A Facebook friend recently posted a set of Washington DC photos. Almost all of the photos show people standing in front of easily recognizable landmarks, but all of them are dutifully captioned — White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, etc. The one exception is a photo of two people in an ornate lobby with the caption: “I forget where we are here.” Read more →
May 2009
The Passive-Aggressive Cleaning Crew
I asked a facilities person about the cleaning crew situation . . . turns out we did recently hire a new outfit. Her theory on why they keep moving the watebasket: “Maybe they want you to notice that they emptied it.” Read more →
Twitter: 2009-05-22
If sin and folly get punished appropriately, we’re in for a bad time. — Charlie Munger http://bit.ly/IwmTt # Read more →
More People I’m Sick Unto Death Of
People who run a family business and call it, for example, Dawson & Dawson. That’s stupid. Call it The Dawson Company. Or Dawson, Inc. What if another family member joins the business? Do you rename it Dawson, Dawson & Dawson? The only acceptable reason for doing this is if the people involved are completely unrelated but both happen to be named Dawson. Read more →
Trojans Are National Champions!
USC wins its 17th national championship in men’s tennis. FIGHT ON! Read more →
Twitter: 2009-05-19
Things were getting worse faster than we could lower our standards — Carrie Fisher # Read more →
Conversations with Frank Gehry
[From Conversations with Frank Gehry by Barbara Isenberg. Gehry (Class of ’54) is a USC grad — like me!] On the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright: I studied every section drawing, model and building of Frank Lloyd Wright. Everything. I went to see what he did in Oak Park. I went to see Robie House. I went to see Unity Temple. I studied Taliesin East and Taliesin West. I studied his planning ideas at Broadacre City and his ideas about the high-rise and his Mile High Building. I read everything I could about Wright’s life, and I visited the buildings in Marin County that were built after his death. I knew Frank Lloyd Wright. On the competition to design Walt Disney Concert Hall, eventually won by Gehry: My European colleagues thought I had the inside track, but it was quite the opposite. I was the long shot. In fact, in… Read more →
Cat and Dog : Not Cat or Dog
Originally uploaded by Joy J Originally uploaded by TheBigWRanch12 Originally uploaded by tovje Originally uploaded by Hodgey Originally uploaded by RainbowBerries Read more →
Why (Some) People Love Meetings
[W]hat … meetings are doing is playing out an emotional drama–conflict, blaming, flirting, one-upsmanship, random outbursts, anger, and so forth….the soap-opera aspects of meetings are the most exciting parts of their jobs…. Indeed, these people are often upset if I show them how to conduct well-run meetings, because I’ve taken all the joy out of their lives. — Gerald M. Weinberg, The Secrets of Consulting: Why We Love and Hate Meetings Read more →
Twitter: 2009-05-17
RT @andrewgrose: 11 Obscure Google Tricks You Didn’t Know Existed http://www.gilsmethod.com/11obscuregoogletricks # Read more →
Another Reason I Prefer to Just Drink at Home
TIJUANA, Mexico — The bodies of four U.S. citizens were found strangled, beaten and stabbed in a van in this border city, two days after they reportedly left their Southern California homes for a night at the Mexican clubs, U.S. officials said Thursday. — Associated Press Read more →
Two Jokes
“Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” “Bessie, the Interrupting Cow.” “Bessie, the Interr–” “MOOOOOOO!” Two TV antennas fell in love and got married. The wedding was nothing special but the reception was excellent. Read more →
Programmers Say the Darndest Things
It’s done but we’re still working on a few things. Then it’s not done, is it? It mostly works, but it still needs a lot of testing. How do you know it mostly works if it still needs a lot of testing? Isn’t that what testing is for — to figure out if it works? I’m not making these up, by the way . . . Read more →
Shopping for Watches
I’m at Target shopping for a new watch. My son is with me. He’s 15 years old. “Bah,” he says, sizing up the display. “Where’s the platinum stuff?” “Look,” I say, “all I need here is an inexpensive watch that’ll tell me what time it is.” A guy behind us chortles. He knows what I’m talking about; he’s browsing through a rack of $19 Ray-Ban knockoffs. “Buy what you want then,” the boy says. “But my watch is very attractive to the ladies.” “What kind of watch do you have?” He’s not wearing one so I have to ask. “I’ll give you a hint,” he says. “It starts with an ‘R.’” “Very funny. What kind of watch do you have?” “OK, it’s a Casio. But it’s got a really cool band.” Read more →
The Myth of the Natural Genius
The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work. — Emile Zola People err who think my art comes easily to me. I assure you, dear friend, nobody has devoted so much time and thought to composition as I. There is not a famous master whose music I have not industriously studied through many times. — Mozart Read more →
The Beast of the Buffet Line
We had Mother’s Day brunch at Todai Japanese buffet in Orange. Unfortunately, directly in my line of sight at another table was a 500-pound bald Asian guy — a beast of a man — stuffing huge handfuls of food into his gaping maw. And when I say “huge handfuls of food,” I mean he seemed to have a python-like ability to unhinge his jaws to accomodate the volume of food he was cramming in there. Buffet managers must die a little inside when a guy like that shows up. Read more →
Happy Mothers Day!
Hi Mom! Happy Mothers Day! How are things in Iowa? Here’s a recent picture of me at the dog park. You can see I have an underbite just like Dad. Some people tease me about it but I don’t care. You would be so proud of me. I’m the alpha dog of my whole neighborhood! People think that dogs don’t remember their families but of course I remember you and I always love you even though you’re far away. Your son, Lightning Read more →
The Secret Sharer
The joys of parents are secret, and so are their griefs and fears. — Francis Bacon Happy Mothers Day to my wife, who shares my secrets . . . Read more →
ABCs of Me
This has been making the rounds of my Facebook friends so I thought I’d repost my answers here: A – Age: Extremely late 30s B – Bed Size: Procrustean C – Chore You Hate? If it’s a chore, I hate it D – Dogs Name? Lightning E – Essential Daily Items? Nothing is essential F – Favorite Color? Blue. No, yell– AUUUUUUUUGH! G – Gold Or Silver? Whatever H – Height? 6-0, give or take I – Instruments You Play? Drums and piano, both poorly J – Job Title? Lord of Logic K – Kids? Son, age 15 L – Living Arrangements? Wife, kid and dog, in a rapidly depreciating house M – Mom’s Name? Good question…I only knew her as “Mom” N – Nicknames? Like Charlie Brown, I always wanted to be called “Flash” O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth? Burst fracture, L1 (i.e. broken back); laparascopic… Read more →
The Value of Education
I’m reading a USC alumni magazine when I notice a mosquito flying around the living room ceiling. So I roll up the magazine, wait for the mosquito to drop down the wall a little bit, and crush it on the first swing. I tell my son, “I knew my USC education would come in handy.” Read more →