Sometimes I’m Confused

Humble persons know what they are and what they aren’t, what they have and what they don’t have, and they never confuse the two.
—     Joan Chittister
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On This Day In:
2022	Sometimes I’m Confused
2021	You Need Me On That Wall
	Counting Bees And Chasing Clouds
2020	Precious Life
2019	Nothing Is Too Difficult For Me
	Patterns Of Caring
2018	And May Never Be
2017	Don’t Forget
2016	I Was A Percentage Man
2015	It Waits Patiently
2014	Unknown
2013	Explaining Love?
2012	Echoes of 1%
2011	Salaam, Egypt!!
	Where Do You Learn?

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There Is No Fate But What You Make

The future of civilization depends on our overcoming the meaningless and hopelessness that characterizes the thoughts of men today.
—     Albert Schweitzer
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On This Day In:
2022	There Is No Fate But What You Make
2021	The Silent Word
	Touched My Hand
2020	Releasing Their Fears
2019	17 Days Until The Next Government Shutdown
2018	Disciplined Models
2017	We Cannot Afford Enemies
2016	Love Is Just A State Of Mind
2015	Waiting?
2014	Big C, Little B (II)
	Where God Has Not
2013	Chasing His Dragon
	Shaped And Molded
2012	Believe In Yourself
2011	Cultural Equivalence
	Why Not?
	Books About Books
	The Basis For Adult Continuing Education

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A Murmuring Note

Though I can’t prove it, deep in my heart I know that every person is born with the love of learning.  Without exception.  Every infant studies its toes and fingers, and a child’s discovery of his or her voice must be one of the most extraordinary of life’s moments…  Imagine an infant lying in its cradle, discovering its voice, purring and murmuring MMM to itself.
—     Leonard Bernstein
[After just over a year of learning / practicing guitar, I can now hum an “F#” note and match it on my guitar (second fret, low “E” string <string #6>).  This means I can now tune my guitar by ear.  I don’t trust my ear and I still use an electronic tuner, but I could get the tuning in the ball park if I had to.  Considering how little I knew about music or guitar just one year ago, I feel like I’ve come a long way.  Interestingly (to me), I’m still not able to use a tuning fork on nylon string guitars.  I can use a tuning fork on steel strings, but not on nylon.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	A Murmuring Note
2021	Satisfied If Not Fulfilled
	You Don’t Know
	Urban Ballroom
2020	R.I.P. Kobe
2019	Looks A Lot Like #45
2018	Trying To Stay Young
2017	Seems Reasonable To Me
2016	We Can Get Through This Together (In Time)
2015	How Long Is A Piece Of String?
2014	Heathen, n.
2013	Wisdom’s Folly
2012	When The Student Is Ready
	Disconnected Leadership
2011	The Complex Richness Of Life

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A Happy Realization

Happiness is the realization of God in the heart.  Happiness is the result of praise and thanksgiving, of faith and acceptance;  a quiet, tranquil realization of the love of God.
—     Chief White Eagle
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On This Day In:
2022	A Happy Realization
2021	Is Science Cumulative?
	We’re Aging With Time
2020	Where #45 Is Leading The Republican Party
2019	Your Own Blog Posts
	The Man With A Code
2018	Choose Goodness
2017	Developing Translations
2016	Think Like A Hero
2015	Reductionism
2014	Gravitation, n.
2013	Ups And Downs
2012	Nerd Heard – And Good-Bye
	Your Continuum
2011	Career Tips (Part 2)

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Are You Confused?

It is terrible when people do not know God, but it is worse when people confuse God with what is not God.
—     Leo Tolstoy
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On This Day In:
2022	Are You Confused?
2021	Working On The Ordinary
	Smoothed My Jagged Edges
2020	Republican Senators Should Vote For Conviction Of #45
2019	Carry It
2018	Simple
2017	Knowledge Pays
2016	Brief Glimpses And Full Glances
2015	Pursuing Perspective
2014	Wearing Down?
2013	Labouring Under A Curse
2012	Listen To Yourself
2011	Career Tips (Part 1)
	No Captain Dunsel

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An Experiment Without A Control Group

Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions.  All life is an experiment.
—    Ralph Waldo Emerson
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On This Day In:
2022	An Experiment Without A Control Group
2021	Seeking Center
	Your Love Is Near
2020	You Mean I’m STILL In School?
2019	Finishing Work
2018	Diversity
2017	Timely Planning
2016	Just Too Easy To Know Fewer And Fewer
2015	A Fine Balance
2014	Next Rung
2013	Super Bowl Prep
	Romantics
	A Goal For Zen?
2012	Mutant Powers Of Obsession
2011	Federal Stars
	Mud Pie

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The Fight Continues…

A man’s greatest battles are the ones he fights within himself.
—     Ben Okri
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On This Day In:
2022	The Fight Continues…
2021	Short, Swift, Haste
	Another Friend’s Passing
2020	Can We At Least Set The Bar Higher Than An Incompetent Liar In The Oval Office?
2019	Uncertain Times
	And Government Shutdowns, Too
2018	Satisfied
2017	In The Mind
2016	Dreaming
2015	The Best Medicine Is Also Contagious
2014	Eyes Off
2013	The More Things Change…
2012	The Delicate Moment Of Giving
2011	Ready, Shoot, Aim!!

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By Any Other Name (Or Description)

Once I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered.  But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue:  “No good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.”
—     Eleanor Roosevelt
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On This Day In:
2022	By Any Other Name (Or Description)
2021	Democracy, Pandemic, Economy And Climate Change
	Heaven Is…
2020	Hoping For #46 In January 2021
2019	Interesting, But Not Fascinating
	But Try To Eat The Low-Hanging First
2018	Me, Too
2017	Apt Enough?
2016	Now Or Ever
	21, Pause, Restart
2015	I Am Shocked, Sir, Shocked…
	Lucy & FSND-2
2014	Less Difficult
2013	The Spirit Of Liberty
2012	The Essential Freedom Of Aloneness
2011	A Problem Of Scale
	Fred Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
2010	Another Book, Another Jog…

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And Even Fewer Regrets

When saving for old age, be sure you put away a few pleasant thoughts.
—     Anonymous
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On This Day In:
2022	And Even Fewer Regrets
2021	Today Counts
	I Hope You’ll Understand
2020	Maybe #IncompetentDonald Really Is A Great Manager
2019	Your Only Choice
2018	A Good Definition
2017	Getting It Done
2016	Getting To Know Me
2015	Why I Pay Taxes
2014	Inequality Of Sacrifice
2013	I Never Saw A Moor
2012	Fill In The Blank
	Not For Naught
	Cliff Notes To Life?
2011	Conference Games Sunday

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Enduring Success

Our criterion of “enduring” causes us to rule out companies in industries prone to rapid and continuous change.  Though capitalism’s “creative destruction” is highly beneficial for society, it precludes investment certainty.  A moat that must be continuously rebuilt will eventually be no moat at all.
Additionally, this criterion eliminates the business whose success depends on having a great manager.  Of course, a terrific CEO is a huge asset for any enterprise, and at Berkshire we have an abundance of these managers.  Their abilities have created billions of dollars of value that would never have materialized if typical CEOs had been running their businesses.
But if a business requires a superstar to produce great results, the business itself cannot be deemed great.  A medical partnership led by your area’s premier brain surgeon may enjoy outsized and growing earnings, but that tells little about its future.  The partnership’s moat will go when the surgeon goes.  You can count, though, on the moat of the Mayo Clinic to endure, even though you can’t name its CEO.
Long-term competitive advantage in a stable industry is what we seek in a business.  If that comes with rapid organic growth, great.  But even without organic growth, such a business is rewarding.  We will simply take the lush earnings of the business and use them to buy similar businesses elsewhere.  There’s no rule that you have to invest money where you’ve earned it.  Indeed, it’s often a mistake to do so:  Truly great businesses, earning huge returns on tangible assets, can’t for any extended period reinvest a large portion of their earnings internally at high rates of return.
—     Warren Buffett
[Reading the above, all I could think of was that the same seems (IMHO) to be true / valid for education, teachers, students and public schools.  We concentrate the most funding on the “best” schools, the “best” teachers and the “best” students, when we should be trying to spread excellence around to the greater benefit of all.  There is a role for “centers of excellence” in education, but they should not be the goal in and of themselves.   —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Enduring Success
2021	Dealing With Trumpism, Racism and Fascism In America
	Just Wondering
2020	And So Must Good Government
2019	Are You Done Watching?
2018	Spineless Capitulation By The Democrats
	Woe Is Me…
2017	Sincerely Yours
2016	Only Good To Say
2015	A Series Of Temporary Conditions
2014	Gaps
2013	Duty
2012	Cost Not Price
	Superheroes
2011	The Simple Normalcy Of Everyday Life – “Squirrel!”

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End The Filibuster

If according to times and needs you should be obliged to make fresh rules and change certain things, do it with prudence and good advice.
—    St. Angela Merici
[It would be “nice” if politicians (both side) could just vote on issues.  The problem is:  if you vote, you can be held accountable by your constituents.  If you don’t / never vote, you can’t.  The Senate is “supposed” to be a deliberative body.  It is supposed to slow the blood-rush from the House.  It may even deny what the “people” want because it feels the House is acting from exuberance.  This was the initial purpose of the filibuster.  Then, when it started to be used to prevent all activity, it was modified to allow the “paper” (i.e., non-talking) filibuster.  This effectively killed a bill with no explanation, debate or vote – on cloture or on the actual bill.  Perfect non-accountability!  Reverting to the “must talk” prior rule, would be a good start, but the bottom line is we must end the filibuster completely.  It is not in the Constitution and is merely an agreed convention within the particular chamber (the Senate).  At the moment, we allow our political “leaders” to avoid debating the merits of a bill, voting to vote on a bill (cloture), and voting on the actual bill.  And then they say (claim):  “It wasn’t me!  It never came up for a vote!)    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	End The Filibuster
2021	Be Creative, Question Assumptions
	By No Means
2020	I’ll Eat To That (Gemütlichkeit)
	To The Front
2019	#ContinueToResist
	Except Willful Ignorance And Prideful Stupidity
2018	More Executive Time For #DumbDonald
2017	Watched The Inauguration
	Two Geniuses
2016	Come Dance And Laugh With Me
2015	Looks Good To Me
2014	Desire For The Sea
2013	The Fierce Urgency Of NOW
	Happy Inauguration Day!
2012	One Path
	Sorrow And Joy
	The Seven Year View
2011	Emergent Practicality

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Biden Starts His Second Year

The high-minded man must care more for what is right than for what people think.
—    Aristotle
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On This Day In:
2022	Biden Starts His Second Year
2021	DIY: Outdoor Gym Modifications (2)
	Inauguration Day 2021
	(Hopefully) Good-Bye To The Trump Dark Ages
2020	Posting As A Continual Exercise
2019	Border Security – Yes, Border Wall – No
2018	Supporting Survival Values
2017	Inauguration Day 2017   [Sometimes, I hate it when I’m right!   —   kmab]
2016	Or A Pot Of Gold After The Storm
2015	One, Two, Three…
2014	Lend Your Hand
2013	Amnesty, n.
2012	Best Resolv’d
	The Clock Is Running
2011	Magic

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Pass A Voting Rights Act For Democracy’s Sake

That a thing is true, is no reason that it should be said, but that it should be done.
—     Cardinal John Henry Newman
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On This Day In:
2022	Pass A Voting Rights Act For Democracy’s Sake
2021	Tomorrow President Biden Starts Wrestling
	Good-Bye #45
2020	The Burden Of Faith
	On To Superbowl LIV (54)!!
2019	Are Your Dogs Barking?
	Dangerous Waistcoats
2018	And 40+ Years Later?
2017	He Is Alone
2016	Compensation
2015	Charlie Redux
2014	The Crux
2013	Erosion And Rechannelling
	Alliance, n.
2012	How Many Thought… (One I Know Of)
	Choices And Decisions
2011	Speed Spoils
	Simply Intended
2010	A Second 4 Hour Jog

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Do It

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
—     Rumi
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On This Day In:
2022	Do It
2021	The Honor Is To Serve…
	I Don’t Know That I Will
	Only So Long
2020	Each Meaning
2019	The Deep End
	Is Anyone ELSE Out There Listening?
2018	Defining Characteristic
2017	Just Asking
2016	Still A Burden
	15 And Counting
2015	All A Game
2014	Two Thoughts
2013	RIP – Dear Abby
	Half-Life Problems
2012	To The Soul…
2011	Reverted!!

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Yo-yo Management

We neither understand the adding of unneeded people or activities because profits are booming, nor the cutting of essential people or activities because profitability is shrinking.  That kind of yo-yo approach is neither business-like nor humane.
—     Warren Buffett
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On This Day In:
2022	Yo-yo Management
2021	DIY: Outdoor Gym Modifications
	First Hammock Hang Of 2021
	Slow Moving Trains And Squirrels
	Just Chillin’… Why?
2020	Still Crazy After All These Years…
2019	20 / 20 Foresight
	He Knew Damned Well…
2018	Be Someone’s Kindling
2017	When The Moment Comes
2016	Changed Clothes Lately?
2015	Like Stone
2014	Resistance Is Futile
2013	Subtle Humor
	To Look Behind Green Eyes
2012	The Path Is Endless
2011	Happy MLK, Jr Day!!!
	A Factor Of Ten
	Better Late Than Never?
	Whoops!
	Acceptable Beginnings
	Slow Progress
	Useful Confrontation
	When Phenomena Are Different
	Creative Avoidance
	Thinking
	Fast And Flexible
	Surrender Certainty
	Techniques
	Vive La Difference
	Destiny
	Completeness
	Art

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