Category: Opinion

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Opinion

Dan and Amy

When my girlfriend and I first started hanging out together we used to have a little competition for fun between ourselves. It was really between us and two advice columnists we liked who published columns each week about relationships, sex, and generally navigating through people issues.

Every Friday we’d each read the questions that the readers submitted, but not the advice printed below the question. Then we’d each come up with our own advice for each question. Later in the day, we’d compare the advice we’d come up with separately and try to figure out if it might agree with the “professional” advice. And then we’d put our advice up against what was published by Dan Savage in his “Savage Love” column and Amy Alkon in her  “Advice Goddess” column.

We got pretty good at giving our fictional advice. Generally, we agreed with the advice from Dan and Amy meaning we thought along the same lines they did when trying to solve a problem. So sometimes we could still predict what their advice would be even if we took a different path.

We still follow them especially Dan (Amy is sometimes a little too shrill). Some of Dan’s advice is now available on a weekly podcast on Tuesdays which is fun to listen to. When it’s needed, he’s also able to call the advice seekers to clarify the prerecorded callers’ questions.

Nowadays we don’t formally jot down our opinions for each question, but we’ll  still sometimes discuss what we think the right approach is, before listening to the professional advice. It’s been interesting to follow the addition of internet access to what was before only in the newspaper and on our papers at home.

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Ideas Opinion

Zero to One Hundred

We humans can make better decisions more often when looking at a situation from the right perspective and with a little thought.

Here’s an idea I’m working on. I think it’s more productive to react to a number value than to have an instantaneous, unconsidered reaction. Why not use a numerical scale when you’re assigning values to problems in life so you can determine the appropriate response? In the grocery store you don’t just grab the easiest to reach item when you’re shopping. You assign a sort of yummyness value to each item before selecting the one that’s most appealing to you.

Zero to one hundred is the span of the scale I’m thinking about. On the low-end, a zero, would be something like holding a puppy in your lap. And at the top, a one hundred, would be those rare happenings like the death of a family member. Using a 100 point scale allows you some wiggle room. You could use ranges, say 40 to 55, if you’re unable to come to an exact value, but you’d still be in the ball park. Once you arrive at a value range for a particular situation, it’ll be easier to react appropriately to that event. Being stuck in a car waiting for a herd of cattle to pass is really a 5, at most, when you think about it.

Say your oven is broken and the repairman is scheduled to fix it on Monday but doesn’t show until Wednesday. It’s inconvenient and you’re pissed off. What’s it really worth though? Probably somewhere between 25 and 30, closer to 25 (unless you’re running a bakery). In five years if you looked back, you’ll probably judge it less than a 25. That seems better than treating not having an oven for two days than as you might react to a career ending injury if you were an athlete.

Too bad groups don’t usually do this.

Remember when a Danish cartoonist was killed for depicting Allah in a cartoon? Really, that should have been about a 4! Even if you’re an Islamic fundamentalist, how could it rank more than a 40? And that’s being generous.

And on this side of the pond, more recently in Tucson, people were killed at random with a handgun. Even a young girl, a bystander, was shot to death. If this event doesn’t rank near a 100, what does? Most people seem to rate it close to 100. But sadly, what’ll be done about in terms of controlling handguns as a public safety issue will probably be around a 4.

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Ideas Opinion

Don’t Ask For Permission You Don’t Need

It looks like the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for the US military is going to be repealed. Sorry it took so long. I’m sure there’ll be an adjustment period while everyone gets to know each other.

Anyway, this made me wonder about gay people coming out to friends and family. It has to be tough. But what makes it harder is how the situation is framed in the mind of the person coming out. Human nature and the general nonacceptance of gay life probably leads the person coming out to feel as if he’s asking for permission to be gay rather than that he’s telling everyone that he’s gay. He doesn’t need permission to be gay. I’m not gay but I don’t feel like I need to ask the permission of a gay friend to write about it.

People often hesitate to start something thinking they need permission. They usually don’t need permission. William Bake said  “… create a system or be enslaved by another man’s.” There are small businesses failing and succeeding every day and not drawing any  public attention. It could be happening more – new businesses starting up. But people hesitate, waiting for permission, harboring a vague feeling someone needs to tell them it’s ok. Why not just do it.

And asking for permission can be asking for scrutiny. If you don’t need to ask for permission, don’t. “Big idea are little ideas no one killed off too soon” says entrepreneur Seth Godin. If  you create something no one hates you’re probably creating something no one loves either. Your idea might need time without an outside look, so whatever it is isn’t killed off  while it’s still developing.

I like architecture. So I walked into the Lloyd’s building in London years ago to have a look. By the time I reached the executive suites still looking around and minding my own business I was approached by some guys from security. They wanted to know what was going on and how I’d gotten so far into the building, apparently sort of embarrassing for them. After going back and forth with them, I eventually convinced them I wasn’t a threat, only a guy looking around at a building. I said I was sorry and left while they probably repositioned their cameras.

Don’t ask for permission you don’t need. You can always apologize.

Categories
Books Opinion

Specialization Is For Insects

“I say the last 10 percent of the way to perfection takes so much of your life that it isn’t worth the effort. This overzealous attitude is what creates religious fanatics, body Nazis, and athletes who’re exceedingly dull to converse with.” So said Yvon Chouinard, and I agree. Perfection is sort of another way of saying specialization.

Some real problems can arise with specialization; it can become more difficult to adapt to change, especially big, sudden changes. Predicting these kind of changes is a not very reliable endeavor because we don’t know what we don’t know. It’s impossible to factor in unforseen events. Just think of the recent BP oil spill or hurricane Katrina, no one had thought they’d happen.

In the “The Black Swan,” author, Nassim Taleb, asks his readers to: “Consider the following sobering statistic. Of the 500 largest U.S. companies in 1957, only 74 were still part of  that select group, the Standard and Poor’s 500, 40 years later. Only a few had disappeared in mergers: the rest either sank or went bust.” Who would have or could have predicted 426 out of 500 companies would not be around after only 40 years!

If you or your company becomes so specialized that you’re no longer robust and not somewhat nimble, you are actually vulnerable when facing big changes in your surroundings. For example suppose you had a company only able to manufacture cassette tapes – probably a pretty good business not too long ago. But you’d be out of business these days if that was all you could produce.

Sometimes an insect becomes too specialized and adapted to its surroundings and if suddenly there’s a change in its habitat… well too bad for that particular bug; but another insect with different abilities will likely take over the newly vacated spot.

Why are Homo sapiens around but not Neanderthals? Both groups were around at the same time and by all accounts the Neanderthals were worthy specimens. But,were Neanderthals so specialized to living in an ice age that they were unable to adjust to a warming planet and so perished?

It’s probably a good idea to build up your tolerance to uncertainty. Strive to be an adaptable creature instead of an over specialized one.

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Opinion Things

Simple and Great

When you’re in Mexico you’ll see lots of people using the same model of cell phone. It turns out to be the Nokia 1100. It’s about the size of a Snickers bar and by skipping about 30 Snickers you could buy a Nokia 1100 cell phone with the money you saved.

Cheap, simple , and out of control. At last count, since the introduction in 2003, there are 250,000,000 Nokia 1100 phones floating around out there in the world. That’s 250 million! It’s the most successful consumer electronic device (not just phones) ever sold. I find that incredible.

I don’t remember why I first googled the Nokia 1100. But I remember visiting a Mexican friend just after I’d read about it and when I arrived at his house his ten-year old nephew was there too and guess what was in his hand? A Nokia 1100. Later, at the market another friend had one. They’re everywhere in Mexico. I shouldn’t be surprised considering how many have been sold.

This phone was designed to make a lot of people happy. It’s cheap, robust, and easy to use. It’s a cell phone for all markets, from third world to first world. It’s a simple phone for first worlders who don’t want or need a smart phone and an adequate, affordable cell phone for technologically rising countries.

I read an interesting post by Seth Godin the other day. The post was reflecting on the layers of features that are added by manufacturers trying to fill any unused space or open options. This cluttering ultimately desensitizes consumers to most of the added features.

The Nokia 1100 has avoided this trap and does a few things well, mostly just the things you only really need a cell phone to do like calls and texting. Plus it’s dust and slip resistant with a built-in flashlight (especially useful in countries without street lights). This phone can go as long as 16 days between charges!

In Mexico, I need a landline to get internet service in my house so I use the landline and Skype to take care of my phone needs. I don’t have a cell phone, but if and when I get one, the Nokia 1100 (or its descendant ) is probably the one I’ll buy.

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Opinion Trends Uncategorized

You’re Welcome

If you’re able to, you should probably should use Andy Rooney’s voice in your head as you read this. It’s not because I’m writing about Andy Rooney but because this seems like the sort of thing he’d talk (complain) about.

No one seems to say “You’re Welcome” anymore. What’s happened to “You’re Welcome?” Why has it drifted away as the regular response to “Thank you?”

These days when one person says “Thank you” they get a “thank you ” as a response. As in “Thanks Andy for being in my post.” to which you’ll usually hear something along the lines of  “Thank you!” Now, a thank you seems to most often receive another thank you in response.

Over the past few years I’ve noticed a response shift with “thank you” replacing “you’re welcome.” Once I noticed the shift, I heard it all the time. Just like if your friend buys a Ford F-150 truck, you suddenly notice them everywhere. You’d never before realized how many of that type of Ford truck were out there on the street.

Of course, it’s really not a big deal to answer “thank you” with “thank you,” but it’s odd when you think about it.

I know English is constantly changing: adding, dropping, and modifying words. For example, we now use Google as a verb, interesting, since it’s only been on the scene a little over ten years.

So maybe with this “thank you” substitution we’re witnessing is the morphing of an expression and the current conditions, I guess, must be favorable to this mutation. Still, I’m not used to it. When I hear a radio interviewer thank the guest for appearing and the guest shoots back a “thank you” in response I feel like I’ve just heard a song I know being played but ending with the wrong chord.

Thanks for listening.

Categories
Exercise Food Food and Drink Health Ideas Opinion People

George Clooney Spans A Lot of Time

This is going to be tough, to distill “paleo” into a short pithy post, but I’ll try.

Take George Clooney. If he spread his arms out wide, they’d span about six feet. Now, imagine his outstretched  arms representing the two or so million years humans have been around. With that in mind, the time since we started farming is represented by less than the length of his middle fingernail. So most of his six foot arm span is the time we were foraging for food. We’ve been hunter-gathers for most of our time since leaving the trees.

It’s estimated we’ve changed (genetically speaking) less than one percent since farming started around ten thousand years ago. That’s not much change. During all that time before farming started our bodies became fine tuned to what was provided by living as hunter-gathers.

For food, we would have sought out but rarely found much in the way of sweets, instead we ate animals, fish, leafy vegetable, berries and some fare like bugs and grubs that grosses most of us out . We aren’t adapted yet to thrive on our current diet of simple sugars, grains and dairy.

Currently, with our incredible successes as farmers, grains and simple sugars are cheap and widespread, fueling humans around the world. We’re like diesel engines supplied by fuel tanks of gasoline. We might occasionally add a quart of oil to the gasoline to make the fuel a little more compatible, but the little diesel engines aren’t running too well.

Apparently, preagricultural humans were felled by childbirth, infection and traumatic injury. And the ones who dodged those bullets, were taller, stronger and longer lived than our more recent ancestors who became farmers. Hunter-gathers didn’t suffer much from the diseases of civilization like obesity, heart problems and the cancers affecting us now.

Every account I’ve seen of healthy native populations encountering and then embracing a western style diet soon fell prey to the same constellation of ailments associated with the more technologically advanced population who introduced the refined diet to them.

This is a broad area to look at. But there’s good reason to do so. And most people looking at how our ancestors lived come away with insights on how to improve their lives today, and not by picking up a spear and eating grubs.

This is about the clues to the environment humans adapted to over the millenia. Look at “The Black Swan” author, Nassim Taleb, he’s erudite and urbane, spending his time (away from the outdoors) in cities around the world. But by paying attention to these clues from our ancestors he’s able to better live in his modern world. Wealthy enough to do as he pleases and travel often, he says “I was able to re-create 90 percent of the benefits of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle with minimal effort, without compromising a modern lifestyle, in the aesthetics of an urban setting.”

This is a broad area for investigation. Humans are tool users and seem to not like rules. So here are a some of the take-away tools I think are useful:

Avoid sugars and grains and embrace meat, fish, leafy vegetables, berries and nuts. Skip meals sometimes. Sleep longer, in complete darkness. Become an occasional sprinter instead of jogging regularly. Get a little sun. Walk a lot. And finally, randomly do some brief but very intense exercise.

Here’re a few places to start looking if you want more information:

PaNu –  the site of a board certified MD with his thoughts about Paleolithic nutrition and modern life, a very good source to start with. He’s a busy guy, so his site is not updated very often but that’s ok.

Mark’s Daily Apple – this site serves up good solid information, but with distracting contests and self promotions.

Evfit – an old school website layout but chock full of good information.

This is a big subject I’ll revisit in later posts, I hope this was a useful introduction for you.

Categories
Ideas Opinion pot

The New Pot

Pot’s on the way to acceptance. The momentum towards marijuana legalization continues to increase. Just recently, I saw a news article proclaiming California is reducing the penalty for pot possession to an infraction costing $100. Sort of like a speeding ticket I guess.

All the activity seems to be driven by the high costs of the failed war on drugs and a growing public nonchalance about the overblown worries about pot use. Is pot illegal because it’s bad? Or, is pot only bad because it’s illegal? More and more people are rallying behind the second question. Couple that with our government seeing an easy  source of income through taxation of pot; and legalization doesn’t seem far off.

Legalization does seem like the right thing to do. I’m not a pothead; I’d rather have a drink. For me pot leads to confused, muddled thinking compared to the relaxed thinking I associate with one or two drinks. Think about writing; there seem to be lots of successful writers who drink and not too many daily pot smokers.

Pot has changed over the years. Now, pot is what I’ll call “the new pot.” I don’t think it suddenly came on the scene. The new pot is the achievement of countless stoner Gregor Mendels combining and recombining many generations of pot plants over the years.

I have a unique perspective on the new pot. As a teen in the seventies I smoked pot sometimes, maybe four or five times a month. After a few years, I realized smoking pot made my thinking unclear; so I stopped. I stopped completely – feeling abstinence was easier than temperance.

Then much later, as I approached my 40th birthday, I reasoned that I’d proved a point. I hadn’t smoked pot in more than 20 years. Over that time I’d felt there’d been times when smoking pot might have been appropriate for social reasons (not peer pressure). It was simply an observation.

I decided to implement a new policy on my 40th birthday… to smoke pot if I felt like it in a social setting like a party.

The new plan was implemented, and what I found was a change in pot potency over my 20 year timeout. While I don’t buy pot and only encounter it at very random intervals, I’m shocked by how strong it is. More than a puff or two and you can be incapacitated.

I prefer the old unhybridized weak pot. In the same that I’d rather have a beer than a drink made with Everclear. For me, the new pot really undercuts the social aspect of smoking pot and promotes the act of smoking as merely a drug delivery method, attempting only to get the most bounce for the ounce.

The day may not be too far off when Americans will be able to buy a standardized pot product over the counter. Since we’re social animals, I suspect since their discovery, pot and alcohol used in moderation have been social lubricants and not used as a general anesthesia.

I’d like legalized pot to be closer to it’s natural strain instead of the new pot from the breeders working in clandestine greenhouses around the world. Which would you prefer, a few laughs and some Cheetos or to be sitting in an easy chair catatonic?