Category Archives: Society and Culture
The Wisdom of the Bus Driver
This is a really wonderful quote: “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” (Herman Cain) I thought about this while getting on the bus for my 20-minute commute to the MAX station to downtown Portland. The bus driver, [...]
Dress Codes at Work
At the end of every weekday, providing it is warm enough outside, I hastily tear off my “business-casual” attire and happily throw on some shorts and a t-shirt. The button-down collared shirt, khaki pants and work shoes are so restrictive during the day that often I cannot breathe. Sometimes it is so bad that I’ll [...]
Staggered Work Hours
Who came up with the brilliant notion that there is a standard set of business hours from which we should all operate? 9 to 5. Everyone works from 9 to 5 (at least in the commercial sector, this is when most businesses are open.) But this is also the case with many companies that could [...]
Why Saving for Retirement is a Bad Idea
For the purposes of this article I am going to ask you to pretend that saving money is not the best idea. In fact, I am going to encourage you to spend. Have I lost a few screws? Certainly not. At least, I don’t think so. There is a catch. Saving It Til You Die [...]
Promoting Monotasking
How long would your job last if you ignored all phone calls, e-mail, requests from your co-workers, meetings, and kept your door locked all nine hours of your day allowing nobody in? You’d probably be fired within a very short period of time. But if you did this while getting your work done, allowing absolutely [...]
Embracing Your Strengths
Perhaps you can relate to the following story. I always felt different from other kids while growing up. I had no interest in joining many group activities at school, which seemed boring to me. My interests were widespread and varied. I enjoyed writing, game design, constructing mazes, running fantasy baseball leagues, creating an entire society [...]
Coffee Addiction
Among the evils of the office lifestyle is it’s proclivity for encouraging drug use. I’m not talking about the illicit kind, although it’s probable that sitting all day in a cube illuminated by a pale fluorescent glow may contribute to the occasional after-work toking. I’m talking about the substance contained within the title of this [...]
The Perils of Raising Children
This post could be considered offensive to some! But I’ll write it anyway. I am a childfree adult. What does this mean? Simple. I choose not to have children. It isn’t anything biological or any kind of inability to procreate on my part. It’s a choice. A few entries ago I listed child-rearing as one [...]
Ownership
I was at an outdoor art show last summer in Minneapolis. There were all sorts of works by local artists, mostly paintings, necklaces, jewelry, and pottery. Some of it was a bit amateurish, but most of the work was amazing. One guy was running a photography shop that was filled with unbelievable pictures. He had [...]
Following the Crowd
I took the car to work today. On my way to the office I watched everyone slow down and begin the standard 5-mile an hour crawl into downtown at the same place it always begins. A multitude of cars, SUVs and Ford 4x4s each with the same destination. The words “saturated market” crossed my mind [...]
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