A date which will live in infamy...

Disclaimer: This is a long post. The longest one yet (and this disclaimer makes it even longer!) If you’re a little dissuaded from reading today because of the length, do me a favor and stick with me today. After all, as a friend reminded me, you’re not amateur procrastinators. You’re professionals. You can handle it. Additionally, this post is not happy, or funny. It’s easily the most seriously post I’ve ever written. But it’s important to me, as it should be important to all of us.

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“Yesterday… a date which will live in infamy.” While these words were spoken by an American President on December 8th 1941 (thanks for pointing out my error, anonymous reader!), they just have easily could have been spoken by the American President on September 12th 2001. September 11th 2001 truly was a day that will live in infamy. It was a day that brought together an entire generation of Americans. It’s our Pearl Harbor, our Sputnik, our Kennedy assassination. A USA Today poll found that more than two thirds of Americans view 9/11 as the most memorable news event of their lifetime, and you would be hard pressed to find anyone over the age of 20 who can’t tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing on that fateful morning when the news first broke. Personally, I remember nearly every detail of that day as if was only a year ago, as opposed to eight. I remember hearing the first reports that it was an accident; probably a small plane. I remember looking outside and thinking, how could a plane accidentally fly into a building that big on a day this clear? Then the second tower was hit, followed by the Pentagon, and I very vividly remember thinking, “The shit. Has hit. The fan.” Just like that – as silly as it may look in print.

As articulate as my recollected thought may have been, I truly love language and words. While it would be fitting to describe the day as infamous, perhaps a more fitting word is transformative. How much did the nation change after 9/11? Everything from our national security, to the way airports are run, or even the way we now can’t help but to look suspiciously at an Arab on an airplane. Transformed. I’ve studied the Middle East and don’t have an ounce of prejudice towards Arabs, but if I’ve thought like this (and I’m not proud to admit that I have), I guarantee I’m not the only one. Above and beyond social changes, can you put a figure for the number of lives that were changed because of that one day? Take me for example. While I always had an interest in politics and the ways of the world, 9/11 pushed me towards national service. I decided that I wanted to join the intelligence community somehow, or work for the government, and chose my college major because of this. I learned about the Middle East and Islam, and regardless of what I end up doing with my life I think I’m a much more well rounded and worldly person because of it. When I couldn’t find a job in government service after graduation, I decided to join the National Guard. Soon enough I’ll be heading off to the Middle East for my own tour of duty. My life – transformed. All this because of one day eight years ago.

Now forget about me, and forget about the victims, but rather think of their families. Children of 9/11 victims are now eight years old, and have never known their fathers. Others were perhaps newborns and have never really known their mothers. Thousands of families will never be the same. Transformed. Now consider the soldiers. We can discuss politics all you want, but 9/11 was the catalyst for sending our troops to Asia. According to the Washington Post, as of this morning 5,130 soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those thousands of families have dramatically and tragically changed forever. Countless more families will never be the same because of PTSD, or effects of various injuries. Transformed. When you start to break it down like this, you quickly realize that the number of lives changed is not in the thousands of deaths that make the paper, but in the millions surrounding them.

Because of the countless people affected because of that one day, September 11th is a day that needs to be remembered always. But before we get into the long term, let’s try this week first. Let’s start with today. First of all, thank someone today who gives of their time and talents to help make you safer. Find a soldier, or a fireman, or a police officer. Thank them for their service. Believe me, they’ll appreciate it. Additionally, remember that last year the President made 9/11 a National Day of Service. As I’ve already noted in this space, I promote doing things for your fellow man year round, but today in particular you should get out there and do something, with the millions of people affected by 9/11 in mind. Donate blood, give clothes to good will, buy somebody a cup of coffee…you get the idea.

Now let’s look long term. While I don’t want to get too self-righteous, I find it absolutely heinous that a Ground Zero memorial has not been completed. Or hell, even really started. I did some research online today as to how this can possibly be true. Politics, a shrinking economy, soaring costs and raw emotions have all been listed as delaying progress on its development. Are you kidding me? The economy was doing just fine four years ago. Why wasn’t more progress made before the bubble burst? Better yet, even now in a struggling economy, you mean to tell me that you can’t find enough private donors to at least get a respectable memorial in place? Somewhere that New Yorkers and family members can go to remember the event? It actually makes me angry. I understand that many companies who had their headquarters in the towers sustained massive financial setbacks and are probably now still struggling because of the current financial crisis, but am I to believe that they wouldn’t be willing to make donations to help memorialize their fallen employees and coworkers? Mother Teresa once said, “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” Those who have the means should remember this, especially today, and figure out a way to make the memorial a reality.

I’ve spent enough time on my soap box, and for those of you that are still with me 1100+ words later, I appreciate your attention. Just remember why today needs to remain important. Never forget.

Now get back to work, crazy.



“We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.” – George W. Bush.

The mini-cation

For those of you who know me, you know that spontaneity is a quality that I hold true and dear. I’ve picked up and gone to Germany for-the World Cup on a whim, I’ve flown to Florida for a long weekend, I’ve driven to Minneapolis to see the Eagles play, and in college I took tons of weekend road trips that weren’t conceived until the last possible minute. I love the weekend getaway. LOVE. I can’t over-state this. And yet, it occurred to me recently that I haven’t had a solid mini-cation in awhile (that’s mini vacation, for those of you who may not be particularly astute). So, a few weeks back, I looked at my schedule and realized that if I swung my schedule just right, I could have two back to back four day weekends. Four-day weekends tend to mean great things for my stress levels and terrible things for my liver. This seemed a fair compromise, and thus the slightly (but not really) spontaneous planning began.

Long story short, I decided on two locations – One weekend I spent three days in Nashville (via Pittsburgh) visiting a friend I haven’t seen in years, and the following weekend I went to the shore for four days to hang out with my college friends. While I could bore you with every little nuance of both trips, I instead have decided to break down things I usually do that I ignored while on vacation, and things I never do that I got to do on vacation. Ready go.

Things I normally do, but I didn’t do on vacation:

· Surf the web to keep myself entertained
· Check my email
· Work
· Think about work
· Set an alarm clock (this one’s BIG)
· Wear my uniform (my work clothes)
· Oh, and did I mention work and/or think about work?

Things I normally don’t do, but I did on vacation:

· Swim in, and get my ass kicked by the tropical storm-angered ocean
· Early morning Bloody Marys (or is that Maries? Nah, I feel like that’s a whole different name. Moving on)
· Read for pleasure
· Honky Tonk bars!
· Take lots of tourist-y pictures
· Play Beirut (or “beer-pong” for you simpletons out there)
· Eat awesome southern BBQ
· And fresh sea food
· Get a tan
· Play copious amounts of Rock Band
· Ball-bust and catch up with my best friends

So, you’re saying you haven’t taken a sweet mini-cation in a while? Well, if your trips are anything like my trips, I hope this list is a healthy reminder that you’re due. So get out there and go someplace this weekend, or next weekend, or sometime while the weather’s still nice. Hell, if you’ve never been in a stadium with 108,000 screaming fans, you could always come to Happy Valley this weekend for the Syracuse game. Then you get to have a mini-cation while I have a stay-cation. We’re all winners!

Now get back to work, crazy.

The Prodigal Blogger Returns

Wow. So it’s been a while, eh? My apologies to the four faithful MM4PP’ers out there, but I’ve been busy-ish. Taking some vacations, doing some actual work, and other such things. And recently in the time that I would have otherwise spent blogging, I’ve been reading. I just finished up “Killer Angels” which is a historical fiction book about the Battle of Gettysburg. You don’t need to know about history or war to enjoy this book, and it’s written more like a novel than a history lesson. It’s awesome and I highly recommend it. But I digress. Ok, it’s either all those aforementioned reasons… or I was really lazy and didn’t get around to writing. I realized that while I like writing, it’s kinda like skipping class – once you’ve skipped it a few times, you know you’re way behind, and it just seems to make more sense to not go today either. What’s that? You never skipped class because you were a productive student who cared about your education? Um…yeah…me too.

So anywho, this morning while perusing the interwebs, I stumbled across a little snippet about how the University of Central Florida will no longer allow fans to commence getting liquored up on campus at 7 a.m. on game days. The university has prohibited campus tailgating until the intolerably late hour of 8 a.m. for games that kick off before 6 p.m., and until noon for games that kick off at 6 or later. Now, while I feel like the one hour change is a bit unnecessary – change for the sense of change – I don’t think the new rule is really excessive. After all, I’ve done my fair share of morning drinking before college football games, and even I think 8 a.m. is reasonable (which may have something to do with the fact that I was probably up til 3 drinking the night before that and the thought of sunlight makes my brain hurt…). Apparently, however, the UCF alumni and fan base are outraged and some are threatening to cancel their season passes. I guess the school not wanting their fan base to drink themselves into oblivion is a bit of a crime.

This got me thinking – what different areas of society would bother us the most if they changed their drinking rules?

· Bars not opening until noon. – Could you imagine the intoxicated barely understandable outrage from all the toothless unemployed of the world? I mean, I personally can’t see any reason to be at the bar before noon (other than maybe a bloody mary), but I feel like people would absolutely throw a fit if there was nowhere that they could go and nurse a beer with strangers before noon.

· The beach not allowing alcohol – at all. Ok, so I know this one is an actual rule at some beaches. I can see the logic in the beach not wanting you dehydrating yourself in the sweltering heat and getting irresponsibly drunk in front of lots of young children. But after this weekend at Bethany Beach in Delaware, I think this rule would disappoint a large portion of my friends. Or at very least, Mike Petite.

· No more beer or liquor in the super market. – I demand Jameson with my cheerios, and I want to travel to no more than one store to accomplish this! Since I’m from PA, it always surprises me when I see booze in the aisle right next to the baby formula. Personally, I think it’s a good idea to sell it all in a different store. Kids think differently than adults, and putting the liquor in the food store with flashy advertisements makes it seem like it’s on the same level as coke and pepsi. But ignoring this fact, while it may be inconvenient at times, we here in PA get our drunk on just fine while having to go to multiple different stores. You’d do fine too.
Well that’s the best I’ve got for today. 700 words isn’t too bad after nearly a month lay-off. Any other ideas are always encouraged in the comment section, but otherwise….

Get back to work, crazy.

Lessons learned

This week I found myself in a bit of a shit-storm at work. In short, an incident occurred at a camp I worked at recently, and instead of coming forward with all the proper information, I decided to go along with a story that was created to brush the situation under the rug. My boss, the Major, saw this as lying, and it obviously pissed him off. Then I lost something, and didn?t go through all the proper reporting procedures (not maliciously, just because I?m an idiot), and this also pissed him off. So?he decided to bring me down to base to give me a good talking to. He imparted some pretty good lessons, and I?d like to pass these along to you?

? When you have a good team, they?re there to support you. Think about farting. No seriously, think about it. Ok, now that you?re done giggling?. If you fart in a group of friends, you take credit for it, right? You?re not concerned if they know. If you?re part of a strong team, it?s the same thing. Take credit for it, and don?t try and pass that stink onto somebody else.

? Reporting is important. Why? All decisions are part of a bigger picture. Whether you?re right, wrong, or somewhere in between ? whether you screwed up or did the best thing ever, your decision goes beyond yourself. You need to let people (superiors) know about what?s going on. If you did well, lessons can be learned, the business can grow. If you screwed up, your superiors can fix it better than you can. Fess up, because leaders have flexibility in most matters.

? While leaders have flexibility, it is absolutely essential that they stick to their integrity. That goes for everybody. Ultimately, integrity (or, our reputation) is all we have. Once we?ve compromised that integrity, it?s gone forever. You will always be challenged on it. You lay a thousand bricks and you?re known as a brick layer, but you blow one goat, and you?re known as the goat blower for the rest of your life. One exception to the rule means people will expect multiple exceptions. You may have to hurt people along the way, but that?s part of the burden of leadership.

? And last but not least, a lesson on being a leader in a hierarchy: It's hard to wrap your brain around, but really....nothing you think matters. I know, that sounds dramatic. But in reality, you're basically a piece in the plan of somebody above you. If you remember that, it will help you think properly in your decision making process, and make the best decisions in the interest of your company. This is obviously extremely important in the Army (?Take that hill!? ?Well?.I don?t think that?s a good idea?), but it?s in play in the business world as well.

Now get back to work, crazy.

Follow up to "additional...", so read that one first!

After a good 20 minutes of debate with Petite, I'd like to add some clarifications and stipulations to my Hiroshima argument.
First and foremost, I'd like to limit the debate to events, not necessarily inventions. The steam engine, the combustion engine, penicillin, the micro chip, birth control, etc etc, were all absurdly important. I'm not debating this fact. However, important inventions lead to important events...and I'm just talking about events. Second, I make that bold statement with the belief that an all out nuclear war between the US and USSR during the 80s or 90s could have lead to nuclear holocaust and nuclear winter. We're talking end of the world level shit. With those kind of implications, I can only think of ONE specific event that would be more important. Sputnik. Sputnik launches the space race, which progresses satellite technology to the point where ICBMs (inter-continental ballistic missiles) are possible to the extent that we and the Russians could blow each other back to the ice age. Which is exactly what would occur if we were to experience nuclear winter. However, as you all know, I love debate. So...bring it.

Additional left over randomness....specificially random to today.

Sorry for the two straight posts of randomness, but I have some things to talk about. Tomorrow I’m going to hit on the interesting week I’ve had, and some valuable lessons the Major taught me yesterday – but tomorrow is for tomorrow. Back to today.

· Today is the 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. I would argue that this is one of the top 5, if not THE, most important event in modern history. Before heading right to the comment section before reading the rest of this post to say, “But John, what about _____, that’s wayyyyyy more important, dummy!” I just want you to think about something. While many American soldiers have died in the resulting 64 years, there has not been a war between super-powers, or even major powers for that matter, since the conclusion of WWII. What do you think the war would have looked like between the US and Russia (and the subsequent allies that would have been pulled in) had both nations not been terrified of mutual assured destruction at the hand of the Bomb? Better yet, when that war would have entered the terribly long and drawn out stage (like both world wars before it), do you think for a second that one of the two countries wouldn’t have eventually started slinging nukes to try and end it? Just a thought.

· Now a lighter note. Today driving across Rt. 80 (I know, another driving story), I saw a flatbed truck carrying a carwash. Like, one of the ones you drive into, stop, and it auto-washes your car. Some of the equipment was in it, and the outside of the carwash was a nice brick façade. I can’t even begin to explain how awesome this was, and I’m immensely disappointed I didn’t have my camera with me. My camera phone just would not have done it justice. Now here’s the question – how much money would you pay to drive up the back ramp of a flatbed, get a carwash (while still progressing towards your destination), roll off the back all Knight Rider style, and then continue on your day? We’re not even putting a price on the story value of this, and the pictures that could be had. I’m not a rich man, but I’d probably pay $200, easy. I mean, not $200 over and over again, but definitely once for the experience. And it’d have to come with the full wax and buff treatment and all that for the money. But whatever…I just may be on to something here!

· I’m going on a 5 day hiking trip next week (sorry, no blogs), and I decided to invest in a sweet hammock. This hammock has a little bit of everything. It’s got a built on bug net, it comes with a great rain cover, and all things considering it’s pretty comfy. I think I overpaid a bit for what amounts to a large sheet of plastic, but for 5 days of not sleeping on the ground it was well worth it. Last night I decided to give it a test-run…ya know, make sure I could set it up properly, make sure it wouldn’t fall out of the tree, etc etc…before I was tired and frustrated after hiking 12 miles on the first day with a bunch of whiny kids. The bag said “Assembly time: 2.5 minutes”. HA! Maybe 2.5 minutes per suggested knot. But I digress. 25 good minutes later I finally have the siesta swing to a standard where I think I could probably survive the night, and I’m thinking – OK, it’s now or never. Let’s give this a go. I get in, and am actually asleep pretty quickly. Victory is mine! Not so fast, Lombardi….Moral of the story? Before thinking this is a good idea, check the goddamn weather report. It got down to about 42 degrees last night. I was unprepared. I was also back inside at about 3AM. Yeah…better luck next week, champ.

Now get back to work, crazy.

Hodgepodge

Here's what I happen to be thinking about today...

· Today the only rock station in State College (and really in all of north-central PA) went off the air unannounced. No warning, no goodbye, not even an explanation on their website. A few years ago the same exact thing happened to my favorite alternative-rock station in Philly. Here’s what I want to know – what could possibly be the motive of just shutting down a station over night without any explanation to their listeners? Even if the station isn’t doing well, why not allow the DJs to say their goodbyes and have a bit of a swan song? It just seems absurd to me. That’s not the way we do business in the rest of the world, so why is it acceptable for radio?

· I don’t know much of anything about cars. Neither does Mike Petite. However, over the past 2 years we’ve both learned the same valuable lesson: if you don’t do any regular maintenance to your car whatsoever, at very least you need to occasionally check your oil. If you don’t check your oil, when that light goes on, you pretty much need to immediately pull over and put oil in it. Otherwise you wreck your engine. This same rule applies for overheating. If you’re overheating, don’t try and make it those extra 5 miles back home. You’ll wreck your engine that way too. Just pull over and get a tow-truck….it’s cheaper than a new car / engine. Learn from my mistakes!

· REI’s customer service gets a 10/10 in my book. The US Postal Service sent back some equipment I need for a 5 day hike coming up because my landlord didn’t submit my name as a tenant (nor did I take the initiative to do it). It’s a big package, and with standard shipping it just wouldn’t have gotten here in time, so I was willing to pay the extra money to get it here in a few days. However, REI is 3-day’ing it to me for free. Outstanding. They also have really cheap outdoor gear, and some good clearance stuff. I’ll happily advertise for them since they’re hooking me up.

· For some reason as male-type adults we tend to have an aversion for cartoon movies (unless you’re dorks like my friends and watch tons of anime, but that’s a whole ‘nother story). Well one of my favorite movies of all time is Shrek, a couple weeks ago I watched Wall-e and just yesterday I saw Cars. These movies sometimes are kinda corny because they’re obviously geared towards children, but I’ve got to say, just because it’s animated we shouldn’t over rate them. A good movie is a good movie is a good movie regardless of whether or not the actors are real.

· Great service is underrated. Because I’ve spent a bunch of years paying my rent on tips, I’m pretty critical of my waiters and bartenders. This weekend with company here we really had excellent service everywhere we went. Because of this, I tipped absurdly well. Excellent service can definitely make or break going out for me, and while great company could have pushed through bad service, the great service definitely helped. Moral of the story: if you think your server did a fantastic job, reward them as such. They get paid $2.83/hr.

· I’ve just picked back up “Thank You For Arguing” by Jay Heinrichs. Very, very good book. It’s basically about the art of persuasion, but if you even have the slightest interest in debate, conversation, and rhetoric, it’s a must read.

· 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon: 1) I’m friends with Jeff Zubernis, who was in the 6th Sense (Silence, village idiot!) 2) with Bruce Willis 3) who was in Four Rooms with Marissa Tomei 4) who was in Lover boy with Kevin Bacon!

Now get back to work, crazy.