South Of Someplace: September 2014

Friday, September 26, 2014

More Clippers Nonsense

Now that Steve Ballmer, formerly the CEO of Microsoft, is the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, he has banned all Apple products from his team. And they said that Donald Sterling was prejudiced.

Five Magic Moments In Your Life

Moment One - You have an idea.

Moment Two - You act upon the idea with an open heart and mind to see what will happen.

Moment Three - You look at the results and think, "I could do better."

Moment Four - You devise a new approach.

Moment Five - You try again.

These are five of the most magical and meaningful moments in your life.

They create opportunities.

They make things happen.

They increase your knowledge, your capabilities, and your confidence.

They get results.

They lead on to bigger and better accomplishments.

I hope that you'll experience each of these moments again and again throughout the course of your life. Because that's can make a dream come true.

Friday, September 19, 2014

We Have Met The Enemy

The Ken Burns documentary on the Roosevelts is full of amazing details large and small, pleasant and unpleasant.

Last evening they showed two despicable images. The first was a photo of a lynch mob posing in front of the body of the man that they had just hanged. The mob members looked directly into the camera with a determined look of righteous, angry self assurance.

Footage of Nazi gatherings captured a similar mood of contempt and self assured hatred. The crowds cheered Hitler's rants. (Cheered is a polite word. It sounded more like the howls of coyotes.)

This is a side of human nature that exists. To gloss over that fact would be folly. Mankind must remain forever vigilant against the mob mentality, the communal blood lust that allows itself quickly to become blind to reason and all of the better principles of civilization, the vile, animalistic compulsion to attack and criticize and harm for no logical reason.

Indeed, we really have met the enemy, we have met the bogeyman, and that enemy lives within our own complex and self centered human natures.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

The Criminalization of Sexting

According to CNN, two teens have been charged under Florida's new anti-sexting law. There's so much wrong with this, I don't know where to begin.

First of all, they weren't really sexting. A boy forwarded a nude photo of a girl to his cousin. I could understand the outrage if the boy had taken the photo and promised to keep it discreet. But that's not what happened.

The photo came from Instagram. It was already publicly visible. If the boys had shared a photo of a published centerfold model, would that violate this Florida law?

Secondly, if this had been a case of two teens communicating in a sexually explicit manner, in cases where such communication is done with both parties' consent, can that legitimately be restricted by law? If two teens sit on a park bench having the same conversation, would that be illegal? That seems like a dangerous attack on freedom of speech. What's next? Being arrested for thinking about sex?

I suppose that this shouldn't surprise me. It's Florida, after all, a state that has made it legal to shoot and kill people under almost any circumstances (one only needs to feel threatened in order to discharge their weapon legally). I can see how the free exchange of ideas and information might be seen as subversive in such a jurisdiction.

Check and Balances

In the United States of America, the Congress has the power to override the veto of the President. Congress can enact any piece of legislation with a two-thirds majority in both houses. This power prevents the president from impeding the business of government.

Similarly, the President can take Executive Action in certain instances when Congress fails to act. This power is used, for instance, to fund critical services when a budget deadline passes, or to place temporary appointees in important positions when Congress delays the official appointment process.

The checks and balances in our government are not there simply to prevent some unwanted activity by one branch or another. The checks and balances also prevent inaction. They provide a solution when the normal course of action stalls.

Without this power, the government could be forced into a stalemate at any time over a policy disagreement. Effective governance requires the ability to move the business of the country forward even during politically contentious times.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Remembering Richard Rosenthal

To my colleague, Richard Rosenthal, who left this world tragically on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001:

I'm thinking about you today, Rich. I'm reminiscing about the good times that our team had together and the respect that we shared. I'm thinking about your family and how diligently you worked to take care of them.

I'm remembering how gentle and pleasant you were, every day, without exception. I recall your dedication, your expertise, and your professionalism. I'm proud to have worked with you and prouder still to have known you.

It's been thirteen years, but I think about you often. I miss you, and I'll always remember our time together. And I'll never let an anniversary go by without acknowledging your passing.

Shalom. Yahweh's peace be with you.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Future Innovations from Apple

Maybe next year Apple will develop iUnderwear complete with intelligent sensors that can determine when it needs to be changed. You'll always have a fresh pair when you need it, and you'll never have to worry about ending up in the hospital unprepared.

And just one more thing... iUnderwear will automatically order a larger replacement set when it detects that you've gained too much weight for your current size.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Domestic Violence

Ray Rice has become the face of domestic violence. This is expected, but it's probably not going to have much of an effect on preventing spousal abuse.

Rice was fired today from the Baltimore Ravens football organization after TMZ released a video of him punching his girlfriend in an elevator in Atlantic City. The victim is a woman. The culprit is a powerful professional athlete. He punched her in the face and knocked her out. The outrage is well deserved as is his very public dismissal.

But consider for a moment that there are men int this world - lots of them - who quietly terrorize their wives, girlfriends, children, step-children, nieces and nephews every week, even every day. There are men who abuse their wives and children in ways that Mr. Rice probably couldn't imagine, and they do so regularly.

For these men, cruelty is a natural as breathing, and domination has become an all-powerful addiction.

These men thrive on the absolute power that they hold over the battered woman in their lives. They long for any perceived excuse to slap or punch a woman or a child or berate them with incessant hurtful language.

The wives and girlfriends in these scenarios rarely seek relief or justice, because the fear that hangs over them is so terrifying that it paralyzes their thought and actions and destroys any hope of rescue from the person hell of their households.

How can we identify these monsters and separate them from the women whose lives they have all but destroyed? Where are the mindful social workers? Where are the TMZ cameras? Where are the heavily fortified shelters that will be needed to protect these women from future beatings? Where is the political will to imprison these men for assault and attempted murder?

The press and the court of public opinion will vilify Mr. Rice for his impulsive overreaction to a scuffle with an angry woman. He deserves no sympathy.

But countless abused women and children do deserve our sympathy, our support, and a path to lasting safety. Sadly, few of them will ever get that chance. We'll occupy our thoughts in the coming months with chastising the Celebrity Jerk of the Moment while looking obliviously in the wrong direction. And after a while, we'll just forget the whole thing.

An Unimaginably Wild Week In Sports

- The Dolphins stun the Patriots on the opening Sunday of the NFL regular season.

- Steeler Antonio Brown karate kicks a punter in the face mask during a run back. If he had skipped the kick, he might have scored a touchdown.

- The Baltimore Ravens (the patron team of criminals) fire running back Ray Rice after graphic video of domestic violence is released.

- Federer and Djokovich are eliminated from the US Open.

- Derek Jeter retires from baseball.

And that's all in about three days.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

The Gold Standard

In the peak years of the music recording industry, i.e. before digital downloads replaced the sale of physical recordings, the "Gold Record" was the standard of success. In the United States of America, a record was considered "gold" when 500,000 units were shipped to retail outlets.

The population of the USA was between 200 and 300 million during this era. For a record to reach the gold status, approximately one person in 500 would have purchased a copy.

Think about that a moment. One out of five-hundred was considered a major success. It's a surprisingly low ratio. Imagine a candidate being elected to office if only one voter out of 500 chose them.

Yet, if you had a gold record, you were considered to be very successful. Your music would be played widely on radio stations. Magazines would interview you. Concert tickets would sell well, and some venues would sell out.

Demographic data helps to clarify the numbers. People in youthful age brackets tend to buy more recordings than the rest of the population. And not everyone likes that same type of music. Include these factors, and the gold record might sell to one out of twenty or thirty likely buyers. It's a better ratio, but it's still a surprisingly low benchmark for success.

I take three lessons away from the Gold Record phenomenon.

Lesson 1 - You don't need to please everyone

P.T. Barnum said that you can't please all of the people all of the time. Luckily, you don't have to.

Some people will never appreciate what we're trying to do. My grandparents didn't appreciate the Beatles. That didn't mean that the Beatles were doing something wrong. Their music didn't appeal to everyone, and they were still quite successful.

Remember this principle the next time that someone dismisses your work as inferior, uninteresting, or out of fashion.

Lesson 2 - Set your own standards

Taste is beyond anyone's control. Different people like different things, and most of them will be completely indifferent to you. Some might be downright hostile.

It's okay. Let them enjoy what appeals to them. Never change course as a result of someone else's rejection or disparaging comments.

There is only ONE person on the planet whom you absolutely MUST please, and that person is YOU. Hold yourself to your own standards and adjust those standards only when they fail to lead you to where you want to arrive.

Lesson 3 - It's a blessing to be appreciated

Appreciate your "fans." They are a gift and a blessing.

Be thankful that there are people out there who feel as passionately about your vision as you do. Treat those people well. Give them your gratitude and all due respect.

And remember: Always Be Humble.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

False Attibution

"Falsely attributing quotations to famous people is one of the most deplorable practices on the Internet."

- Mark Twain

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Opportunity

The quality of our lives depends in large part on how well we recognize opportunities and how well we utilize those opportunities once discovered. The chance to do something special won't last very long. Seize the moment or make your peace with its inevitable departure.

South Of Someplace