View From Here

I don’t know about you, but a weight is building on my chest, my mind. So many things are in our daily news basket. So full of terrible things. So full of challenge. A call to action at every turn. So many things to focus on the choices are blithering. Looking back at that first paragraph, a linguistics analyst would peg me for my current age within 2 years. He/she might even identify the regions of my upbringing! Dated language, I know. Still the meaning is clear. We are in deep doo doo. Plain words for clear meaning. We find ourselves in a collective shitcan of trouble. How much of this do we absorb before deciding to do something about it? International relations: Russia is reaching for its old territories to rebuild the Soviet Union. So far, they are unopposed by other powers, just the small nations within Russia’s reach. China is militarizing the oceans bordering her shores. She has designs on expanding her borders and to recapture Taiwan. China also has bought or enslav...

Good questions. And one asked several times. Joe Biden is a good place saver for the next generation of leaders. I support Joe’s willingness to serve and ability to labor hard and long for what the American people need and deserve. He is not remaking the nation. He is not stubbornly hanging on to old ideas. He is modern, listens to experts in emerging fields of study and science. He is adapting the nation to what it must do to survive another 100 years. He supports attacking climate change challenges. He repels the evil of Putin. He aids Ukraine. He supports NATO and sharing power and responsibility with other nations. He realizes American power, dollar and influence is not the end-all and be-all of the world. We are one of many nations working together to ensure the human race can survive in a rapidly changing world. Autocracy is not the answer. Dictatorships, too, are not the answer. Standing still and paying the bills of poorer nations is not the answer. No. The answer is in...

Looking forward to retirement, I dreamed of mornings I would awake whenever I wanted, then read the newspaper while sipping coffee. For hours. And then showering and planning my day. A ride here, a drive there. Errands quickly done and leisure captured once again. Also, vacation trips were envisioned. Slow tours of the southwestern deserts. Visiting the national parks missed over the previous decades. Even time to show grandkids what the canyon southwest is all about and why it is so important. And awe inspiring! Then came the real aging. The illnesses. The dwindling resources. The limitations on movement. Horizons crashed. Viewpoints disappeared. Perspectives changed. Substitutions quickly appeared. We read more. We nap more. We watch documentaries more and learn what we didn’t have time for before now. I write more. I work with individuals more and share entrepreneurial experience so they can make their own futures happen, their way. And I help existing small businesses overcom...

NATO Expansion : Russian shenanigans have rattled Finland, Norway and Sweden for years. Flyovers by Russian MIGs have threatened the peace more than once. They have bullied these nations to stay out of NATO. Seems to me, the lesson learned is not working. Instead, these nations are now seriously thinking of joining NATO to better secure their nations in the face of Russia’s bully mentality. Oh sure, Russia has nukes. But if they use them, they will quickly lose the advantage. I don’t think Russia is stupid enough to use their nukes. Like most bullies, there is a limit to their tactics before they turn tail and run. Putin has seriously overplayed his game. Instead of appearing as a bold leader, he has donned the fool’s costume. For all to see. And remember. Middle East’s Influence : with the demise of the gasoline auto engine, middle eastern oil products will be left high and dry. American knowhow and generosity taught the middle eastern nations the value of their oil reserves. We...

Face masks worked. Face mask work. They protect me from others. They protect others from me. Simple. Logical. Proven. So, a conservative trump appointed judge with little court experience upends the proven to show the world she can. Like lemmings dropping happily over a cliff, the silly public of America goes along with this ruling. Because they don't like the masks and want to be free of them. Not me. I will continue to wear my mask outside my home. I will wear it getting to the car and leaving it. In the car I wear the mask only in preparation for leaving it to share space with others. I cannot be responsible for what others do. I can be dutiful for what I do. Luckily, it serves both directions, you and me. You are still free to do what you like. Me, I remain committed to being a responsible citizen. The COVID pandemic is not over. It is in a lull that awaits people sharing the virus once again in public spaces. I am disappointed in Biden’s White House on this issue. ...

Update on Car Repair : took the car to a local mechanic specializing in foreign models, especially Mercedes. He replaced the failed suspension bladder and its companion on the right rear wheel, too. He cleaned and removed rust from control components of the air suspension system. The repairs were tested overnight, and all is good. The system is good to go. He did all of this at half price. Still, it was costly, $1,010.  He is also checking out a 4-wheel drive front differential replacement. The right front axle assembly needs replacement as well so he will check on available rebuilt parts. If successful, we will attend to all of these issues at one time. Left to do is getting the air conditioning working again. I doubt we will be able to handle all of that, but we shall see. I will post an update with more results. Before leaving the premises, I was introduced to the owner of the auto brokerage and repair operation. They promised to work with me on using rebuilt parts at lower la...

Over the years my career was focused on finding problems and fixing them. That wasn’t in any of the job descriptions but at the core of each job, that’s what all of them were about. Finding and fixing. Identifying what works, what doesn’t, who is affected, how badly, and what options exist to mend the problem. Almost always I did not have the tools or resources to fix the problem on my own. I had to find other people, their departments, and pool resources to address the issues. All it took was someone to break the ice and seek collaboration. Almost always I found people willing to work together and share their resources – ideas, knowledge, manpower, facilities, policy and procedure, even money. Often the latter was lacking, but then that was another part of the problem in need of solution. I was good at finding the money. It started with asking for it. My career record demonstrates the success of this approach. Most people were very willing to engage in the process. They seemed r...

I know, I know, the saying is Pop Goes the Weasel. Well, I am not sure I ever saw a weasel although we all have known the human sort! No, I am referring to our wheels popping. An explanation, my old 2006 Mercedes R500 has air suspension. It rises for more road clearance as needed, and lowers automatically at higher cruise speeds, 60+ for better gas mileage. It also can be raised or lowered depending on the weight of the passengers or cargo. The air suspension also has another feature: it can stiffen the suspension for sporty high-speed driving or soften the ride to the consistency of marshmallows. In that setting the ride is downright squishy. The riders might like it, but the driver will find it a little unwieldly. I prefer the central setting that is not too hard, not too soft. Just right! Well, as this suspension type ages it become cantankerous. Recently the left side has risen during driving while the right side has lowered. A decided ‘tilt’ developed that was uncomfortable. I...

October was a long time ago. Nearly six months have passed indoors, windows and doors shut. Heating system and fans on, but fresh air? No. Not one whiff of it. I have a neighbor who often stops by after walking her dog. I smell something that I don’t immediately identify. Then it comes to me. Fresh air. Fresh air on her clothes, her dog’s fur, and so forth. As spring ramps up (fitfully to be sure!), we open the sliding door if rain is not in the immediate forecast. I sit down in my recliner. I am distracted by a smell I have not encountered for a while. Yes, it is fresh air again. Sitting at my computer, I open the window just a bit. It is a crank-out type which means its frame edges are exposed to the weather when open. Rain is the worst condition for this window, so I do not open it very often. But when I do, memory cells jump to action. Fresh air, especially of early spring, brings memories of the decades. Sometimes it is southern California at the base of the foothills above ...

Modern technology is terrific. Unlimited reach of communications. Research at fingertips. Exploratory thinking explored freely with facts to back it up or check it out. Speed of transactions fast as lightening. File space inconceivably big. Costly yes, and with many options, all with a price. Choices choke the decision-making process. But choice there is. The problem: age and shifting needs. I do not need all the capabilities of younger persons, people still engaged deeply in their careers. But I do need access to many features to remain invested in our social order, intellectual challenges and community. This participation in life keeps me alert and healthy. Age, however, clouds understanding a lot of technology. I work with over a hundred SCORE mentors and many of us experience tech blockages in the normal week. Sometimes it is a failure with a Zoom meeting connection, or two. Sometimes it is a lost file with weird print fonts appearing randomly in a document. Slow search eng...

Bits and more bits make up a piece of the big picture. Many pieces gathered together in order and place build the big picture. When all pieces are in place, the big picture comes into focus. That’s how we complete a picture puzzle. In real life, however, the big picture is rarely in focus. It is comprised of billions of pieces, maybe trillions. Keeping all of that in focus is mainly impossible. But we try. The United Nations was built to keep that international big picture in focus. Decades later the UN remains unfocused. Its outcomes are in disarray, and we are perilously close to World War III. I think the UN lost its way by focusing on near-term tasks and easy to do work. Hoping all of these would add up to a full solution to a complex problem was not productive. It was, in the end, distracting. The UN is not an international government. Each member nation is its own boss. It gives up no sovereignty to the UN. They come to the table to talk and share. The hope is talking and s...

We have three existential realities to ponder. First, does the planet have the capacity to support human life for another 50 years? Second, is Russia begging the question of the war to end all wars? And third, when will my life end, and how? Seems to me, these are the current basic questions having to do with our existence. Of course, number three is always with us. Most of us hesitate to think about our death, but it is a reality. Birth and death are the bookends of life. What happens between the ends is what we do, how we live, the life we experience. Before that nothing. After that nothing, or maybe something depending on your theological perspective. The other two existential challenges, however, may interrupt our lives. And yet, each of these challenges are occurring because mankind has played a heavy hand in making it happen in the first place. We helped make it happen; we can help make it end. If we don’t help, make both of these challenges end – peacefully – then our end ...

Making a decision requires stable footing. Sometimes the footing is not ideal; it squishes, shifts, rocks and teeters. Shifting stance, may find more stability. At least enough to make another move to a more stable place. It may take some movement to find a steppingstone sturdy enough to consider future options. In planning, we do this often. We are dealing with some knowns and a lot of unknowns. Like life. We move forward bit by bit testing our surroundings and finding more certain footing. The same is true in organizations. Whether for business, community, family or government, all organizations struggle with identifying who they are, why they exist, and what is their mission. These questions are structural. They are important. Upon each one we build the next question. And so on until we have a clear view of our purpose. A similar struggle ensues to define our scale and long-term dream. Just how large will our operation become? Fifteen years from now, how will we be perceived? Wh...

Crime has been a public nuisance since the beginning of time. Someone always wants what someone else has and takes it. Openly is robbery. Sneakily is stealth, theft. Beating the owner is battery. Threatening the owner is assault. Killing the owner is murder. Wanting that which another nation has and taking it through violence is war. Simple isn’t it? Well. No. It is not simple. A starving family may steal food to feed its loved ones, shrug off hunger. Shoplifting a piece of clothing may clothe the naked. Bits and pieces of want for good cause, is poverty waging its war of survival. A crime, yes, but one which ought not happen. The problem is not crime in this case. The problem is poverty and the need to be addressed. But crimes of violence? That is another matter. It is unsettling. It is fearful. It hampers our freedom of movement. It pinches off our sense of freedom, of creativity, of wellness. Case in point: I learned my seminary sold its age-old building to the University of...

The Unemployed College Grad : the twenty-something (or worse, 30-something) who claims his/her college degree was a mistake because they are now unemployed, does not tug at my heart strings. Why? Because they should have been more engaged back when they chose the major of their degree study. I work with budding entrepreneurs today, but even back in my youth I easily recognized what was good or bad in the economy, what was needed, what products and services should make a good market anchor. That sort of thing. Are the degree complainers of today saying they did not know to pay attention back then? Why was that? Change is the universal theme of all social orders. Period. Learning to live with that change is the ‘occupation’ we all must deal with. Some make fabulous livings from this work. Others play supporting roles in management specialties learned over time. The degree did not teach a vocation. It taught students to think and adapt. Some I guess didn’t get that lesson! World V...

Nearly every day this week and last, reports of gun violence have been steady. Multiple shooting deaths. Rampages at entertainment sites. Gun fights counterpointing arguments – among both friends and strangers. This is a picture of a nation run amok in gun violence. Is this an expected outcome of gun ownership? Is this what we get with broad freedoms to own, carry and use guns? Is this the price we are willing to pay for freedom? I doubt Americans think the price is worth it. I think Americans are willing to clamp down on gun ownership rights to secure the peace. Peace and tranquility. Peace for the rest of us to pursue life, liberty and happiness. The well-being of a society relies on many things. Freedom is one of those things. Duty another. Responsibility yet another. Yes, the commonweal relies on all of us acting together to protect and nurture society to valued ends. It does impose restrictions on some behavior to ensure that peace and public safety is obtained for the benef...

The swing is constant. Earth’s rotation makes that possible, inevitable. The variable? Width of arc. From here to there is a distance constantly shifting. Even rotation shifts, little by little. The full 360-degree rotation will occur. Where did I learn this? Griffith Observatory in California. As a kid. The pendulum was poised just above a round sand-filled space. The point of the pendulum suspended high above the floor, had a point that nosed the sand. We could see the arc traced in the sand. We could also observe how the pendulum’s track filled the sand’s circle over time. Metaphor’s beckon. The arc – both length and pivot – mirrors the shift in public opinion. The arc also mirrors the shift in fashion, music, art, architecture and drama. The arts have an arc. So do politics. Domestic and foreign. Positive and negative, creative or reactionary, nations push and shove their way forward to influence others. But what does it gain them? Reputation for one. That outcome is hard ear...

The competition among news outlets, especially electronic outlets, has driven news organizations to broaden coverage and territory. This is done electronically and physically traveling to the hot spots where news is happening. Well, that is the way it was. Today, that approach is too costly. The result has been a series of cost cutting, image enhancement, and headline hunting. The strategy is to build audience, so ad rates are high and produce outstanding revenue streams. Cost cutting has occurred in backroom operations. Editorial staff, staff reporters, investigative background work, and a host of other mainsprings of accurate news writing, is absent. What we have are talking heads and opinion makers. Then there are the shows that interview countless ‘experts’ or background guests. Over and over they are pummeled with questions to extract the messages sought by the talking head anchor. What we have is far from investigative reporting. Cable news magazines are what we need. What ...

I’m gay and the lifelong path was tortuous from an early age. I was not certain of my gender orientation for a very long time. I was afraid of knowing it, finding out about it. In short, I felt different but shamed that I was different from other kids. And family? What would they say or do? The whole thing was a mystery. And scary. Now I learn that the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) conducted research and learned that 20% of current high school students feel they are not heterosexual. That figure stuns me. Upon further consideration, I should not be surprised. Think of the possibilities – straight, gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender, or just plain confused. In my early days I felt stymied. I did not know why, just uncomfortable, and shy. Reluctant to talk to anyone about it. I wonder how many kids finally work their way through all this confusion and finally conclude they are straight after all. I certainly hoped I was. And that was the core of further problems for the rest of ...

Oscars Hoopla : in the grand scheme of things, the Oscars are not important. Interesting but not important. Tantalizing even because we seem to be entranced with glitter, glamour and wealth. The Oscars, however, are about excellence in art of movie making and acting. That is important, but the standards are subjective and questionable. The Slap Heard Around the World is a sensation of moment, not of all time. So many other things are important in life. The Will Smith slap is not one of them. Let’s move on to what is important. Hunter Biden Hoopla : political drama is the stuff of, well, er…politics. Shuffling feet for power at any given moment is the debris of little things seemingly made important by players in the political orbit. It is high time to shut down gossip and inuendo until facts are made known. Real facts. Facts learned at the end of an arduous investigation. And then take appropriate action. Until then, shut up. Inflation Hoopla : much is made of recent price hikes ...

This post is real, not a fake to lengthen the April Fool’s tradition. I can laugh at life without faking the life, or the emotion. There is much humor to make and enjoy. Just not at the expense of others. I know, the jokes of old make the joker appear clever, witty, attractive. But is that necessary, especially when others are made to feel the fool? Don’t we have enough foolishness to last a lifetime? Can’t we avoid all that and concentrate instead on the things that matter? As I age, I think I see things more clearly. Just as I make that conclusion, however, I realize the complexity and mystery of most things. Life is not simple. Neither is it impossible. Here are some things that seem impossible but surely there are solutions! First, consumer electronics. Especially cable TV. Mine doesn’t work very well. The cable connection is faulty, but no one will come out and investigate it without charging me. It is their system not mine. And they continue to charge me for very little. ...