wockets aren’t real
If Dr. Seuss were still alive, I think he’d agree with me. All the wockets in the world can fit comfortably in the pockets of pants and jackets. There’s simply no need for a shirt pocket.
AI can be whatever we need it to be. It wants to work with us, not replace us. So let’s continue to figure out what it can reliably handle, and keep the human interaction for ourselves. The more non-human tasks we can offload, the more time we have to spend with people. Because that—connecting humans—is the thing we do that AI can’t replace.
inept or intentional? The vicious cycle of Xfinity customer service
Can Xfinity possibly be this inept? Or are they doing it on purpose? Do they have a team of consultants designing a system that intentionally keeps customers from speaking to a real person? I’m not sure I can answer any of these questions, but I think I finally get the joke. Comcast, now Xfinity, changed their name to warn you.
something to be thankful for
I believe everyone has expertise in something. Some people have it in more than one thing. But no one has it in everything. Let’s take Tom Brady for instance. He is arguably the best quarterback to ever play the game. The G.O.A.T.
the downs and ups of holiday shopping
I hadn’t been to Costco in years, and I thought—naively—it might not be so bad. It was Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so not quite into last-minute territory. Plus, I wasn’t out for traditional Thanksgiving food. I can admit it now. I was simply unprepared.
i’m already elsewhere
... But last night I went to an art exhibit at the Nashville Museum of African American Music.
The exhibit featured a brilliant artist and wonderful human named Dr. David Ikard. David lives in the neighborhood behind mine, a neighborhood Kim is quick to point out was not on my radar until she was.
swing your way to a more positive outlook
I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that the title of this piece may have turned a few heads. So, now that I have your attention, I’m going to tee up (pun most definitely intended) a few thoughts about how I’ve learned to be a more positive person by sucking at golf.
snow daze
It’s been a week or so since the big snow hit town. When I say, “big snow,” I’m talking big for Nashville. We saw about eight inches where I live, an amount that evokes ridicule from my friends back in Western New York. But here, eight inches might just as well be the end of days.
a new age of life
Amanda Morgan asked me to write a feature article for Older Americans Month. So, I guess that makes me an older American. But, if I may borrow a retort from the Dread Pirate Roberts... “only compared to some.”
I agreed to write this because I like Mandy. Plus, it’s rare I get to write something for work that I can also republish on my personal site. And, well, I’ve encountered some very cool seniors in my life, and it feels good to tell a story or two about a few of them.
who needs sticks and stones?
You hear it, right? I mean, you do if you’re my age, plus or minus five years. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me!”
It’s the snappy comeback our parents taught us to sing at our frenemies when we were kids. And it worked right up until someone decided to pick up a stick or a stone.
silver linings (playbook not required)
So I was out for a walk this morning with my friend, Neil Diamond. Neil and I aren’t close like Barry Manilow and I are, mind you. Neil doesn’t send me email. He just sings to me sometimes. And he reminds of the days when life was a lot simpler.
wake-up call
This is going to be a fairly radical departure from what you’re used to seeing from me. I don’t usually write about things as serious as this. Well, that’s not exactly true. I write about serious things all the time; I just don’t often publish them. It’s my way of processing situations I find stressful, painful, or otherwise distasteful. And truth be told, I think I’m better at writing than speaking. I still ramble—my favorite “editor” once described my writing style as “breezy”—but I try to do it in an accessible way. Anyway, if you’ve read my stuff before, then maybe buckle up. It’s about to get much more raw than you may be expecting.
unnoticed by design
Do you remember your first coach? I’m not talking about a sports coach. Not necessarily. It could be, but it doesn’t have to be. For me, a coach is someone who sees your gifts and encourages you to use them. Someone who sees your gaps and helps you fill them. Someone who sees your potential and guides you toward it.
My first coach was my grandmother. I write about her a lot because she was awesome. Think of the most awesome person you know. Then apply a factor of 10. That would be her.
crushing cliches
To me, beauty lives inside a person. It makes itself known through their eyes, and more obviously, their mouths.
A smile is often the first thing I see in someone. Does it appear genuine? Is it so big it takes up the person’s whole face? Do the eyes match the smile? That combo, my friends, is pure beauty that can’t come from the skin. And you don’t need to look very far to see it in the wild. Just spend some time observing people at restaurants, the airport, or even your local gym.
the letter z: plural
There are lots of things I could or should be doing right this very minute. I’m traveling for work, so there is an endless list of client tasks I could be cutting into. Well, not endless. Long. Long enough that it would spill onto the back of a page if anyone used the backs of pages anymore. I even promised my client—the company’s CIO—that I would do one of the things on that list tonight. And I will. Probably. Just not now. Because I’m doing this.
the spirit of christmas
Maybe the new glasses have triggered the sentimental ball of mush I prefer to keep from most people (or at least I think I do). Maybe it’s because I’m inching closer to a milestone birthday. Maybe it’s because I’ve been listening to Christmas music all week. Or maybe it’s because I work six seconds from my bed, so I haven’t worn pants to the office since I got back from Australia. Relax HR friends. I wear shorts… as far as you know.
a little mass hysteria among friends
I’ve been a curious person for much of my life. I ask a lot of questions. And I like answers. It’s fun to figure things out. Even more fun when I’m right. So, what am I right about? It was seriosity, not curiosity, that did in our friend, the cat.
As it turns out, I think this has all been a massive conspiracy to keep people like you and me from questioning things. Maybe even a means of avoiding change. No, I’m not going political. And I’m not going to sing the praises of my millennial friends again—although I do love a millennial that defies the stereotype.
un-silent lucidity: a case for bathroom unity
Before I start, let me just say this is in no way political commentary. Much like the anthem debate, I’m betwixed and bewildered as to how it’s even become a government matter. But then again, we did pay for an entire Congressional inquiry over steroids in major league baseball. Someone help me… how many millions did that cost us? And what, exactly, did we gain from it?
But that’s not the point. The point is that something as monumentally stupid as where people pee is apparently an issue that can only be solved by a bunch of old white guys in the federal government. Because they’re so good at making decisions that represent the people who elected them.
you keep using that word…
In the last several years, I’ve worked with some very smart people in researching in how a company’s values align with the personal values of the people who work there. We ask people what things they value most, and the very first thing that comes out of many mouths is “fairness.” Oh, if only that’s what they really wanted. But in the immortal words of everyone’s favorite Spaniard, Inigo Montoya, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
the morning after pill
Full disclosure. I waited a few days before starting this sequel to my pre-reunion musings. If it were a real “morning after” situation, I might be more nervous. Especially at my age. But thanks to a couple precision snips and what I like to imagine as a soldering gun for doctors, that hasn’t been a concern since before there was a real “morning after pill.”