Ping Pong Brain

A Jeffersonian Review: The Pragmatic Prohpet

2011-10-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

Many will have seen this already, but it is so worthy of sharing I felt compelled to put it out there again. Be sure to read the quotes at the bottom from Jefferson himslef, and take a moment to reflect upon how the state of our nation today makes a brilliant case for the clarity of Thomas Jefferson's vision.

Jefferson the Scholar:

Jefferson was a remarkable man who began his learning very early in life and never stopped.

At 5, he began studying under his cousins' tutor.
At 9, he studied Latin, Greek and French.
At 14, he studied classical literature and additional languages.
At 16, he entered the College of William and Mary.
At 19, he studied Law for 5 years, starting under George Wythe.
At 23, he started his own law practice.
At 25, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
At 31, he wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America " and retired from his law practice.
At 32, he was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
At 33,he wrote the Declaration of Independence.
At 33, he took three years to revise Virginia 's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom
At 36, he was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.
At 40, he served in Congress for two years.
At 41, he was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
At 46, he served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
At 53, he served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
At 55,he drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.
At 57, he was elected the third president of the United States .
At 60, he obtained the Louisiana Purchase , doubling the nation's size.
At 61, he was elected to a second term as President.
At 65, he retired to Monticello .
At 80, he helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
At 81, he almost singlehandedly created the University of
Virginia and served as its first president.
At 83, he died, on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams

JFK on Jefferson:

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement:

"This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

Jefferson the Visionary:

Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself had studied the previously failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, God's laws, and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what most understand today. His is a voice from the past to lead us into the future.

"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe , we shall become as corrupt as Europe."

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes, a principle which if acted on, would save one-half the wars of the world."

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."

"No free man shall ever be deprived the use of arms."

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

Taliban & Al Qaeda Memo:

2011-10-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Subject: Urgent Strategy Update

Audience: All Middle Eastern Terror Operatives

Effective immediately, all employees and support staffers are asked to take their remaining PTO (Personal Time Off) between now and the end of the infidel's calendar year. Leadership also demands you to finish chores related local poppy crops in order to ensure that element of the organizational funding model is ready for the updated plans now being shaped for 2012 (infidel's calendar).

If you are currently working in our Afghanistan or Pakistan regional offices, please also stop by your local relocation hut and start looking for new accommodations in the soon to be revitalized Iraqi business unit.

Go now and spend your down time wisely, so that we may reconvene in 150 days with the business of forcing our screwed up vision of the world on others through violent and deplorable actions. Also, please keep watch your thumb drive in boxes for the new annual report and announcements relating to plans for whipping more women who try to learn, vote or drive.

Sincerely,

Al Isanazho

Regional VP

Life Explained

2011-08-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

Life Explained

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village. A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and asked how long it took them to catch them.

"Not very long." they answered in unison.

"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" The fishermen explained that their small catches were sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.

"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children,and take siestas with our wives. In the evenings, we go into the village to see our friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. We have a full life."

The tourist interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?"

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

"How long would that take?"

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well my friends, that's when it gets really interesting," answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen.

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."

And the moral of this story is:

........ Know where you're going in life. You may already be there!!

Subject Mastery in Vietnam: Can Corporate Trainers Learn From This?

2011-03-14T07:56:00.002-07:00

My cousin Kenny was a Blackhawk test pilot, and he recently sent me this very short story about a door gunner being quizzed by a General inspecting his unit about his weapon. As I read it I saw yet another example of how well the military trains to "mastery".

Here's the connection with this story: ADD/ADHD learners often have difficulty achieving subject mastery. We have a tendency to tackle (or not tackle) varied learning and development opportunities to Bloom's level 3, perhaps 4 (3. Application, 4. Analysis), but often move on to the next task, subject, distraction before ever mastering anything. At least that's what my own "data set" indicates. The following story raises questions about how we train in the corporate space:

1. Given that today's military, and specifically the Army in this example, is still very good at driving learners through the entire learning process to "mastery", what's the Army doing that can be applied to corporate training practices?
2. Is putting "teeth" into training and mandating compliance like the Army does part of becoming a "learning centric organization"?
3. Do your people know the tools and solutions they use in their jobs like Spc. Coomb's did?

The Man in the Doorway

Thinking back on how VERY much credit they TRULY deserved and how little we pilots actually gave them, I'm reminded of one particular day on which, at least in the eyes of one Army General Grade officer, our "Men in the Doorway" got a well-deserved "Atta'Boy."

On that particular day, elements of the UTT/68th/197th Armed Helicopter Company's 1st Platoon [ Playboys ] had been held back from tactical missions and told to "Set up a 'static display' for a visiting General." on our ramp [ Hotel 2 ] at the North side of Saigon's Tan Son
Nhut Air Base.

[ Then ] Captain Richard S. Jarrett directed the assigned crew to set up an Armed B-Model [ UH-1B ] Huey -- with a "Complete Spread" of ordnance, including the aircraft's full compliment of: 2.75" FFARs [Folding Fin Aerial Rockets]; four Mounted & two Hand-Held M-60 Machine Guns; one M-14 Rifle, with several magazines of 7.62mm ammo.; one M-79 Grenade Launcher, with several bandoleers of 40mm Grenade rounds, and 'Half a Bazillion" rounds of linked 7.62mm ammo. laid out on the tarmac in neat columns and rows.

I don't recall who the other Crewmen were but, when the General arrived, Specialist Coombs was standing at Attention, next to his door, with his M-60 at Port Arms.

Capt. Jarrett saluted and reported to the General and proceeded with giving him a "Standard, Visiting Fireman's" Walk-Around Briefing. As they came abreast of Spc. Coombs' position and Capt. Jarrett began describing a Crew Chief's duties, the General interrupted the briefing, addressed Spc. Coombs directly, pointed at his M-60 and, in a clearly sarcastic tone, asked "Son, ya' know how to use that damned thing or do ya' just stand around holdin' it an' lookin' purty?"

Without missing a beat, Coombs boomed out, "SIR, this is my M-60, General Purpose, Seventeen point Five Pound, Air Cooled, Gas Operated, Belt Fed, Fully Automatic, Seven point Six Two millimeter Machine Gun. It has a Maximum Effective Range of Three Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty Meters and a Cyclic Rate of Fire of Five Hundred and Fifty Rounds per Minute. It fires when I pull the trigger in the open-bolt position, at which time multiple things occur, both simultaneously and sequentially, including: with release and advancement of this bolt, a metal belt link is de-linked and ejected as the bolt simultaneously begins to chamber the de-linked round. This is immediately followed, sequentially, with operating rod and bolt advancement and initiation of the bolt's locking sequence. When the bolt is fully locked, the sear releases the firing pin which strikes the primer...as the projectile approaches the muzzle, a portion of the ignited powder's expanding gasses enter this gas port, actuating the Buffer and Operating Rod Group, compressing the Driving Spring and driving the Operating Rod to the rear, unlocking the bolt and..." all while, griping the M-60 by its Stock Group with his left hand, Coombs field strips the M-60 with his right hand [displaying each part for the General to view -- at the precise moment that he is making verbal reference to that part] and lays each part, in sequential order and "at Dress Right Dress" on his outstretched left forearm.

When the M-60 was fully disassembled, Coombs began reassembling it -- while continuing the staccato delivery of his spiel, deftly shifting its focus, ". ..As Crew Chief, my duty position is here in the left cargo compartment door. My Field of Fire extends from Three Five Niner Degrees to One Eight Zero Degrees, which is my Sector of Responsibility at all times. My instantaneously initiated, sustained and accurate application of Suppressive Fire is most critical at times when our aircraft is receiving hostile fire from my Sector of Responsibility and when my Aircraft Commander is making a "Right Break" from a Fire Mission, during which time my side of the aircraft is exposed to the Target Area..." and, as he snapped the Feed Tray Cover closed and returned to Port Arms, he wrapped-up his impromptu briefing with "...That concludes my formal presentation. I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have, SIR!"

The General, mouth agape and slowly shaking his head and with a Deer in the Headlights" look of near-total disbelief at what he had just witnessed, looked to Capt. Jarrett and asked, "Damn Captain, are they ALL like that?"

In response to which, Capt. Jarrett leaned over and -- with his mouth near the General's ear, in a "Stage Whisper" that Coombs could evidently hear -- said, "Every F.....g one of them, General."

A Word on Voting From a Dead Senator

2010-10-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

While walking down the street one day a Corrupt Senator was tragically hit by a car and died.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the Senator.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from the higher ups. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really?, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the Senator.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules." And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course.
In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They played a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and the finest champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who is having a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are all having such a good time that before the Senator realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises.

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him, "Now it's time to visit heaven...”

So, 24 hours passed with the Senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The Senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell...

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls to the ground.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulders.

"I don't understand," stammers the Senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil smiles at him and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning, Today, you voted.."

Vote wisely on November 2, 2010

A Few words On Immigration And Term Limits From A Crusty Old Vet

2010-07-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

My name is d'Lynn. I'm a disabled Vietnam vet. I don't look too bad for a beat-up old fart, do I? And that's my ride. She's looking pretty good also, especially when you consider that she'll turn twenty this summer. That's right, it's a 1990 with a 1990 sidecar. I can't ride a solo bike, ergo the sidecar rig. It's my sole means of transportation - rain or shine, snow or wind, and this summer also marks a milestone in both of our lives, as I will finally be able to pay her off. Twenty years old? What? Why did it take so long? You weren't paying attention, were you? It's right at the beginning of this paragraph.

I am a disabled vet, which means I receive a veterans administration disability pension, which also means " I'm broke ! " Just one step ahead of being homeless every month, and that's not an idle statement or an " Oh, woe is me " dire complaint. There’s a point to this, so hang in there a minute or two and read on.

There's a 25-year-old illegal immigrant woman living in Florida , with eight kids. Yes, eight " anchor babies " and she receives just shy of $1,500 per month per kid, plus medical, plus food stamps. Almost $12,000 per month......!!!!

Oh, wait. I've been informed that I shouldn't call them Food Stamps anymore. That's not PC. It's all called “ Social Assistance ” now. You do the math on that yourself. I'd say that she was schooled early in how to make it in the system. Twenty-five years old, eight kids . . . . . yep, she started early.........

You can whip out the calculator if you want, but this woman, who never has paid a dime in taxes of any kind, (and still doesn't – she's ' illegal, ' (remember ?) is here in this country illegally. She hasn’t paid out one cent in medical for all the
“ anchor babies, ” makes more in one month, legally, than I receive in over a year and a half in disability payments and I can't even get food stamps ! Oops, I mean “Social Assistance.”

Technically I am eligible for “ Social Assistance.” I was told it would be a walk through – a gimme – being disabled. No problem, and in the very next breath I was also informed that under the law the amount I received in “Social Assistance” would be deducted from my disability pension.

Let's say I take a great photograph. It was just luck, a one of a kind accident, in the right place at the right time shot. My local newspaper offers me fifty bucks to use the photo in a featured story. (I live in a small town and fifty bucks is all they could afford.) I have to report that fifty dollars to the VA as earned income, which will immediately be deducted from my next month’s disability check. If I don't report it I’m in violation of federal law and technically they can stop my disability pension and prosecute me under a federal felony. Pretty cool, eh ? For fifty bucks.

I see no point in dealing with two federal bureaucracies, so I don't bother. What's the point ?

She's here illegally and with just one kid would make over twice what I receive per month. She has eight and she’s not a stand-out case. She’s not alone. That's the way the system works. Millions of illegal immigrants know this, know how the system works and know how to use it. (Haven't you seen the pamphlet ? It's handed out all along our borders, "The Illegal Immigrants' Guide to Keeping America Just The Way It Is.") and that's just the way it works.............................

Did you know that the federal government provides a “refugee” in this country with a monthly “ stipend ” of $1,890, plus $580 a month in “ Social Assistance ? ” That’s $2,470 a month, tax-free. That's two and a half times what I’m allowed to receive as a disabled vet. And just what did they do to earn this ? All you have to do is show up on our collective doorstep, raise your right hand and swear that you're a refugee and, bingo, receive $30,000 a year, tax-free. That's more than someone making $15 an hour, and they have to pay taxes to boot !

Now, in defense of the Veterans Administration, they are doing what they can with what they've got. This is precious little compared to what they should have to get the job done. At least this country has a VA.

It's the Senate that keeps passing laws, rules and guidelines, cutting their budget, denying requests for more staff and computer systems to handle the massive work flow. Their hands are tied by the very government that's supposed to give them what they need to get the job done, by the government you voted into office. Don't scream at the VA. I have. It's misguided anger...........................

The point to this “ story ? ” Just why are you paying such high taxes to support this incredibly screwed-up government ? Why ? And I’m not proposing you stop paying your taxes. That's wrong. There are good programs and reasons to pay your taxes and support our government.

What am I proposing ? It's quite simple. Vote.

The government, our government, is broken and we as the voters serve as the maintenance crew. We fix it . . . . . by voting. If your state Senator has been in office more than two terms, vote 'em out at the next election. If your state representative has been in office more than two terms, vote 'em out of office. We put term limits on just about every publicly-elected official in the country except the House and Senate.

Why ? Believe me, they know this and love it ! Ahhh - the power !

I don't care how much you believe your Senator or Representative is doing a good job. They're not !!! Look at the government you have....that we have. How can you state they are doing what you want as the voter that put them there ? How ?

Vote them out of office.... Do it.......

Change the course of this country's history by what you are granted and guaranteed under the law. Vote! And if you have the guts, the anger, the outrage, start a petition in your state for a state-wide initiative to be placed on your next state ballot. Limiting the terms of office for your state senators and state representatives to your federal government to two terms.

The federal government will never pass such a law, but you can. You can get it done. You can force it. You can make it a law......................

This is the first step in “getting it right.” Just vote. It's simple. It's easy, dammit !

This first step will send a very clear message. It’ll work. It’ll put “us” back in control of “ them. ” As it should be. As it was intended in the first place......!!!

Are you an American? Born and raised? Then vote !!!

Here's some other staggering facts on immigration:

Cross the North Korean border illegally you get 12 years hard labor.
If you cross the Iranian border illegally you are detained indefinitely.
If you cross the Afghan border illegally, you get shot.
If you cross the Saudi Arabian border illegally you will be jailed.
If you cross the Chinese border illegally you may never be heard from again.
If you cross the Venezuelan border illegally you will be branded a spy and your fate will be sealed.
If you cross the Mexican border illegally you will be jailed for two years.
If you cross the Cuban border illegally you will be thrown into political prison to rot.
If you cross the United States border illegally you get: (ALMOST ALL TRUE)
1 - A job
2 - A driver's license
3 - A Social Security card
4 - Welfare
5 - Food stamps
6 - Credit cards
7 - Subsidized rent or a loan to buy a house
8 - Free education
9 - Free health care
10 - A lobbyist in Washington
11 - Billions of dollars in public documents printed in your language
12 - Millions of servicemen and women who are willing to – and do – die for your right to the ways and means of our constitution
13 - And the right to carry the flag of your country - the one you walked out on – while you call America racist and protest that you don't get enough respect.

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

This is written by a Chaplain in Iraq:

I recently attended a showing of 'Superman 3' here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings. As is the custom at all military bases, we stood to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going well until three-quarters of the way through The National Anthem, the music stopped.

Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 year-olds back in the States? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude comments, and everyone would sit down and yell for the movie to begin. Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place.

Here in Iraq, 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward. The music started again and the Soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention. But again, at the same point, the music stopped. What would you expect 1000 Soldiers standing at attention to do?? Frankly, I expected some laughter, and everyone would eventually sit down and wait for the movie to start.

But No!!... You could have heard a pin drop, while every Soldier continued to stand at attention.

Suddenly, there was a lone voice from the front of the auditorium, then a dozen voices, and soon the room was filled with the voices of a thousand soldiers, finishing where the recording left off: "And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave."

It was the most inspiring moment I have had in Iraq and I wanted you to know what kind of Soldiers are serving you. Remember them as they fight for us! Pass this along as a reminder to others to be ever in prayer for all our soldiers serving us here at home and abroad. Many have already paid the ultimate price.

Written by Chaplain Jim Higgins LSA Anaconda is at the Ballad Airport in Iraq, north of Baghdad.

Please share only if you are so inclined. God Bless America and all of our troops serving throughout the world.

Hamas and Apple Pie ($20 mil to come have pie here)

2010-06-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

** HB 1388 PASSED **

Whether you are an Obama fan, or not, EVERYONE IN THE U.S. needs
to know....

Something happened... H.R. 1388 was passed, **behind our backs**.
You may want to read about it... It wasn’t mentioned on the
news... just went by on the ticker tape at the bottom of the CNN
screen.

Obama funds $20M in tax payer dollars to immigrate Hamas Refugees to
the USA . This is the news that didn't make the headlines...

By executive order, President Barack Obama has ordered the
expenditure of $20.3 million in "migration assistance" to the
Palestinian refugees and "conflict victims" in Gaza

The "presidential determination," which allows hundreds of thousands
of Palestinians with ties to Hamas to resettle in the United States
, was signed and appears in the Federal Register.

Few on Capitol Hill, or in the media, took note that the order
provides a free ticket replete with housing and food allowances to
individuals who have displayed their overwhelming support to the
Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election of
January 2006.

Now we learn that he is allowing thousands of Palestinian refugees to
move to, and live in, the US at American taxpayer expense.

These important, and insightful, issues are being "lost" in the
blinding bail-outs and "stimulation" packages.

Doubtful? To verify this for yourself: **www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2009-02-04-E9-2488*
[http://www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2009-02-04-E9-2488]

The Consequence of Inaction

2010-06-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

Turtles...

It’s getting so I almost feel like crying as I watch the news coverage of the oil spill. OK, I did cry. This morning as they discussed how the oil affects the sea turtle’s entire digestive track (ulcers, kidney problems, liver), they cut away to a picture of a little logger head being hand fed in a kiddy pool by volunteers. At the end of the rehabilitation process there’s a problem though: They don’t know where to release the turtles because the shifting mass of petroleum in the ocean could end up anywhere.

I started thinking about that and reminisced about how quickly the ocean flows and moves. Ironically, this was because of something that happened while spear fishing outside a jetty near Gulf Shores, AL with my buddy Turtle. No kidding. We played hockey together growing up, and we all called him Turtle. I never did actually figure out why because he’d been on skates since he was two years old and he was fast as lightning. Anyway, Turtle and I had worked our way along some bottom structure, eventually moving with the current 200 yards or so away from the boat. It was early September and there were jellyfish around, but we were focused on finding something to shoot at, so we weren’t really paying attention to the gelatinous invertebrates that were suddenly everywhere. Everywhere! We were enveloped in 10’s of thousands of jellyfish.

We decided that heading back to the boat was still the best option. The beach by the jetty was at least 400 yards further away. We were snorkeling and our lungs were good so we were able hold our breath as we twisted and gyrated our way through the 3-D maze of dangling stingers. At first it was like an immersive video game as we tried to “get skinny” and use only our flippers with dolphin like kicks to propel our forward motion. However, by the time we got half way back to the anchored boat it became apparent that more than a video game was at stake. Turtle and I had both been lambasted with the stinging tentacles a dozen or so times, and the dolphin kick proved not to be the most effective form of achieving forward motion as we were swimming into the teeth of the shifting current. Accordingly, we changed our strategy. It seemed the less time we spent in the water, the better. We swam freestyle on the surface as fast as we could. I remember thinking, “How many times can we get stung before getting to toxic load and having our throats swell shut?”

After getting safely back to the boat we both clambered up onto the transom deck and jumped inside. Turtle looked like someone had beaten him mercilessly over his entire body with a piece of wet string soaked in Drano. After assessing my outcome it was clear the neither of us could count the number of stings to declare a decisive winner in that contest, so we just hauled it up the Inter-coastal to a dock side bar, scored a couple drafts and some meat tenderizer and vinegar from the kitchen and slathered it all over ourselves (the vinegar counteracts the toxins). Another frosty ale or two helped ease the sting, and we returned back to the rented beach house in time for dinner with nothing but a story. The red streaks left by the stings had faded and we had no cell phone camera to document that we both looked like hell when we got out of that water.

The Gulf is an amazing place. I have prowled the back waters of Apalachicola, caught huge red fish in the pass at St. George’s island and nailed bluefish while watching the sun rise outside the inlet at Perdido Pass. I watched the spectacle of the tarpon run at Boca Grande, and chased sharks and barracuda across the Keys’ flats.

But, as I watched the news this morning, while running images of the wonderful times I’ve had there through the back head, I was just so sad. Admittedly, I well up pretty easily for an old hockey player with a tattoo. In fact, I was once watching ET at the theater with a tight end form University of Kentucky and a running back from Grand Valley state. ET died, and I was flat out sniffling and worried those guys would give my crap about it forever until I looked up to see both of them wiping their own eyes. So, maybe I am overly sensitive, but I guess it just really hit me for the first time that we are totally screwing this up. Those same shifting ocean currents that wrapped Turtle and I in jellyfish one afternoon are now carrying a toxic cloud underneath the petroleum cesspool at the surface and no one knows what the outcome will be. No one knows what will happen when the tar laden amoeba moves over those flats in the Keys. If you run your boat aground on those same flats the Florida Fish and Game folks write you fairly hefty ticket for screwing up the fragile ecosystem that exists on the shallow bottom. How much is the ticket for running a cloud of toxic oil particulates over the entire flats and potentially killing everything?

I am deeply saddened by what I am watching unfold as we deal with more bad data regarding the true scope of this challenge. I work with some great process people and defense sector engineers, and not being able tell the difference between flow rates of 8-12,000 barrels a day 40,000 is, well, in a word implausible. Hello: We’ve all been lied to! So as it’s becoming crystal clear that either the “experts” in charge were about 400% off calculating flow rates for that ruptured pipe, it also becomes obvious that we as a nation are in cloudy and uncharted waters.

In an effort to make this diatribe an impassioned plea for action, I will attempt to temper my frustration with things like the fact that BP’s CEO is spending as much, almost dollar for dollar, on PR as he has given back to the people of the Gulf whose lives have been put and hold and likely changed forever. Yeah, I know. Amazing isn’t it? That fact makes it nearly impossible to not think about what I would do given the chance to apply some of the things I learned studying the martial arts if locked in an elevator alone with that worm…Sorry, again I digress. But here’s what truly enrages me as a citizen: I have seen more of BP CEO Tony Hayward’s mug doing suck up media campaigns than I’ve seen of our president. It’s almost as if his “handlers” have said, “Stay low, don’t get out in front of this thing…it’s a sticky issue.” Well pardon the easy metaphor here too, but it’s turning into a bit of a sticky issue for millions of people, birds, fish, reefs, estuaries, rivers, regional economies, etc.

And now we find history does indeed have a flair for irony, at least as far a politics is concerned. Many of the leaders of the current administration, who will ultimately be held accountable for their inactions in the wake of this spill, were plastered on the news in the days following Katrina casting blame on the Bush administration for failing to act. Here’s another news flash: There were certainly lessons learned from some of the catastrophic failures that made Katrina a massive tragedy. But President Bush and the teams under his charge had decision windows that were open for only a few hours. Mr., President, as I pen this communication it’s now day 54. You’re teams’ decision window has been open quite a bit longer than the one FEMA had to work within as Katrina was rushing headlong into New Orleans.

Prepare Now Please…

I have had the pleasure of meeting retired General Colin Powell, and I try to read or listen to whatever he says. I think he’s just a darned genius. I walked through the living room a couple weeks ago and caught a few minutes of an interview with him. I think it was Meet the Press, and he was asked if we should involve the military in the cleanup effort. In typical Colin Powell fashion he answered the question by outlining the circumstances in which the military could apply things that they do extremely well. He then expounded about how proficient they are with logistics, and that “if” those types of skills were needed then deploying military assets to assist with the problem made sense. I guarantee he knew how many thousands feet of oil absorbent boom material were sitting in inventory in the gulf region at that very moment, and was purposely eluding to the fact that connecting that inventory with the 1,000’s of fisherman crying out to be engaged to do something to help might actually constitute a logistical issue. Again, “Hello?”

As a nation, we can move military personnel and equipment faster than any other. Our military has some of the best logisticians in the world. But, as the relief efforts to earthquake ravaged Haiti illustrated, it still takes days and even weeks to get the supply chains set up. I submit that when we look back upon Colin Powell’s remarks, we will see that there were many points along the way where the current administration, and again forgive the easy metaphor, ‘left 300 school buses parked to be flooded instead of using them to usher hurricane victims out of harm’s way’. I’m just an IT guy with a process background, but shouldn’t we have that absorbent boom at the docks in the hands of the fisherman who are not getting paid with a plan to deploy it?

And again, maybe it’s just me and I’m missing it completely. But, is it wrong that I see more sound bites of the idiot who’s company didn’t have a contingency plan in place for this than I do of our country’s president out in front, leading the charge? This, Mr. President will define your service to this country as Commander in Chief. Given that fact, I was appalled to hear you telling Matt Lauer the other morning on GMA that you were, “…waiting to see whose butt to kick.” If you wife was being assaulted by three men would you wait to see who ended up on top first to engage? News flash: The Gulf is being assaulted.

I am deeply saddened now, but I will be angry later. I told a friend last night that I can count on one hand the number of times I have filled my tank at an Exxon station in the two decades since the Valdez. And that was usually late at night when I was forced to because I ran low on the highway and the only other choice was Citgo. OK, I have my own petroleum political hierarchy, but BP is now on that list. I will never forget seeing that blithering worm of a CEO telling me he will “…make it right” while paying more for the airtime than he his company put forward to help the people of the Gulf region. Prior to the last few weeks I filled up at a BP station about 50 times per annum. I and my $2,500 a year in BP sales are now gone. There will be tens, if not hundreds of thousands more like me who will vote with their wallets in the months and years to come. In November it will likely happen again on another front, and the politicians who roared the loudest after Katrina will stand to see that anyone can be guilty of failing to take action.

The ocean currents that got Turtle and I torn up by those jelly fish are always moving. We don’t really know where, but we sit woefully unprepared and seemingly clueless (8,000 barrels a day or 40,000…Really?).

This is shaping up to be a catastrophe like one we have never known as a nation. Our Chernobyl if you will, except that we are in the process of ‘nuking’ one of the most beautiful areas in the world instead of a few small towns and some Russian prairies. The Gulf is a majestic and wonderful place, and yet we as sit on the edge of ruining it for what could be decades, the face I keep seeing on my TV is that of the nerd who’s company didn’t even it see it coming.

President Obama, at this moment I don’t really give crap about what goes on in the West Bank of the Gaza strip. In the spirit of cooperation, I’ll even stop short of researching the news clips where you and members of your current administration stood behind your respective podiums and lambasted the Bush administration for negligence in its handling of the Katrina tragedy to post on YouTube®. But, with all due respect, might I ask that you go ahead and engage more fully in the oil spill problem solving process. Figuring out “whose butt to kick” seems like non-value add at the moment. If there is not a heightened sense of urgency and steadfast resolve from the top of our “organization” forthcoming soon, this little petroleum problem may define more than your presidency. It may well define a generation.

How about it? Let’s get going on the whole “Do everything we possibly can right now strategy”, because I'm not seeing it. We can sell corner lots with BP stations to pay for it when the worst is behind us. But, a continued failure to act will be even more than unforgivable if the “worst case scenarios” end up being another contingency we didn’t plan for.

Ignorance Ain't Bliss

2009-09-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

Alas the ignorance is now flowing freely. With one little blog entry I was able to get a bunch of zealots all riled up. I work in a world where we solve business problems. One of the tools often applied is simple root cause analysis (RCA). I still hold my position that the root cause of most of this fighting in, around, and from the Middle East is RELIGION. Go forth now and squabble amongst yourselves like spoiled children fighting over a plastic bucket and shovel in a sand box. I have to go to work…you kids play nice now. Just understand clearly that if you come over to my sand box and bring your fight with you, I hang around with a bunch of folks that will put your little shovel in your ear and insert the bucket in your @%#!

Oh, but just to clarify…none of them consider white bed sheets with eye holes cut in them to be acceptable outerwear, for any season. I have friends that are Muslim and Buddhist and Christian and Hebrew. I would love their children like they were my own if anything happened to them. If your religious beliefs make you feel otherwise, then you might just indeed be the one that’s screwed up in the end. Hello! Are you listening?

Sholkar, you nailed it buddy. Religions that persecute other religions walk in peril. History has already apologized for the actions of Christians 500 years ago. Similarly, it has apologized for the actions of racists in the U.S. 150 years ago. But, I’m about damned tired of apologizing to anybody for actions I took no part in. I am a Christian. I am also a Falcons football fan and I watch the Detroit Tigers play baseball when I can. If Islamic fundamentalists win their misguided jihad, and align behind a different team for religious reasons, will we have to start killing people for showing up at a picnic wearing the wrong franchise logo on their hat?

The Mayan culture had some pretty disgusting and cruel religious beliefs. They persecuted their neighbors at the behest of religious leaders too. Look how well all that worked out for them! Again, for those of us whose passion is obviously blinding, look out into the night sky and get your head around the fact that the stars go on forever. If all the answers were spelled out in detail in the Bible and Qur’an why the heck didn’t we get an explanation for that one? If your heart tells you to hate me because I went to a Catholic school, well we’re just going to be at odds about that then aren’t we? Why is it that the closer one gets to the letter of the law as related to most religions, the closer they get to being so self-righteous they act out in ways that border on evil?

Go Here to see the full string - http://sheikyermami.com/2009/09/14/new-bin-laden-tape-surfaces/comment-page-1/#comment-192119

New Bin Laden Tape Surfaces...and so therefore I ranted.

2009-09-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

http://sheikyermami.com/2009/09/14/new-bin-laden-tape-surfaces/comment-page-1/#comment-191779

My response to the thread will shock some. Those who know me well will simply shake their heads and wonder...

OK, that’s all great. Thanks all above for the history lesson. But, as a business person I just need to get the bottom line quickly. So, can you clear up how this jihadist that advocates killing kids if they’re Christian, cutting the clitorises off of little girls, sending suicide bombers into weddings, burning women alive on the accusation of infidelity and backing the murder of 3,000 of my countrymen has a leg to stand on? We don’t scare that easily.

I have some good Muslim friends that don’t believe any of that diatribe either. I explain it to the kids like this: Islamic fundamentalism is to Islam as the KKK is to Christianity. Except that the Middle East has let some of them (fundamentalists) steal power with terror. Hopefully we’ll get to the point where they [the constituency - including women] let these misguided elders parade around with signs proclaiming their ignorance and prosecute them if they start to collect weapons or actually act violently. Just like we have to do with the idiots in sheets here in Georgia!

Bin Laden’s rhetoric is indeed weakening. I’m not much for reading, and the Bible as well as the Qu'ran are both way too thick for people with ADD to wade through. Let alone learning the Arabic or Hebrew required to make sure you don’t dump language translation on top of translating the word of God and Allah. But, I’m willing to bet my soul that when we all reach our respective promised lands God and Allah are one in the same and he’s pissed at us for being such idiots. Men wrote both documents and the potential for data being misinterpreted and lost in translation(s) is huge.

Let’s look If the Bible and The Qu’ran were plans for airplanes they’d probably fly like bricks. In the Qu’ran Ayesha was only six when married off and in the Bible moses was 600. Really? Or, perhaps were we as mankind still getting up to speed on a universal solar cycle based calendar? Every attempt to take the words of either text literally invariably fails to end well. For example, all the massively successful crusades that happened, ½ a millennium ago. Why are Muslim fundamentalists still upset about that? We got over being angry with the Japanese in the 1960’s. Give me a break.

In the end, Bin Laden’s foray into history will likely end in a fizzle as opposed to bang. They’ll find his lanky corpse in the back of cave, alone and cold with the blood all 1,000s all over his hands. “Hey look mom, I’m a prophet.”

Oh and here’s one more thing I’d like to prophesize: When we reach the end of days this God/Allah/Buddha/Soaring Eagle creator of ours is likely going to be a woman too! How do ya’ all like that?

An ophthalmologist weighs in on the health care bill...

2009-08-13T04:04:00.000-07:00

FROM THE AMERICAN THINKER PAPER
August 06, 2009
ObamaCare and me

By Zane F. Pollard, MD

I have been sitting quietly on the sidelines watching all of this national debate on healthcare. It is time for me to bring some clarity to the table by explaining many of the problems from the perspective of a doctor.

First off, the government has involved very few of us physicians in the healthcare debate. While the American Medical Association has come out in favor of the plan, it is vital to remember that the AMA only represents 17% of the American physician workforce.

I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta, Georgia that accepts Medicaid. For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the infection, almost surely blindness will occur. In all three cases
the antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the approved Medicaid list.

Each time I was told to fax Medicaid for the approval forms, which I did. Within 48 hours the form came back to me which was sent in immediately via fax, and I was told that I would have my answer in 10 days. Of course by then each child would have been
blind in the eye.

Each time the request came back denied. All three times I personally provided the antibiotic for each patient which was not on the Medicaid approved list. Get the point—rationing of care.

Over the past 35 years I have cared for over 1000 children born with congenital cataracts. In older children and in adults the vision is rehabilitated with an
intraocular lens. In newborns we use contact lenses which are very expensive. It takes Medicaid over one year to approve a contact lens post cataract surgery.
By that time a successful anatomical operation is wasted as the child will be close to blind from a lack of focusing for so long a period of time.

Again, extreme rationing. Solution: I have a foundation here in Atlanta supported 100% by private funds which supplies all of these contact lenses for my Medicaid and illegal immigrants children for free.

Again, waiting for the government would be disastrous.

Last week I had a lady bring her child to me. They are Americans but live in Sweden, as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the onset of double vision three months ago and has been unable to function normally because of this. They are people of means but are waiting 8 months to see the ophthalmologist in Sweden. Then if the child needed surgery they would be put on a 6 month waiting list.
She called me and I saw her that day. It turned out that the child had accommodative esotropia (crossing of the eyes treated with glasses that correct for farsightedness)
and responded to glasses within 4 days, so no surgery was needed. Again, rationing of care.

Last month I operated on a 70 year old lady with double vision present for 3 years. She responded quite nicely to her surgery and now is symptom free. I also operated on a 69 year old judge with vertical double vision. His surgery went very well and now he is happy as a lark. I have been told—but of course there is no healthcare bill that has been passed yet—that these 2 people because of their age would have been denied surgery and just told to wear a patch over one eye to alleviate the symptoms of double vision. Obviously cheaper than surgery.

I spent two years in the US Navy during the Viet Nam war and was well treated by the military. There was tremendous rationing of care and we were told specifically what things the military personnel and their dependents could have and which things they
could not have. While I was in Viet Nam, my wife Nancy got sick and got essentially no care at the Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. She went home and went to her family’s private internist in Beverly Hills.

While it was expensive, she received an immediate work up. Again rationing of care.
For those of you who are over 65, this bill in its present form might be lethal for you. People in England over 59 cannot receive stents for their coronary arteries. The government wants to mimic the British plan. For those of you younger, it will still mean restriction of the care that you and your children receive.

While 99% of physicians went into medicine because of the love of medicine and the challenge of helping our fellow man, economics are still important.

My rent goes up 2% each year and the salaries of my employees go up 2% each year. Twenty years ago, ophthalmologists were paid $1,800 for a cataract surgery and today $500. This is a 73% decrease in our fees. I do not know of many jobs in America that have seen this sort of lowering of fees.

But there is more to the story than just the lower fees. When I came to Atlanta, there was a well known ophthalmologist that charged $2,500 for a cataract surgery as he felt he was the best. He had a terrific reputation and in fact I had my mother’s bilateral cataracts operated on by him with a wonderful result. She is now 94 and has 20/20 vision in both eyes. People would pay his $2,500 fee.

However, then the government came in and said that any doctor that does Medicare work cannot accept more than the going rate ( now $500) or he or she would be severely fined. This put an end to his charging $2,500. The government said it was illegal to accept more than the government-allowed rate. What I am driving at is that those of you well off will not be able to go to the head of the line under this new healthcare plan, just because you have money, as no physician will be willing to go against the law to treat you.

I am a pediatric ophthalmologist and trained for 10 years post-college to become a pediatric ophthalmologist (add two years of my service in the Navy and that comes to 12 years). A neurosurgeon spends 14 years post-college, and if he or she has to do the military that would be 16 years. I am not entitled to make what a neurosurgeon makes, but the new plan calls for all physicians to make the same amount of payment. I assure you that medical students will not go into neurosurgery and we will have a tremendous shortage of neurosurgeons. Already, the top neurosurgeon at my hospital who is in good health and only 52 years old has just quit because he can’t stand working with the government anymore. Forty-nine percent of children under the age of 16 in the state of Georgia are on Medicaid, so he felt he just could not stand working with the bureaucracy anymore.

We are being lied to about the uninsured. They are getting care. I operate at least two illegal immigrants each month who pay me nothing, and the children’s hospital at which I operate charges them nothing also. This is true not only on Atlanta, but of every community in America.

The bottom line is that I urge all of you to contact your congresswomen and congressmen and senasenators to defeat this bill. I promise you that you will not
like rationing of your own health.

Furthermore, how can you trust a physician that works under these conditions knowing that he is controlled by the state. I certainly could not trust any doctor that would work under these draconian conditions.

One last thing: with this new healthcare plan there will be a tremendous shortage of physicians. It has been estimated that approximately 5% of the current physician work force will quit under this new system. Also it is estimated that another 5% shortage will occur because of the decreased number of men and women wanting to go into medicine. At the present time the US government has mandated gender equity in admissions to medical schools. That means that for the past 15 years that somewhere between 49 and 51% of each entering class are females. This is true of private schools also, because all private schools receive federal funding.

The average career of a woman in medicine now is only 8-10 years and the average work week for a female in medicine is only 3-4 days. I have now trained 35 fellows in pediatric ophthalmology. Hands down the best was a female that I trained 4 years
ago—she was head and heels above all others I have trained. She now practices only 3 days a week.

Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/
obamacare_and_me.html at August 07, 2009 - 12:37:08 PM EDT

13 hours and 10 Minutes in the Life of an ADD Redneck Software Sales Guy in a Recession

2009-08-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

Tragically, this is non-fiction.

12:10 PM – all is going well until I check account balance and notice one of the 4 son’s has breached bank security and ordered iTunes movies, music, new phone, fishing equipment over last 60 days with dad’s card.
12:12 – cancel ATM card, order new one

1:05 – Left home office with wife and #2 son who was leaving for Army basic training. Needed to be at recruiter at 1:30
1:15 – Jeep dies en route with cooling system leak that was supposed to have been fixed (software sales pro should stick to fixing software vs. cars), future soldier blew engine in mom’s car the prior week
1:20 - Call #1 son to pick us up and rush to the crew to the recruiting station.
1:45 – Drop # 2 son off and wait for him to complete his PT test
1:50 – TO Starbucks with wife and #1 son, grab coffee and field con-call

2:30 – Young soldier passed PT at highest level and elevated himself to E3 pay grade upon completion of basic and AIT
2:35 – Young soldier wants Wendy’s bacon deluxe and a can of dip…take him to procure same

3:05 – Drop him back off at recruiting station, tearful goodbye with mom, head back to house
3:25 – Assuming overheated Jeep has cooled, will pick up and drive 1.5 miles to house
3:25 – Pull over after losing power at .75 miles from journey’s end point
3:35 – Arrive home – back to work

5:20 - #1 son takes #3 son to football practice.
5:35 – After dropping of the football player, #1 is pulled over, and upon inspection is found to be without a valid license.

6:05 – Responding officer was later identified as 1 of 4 from a force of 160 that would actually jail a kid for no license and tow his car.
6:15 #1 son finally convinces above referenced prick to call us, debrief the situation and let us know we could pick #3 up at practice.
Level – Set: We’re now out of cars at our house.

7:30 – Family friend Tricia gets #3 from football and # 4 at baseball and returns them to the house.

9:20 – #1 son is processed and calls home. After recounting the exact conversation where I signed the title over to him on the vehicle and explained liability coverage and how important it was. How your life could be ruined, forced into bankruptcy…then I fought back the temptation to say, “Screw you moron, I told you to get this done and you blew it off now spend the night in jail.” As a father I knew it wasn’t the day to do that. I told him that I would see what I could do, but that it was already late.
9:21 – Realize I had just cancelled the ATM (see first item of this chronological listing) and had no access to cash.
9:28 – Call bail bond woman and negotiate terms. OK, I listened to her dictate terms. Bail was reduced by $700 because #1 son (technically adept) was able to correct jail computer browser issue. Jailer commented, “We don’t get to many young sober white kids in here, you know anything about computers?” That was to be the only break we got that day.
9:44 – Call my CEO who is on the way home from a meeting, he graciously insists I have to get #1 out so he drives by the ATM securing bail from his personal account.
9:46 – Call best friend who’s wife just picked up #3 and he brings me by his Expedition to use, but warns me, “Might have a battery problem, but it seems fine now.”

10:00 – Meet CEO at a fruit stand and collect an envelope of cash. He comments while chuckling, “Seems like a dope deal or something.” I clarify, “No dope involved or I would have needed another $400 or so.”
10:04 – I leave for the jail, realize I don’t have directions and then in the same instant remember I know where it is already. Also remember feeling not proud at that moment.
10:25 – Bail bondswoman calls – caught in traffic.
10:45 - Sherri (bail bondswoman) calls again, on her way – should be 10 mins.
10:46 - Cell phone battery low, run to car because friend has a Treo too and plug in my phone. Recalling comment about the battery from my buddy, I decided to start the car for awhile. Too late…it clicked a few times…the battery was too low to crank the engine.
10:49 – Walked back in, told receptionist I needed a jump. Jailer was still enamored with his expanded browser capabilities from #1 son’s work, so he had one of the deputies drive the paddy wagon around front: Yes, I got a jump from a paddy wagon.

11:05 – Sherri pulls up as I am locking keys in with the keyless entry door pad on the Ford truck (close friend’s car so I knew the code). Figured I’d leave the car running to charge the battery while charging phone.
11:07 – Walk inside and conduct bail transactional process with Sherri.
11:24 – Spring #1 son and walk back out leave, find that the problem was not the battery and that the idling vehicles alternator was pushing zero volts to charge while the expansive electronics in the Expedition sucked every remaining ounce of power. As the realization of my situation sunk in, I continued to try and operate the now inoperable keyless entry pad. All the while looking at the keys and my phone locked in the car.
11:27 – As Sherri walked out to her vehicle, the idling truck stopped running all together. She looked for jumper cables while I realize that is the alternator, and that the battery can’t be accessed because the hood release is in the car with my flippin’ phone and the keys.
11:30 – I thank Sherri, who drives off into the summer night with my CEO’s cash.
11:31 – I explain to #1 son that I need a moment, and sit in the front lawn of the jail to quietly reflect upon the events of the day. I have already decided that the tantrum I wanted to have may not play that well on the surveillance cameras in the dispatcher’s office. While I am assessing the situation, #1 son informs me that #2 son had written his name on the ceiling of the same cell he was in. What a coincidence! Again, I settle back into the role of proud parent.
11:35 – Walked inside and called truck’s owner, refusing his offer to come get us as I knew he drove all day from FSU to Atlanta.
11:37 – Called a cab and the dispatcher there gave us a 20 min. ETA.

12:05 AM – Called cab company again…he is 10 mins. away.
12:25 – Now out on Buford Hwy trying to hail a cab.
!2:47 – Cab finally shows up 50 mins. late.

1:15 – Arrive home, manufacture a vodka and ice, and fall asleep on the couch wondering what happened to the really cool life I had before my kids became teenagers.

OK - It's a blog about ADD ... Healthcare in the Future

2009-08-03T05:33:00.000-07:00

On this one, I simply beg you to read. You were bcc’d because I sent this to a broad distribution list.

US Representative-6th District Tom Price and I have met several times. Tom Price was a physician for 25 years before moving to politics. The first time was when I was rolled into an ER following a 100 mph impact head-on collision in 1995, Dr. Price reassembled my mangled ankle with screws and pins. I am denied handicap parking permits now because his work that night was masterful. Many people with the type of injuries I presented with have bad outcomes, including amputation. I recovered almost fully and went on to practice martial arts, hike, mountain bike and more.

Accordingly, I was indeed interested in what Tom Price had to say when this arrived in my inbox from a family friend:

Some of what goes on in Congress:

This is a YouTube video that was made of US Rep. Tom Price-6th Dist. on Wednesday. Tom is a member of the House Healthcare Committee, and the video was shot in the Wed. Committee meeting. Please share this with everyone you know.............this healthcare legislation MUST be defeated. Please share this video. Tom has said that our Constitution is being burned right before our very eyes. We must, Democrats and Republicans alike, let our "leaders" know that this plan is unacceptable.

There has to be a better way than a government takeover! If the Government takes over, it will be one of the most colossal blunders in the history of this Nation!

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=SD_YOlUBoIk
His plea is passionate, and he in the 99th percentile of truly understanding the health care system. We must also ask ourselves why this is not mentioned in the media. That’s almost as disconcerting as the process that is going on under the guise of a cooperative elected leadership.

This is not about politics. I have a Canadian friend who can tell you how personal healthcare can get when the government is writing the prescriptions for care. Please share this link.

John Nycz
VP Business Development
c) 404.520.0380
o) 404.843.9525
Skype ID - nyczoo
www.thequalitygroup.net

Education and the Auto Industry: No Exemptions from Productivity Revolutions

2009-02-22T07:48:00.000-08:00

The following excerpt from Jim Manzi's recent article in the National Review entitled "Factory Man" brings forward an interesting question. Manzi, an old school manufacturing aficionado reflects upon the decline of agricultural employment as the Industrial age was ushered in as inevitable. Similar market driven changes are obviously being thrust upon the automotive sector. Given that our educational system is also poised for failure, what can be learned from history that will create the demand pull needed to change? More importantly, can it be done fast enough given the fact that there is significant lag time between the output of the eduction system and the real-time impact in the economic markets - can we do it fast enough?

Factory Man
By Jim Manzi
National Review

We need a new vision for schools that looks a lot
more like Silicon Valley than like Detroit: decentralized,
entrepreneurial, and flexible. This will not mean
abandoning traditional, disciplined learning, but rather
incorporating it as a baseline and doing other things as
well. The traditional response is that there are only so
many hours in the day. True, but getting more done per
hour of labor is just another way of saying “increasing
productivity,” and we can’t let education exempt itself
from the ongoing productivity revolution any more
than we can the auto industry.

2009-02-11T04:25:00.000-08:00

Since my blog is for and about ADD, I have decided to start taking brief digressions to ramble about some things that may be deemed slightly off point. I've been working diligently to repair a damaged relationship between a consultant and a Fortune 100 company I work with. I failed. But, I did learn a valuable lesson in the process: The problem with a huge ego is that when it gets bruised, the injury can be quite serious.

OK, that's my random thought for the day. More to come...

Hyper Focus

2008-11-30T07:34:00.000-08:00

Ironically, a gift that many ADD learners have is the ability to hyper focus. Da Vinci was perhaps the original ADD poster child, although back then they called it being a Renaissance man. The creator of modern medical illustration and accomplished artist, military engineer, aeronautical theorist, mathematician, writer, scientist and musician was obviously all over the career board. When he first started painting commissioned art in a Florence workshop he would often come in and dabble for 20 minutes then leave for the day. The cycle would repeat itself until he would suddenly paint for days straight and deliver great work. He lamented sorrowfully on his death bed of all the work he left undone, but I’m not alone in thinking the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper and the rest of the body of work is still pretty highly regarded!

Sometimes I need to haul learning back to my cave and devour it there. That is when I am most likely to get into a zone where I can hyper focus. I don’t do well with lecture. I have had the privilege of seeing PP presentations from many top global improvement leaders spanning my six year tenure plus in the LSS CPI (Lean Six Sigma and Continuous Process Improvement) market arena. And fortunately much of what they shared stuck. I was interested in it, and it is now foundational in the way I think and work. Understanding Lean thinking and how it can impact the way I learn has made me substantially more productive. However, my paths to learning remain decidedly non-mainstream.

If we mapped what was really going on in my head during most of these LSS Conference sessions I just referenced the thought sequence would likely resemble something like this:

1. Nice chart graphic, but too many bullets…where’s the headline?
2. Is that vent blowing her hair? What’s going on with that?
3. Why do they always read the slides? I can read the slides, just show more pictures or graphs and talk about them.
4. Wow, don’t do that. Don’t comb over…embrace you baldness.
5. Did I call the project lead from ABC company back?
6. Is that plant over there real or silk?
7. I would use a different name for the bone on that C&E matrix.
8. Wonder what’s for lunch? I’m thinking poached salmon. Easy to cook 200 servings of poached salmon, plus if it dries out a bit before it’s served that can be good. I don’t really like it when it’s just barely poached. Plus yesterday was chicken day.
9. Oh you’re kidding. You don’t really have 55 slides for a 40 minute presentation do you?
10. I need to put new music on my SD chip.

Get the point? A room with 25 people and PP driven lecture is not always the best way for everyone to learn. Studying how people learn best can also lead to significant gains. OK, that’s another article too, but we must first ask ourselves a different question:

Is it more effective to force learners to adapt to the delivery method we’ve put forward, or to give them options that allow them to travel down stretches of the learning path themselves utilizing solutions that work best for them, at times and places that they choose?

Right Brain Learners - Unique Gifts

2008-11-30T07:23:00.000-08:00

ADD researchers and experts often refer to the Edison trait or the Da Vinci gene. They’ve actually named a primary the genetic characteristic associated with ADD after the DRD4 gene. About 10% of the population has the genetic trait and half of that population will struggle with learning in some way shape of form. The CDC estimates 2-3% of the population is ADD/ADHD but many experts put that number closer to 5%.

Edison, another ADD all-star was kicked out of school after three months. Imagine the gifted purveyor of education who went home one night and exclaimed to their spouse, “That kid was just a pain in the rear. He’ll never amount to anything. I got rid of him before he could hold the rest of the class back.” Perhaps one of the most prolific inventors in history, that “underachiever” went on to amass a body of work that resulted in over 1,000 patents. The likes of which included the light bulb, the telephone, the telegraph, the phonograph and other obviously significant cultural and technical milestones of modern civilization.

Thomas Edison found a different path to learn, and that changed everything. And a quick sidebar on innovation: Edison often worked odd hours and took multiple cat naps during the day. Many of his breakthrough ideas, solutions to problems and visionary concepts came during the moment of clarity when he was first waking from his naps! There’s a book title: Snoozing Your Way to Breakthrough Innovation.

All this gives rise to another question: Are analytical workers, learners and personalities always the best problem solvers? There is actually data that says no. Although the results of the project were not shared because of potential HR issues associated with the study subjects, a major defense contractor once ran a data collection process to assess whether classically trained engineers and business analysts, or members of the team who were dyslexic were more effective problem solvers. The results clearly indicated that the dyslexic team members, who often viewed problems and processes visually, were significantly more effective at root cause analysis and identifying system constraints.

We're trying to collect sussess stories of ADD learners who have leveraged their unique perspective to see problems differently?

Share the End Game

2008-10-28T06:18:00.000-07:00

Just culled this comment from a teacher on a blog: "Teachers have plenty on their plate without the added responsibility of showing kids why math (or any subject) is important."

Which really begs the question: Why do we let ignorant people teach? Help me out here...Am I the only one? To be so pompous as to think you can make most of the 8th grade boys in a public school class of 28 students embrace math for the shear joy of math is exactly the paradigm that must be changed. OK, who agrees - showing kids why they're learning what they are learning is just an important a process step as the steps used to solve a quadratic equation? Do you engage in learning more effectively when you understand why you're learning?

Paying it Forward

2008-10-28T05:40:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to see the sheer volume of PSAs (Public Service Announcements) spreading the word that your VHF TVs will be going off line in February. As if to suggest the world as you know it is coming to an end if you're uplink or cable connection is not in place. Yet, a seemingly more important problem goes virtually unmetntioned: About 50% of the prison system inmate population in this country has a learning disorder.

Given the cause and effect relationship between ADD, soaring drop out rates and prison system inmate rosters that are swelling: How can we evangalize this issue? The social link between driving improvement across how we teach/train the kids with learning disorders.

Fact: A defense contractor once did an analysis that indicated visual learners (dyslexics - many ADD/ADHD learners) were significantly better problem solvers and process experts. Yet, those whom are often best suited to learn math and solve problems are getting left on the curb becasue they don't learn well from lecture and reading.

Is it worth changing our knowledge transfer processes if we could repatriate more of these kids to our knowledge economy?

How do you organize your life?

2008-10-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

I was recently described by a Director of Operations at Computer Science Corporation as one of the most wired people he knows. My Palm is synced to my Exchange Server, my conference calls have reminders and e-mails and text messages fly all day. However, I can't cut loose of the 8.5 x 11 sheet of card stock that I list my To Dos on. Are you fully wired or straddling the fence regarding your To Do lists and notes?

IndyCar Learning

2008-10-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

Via work work with some close friends at Raytheon we are framing some concepts around accomplishing knowledge transfer without letting kids know it happened. One potential project will teach basic math skills, basic statistics, economics, some physics, work skills and conflict resolution as learners help manage a race team for one season. What other real-life jobs, sports or activities do you see as good fits for this type of content development?

Alpha Post

2007-01-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Ping Pong Brain. If you're what Hartmann describes an Edison, or what LoPorto calls a Da Vinci, then the description used by ADD/ADHD kids to describe their thoughts as ping pong balls bouncing in their heads will likely be immediately familiar.

Ironically, I have taken almost 1/2 a century to figure out why I was so good at applying the art of camouflage to intelligence. Thanks to Clay for screwing up in school so badly that he led us both to a renaissance.

In the pages that follow I'll attempt to make sure the people whose lives are touched by ADD/ADHD understand that Dr. Frank Lawlis was right: It's a disorder...not a disaster. Maybe it's about time that we all begin to look at the kid who can't sit still with envy instead of pity.