Labor Day Thoughts

Happy Labor Day!

I find Labor Day to be a curious holiday. On New Year's Day we celebrate the beginning of a new year. On Memorial Day we celebrate the memories of our armed forces and loved ones. On Independence Day we celebrate our freedom and independence. And, on Labor Day - do we celebrate our labors? Well, perhaps, but generally we enjoy the day off!

On Exercise Physiology

This one could easily have come under the heading "More I Don't Understand...." Can someone explain to me why a person can stand for hours without noticing much more than sore feet, can squat down (baseball catcher style) for several minutes with only minor discomfort in the knees, yet when taking a pose somewhere in between find their muscles screaming within seconds?

To play along... Sitting in a chair, extend you arms directly above your head, lock your elbows and clench your fists. (If you prefer, you can also clasp your hands together.) Now, lift your butt about three inches off the chair and hold this position until you begin breathing hard or feel discomfort in your legs. Some of you who are in better shape will surely be able to do this for a longer period of time than I, but I can just about guarantee you can't hold this position for as long as you stand upright or squat fully. Why is that? What is it about this body position that makes it so much more difficult to maintain?

Some of you may know this as a yoga pose (the Chair Pose, though the book I've read refers to is as the Power Pose). If you think yoga is only about relaxation and breathing, think again. Holding yoga poses not only stretches your muscles but gives them a heck of workout as well.

Look for more of my adventures in yoga in coming "Healthy Heedings" entries.

On Quality Education

As graduation time nears, high school seniors are contemplating "What's next?" Like the game Life, some will choose career paths while others will continue on the school path. As a proud alum of Iowa State University (ISU), I've been known to suggest reasons for attending there. But I'm quick to point out that I believe one will get a quality education at any of the public universities in Iowa. Often the decision comes down to what field the student wishes to study.

It is with this backdrop that I read about the cuts being made at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). In tough economic times, difficult choices need to be made in all arenas - corporate, non-profit, and educational institutions. These decisions are never easy and they almost always involve high levels of emotion for those involved. I don't claim to understand the intricate complexities of how these decisions are reached. But in this particular instance, one thing stood out as odd to me - the closing of the Price Laboratory School.

I have no connection to the school, no emotional stake whether it closes or remains open. The reason I find it odd is that it seems so fundamental to what UNI is about. When I talk to young people about how they can get a great education at any of the state schools, I typically ask what they are interested in studying. With good liberal arts programs at all three - ISU, UNI, and the University of Iowa - a solid education is assured. But when I think of each, there are certain programs that stand out. At Iowa State these include veterinary medicine, architecture, and engineering. At the University of Iowa, I think of medicine (UIHC), dentistry, and law. At UNI, I think of teaching. (*)

When corporations look to cut, they often work to retain their "core." They often divest those things that are peripheral so they can invest in their areas of greatest strength. So, if in fact, teaching and education are at the core of UNI, why close a laboratory school that provides an environment for new teachers to hone their skills? I can't imagine the vet med program at ISU continuing without a lab setting in which future veterinarians can learn. Nor can I imagine, medical school at the U of I without UIHC. Yes, future teachers can intern elsewhere, but having a laboratory school on campus provides a centralized location for university students to begin the practice of teaching, while still under the watchful eye of their own teachers (the university professors).

I looked up some information on UNI's own website and ran across this interesting quote from Malcolm Price (for whom the school is named):

"The facilities of the school are essential to the professional education of teachers and give the college a greater opportunity to be of service to the state of Iowa."

For additional historical information about the Malcolm Price Laboratory School, refer to the "Building Histories" section of the UNI website.

Education is a key area of life. Quality education starts with first rate instructors. First rate instructors need appropriate education and opportunities to practice their skills. Whether the Price Lab school remains open or not, I trust that UNI will continue to produce quality educators.

-----

(*) Note: By listing certain programs at each school, it is not my intent to discount the other fine programs. These are just some key program areas that come to mind when I think of each school.

Get a Big Pencil

I've long known Scott Adams to be very astute at capturing the daily challenges of corporate life. Little did I know that he also had a knack for our daily personal struggles.

There is little doubt that writing down every morsel will help us to be cognizant of what we are eating and will likely result in our eating less. Writing down other details - our mood, where we were, special occasions, etc. - may also help us to see developing patterns. Do you eat every time you get down but not when you are with friends? Knowing that may encourage you to surround yourself with friends whenever you may be feeling blue. Perhaps more helpful is writing out a menu plan in advance and sticking to it.

And hey, if you have a really big pencil, the workout won't hurt either.

They say "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." (More accurately, Lao-tzu said it, and many have quoted it since.) They - I believe a different "they" then the first - also say "The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time." Over the course of my life I believe I have mastered the latter. Now, it is time for me to embark on a better journey - one step at a time - and master the former.

I've embarked on this journey multiple times before.

Each time I've walked hundreds of thousands of steps and shed tens of pounds. But each time I've found reason to turn around, tired from the trek, hail a cab and ride, stopping at every greasy spoon and five-start restaurant, collecting all that I had left behind and picking up a few extras along the way. This time must be different.

I will no longer make this journey alone. My wife will continue to help, my sons will see to a certain level of activity, and I will have recollections of activities already missed. I will have you - my readers - who can hold me accountable and ask me how things are going. But most importantly, I will have the help of another, based on one final saying...

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26, NIV)

In this passage, Jesus was explaining how difficult it is for the wealthy to get into the kingdom of God. (In his day wealth was often shown through a bounty of rich foods.) He suggests that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. While I know this is not meant literally, I can't help but think if I am to pass through the eye of a needle, I must first take this journey.

If you are someone in need of a similar journey, I invite you to follow along. We can journey together. Share your thoughts; I would welcome the support and accountability. And I promise to share some encouraging words, a cartoon or two, and a few forced analogies along the way. I won't post everyday, but will aim for a minimum of once a week.

My own sense of social decorum and humility preclude me from including "before" pictures (no one needs to see that). Over time perhaps I'll be brave enough to share a few numbers, but otherwise, the entries here will be about the ups and downs of the journey itself. I hope some of you will find them helpful.

Gracious God - I humbly turn my journey over to you. I've tried repeatedly on my own, only to find short term success and reversion to old habits. But I trust that with you all things are possible. Please lead me to a full understanding of the importance of this journey. I pray through my sharing others may be helped as well. I ask these things in the name of your Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

[Note: I considered a separate blog for this journey, but instead will use a common label for all related entries - just search for the entries marked "Healthy Heedings." I still had to stick to my pattern.]

More I Don't Understand...

The blimp has become a fixture at sporting events in the United States. (I don't know whether this phenomenon exists outside of the states, but that's not the part I don't understand.) Whether it's the Goodyear blimp, DirecTV's Airship, or one of MetLife's Snoopy fleet, they provide incredible aerial coverage of any number of sporting events. My personal favorites are the overhead views of golf shots. But they also provide coverage of football, racing, and occasionally baseball. But the NCAA Basketball tournament? This is truly March Madness. Yes, the blimps provide nice aerial shots of the host cities, but nothing of the games inside. Do we really need these overhead shots of the arenas?

Some Things I May Never Understand...

Today I offer commentary on two things which have occurred to me in the past 48 hours that I'm convinced I'll never understand.

*****

First, is the annual ritual we call March Madness. Every year, there are teams selected to the tournament as well as teams left out of the tournament that some people disagree with. And, even if you accept the selected teams, you may quibble over the way they were seeded.

I am a graduate of Iowa State University and having my Cyclones selected to the tournament for the first time in a number of years was a great thrill. I didn't even care where they were seeded; I was simply excited that they were in. I could go on about the Cyclones and their match ups, but that really isn't the part that I'll never understand. What I really don't understand is this - How can the Missouri Tigers be, according to the selection committee chairman, the 4th #2 seed (or the 8th best overall)? In the rankings that came out March 5th - prior to conference tournaments - Missouri was ranked 5th in the AP poll, 5th in the USA Today/ESPN poll, and 10th according to RPI. Fast forward to the end of the conference tournaments and you find that the teams ahead of them in the two polls - Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, and North Carolina - all lost. In the RPI, Baylor was ahead of them, but Missouri beat them head-to-head in the Big 12 conference tournament championship game. They are 30-4. All four losses were conference games and three were on the road. I understand that a loss to Oklahoma State (even in Stillwater) didn't help them nor did two losses to Kansas State. But aren't those easily offset by a split with Kansas, two wins over Iowa State, and three wins against Baylor? What more could Missouri have done? I'm sure I'll never understand the bracketing for March Madness.

*****

The second is the English language. In particular (today), I'm wondering what need we have for the letter 'c'. On his spelling test today, my first-grade son spelled the word "cart" k-a-r-t. My wife was concerned that he was influenced by video games like Mario-Kart. But upon thinking about this and discussing it, I had to wonder why we think c-a-r-t is any more natural. The letter 'k' always has the hard sound, while the 'c' is a wishy-washy hard or soft depending on how it feels. We already have an 's' for soft 'c' sound and the 'k' handles the hard sound; why do we need 'c' at all? Consider the word "circus" - why not s-i-r-k-u-s? (For that matter, why is the 'i' not an 'e'? Who decided that "circus" makes more sense than "serkus"?) My wife pointed out that we still need the "ch" sound. I'll grant that, but why not create a separate single character for that similar to Greek? Why not a single sound for each character? I could even accept dual use of vowels with some form of diacritical marking to distinguish between long and short sounds, but why allow a single character to represent multiple sounds depending on context?

I could go on, but I think I'll spend the time creating my own language instead. Writer or note, I may never understand the English language.

*****

It seems quite likely that "Things I May Never Understand" will become a semi-regular series. There is certainly plenty in this world that I may never fully grasp. What things do you believe you'll never understand?

Ineffective Leadership

If you're interested in leadership or enjoy a really good spoof, then this article is for you:

Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Leaders by Steven James

According to the subtitle, these are "time-tested practices to ensure complete and utter failure." The next time you are supposed to be leading or if you even think you may be leading, consider whether you are following any of these approaches. If you are, you may need to reverse course. Remember:

"He who thinks he leads and has no one following him is only taking a walk."  -- Anonymous

Who Do You Think You Are?

My grandmother got me hooked on genealogy at a young age. Before she passed away herself, we could be found roaming cemeteries, hanging out in county court houses, and diagramming family connections. It can be an all-consuming hobby if you allow it, but you're likely to learn more along the way than with most hobbies.

Recently NBC added "Who Do You Think You Are?" to their Friday evening lineup. Even if you're not a genealogy buff, you may enjoy this show. Each episode is based on a celebrity who is interested in learning more about their ancestry. For viewership, it necessarily focuses on the more interesting details of the star's research - jailed activists throughout Martin Sheen's family, a murder mystery in Marissa Tomei's, and a trip to Cameroon to reconnect with African ancestors for Blair Underwood.

But tonight's episode was one of the best I've seen so far. Reba McIntyre was the celebrity guest. She wanted to research who was the first of her family to come to America. She went home to Oklahoma to learn what she could from her mother about her maternal family - including the grandmother (Reba Brassfield) after whom she was named. This took her to Mississippi where a genealogist helped her track back to her 4th great grandfather who was a child in North Carolina during America's War of Independence. Her excitement over being the first in her family to track back this far turned to a bit of shock when she learned that this 4th great grandfather was also a slave owner; in fact, a slave trader.

Like Ms. McIntyre, genealogy tends to bring history to life for me. When I can see how my own ancestors fit into historical events those events become more meaningful to me. She understood slavery intellectually, but it became all too real to her when she realized her own family owned and traded slaves. My family took a northern route of migration - New York, Ohio, and Illinois before reaching Iowa - and one of my own great grandfathers (five or six generations back) fought for the North in the Civil War. I could understand the basic concepts and principles behind the Civil War, but it became more "real" to me when I could read letters sent home from those who fought.

Though clearly upset by the news of slave ownership in her family, Ms. McIntyre was not deterred from her goal of finding her first ancestor to come to America. In an interesting twist, her 6th great grandfather came over from England as an indentured servant at the young age of 9 or 10. Her questions then turned to "How could a little boy make that voyage alone? Where were his parents?" To summarize an already long story, she found that the boy's mother had died a couple of years prior and his father had little means for supporting the family. In that context, the father made the courageous, but gut-wrenching, decision to send his son to America to provide him with his best chance for a better life. Hard as the life of an indentured servant would be, he managed to become a landowner and was the common ancestor for the Brassfield family in the U.S. (For the rest of the details you can check out the episode at the link above.)

An aside: A wry smile escaped me when listening to the very "southern" Ms. McIntyre visiting with one very English gentlemen. What would her career have been like had her family retained its British dialect? Come to think of it, what would the Beatles have sounded like with a shared drawl? Just the thought made me laugh.

So, who do you think you are? Do you know which of your ancestors was the first to arrive in America? And what brought them here? If you take some time to dig, you'll most certainly find some interesting history. If you'd rather just see celebrities dig into their past, check out "Who Do You Think You Are?" on NBC Friday evenings.

Wasted Days

"The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life."

-- Muhammad Ali

By the same token, if I view the world at the end of today the same as I did at the end of yesterday, did I not waste today? How has your view changed today?

Initiative: Key to a World Too Fast

"The world is changing too fast. Without the spark of initiative, you have no choice but to simply react to the world."  -- Seth Godin, Poke the Box

Are you an initiator or a reactor? With the ever-increasing speed of change, reacting to it becomes increasingly difficult. Better to initiate and let the world try to keep up with you!

Patterns of Randomness

I envision a future post speculating on whether anything is truly random, but I'll leave that for another day. The issue today is this - within my "random" ruminations, you will almost certainly begin to see patterns develop. One such pattern is the asking of questions.

I ask questions for several reason. First, it is an attempt, in this disconnected world, to engage in dialog. You are welcomed, even encouraged, to place your responses in a comment. If you have questions of your own, I will do my best to respond to those. (Unfortunately, my ability to do so is limited by available time. My blog - indeed all my writing - is currently a hobby, not my full-time career.)

Secondly, I'm genuinely curious. I don't know all the answers, so I ask questions. I'm certain there is someone out there who has an answer for every question I can perceive. (Whether the person or persons with the answer to my question actually reads my blog is a different matter altogether.)

Finally, I fully believe the following quote...

"Questions make people think; answers make people question."  -- Author Unknown

I first heard this (or something similar) around the time I was in high school. At that age many of us focused on the latter half of the quotation. For every answer we received, we had questions - most commonly "Why?" or "Why not?" Occasionally the question was "How?"

In college, I had a professor whose standard response to most student questions was "Well, what do you think?" Many students were frustrated by this approach, but eventually we realized an important lesson. To truly appreciate some lessons we have to think through them ourselves. Far less is learned and the learning doesn't last if we simply memorize an answer provided by someone else. Much more is learned when we are forced (or allowed) to think it through on our own. We then see it as a process and can repeat the process to get an answer even when our memory fails. Our professor wasn't unwilling to provide an answer, he was simply unwilling to deprive us of the learning experience.

Think of it this way... If I simply write a bunch of information and never ask a question, isn't it human nature to begin asking questions? What do you know about it? What's your experience or expertise? Why should I care what you have to say? On the other hand, if I ask you a question or allow you to ask me a question, then I can provide information that's useful or at least interesting to you.

So, what do you think? Are you more inclined to ponder a question or an answer?

Questions: Is anything truly random? Do limited patterns imply lack of randomness in the whole? Does anyone know the author of the above quote?

By the way, the answer to "What do I know?" is "I know a little about a lot and a lot about very little."

A few more thoughts on rules...

I'm currently reading Patti Digh's book Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally. My "pen" (or at least my Kindle keyboard) has been handy and active. What follows are a selection of highlighted quotes and margin notes that seemed to me related to my prior post.

"Any fool can make a rule and any fool will mind it."  -- Henry David Thoreau

This may not be a direction to break rules, but at the very least it suggests we should not simply (foolishly) follow any arbitrary rule. We need to use our minds to first understand the rule, then make a knowledgeable choice about whether to follow it.

"Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are."  -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

So, what principles do you live by? What happens when a rule contradicts one or more of those principles?

These quotes are used in a section of the book entitled "Bust Your Toast Rules." The concept of toast rules came from a story of ordering toast in a restaurant only to be told it was "past toast time." Toast rules are arbitrary. Could the waiter not make a piece of toast after a certain time of day? Wouldn't the customer have been much more satisfied had the waiter given some thought to the situation and chosen to break the "toast rule?" Ms. Digh goes on to write:

"It's one thing to acknowledge the absurdity of other people's rules; it's another thing altogether to recognize and own the absurdity of the rules that we've made up (helpful hint: They're all made up, some so ingrained that we can no longer see they are Toast Rules). So when a rule pops to the surface, see it for the Toast Rule it is, made up to serve some social norm that is itself made up.... Bust your toast rules."

What rules have you created for yourself? Are there some that should be tossed out like so much burnt toast? Or is each guided by your principles?

P.S. Lest it sound like I'm some sort of anarchist, believing in no rules at all, let me be clear that I am not. I do, however, think it's important to understand the purpose of the rules, compare the application of that rule to each circumstance, and make a mindful choice about whether to follow.

Breaking the Rules

I enjoy an apt quote. I'm also intrigued by the nature of how our brains work. Have you ever noticed when working in a particular topic area that certain quotes stand out which might otherwise be uninteresting? This happened to me while defining a set of best practices (rules, guidelines) for a project. While doing so, I was also reading Tim Hurson's Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking where he summarizes his "productive thinking" method as follows:

"As in any discipline, to become good, you need to first learn the rules. To become great, you need to break them."

He follows up with a Chinese quote (he did not happen to say proverb, which I found somehow interesting):

"Not to have a method is bad; to stop entirely at method is worse still."

So, first we need to understand the rules; then we become great by learning when it's appropriate to break them.

Questions: Do you think to be truly great you must break a few rules? Are there rules you are unwilling to break? Does it help to think of the set of rules as a box, following rules as staying within the box, and breaking rules as "thinking outside the box"?

Commonplace

"I would advise you to read with pen in hand, and enter in a little book short hints of what you find that is curious, or might be useful."

-- Benjamin Franklin

For as long as I can remember, I have been an avid reader. I enjoy learning from some and escaping into others. It is a treat to find good quotes for inspiration and wisdom. 

While growing up, I was taught to appreciate - even respect - books. By that I mean I read them, but didn't mark in them, didn't dog-ear the pages, didn't crack their spines. It didn't matter whether it was a mass market paperback or antique - all were treated as museum quality. It was truly a wonder I didn't handle them with white cotton gloves.

Today, I own a few that should be treated in just that manner. But I'm far more interested in those that I can mark up with abandon, turn down page corners, and almost literally rip from the covers the knowledge they have to offer. I've come to appreciate Franklin's quote. I learn much more from a book if I take notes while reading. From the simple margin notes to outlines for essays that come to mind from a single line. Taking notes compels me to stop and ponder (ruminate) on any part that intrigues me. It allow me to interact.

But placing these notes in the book margins makes it challenging to find them again later. I need a way to pull thoughts from various books into a single place ... the commonplace. According to Wikipedia, a commonplace (or a commonplace book) is "a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books." In today's world, a blog seems an appropriate vehicle for such information. World-wide availability and search capabilities, for myself and others, make the Internet an ideal storage place for these kinds of compilations. Wikipedia further suggests that commonplaces are "essentially scrapbooks filled with items of every kind: ...quotes, letters, poems, ...proverbs, [and] prayers." Those are the types of things I'll share here. Whenever possible I'll share the sources so that if you are interested you can find your own copy and start your own commonplace.

Question: What are some of your favorite books and what tidbits of wisdom have you retained from them?

Random Connections or "The Way My Mind Works"

If there is a reason I call this blog "Random Ruminations," it is because of the way my mind works. When an interesting topic presents itself, I'll often do a quick Google search (sorry Bing) to find out more. As I'm reviewing that topic, another will present itself, and with a quick link, I can find something about that topic. If I'm not careful, this link-and-learn session can last several minutes or even hours. (The hazards of working in a hyper-connected, technology world, I suspect.)

Case in point...The other day I heard it suggested that we needed a new "New Deal." I recalled learning something about the New Deal back in high school, but could not recall which president was responsible for it. (I could recall it occurring as a result of the Great Depression, but that was about it.) A quick search led me to Franklin D. Roosevelt. While reading about Roosevelt, I ran across links to YouTube videos of portions of his inaugural addresses. One of his famous quotes followed his first election: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Now, this is the way my mind works - rather than contemplate the context of the quote (depression, world war, etc.), a question popped into my mind. What do you call the fear of fear? Phobiaphobia? (I attribute this leap to having just watched an episode of Monk.) So, I looked that up. Turns out I wasn't far off; it's phobophobia - defined as "an abnormal fear of developing a phobia".

Where does my mind go next? I find myself hoping that none of you (my readers) have a fear of randomness, for which I'm afraid I could not find a phobia.

Question: Anyone know a name for the fear of randomness?

New Day, New Name

Ruminate - to chew the cud, as a ruminant; to meditate or muse; ponder.

Same concept, different word. Why? As I pondered the name along with a potential name for a second blog, I realized that alliteration may be just the thing. I like to play with words and my current pondering suggests "Random Ruminations" is simply a better fit than "Random Musings".

I can almost hear it now. Better fit? I thought the whole idea was random, unpredictable, and no discernible pattern? How can there be a good or bad fit? Guilty. There is a minimal pattern. But apart from how the name of this blog may relate to one or more future blogs, that's really it. There is still no common theme within this blog; it will indeed be random. I've simply changed from musing to ruminating.

Question: Aside from "thinking" what word do you use to describe those moments of far off concentration?

P.S. Some of you may notice it's not really a new day either. But in my corner of the world, a day doesn't end until you go to bed - even if that happens to come well after midnight.

Random Musings: An Introduction

Random - proceeding, made, or occurring without definite aim, reason, or pattern; odd or unpredictable in an amusing way.

Musings - absorbed in thought; meditative; contemplation; reflection; pondering.

That pretty well describes my intent here. I'm a ponderer. Sometimes I share because I think I've read, seen, or otherwise found something that may be of value to others. Other times I share in hopes of receiving feedback that may help me. I trust some entries will be amusing to some readers; minimally, I guarantee odd, unpredictable, and with no discernible pattern.

While each entry may have an aim or reason, the collection as a whole does not have a common theme. I have tried single themed blogs in the past - one or more of which I may resuscitate in the future - but have found them overly restrictive. What if I'm inspired to write on a different theme? Where do I put that? Do I create a new blog for each new theme? (I tried that but soon found I had several blogs with one or two entries each and couldn't possibly maintain a regular writing schedule for any of them.)

So, here's to new beginnings, to pondering, and to proceeding at random with no definite aim.