Barless Windows

Perhaps I should have been an inventor. I have a need. I live in the 'hood, and all my neighbors have fences around their properties and bars on their windows. So do we. However, the bars are dangerous for us too, because, as our inspector pointed out when we bought the home, we have no egress (I guess that means escape).

Someone needs to invent barless windows that are secure. Windows that prevent folks from breaking in (boy, I'm getting old), but don't make your house feel like a prison, and that allow you to get out. I'll search the web, maybe someone has invented this. But if not, I'll call Mr. Pella...

Jobs that I Want II

That posting on jobs that I want didn't really go anywhere a while back. I think that posting was my lamest. But I'm still getting the hang of this blog thing. I was at Eliza's family home in Kansas the past few days, and spent some time with her parents, Stan & Sheila. Sheila used to be a librarian.

Plus, driving around town with Eliza, we saw the new Johnson County Libary in Kansas (maybe in Overland Park). It's beautiful, and it was nice to reflect on a place that values it's library system, and public institutions more generally. It reminded me of a cheesy movie I watched on TV a few weeks back, The Librarian, with ER dude Noah Wyle. It's basically, as the caption to one of the Wyle photos describes it, a lightweight Indiana Jones.

But there is something romantic about having a job about the pursuit of knowledge. Now I am a community organizer, and few (really none in my opinion) jobs could be more important, but sometimes I ask myself the "what if" questions. For people committed to social justice, the question really is: In a society replete with oppression and injustice, do I have a moral responsibility to spend my time doing something that challenges that injustice in the most strategic manner, or not? Naturally my answer is yes.

But what if we lived in a world with less injustice? Wouldn't it be fun to be a librarian, or professor, or writer then? I think so.

I should note that I went to a competitive small liberal arts school in the midwest, where huge numbers of people thought about social justice issues, and huge numbers went on to grad school. I myself was politicized deeply by the LA riots of 1992, and that experience, coupled with many others, propelled me on a path that led to community organizing. Many of my peers didn't absorb the same sense of duty, of responsibility to work as directly for social justice. I am frustrated by this, though my judgementalism has diminished in the 12 years since college. But why didn't more people see it as I did?

On Discipline II

I'm going to pursue this discipline notion for a while. A few developments. I did some googling the other day, and found an interesting set of articles about using waking up early, like 5am, everyday, as part of a regimen to establish a more disciplined and productive lifestyle. I hope I'm not veering into the zone of mid-life crisis psychobabble (I did just turn 35), but I did find these articles interesting. Eliza and I talked about them over lunch today. We're not ready for 5am, but maybe we'll start with 7am or something.

Here's the article. It may all be a hustle, but....

This waking up early thing is very counterintuitive for anyone who knows me. In high school, my parents were convinced I would flunk out because I was what you might call an extreme napper. I still like to get 8 hours a sleep nightly, and have just never been able to be one of those highly productive people who functions well on 4 hours nightly. We'll explore this concept further if it goes anywhere.

With the Barnes & Noble gift cards rolling in from the holidays, I did a little bookbuying the past few days. One book I got pertains: "How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci," by Michael Gelb. I haven't read it yet, but hopefully it's not a bunch of gibberish.

Here's his website: http://www.michaelgelb.com/. Unfortunately, so many of these writers on creativity, leadership, management, etc. are consultants to big business. Gelb seems to be one of these, looking at his website. But again, hopefully the book is useful. Keep you posted.

A quick aside on genius and gender. Gelb has a whole shtick on developing genius, and like many who cite geniuses (geniuii? kidding) in history, they're 90% plus male. The Atlantic Magazine had this problem recently when they published a piece on the 100 most influential Americans: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200612/influentials-main. Abraham Lincoln was #1 and a woman didn't appear on the list (Elizabeth Cady Stanton) until #30. I won't attempt an answer here, but there is a challenge to define these qualities in a way that is not sexist but also is grounded in reality (including recognizing the historical reality of sexism).

I also looked up the concept of revolutionary discipline on google and didn't come up with much. Mostly references to the concept in current anarchist or sectarian Marxist literature (this makes sense in that sectarian folks seem most enamored with obscure jargon), and a number of reference to usage during the Bolshevik period in Russia, etc. I only looked briefly, but so far didn't find any useful history of the use of the concept, and wikipedia had nothing.

So I may take this as an opportunity to do some research and write an article for wikipedia. I'm pretty backed up on my writing, so who knows if this will happen, but with a little discipline....

I haven't read it carefully yet, but the NY Times just had an article on "brain calisthenics" for seniors, given the boom in people living into their 80's and 90s. Article here.

There's also a new website which calls itself "the world's first virtual mental gymnasium." I'll do some working out and let you know how it goes...

My Invention: Digital Bumper Sticker

I have a cool idea that I need to patent. It's a digital bumper sticker. It would be a bumper sticker on the rear of your car that you could program at any given moment. It would have some pre-programmed sayings, like:

Have a Nice Day!
Bush Sucks!
or whatever. But it would also have a modest keyboard that would allow you to type the message of your choice and have it appear on the rear of the car. It could be like those scrolling digital stock tickers, or perhaps static.

Now there would be a few concerns:

1. Obscenity. The temptation would be to write curse words. Maybe we could just block out the worst ones? Or maybe let it slide.

2. Road Rage. It's easy to see these things leading to a degradation on the roads. But wouldn't it be nice to be able to go around that guy blocking the passing lane and pop in "Move Over Jerk!"?

3. Distraction. We might cause accidents because anxious drivers were trying to type and drive. Eliza does this with her treo. It makes me nervous. I'm not sure what to do about this one?

Might need to resolve these issues before I get my patent and fire up the factory in China...

By the way, I googled my invention, and found that some others have had the same idea. It's like I'm Bell and these guys are that other inventor no one remembers.

http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Digital_20Auto_20Banner_20(DAB)#1129390964
http://www.tonkatronix.com/mesenger/index.html

Random Points

1. When I'm flying, why do flight attendants tell us to "place your phones in the off position?" This makes no sense. Why don't they just tell us to turn them off?

2. When I began watching the Daily Show regularly this year, I like to think I was one of the first to spot Stephen Colbert's talent. I would say to Eliza, "That guy should have his own show..." Now he does. Where's my prize?

On Discipline

I announced my Reading Year a couple months ago, but really this is part of a larger strategy. I have been thinking a lot of the concept of discipline and the role it plays in our lives. I can hear my parents laughing now; for they think I’m most undisciplined. And Eliza accuses me of selective application of the concept. But I hope I’m not doing that and don’t think so.

We all seek control over our lives, to run our life rather than have events happen to us, or to just survive moment to moment. Many of us want something more. This is where discipline comes in.

I must digress for a moment on the nature of blogging. Blogging is like journal writing or letter writing or literature for the MTV generation, for those with short attention spans. I fear that as I write about discipline, for example, I am merely tackling a subject that has been covered much better somewhere else, in book form, in essay, whatever. I’m embarrassed by some of my recent posts, like the one about “starer.” It’s lame. What was a good idea in my head, never really came through in writing. I should take it down. But now that it’s reference here, I’ll leave it up as a monument to bad blogging. I promise, I’ll do better, or I’ll quit. The question is, perhaps, do I have the discipline to write regularly, and to write well.

I work in a profession, community organizing, that requires the utmost discipline for success. Much of my success in the field is due to the discipline I do have, and my shortcomings similarly from a lack. The following features are marks of a talented organizer:

• Attention to detail, even to the extreme, though not losing the forest for the trees;
• Rigorous thought, meaning the ability to think through to the logical conclusion a strategy or situation;
• Very long hours with few breaks;
• Strong commitment to accountability, in particular, to converting the art of organizing into a measureable science where possible, to attach numbers and metrics to the work and to then judge the work accordingly;
• Good political judgement, particularly an ability to separate out what one wants to be the case from what is the case.

One reason I want to increase my discipline quotient is so that I may be a more effective organizer. I see others around me, some are less disciplined, some more, but clearly a disciplined approach to the work is a hallmark of the organizer.

There is a term, I don’t know it’s exact origins (I’ll see if I can find out), revolutionary discipline. Presumably it comes from the socialist or leftist movements of the 19^th or 20^th centuries, and refers to the discipline necessary to build the movement in a hostile society. It may refer to personal discipline, in some of the ways I mention above, but it may also refer to institutional discipline, liking the movement organization to a military formation. Certainly the term has Stalinist overtones, but this is not what I intend.

The organization that I work for, a community organization, has in many ways a highly disciplined institutional culture and a substantial commitment to maintaining that culture. This is one reason we are sometimes called cultish, though this is mostly unfair and inaccurate. The staff of the organization is in some ways military-like, in that we put a premium on the individual taking bottom line responsibility for the staff in their jurisdiction, and emphasize the singularity of the power of certain managers.

Much of my motivation around the question of discipline has nothing to do with work but rather with getting the rest of my life under control. For example, I am by no means fat, but I’ve gained a lot of weight since my early 20’s. I think the turning point was 28 or so, but it’s bothered me even more in recent years. Finally, I’ve started to turn it around in the past year. I had hit 220 pounds, and then I started doing the South Beach diet. More recently, I’ve lagged on the diet some, but have been exercising a lot more. Ultimate Frisbee is my sport, and though I’m 35, I’m not out of the game yet. I’ve been playing a lot recently, and it gives me the motivation to get in shape, and the structure to keep me exercising on a regular basis.

I have tried to have the discipline to eat better and to exercise, and to some extent I am succeeding. I have stopped drinking soda almost entirely, perhaps my single biggest accomplishment. I live in Miami, and work throughout the southern US, so naturally I’ve found unsweet ice tea. True southerners drink sweet tea, but I’m from NJ, so hopefully I get a pass. I don’t eat white bread anymore, and have cut way back on pasta, though I really like it. So I’m not doing great, but enough to have lost 15 pounds down to 205. I want to get under 200, but that seems like it will be tough.

In recent weeks, I’ve been running a lot, so much so that my legs really started to hurt. I haven’t exercised since last Sunday (today’s Saturday), but I think that’s a good thing. I need to go running tomorrow. Eliza says she will go too. I’m thinking about maybe entering a half-marathon or a triathlon in 2007, to really give myself something more to shoot for. But maybe I should just play in more frisbee tournaments.

I’m also trying to get my finances in order. Trying to pay off debts, get the house-repair payments under control, etc. And I’m trying to be more disciplined about reading and writing. I have gotten a “gig”, unpaid, writing book reviews for a magazine that covers community organizing. I’m on my second review in as many issues. We’ll see if they still want me after this one. I’m not sure if I’m a good enough writer…

So what’s the point of all this? First, I’m trying to achieve discipline in mind, body, finances. Maybe I need to accept Eliza’s challenge and try to round it out. Family and friends would be a good start. I find that I’m emotionally drained often from working so hard, and neglect friends and family. Maybe I need to develop the discipline to not let this happen?

Second, I’m curious about how one develops discipline. To train the mind, I’m committing to doing more reading and writing. But that won’t be enough. I need to do more. To train the body, I’m eating better and exercising. So I’m sort of developing a plan for each area. But I probably need specific tactics or methods to keep it up. One thing I’ve done more this past year is wake up early to exercise or get into the office. Maybe I’ll list some ideas, and you can help me add to the list:

Mind

• Have a reading year. Read more.
• Do more writing, both for work and personal use. Hence the blog, in part.
• Engage more with people who are sharp, and delve deeply into issues in conversation.
• Maybe work on my Spanish?
• I wonder if I should start playing chess with Eliza more. She likes it, and it’s good training and fun.
• I’m subscribing to more magazines that are intellectually challenging, like the New Yorker and the Atlantic. Yes, they may be snobby, but they confront interesting ideas.
• Read the NY Times religiously.
• Stop watching TV.

Body

• Make sure to play ultimate frisbee at least twice a week. Use it as motivation to work out when I’m not playing or, more importantly, when I’m on the road. I should sign up for more tournaments this year.
• Keep up my South Beach diet, maybe even tighten it up some. I bet if I ate more salads, that alone would do a lot.
• Go to the gym, especially to swim and lift weights.
• Keep doing situps, like I was a month or two back. Need to get rid of the remainder of the potbelly. It’s lame, but I’ve even thought about getting one of those Ab-lounges advertised on TV. I tried one at Bed, Bath, and Beyond a few weeks back, and it seemed pretty cool. Eliza liked it too. Maybe we should agree that to watch TV for an hour, you have to spend 10 minutes working out in the Ablounge. Maybe we should get his and hers? How romantic!....

Finances

• The credit cards should all be paid off by February. I just need to keep it up…

Family/Friends

• Fortunately, I’m getting married in February, and the wedding is a perfect platform to be a better family member and friend both. I just need to continue.
• Eliza and I often get emotionally lazy at home, and don’t go out enough. We’re often physically tired too, but we need to muster up the energy to hang out with the few friends we have in Miami. Maybe our nice couch is a bad thing.

True Confessions

I like bad action movies. A lot. It's my escapist fantasy. Sometimes I want to be Matt Damon, sorry, Jason Bourne.

Jobs That I Want

There are some jobs that any good society should have. Here is one that I would like to hold:

Starer:

I would like to have a job as a starer. A starer's job is to go to coffee shops and look at people intently (but not inappropriately). The job includes sitting on park benches, in front of computers, and in museums.

Necessary skills to be good starer:

1. ability to sit or stand still for extended durations;
2. no shame in your game;
3. flexible neck;
4. interest in tennis, chess, or the oddities of human beings.

Great Band Names

I was just reading the Sunday NY Times, while Eliza flipped the channel. We stopped on "A Knight's Tale," the cheesy Heath Ledger flick with jousting scenes set to Queen. Actually it's pretty funny at times. My favorite is Paul Bettany, who plays Ledger's sidekick. When announcing him, Bettany goes on a long diatribe, proclaiming, "we walk in the garden of his turbulence." Sounds like a good name for a band.

So I'm gonna keep a running tally here of good band names:

1. Gardens of Turbulence
2. Camels of the Temperate Forest (from a conversation about Canadian moose)

What's your favorite bandname?

Molly the Collie

Eliza really wants a dog. She's been surfing sites and scouring dog pounds looking for the right one. I would love to have a dog, but I'm of deeply mixed feelings about it mostly because of the trauma of having to walk the dog as a kid. Two weeks ago, we took Eliza's friend D-Dog to the SPCA. It smelled there, and the dogs were cute. But we had the curator from hell (docent). I'm using art terms, maybe counselor is the word. And the dog they showed us ignored us when we took him out to play in the yard. The counselor from hell was right when she declared "There's not a connection here."

About a week ago, Eliza found a cute dog on the web, Molly, a collie. She was to be available to meet, along with ten or twenty other dogs, at Petsmart on Saturday. All week in the car, Eliza sang a one line song: "Molly the collie, Mollie the colly..." I started joining in, just to not be a party pooper. She was cute in the picture.

So today we went. At first it seemed Molly wasn't there. But then we found her. Eliza petted Molly, and then I reached out. She barked. She was either afraid of me or didn't like me. So I wandered around Petsmart looking at Hamsters and other dogs. Whenever I was in Molly's line of vision, she eyed me. Later, Molly barked at Eliza. It was over.

Great Epitaphs Contest

Well, given the heavy traffic on my blog, this is a bit of a risk, but I'm going to start a contest. Whoever can put forth the greatest epitaph wins. Epitaph, according to dictionary.com: "a commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at that site."

To get your juices flowing, check out Wikipedia: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Epitaphs.

Please nominate your best epitaphs here. I'll come back in a bit and post my nominations, I just haven't come up with them yet.