baron orders Rabban to abuse the locals as he wishes but above all he wants more spice to sell.  The destruction of house Atreides has cost a fortune and he needs money more than ever.

Back on his homeworld, the Baron meets with the Emperor’s representative, Count Fennring, and they discuss the conspiracy and the Count reveals that the Emperor is displeased that the Duke died and that Rabban is mishandling the spice production.  The Baron assures him that at the proper moment Rabban will be replaced by his favorite nephew, Feyd, and that all will be well.  The Baron intends that Feyd might marry the Emperor’s daughter and become Emperor one day.  Secretly the Emperor fears that the Baron is trying to form a pact with the Fremen as the Duke had been.

Back on Arrakis Jessica and Paul have made contact with the Fremen and joined them.  Jessica and Paul discover that the Fremen are far from simple nomads.  They are actively and laboriously gathering water and using it to plant small areas with desert resistant plants in the southern desert to slowly turn the planet green.  This is a painstaking process that will take centuries but the Fremen see it as worthwhile.  They farm the desert, gather food, survive the dangers of the desert, pay large bribes in spice to spacing guild officials to keep satellites from spying on them, and fight the Harkonnen all at the same time.  Paul and Jessica marvel at their tenacity.

The Fremen call him Paul Muad’Dib.  After some initial trials the Fremen are convinced that Paul is the Lisan Al-Gaib, but more importantly Paul has become convinced he is too.  The mixture of Mentat and Bene Geserit training as well as the teachings in the Orange Catholic Bible have allowed Paul to be able to predict the future somewhat.  He fears that if he embraces this destiny that he will set loose a bloody Jihad upon the universe.

Paul and Jessica teach the Fremen a new fighting technique called the weirding way.  This is a secret Bene Gesserit technique that allows practitioners to fight at blinding speeds and defeat their opponents.

The old Reverend mother for the Fremen, Mother Ramallo is dying from extreme old age.  Jessica decides to accept the role of Reverend Mother for the Fremen.  She drinks the water of life, a poison substance secreted by baby worms as they die.  If her advanced body control can change the water of life and keep her from dying, it will transform her into a Reverend Mother.  She survives the test but the water of life also affects her unborn daughter, Alia.  The water of life transforms her unborn daughter into a Reverend Mother as well.  Alia is born able to speak and has the full knowledge of a Reverend Mother.

Over the next 2 years using the weirding way and under Paul’s command, the Fremen inflict crushing defeats on the Harkonnens.  Paul takes a Fremen woman, Chani, as his wife. At first Jessica rejects Chani as unsuitable to mix with his bloodline but later she relents after Paul’s son Leto II is born.

Thufir advises the Baron that the Fremen aren’t just a small group of tribes in the desert but are really a nation of millions and all able to fight almost as well as the Sardaukar.  He further advises the Baron that Rabban has bungled things so much on Arrakis that the Baron should stop sending aid to Rabban and accelerate the plan to replace Rabban with Feyd.  In desperation Rabban has pulled all his troops back to the cities and tries to offer a truce to the Fremen.

Meanwhile in the desert Paul takes the last test to secure his mantle of leadership over all the Fremen.  He proves to them that he can ride the massive sand worms of the desert as a true leader should.  Word spreads among the Fremen tribes and the Fremen warriors clamor for Muad’Dib to lead them in a Jihad to cleanse the Universe.  After the test they come across Gurney and his band of smugglers and initially fight but the two old friends are reunited and stop the fighting.

Paul sends for his mother and Gurney attacks her.  Paul is barely able to stop him and explains that she was not the traitor.  He is disturbed that he was not able to foresee this attack.  The visions of the future that were once so clear have become clouded.  He must take the water of life in order to progress.  He takes a single drop and slips into a 3 week-long coma.  Finally he is able to see all of the past, present, and possible futures clearly.  He has become the Kwizats Haderach.  He knows that not only the Baron but the Emperor himself are coming to crush the Fremen with a giant army.

Paul finally realizes that he cannot stop the coming Jihad or deny his destiny.  He can only direct its flow.  He decides to attack first.  Using a plan involving atomic weapons, the giant sand worms, and the fanatic abilities of his Fremen he overwhelms the Sardaukar troops.

Before the battle occurs however a Sardaukar patrol has found a seitch where Paul’s son, Leto II, is located.  They kill the child and capture Alia and bring her back to the Emperor and the Baron.  During an interrogation she reveals that she is Paul’s sister and also the Baron’s granddaughter.  She then stabs the Baron with a poison needle and kills him.

After the battle, Paul faces off with the Emperor and his entourage.  Among the entourage are the Emperor’s daughter Irulan, the Reverend Mother Helen Gaius Mohiam, representatives of the spacing guild, Feyd, and Count Fennring.  Paul is nervous as he can’t see the future with regards to the Count.  Count Fennring appears as a black shadow to him.

Paul demands that the Emperor abdicate and give his daughter to him as wife.  The Emperor refuses and says that he will unleash the full force of the empire against Arrakis.  Paul then states that he has the power to destroy all spice production on Arrakis forever.  The two representatives of the spacing guild that are present use their abilities to look into the possible futures and are appalled.  They demand that the Emperor abdicate.

The Emperor turns to Fennring and demands he destroy Paul but Fennring refuses.  It is then that Paul finally recognizes Fennring for what he is.  Fennring is an almost Kwizats Haderach.  His genetic line was close but not close enough.  Using his own abilities Fennring has been able to disguise himself from Paul’s future vision.  Fennring understands what is happening and that it must be allowed to happen.

Feyd steps up.  He demands to fight Paul with knives.  Feyd is an accomplished gladiator and is sure he can take Paul.  The two fight.  Feyd tries to use a poison blade hidden in his clothes to kill Paul but Paul dodges it and kills Feyd.

The Emperor has no choice.  He abdicates and gives his daughter to Paul as wife.  Paul turns to his own wife, Chani, who will now have to take the role of concubine and explains that this is strictly a political decision and that he has no feelings for Irulan.  Jessica comforts Chani by telling her that although they are concubines, that history would know them as wives.

 

Books and movies combining mystical and scientific elements rarely work out very well.  The two sets of ideas never seem to mesh well together and the result usually tends to skew towards one side or another and inevitably tends to alienate both sets of audiences.  However when they do mesh well the results are spectacular as you can see in titles like “2001: A space odyssey” and Star Wars.

In Dune we have the central theme of cosmic or mystical destiny being pushed along by the science but we never get the idea that the science is being brushed aside as an afterthought.  Without the science the space travel, the new drugs, the genetics are impossible.

The second thing I noticed were the obvious parallels to the geopolitical situation in Dune and in the middle east. Spice takes the place of oil of course.  Various powers and alliances are jockeying for control and manipulating religion and resources to achieve their aims.  The people caught in the middle become resentful towards everyone.

Lastly, the unspoken theme that I noticed was that these legends and myths introduced long ago as a means of control turned out to be true. These sophisticated, technologically advanced people thought that they were manipulating some simple nomads when in fact they were the ones being fooled.  All their ploys and plans and tricks turned out to be working for a greater purpose that most of them could not even guess at.  We may have plans for the universe, but don’t be so sure that the universe doesn’t have plans for us.

I promised a brief discussion on the movie Dune.  The movie was much maligned by purists for liberties and compromises that the producers and director had to take. To those uninitiated to Dune it was confusing.   I actually saw the movie back in 1984 and it was the first and only time that an usher at a movie had to give me a sheet of paper explaining the various terms in a film.  All I can say is try to fit an 800 page book into a 2 hour film and see how well you do.

Posted in: books, review, thought , Tagged: ,

looking forward – 2nd installment 2014

September 22, 2014 7:12 AM , Leave a Comment ,

Wow, where did we leave it?

This of course is a follow-up on a post I did in May of this year to sort of check myself on my goals and plans.  I promised an August or early September follow-up but things have been incredibly busy and still remain busy.  So let’s get into it.

Health.  That’s proceeding apace.  I had a bit of a stall out round late June to Early July but I’ve gotten back on track for the last couple of months.  I’ve got some 5 and 10k’s coming up.  I can’t say I am 100% committed to the Houston Marathon early next year.  Not yet up to a full 26 mile race but we will see.

Business has rebounded and it’s one of the primary things that’s keeping me up late on weeknights and keeping me busy week in and week out.  I am once again finding the joy in work when things are going well.  Honestly I am enjoying this more than I have in ages.  But don’t tell the boss.
The house improvements came in and despite some hiccups they installed fairly smoothly.  So now I have granite counters and tile floors in the kitchen.  If things go well the last remodeling phase will be next Summer.

One thing that has changed is a financial side project that I’ve been working on since late April and I’m not quite yet ready to unveil to the general public.  Patience, please.

Local events?  I hit 6 comic or anime related conventions this year.  I am done with conventions for the year thank you very much.

The vacation….  There’s a plan in place.  Late November/early December and it will be overseas. All signs point to yes, so stay tuned.
So compared to last time are things better, worse, the same?  I have to admit it’s going better. No, not perfect but way better.  I think (think mind you) that this will qualify as one of my better years.  Not perfect, some setbacks here and there but I cannot say it’s been a bad year.

Of course you need to check back in late December to get the final analysis.

Posted in: goals, life in general

old styles

September 20, 2014 6:27 AM , Leave a Comment ,

I was at the dealership the other day getting my Charger serviced.  Cant believe it’s already been 8 years.  Out in front they had the 2015 Challenger Hellcat on display.  A car that has 707 horsepower under the hood and looks like something out of the early 70s

This is going to make it a headache for archaeologists in the future to sort out.  They’ll be wondering why this body shape came back.

First off I have to say that I’m a fan of the Detroit retro movement.  Body styles in cars have been pedestrian to bland in the last 30 years.  The resurgence of some of the old body styles (fuel mileage be damned) brings some of the flavor and character back to the car experience in America.

That being said, I don’t like it.  It’s too much of the 70’s for me.  The Charger was a compromise (purists say too much of a compromise), the new Challenger isn’t.  It’s a pure muscle car, and its pure 70’s styling.

As Quentin Tarantino found out with his movie flop “Death Proof” there can be too much of anything, even the 70s.  I mean if you’re really dead set on getting a muscle car then go for it.  But then again you could also go to a junkyard and restore an original Challenger too.

Then of course is pragmatism.  Why is it whenever muscle cars make an appearance we seem to be on the verge or the middle of an oil crisis?  That 6.1 liter Hemi is not kind to the wallet when it comes to gasoline.  It might actually be cheaper to have a tow truck tow the car around.

But in the final analysis if I were 20 years younger and had about 30 to 50K to spend, and we weren’t in the middle of an oil crisis, oh yeah I would buy one.

Posted in: Automobiles, fashion

The god game – review

September 18, 2014 6:18 AM , Leave a Comment ,

[Author’s note.  This is a review of the theater play “The God Game” put on by Stark Naked Theater in Houston.  As always this will contain spoilers so you may want to skip this post.]

 

I am coming to like minimalist theater more and more.  Set dressing doesn’t add that much to the performances and the material being presented and I think that is the point of live theater.  I mean you can go to a movie for big budget effects and impressive visuals but in these smaller minimalist theaters the content of the play is what captivates the audience.  The Stark Naked theater company does an admirable job in this respect.   Using little to no set dressing they provide entertaining stories and plots that rival those being put on by the bigger theater companies in Houston’s theater district.  I’ve been more and more impressed by the level of professionalism and their performances each time that I go.

The God Game is no exception.  The play is set in a small house in Virginia.  A Senator (Tom) and his wife (Lisa) are planning their wedding anniversary when an old friend (Matt) shows up.  Matt is a political activist and wants to get Tom to run as Vice president with a political opponent with extremely opposing social and political views.

Tom is not sure he wants to support this candidate as the candidate is extremely religious and Tom is an agnostic.  Tom doesn’t want to compromise his principles by pretending that he is religious just to win the election.  Lisa is quite religious but she and Tom have come to a modus vivendi for all their married life and this offer threatens to disrupt the couple’s carefully crafted marital peace.

In the background is a parallel subplot involving Matt who was the lover of the Senator’s brother until the brother died in a car accident.  At first Lisa is cold towards Matt but as they discuss the accident they come to realize that they had no reason to be distant.  She also admits that she doesn’t want Tom to run for Vice president if it means that he has to pretend to have a faith that he really doesn’t have.  In her eyes this would lead to the corruption of Tom.

Matt argues that Tom could do real good and make substantive change on many other issues if only they would give in on “this one little thing”.  Tom starts to come around in his thinking about pretending to have faith but Lisa gets offended by the notion.  Tom explodes and admits that he is not an agnostic but a full-blown atheist and does not believe at all.  Lisa storms out of the room but returns and declares that she will support Tom in his candidacy but will not be a party to any sort of fraud.

In the final scene Tom stands with Lisa declaring his candidacy for vice president.  He takes a question about his faith from a reporter.  As he tries to invent a noncommittal answer that would give the impression that he was religious he finds that he cannot.  Instead he asks the voters and the audience that instead of asking about his faith, why not have faith in him.

It’s a very powerful play and asks many questions.  How do our ideas of faith come out in daily life and in our work?  What principles are we willing to shed to accomplish something greater?  How do we live and interact with others that believe in different things than we do?  Very thought-provoking.

 

 

Posted in: review, theater

Using your gifts

September 16, 2014 6:43 AM , Leave a Comment ,

“Using your gifts” she said.

“What gifts?” thought the self-deprecating part of my mind.

But that was the writing challenge issued to me by Leslie.  A post on using my gifts.  A true corker if there ever was one.  But the thing about Leslie is that she always does come up with the best ideas and hardest challenges.

I spent Sunday mulling it over in my mind.  The assignment basically had two parts.  Firstly defining what my gifts were and secondly how I could use my gifts in everyday life.

Gifts, gifts, gifts.

The lyrics to ‘Simple gifts‘ popped up in my head.

‘Tis a gift to be simple, ’tis a gift to be free
‘Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
  ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.’

I then searched YouTube for the Aaron Copland version (Appalachian Spring) and searched Wikipedia for the background on Simple gifts and its influences on various social and intellectual movements of the early to mid 20th century.  I then remembered when I first heard that song in elementary school in the early 80’s and how the headmistress would sometimes make us sing it in a round at morning prayers.  But twisting and turning a subject round and round in my head wasn’t helping anything.  People always do say that I have a tendency to do that when presented with a problem.  I will worry over a problem from the left, right, top, and bottom trying out different perspectives.  Sometimes I have to concede that an obvious solution to a problem is the best course but sometimes I will find a path previously unconsidered by others.

The topic kept nagging at me through lunch.  A rock in my shoe would have been less distracting.

Leaving things hanging and unresolved is not my style.  Nor is it to give up so easily.  I supposed that it’s a bull-headed stubbornness that refuses to give up.  A quality that has marked me since birth and one without which I would not be alive today.  I had been in the Colorado mountains one Summer when while crossing a fast-moving stream a rock gave way under my foot and the stream dragged me down with it.  It’s amazing how quickly your mind works in these situations.

“So this is how I’m going to die.  I wonder if my body will be found downstream or if some wild animal will scavenge me.”

A particularly solid rock knocked some sense back into me.

” No.  No, I am not going out this way.”

Just that quickly I decided to live and slowly but surely I pulled myself to shore.  On the wrong side of the stream but on shore.

After sitting on the shore for a minute and considering that I might freeze to death or some previously mentioned wild animal might make a meal of me, I got up and hobbled down the stream and through the woods till I finally found a scientist doing the same thing I was doing, taking water samples, and he drove me back to a hospital.  Somehow I managed to hang on to my satchel full of water samples that I had collected and finished my paper on abandoned mine sites polluting streams.

But again such ruminations didn’t serve to further my purpose.

Perhaps I had to take a new tack on the problem at hand and consider the whole issue via a set of examples, stories, and collected experiences from my own past.  It is said that the INFJ personality types are born story tellers and delight in the role of playing the mentor.  I have also found it valuable in the past to relate experiences from my own life to provide precedents and illustrations for points or ideas that I was trying to transmit to others.  If I advise someone on a particular course of action they usually do not respond as well as when I would furnish them with examples of how I had met with a similar problem and overcome it.  So perhaps some stories relating how my gifts would emerge and be used in situations from the present and the past?

Was the solution to this writing assignment this simple?

Posted in: activities, attitude

Conspiracies IV

September 14, 2014 6:48 AM , Leave a Comment ,

Are these conspiracies just dry forgotten facts or do they resonate in our age and carry consequences that we are still having to deal with?  We now come to one of the more shameful episodes in American foreign policy history.

In the late 19th century the sale of fresh fruit in the eastern US became quite profitable.  Ships were loaded in central America and offloaded in New Orleans and New York distributing tons of fresh fruit to American consumers starved for flavor and variety.  To meet the demand for fresh produce the United Fruit Company (UFC) was organized and soon bought large plantations in several central American countries. UFC built several large railroads and set up schools for the employees but also received a large measure of control in these countries.  Bribing public officials was a recognized company policy as was the use of armed guards to discourage unions.

In 1910 the new Honduran president Miguel Davila refused to give Samuel Zemurray (Sam, the banana man), a competitor of UFC, several key tax concessions.  In December of that year a ship laden with men from the New Orleans docks traveled to Honduras with weapons.  They kidnapped the president and installed a new president that would give Zemurray everything he wanted.  UFC later decided to buy out Zemurray and take over the Honduras operations.

Although a conclusive link can’t be proven, around this time began what would be referred to as the “Banana wars”.  The US government routinely sent Marine units into central America and the Caribbean to “protect American interests”  The banana wars would last for 30 years and would imprint bitter memories into a generation of central american children.

In 1929 a worker’s strike in Colombia turns bloody as the government sends troops to stop the strike against UFC.  Soldiers fire into the crowd and kill several workers.  The final death toll is never known.

The corruption did not end in central America.  Attempts to tax UFC’s fruit imports are defeated by political lobbies in the US and UFC continued to be able to import fruit, tax-free into the US.  This move allowed UFC to pay massive dividends to its shareholders.

In 1944 the most recognizable mascot for bananas is born as Chiquita banana is created to promote banana sales.  Consultants for UFC approach several cereal companies and urge them to link bananas to breakfast cereals in the advertising.

In 1954 came the most serious action.  John Foster Dulles, the US secretary of state, was a stockholder in UFC.  A new left leaning president in Guatemala wanted to take UFC’s lands and redistribute them to the poor peasants.  John Foster along with Allen Dulles, the director of the CIA, convinced President Eisenhower that this was the start of a communist plot to takeover central America and needed to be dealt with immediately.

With covert aid from the CIA, a Guatemalan officer was encouraged to topple the government.  This was known as operation PBSUCCESS.  CIA operatives destabilized the economy, provided arms to a private rebel army, and provided propaganda that finally forced the government to surrender to the rebels. This led to nearly 40 years of civil war in Guatemala and would lead the CIA to try similar actions in Chile, Cuba, and Iran.

UFC finally fell prey to corporate raiders in 1968.  The company was slowly but surely broken up, and the name disappears in 1970.

But the US was not done with central and Latin America.  If anything the US government’s involvement in the region has deepened in the last half century.  We have installed and toppled dictators in several countries.  Sometimes we have toppled the same man that we installed.  The ongoing “war on drugs” has not only failed but spread the drug trade problem to several countries in the region and now the illicit drug trade not only funds criminal syndicates but also funds regional and international terrorist groups.

What was once a peaceful and relatively stable region of the world that was friendly to US interests has deteriorated into economic stagnation and possible hostility.  What were we thinking?

Posted in: life in general, myths

The benefits of reading

September 12, 2014 6:20 AM , Leave a Comment ,

As much as I enjoy movies, I will admit that much that passes as visually entertaining does not do much for the analytical side of the mind.  But I have also found that it doesn’t do much for the creative side either.

If I really want something that will both stimulate my mind and give it a good solid workout then reading is what is necessary.

Recently I have been traveling through a reading desert.  My schedule has been super busy as of late and has included several late nights working, and some after work appointments to deal with side projects.  The drain on my free time has been critical in the last 2 months in particular and I find that I have had little time for reading at bed time.  Those few nights that I do have time I find my mind to be too exhausted to read.  I’m one of those people who needs to wind down at bed time and with my 5 to 6 hours of sleep per night, I need to set aside some of that wind down time with nothing to do and that includes reading.

One side effect of this reading drought has been on my writing.  The ideas don’t come as they used to.  I find the same old themes and same old characters and plots swirling round my mind and I have no place to take them.  My first thought was to ascribe this effect to aging but some older acquaintances assured me that this wasn’t the case.  I can only assume that the lack of reading has stunted my creative mind.

So I have started to take measures to fix this and to take in some reading.  Even short snippets here and there.  Honestly I could probably go on without reading for a while longer and trudge on as is but why would I want to when with some extra effort I could help improve my analytical and creative side by indulging in a good book?

Posted in: books