A Great Man

One day, the world will know him as a great man. I've gotta read more of this, but at least the beginning of this interview with President GWB is refreshing. For those of us who believe in him, this will not come as a surprise. For those who do not, it will fall on deaf ears.

"In person Mr Bush is so far removed from the caricature of the dim, war-mongering Texas cowboy of global popular repute that it shakes one’s faith in the reliability of the modern media."

UPDATE: I see I am not alone on my feelings of Massachusetts and President Bush. Thank you, Bill Roggio, for your observation and perspective.

Failure is easier than success

This has been bugging me for a while, now. Specifically at work, but I think it is in politics, too. Especially in Massachusetts. Sub-consciously, we hope to fail. It’s easier to fail. We like to see each other fail. Look at our entertainment. The Simpson’s. Seinfeld. Other's failures make us feel better. Even at the cost of the company or the state or the republic. I'd like to write a lot more about Massachusetts politics, but in a nutshell, the citizens of the state complain about the affairs, yet they don't make the changes on Election Day. So a super-majority rules the state with impunity. Pay hikes, hack jobs, government regulated industries. We love it, here in Massachusetts. It gives us something to bitch about. The Red Sox were our biggest crutch. Every year we could count on our dosage of disappointment. We didn't know what to do if we won. How do we celebrate? It's so much easier to bitch and complain. It's so much easier to second guess and make the leader a scapegoat. It’s much easier not to take responsibility. And this attitude discourages leaders! Why should I stick my neck out? I know the wolves are out there waiting to attack. If we don't start taking responsibility, if we don't start encouraging leadership, we're driving full speed toward despair. And everyone’s got their mouths shut.

The Defeatist Caucus

UPDATE: Here's a nice compliment to this post. Nobody's Perfect

Stay the course. Fight for freedom

I'm not gonna delve into the speeches or the facts. Surfice it to say, we need to make this work. Check out this site and do what you can. Thank you.

America Supports You

It's General Sherman!

Ok, it's taken this long for a Simpson's reference on this page. And if you know me, this would be astonishing. But I think this guy caught General Sherman! Hope he wasn't on a marriage retreat.

My favorite line of this episode.

 At the bait shop...
 
 Clerk: Yep, `General Sherman'.  They say he's five hundred pounds of
        bottom-dwelling fury, don't you know.  No one knows how old he is, but
        if you ask me (and most people do), he's hundred years if he's a day.
 Customer: And uh no one's ever caught him?
 Clerk: Well, one fella came close.  Went by the name of Homer.  Seven feet
        tall he was, with arms like tree trunks.  His eyes were like steel,
        cold, hard. Had a shock of hair, red like the fires of Hell.
 -- The making of a legend, ``War of the Simpsons''

Engineers...

Engineers: Everything we see, everything we touch, we think we can make better. We "discover" what's "wrong" with a design in 2 seconds. But most of us don't start our own website. We just bore our wives and non-engineer friend with these observations.

P.S. Bad web design. ;)

AP Cardio

Nothing like a little AP reading to get your blood going at lunchtime.

But Democrats worry that Republicans want to get rid of judicial filibusters so the White House can use the Senate's GOP majority to ram through a nominee that Democrats will find extreme and objectionable. If such a move were to succeed, it would give the GOP full control over which nominees could be confirmed for lifetime judgeships since the party controls the White House and has a 55-44-1 majority in the Senate.

I object to the word RAM. Ram? 55-44-1 is a majority. Majority rules.

"If Republicans roll back our rights in this chamber, there will be no check on their power," Reid said.

RIGHT? Majority rules. That’s the RIGHT.

But more importantly, both sides would have to operate on "good faith" when it comes to future nominations. Republicans would be bound not to ban judicial filibusters only if Democrats forswear judicial filibusters on court nominees except for extraordinary situations, aides said.

Don't do it! It's a trap! EXTRAORDINARY? You’ll see that word before you know it.

Post War?

I've been hearing more and more about FDR, and the more I hear, the more I think he was not the great president that I've been taught he was. Pat Buchanan makes a good point here. I wonder how we apply it to today. We can't leave Iraq, now? And we can't stop at Iraq...? That's what it sounds like to me.

The Emotion of Tragedy

This is a very sad story about a Marine killed in action – a Marine K-9. As I was reading this story, tears welled up in my eyes, and I had to resist grimaces. I felt my sorrow in my face as feelings of pride and empathy hit home. We have a dog. We have no children. As I read this, though, I wondered, “Would I be this emotional if this were a person?” I don’t think I’d be as moved. It’s sad. Why should I have more emotion for a dog than a person? I understand the sanctity of life and the love of family and friends. I have been blessed to not have yet had a human tragedy in my life. Is this why I cannot connect? Have I been desensitized? “Another solder has give their life for freedom from tyranny.” Or is it simpler?

I think it might be liked to my childhood. Dogs (animals) are so innocent. And we grow up cherishing them as that. And we learn to care for them and they care back. And as a child we are allowed to cry – to show emotion. So maybe as an adult, I allow myself to show emotion about animals and I stay stoic in the face of human tragedy.

The reality is, it’s a little of both.

The Celebration of Failure

Employee performance appraisals are always interesting. They should be satisfying, eye opening, aggravating and inspirational. I just had mine and here are my comments on my performance (edited to protect the company)

I feel that the performance rating of "Solid Performance" accurately characterizes my efforts. I am not satisfied with myself for this rating. I believe I am capable of far better as I have previously demonstrated at (the company). I attribute my inability to achieve "Exceeds Performance Goals" or "Outstanding" to two factors. 1) Many of my tasks have been menial and monotonous. These tasks are not challenging, and are not where my strengths and interests lie. My strengths and interests lie in project management and leadership combined with my technical abilities. 2) My confidence in upper management has been shattered. My motivation to complete the menial tasks that must be accomplished in order to improve product and process is stymied by previous attempts to “exceed performance” only to be disappointed by corporate decisions that undermine these efforts. Examples include previous attempts to improve (one of the) product line only to be starved for resources and sidestepped for specials orders, later to be lashed for a lack of improvement in the product line. Lack of commitment to a process of improvement such as previous attempts at developing a New Product Introduction Process that have fallen by the wayside. And finally, the character assassination of a product such as the (flagship product) and those who sacrificed blood, sweat and tears. Thousands of man hours were poured into product design striving to exceed expectations, learning from (the company)’s rich history in order to introduce the company’s next generations platform, only to be denigrated at the highest levels for errors beyond engineering’s control and which are today being uncovered (i.e. suddenly, we are able to buy the product for the cost targets because there has been a focused effort on justifying the supplier’s price.) And in the end, engineering’s reputation is soiled.

How can one be inspired to “Exceed Performance Goals” in an environment of despair? Despair which comes from decades of failure. And the celebration of failure.

Is this a copout? Am I whining? After 5 years of these feelings and being one who voices his opinion and not being heard, I don’t believe it’s a copout. You can only point the finger at yourself for so long.

Some bloggin tips for me

Gotta read more of this. I've got 1, 2, 3, 7 and 9 (to some extent). Put I've got a ways to go.