Okay folks, this is great.
I want to see movie's like this for the all Bible's stories.
Applying the technology and special effects makes this just awesome.
More, more, more...love it.
November 22, 2013
Noah's Ark - Must See!
Okay folks, this is great.
I want to see movie's like this for the all Bible's stories.
Applying the technology and special effects makes this just awesome.
More, more, more...love it.
Listening and Blessings
1. Listen to understand:
I heard a colleague talk about the importance of listening. There wasn't really anything new about that, except he went on to say, "Listen to understand, not to refute or resolve." The more, I thought about this, the more brilliant I realized this was. How often do we either not really listen to the other person? And when we do listen at all, aren't we most of the time jumping to either refute what they are saying or resolve their issue? The key though is to listen to understand. Ask questions. Get clarifications. Only once you really listen to the other person and understand what they are saying, can you begin to address the thoughts and feeling they are expressing to you.
2. G-d Blessed You:
Usually when I see people asking for help/money on the streets, they have signs--handwritten, often on cardboard or the like--that says something about their plight. Perhaps, they are homeless, lost their job, ill or disabled, have kids to support...and they are asking for your help and mercy. At the end of the sign or if you give them some change or a few dollars, they say thanks, but also "G-d bless you" in the future tense. And this is really nice to get a blessing in return for some basic charity and kindness. However, there is one poor person begging in downtown D.C., and he says it differently. His sign asks for help and says, "G-d blessed you" in the past-present tense. First, I thought maybe this was just a grammatical mistake, but then I realized what he was saying. G-d blessed you, so please give back to others. This wasn't a thank you wish to the other person, but rather a reason that you should give to begin with. Recognize how fortunate you are (and maybe you don't even necessarily deserve it), but G-d blessed you, so have mercy and give to others.
Hope these reflections mean something to you the way they do to me, and have a good weekend everyone!
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
November 19, 2013
Nasty Flu Shot
We went through the typical drawn-out paperwork and long wait to get something so routine.
When the medical practitioner finally arrived with the flu shot, there was a little baggy with all the acoutrements including alcohol wipe, band-aid, cotton, etc.
As the lady starts taking out the items to get ready for giving the shot, she drops the cotton on the floor.
She picks it up quickly, and pretending we didn't see, she quickly throws it back on the medical tray.
Now I am watching...
She open the band-aid and places it at the ready on the side.
Then she get the syringe AND the cotton that had just fallen on the floor, ready in hand.
As she is about to give the shot, I say, "You're not going to use the cotton on my daughter that just fell on the floor, are you?"
Her eyes look askance and she throws the cotton back down on the tray, and says, "Oh, of course not."
I spoke with my daughter afterwards about this as it was hard to understand how a medical practitioner could on one hand, be administering a helpful medicine to a patient, and at the same time, was about to use a dirty cotton on the wound afterwards.
What happened to people actually caring about people and taking pride in the jobs they do, rather than just being in it for the paycheck only?
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Sun Dazed)
November 17, 2013
The Iranian Gambit
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is asking for a deal that dismantles Iran's ability to prepare fissile material, the core of a nuclear bomb--which Iran has threatened to use to annihilate the State of Israel.
This is in stark contrast to a mere suspension of enrichment activity or reduction of stockpiles that still leaves this dangerous nuclear capability in the hands of the radical Islamic Republic.
After coming out of the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem, in Jerusalem with French President Hollande, Netanyahu said to Hollande:
"You said when you came out that the experience of the Holocaust places a very special responsibility on all of us. Francios, I want to tell you the burden it places on me. It is my duty to prevent anyone who credibly threatens to execute another Holocaust against the Jewish people. That is my obligation, but our common obligation for mankind and for our common future."
Further, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated:
"We live here. We know something about this region. We know a great deal about Iran and its plans. Its worthwhile to pay attention to what we say."
Less than 70 year after the Holocaust of six million Jews at the sadistic hands of the Nazi murders, there is no room for error with the Mullahs in Iran.
It seems like we are coming to a conclusion on this soon, as the Jewish people have learned it is better to live by taking your best shot, than die by going like sheep to the slaughter.
(Source Photo: here with attribution to marsmet546)
Some Game This Is
I remember as a kid, my grandfather lived down the block from us on the Upper West Side in Manhattan.
He was old and not in the best of health with a heart condition, hearing aids, and more.
One day, he was coming home from the bank, and he went into the elevator in his building.
He was followed by a punk, who after the elevator door closed, proceeded to grab my grandfather and choke him until he was unconscious.
The thug took his wallet and left my grandfather on the floor of the elevator.
Now, today I saw on the news about the Knockout Attack Game--and some "game" this is.
The attacker runs up behind the person unbeknownst and with full force slams their fist against a person head, knocking them unconscious, and when successful, this is done with one punch!
In other cases, an entire gang will attack, punching and kicking a victim until they stop moving.
While I couldn't locate the exact video that happened in a neighborhood in NY to a Jewish woman, this video of an attack on a Muslim girl in London about a year ago, approximates it very closely.
While some victims of these attacks end up with broken jaws, skulls, shattered teeth, internal injuries, bleeding and more, others are not so lucky and end up dead.
I never forgot what happened to my grandfather and the cowardly schmuck that attacked this old, helpless man--but at least, he apparently did it for the money.
In these knockout attacks, when they ask the attackers why they do it, the response is for the fun and laughs.
What a commentary of our society, when people brutally attack other people--not for money, revenge, self-defense, or principle--but simply to see others needlessly suffer and to take a form of intense joy in it.
Perhaps, there are certain crimes for which the L-rd above must look down and mete out his own version of justice, in a way that restores order to this world of hope and despair.
November 16, 2013
Web 1-2-3
Utilizing infrastructure and apps on demand is only the beginning.
What IBM has emerging that is above the other cloud providers is the real deal, Watson, cognitive computing system.
In 2011, Watson beat the human champions of Jeopardy, today according to the CNBC, it is being put online with twice the power.
Using computational linguistics and machine learning, Watson is becoming a virtual encyclopedia of human knowledge and that knowledge-base is growing by the day.
But moreover, that knowledge can be leveraged by cloud systems such as Watson to link troves of information together, process it to find hidden meanings and insights, make diagnoses, provide recommendations, and generally interact with humans.
Watson can read all medical research, up-to-date breakthroughs in science, or all financial reports and so on and process this to come up with information intelligence.
In terms of computational computing, think of Apple's Siri, but with Watson, it doesn't just tell you where the local pizza parlors are, it can tell you how to make a better pizza.
In short, we are entering the 3rd generation of the Internet:
Web 1.0 was as a read-only, Web-based Information Source. This includes all sorts of online information available anytime and anywhere. Typically, organizational Webmasters publishing online content to the masses.
Web 2.0 is the read-write, Participatory Web. This is all forms of social computing and very basic information analytics. Examples include: email, messaging, texting, blogs, twitter, wikis, crowdsourcing, online reviews, memes, and infographics.
Web 3.0 will be think-talk, Cognitive Computing. This incorporates artificial intelligence and natural language processing and interaction. Examples: Watson, or a good-natured HAL 9000.
In short, it's one thing to move data and processing to the cloud, but when we get to genuine artificial intelligence and natural interaction, we are at all whole new computing level.
Soon we can usher in Kurzweil's Singularity with Watson leading the technology parade. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
November 15, 2013
Survival Is More Than An iPhone
We "need to learn ever new technology skills and simultaneously retain, old tried and true, core survival and self-sufficiency."
This is a serious topic, and there will come a time when the lights go out and those who blend old and new skills will survive, while unfortunately, others who don't, will not.
Hope you enjoy the article.
Andy
(Source Photo: here with attribution to U.S. Army Africa)
Don't Send Parenting To The Cloud
Where did the years go?
As a parent, what's my role in helping her prepare?
With all the new technology out there, you'd think I was just a parental annoyance...yeah, in some ways I am.
According to the Wall Street Journal, "parents are too tired, too busy--or too mystified to help" with homework.
And now "digital tutors" are taking their place for about $24 to $45 per hour (and even prorated per minute).
For example, on Tutor.com you can get on-demand tutoring to text chat and do calculations on a shared screen with your kid.
Tutor.com has about 1,200 tutors, 95% from Bangalore, India staffed by "moonlighting or retired teachers, college professors, or [other] professionals."
Other online resources include Khan Academy with educational videos, Chegg.com with answers to homework problems from 2,500+ textbooks, and StudyBlue.com for sharing "study guides, notes, and flashcards."
While these online tutoring resources can be a huge help for students, I think that parents can still play an important role.
Recently, my daughter and I have carved out some time every night to sit down at the dining room table with books, scrap papers, and our own flash cards to study, together.
What I am finding is that this is a really special time for us to bond and sort of be in this SAT rite of passage together, where I can provide emotional support and some structure for the studying.
We also have signed her up for a more formal review class as well as some online resources, but I am glad to be a parent to my children and not rely only on canned cloud solutions.
While I don't know most of the answers and she does--I take that as a good thing. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
November 14, 2013
The Backlash Against Performance Reviews
Bloomberg BusinessWeek declares the annual performance review to be "worthless."
The performance review ritual is traced back to the 1930's with Harvard Business School Professor, Elton Mayo, who found that productivity and satisfaction of workers improved when they were measured and paid attention to. This was referred to as the Hawthorne Effect because the study was conducted at the Hawthorne Works of Western Electric outside Chicago.
Later in the 1950's, the Performance Rating Act institutionalized mandated performance reviews for federal workers,
But studies in the last 2 decades have found employees (42%) dissatisfied with the process and even HR managers (58%) disliking the system.
Clinical Psychologist, Aubrey Daniels, call the process "sadistic!"
The annual reviews are disliked for many reasons including the process being:
1) Arbitrary, subjective, and personality-driven rather than objective, meaningful, and performance-based.
2) Feedback that is too little and too late, instead of real-time when good or bad performance behavior occurs.
3) A power tool that managers use in a "culture of domination" as opposed to something that really helps employees improve.
4) Something used to punish people and build a case against employees to "get rid of you" rather than to reward and recognize them.
At the same time, this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft and other companies are getting rid of forced employee rankings.
The ranking system was developed by General Electric in the 1980's under Jack Welch and has been referred to as ""Stack Rankings," "Forced Rankings" and "Rank and Yank."
Under this system, employees are ranked on a scale--with a certain percentage of employees (at GE 10% and Microsoft 5%, for example) ranked in the lowest level.
The lowest ranked employees then are either let go or marginalized as underperformers getting no bonuses, equity awards, or promotions.
"At least 30% of Fortune 500 companies continue to rank employees along a curve."
Microsoft is dumping the annual quantitative ranking and replacing it with more frequent qualitative evaluations.
UCLA Professor, Samuel Colbert, says this is long overdue for a yanking at companies and managers' jobs is "not to evaluate," but rather "to make everyone a five."
While this certainly sounds very nice and kumbaya-ish, it also seems to reflect the poor job that managers have done in appraising employees fairly and working with them to give them a genuine chance to learn and improve, before pulling the rating/ranking trigger that can kill employees career prospects.
A bad evaluation not only marginalizes an employee at their current position, but it limits their ability to find something else.
Perhaps, this is where the qualitative aspect really comes into play in terms of having frank, but honest discussions with employees on what they are doing well and where they can do better, and how they can get the training and experience they need.
It's really when an employee just doesn't want to improve, pull their weight, and is undermining the mission and the team that performance action needs to be taken.
I don't think we can ever do without performance reviews, but we can certainly do them better in terms of providing constructive feedback rather than destructive criticism and using this to drive bona-fide continuous improvement as opposed to employee derision.
This is possible where there are participants willing to listen to a fair critique and work together on getting to the next level professionally and for the good of the organization. ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Mediocre2010)
November 11, 2013
From The Window In the Nursing Home
While I try to focus on my mom and her needs, I do notice other patients there.
The images are deeply impactful on me...here are ten that are on my mind today:
1) The husband and wife who are both in the home in a shared room--the wife is wheelchair-bound and the husband dutifully pushes her around the floor. This weekend, I saw them together at the nurses' station asking for some crackers. When the nurse came back with some individually wrapped crackers in cellophane, the couple took them and went off down the hall happy as clams.
2) The lady at the table who is overweight, but always asks for more food. She doesn't talk much except to ask for more dessert. She stares at the other patients and seems annoyed and upset with them.
3) The guy who was a lawyer, but now has dementia, and sits and talks half to himself and half trying to engage others, but all that comes out is sort of gibberish. So others just nod or say something to politely acknowledge him, but can't converse with him with any meaning.
4) The lady in the room who sits in a chair hunchback. She never seems to leave the room or the chair. Sometimes, she watches TV and other times appear to be crocheting. Mostly she sits hunchback, looking uncomfortable, but settled for the long hall like that.
5) The woman who sits outside her door in the hallway. She is in a wheelchair, and she doesn't say anything, but she stares at you while you walk down the hallway. She sits there watching--sitting and watching.
6) The younger but still old disheveled guy. He comes into the dining room to eat, but gets food all over himself. He sits alone, always. He eats quickly, leaves half his food, and gets up and goes out while everyone else is still picking away at their food.
7) The lady with a wall of baseball caps. She has no hair, maybe she has cancer, I don't know. She usually is in bed, sitting up. The caps look like they have a lot of meaning to her, but I'm not sure if it's because she's a sports enthusiast or why.
8) A lady in a wheelchair that pulls herself along down the hall. She puts one foot in front of the other in these baby steps motions, and the chair moves along, slowly, but at least she is mobile, somewhat.
9) This weekend, I looked out the window of the home, and there was a woman on the sidewalk. She had fallen on the ground, on her butt. Her walker was next to her, but she could not get up. Some people were near here, apparently trying to get help, but not wanting to touch or move her themselves. I ran for the floor nurse, and she came to the window to see. She said is that so and so, which meant nothing to me, and then she ran off to help her get up.
10) A lady sits downstairs by the glass windows--she is dressed up fancy like older healthy people are want to do. Next to her is an older gentleman in a turtleneck, but he is just visiting and is her son. They seem to be sort of wealthy as they sit upright in the high-back chairs and discuss family and what she's been eating at the home. They look askance at some of the other patients who are crying out in pain.
The nursing home, like the hospital is a horrible place to be, even when you have to be there.
In both places, even the most caring doctors and nurses and attendants, cannot make up for the fact that you are a prisoner of age, failing health, and disability--and let's face it, even if many are nice or attentive, not everyone is.
I am still unclear why people must suffer so--why we haven't found a better way to end good, productive, and loving lives.
I am not sure that people are really even focused on this issue of old age, because it's not sexy, it's at the end anyway, and "they had the chance to live their lives."
Maybe, it's because we simply don't have the answers yet, can't afford what they would take, or we would just rather not deal with mortality, pain, and suffering when there are so many other things to do.
But one day, we all will face the piper--and it would be comforting if we had better answers.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
November 10, 2013
Green Data Center Cooling
One barge is by San Francisco and the other by Maine.
The 4-story barges belong to Google.
There is speculation about these being, maybe, floating data centers.
I think that is more likely than showrooms for Google Glass.
These barges would potentially avail themselves of the ocean water for cooling the IT equipment.
I would imagine that there could be some backup and recovery strategy here as well associated with their terrestrial data centers.
But how you protect these floating data behemoths is another story.
A white paper by Emerson has data center energy consumption in the 25% range for cooling systems and another 12% for air movement, totaling 37%.
Other interesting new ideas for reducing energy consumption for data center cooling include submersion cooling.
For example, Green Revolution (GR) Cooling is one of the pioneers in this area.
They turn the server rack on its back and the servers are inserted vertically into a dielectric (an electrical insulator--yes, I had to look that up) cooling mineral oil.
In this video, the founder of GR identifies the potential cost-savings including eliminating chillers and raised floors as well as a overall 45% reduction in energy consumption, (although I am not clear how that jives with the 37% energy consumption of cooling to begin with).
Intuitively, one of the trickiest aspect to this would be the maintenance of the equipment, but there is a GR video that shows how to do this as well--and the instructions even states in good jest that the "gloves are optional."
One of my favorite aspects of submersion cooling aside from the environmental aspects and cost-savings is the very cool green tint in the server racks that looks so alien and futuristic.
Turn down the lights and imagine you are on a ship traveling the universe, or maybe just on the Google ship not that far away. ;-)
(Source Photo: Green Revolution)
November 9, 2013
Remembering the 52 And Hoping For A Real Peace
52 Americans were held hostage for a long 444 days.
Now, Iran is negotiating for a relaxation of sanctions imposed due to their hostile nuclear WMD program.
However, there are questions about whether Iran will really give up the nukes that they have pursued for decades or whether this is another stalling tactic.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting concern by Western Allies including Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, and that "Republican and Democratic supporters of Israel said the agreement in the works was far too easy on Iran."
On the positive side, potentially, this is only the "first stage" in the Iran nuclear disarmament process--let's hope.
We need to ensure a substantive nuclear non-proliferation deal that safeguards America's and allies' security and interests in the region.
We can all rest easier when the Iranian nuclear capability is fully dismantled, until then this is not a slam dunk for peace.
(Source Photos: EVResourceSite and Pere Ubu; Mashup by Andy Blumenthal)
Cancer Takes It Away
This is an amazing video.
It is about the life of Angelo and Jennifer Merendino.
Initially, they a lived a fairy tale life, until she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
You can see in the video the brutal transformation Jennifer underwent from the disease.
Yet, the love and togetherness this couple maintained is inspiring.
A link with photos of this couple's battle with cancer is here.
Jennifer died on December 22, 2011 at the young age of 40.
Angelo, a NY photographer compiled their painstaking journey in a book called The Battle We Didn't Choose available at their website My Wife's Fight With Breast Cancer.
It is difficult to look at the pictures of Jennifer's illness and deterioration, especially when marked in contrast to her husband throughout.
The numerous personal pictures makes me feel a little uncomfortable, even as I believe, they are meant to be educational and giving--with 1/2 the proceeds from the book's profits to be going to a non-profit for breast cancer victims.
The story is very tragic, yet too often repeated throughout society...some may be able to find hope in it, and to appreciate what we have, when we have it.
November 8, 2013
Cloud Kool-Aid
And with almost 1 million active apps alone in the Apple Store it is no wonder why.
The cloud can create amazing opportunities for shared services and cost efficiencies.
The problem is that many are using the cloud at the edge.
They are taking the cloud to mean that they in government are simply service brokers, rather than accountable service providers.
In the service broker model, CIOs and leaders look for the best, cost effective service to use.
However, in NOT recognizing that they are the ultimate service providers for their customers, they are trying to outsource accountability and effectiveness.
Take for example, the recent failures of Healthcare.gov, there were at least 55 major contractors involved, but no major end-to-end testing done by HHS.
We can't outsource accountability--even though the cloud and outsourcing is tempting many to do just that.
Secretary Sebelius has said that the buck stops with her, but in the 3 1/2 years leading up to the rollout relied on the big technology cloud in the sky to provide the solution.
Moreover, while Sebelius as the business owner is talking responsibility for the mission failures of the site, isn't it the CIO who should be addressing the technology issues as well?
IT contractors and cloud providers play a vital role in helping the government develop and maintain our technology, but at the end of the day, we in the government are responsible to our mission users.
The relationship is one of partners in problem solving and IT product and service provision, rather than service brokers moving data from one cloud provider to the next, where a buck can simply be saved regardless of whether mission results, stability and security are at risk.
In fact, Bloomberg BusinessWeek outlines the 3 successful principles used in the creation of consumerfinance.gov by the new CFPB, and it includes: "Have in-house strategy, design, and tech"!
Some in government say we cannot attract good IT people.
Maybe true, if we continue to freeze salaries, cut benefits, furlough employees, and take away the zest and responsibility for technology solutions from our own very talented technologists.
Government must be a place where we can attract technology talent, so we can identify requirements with our customers, work with partners on solutions, and tailors COTS, GOTS, open source solutions and cloud services to our mission needs.
When Sebelius was asked on The Hill about whether Healthcare.gov crashed, she said it never crashed, which was technically incorrect as the site was down.
The cloud is great source for IT provision, but the pendulum is swinging too far and fast, and it will by necessity come back towards the center, where it belongs as an opportunity, not a compliance mandate.
Hopefully, this will happen before too many CIOs gut the technology know-how they do have and the accountability they should provide.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
November 7, 2013
The Difference Between Planning and Reality
The top are our plans, along with our hopes and dreams that we get to where we want to, in a basically smooth, straight line--no troubles, no fuss--whoola success!
The bottom is our reality, where we work our way towards our target goals (which we may, or more likely not, ever fully achieve) and that along the way, we encounter all sort of life's tests and challenges--it's an uphill climb, but with tangible achievements and milestones, as we progress.
If it was as easy as the top--it probably wouldn't be worth doing.
The challenges test our mettle--and what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger.
Even so, sure wish I could get some wings and jets on that bicycle. ;-)
Thank you sis for sharing this with me.
(Source Photo: here from DogHouseDiaries)
November 5, 2013
Loneliness Is A Scream
I don't mean intentionally not being with others--taking time away from the hustle and bustle for yourself--but rather being left alone.
Think of the horrors of POWs kept in isolation, prisoners put in solitary, or just everyday kids icing out other children in school, adults marginalizing colleagues at work, and family members abandoning spouses and children at home.
Elizabeth Bernstein makes the distinction between being alone (a potential voluntary state) and loneliness (when you feel that you are forced into an isolated state) in the Wall Street Journal today.
It's an awesome article that explains so much about loneliness:
- We all experience loneliness from "homesickness, bullying, empty-nesting, bereavement, and unrequited love."
- Loneliness can occur when you are without anybody ("isolation") or with the wrong somebody ("dissatisfaction").
- It's a survivalist function and evolutionary to feel scared when your alone, because when you are "too close to the perimeter of the group, [then you become] at risk of becoming prey."
- Loneliness is also associated with memories or fears from childhood--when we were young and vulnerable--that someone wasn't there or going to be there to take care of us.
- Too much loneliness is a "strong predictor of early death"--greater than alcoholism, 15 cigarettes a day, or obesity.
- Loneliness is on the rise, with "some 40% of Americans report being lonely, up from 20% in the 1980's" and this is correlated with more people living alone, now 27% in 2012 versus 17% in 1970.
- Loneliness can be placated by "reminding yourself you're not a [helpless] child anymore," building emotional health and personal self-sufficiency, doing things you enjoy when alone, and reaching out to connect with others.
She jokes at the end of her article that when we aren't feeling lonely, we are annoyed that people just don't leave us alone.
This is a very real concern as well, especially with a multitude of family needs (significant others, young children, elderly parents), 24x7 work environments, and the reality of pervasive online communications and even invasive social media.
Not exclusive to introverts, too much people can make us feel put upon, crowded, and even worn out--and hence many people may even run from excessive social activity and crowds.
Yet without a healthy dose of others, people can literally go crazy from the quiet, void, boredom, as well as from the real or perceived feelings that they are in some way unworthy of love or affiliation.
So even though some people can be annoying, users, or try to take advantage of us, no man is an island, and growth, learning and personal serenity is through degrees of love and connection, for each according to their needs. ;-)
(Source Photo: here)
November 4, 2013
Let's Switch Locker Rooms
They put up a sign at the pool: "Locker rooms will be switched."
I asked the attendant, sort of rhetorically, "What do they mean switched?"
He says, "You know, the men will use the women's locker room, and the women will use the men's locker room!"
I looked and him, and asked innocently, "Do they have urinals in theirs?"
He goes, "No."
Then I continue and ask, "Do they need the urinals in ours?"
He answers, "No!"
So I ask, "Why in G-d's name are you switching the locker rooms?"
The attendant says, "You know, I don't really know, but we do it every year."
Uh, what's up with that! ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
It's Not Bread
November 3, 2013
12 Years A Slave, But Not Anybody's Property
I have seen other movies on slavery, such as Amistad and Glory, but none were as potent and realistic as this was.
I came out with my head full of feelings of pain and injustice, as if I had just lived through those 12 years as a slave myself.
I literally felt sick to my stomach and the room felt as if it was spinning and I could hardly breathe.
My wife said to me, "You wouldn't be human if you didn't feel bad."
And I responded to her, "I feel bad that they (the slave owners and traders) weren't human."
I cannot tell the story of Solomon Northup or of the horrors of slavery any better than the movie in fact did.
But what I can convey is my shear disgust for how anybody could enslave and mistreat others the way the Black people and others throughout history were.
As a Jewish person, my own people have a history of 400 years of slavery in Egypt, and this took on a whole new meaning.
As great actors as Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner were, The movie, The Ten Commandments, did not show the depths of Hell of slavery as much as the breadth of Heaven of redemption.
And while the Pyramids of Egypt were built not with massively powered Caterpillar earth movers and construction equipment, but with the flesh and blood of my people under the whip of servitude 3,500 years ago, similarly the Capitol of the United States and The White House were built with Black people in chains and hung by the noose.
In the movie today, the plantation owners said they could do what they wanted to the slaves and without fear of retribution or sin, because the slaves were their property.
What is unbelievable is that anyone can believe that anybody can be the property of anyone other than G-d, the Master of the Universe, him/herself.
The slave trader in the movie, tearing apart a family and selling the mother and her children separately, when questioned on his ability to commit such atrocity, says matter-of-factly,"my sentimentality extends the length of a coin."
For a buck, what will a person not do?
In history, we have seen individuals and whole societies cheat, steal, rape, enslave, torture, murder, and commit every treachery and treason...for a buck or even just because they could.
What is the lesson for all of us?
People can do great good in this world, but unfettered by faith, conscience, reason, or fear of justice, they can do great, great evil--and for that we can never let our guard down.
November 2, 2013
Exposing Rape
On the Metro in Washington, D.C. there is a sign that warns people about sexual harassment.
In the crowded rush hour trains, people can take advantage and try something.
But the advertisement reminds people that if they do the wrong thing, they are the ones who will be exposed--and punished.
This is in contrast to a story today in the Wall Street Journal about a gang rape of a 16 year-old girl in Kenya.
She was attacked in June--while walking home from her grandfather's funeral!
Six men ambushed her, took turns raping her, and then threw her unconscious body in a toilet pit--as if to say that she was just a thing for their sexual satisfaction and nothing but a proverbial piece of sh*t herself (excuse the directness here).
But to make matters worse, the horrific act was not punished, but mocked.
The rapists were "told to pay for some pain medicine for the girl and mow the grass at the police station"--I am feeling sick again!
I write this blog for this victim and for women everywhere to try to do my little part to expose the continued injustices against them--from inequality and unsafe conditions in the workplace to sexual harassment and rape in society.
Perhaps, if we all expose the injustices, we can finally make it unacceptable and rub it out of existence evermore.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
November 1, 2013
Why Memorize?
Vocabulary words, grammar rules, multiplication tables, algebraic and geometric equations, scientific formulas, historical events, famous quotes, states and capitals, presidents, QWERTY keys, and more.
This seemed the only way to make room for ever more things to memorize and test out.
In a way, you really had to memorize everything, because going to a reference library and having to look up on the stacks of endless shelves or microfiche machines was a pain in the you know what.
Alternatively, the home dictionary, theasarus, and encyclopeda were indispensible, but limited, slow, dated, and annoying.
But as the universe of knowledge exploded, became ever more specialized, and the Internet was born, looking something up was a cinch and often necessary.
All of a sudden, memorization was out and critical thinking was in.
That's a good thing, especially if you don't want people who are simple repositories of stale information, but rather those who can question, analyze, and solve problems.
Albert Einstein said, "Never memorize something that you can look up."
But an interesting editorial in the Wall Street Journal by an old school teacher questions that logic.
David Bonagura Jr. proposes that critical thinking and analysis "is impossible without first acquiring rock-solid knowledge of the foundational elements upon which the pyramid of cognition rests."
He says, "Memorization is the most effective means to build that foundation."
As a kid, I hated memorization and thought it was a waste of time, but looking back I find that more things stayed in that little head of mine than I had thought.
I find myself relying on those foundations everyday...in writing, speaking, calculating, and even remembering a important story, principle, saying or even song lyrics.
These come out in my work--things that I thought were long lost and forgotten, but are part of my thinking, skills, and truly create a foundation for me to analyze situations and solve problems.
In fact, I wish I knew more and retained it all, but short-term memory be damned.
We can't depend on the Internet for all the answers--in fact, someday, it may not be there working for us all, when we need it.
We must have core knowledge that is vital for life and survival and these are slowly being lost and eroded as we depend on the Internet to be our alternate brains.
No, memorizing for memorization's sake is a waste of time, but building a foundation of critical skills has merits.
Who decides what is critical and worthwhile is a whole other matter to address.
And are we building human automatons full of worthless information that is no longer relevant to today's lifestyles and problems or are we teaching what's really important and useful to the human psche, soul, and evolution.
Creativity, critical thinking, and self-expression are vital skills to our ability to solve problems, but these can't exist in a vacuum of valuable brain matter and content.
It's great to have a readily available reference of world information at the tips of our fingertips online, but unless you want to sound (and act) like an idiot, you better actually know something too. ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Chapendra)
October 31, 2013
Pain is Relative
Why?
Because pain (like many emotions) is relative to our understanding of it.
To me, when someone says a 10 for pain, I think of someone under the most excruciating pain--like when someone, G-d forbid, is being tortured.
However, someone else may think of 10 as just being really sick and uncomfortable.
That's why I like this graphic that is used to level-set what each number in the scale represents.
Using this simple graphic, our definition of pain is not purely subjective, but rather each person can look at the faces and expressions and see how they relate to them.
Of course, the goal on the right for zero pain is a great goal, even if not always achievable.
In a sense this is a very basic personal architecture--where you have your "as-is" on the scale and your "to-be" which is your goal.
Then the doctor and patient work together to figure out a transition plan on how to get there (medicine, rehabilitation, healthier living, etc.).
While pain is usually just a symptom, it is a beginning to get at the root cause of what is bothering us and needs to be fixed. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 27, 2013
Divine Light and The Soul Of Man
It hangs over the memorial of names for people that have passed.
The saying as translated here from Proverbs is: "The Divine light illuminates the soul of man."
But the meaning of the hebrew words themselves are more like: The light of G-d is the soul of man.
What is a person's soul?
- Their consciousness.
- The knowledge of right and wrong.
- The part of us that yearns to learn, grow, and be better.
- The part of a human being which is eternal
- The part of a person that can be reunited with loved ones in the afterlife.
- The part of a person that can be resurrected (to try again).
- The spiritual, inner, real you!
G-d breathed into man life.
The physical body is the shell, the exoskeleton, and the vehicle that houses our soul.
The soul is the part of us that drives the vehicle, that makes decisions--good or bad, that navigates the world, and that expresses emotion from the depths of our inner being.
Our soul loves, cares for, empathizes and has mercy on others or it can be angry, jealous, hateful, and cruel--these are expressed through our bodily actions.
G-d's light is powerful indeed--and inside each and every one of us--it powers us to do good or bad, depending on how we take care of the gift.
Do we let ourselves run rampart driven by carnal wants and desires or do we elevate these impulses and use these to serve our master through good deeds and selflessness?
The divine light illuminates who we are and can be.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 26, 2013
Smartphones, Dumb People
It says: "Look up! Watch where you are walking."
This is a good reminder, especially on the corner, right before you step off and possibly walk into some ongoing traffic.
People get distracted walking and even texting while driving and they can have big accidents because of this.
But an article by Christine Rosen in the Wall Street Journal takes this notion quite a bit further.
She proposes that people are so busy on their smartphones and tablets that they are either "oblivious to their surroundings" or more likely to want to film emergencies rather than get involved and help someone in trouble.
She has examples including in December 2012, when a freelance photographer took a photo of a man run over by a train instead of trying to help him off the tracks.
However, I am not convinced that it is the computing devices that make people into "apathetic bystanders" or "cruel voyeurs" any more than the salons in the Wild West made people into alcoholics, gunslingers, and patronizers of prostitutes.
Let's face it, people are who they are.
Things do not make us do bad, but lack of self-control and base impulses, poor moral upbringings, brain chemistry and brainwashing, and psychological problems and disorders cause people to behave in antisocial and immoral ways.
If people weren't filming someone being attacked on the subway, then very likely they would be running out at the next available stop or changing cars as soon as they could get that middle door opened.
Those helpful people, good samaritans, and even heroes among us, are not there because they left their iPhones at home that day, but because their conscience tells them that it's the right thing to do, and perhaps that they would want someone to help them or their family member if the situation was reversed.
People like to blame a lot of things on technology, but saying that we are "losing our sense of duty to others because of it" is absurd.
The technology doesn't make the person; the person makes the technology!" ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
I Like To Be Clean!
Bathroom doorknobs are notorious for being germy.
In this case, there was a little bit of tissue paper that someone left on the knob--I know ick!
Apparently someone got fed up with the grossness of this, so they put up a sign--it says:
"I have been here for two weeks. Can you clean me? It like to be clean!"
But that's not all.
A day later, the note was gone, but that little piece of grossness was still there.
Howie Mandel, please help us! ;-)
October 25, 2013
Rock Into Space
Paragon Space Development Corp is developing a space helium-filled balloon to take us into the wild-blue (and black) yonder.
The balloon will be as wide as a football field.
It will transport 8 people to an altitude of 18 miles, high enough to move around for about 6 hours and get a "panoramic view of the globe without having to wear space suits of don oxygen masks."
The cost will be about $75,000 per person--which seems almost doable for middle class folks who want the ultimate travel experience.
In contrast, Virgin Galactic will rocket passengers 60 miles high where customers can experience weightlessness for about $250,000.
Other ventures are developing offerings of trips to the International Space Station, an orbiting hotel, and even the moon.
I think it would be so awesome to experience space travel and see G-d's creations in a whole new perspective-filled way.
It's amazing, we are so small in the realm of things, yet we fallaciously think we are so big. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 24, 2013
Performance and Transparency - 2gether 4ever
Here are their store performance measures prominently displayed.
Not a high-tech solution, but every measure has its place and metrics.
- Looks at friendly customer service.
- Tracks speed of checkout.
- Measures accuracy of transactions.
This lines up well with the management adage that "you can't manage what you don't measure."
Some pointers:
- Identify, collaboratively, your key drivers of performance
- Determine whether/how you can measure them efficiently (i.e. qualitatively, quantitatively)
- Set realistic, stretch targets for the organization
- Communicate the goals and measures, 360 degrees
- Regularly capture the measures and make the metrics transparent
- Recognize and reward success and course correct when necessary
- Reevaluate measures and goals over time to ensure they are still relevant
Wash, rinse, repeat for continuous improvement. ;-)
(Source Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)
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