slacking

Between work and home the time to write has been a little limited so I have been a slacker. No serious writing for me this week I am afraid.

Working on a couple of actual articles, so hopefully next week there will be some content worth tuning in for.

Saturday, what a day

Lovely weather out there, if a bit too cold. Any time it is this close to freezing I think fond thoughts of warmer climes.

Breakfasted at O/8 in Bellevue. They have a highly recommended breakfast buffet, but I must admit some disappointment. Slim selection and a fairly run-of-the-mill menu for such a location. The price was not bad for being Bellevue, but aside from that the only real benefit was it was some place different.

Shopped a bit at The Container Store. Think Storables on steroids. Actually found a few things that have been on the list.

Finished up errands and ended up at the Bellevue Trader Joe's. They had the Pork Chili Verde that was advertised in this months rag. The University District one did not. Have to cook up the pork this week and see what I think.

Must also track down more of their marinaded lemon pepper chicken. That was fantastic, and serves three.

Innovation, really, it's the future

From a recent interview in US News:
"Long-term growth depends on a country's ability to invest in the future -- and in a way that shows little signs of near-term payback."
No, really, the every week report of earnings and how the company is doing does nothing to foster long-term growth. All you are doing is micromanaging the current earnings to death while sacrificing the future of the company to whom ever comes up with a better way of doing it next year.

Five year plans are a great thing, but no publicly traded company in the US can have one. The share holders don't want a stable investment, they want to see the price of the stock increase today. Speaking as a long-term buy-and-hold sort of person, I really despise that attitude and wish that American companies would get a clue and start trying to plan longer into the future.

What are you thankful for this Thursday?

Me, I'm tankful for my beloved wife, who encourages me in the paths I have chosen.

I'm also grateful for the Internet, that allows me to do school work while at work.

That's about it this Thursday, but I am thankful.

Rainy Wednesday

of course, I open my mouth and the rain comes back to remind us all why the Northwest is a rain forest.

Working on some continuing education projects and got directed to the University of Phoenix
They were very prompt in calling me back about my inquiry as to degree programs. I think I would almost say too quick to call me back, as if they are hungry for new students.
In any case, I got the tuition information and I think the next step could be seeing if my employer will pick up the tab.

thinking about thinking

I feel a bit like Pooh for that title, but really that is what I mean.

Having just finished my first read through of "How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci" by Gelb, I find myself thinking about thinking. It really reminds me of a poem I once read.

The Centipede was happy quite, until a Frog in fun,
said, "Which leg comes after which?",
which raised her mind to such a pitch,
she lay distracted in the ditch,
considering how to run.

But seriously, I found the book the be quite full of interesting facts about Leonardo as well as an excellent book on exercises on thinking and using your mind. I found this book through recommendations on Amazon and found a local copy that same weekend.

In the book, Gelb provides a brief history of Leonardo himself, and some historical perspective on the great man. It is fairly obvious from the tone of this section that the author is a devout follower of Leonardo as the greatest genius that ever lived.
After the history class, Gelb divides the book up into chapters and exercises based on Leonardo's specific principles of Creativity, the Senses, Exploration, Demonstration, Arts and Sciences, the Body, and Connections. These all have their own unique elements and exercises but are all still interconnected in some way.

The exercises are quite a range from the simple and easy to the complex and challenging, each set leading to some amount of self examination.

I highly recommend this book to any one who is curious about how they think, and wants to improve their mind.

I love the colors of the fall

I love the fall, when the hillsides are colored with reds and yellows of the trees.
The orange of pumpkins sitting out.
All against the dark green of the fir and pine on the hills.

Today is even nicer, with a bright sun and blue sky. Normally this would be grey clouds and rain, so I am enjoying this respite from rain.

The Pacific Northwest is beautiful the year round, but the fall is when the colors really come out.

What to do on this upcoming holiday

Well, on Wednesday the 31st, might I recomend:




And if you want to get dressed up and come out to play the Saturday before:

Silly waste of time, and yet...

I went ahead and started a clan on KoL. (www.kingdomofloathing.com)
The name is "A modest clan" after a modest proposal. The whole goal is to have a method of generating extra adventures. If you play and want to join a clan that just exists to have fun, please feel free to apply.

Not much in other news today. Mondays are usually quiet and rather slow.

sleepy weekend

Just a sleepy weekend around the house.
Nothing worth reporting, but if I plan on posting more than once a month I am going to have to write on something.

House cleaning and having way too many magazines. I mean, sure, I read them but should I save them, recycle them, cut out the three interesting articles and recycle the rest? What do you all do?

Any way, enjoy the rest of Sunday and I will see you bright and early next week.

A little something to get started

This is but a place holder while I work out the physics and mechanics of switching most of what I do to Google tools.
Documents and spreadsheets are easy, but moving a blog over to a new site is going to take more effort.