Category: Personal Reflections

“Back in the day”, after a wave of nausea, or a fever, etc, you needed to loudly groan, whimper, or whatever you could muster for assistance. “Honey, please bring me a wet washcloth/towel/undertaker”. With cell phones, you can now text your wife/spouse/mom “please bury my corpse to the left of the roses but not over the septic tank” without expending much energy at all. 

Watching footage of WWII’s end gives me pause. I grew up in a world which pooh-poohed the Nazis, yet forgetting we’re looking through hindsight. It’s so easy to denounce their sympathizers, as well as those who failed to act.  I expect, though, that many Dutch or French or Norse who went along with things simply thought they were doing the best they could. Were any of these folks punished? It’s hard to feel sympathy for those who turned families over to the Gestapo who were then brutalized, but what about the restauranteur who befriended a German officer?  What about the German soldier who couldn’t care less about National Socialism, but like so many in my family, thought he was serving his country?

Then I turn this personal. The person I am would never have been part of the gleeful followers. But that’s only part off the equation. Knowing how things turn out, it’s easy to say “I would resist”. But, at that moment, in the madness that was Nazi Germany, or one the occupied countries, would I have had the bravery of a Bonhoeffer? Or would I have, politely, gone about my business, too afraid to speak? Perhaps simply hoping/waiting for the world to pivot back the other direction? I doubt I would’ve had the courage to speak out. Perhaps to quietly serve in the underground. From what I see, most of us suffer from risk aversion. Doing something that, not only puts our health and safety at risk, but our family’s as all? Starts to become harder to imagine.

I look and think those who did quiet acts of resistance, hiding Jews in their basement, forgetting about the car full of resistance fighters you just saw, passing along news, radio parts… This list goes on. Maybe but as glorious add some, but critical, really. It was the critical mass of these acts, ultimately, that fully ends these conflicts.

After reading this piece, where the President of PayPal vents about HQ staff refusing to utilize the company’s product and tools, I get David Marcus’ point. There is a danger, though, with the confrontational leadership statement. Sounding whiny and entitled trends to disconnect you further from your audience, in this case, your employees. Scolding tones need to be used with caution and thoughtfulness.  Undermining your connection or weakening team trust is hard to repair.

Ultimately, it’s really hard to gauge the effectiveness of one communication without seeing the larger context. Arm-chair quarterbacking is easier that doing the work.

Wil Wheaton posted this video yesterday. This chap videos the locales where famous movie scenes were shot, then integrates the current footage into the movie. And he does it well. It’s 15 minutes, and well worth your time.

As a fan of the film, and also having living along the Oregon coast (Astoria), this really hits home. The feeling is a blend of nostalgia, tinged with a little sadness at all the change. Anyway, watch this for yourself.

Stand by Me 1986 ( FILMING LOCATION ) from Herve Attia on Vimeo.

Shortly after the momentous win of Superbowl 48 by the Seahawks, I heard of the parade to held in their honor. My first thought: “well, that’ll be a mad-house; no thanks”. Probably helps in understanding my viewpoint that I’m hardly a sports-fan. I enjoy them from an entertainment perspective, but I’m hardly the uber-fan. Add to that, though, that I first heard expectations of 10s of thousands, then over a hundred thousand. Now we’re hearing estimates of up-to 500 thousand. Traffic in the City is a mess. And I’m smugly patting myself on the back to be sitting, where it’s warm (current temperature in Marysville is 25 degrees) in front of my computer. Seattle is a bit warmer (ha!).

What I love about this digital age: the ability to view such spectacle from anywhere on the globe. I will be streaming the thing while I keep working away (probably on KING5.com, but we’ll see). If you’re at the event, enjoy!

“Adventure, excitement: a Jedi craves not these things”. Wise word from Master Yoda. Have you ever wondered about the roots of this wisdom? Why is this wise?

Craving adventure to cure boredom is this problem, the weakness of personality. Making others responsible for your entertainment externalizes problem solving, makes it harder to solve issues, weakens your personal power.

Interest and excitement can easily be found through exploration, through learning. Boredom’s cure is easy. Simply own the results, the process. Make it yours, embrace it deeply. That’s the path to a fulfilling and rich life.

I first stumbled upon the Piano Guys with the video below. I find their work well done and fun. They clearly enjoy performing.

And, lo, I see that they’re in town this week (Thursday the 6th) at the Paramont. However, the sticker shock along with the fact I’m already heading to Spam-a-lot this weekend will force this off my plate. However, if you’re looking for something to do Thursday night, give them a whirl. I highly recommend them. And enjoy the song below.