State of the Union

I know that if I hyperlink to the White House they are not likely to either notice or care or do me the courtesy of reciprocation -- so let's not go there. I didn't even listen to it. I was at the gym and the tv was set to the Notre Dame / Villanova basket ball game ( I remember being that young!)

Anyway, no Obama for me. So I went and looked it up.

Ok I got distracted by a fact checking article on various statements Obama made during his state of the union address and became disheartened about reading it at all.

Interesting presidential trivia. First, George Washington did not like to speak in public, because his wooden teeth fit so poorly. (I blame British dentistry!)

Second, the State of the Union address does not have to be an address at all. It can be a memo (or a blog post for that matter). Thomas Jefferson chose to have his State if the Union from his desk by memo. There is something very thoughtful about writing it down rather than speaking. At least you know you won't get the wording wrong in the moment. And, there is something more concrete and less ephemeral about writing rather than speaking on how were doing.

The thing that is the most remarkable about the Obama scenario is that it seems to my 'outsider' eyes is that this administration is it's own worst enemy. That it somehow confused the nations desire to change leadership with a specific endorsement of Obama...

I hope I continue to care. This stuff gets exhausting after a while.

Over and over again

So, in my theme of resolution - I now have one. It's small and made to be replicated. It is also really hard for me to write it down. Because it's so small that writing it down makes it seem larger and more difficult.

Now the tricky part ... What does a person do with a 'secret resolution'? Do you really have a resolution if it's not part of a list or shared with a spouse or at least your brand new personal trainer?

I guess I'm going to have to think about that one.

To all of you with resolutions out there -- I wish you the best of luck and the strongest resolve for this year to be the one that let's you achieve even more.

Finally. Happy New Year.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Technology Emerges Triumphant

I am embarking on a new journey - blog by iPhone. I have had an almost completely non-active month of blogging even though my mind has been full of ideas and issues to discuss, delight, dissect, and even dispair about.

Then the rest of my day happens, I crash from my caffeine or sugar or stress high of the day, I come home and ... My Mind Dissolves to Nothing.

In this state, all of the brilliance of the day is reduced to less than a twinkle and I have nothing to give the blog.

Enter blog via iPhone...

Results forthcoming.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New Year's Resolution

Resolutions are quite the double edged sword. Full of glowy positivity in January, and Hopelessness by April -- just in time for tax season.

Am I being cynical? I think the thought of a new year resolution puts most people in a frame of mind as to what they are going to wake up and do tomorrow and it will be for the foreseeable future.

They say it takes 100 days to form a habit, but I think that's assuming that you're doing something every day. So, maybe it's 100 instances. So all the people who are showing up at my gym right now, that start disappearing 6 weeks later probably need another 6 weeks (minimum) to become a habit. More likely, they are coming an average of 3 times a week, so 12+ times a month -- that would be about 9 months to become a habit. 4 times a week, 16+ times a month -- and you're down to around 6 months... But either way it would take some time.

OK, I'm not really resolving anything with this rant.

But, Does something have to become a habit to be a worthwhile resolution? Does it need to be something that's a comprehensive change. Or can it be a goal? I want to pay off my car, something like that? But that seems already within my grasp. I don't feel like I have to offer resolve to get that achieved. So it doesn't really seem to make the grade as a resolution.

But what I have seen, over the last year, is an improved resolve to move on a regular basis. I have recast what I resolve to do, to put it within my grasp and suddenly it starts to get easier. And, while I may not meet some pie in the sky resolution, I do get closer and closer to the goal.

But, can I achieve the outcome without a resolution? I think the truth is yes.

This is startling because most of the history of modern story telling is about a sudden change of heart, realization, or transformation of a person. Not the steady, plodding, slow transition, as a glacier across an epoch. But here it was this morning. I lost two pounds since last year (and I was wearing heavy boots this year). Yeah, if I'd had a resolution it could have been more, but the small changes that I could commit to made it two pounds - and that's better than the five pounds gained the year before. Here's to the slow burn, and resolve, being regarded as what it truly is, a question you approach time and again, and each time you bite off a little more, and then you see some results and you have resolve.