At this moment in my life, everything moves as though it were made to move just as it is. It's the most sensational and delicious feeling. I want to take its picture, capture its fragrance in a bottle, dust its fingerprint and preserve it for future view... evidence of the summation of all my life's choices and efforts and fortuitous timing.
I'm in hot pursuit of my dreams, and my legs have never travelled faster.
How good it is to be happy like this, when everything is possible.
Posting is gonna be light for a while, I think. My political animus is lightened by the American right's half-hearted choice of John McCain. Oh well...
My work on the 247Toolset is moving fast and crowding my free time. The good news: every business that has seen this relationship enhancement tool wants to use it. No exception. Currently, there are three businesses that will definitely use it, and maybe soon to be a fourth. And I haven't shown it that much. The marketing is coming, though... maybe April, when I have all three existing customers installed and using it.
The second "business" that wanted to use it is a portal for non-profits. I'm keenly interested to see what 247Toolset can do for that... if you want to see a prototype of it, let me know and I'll send you a link. I'm donating the engine for local use. If it causes waves and gets bigger, I'll monetize the use, but for right now, it's fun to see it used in this way. And I believe in the person running it. More about that when it nears launch.
So, my brain is a-whir and busy and posts will come stingy. Back to coding...
My two favorite attorneys, Brett and Rush, have tagged me on the meme "7 Things You Never Knew About Me."
Here goes:
I once had a shotgun leveled at my head at about 10 PM at a rest area along I-5 near Yreka, California. Thankfully, no trigger was pulled.
The only time in my life that I attempted hang gliding was on a windy day, and before I could step into the harness - but was standing on the bar to stabilize it while my friend screwed tight the last wingnut - the hang glider tilted upward, caught air and lifted quite fast. I jumped to the ground, but not before I was nearly 20 feet into the air. The hang glider flew about a quarter mile and tumbled harshly into a fabric and metal heap.
At the age of 17, I rode through the streets of Sioux City, Iowa, on top of a white Catalina station wagon while being chased by the police. Sioux City is mighty hilly, and those hills are, um, best experienced at 60 mph outside the car.
Miles from a friend's house and with no way to get there but walk, I once jumped onto a slow-moving train that I knew would pass near my friend's home. The train sped up. I managed to only sprain my ankle as I got off the train.
My son, Nick, would have been named Reni has he been a girl. Reni Erk was a friend of ours when I lived in Corvallis, Oregon, a place I consider "home" more than any other city.
My sergeant when I was in the Army was nicknamed Yibba Yabba for his difficulty with the English language. Sergeant Yibba looked every bit like Gary Coleman. He married a German woman who spoke almost no English for the lone reason that her near six foot frame would give his kids a fighting chance at above-average height. She married him because she wanted desperately to be an American. They had twin boys, whom she typically carried like footballs under each arm.
I've never taken a single computer class, and, in fact, never graduated from college. Come to think of it, I nearly dropped out of high school twice, and certainly would have were it not for the night class in world history I was able to take as a junior to gain the single credit I needed to graduate high school as a junior. If I were to go back to college today, my major would probably be economics.
I'll give you an oxymoron... the Republican marcher. If you step outside of religious causes, it's hard to find any incident where Republicans will gather together and march/protest - except for doing so in support of the military. But that's about it. Conservatives don't come together to protest government expansion. Or tax hikes. Or First Amendment infringement. It just doesn't happen.
Democrats? Hell, protest and march are long traditions among them. They do a fantastic job of gathering together and speaking out in one voice. Name the cause...
Republicans? We outsource that sort of thing, via our representatives in Congress and via talk radio. Otherwise, Republicans are pretty busy about their lives. Rush Limbaugh captialized on this and became the biggest single media influence of the past two decades. Republicans tend not to step out in concert to protest. It's not the cultural mien of the right.
Reminds me of the old joke about how you can recognize an extroverted accountant... he stares at your shoes.
Right-leaning folk fell in love with blogs because reading and writing blogs are individual activities, not group activities. Works just fine from the comfort of the desk chair at home.
What's weird though is that for a group who esteems the founding fathers, they eschew publicity for their right-leaning views today. Somehow, the Boston Tea Party would never happen today is it were up to Republicans. (You can offer that Ron Paul supporters did this very thing recently - yes they did - but they number in the range of 4% at the polls. So in fairness, a few Republicans would do this. You get the point, though...)
The sad truth is that Republicans have outsourced their freedom. Hence, we have the candidates that we have today.
Reagan tried not once, not twice, but three times to secure the Republican nomination, and that was only after the presidential disasater that was Jimmy Carter. He did it on his own great way - the Great Communicator - but we don't have that today in the party. Fred Thompson comes close in his communication of principles, but that's about it. Rush does a good job educating his audience, but Rush will never run for office.
The truth is that conservatives have to take back the party. Locally, involved, vocally, resolved... and that's a culture change. The leaders of the right encourage those of the right to sit at home/work and listen to the radio, not get outside and talk to folks.
In fact, a lot of people are kind of embarrassed to show their right-leaning views. Those that do speak out often choose pseudonyms and blog that way. They're concerned about their appearance and the effect of their opinions on their lifestyle and work.
I would ask those folks: if freedom means that much to you, and you believe this stuff, are you willing to put your money where your mouth is? Are you willing to sacrifice for the country in which you believe?
All of us have passions that matter deeply to us. Would I do anything for my family? You betcha. Would I do anything to make a project at work succeed? For the most part, yes. I've burned 80-hour weeks on projects in the past to hit a deadline.
What would you do to do what's necessary to bring America back to its foundational roots? Limited government... low taxes... no curbs on speech or press... strong defense... and so on.
I don't think it will take angry mobs assaulting the capital steps. But it does start with a willingness to be known, to take part, and to lend the gifts you have in selfless employ to the cause of our country's direction.
So I'm watching this debate over John McCain among the right, and while I think it's moot anyway because if he is the nominee, he'll go down in flames because he can't control his temper, I did see the one reason I might pull the lever for him in the comments thread of Rachel Lucas' site:
I’m a FredHead, but with my brother having his boots on the ground, I’m more inclined to support McCain over either of them. I want someone who is going to help him do his job.
I wrote a post that got lost about creating a political party called The Achievers Party. It would go something like this, with six core principles:
Own my life, my choices, and my circumstances.
I am responsible for my own life. I need to provide for myself and my own. I am responsible for the choices I make in my life. I blame no one for my state of affairs. I recognize that if I want my life's circumstances to improve, it's up to me to strive for my own betterment. I refuse to vote for politicians who want to save me or others.
Preserve and promote freedom.
I will do what is within my power to preserve the freedom I enjoy in America, the most free country on earth. Every person on the planet is born with their inalienable right to freedom. I will protect my own and fight for the freedom of others, which is only preserved and promoted through democratic government. I refuse to vote for politicians who do not believe in democracy or a democratically representative government.
Champion free markets and competition.
Nothing propels us to improvement like competition, which is the basis of a free market economy. Free markets encourage people to explore their own entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial venture alone creates jobs and opportunities and provides the basis for the economy. I refuse to vote for politicians who do not vigorously celebrate business.
Crave religious freedom.
My religious beliefs are my beliefs. My faith is a matter between God and me. I don't want a government that legislates faith for anyone, and I refuse to elect politicians who want to install their faith into law.
Limit government and make government transparent.
The chief role of government is to preserve my freedom and to prevent others from hindering me to be responsible for myself and to live my own life as I choose. Government should always, except in matters of national security, allow complete transparency into its dealings. Government should be in the business of removing barriers, not installing programs. I refuse to vote for politicians who want to use their power to confiscate for themselves, for those they know, or for their constituents.
Insist that American citizens determine America's direction.
You cannot speak for the family if you are not solidly in the family, and no person who is not an American should have any substantive influence in any of America's affairs. I refuse to vote for any politician who seeks approval from those outside of America before getting the approval of Americans first.
Achievers promote self-reliance, freedom, free markets and competition, religious freedom, limited government, and a rigorous attitude of America first.
Why is it that after weeks of being beaten to death by talk radio, John McCain emerges as the probable leader for the Republicans in the 2008 election?
Because people would rather dance with the devil they know than the devil they don't. And America knows John McCain after all this time.
Plus, talk radio pushed Bush big time, and he wasn't exactly the conservative hero we wanted. We wondered, would Romney be any different? In answer: we honestly didn't know. He already has an reputation as a flip-flopper for some. That will only get louder in the general election. He's new on the big scene. He's ambiguous. We, as a nation, don't know that we can trust him because we don't know his true principles and see them in action consistently over time. For a first-time national candidate, his was a good showing. But he has to prove himself to us over time, I think, so that we know that we know him.
People opted for the man they knew better, warts and all. He showed that he wasn't afraid to get down and get ugly, if that's what it took to win. And ugly he got, in twisting Romney's record.
But he was known, and ultimately, that was more comfortable.
Obama started campaigning very early. I think before anyone else did. Frankly, he was right to do that. It allowed him to get acquainted with America, and vice versa. For that reason, he stands an even shot of beating Hillary now to the nomination. He's been very consistent in his message, making it easy for us to know that we know him.
Giuliani ignored those of us in the cheap seats, and when he turned away from us, he turned us off.
Fred? He's the right philosopher, but a poor large enterprise manager.
Today, McCain is the very probable nominee for the Republicans.
There's a lot of angst on the conservative blogs today. And while I'm not listening to it, but I'm sure that there's a lot angst in talk radio too.
No candidate is perfect. One is strong on the war, but weak on border security. One is strong on the economy, but doesn't think smaller states are worth the trouble. One is deep in money and organization, but not deep in conservative philosophy. One's got the philosophy, but didn't leave his room to tell it to us.
Out of 300 million people and in this immediate-satisfaction culture, is it wrong to expect a great candidate to step forward?
"Great" is subjective.
A reminder: congress enacts laws. The president executes the laws. The president cannot write legislation.
Which says that it's all about our local candidates.
If you want change, you have to influence change where you can have impact. And all politics, as they say, is local. You have to start there.
If conservatives are fed up, the hard and correct answer is to get damn involved and vocal locally.
I'm not sure why, but government just loves PDF format. Nonetheless, here's a link to the web site for "Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Economy." In the closing paragraphs of the section titled "A Message from the Chair," the report says:
If we are to grow, we need more and more people ready to take entrepreneurial risk. And, we need them flowing from institutions attuned to producing particularly creative people for the new economy. Recent economic and psychological research has confirmed what scientists and entrepreneurs have known for decades: innovative breakthroughs frequently come at the estuary region where different fields, not necessarily related, intersect. This means we need more cross-disciplinary training where the edge between fields can be developed for the innovations that lie within.
The chair recognizes that it's not just depth of industry expertise, but how you juxtapose that with other expertise and other ways of doing things. Invention happens when I mix and match ideas and tools and processes, not when I stare deeper into the singular tunnel of a particular industry. One leads to new approaches; the other leads to just more of the same.
Words that kill companies:
That's not how we do things here.
You're just wasting time.
That's not your job description.
We've already tried that.
No one will back you up on that.
Mix and match... variety makes you vibrant. Consider that biology doesn't endure incest. Only cross-breeding produces the hardiest stock in any species.
Want innovation? Be prepared to traverse the uncomfortable and unfamiliar.
