I believe that honesty, hard work, and being genuine will ultimately win out in just about everything we do that has any lasting value. That said, there will be times when no matter how hard you try, and regardless of the efficacy of your cause, someone who doesn’t have your best interests at heart will string you along and then, squash you like a bug. What’s worse, these people have managed to dupe their little band of followers and sycophants that aren’t aware of their disingenuous qualities, or maybe they are, but for whatever reason, they continue telling the emperor that their clothes look great. Continue reading
Tag Archives: The JBE
Pick your battles, but choose your friends
I know several people that are always amped up about some major public issue. It might be guns, Obamacare, tax policy, the governor’s latest stupid statement…pick the poison.
Here’s the thing I’ve learned. None of these people can affect a damn bit of difference about their issue of the day. I like most of these people, but their sense of doom wears me out. Continue reading
Coping with weather and boys who cry “wolf”
When we were young, we became familiar with the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” It is one of Aesop’s Fables and is numbered 210 on the Perry Index for those who care about these things. The moral of the story, and Aesop’s Fables always had a moral, was that “a liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth.” Continue reading
Storm reporting from the snowpocapalypse
Gassing up JBE1 at Pownal Center Store before heading into the teeth of the snowpocalypse.
Last night, I watched a press conference by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. If this was a comedy sketch, it couldn’t have been funnier. It wasn’t. I posted the video in my previous JBE post, so check it out. Continue reading
Train, train
Amtrak Platform, Freeport, Maine
Today, almost all passenger transportation in the U.S. takes place via automobiles and airplanes. Currently, about 1 percent is by bus and rail, even though both of these are energy efficient options.
Since WWII, the preferred mode of travel has been one person in one car, sometimes referred to by critics of this model as “Happy Motoring.” Many large American cities are notorious for poor public transportation systems and as a result, freeways in and out of most cities are choked with cars idling in traffic during morning and evening rush hours. Continue reading
Reading books 2012
Why read? That seems to be the question at hand since I’m once more at the end of a calendar year with another assortment of books read over the course of the past 12 months. With a list like this comes some sort of requirement to justify the time I invested in making my way through these books. Hence, I report back to you, dear reader.
The rediscovery of reading transformed my life back in 1997. I say “rediscovery” because like so many, I’d found other second rate substitutes for books and reading in the course of leaving school and entering the realm of work. Now I’ve come back to an even more essential task—reading broadly. I wish a few more of you would begin wrestling with this task. Continue reading
Dialing while drunk
Last night was the second in a series of what will be nine contiguous nights chasing the moonlight as a seasonal employee on assignment. I’ve been doing this work just long enough now that I’m able to really focus on the callers, as well as my surroundings, and less on the technical components of navigating the order fulfillment system. It’s what I refer to as “being in the zone,” at least when it comes to being an order taker. Continue reading
Working scientifically
In America, work is often who we are. Some might take issue with this. By-and-large, we are what we do. If you think something different, ask yourself why, when attending parties or the requisite networking after hours some of us are subjected to, why the line of first questioning always settles on, “What do you do for work?”
Our current cultural norm places a positive moral value on doing a good job. This is rooted in the Protestant Reformation, which made physical labor acceptable for all persons, even the wealthy. Prior to the 16th century, working hard (in the absences of compulsion) was not the norm for Hebrew, classical, or medieval cultures. Continue reading
Snapshot of a journey
Personal growth requires frequent self-assessment. You need to know where you are, and maybe more important, where you’ve come from, if you harbor hope of arriving at the next point on the horizon.
This week 10 years ago would have knocked me for a loop. High-stress, coupled with multiple, complex priorities—made more difficult from lack of sleep, as well as a huge change in my normal daily routines, would have triggered all manner of negative behaviors. Continue reading
Teaching writing
Words matter. They have the power to heal, convey love, hate, complexity, as well as whimsy. Some people are obsessed with words and how to arrange and order them—we’re called writers.
A decade ago, I gave myself permission to call myself a writer. This wasn’t an arbitrary decision. I based it upon things I was figuring out about myself at the time. Looking back, I made the right choice. Continue reading