One Day

Friday Thinking Joke: Seeing the Obvious

Roger Van Oech is the creator of the Creative Whack Pack, among other things. He is the inaugural member of the Friday thinking joke club here at Hotel Arizona. Click here to read the story he relates as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson work to deduce the more obvious secrets of their place in the universe (sort of).

"They Just Don't Care"

John McCain announced his Presidential candidacy yesterday. Apparently not many folks showed up. One attendee holding a McCain for President sign told an NPR reporter that she wasn't really a McCain supporter, but the people passing out signs "looked desperate, so I took one."

It reminds me of a community development admonishment I once heard: Social Capital should never be judged by how many people show up to the meeting.

The tendency is for passionate people who call a community meeting on a critical issue to be deflated and stunned when turnout at the meeting is low. The knee-jerk reaction is, 'they just don't care.'

In actuality, everybody cares about things related to their lives in varying degrees and within a hierarchy of priorities. The people who show up are just those who care about your agenda, were motivated by how you framed it AND could make it without having to honor commitment to a higher priority. Worst case, the people you are counting are those with a passion for coming to meetings.

If people aren't coalescing around your meetings, it is time to rethink what you are doing.

What if: You Stop Smoking RIGHT NOW?

Wade Meredith writes a blog called HealthBolt. I strongly encourage those smokers who think "it's too late to stop now" to read his post "What Happens to Your Body if you stop smoking right now?"

I'm no doc, nor do I play one on this blog. I also can't figure out what Wade Meredith's credentials are. But then again, I didn't try very hard to figure them out. The more important point is this: we make choices individually and as a collective. Good choices improve outcomes. Bad choices don't. And any time you choose well instead of not-so-well, then you are helping yourself and those around you.

Thanks in advance for reading Wade's post and thinking about it.

Microsoft on Microsoft Crime

I can't help but laugh when Bill Gates' programs don't get along. I came to work this morning to find this message: "To help protect your computer, Windows has closed this program." Not so funny you say? Funny to me, because the program that was forced to close by Microsoft Windows was itself a program from - you guessed it - Microsoft Corporation.

Hey, Softies. Yeah, you guys in Redmond. The ones who squandered the world's largest market cap and who probably still have more cash on the balance sheet than you should. Is this the 21st century version of GM's planned obsolescence?

I'm convince that there would be one quarter to one third as many tech support staff if we all had Macs. And likely a lot less road rage.

What's the point of this? Perhaps that we all need to take a look at what's in conflict in our lives and the places in which we live and really be honest with each other about making better choices that are good for ALL of us. Because in the end we all pay one way or another. Take the example of health care in Arizona. 20% of us don't have insurance. Not because we're lazy and don't want to work, but because it is out of reach of a family of four with a $60,000 household income. These citizens may even be working harder to practice healthy living than the rest of us just to stay out of the system. What is a fact, however, is that their treatment is much more expensive and much less likely to avoid chronic illness when they do enter the health care system at the local emergency room.

The costs come out of all of our pockets, reducing our GDP, bogging down our hospitals and, worst of all, clouding our perception of the root cause that requires attention. Don't be fooled. We can do better, without embracing any of the knee-jerk reactions that have been offered in the past. The track record on these is also clear. Not much has changed in decades.

That goes for Microsoft too.

Number Two, Trying Harder?

Phoenix is the number two major metro for new college graduates. That was the conclusion after BizJournals crunched the numbers and we were edged out of the top spot by – surprise – Las Vegas. I assume that this has something to do with Vegas having showgirls.

But hold on. The previously heralded retirement mecca symbolized by Sun City has ostensibly been measured as one of the best large metro areas where job opportunities are strongest for young adults.

Question: do they understand that they are not Medicare-eligible?

Over the Top to Make a Point

My, oh my, oh my. Please do yourself a favor and visit Bob Fuller's Roadside Memorials. It's twisted and wrong, but dead-on right at the same time. Make sure you watch the television commercial and call the 800-number.

Nonprofit advocates are really getting what the web can do. I originally thought that Elect Susie was nicely done. But what 'til you get a hold of this one.

If only Saturday Night Live had writers this good.