As usual I’m a bit behind in posting a link roundup – for some reason the roundup, which I originally meant to post on Fridays, has slowly drifted to Sundays or Mondays, or in this lamentable case, Tuesdays. At this point, it’s almost next week’s roundup with posts from the previous week. It’s ridiculous, I [...] Read more »
goblins and ghosts and links, oh my
Halloween is an ugly mix of fun and, well, ugliness. Kids love the costumes, of course, and adore the candy. I don’t like the candy – I don’t care for sugar in the first place but the horrendous, chemical-laden packets of sugar/high fructose corn syrup are truly appalling. I like the costumes, but I don’t [...] Read more »
updates, summer in October and links
This week I suddenly decided to update a few things here at brip blap. I’ve added a much more complex Facebook page, for starters, which you can see at facebook.com/bripblap. I also added a new page here – greatest hits. I’ve got a Media Mentions page over on the Facebook site – a similar page [...] Read more »
is capitalism the answer, or the problem? (and links)
I think most people like to think of themselves and their political/economic/religious beliefs as being unique. My own opinion is that nobody with much intelligence would say something along the lines of “I believe 100% in the political philosophy of Sean Hannity/Keith Olberman/Barack Obama/Sara Palin/(insert name of random politician.” In the same way, I doubt [...] Read more »
cloudy days, and links
We’ve had a cloudy week in Florida: it’s been cold and gloomy, suffering from the trace remnants of the tropical storm. That – plus a visit from relatives – conspired to reduce my writing time to almost nothing. I did attend a birthday party for a friend of my son’s on Saturday at the dreaded [...] Read more »
knowledge versus credentials, and links
A few links below got me thinking. I’ve written about this before, but it’s amazing how much our society – particularly corporate society – values credentials, versus knowledge. I have done enough phone interviews with clients to realize that they are far more interested in my credentials than what I actually know. They want to [...] Read more »
TGI Fridays and the customer, and links
When I used to travel in Europe for business on a monthly basis, I spent a LOT of time at TGI Fridays. I know most people might dismiss it as a crass American chain, but I’ll defend it: I had to eat a lot of foreign food. I might spend 3-4 nights a week eating [...] Read more »
the kickoff, a reflection and links
I’ll turn this post upside down from its usual order: links, then some thoughts. Links Could Your Lack Of Money Be Your Own Fault?: Yep. Almost always. With a few exceptions (medical care, for example), most of our spending choices are just that: choices. Relocating To Save Money On Housing: We did it. We found [...] Read more »
when is enough enough, and links
Here’s a tough question: when do you look at your industry or profession and admit it’s on a downward slope? I’ve worked with a number of people from the Midwest, for example, who realized that the jobs were gone and they weren’t coming back, so they relocated. I’ve worked with people who worked in a [...] Read more »
nothing ever changes, and links
Not to inject politics, but just to point out how times change, here’s a quote from an American politician in the not-too-distant past (emphasis mine): In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human [...] Read more »
personal mission statement, and links
I’ve been trying apply the Pareto Principle (discussed ad nauseum elsewhere) to my daily activities a bit – trying to focus on important things and let stuff that I might enjoy but don’t really advance my life goals go. It’s harder than you think: I like reading about sports and spending time tinkering with this [...] Read more »
try something new, and links
I’ve been working on something with my son. It’s “try something new”. I have made an effort to convince him that he should try something new, and if he likes it, great, if not, fine. I’m mostly applying this concept to food but it’s relevant to things like trying new sports or ideas or so [...] Read more »