O-Dark-Thirty

I’m big on seminars. I listen to the tapes of people like Zig Ziglar and I get inspired. I really do like to be inspired. It makes me want to become the better me. It doesn’t last long enough, though, so I listen to more seminars. Years ago, I heard a guy ask a question on one of the tapes I was listening to that struck me to my heart. He asked “If you died today, would you know enough good men to carry your casket?” I had to think about it. My three brothers. Not quite enough. One friend here in Texas, perhaps two. Five people wouldn’t be able to do carry my casket. My sons were too young. I decided I should be cremated. Then I’d only need one person to carry my ash around. Seriously, though, it struck me sadly. The seminar was about legacy, what kind of legacy you leave your children, a legacy you leave behind in the world. A legacy isn’t money; it is a set of beliefs, a set of ground rules to live by that they can remember and that will serve them when times are good or bad...

At the end of 2012 I wrote a post on Leadership qualities . For various reasons, that's a timely topic for me. The first leader on my list was Jesus. You have the right to debate his divinity, but if you read the Bible you see he has five good leadership skills that we can emulate. 1) Know who you report to, 2) Know what they expect of you, 3) Keep the channels of communication open and communicate often, 4) Know your goal, and 5) Celebrate your accomplishments. Someone sent those to me, and I agree with them, but I also notice something else. Those are pretty good skills for anyone, whether you are leading or not. You might as well act like a leader; you never know who is following you!

Back from Mac I've been a Mac guy for over six years. I still own an older iMac and a 2008 17-inch Macbook Pro (upgraded with 6GB RAM and a 256 GB Flash Drive). I use my iPad most days for surfing the web. Let's face it though - a Mac is not a gamer's machine. I need a PC. Wait, though! A Mac can boot as a PC. My idea was that I'd get a new Mac, one that was powerful and had good graphics. I need a quiet machine, something I can play in the living room, and the iMac is certainly powerful and quiet. In my experience, most desktop PCs have loud cooling systems. Perhaps I could look at a liquid-cooled machine. My background with computers… I was a die-hard PC user. I used computers at the plant from the first day we got one, an IBM PC with dual 5¼ inch drives. When we upgraded to a 10 MB hard drive I was ecstatic. I taught Lotus 123 at the local community college for three years. Then I taught DOS and Advanced DOS. When Windows 3.1 came out, I taught t...

The government is intimidating and harassing my youngest brother. The justice system that he served for over twenty years (as a corrections officer) turned on him and ruined his finances, his future and his life. Gone is the cheerful smile that I remember as we grew up, gone the man who sought ways to help his community and others. "Guilty until proven innocent" now makes him a recluse, even from his own family. I used to have faith in our government and our justice system. I'll grant that my faith in the American way slowly eroded over my almost sixty years, but it entirely collapsed when unknown people drove my brother to despair in the name of the law, but certainly not in the name of justice. Citing justice, they practice oppression. Where are the freedoms our forefathers fought for? My youngest brother served in the military, as did my other two brothers. My father retired as a Navy chief. My mother served in the Navy when she was young. The  men and women who she...

Communication is hard to do well. Speaking is a poor imitation of thinking, so I'd rather be silent. Sometimes we have to communicate. There are certain basic principles for ensuring that we understand and are understood. Listen Actively For some reason people think this means to interrupt and complete other people's sentences. It doesn't mean that at all. It means keep your mouth shut and your ears, eyes and mind open. Show the other person you understand that they have strong feelings by listening to what they feel strongly about and why they feel that way. Yes, they might be saying something you disagree with, perhaps to a large degree. But you have to listen to understand and you must try to hear what they mean . One of the smartest things I ever heard anyone say about communicating was to start with the sentence "I agree with you" and then listen carefully for where you have common points. Be Heard Now you have the chance to be heard. ...

You might be wondering where I have disappeared to. Aside from not having much to say (and my kids just roll their eyes at that statement), I am currently working on one of my novels. I won't tell you much about it, though if you're a regular reader, you've seen the first draft of the first chapter. It is much different now, but the working title remains as  Zombie Apocalypse: Vampire Raiders of Las Vegas.  Yes,  everyone  rolls their eyes at that, but it will be a good story - or at least a fun one. It is still a few months away from being published. (Hey, I have a day job, too.) However, I decided that I needed to publish some of my short stories (which are mostly short, short stories). I dropped the first one out on Smashwords tonight. Long time readers might recognize it, too. Why Smashwords and not Amazon? Well, Amazon doesn't really let me put my stories out there for free, and I don't feel right about charging for my short stories. I also hear Amazon...