Videos of My Kid

(and other things I think are funny, interesting, or important)

Porter and Daddy on a Day Off

I had a bit of an unexpected day off today.  We've had some family emergencies lately, and I'll be heading off to Indiana tomorrow.  Due to preparations for the trip and all, I took the day off of work.  One of the side effects of this time off was I got to go to the park with my son during the day, which doesn't happen too often.  I took some video on my cell phone for posterity's sake.



It's not the recession, you just suck

http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/you-just-suck/

While I wouldn't necessarily phrase it like this, I've spoken previously about the lack of responsibility prevalent in my generations (I'm right on the cusp) and the generation after mine (Generations X/Y and the Millennials, respectively).  If things aren't going well for you, there's really no one to place the blame on but you.  I'm just as prone as the next person to having a pity party when things don't go my way, but it doesn't solve anything.  No one ever whined their way to success.

Steve Jobs as a leader

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/taylor/2009/06/decoding_steve_jobs_trust_the.html

I saw a commentary on another blog on this post, stating that Jobs was a horrible manager (http://gizmodo.com/5308621/harvard-business-review-says-steve-jobs-is-a-horrible-manager). 

I'll disagree with that comment; I think Jobs is an outstanding manager.  He's very innovative and wrings every last drop of productivity out of his workforce.  However, I think he's a crappy leader.  Leaders don't have the sense of entitlement described in this article, and the best ones lead by service to those who work for them. 

While Jobs demands productivity, I'm willing to bet that he doesn't inspire much loyalty outside of the chosen few in his inner circle.  When times are good, and the money is flowing, people can put up with a lot of garbage.  If times were to ever get tough for Apple, it'd be interesting to see how many folks were loyal to the organization and how many took off as soon as possible.

TSA Security and Other Excesses in The War On Terror

 
These guys with "looking for contraband", the NSA with its wiretapping... I'm so irritated.  As a person who used to work at the NSA and who got all the FISA briefings all the time about protecting Americans privacy, I'm just frustrated.  Why in the world do we let them get away with this?  And what can we really do about it?  I hate feeling powerless...