Some People--Potential Darwin Award Nominee

I'm not sure if you are aware of the Darwin Awards--they are given to people for trying to remove themselves from the gene pool for doing really stupid, even unimaginable things. They make incredibly fascinating reading. I have a 2010 nominee:

I read the following in the Baltimore Sun yesterday:

A 25-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the foot while intoxicated in a Reisterstown home early Wednesday morning, a Baltimore County Police spokesman said.

Donald Burshnick, 25, of Maine, N.Y., was drunk with other people in a house in the 1500 block of Nicodemus Road, said Cpl. Mike Hill of Baltimore County Police.

At about 3:30 a.m., he retrieved a loaded rifle from within the home and fired a shot into the floor, the spokesman said. "However, he struck his foot," Hill said.

He gave police detectives varying accounts about what had happened before admitting he was drunk, Hill said. Initial reports of the incident described it as a hunting accident. No charges will be filed, Hill said.

So let me get this straight--he aimed at the floor and missed! Hitting his foot!

In a house filled with other people? He discharged a rifle?

Really?

He's lucky he didn't his something more critical--or maybe he should have.

A definite Darwin Award candidate.

As an example, I provide this Darwin Award winner from 2009:

(10 January 2009, Pennsylvania) An embarrassed and seriously injured 17-year-old initially claimed that an explosive had been planted in his backpack by persons unknown. However, police investigators soon extracted the truth from the feckless teen. He found an M-80 explosive at his grandmother's house, took it to his room to examine it, and began to repeatedly light and extinguish the fuse. During one of these cycles the fuse would not go out, so he jammed the red cardboard tube between his thighs and covered it with his hand to muffle the explosion. This plan was less successful than he had hoped.

Commonly thought to be a quarter stick of dynamite, M80's (according to pyrouniverse.com) actually contain flash powder rather than TNT, and only 1/50 the amount--just under 3 grams. Used by the U.S. Military to simulate grenade explosions, M80's were outlawed in 1966 under the Child Protection Act. They are not safe enough to be detonated by the average man on the average street, let alone by the average 17-year-old.

One loud KABOOM! later, our junior pyrotechnics specialist had lost his right hand, right leg, and--very likely--his right to reproduce, earning him a living Darwin Award. * As always, my regrets to the boy and his family.

It is Raining!

Normally, that would be an expression of frustration and messed up plans. But today, the fact that rain is falling is a great thing. We have not had rain in almost a month and things are really dry.

It is a light soaking kind of rain, too.

The air is clearing of the suspended junk and it is nice to be out in the rain--it is cooling and enjoyable.

Makayla and I took a short walk just to enjoy the drops and see the change in the earth as it is being refreshed by the rain. It even smells good.

Take a moment, if it is raining where you are, especially if you have been in drought conditions to thank God for the rain.

Slogging It Out

It really is a race now.

Trying to make it on the road to my Florida vacation while keeping all the juggled balls in the air long enough to get out of town.

Some of the stuff, I just don't want to deal with--like the power steering problem with the truck. It needs to go to the shop--but, it will wait until I get back.

Other stuff--needs to get done, like the preparation and the packing.

And then there are the outliers--like buying a new sprinkler because the old one broke. Who is going to water the lawn while we are gone? And I wanted to rent a tank of air to do a dive gear check-out. Maybe Saturday because I still have to retrieve Chris's repaired face mask.

And work has turned into a nightmare of its own--strings of meetings that yesterday lasted until 5:30 pm and start all over today with a road-trip meeting which will devour the better part of an already busy Friday. Monday and Tuesday present themselves as more of the same with equally as long out of the office meetings.

And this is July--the pace is supposed to ease a bit as the action and task generators begin to slip out on vacation.

All I know is that when I hit the front door of the house in the evening I force my mind to go blank--but it doesn't.

Like the journey of a thousand miles beginning with a single step--I will continue to put one foot in front of the other and by slogging through one shuffle step at a time, it will all get done. Mostly.

Cylinder of Excellence: A Study in Self Importance

The other day, a friend of mine referred to a situation in our office as an example of the "cylinder of excellence capitol of the world."

I was stunned and amazed--so amazed that I wrote the phrase down and my mind has been turning it over teasing it out in the week since it was uttered.

There was so much packed into those seven words that I still can barely comprehend the complete meaning of the phrase.

The cylinder part was fantastic as it describes an entire universe or work unit. Totally self-contained and self-absorbed with no inputs allowed from the outside.

The idea of a cylinder is that it stands by itself, unlike a sphere which can roll, and it is there for others to see and often trip over. Additionally, there is nothing connecting this free-standing cylinder to the world around it. It is because it is. Kind of a parody of Descartes "I think, therefore I am."

Add into this self-absorbed and self-important environment the self-declaration of excellence. The ego factor is increasing exponentially here. But, in fact, many places consider themselves to be Centers of Excellence--and that title is self assigned. There is no agency designated to bestow upon an organization the rating of Center of Excellence. Leadership does it in its own.

It is often used to convey a message, but in my way of thinking it all too often is a gratuitous title. If, in face, and organization is a center of excellence, then their products and services will reflect that as will the bottom line success of the organization.

And now for the closing phrase-- "capitol of the world!" Of course this is a tongue in cheek comment which really drives home the point that the dis-connectedness and the self-importance of the cylinder of excellence is unmatched and is an example for other "Wanna Be's" to emulate.

What kind of organizations are guilty of this behavior? All kinds--from civic to governmental to private industry to religious.

I have seen organizations in all of these areas pride themselves on being the "cylinder of excellence capitol of the world."

What do we need to do to prevent our organization from becoming a cylinder of excellence?

Stay connected to peer organizations and customers and partners. Also, work collaboratively--giving as well as receiving. Stay in touch.

AND--don't think so highly of yourself that you can't accept ideas from outside.

Break down the philosophy which continues to promote the "not invented here" syndrome. Open the organization to the outside and allow solid connection to others.

It is not good to be a cylinder of excellence capitol of the world--it is much better to be seen as a collaborative, open, innovative organization which constantly reinvents itself to meet the demands of the market or the customers it is trying to serve.

Just because we did it that way 10 years ago doesn't mean we need to do it that way today--but also, it doesn't necessarily mean we HAVE to change, either.

Ask the customers what they need to be successful and then partner with other organizations, if necessary, to meet the need.

Truck problems, ugh!

It was bound to happen sooner or later. My beloved truck has developed a power steering lfluid leak--which is pretty bad.

It's going to need surgery. I looked at it and I can't even discern where the the leak actually is--except it is spraying all over the front of the truck in front of the radiator. I do know it is not the power steering fluid pump--I found that and there is no fluid there..

Couldn't happen at a worse time--right before vacation.

I still drive the truck a couple day a week. Why? Well I'm trying to keep miles off Cat. And I always drive the truck during bad weather.

I was actually under the truck for two hours yesterday replacing the failed axillary air pump--that was a special treat in the heat. Fortunately, I was able to work in the garage--where the light was worse but the temperature was 20 degrees cooler than being in the direct sun.

But, because of the fantastic weekend of lounging in the pool on a floatie, I was able to persevere!

The truck will get fixed, soon. I already have one broken and undriveable vehicle in the driveway.

Until then--don't worry, be happy. Florida is less than two weeks away from reality.

And the truck, while important, isn't my only vehicle.

Fabulous Weekend

It is hot!

It has been hot.

I got the chance to watch and old favorite movie over the weekend--Yankee Doodle Dandy, the George M. Cohan Story starring James Cagney.

Now that is one patriotic movie. I love the music and the story.

I also had the opportunity to watch the Macy's Fireworks from New York City--which was really fantastic especially after seeing the fireworks form the mall in DC in person.

I also did some repairs--I had a water valve break in the pool house which required me to sweat some copper. And I repaired a leak in a floatie. Worked on Chris's car trying to silence an annoying rattle. Ugh.

But mostly--I was able to just be in the moment and enjoy the things of life like fireflies in the trees and the singing of a wren near her nest. Watching the dogs interact with us and enjoy one of the most relaxing and productive weekends I've had in a long time.

2010, the 234th celebration of the United States was by far one of my most favorite holiday weekends.

Monday Musings - July 5, 2010 Reflections of the Independence Celebration

1. Riding in a stuffed full metrorail car from DC to Greenbelt last night was a new experience with screaming babies and full of themselves young people. I had visions of a Stephen King type of ending for the train as it sped through the tunnels under the city and then broke into the night as it came above ground. Thankfully, he writes fiction and this was real life.

2. Spending the Fourth of July with a few hundred thousand of my closest friends reminded me that patriotism is still alive in this country despite the daily dose of depressing news and frustration we exhibit in our elected leadership.

3. This terrible picture is of the fireworks exploding behind the Washington Monument from a spot on the West Lawn of the Capitol Building. Don't tell her I admitted this--but Chris found an awesome spot to watch the fireworks among the thousands of like minded people assembled for the event.

4. Watching two extra dogs this weekend has reminded me that I really love my one true dog.

5. The weekend has been idyllic--I have spent a lot of time on a floatie in my pool. But, yesterday I did have to repair a broken valve in the pool house. Thankfully, I still remember how to sweat copper.

6. It is really nice to have a day off after the late night celebration. Maybe Independence Day needs a two-day celebration so we can all recover after the night before.

7. I read the following in the NPR review of the July 4th this morning: Chicago traditionally celebrated a day early on July 3 with a fireworks display that drew more than 1 million people, but the show was canceled this year to save at least $500,000. The city held three smaller shows on Sunday. I believe Chicago has lost something. An event which brings 1 million Americans together to celebrate the birth of our nation must not be lost.

8. One of the songs the band played in church yesterday was I Am Free. Although we didn't sign the song, I was reminded that we are free to worship, to sing, to enjoy life and to share our love with those around us.

9. It was interesting to look out over the crowd last night as the fireworks were lighting up the sky and see the number of iPhone and camera LCD screens of people doing the same thing that I was doing--trying to capture the moment for posterity in digital image. I stopped after two shots and decided to capture the moment in my memory--and just to enjoy the music, the fireworks, and the company of the two beautiful women who were with me.

10. 234 years--thanks to a few founding fathers for their vision, their dedication, and their willingness to risk everything to follow a dream. I only hope we still have a portion of their patriotism remaining in our souls.

Happy 4th

Guess where we are to celebrate?

Lavender and butterflies

We were treated to a host of white butterflies enjoying our lavender yesterday. A cloud of the white butterflies hovered over the blooms enjoying the scent and the pollen from the blooms.

The gardens are suffering a bit from the lack of rain, bit we are supplementing with water to keep the blooms coming.

Chris mulched the beds this week which will further help retaining moisture on the plants.

The weather has been glorious and we are heading into a hot spell this week according to the forecast.

Bring it on.

Holiday Weekend

Just another holiday weekend and the gang is all gathered.

We are dog sitting for our families who are pit of town and so in addition to Makayla, we have also Florence the Italian Greyhound and Ben the other Keeshond is in the foreground. They are napping on my bed.

As I like to say it, I have a pair of Kees when the keeshonden are together.

It was kind of funny how we gained the extra canines within hours of deciding not to head away for the holiday weekend.

But as the three-day weekend begins we have a full house.

I wouldn't have it any other way.