Veterans Day 2012

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Gandalfe

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” ~Elmer Davis

VetDayIn Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

Posted in Military, Poetry, Politics, United States | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Top 10 Best (and Worst) Educated States, and How They Voted.

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Gandalfe

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Posted in Education, Politics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Guide: Boots for Seattle

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Gandalfe

“Some people wear their heart up on their sleeve. I wear mine underneath my right pant leg, strapped to my boot.” ~ Ani DiFranco

BootMeI started commuting on the Seattle bus systems in January. I was an avid bus commuter in college, but always lived close enough to work that I could bicycle, scooter, or walk to work. I end my commute to work with a seven block stroll to the building for my team. It’s usually just after 6 AM, very dark, but enjoyable for me.

Three or four times, in the dark mornings, I have inadvertently stepped in an ankle high puddle. This usually happens when I am looking left and right for traffic at intersections. Having been in military for twenty years, most of that time wearing boots, I decided to get a pair. Boots that are well taken care of can last a lifetime. So I thought I’d share some of my criteria for selecting a good boot.

The first thing I look for in a boot is a leather upper. Leather that is maintained with polish, waterproofing, and brushing last. A boot with man-made materials, think pleather, crack in time, no matter how well you take care of the boot. If you take care of leather, is will look very nice in most situations.

BootMeSideNext I consider the sole. I need non-slip soles. Soles can be replaced by any competent cobbler. You can get very aggressive traction from the right soles. If possible I get Vibram soles. I also do not want soles that make me an inch taller. Besides the stability issue, I’m 6’4” and do not need to be taller.

The boot should not be to tall. I don’t need calf protection and that can be sweaty. But the thing I really like about this boot is that it has a zipper so that I can have laces, but can quickly get into and out of them. How cool is that.

One last word of advice. Don’t wear the same boots day after day. They need to dry out regularly. So I got a pair of brown and another of black so that I can rotate them through the rainy season. This insures that I will have these boots for years. I gave away my last pair of military boots to a grandson; the boots were over 40 years old! Believe me when I say that boots can last a lifetime if taken care of.

Posted in Culture, FAQ, Guides, Man stuff, My World | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Book Paradise

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Gandalfe

BrettJordanFlickr

Photo credit Brett Jordan, Flickr.com

Posted in Culture, Education, library, Photograph | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Severe Weather Plan 2012

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Gandalfe

“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” ~ Mark Twain

imageHere is what I advise my employees about work and handling severe weather. It really could go unstated, but I would feel so guilty if one of my employee got injured trying to get work during a snow storm.

In the case of severe weather, I expect and hope that my team will work from home. Seattle gets that kind of weather about every other year. A good indicator is that, if the weather is that bad, the public transportation systems are not running. But sometimes you only find that out when you are standing at a bus stop and the bus doesn’t show up. So trust your instincts; I know I do.

We have provided you with the tools to do that without skipping a beat. Each of us test our systems from home at least once a month, so we are good there. Do update your calendars, slide your onsite meetings, and ping the team so that we know your status. I have been known to start calling if a team mate I expected to see doesn’t make it to work. So keeping the team notified will save everyone time.

If the power goes off at your house and your cell phone is working, feel free give me a call at 425.2xx.7xxx for a quick update. I trust everyone on the team to do what is right for their family and situation. I have extensive experience in emergency planning for the home, if you’d like to run over the basics in one of our 1:1’s or at the end of a weekly team meeting.

Let me know if you have any questions about this policy.

Having spent 20 years in the military and 20 in the corporate world, I have come to assume very little. I try to be the manager that I would want to work for.

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Intro to Satire: Mad Magazine

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Gandalfe

I we legalize marijuana, the production of Harold & Kumar movie will go through the roof—and no one wants that!” Mad Magazine blog

imageHow old were you when you read your first copy of Mad Magazine? I was a teenie bopper and my favorite cartoon was Spy vs. Spy.

As a young teen I had a paper route. Every month I’d take some of my profits and purchase a half gallon container of Root Beer, a package of Fig Newtons, and a Mad Magazine. It was my ritual.

Mad taught me to read between the lines, question authority, and know that everyone lies… everyone. From this magazine, for example, I learned that cigarettes where/are a joke, a very sick joke.

Now my old man ritual of watching CBS Sunday Morning, sipping a cup o joe, with my dawglie at my feet collided with my past. One of the pieces presented was about Mad Magazine.

This year is Mad Magazine’s 60th anniversary. True to their totally irreverent style, they announce it thusly, “To celebrate MAD Magazine’s 60th anniversary, Time Home Entertainment Inc. is foolishly teaming up with MAD Magazine on Totally MAD, a new collection of the legendary humor magazine’s high-quality idiocy that is so widely un-anticipated, this overblown press release is needed to call attention to it.”

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The Hut Beneath the Pine: Tea Poems

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Gandalfe

imageAfter two 20-year careers and now on my third, I thought I’d share a little Daniel Skach-Mills prose on the subject. It really struck a vibe with me.

“The human world teaches people
how to compete, get noticed,
succeed.

Here in my little garden
success is whatever happens
to be blooming at the moment.
Renown: the full moon throwing
its short lived silver spotlight
onto the pond.

Twenty years of so-called ‘education’
and just look at all the unlearning
I’ve had to do
in order to truly taste
this one bowl of tea.”

This is from his book, “The Hut Beneath the Pine: Team Poems”.  A cap tip to Lauren for sharing this with me.

Posted in Books, Culture, Poetry | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mr. Romney’s home town paper sez…

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Gandalfe

RomneyTelling

I couldn’t have said it better.

Posted in Facebook, FAQ, In the news..., Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A Binder full of Women?

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Gandalfe

“A murder of crows. A clowder of cats. A richness of martens. A skulk of foxes. A business of ferrets. A binder of women.” ~ Casey Johnston

In case you’ve been living under a rock for a week, the Internet has taken a comment by Mitt Romney and created the newest political meme.

“Despite all the fireworks over taxes, oil and Libya, the most buzz-worthy social media moment of Tuesday night’s presidential debate was Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s comment about “binders full of women.”

The inadvertently funny comment came in response to a question about pay equity for women from a member of the audience of the debate between Romney and President Obama at Hofstra University.

Romney was explaining that as the governor of Massachusetts searching for qualified women to fill cabinet posts, women’s groups brought him “binders full of women” who were good candidates.

“And I said, ‘Well, gosh, can’t we — can’t we find some — some women that are also qualified?” Romney said. “I went to a number of women’s groups and said, ‘Can you help us find folks,’ and they brought us whole binders full of women.”

And at Amazon, well check out this product review:

Binders

Oh good, I’m glad the debates are turning out to be so useful. This one cracked me up too:

This binder is only 72% as good as a binder full of men. It should only cost 72% as much! Doesn’t this binder know it’s place? It totally shouldn’t get guaranteed contraceptive care and a right to privacy. What the heck is this little binder thinking?

Posted in Humor, In the news..., Politics | Tagged , , | 5 Comments