Displaying 781 To 810 Of 1,384 Comments I see the Gravitar thingy worked! Kewl beans! » Posted By PocketWatch On February 7, 2011 @ 2:36 pm Hey abby! » Posted By PocketWatch On February 7, 2011 @ 2:33 pm Question: I was interested to see that main articles can be authered by anyone, more or less. I have a lot to say about business. Is there a spot here for that? Not reporting, but common sense approaches to doing it the right way. I’d be interested in submitting. » Posted By PocketWatch On February 7, 2011 @ 2:24 pm I know I’ve seen your moniker. » Posted By PocketWatch On February 7, 2011 @ 2:22 pm I’ve been looking for that myself. Anyone? » Posted By PocketWatch On February 7, 2011 @ 2:21 pm I’m here! LOL » Posted By PocketWatch On February 7, 2011 @ 2:01 pm Another HP refugee… Hi all! » Posted By PocketWatch On February 7, 2011 @ 1:59 pm Mubarak: Half sunk, a shattered visage lies Conroe, here, BA… » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 9:17 am Wonder what the food will be like on YIKES Day anniversary celebrations… 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 8:26 am I’m guessin’ this is the biggest in a series of “Oh Shit!” moments across palaces in the Middle East. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 8:22 am I keep thinking about Saudi Arabia. The family of Saud/Bush is not well liked. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 8:16 am I think you need a headdress and a scepter… but yeah! 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 8:13 am The thing about democracy is that it really needs to be grown, not grafted. People have to understand it, how it works. Elected officials have to believe that they are working for the people they represent and not themselves (yes, I know, a lesson we need to relearn here), and there needs to be a fairly professional and uncorrupted bureaucracy to run things. None of that is institutional in a society that has never known it. That’s why, IMO, that trying to inject Jeffersonian democracy into a society that has no idea of these things has so many problems taking root. All I want to see, for the miniscule amount my wishes matter to anyone, is that these people get a just government that works for THEM. Whatever form that takes. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 8:09 am Irregardless of all the nasty back-and-forth that has been said about America should or should not be involved in this, I always wonder at times like this… Who said what to whom? Who convinced this guy to beat feet? I don’t imagine that the all-powerful USA was instrumental. We may have had some influence behind the scenes, but my guess is that the military, whose officers are US-trained and oriented, finally had had enough. We may never really know how this happened, but I’m glad it did. Now the REAL work starts, putting a whole government together. I hope it works for the Egyptians, and may they know peace, prosperity, and freedom. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 7:56 am Paulita! Welcome. Glad to see you made it out from behind the Huffington Curtain! Take time to decompress, relearn how to spell, and smell the freedom. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 8:42 pm The infamous “Rushbo” says every day, “Don’t read newspapers or listen to the tv, just listen to me.” Sound familiar? (Is there a puke smiley?) 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 1:48 pm I agree, Abby. Jargon is the bane of professionalism and amateurs alike. I learned that in my first real job when getting out of the Army. As a Field service Engineer for commercial computers, it would have been easy to devolve into incomprehensible jargon to make myself look smart. We had a company training program, and they addressed this issue constantly. We were taught, and rightfully so, that jargon communicates nothing. We see it in business and economics… “selling long/short” is one simple example. Look at the interviews with A. Huffington and the AOL CEO to see what I mean. Pure gobbledegook, and I think it is intentional, or maybe just pure habit. When I consult, I use plain, ordinary English and simple concepts. Carl Sagan once said after being criticized for making science too simple, “If you can’t explain it to your aged grandmother, it’s probably wrong.” I agree with that. This touches on your thesis of reframing the argument by redefining or coining new words and phrases. Labels ARE important, since the human mind attaches them to everything, and once a label is attached, most people will never shake it off. I will give it some thought. » Posted By PocketWatch On February 8, 2011 @ 8:40 am I note with interest that Egypt was trying to implement a “somewhat Socialist” economy, and that is a part of what caused the foment. I disagree. Most countries that try and “do” Socialism (an economic philosophy, NOT a political one) simply do it wrong, and therefore fail. In MY socialist world, the theory is that there are certain things in any society that are too important to that society to be left to for-profit entities. The banking system, the health care system, the infrastructure (roads and bridges, electric grid, dams, and the like), fire, police, and so forth. The argument is made from the right is that privatization is better than governmental control and ownership. To that I say BUNK! Think about any company any of you reading this has worked for, large or small. How much was wasted? How often did ordinary employees shake their heads at the pure stupidity or blindness of the management? How much money was wasted or stolen? How many good people were let go while the sycophants were promoted into slots where they did more damage? Then tell me again how private enterprise is more efficient than anything else? Most companies make money in spite of themselves, and using profits as a measure of efficiency is a bogus concept. On the other hand, governments are at least accountable in theory where for-profit enterprises are not. Now, it is also true that most societal economies work best where there is a mixed economy. In MY socialist world, small businesses and individuals should and must have relatively fewer regulations and laws confining them. Why? Because they cannot impact society as a whole like large entities can. Other than fraud and pollution and fair dealing with employees and safety rules, I say let them alone to thrive or not. The best WILL rise. But once they get to a size where they start to impact more than their neighborhood, city, county or state, things need to tighten up. But that never happens. Countries try to implement a “one size fits all” regime of laws and regulations, imposing undue burden on small business while those same laws and regulations are sidestepped by large corporations that can either afford to ignore them or can pay lobbyists or buy the king’s cousin to ensure they can. I suggest that we work towards a future where there is graduated socialism as described above… just like there is a graduated income tax. The bigger you are, the more you are regulated. It’s a concept… » Posted By PocketWatch On February 8, 2011 @ 7:58 am What single name is more commonly applied to Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Great? Charlemagne, of course! Of course, in the 8th century, unlike today, leaders valued education. Charlemagne was the most eager of all; he seized upon learning as he had absorbed states; he studied rhetoric, dialectic, astronomy; he made heroic efforts to write, says Eginhard, “and used to keep tablets under his pillow in order that at leisure hours he might accustom his hand to form the letters; but as he began these efforts so late in life, they met with ill success.” He studied Latin furiously, but continued to speak German at his court; he compiled a German grammar, and collected specimens of early German poetry. http://www.chronique.com/Library/MedHistory/charlemagne.htm » Posted By PocketWatch On April 28, 2011 @ 3:02 am AB, I’m in Conroe, about 10 miles from Cut-n-Shoot… LOL Not much there, as anyone might imagine… just a slow-down on Highway 105. » Posted By PocketWatch On March 3, 2011 @ 6:31 am AB – Just a bunch of commie tree-huggers! Just kidding, of course… Where would we be without them? » Posted By PocketWatch On March 3, 2011 @ 6:20 am BDM, it’s a beautiful area in the autumn. I have pictures somewhere. Used to go hiking around the Hudson Valley and up into the Birkshires almost every weekend when the weather was nice. What I found fascinating were the carriage roads from the early colony days that still exist in places. Crushed and packed stone that are still very usable, with crumbled old estates and foundations in the woods nearby. There was apparently a lot of traffic between the lower Hudson and Albany. And you could climb a 600 foot hill near that road and find an old farmstead with rock fences for miles…. dear God, hauling stones around those hillsides by hand! I’ve got to find some of the pictures I took… » Posted By PocketWatch On March 2, 2011 @ 5:43 am Trivia answer: Sing Sing, a prison near Ossining, NY. The name (which I always wondered about) comes from the name of the local Indian tribe and means something like “stones piled on stones.” I can vouch for the fact that there are lots of stone piles in the area. Lots of hiking trails in the Hudson Valley there, and even the Appalachian Trail passes through nearby. The hills in the area are anywhere from 400 to 900 feet high, and steep. A 10 mile hike will take you all day, but is well worth the effort. » Posted By PocketWatch On March 2, 2011 @ 5:00 am » Posted By PocketWatch On March 1, 2011 @ 10:16 am e’cat – the genteel ladies here are milk-mild and total sweethearts! » Posted By PocketWatch On March 1, 2011 @ 8:58 am Hi Fox! Went well, I think. We spent about 15 minutes on air. My emphasis was on “preventive maintenance for your business.” Your HP {spit!} AV sounds kewl. If I go there, I have a down-low AV named ‘YeOldePhartt’ with a pic of an angry guy. I don’t post much, but just look around and see what people are saying. Doesn’t even have much attraction for me any more. And everything I post, even just a one-liner, tends to go to Pending. » Posted By PocketWatch On March 1, 2011 @ 8:14 am jkk – I thought the same thing… Where, oh where, have I heard this before? I wonder if Searls (Donny Rumsfeld) had anything to do with it? Ole Saddam got his from Searls. I remember a picture of those two grinning and shaking hands over that deal years ago. Once again, friends today, tomorrow you’re hiding in a spider hole. We are SUCH good buddies to have, aren’t we? » Posted By PocketWatch On March 1, 2011 @ 7:55 am Kali – there is an old saying in the machine “fixit” world… “Get a bigger hammer!” » Posted By PocketWatch On February 28, 2011 @ 6:42 am @all – Well, the cat is demanding her walkies, so I’ll BBL… » Posted By PocketWatch On February 17, 2011 @ 7:59 am Ab – Yup, Conroe. Sounds like you are somewhere near College Station? » Posted By PocketWatch On February 17, 2011 @ 7:48 amComments Posted By PocketWatch
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