YouTube Weekend

I'm going to borrow Gort's You Tube Weekend concept and hold it hostage until he returns to the virtual world.


From Steve Winwood's "comeback" album...

Job Hunting Lackawanna County Style

There was an interesting sub-text in an article that appeared in Monday’s edition of the Scranton Times. You can link to the article HERE. I know, the article itself is just your run-o-the-mill disgruntled employee sues county government kind of thing, but what caught my eye was the fact that the employee in question, after having been released by the office of Ken McDowell, was able to secure another public sector job via Ed Karpovich. What’s so special about that? Well apparently Mr Karpovich filled this position without the need to actually find out if anyone else on planet Earth was better qualified for the (new) position in question.

This begs the following question: Are you an out of work accountant or accounting clerk? Think you can handle Lackawanna County book keeping? Well too bad. Apparently in county government it’s not necessarily qualifications but contacts that count.

Now it is entirely possible that the employee in question was the best qualified for his (new) position, but alas, we will never know this for sure, as no one bothered to find out.

Sarcasm aside, this really bothers me.  ALL OPEN POSITIONS in ANY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT should be open and available for application by ANY member of the public.  

Filling an open position with an insider perpetuates the idea that government is run by politicians and bureaucrats who care more about their own power than they do about the public's business.  It is in the public's best interest that county government be staffed with the best qualified individuals who can provide best value to tax payers.  Filling a position without actually determining if anyone was better qualified is simply wrong.

Note that I'm sympathetic to the plight of the employee in question.  It at least sounds like he got a bad deal while working for Mr. McDowell.  However, while his story is certainly disheartening, I have no way of saying for sure that there isn't someone else out there, equally qualified for this job, with an even more disheartening story.  Mr Kaprovich doesn't know this either...he didn't bother to look.

The Day The Music Died

It was 30 years ago today that John Lennon was assassinated by man named Mark David Chapman outside of his apartment in New York City.  At the time he was 40 years old.


I'm sure there will be plenty of articles out there today on Lennon and his legacy, so I'll just move past the desire to link to something.  


As for my thoughts on all of this, I'll be the first to admit that I'm more of a "Beatle Paul" kind of guy, even more so back in 1980.  That noted, over the years I've grown to appreciate just how brilliant John Lennon was, both as an artist and as a person. There was a certain rawness to the guy that could be difficult to listen to; Paul was the light, happy guy...the guy that could write "We Can Work It Out"; John was the one screaming for "Help".  You couldn't ask for a more stark contrast.  The combination was brilliant.


Over the years I've become more of a Lennon fan, not that I didn't enjoy his work in the past.  I think though to truly enjoy Lennon you sometimes have to feel a certain amount of pain.  Listen to "Mother" and try not to feel the raw, visceral pain in his voice and in the lyric.


Mother, you had me, but I never had you
I wanted you, you didn't want me
So I, I just got to tell you
Goodbye, goodbye

Father, you left me, but I never left you
I needed you, you didn't need me
So I, I just got to tell you
Goodbye, goodbye

Children, don't do what I have done
I couldn't walk and I tried to run
So I, I just got to tell you
Goodbye, goodbye

Mama don't go
Daddy come home




Raw pain on display for the world.  That's genius.


Where was I when Lennon was assassinated?  At the time I was 16 years old and I didn't hear the news until the next morning while watching Good Morning America.  At the time I remember thinking that this somehow changed things in music.  30 years later I still have that same thought.  Even more frightening?  I'm now 6 years older than Lennon was when he died.  


I'll end this with my all time favorite John Lennon song, #9 Dream.  "So long ago, was it just a dream?".  As an adult sometimes I think it was.

Elizabeth Edwards, Post Script

Elizabeth Edwards passed away today at age 61. As I noted yesterday, I always admired how Mrs. Edwards conducted herself in the public arena, despite the challenges thrown her way. In a dirty business like politics, she always seemed to have an air of dignity and class.  


Rest in Peace Elizabeth Edwards.  

Elizabeth Edwards

In a story reported by NBC, Elizabeth Edwards has taken a turn for the worse in her on-going battle with cancer.  You can read the story HERE.

I've always admired Elizabeth Edwards.  Smart, dedicated to her family, professional and articulate, it's hard to find fault in how she has conducted her life.  Fighting cancer while fighting deeply wounding allegations against her husband is nothing short of monumental.  

I pray that she and her family find peace in this difficult time.

God speed Mrs Edwards.

Feedback

I received some interesting feedback over the weekend, and being the tightly wrapped kind of guy I am, I'm compelled to respond.  I'll paraphrase what I heard...


"For an introvert, the guy really puts himself out there"
That's a very valid comment, and it's not actually something I've thought a lot about.  In thinking about responding two things came to mind:

1. Introverted Writers - Emily Dickinson would sit in her room and write incessantly about how she was feeling and how she perceived the world around her.  Now her work wasn't published until after her death, but who knows...had she been alive today, maybe all of that work would be appearing on an obscure blog on-line somewhere in cyber-space.  I guess for her the act of writing was somehow therapeutic, and I know it is for me.  Granted her fingernail shavings had more talent than which exists in my entire body, but it's the underlying thought that counts. Anyway, writing in a public forum for me is not an awful lot different than the classroom teaching/facilitation I do professionally in that it allows me to extrovert in a "safe" manner.  In the classroom I can play extrovert and be comforted in the fact that I am in control of the situation and that it eventually ends (and I can then collapse into a blob of introvert gelatin); in writing I can choose what to say and how to say it.  For an introvert, it's all about being able to control how I chose to share.
2. Subjects - I write about the things I'm interested in at the moment.  If my personal focus is more external, then I write about politics, religion, etc.  When personal issues dominate what I'm thinking, it then spills out here.  I've purposefully tried to write about more external things when I'm in the midst of dealing with some personal issue, but it usually doesn't work out so well.  

It's all about me I suppose, but that's okay.  We all need some things in our life what are "all about us".


I also was told that the profile picture I had was not the most flattering, so I've made a change.  Never let it be said that I don't listen...on occasion.  The new picture is probably one of the best I've ever appeared in; the back story is that it was taken in 2004 (when I had much nicer hair) when I was with my girls at the apple orchard.  I loved taking the girls to the farm in the Fall.  Maybe one day (years and years and years from now) I'll have grandchildren to take apple picking.  

Blogger Rules, Revisited

I don't know where the original post is (it is probably buried about 800 deep), but a conversation I had the other day reminded me that I should probably think about my official blogger "rules".  




What I don't ever write about:


My employer, by name.  Actually that is more the firm's rule than mine (I am not allowed, for example, to link to my employer's website); besides, if they want a mention here they can pay me for it.  Since some of the people that read this crap actually work where I do, I'm not sure there is much of an advertising future at NCFE.  Note that I do reserve the right to refer to my employer casually/indirectly.  I also reserve the right to be critical of any company or institution, as long as I do it in a respectful manner.


A significant other.  Whomever or whatever she may be.  Legally that could end up being a plural for a while.  Regardless, I think that anyone who is (or was) personally close to me shouldn't have to worry, ever, about seeing a reference to a conversation or interaction in this space.  I try to be an honorable person, and I have 800+ postings to prove it.  


Criticisms of friends, co-workers, acquaintances, etc.  If I have an issue with someone about something I'll speak my peace to them face-to-face. 


Non-public persons.  This is self-explanatory.


Adult topics.  I struggle saying "crap" on this blog, although I think I may have said 'sh%t' once or twice.  You may be offended by my spelling, grammar, typos, and the like, but I promise to never offend via content.




Seemingly sensitive things I will write about:


My children.  Sorry girls, but you are fair game.  One caveat though...I will never be critical of them, ever, in this space.  It's only the good stuff.  How could I not write about the three most important people in my world?


How I feel.  Since about the beginning of September that has seemed to dominate what I write about, at least from my perspective.  I am sometimes rather circumspect about what I write, but that's to avoid violating some of the rules above.  One must sometimes be creative in the expression of thoughts.  


Abortion, gay rights, politics, religion, etc.  It's all fair game.  


Public persons.  If you are a politician, public servant, celebrity or civilian who is a media  attention whore then you are fair game.  

Road Apples #83

DADT...The military prides it self on its soldiers acting with honor and integrity, except if they are Gay, as apparently then lying is okay (and according to John McCain, should be strongly encouraged).  I've never liked this policy.  Let's either say that Gays can't serve (which I believe is wrong) or let's allow them to serve openly.  


Music...I was creating a audio CD of just a few songs that kind of speak to me...say something about me if you will...but had to limit it to about 15 tracks.  Luckily I forgot that I had "Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads saved on my flash drive.  That's a joke, I swear.


Tax Cuts...Democrats want to extend the Bush era tax cuts to millionaires, but just on the first $250,000 they earn.  Funny, but that isn't well reported in the news, as it requires more than the just typical "them bad, us good" commentary.


Songs from the Big Chair...by Tears for Fears is one of the greatest albums ever, bar none.  The open track is Shout, and it only gets better from there.


My Cat...actually does watch TV.  He seems particularly fond of MSNBC and the movie "House Bunny".  There is no accounting for taste...in humans or cats.


Newsweek...has a great article about John Lennon.  You can read it HERE.

War Games Quote

"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."


- Joshua, War Games




If you've never seen the movie War Games, then I suggest you dig through a discount department store DVD bin and try to find it.  While it's rather dated from a technology perspective (it takes place in 1983, hence cutting edge technology such as dial-up modem is prominently displayed), it's still well worth watching.  


Now for some reason I woke up with this movie, and specifically this quote running through my head. The "game" referenced by Joshua isn't anything philosophical; rather, it's called Global Thermonuclear War (well that and Tic-Tac-Toe...but you have to watch the movie to understand the comparison).  Deeper meaning at work here?  Not especially, although it is 7:14am and I got about 4 hours worth of sleep, so maybe it's just me being overly tired.


Great movie though.

Road Apples #82

Gym Rat....For the record, while I like to exercise, I'm by far and away not a gym rat.  In point of fact my "core" stinks and I have terrible form when it comes to things like weights.  I am the example you should not follow.  But on the plus side, I've found that I can think more clearly when I'm spending time on the elliptical machine.  I also get this feeling of satisfaction for having actually accomplished something when I finish a routine.  There is something inherently positive in something that is good for you mentally and physically.

Spider-man, The Musical...What's next, "Trash Collection:  The Musical"?  Seriously, have the people on Broadway actually run out of ideas for shows?  I do like to see a good show, but come on this getting ridiculous.  

Orange Pants...Yes, I am wearing orange pants today.  Well I prefer to think of them as being an aggressive shade of sand.  Actually I have two days worth of staff meetings and I'm thinking that my peers may be doing the whole jeans thing.  I don't like wearing jeans.  I never have.  Most of what I own in the jeans department is too big now, so I end up looking like a 17 year old Bronx resident.  However the orange pants do fit well.

Best Thing About Living Alone...You can sing the Prince tune Let's Go Crazy really, really loud in the shower.  "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life...".

Worst Thing About Living Alone...You end up talking to your cat far too much.

Speaking of Cats...Mine has discovered that when I type, things move on the computer screen.  Any idea how enthralling that is to a 12 week old cat?  I also have to take some better pictures of Jean Luc.  Actually I need to really start to dust off the cameras.  I miss the whole photography thing.  I took no photos this past Fall, and I do love the Fall.

Type A (but just at Work)...I'm trying to figure our why I am this sometimes charging Type A personality at work, but that seems to shut down in my personal life.  I suspect that it has something to do with the fact that, despite the stresses that come with a job and/or career, the office is this kind of predictable, impersonal environment that I am surprisingly comfortable existing within.  After all these years I would hope that this would be the case.  By way of definition, one's "personal" life is seldom im"personal".  The truly amazing part?  I'm  years old and still trying to figure this stuff out.  I thought that once you reach something like age 30 all of this stuff was supposed to be relatively clear.

Wiki-Leaks...My only comment on this:  I agree that there needs to be far, far more transparency in government.  The default should always be an assumption of disclosure.  However, I am very wary of leaking gobs of confidential information that might end up causing harm to, say, a government agent or soldier serving his/her country.  A private in Afghanistan isn't involved in the geo-politics of the State Department, so he/she should never end up being up being put in harms way because someone with a web-site wants to make a political statement (example:  a government official in Afghanistan is upset over some Wiki-Leaks comment and as a result passes information to Taliban operatives).  As is the case in most things in life, this is not a black and white issue.