The invention of tools is one of the things that differentiates us from other life forms. Not all necessarily, like the sea otter who figured out how to break open shells, but most. Our willingness to use tools, however, is generally not tempered with the desire to use them correctly, or to use the right [...]
A little thought can make all the difference
Tag Archive: unexpected
6 Moments When I Wished For a Do-Over
Safety is one of those things that has a fair amount of chance involved. Once a chain of events begins, it can be a matter of several factors that determines the severity of the outcome. For example, I once helped a good friend build a greenhouse in his back yard. He was on a 6′ [...]
The Moment of Choice
In this blog I try and present ideas that would give people an opportunity to discuss options, to make choices. Everything we do is decisionable, and we are frequently on autopilot. But if we learn to make the best decisions with each action we take, when the moment of decision is quick we will have [...]
5 Reasons We Aren’t Always As Safe As We Could Be
As an advocate for personal safety, the tools I use most often are awareness of possibilities and appreciation of risk. If you make yourself aware of what could go wrong in a situation, and weigh that against the risks involved, you can make the best choices for your safety. Here are a few items, [...]
Avoiding the Birds
On a Weekend Update Thursday edition last week, the Saturday Night Live team came up with a pretty funny story about Captain Sully Sullenberger returning to the cockpit. Sully is now famous for his emergency landing of a USAir flight in the Hudson River. In case you don’t know the details, birds were sucked into [...]
Are You a Magoo?
One of my favorite cartoon characters is Mr. Magoo. A nearsighted senior citizen, Mr. Magoo’s best-known work is probably his portrayal of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.
In his cartoon series, his nearsightedness is the basis of continual gags, as he walks from hazard to hazard, just avoiding disaster each time. It’s as though he has [...]
Weather Safety
I’ve lived in contrasting weather regions in the US. I’ve lived in the midwest and in upstate New York, where I have seen long, cold winters with over one hundred inches of snow. I’ve lived in the south in areas that are impacted substantially by hurricane conditions. Heat extremes, cold extremes, snow extremes, rain extremes, [...]
All Weapons Must Be Non-Working and Peace Bound
For two days this weekend I attended DragonCon, a Labor Day Weekend fixture in Atlanta. This event includes everything from guest appearances by actors and creators of science fiction, fantasy, anime, role playing games, to a massive parade on Saturday morning with costumes more elaborate than the best Halloween party you ever attended.
The post title [...]
Please Pack Your Knives and Go Home
In over thirty years, I have conducted my share of termination meetings. Some due to layoffs, some as a result of shutdowns, some disciplinary, and some due to failure of fit. I think that’s why I seem to be drawn to some of the current reality shows. I feel drawn to the process by which [...]
Here Comes the Judge!
Over the last few weeks, I have written about characteristics that we each display in our work. Along with the Warrior, the Explorer, and the Artist, we all have a little bit of a Judge inside. He or she frequently advises the rest of the team of the value in their ideas or in an [...]
