April 1, 2017
A Sexless Generation
Sex in America is on the decline (and no, this is not an April Fools' joke)!
Based on this who can argue with President Trump that we need to "Make America Great Again"--and that should include sexual vitality along with military might, economic competitiveness, and social justice.
In the early 1990 and 2000's , Americans had sex on average about 60 to 65 times a year.
Moreover, for married couples, who are at the high end of the sexual spectrum, this is down from 67 in 1989 to just 56 times a year now.
This is a reduction of 9 , which doesn't sound like much--however that actually comes to 14% less nookie!
And geez, that's less than once a week! :-(
What's weird is that the statistics show that Americans working longer hours and watching more pornography actually is tied to a "busier sex life."
To me the obvious answer is that people are living too much in a virtual world of loneliness and nothingness.
And they have lost touch with each other in the real world and have become more selfish and less giving personally and sexually.
So while some people are busy infighting and infatuated with reading and generating all the fake news these days, it seems like they are missing the real disheartening and unloving American news of the times. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
May 8, 2014
Free Behind Bars
Free Behind Bars
November 10, 2009
Supercapitalism and Enterprise Architecture
As a nation are we overworked? Are we just showing up, doing what we're told, and making the same mistakes again and again?
Robert Reich, the former Labor Secretary and Professor at
Reich’s book, Supercapitalism, talks about how we have to work harder to make ends meet for the following reasons:
- Globalization—“our real incomes are under assault from technology and low-wage workers in other countries.”
- Greater competition—“all barriers to entry have fallen, competition is more intense than ever, and if we don’t work hard, we may be in danger of losing clients, customers, or investors.”
- Rapid pace of change—“today most people have no ability to predict what they’re going to be doing from year to year, and job descriptions are not worth the paper they’re written on because jobs are changing so fast.”
Reich says to temper our workaholic lifestyles, we need to “understand that the quality of work is much more important than the quantity.” Honestly, that doesn’t seem to answer the question, since quality (not just quantity) takes hard work and a lot of time too.
In terms of supercharged programs, I have seen enterprise architecture programs working "fast and furious," others that were steady, and still some that were just slow and sometimes to the point of "all stop" in terms of any productivity or forward momentum.
Unlike IT operations that have to keep the lights on, the servers humming, and phones working, EA tends to be considered all too often as pure “overhead” that can be cut at the slightest whim of budget hawks. This can be a huge strategic mistake for CIOs and organizational leaders who thus behave in a penny-wise and dollar foolish manner. Sure, operations keep the lights on, but EA ensures that IT investments are planned, strategically aligned, compliant, technically sound, and cost-effective.
A solid EA program takes us out of the day-to-day firefighting mode and operational morass, and puts the CIO and business leaders back in the strategic "driver's seat" for transforming and modernizating the organization.
In fact, enterprise architecture addresses the very concerns that Reich points to in our Supercapitalistic times: To address the big issues of globalization, competition, and the rapid pace of change, we need genuine planning and governance, not just knee jerk reactions and firefighting. Big, important, high impact problems generally don't get solved by themselves, but rather they need high-level attention, innovative thinking, and group problem solving, and general committment and resources to make headway. This means we can't just focus on the daily grind. We need to extricate ourselves and think beyond today. And that's exactly what real enterprise architecture is all about.
Supercapitalism and Enterprise Architecture
November 10, 2007
Workaholics and Enterprise Architecture
How do you know when you are a “toxic” workaholic?
Fortune Magazine,
- Marital conflict—“you and your spouse fight about your hours”; this goes beyond the occasional late nighter or weekend stint, when “the expectation is that when work abates, family will once again get top billing.”
- Child neglect—“your kids stop inviting you to their birthday parties. Eventually family members [especially the kids] learn not to count on [you].”
- Staff rebellion—“your employees sneak out of work. Toxic bosses make everyone around them feel bad about having a life.”
- In sickness and in health—“you work when ill. The worst cases think they are the only ones who can get things done.”
I’d add to this list that if you are feeling bad (i.e. overly stressed or burdened and not good about what your doing and how your living your life), your conscience is trying to tell you something.
I read a book recently that said no one at the end of their lives wished they had spent more time in the office, but often they do look back with tremendous regret at not having spent more time with family, friends, and at worship.
All this doesn’t mean to take away from having a full, meaningful professional life and being a productive human being. No one should have to miss out on the opportunity to challenge oneself and “give back” something to society—gratis is nice, but then again there’s the mortgage :)
The key is to be able to balance your personal and professional life. If you can’t do that then eventually it
I had a terrific boss in
Workaholics and Enterprise Architecture