March 13, 2023
Good morning! Or is it afternoon already? We’ve got at least a quinfecta on our hands… what a week ahead! With great gusto, the cardinals are claiming their territories from the tip-tops of the trees; go out and listen. To inflate or not to inflate? Here at Without A Vision Consultancy we haven’t increased our rates in five (5) years. A can of soda from the vending machine at the hotel is now $3. Have you heard the new vocabulary word? Altasia; watch for it.
- The year was 1968. I was teaching youngsters about ecology, a word about which almost no one knew anything.
- Quite simply: Everything affects everything.
- We constructed huge webs made of twine and string through sections of swamp, prairie and woods.
- Stationing kids at different locations along and within the web and instructing different lads to tug at their portion of the web, everyone within that web could feel the tug.
- A colleague once explained organizational culture to me like this: Everything we do affects everything we do. So true.
- A pretty good daily reminder, something for the bulletin board.
- But, back to ecology.
- Paul Ehrlich came out with his book, The Population Bomb. Remember it? Perhaps as poignant as Silent Spring without the staying power.
- Many of his predictions and warnings have come true — though doing the math at the time wasn’t rocket science, as they say.
- But now, here’s the point if you’ve made it this far: In some parts of the Earth, the human population is declining… and alarmingly so in a few places.
- It might have taken 55 years, but is the earth, at 8,000,000,000 finally pausing to take a breath?
- The Economist has done a deep dive into one geopolitical area, Russia.
- “The life expectancy for young men is now as low as for men in Haiti — and lower than in Bangladesh; the overall population is tumbling.
- The COVIDs have taken a deadlier toll than in almost any other country. Add the effects of war, including exiles… and the population looks terribly skewed.
- Women now outnumber men in Russia by the millions…” (Foreman, 2023)
- And, flab… remember those DQs we talked about? Slow down, pace yourself, get a small instead of a large.
- Given the discombobulated opening day we still haven’t made it over there.
- Here’s something for you physicists: At what point will the burgeoning obesity crisis affect the total mass of the Earth and thereby impact its astronomical relationships?
- There is an amazing Mom & Pop small town cafe just off the beaten path on the way to/ from Fargo, North Dakotah.
- I always look forward to working with clients in that part of the world because, among the perquisites, there is usually a stop at this cafe for what might be the best hamburger within 100 miles.
- Caramelized seared crust, the perfect toasted bun with the patty sticking out just a bit on the full perimeter, a mountain of fried onions, a dozen or more crispy pickle slices —
- — and the meat is hot to the touch of the tongue as it searches for the savory explosion of flavor; fresh ground beef (or buffalo), never frozen.
- The delicacy is so tasty you don’t need any catsup or condiments of any kind… I even eschew the French Fries… don’t need ’em.
- This place usually has a predictable recurring rural vibe with most people knowing each other; I’m the stranger.
- Subtle head movements, all adorned with some sort of seasonal head gear, serve as the incessant chatter you might find elsewhere.
- Two and three-word responses to questions or comments would label someone as a chatterbox or, worse yet, a gossip or a know-it-all.
- Everyone knows everything about everyone.
- A few days ago, something was wrong; it was instantly observable.
- The place was almost empty — and it was around noon, time for lunch.
- The vibe wasn’t there; the hamburger was just as delicious, but there was tension of some kind hanging in the room; the staff was unhappy.
- The boss/ owner, who is almost never there, was fiddling with the menus and interacting awkwardly with the staff.
- Body languages were different, something was rubbing the wrong way just under the surface.
- If your business or organization interacts with humans in any capacity, please be alert to even the subtle changes in vibe.
- Those humans are observing you closely — and even if you’re in a long-term relationship with those humans, all relationships are fragile and vulnerable.
- I’ll probably still stop for the hamburger, as long as it stays amazing, but my antennae will be searching for whatever might be wrong.
- I was preparing to turn left at a red light which turned green, but the vehicle in front of me didn’t move. You know the feeling you get when that happens.
- Be patient, don’t blow your horn, wait, probably a distracted celt phoner… then the light turns red again, dangit!
- Wait, one block ahead of the scheduled left turn is a slow-moving train pulling about 200 empty oil cars back to the North Dakotah oil fields.
- Slowwww moving, really slow moving, maybe 10 MPH.
- It got me to thinking about train derailments and Warren Buffet;
- I was far enough back in the queue that I don’t think I would have been squished by a derailed train, but I still plotted an escape route just in case.
- How is it that our society can suddenly become fixated on something which has been ubiquitous for quite some time.
- Do you believe these data?
- According to the United States Department of Transportation, there have been 54,539 train derailments in the U.S. the last twenty (20) years.
- (I don’t know if there are trains in Hawaii, Guam, or Puerto Rico… I’m assuming there are in Alaska, but I don’t know that one, either.)
- It averages to about four (4) or five (5) per day.
- These data don’t matter if the train derails in your front yard, but apparently trains running off the tracks is a common occurrence.
- Trains have enjoyed the equivalent of Most Favored Nation status in the U.S. since forever; do you know why?
- Does your organization suffer from F.O.F.O.?
- Fear of finding out?
- FOFO is a phenomenon where individuals or organizations are reluctant to investigate issues that may reveal failures or lapses on their part.
- If I shut my eyes and plug my ears maybe it will go away…
- You know the drill and probably don’t need the team at Without A Vision Consultancy to teach you about it, but… just in case, hang on to our number.
- “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” (Buber)
- We warned you the data could be wrong — and often is.
- Here, from our faithful reader, Brian, is, according to him, a much more reliable source of data for Central Minnesota weather.
- And, you’ll be devastated to learn, this is NOT the snowiest winter in the history of the world, not even close.
- For the rest of you around the Earth, you will have to search further. Weather
