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Is the Glass Half Full, or is it Half Empty
I’m listening to an EconTalk podcast with Annie Duke, author of “Quit” and the (great) host Russ Roberts. At the 0:30:00 mark, they discuss the cognitive state of “being in the losses”. We have a physical and mental ledger. For example, what’s the difference between completing a half marathon vs. only running half of a…
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But this is such a wonderful town…
I’ve moved around a lot in my life. As a boy in NYC, as the neighborhood went bad we moved on. It’s the people, not the geographical location. The location may be beautiful, but if the people are ugly, it’s a horrid place.
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The world will end in X years
How often do we hear dire, existential predictions? Why do proponents of a particular policy/ideology always warn that everything is at stake, and everything will be lost if you don’t… (you fill in the blank). Always look beneath the surface. For example, at a recent board meeting in my shul, people who wanted a specific…
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When you burn your bridges behind you…
… it is unreasonable to expect others to rebuild them for you.
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Standards
I’m listening to Jocko Wilink’s “Extreme Ownership”. On CD3 at 03:00 he talks about standards. It’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.
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Modern vs. Traditional Art
I’m watching a TV show looking at local antique shops. In one of them, the shop owner, “artist”, describes a wall he built along his property line. The wall is made up of old doors, windows, bicycle parts, wooden tables, and other junk. As he described what the wall “meant”, I realized that his approach…
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There’s always a silver lining
We’ve been glued to the TV, watching as Hurricane Ian devastated our old Southwest Florida neighborhoods (SWFL). The storm winds of 140+ mph destroyed roads and the Sanibel Causeway. There was so much water. You could see cars with water up to the roof. The rebuilding efforts will be measured in 10’s of billions of…
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5 Ways to “win” an argument
Read a tweet this morning… Exactly! 5 ways to win every internet argument – what THEY don’t want you to know! 1. continually move the goalposts 2. make stuff up 3. never admit fault 4. ad hominem 5. strawman
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Virtual Insanity
In 1996, while on a business trip to London, one of the songs at the top of the charts was Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai. I bought the long play single (vinyl) and listened to it at least a hundred times. It’s a great song that holds up even 25 years later. The video is mesmerizing,…
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Topic: Leadership
Ref: Rabbi Sacks “Lessons in Leadership”, in the introduction. This is very suitable for a woman to present. It’s about Miriam and her quiet role. She exhibited leadership, without the spotlight. The Torah presents many instances of Moshe losing his cool; insecurity… Miriam leads the people in praise, in joy Be’er Miriam Period of mourning…