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December 31, 2007
What Happened to Manners?
I went to see a movie with my wife tonight, a movie my wife says will be our last to see at a theater. The film was good; Denzel Washington and the entire cast of The Great Debaters were outstanding. The movie was an inspiring story of an underdog coming out on top and demonstrated the importance of family, the need to focus on goals, and included several lessons that we all should heed. One of my favorite quotes is from an exchange between Forest Whitaker and Denzel Whitaker who played the father-son team of James Farmer, Sr. and James Farmer, Jr.: “[W]e do what we have to do so that we can do what we want to do.” Ah, if only people would learn that lesson.
So, what made the movie so bad? Well, first there were only a total of six people in the theater, four others besides us. Two were apparently a mother-daughter team, the other and young, and I mean high school (maybe) couple. The apparent daughter of mother-daughter couldn’t sit still. She made at least six trips from her seat out of the theater. And when she was in the theater she was talking most of the time—talking, not whispering.
As for the teenage romance crew? They are a little tougher to gauge. I still can’t decide which is worse, to be the guy who passed gas LOUDLY several times during the movie, or to be the girl who laughed at him and stayed with him. I’m sure both mothers would have been proud!
I really don’t know why things are this way here. I go to other towns and other movie theaters where people are well-behaved and well-mannered. I went to one in Newport News, Virginia and they actually put a message up on the screen before the movie began asking the patrons to please use the trash cans on their way out of the theater. Guess what? They did. The people actually picked up their trash and dropped in the trash can!
Posted by robertgreen at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)
All Eyes on Apple
"All Eyes on Apple" by Adam L. Penenberg
Fast Company, December 2007/January 2008, p. 83.
Steve Jobs has kept Apple on a “go it alone” path and has relied on quality products, stylish design, and a little novelty in their products. However, the rest of the industry, even the rest of the world, seems to be adopting a more cooperative and collaborative path for the future. This article explores this topic and questions whether Apple will survive. I agree with the article in that Apple will survive, but will it prosper?
For the longest time Apple has held a relatively small portion of the computer market. It has a strong following but those followers tend to be limited to a few professions and the followers also tend to be rabid Apple fans. Most would buy trash bags and pay a premium for them if they only had an Apple logo on them. The question is whether Apple will be able to break into other markets with more collaboration and I doubt they will.
I’m still not very happy with the delay of my new Dell M1530 and have looked at cancelling the order and getting a MacPro laptop but I will probably not do so. One reason, I’m not certain I can get all of the software I use in a format that can be used on the Mac. And there is also the security issue. I agree with the article the Mac’s are not inherently more secure it is simply that they have such a low user-base that it makes more sense for hackers to focus on PC-based computers—“security by obscurity” as stated in the article. That means one focused attack is all that is needed.
Posted by robertgreen at 3:22 PM | Comments (0)
SCHOOL RANKINGS THAT MATTER
ARTICLE: “School Rankings That Matter" By CAMERON STRACHER
Wall Street Journal, Monday, 31 December 2007.
The US News and World Reports rankings have always bothered me. Yes, we all want to be ranked higher because that is what people are looking for. Well, what some people are looking for. Those who are willing to let someone else do the research and tell them how to think find the rankings easy to use. But they do not tell the whole story. The formula used to determine the rankings is suspect and is based on factors that may or may not be important to a particular student.
This WSJ Commentary focuses specifically on law schools and compares the US News and World Report rankings to another based solely on the passage rate of the bar exam. As the article argues, what good is a law school education from a top-ranked law school if you can’t pass the Bar? Good question.
I liken these rankings to rankings of department stores. Ask someone which department is “best” and you’ll get several answers. Some will like Wal-Mart because the prices are low. Others will rank Wal-Mart low and cite employment practices. Some will sat Wal-Mart has a large selection of products while other will say it has little variety. Some will like Sears while others will prefer a specialty store. Some will say it depends on what you want to buy. Others will say one store has low prices but another has better customer service.
I am often asked questions by parents that are of obvious concern to them but I wonder if they have thought much about what they are asking. For example, I am often asked about class sizes and I can give them the answer they are looking for but I usually add that it is more important to have a good teacher than it is to have a small class. One of my best professors taught to a class of 180+; one of my worst was a class of about 18. The parents assume that smaller classes will give their children more access to the professor outside of class but that is not always the case. Besides, I would much rather have a good professor teaching me that I didn’t need to see than to have a bad professor who I had to visit in his office everyday for help.
So, with all of these factors involved in selecting a department store, college, or law school, how is someone supposed to make a decision? The answer is really quite simple? Decide what it is that you want and then do your own research, ask your own questions, make your own decisions, and trust your own judgment. After all you are reading this with help from US News and World Report.
Posted by robertgreen at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)
December 30, 2007
ENTERPIRSING US MILITARY OFFICERS
ARTICLE: "Midlevel Officers Show Enterprise, Helping U.S. Reduce Violence in Iraq." By GREG JAFFE.
Wall Street Journal, V. CCL, N. 152, P. A-1, Saturday/Sunday 29-30 December 2007.
This was a nice article on the ability of US military Officers to adapt and implement change, even when it involves bean counters. The article discusses how the officers sought to separate the Sunnis and Shiites to reduce the fighting between them. That is something you do in a fight so it only seems right to do that in Iraq now. Sure, the time will come when the two groups will have to live and work together but let’s keep them apart until they can learn to get along a wee bit better. Of course the officers also set about getting the place functioning again. Opening banks, turning on water, and getting electricity to flow are major factors in establishing peace. This is exactly what I’ve heard from my friends who have been over there. They say the Iraqis are very appreciative when you get them drinking water and get the sewage flowing in the right direction.
But the key to this article is that the officers recognized the need to reach out to the local power brokers and get them involved in the solution. Discussed specifically is a PowerPoint presentation made by Captain Travis Patriquin, 32 at the time, and later killed by a roadside bomb in the Fall of 2006. His PowerPoint slide was simple but effective. It was a stick figure of a soldier sharing tea with a sheik. The caption read, “This is one sheik. They’ve been leading the people of this area for approximately 14,000 years. In spite of many, many conquering armies trying to remove him, this man and his family have been involved in politics here since recorded time began.” Hmmm, makes sense to work with these people, you think?
These officers understand that you need to understand the culture you working in and people you are working with. It is not a matter of who is right and who is wrong, as many people try argue, it is a matter of working together. And yes, the sheiks need to understand us as well so they can work better with us. As I watch the news I seem to see two types of people. On the one side are those Rosie O’Donnell types who are convinced that we are evil incarnate and deserve the attacks of 9/11. On the other side are the ill-informed who believe the Iraqis and Afghanis should be so happy that we are helping them that they simply roll over and do as we say. Fortunately our military officers are able to recognize the truth lies between these two extremes. They realize that it is fine to recognize and work within a culture without having to accept that culture as their own.
Posted by robertgreen at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)
NOT HAPPY WITH DELL.
I’m not very happy with Dell today. Around the first of December I ordered two computers, one for my daughter and one for myself. My daughter’s computer was a pink Inspiron and it had a ship date of 12/26. Low and behold, Dell lived up to the tradition I knew it for and the computer arrived a week or so early. Now my computer, an XPS 1530, was ordered at the same time and was not shipped early. In fact, on the 26th, its original ship date, I got email saying it had been delayed and the new ship date was 01/04/2008. No explanation was given for the delay. I’ve emailed and tried to call to see if there was some component that was holding things up, hoping a slight change in specifications would get an earlier ship date. No joy. No one can tell me what the problem is.
Checking on-line does no good. The only status I get is “In Production”. A few years ago you used to be able to track your computer build on-line. I remember watching an order mover from order verification, to kitting, to assembly, on through to burn-in and shipping. I can’t recall all of the steps involved but there were many steps involved and you could check on-line to see exactly where your computer was. Now, they can’t even tell me what the delay is.
My first thought was that there was a Christmas rush. But I checked the Dell blogs and saw a comment from a guy who ordered his XPS 1530 several days AFTER I ordered mine and he received his in 3 days. No explanation.
I’m not coming down on Dell too hard but it would be nice to have a little more explanation and even a little more notice. Did they just realize on the 26th that there was going to be a delay? I doubt it. And the irony of all of this is that I ordered an XPS simply because the XPS systems have better customer service. I really do not enjoy talking to people at a call center who have little knowledge of what they are doing and use assumed American names. Come on people, we all know you are most likely in India so please use your real name. Your accent tips Americans off that you are not “Allen”, “Jethro”, or “Melissa” so educate the Americans and help those with trouble learn to pronounce your real name.
Posted by robertgreen at 2:24 PM | Comments (0)
LET’S LEARN TO SPEAK BEFORE TALING TO REPORTERS, PLEASE!
In response to seeing his team in a bowl game, a UCF student had this to say, according to Channel 13, Central Florida News: "It’s pretty awesome. Like it's right up there with like, just something awesome that I can't put into words right now because I’m super psyched at this happening right now". I mean like, where do I like go to like to sign this guy up for like a job in something awesome like maybe in like communications. I bet like if he could get super psyched he could like do a real good like job, like.
I hate to come down on the guy so hard but this is “like getting of hand, like”. We have a language loaded with words that could be used but this guy, or should I say “dude”, uses “like” and “right now” twice each in one sentence. When I read such utterances I can’t help but think that there little thinking going on in the brain that is controlling the mouth.
Posted by robertgreen at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)
December 29, 2007
I REALLY DON’T LIKE ESPN
I really do dislike ESPN. It seems like a few years ago, back when they would televise more Mississippi State football games, there were a little better. But now the announcers certainly appear to be biased. Oh, they love to hear themselves talk.
I watched the Liberty Bowl game on the television last night because my wife agreed that we did need to get tickets about 2 hours after they were all sold. So, I resigned myself to watching it on the tube. Well all the way through the game all I heard was how great UCF was. UCF? Who the heck are they? They play in the friggin’ Conference USA for crying out loud! Most of the game the ESPN bozos talked about Kevin Smith breaking the single-season rushing record set by Barry Sanders in 1988. Even the stats ESPN put on screen should show how stupid this argument is. Counting the Liberty Bowl, Smith’s record would be for 14 games whereas Sanders’ record was for only 11. I can’t remember the number (and don’t care enough to look it up) but the game average was significantly lower for Smith than it was for Sanders as well.
It doesn’t really matter because Smith did not break the record. Something about an SEC team getting in the way and showing the UCF team what defense is all about. As Croom says, it was not a pretty win but it was a win. We also did not play all that well. We really should have scored more points but it looked to me like our offense was not doing well more than it was a case of UCF defense playing well.
Posted by robertgreen at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2007
McCain Endorsed by Over 100 Admirals and Generals
Click here to see the press release at JohnMcCain.com or look below. The list is impressivee and there are several Admirals that I personally admire.
For Immediate Release
December 15, 2007 Contact: Press Office 703-650-5550
McCain Endorsed by Over 100 Admirals and Generals
ARLINGTON, VA -- Today over 100 retired admirals and generals endorsed John McCain for President of the United States at a press conference in Columbia, South Carolina. These distinguished leaders supporting John McCain come from all branches of the armed services and include former POWs, Medal of Honor recipients and former members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
John McCain was joined today in Columbia by five distinguished military veterans: Admiral Leighton "Snuffy" Smith, USN (Ret.); Vice Admiral Mike Bowman, USN (Ret.); Rear Admiral Tom Lynch, USN (Ret.); Rear Admiral Bob Shumaker, USN (Ret.); and Major General Stan Spears, USA, Adjutant General of South Carolina.
"This nation is at war and we'd better damn well understand that fact," said Admiral Leighton "Snuffy" Smith, USN (Ret.). "John McCain understands it, and he is the only candidate that has not wavered one bit in his position regarding the importance of victory in the war against Islamic extremism or in his commitment to the troops who are doing the fighting. He has consistently demonstrated the kind and style of leadership that we believe is essential in our next Commander in Chief. Our nation faces a growing array of serious foreign policy challenges. John McCain is the ONE candidate who, in our view, truly understands the strategic landscape and is fully prepared to deal decisively and effectively with those who wish to be our friends and, importantly, those who wish us harm."
John McCain thanked the admirals and generals, stating, "I am deeply honored to have the support of so many distinguished military leaders. I thank them for the trust they have in me, but more importantly, our nation is indebted to their service in defense of our freedom. Our next president will face two wars and an array of national security challenges around the world. My experience, knowledge and background have prepared me to confront these great challenges and lead as commander in chief from day one."
Retired Admirals And Generals Joining John McCain In South Carolina Today:
Admiral Leighton "Snuffy" Smith, Jr., USN (Ret.): Admiral Smith retired from the Navy after over 34 years of service in positions that took him, literally, around the world. His last active duty assignment was Commander, U.S. Naval Force, Europe, Commander in Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (NATO) and, concurrently, Commander of NATO's first ever out of area land operation, the Implementation Forces (IFOR) in Bosnia charged with implementing the Dayton Peace Accords. As a naval aviator Admiral Smith flew carrier-based light attack jet aircraft during multiple deployments to the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Western Pacific and Indian oceans. These included three cruises in waters off North Vietnam where he flew over 280 combat missions.
Vice Admiral Mike Bowman, USN (Ret.): Bowman spent 36 years in the Navy, attaining the rank of Vice Admiral. Highlights of his Navy career include: Naval aviator with tour tours in Vietnam and Wing Commander during Desert Storm and notable assignments including Squadron command, three Air Wing commands, Senate Liaison for the Secretary of the Navy and later Chief of Legislative Affairs, Carrier Group command, Chief of Naval Air Training and Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Rear Admiral Tom Lynch, USN (Ret.): After a 31-year career of naval service, Lynch retired in the rank of Rear Admiral. His naval service included Chief, Navy Legislative Affairs, command of the Eisenhower Battle Group during Operation Desert Shield, Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy from 1991 to 1994 and Director of the Navy Staff in the Pentagon from 1994 to 1995. Admiral Lynch graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with his Bachelor of Science degree in 1964 and received his M.S. from George Washington University.
Rear Admiral Bob Shumaker, USN (Ret.): After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1956, Admiral Shumaker attended flight training and eventually joined VF-32, a fighter squadron in Jacksonville, Florida. He was a finalist in the Apollo astronaut selection, but a temporary physical ailment prevented his selection. In 1964 he graduated with a masters degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and then joined VF-154 in San Diego, California. In February 1965, he was shot down on a mission over North Vietnam, was captured, and spent the next eight years as a POW. In 1973 he was repatriated and resumed studies, which eventually led to a doctorate degree in electrical engineering. As a Captain he was a government project manager for smart missiles at the Naval Air Systems Command. In 1983 he was promoted to the rank of Commodore and became the Superintendent of the Nav al Postgraduate School. At the Pentagon in 1986, as a Rear Admiral, he was responsible for coordinating the research efforts of the Navy's air, surface, electronics and space activities. He retired from the Navy in 1989 and became an assistant dean at The George Washington University and later became the associate dean of the Center for Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota, from which he retired in 1991. Admiral Shumaker's military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, two Silver Stars, four Legions of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.
Major General Stan Spears, USA: General Spears is Adjutant General of South Carolina. He leads and directs the 10,500-member South Carolina Army and Air National Guard. He serves on the Board of Visitors for the Citadel, the military college of South Carolina. General Spears is the senior Adjutant General in the United States and the several territories. Born and raised in York County, South Carolina, General Spears is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, where he played on the football team. In 1962, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army National Guard. He served as a traditional Guard member for the next 32 years, achieving the rank of Brigadier General and assignment as Assistant Adjutant General.
RETIRED ADMIRALS AND GENERALS SUPPORTING JOHN MCCAIN FOR PRESIDENT
Rear Admiral John W. Adams, USN (Ret.)
Major General Albert B. Akers, USA (Ret.)
Major General John Blatsos, USA (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Harry Blot, USMC (Ret.)
Major General John L. Borling, USAF (Ret.), POW
Vice Admiral Mike Bowman, III, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Roger Box, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Bruce Bremner, USA (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Thomas Brown, III, USN (Ret.)
Brigadier General Tom Bruner, USA (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Lyle Bull, USN (Ret.)
Major General George Cates, USMC (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Jack Christiansen, USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Edward Clexton, Jr., USN (Ret.)
Lieutenant General John B. Conaway, USAF (Ret.), Former Chief of the National Guard Bureau
Lieutenant General Matthew T. "Terry" Cooper, USMC (Ret.)
Brigadier General Robert Dastin, USAF (Ret.)
General James B. Davis, USAF (Ret.), Classmate of Senator McCain's at the U.S. Naval Academy, Former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe (NATO)
Vice Admiral Walter J. Davis, Jr., USN (Ret.)
Major General Hollis Davison, USMC (Ret.)
Colonel George "Bud" Day, USAF (Ret.), POW, Medal of Honor
Rear Admiral Jerry Denton, USN (Ret.), POW, Former U.S. Senator
Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn, USN (Ret.)
Brigadier General Russ Eggers, USAF (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Paul Engel, USN (Ret.)
Major General Bill Eshelman, USMC (Ret.)
Major General Merrill Evans, USA (Ret.)
Admiral S. Robert Foley, USN (Ret.), Former CINCPACFLT
Rear Admiral Skip Furlong, USN (Ret.)
Brigadier General Barton Gilbert, USA (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Andrew Giordano, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Russell W. Gorman, USN (Ret.)
Admiral Ronald J. Hays, USN (Ret.), Former CINCPAC and CINCUSNAVEUR
Rear Admiral Robert P. Hickey, USN (Ret.)
Major General Don Hilbert, USA (Ret.)
Major General Kent Hillhouse, USA (Ret.)
Rear Admiral A. Byron Holderby, USN (Ret.)
Admiral James L. Holloway, USN (Ret.), Former Chief of Naval Operations
Lieutenant General Jefferson D. Howell, USMC (Ret.)
Major General Evan Hultman, USA (Ret.)
Major General Charles Ingram, USA (Ret.)
Admiral Bobby Inman, USN (Ret.), Former Director, NSA
Major General Harry Jenkins, USMC (Ret.)
Admiral Jerome Johnson, USN (Ret.), Former Vice Chief of Naval Operations
Rear Admiral J. Michael "Carlos" Johnson, USN (Ret.)
General P.X. Kelley, USMC (Ret.), Former Commandant, USMC
Admiral Robert J. "Barney" Kelly, USN (Ret.), Former CINCPACFLT
Admiral Frank Kelso, USN (Ret.), Former Chief of Naval Operations
Major General Phillip G. Killey, USAF (Ret.)
Admiral George "Gus" Kinnear, USN (Ret.), Former COMAIRLANT
Admiral Charles R. "Chuck" Larson, USN (Ret.), Former CINCPAC
Vice Admiral Tony Less, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Frederick L. Lewis, USN (Ret.)
Admiral Joseph Lopez, USN (Ret.), Former CINCUSNAVEUR
Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch, USN (Ret.)
Admiral James "Ace" Lyons, USN (Ret.), Former CINCPACFLT
Vice Admiral Michael D. Malone, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Daniel P. March, USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Edward H. Martin, USN (Ret.), POW
Vice Admiral John J. Mazach, USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral William "Scot" McCauley, USN (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Fred McCorkle, USMC (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Denny McGinn, USN (Ret.)
Major General Ed Mechanbier, USAFR (Ret.), POW
Rear Admiral George Meinig, USN (Ret.)
Major General Robert L. Menist, USA (Ret.)
Admiral Paul David Miller, USN (Ret.), Former CINCLANT
Vice Admiral Joseph Mobley, USN (Ret.), POW
Rear Admiral Patrick D. Moneymaker, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Benjamin Montoya, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Douglas Moore, Jr., USN (Ret.)
General Carl E. Mundy, Jr., USMC (Ret.), Former Commandant, USMC
Rear Admiral Jack Natter, USN (Ret.)
Brigadier General Warren "Bud" Nelson, USAF (Ret.)
Brigadier General Eddie Newman, USA (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Robert S. "Rupe" Owens, USN (Ret.)
Major General Earl G. Peck, USAF (Ret.)
Major General John Peppers, USA (Ret.)
Brigadier General Maurice Phillips, USA (Ret.)
Rear Admiral David Polatty, USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral William E. Ramsey, USN (Ret.)
Brigadier General Jon A. Reynolds, USAF (Ret.), POW
Vice Admiral David B. Robinson, USN (Ret.)
Brigadier General Wayne Rosenthal, USAF (Ret.)
Vice Admiral John R. Ryan, USN (Ret.)
Major General Michael D. Ryan, USMC (Ret.)
Brigadier General Dennis Schulstad, USAF (Ret.)
Vice Admiral James E. Service, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Edward D. "Ted" Sheafer, Jr., USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Robert F. "Dutch" Shultz, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Robert H. Shumaker, USN (Ret.), POW
Admiral Leighton "Snuffy" Smith, Jr., USN (Ret.), Former CINCUSNAVEUR, CINCSOUTH, Commander IFOR
Lieutenant General Norman Smith, USMC (Ret.)
Major General Stanhope S. Spears, USA, Adjutant General of South Carolina
Lieutenant General Hank Stackpole, USMC (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Howie Thorsen, USN (Ret.)
Colonel Leo Thorsness, USAF (Ret.), POW, Medal of Honor
Rear Admiral Ernest E. Tissot, USN (Ret.)
Vice Admiral John B. Totushek, USN (Ret.)
Major General Alfred A. Valenzuela, USA (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Lloyd "Joe" Vasey, USN (Ret.)
Brigadier General W.L. "Bill" Wallace, USA (Ret.)
Major General Gary Wattnern, USA (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Donald Weatherson, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Hugh Webster, USN (Ret.)
Lieutenant General James A. Williams, USA (Ret.), Former Director, DIA
Brigadier General Mitchell M. Willoughby, USA (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Dennis Wisely, USN (Ret.)
Admiral Ronald J. Zlatoper, USN (Ret.), Former CINCPACFLT
Posted by robertgreen at 8:58 PM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2007
Ethics Presentation for Petroleum Engineers
Today I made an ethics presentation to the Mississippi Society of Petroleum Engineers. The crowd was around 25 and they had another continuing professional development seminar after mine. I gave the standard one-hour ethics program and got lots of nice compliments afterwards. One member said he had been to several ethics seminars where the slides were read to the audience and he enjoyed the way I engaged the audience and gave them something more than slide after slide. It was nice to hear that and other similar comments.
Now it is time to change things up a bit. I’ve been giving the same show for a while now and I’m about tired of it. I know most of the people who see it are either seeing it for the first time or have forgotten it from when they saw it last. I, on the other hand, know what has changed and what has not. I think I’ll look for some new examples to discuss and maybe some new graphics. Should be fun.
Posted by robertgreen at 9:03 PM | Comments (0)
December 9, 2007
CIA Tape Revelation Spurs Rebuke
Wall Street Journal, Sat/Sun Dec 8-9, 2007, p. A4
The CIA is once again in hot water with the US Congress. Several years ago the CIA taped some interrogations it conducted and recently destroyed those tapes because they had no additional intelligence value. Keeping the tapes, however, put at risk having the interrogators identified.
Shortly after 11 September 2001 there seemed to be a lot of discussion about who knew what and when about the terrorists. It came out that law enforcement knew some useful information but kept it quite so as to not have the criminal investigation tainted. I thought we had learned from that experience that there were greater goals to be obtained than simply “brining terrorist to justice”. Is not better to prevent acts of terror than to allow them to occur and then put the parties on trial?
Assuming the CIA’s version is correct and that Congress was indeed notified of the destruction, then I think they did the right thing
Posted by robertgreen at 4:39 PM | Comments (0)
December 6, 2007
Fred
A few days ago I was given the book The Fred Factor: How passion in your work and life can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary
My “Fred” was actually Shelly. Shelly works at the counter of the Mississippi State Post Office and tomorrow is her last day before she moves to another post office. One day when things were very slow I went to the post office and when I walked up to the counter Shelly put Fred down to help me. I asked her about the book and if she enjoyed it. She then asked if I would like to borrow it. I said yes and she said she had one other person lined up to read it before me.
Fred is a book about doing a little extra to make someone’s day special. It is about giving that little bit of extra of customer service. In the book, Fred really is a postal worker; a “street walker” as my former Master Chief referred himself in is civilian job as a mailman. When I got the book I noticed that someone had given it to Shelly because they recognized her as a Fred. And a Fred she is indeed. I’ll miss seeing her every day when I walk in to check my mail.
Shelly is not the first Fred I have met; I’ve met several. One was an international worker, Indian I think, who was working at Sbarro’s in Washington. I was staying at the Crystal City Marriott and Sbarro’s was in the mall next to the hotel. I had some work to do in the room so I decided to gt a slice of pizza to take to the room. All of the pizza looked good and I asked about some of them. Then I narrowed my choice down to two and couldn’t decide. I almost got both but finally decided to only get one.
I had paid for the pizza and was sprinkling it with cheese and red pepper when the guy called to me and was handing me another piece of pizza. It was a slice of the other pizza I wanted. His English was not very good and I thought he thought I wanted both pieces. Then I thought about it and realized I had only paid for one slice. I told him this and said thank you but I have my pizza. He kept insisting that I take the pizza and I kept telling him I had my pizza. Finally he said, “here, me, you, friends.” I was astonished that this perfect stranger, in a large city, was given me a slice of pizza. I took the pizza and thanked him several times before I left.
Now, I do realize that the restaurant was closing in about 15 minutes and there would have been several pieces of pizza to throw out. But this guy did not have to give it to me. He could have kept for himself, but he didn’t. I honestly doubt that guy remembers that night because I was just one of thousands people he sold pizza to. But I remember that incident and remember his word. I also never pass up eating at Sbarro’s when I’m hungry and near one. His small gesture, his slice of free pizza won the company a loyal customer. He was a Fred, long before Fred was ever written.
I want more Fred’s!
Posted by robertgreen at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)
December 5, 2007
Naval Order of the United States Membership
I received my Naval Order of the United States membership today. I have wanted to join this organization for a while and found someone to take my application and submit it for membership. I wish my grandfather had been a member given he was also a Navy guy.
Posted by robertgreen at 9:42 PM | Comments (0)
December 4, 2007
Day One Leadership
We had the final Day One Leadership Program luncheon for the Action Team Leaders. We all got certificates, an umbrella, door prizes, and an item from the grocery store picked by our teams to describe us. I got a bottle of V8 Splash because I “add a splash to the traditional”. It was a fun event but I’m sad it is the end of Day One for year.
One of my team members won the Day One Leadership Idol award from the pod and it was presented to her at the Air Force ROTC Dining In last week. She could not stay for the presentation following their presentation but it all worked out well.
I had a great team and I look forward to doing it again next year.
Posted by robertgreen at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
December 3, 2007
Oral Comprehensive Exam: Passed
I passed. It wasn’t pretty and it was certainly not my best performance, but I passed my oral comprehensive exam. I am not the kind of person who typically gets nervous; In fact there are only two times in my life that I recall truly being nervous and this was one of them. The other was a similar situation—when I was going in for Engineering Duty Officer Qualification exam.
My committee was helpful, they were not intimidating, but I was still nervous. Even the simple things that I know did not come easily. But I was able to satisfy them, apparently.
The problem, I think, is that I was not the expert in the room then. Usually in situations like that I am the most knowledgeable person on the subject matter at hand. Either I’ve written it, designed it, or worked on it so long that I know it better than anyone. When someone asks me a question I know I can answer it and I know they want to know the answer. In my orals I was not the expert, my committee members were. And they did not ask questions so that I could educate them; they were asking to see if I could give them the answer they wanted.
Once the Q & A was over, we discussed my dissertation topic. It still has some issues and I still have my concerns. Their comments were helpful but I was not surprised by what they said. I share their concerns and I feel better knowing that they see anything out there that might trip me up that I didn’t see myself or that I have not spoken with them about previously.
Feels good to be on this side of the exam.
Posted by robertgreen at 9:33 PM | Comments (0)