Tuesday, December 14, 2010

9 people on a motorcycle but one is in a "bucket seat"

How much you wanna bet that bike wasn’t made in China?

 

Description: cid:image001.jpg@01CB9848.4E048F20

 

Of course I’ve seen 1 person weigh as much as all 9… that’s CRAZY!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

"You're not cool unless...."

So I’m potty-training my 19 month old daughter. Oh my. There are so many learnings and applications and struggles and wonderful parallels to everything I have ever and never been exposed to with regards to influencing the behavior of another. At minimum, there’s no missing the Human Action Model – unfortunately we’re not a shoe-in for the discomfort leg. I thought for sure “discomfort” would be the only natural option for her when some “human action” was running down her leg. Not the case, so I’ll have to focus on some other behavior modification techniques, but that’s not what led me to post:

 

You know how it’s cliché to imagine people in their underwear when you’re nervous (because it lowers their status). We’ll if you think about it. Every person used to pee his or her pants. That’s not so novel of a thought, but I realized it has quite the lesson when you see it in the context of experimental discovery.

 

Let’s tie it to the line in our mental model “Discovery Process and Experimentation Versus Grand Plans” which states that “…a company without some ventures that fail is a company that isn’t taking enough risks.” Most everyone will agree that failures are necessary for success, but how necessary? Simply an unavoidable side effect? Something we put up with to get to the end goal? Perhaps, but I would like to posit that it is process-critical.

 

While potty-training my daughter, I cannot anticipate every time that she would or should use the toilet instead of her clothes, for if I did, she wouldn’t learn anything but to depend on me for that task. I have to LET her make a mess, teach her why that happened, try (but fail) to explain how she can keep that from happening again, and then wait for her to make another mess. Until it clicks. Which we’re hoping will be soon.

 

You cannot become house broken until you start wearing pants and stop wearing a diaper. What we’re calling failure here is a critical step in the process. If we celebrate those failures as a path to success, we will learn and grow and profit. (literally… diapers are expensive!)

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

how much did that surgery cost?!

Ever felt over-charged for a simple procedure?

Check out this website that gives you a good idea of what any given procedure should cost at the doctor or hospital or dentist…

 

http://healthcarebluebook.com/

 

Cheers,

David

Somebody needs a girlfriend

 

Whomever typed in “Dear Google, I Love You.” So many times that it is on this list, probably needs a girlfriend.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

LAYZING LATES!

Say this out loud and ask yourself this question:

Which does it mean!?

 

Increasing rent on the Chinese?

-or-

Enforcing tardiness with a beam of light?

 

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

oops


I'm thinking that I have too many files open or something. This is my start menu. :)
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Thursday, September 23, 2010

compared to what?

If I had been the observer of my actions and body language a minute ago, I would have drawn the following conclusion:

 

“Stay away, I think it stinks in there.”

 

I had my face turned inside out in disgust. The kind of face people make when they are forced to stay put amidst a roiling silent-but-deadly cloud of flatulence. You know, when you try to cover your nose with whatever part of your face is willing to accept the task. (of course you usually end up just looking weird and flaring your nostrils to inadvertently invite in more of the exact odor particulate that you are trying to avoid.

 

But my disgust wasn’t smell. I was pouring myself a cup of the free coffee on our floor.  This stuff is so nasty, but it does the trick. Ironically the company that could most succinctly describe this transaction is BUCKLEY’S cough syrup. Their technique is: Tastes horrible? Check. Works? Check. I wonder if this is how smokers feel about cigarettes.

 

The irony comes from the fact that the only time this coffee tasted decent is when I had just tasted Buckley’s. I bet Calvin’s Dad could have told me to expect that.