Here’s my call for Tuesday (hopefully I will not jinx anything!). Obama 286, McCain 252.
I don’t think we’ll take 60 in the Senate. My call: 57 seats.
And CA Prop 8? Too close to call.
Finally, just for fun, this slightly cheesy video:
If you have not voted early, do your duty tomorrow. I’ll be there when the polls open at 7.
That’s it, in a nutshell.
I realize this is an issue that causes a lot of pain and confusion, even for some people who are generally liberal on social issues.
Bottom line, though, is that change is not always pretty, or safe, or easy, or even comfortable.
No on 8. It’s the right thing to do.
UPDATE: I am very pleased to note that Chuck Geschke, Founder & Chairman of Adobe is quoted in this No on 8 press release.
In the early days of my career, I had a lot of trouble with the fact that I was a Drama major. Employers tended to think that I was just marking time at a job until I ‘got discovered’. And back then, I didn’t have a good answer for their objections except to say that it wasn’t so.
Now, I know better.
One of the biggest things you learn when doing theater is that when the curtain goes up you have no excuses. Either you know your lines or you don’t. Either the costumes are finished or the actors are onstage in their underwear. Either the lighting people know their cues or the cast is standing there on the dark. There’s no way to hide from the audience when the spotlight is on you.
In short, theater may be a highly creative art, but talent alone is not enough. You need to be able to get the job done.
And that’s a transferable skill.
What I do today is worlds away from the productions of Brigadoon or The Desert Song that used to consume my life, but the focus on execution is exactly the same.
In my leadership classes at USF, we heard a lot about how managers focus on getting things done, but leaders focus on “vision”. There’s a lot to be said for that concept. But more and more, I’ve come to believe that you should never underestimate the power of execution, because without it, you don’t get to lead anybody anywhere.
So, after realizing that I could no longer read the date on my wristwatch, I bowed to the inevitable and got the reading glasses I’ve been needing for a while now.
It’s kind of nice not to squint so much, but …. *sigh*
I know, all you glasses wearers are laughing and completely unsympathetic, but hey, I’ve gone this long without them, can you blame me for thinking I might be able to get away with not needing them?
This piece comes from chef Shuna Fish Lydon’s blog Eggbeater, written by a working chef about the workings of a restaurant kitchen, but if you look past the jargon of the chef you’ll find the advice is relevant to any team that has to produce, on time and under pressure.
The Weeds.
It’s an expression for line cooks by line cooks, but it is also something much larger. A euphemism. It’s an in-the-moment, during service expression.
But it can also refer to your whole career.
The Weeds
can take a whole department. A station. A restaurant. A person and their career.
On The Line the weeds will usually let you out of its stranglehold after the last table is out.
But if you’re really stubborn, The Weeds might have a lesson for you that takes a week, or five years.When I train cooks I say the same thing over and over.
There are no cowboys on islands in kitchens. If you can be smart and honest enough to see The Weeds getting near, and you can ask for support before The Weeds claim you altogether, I and we can help you push through. But if we don’t know you need help until you’re drowning, not only is it too late to help you, it’s too late to save the food from merely being banged-out. And I don’t know about you but I have more pride in my food than to allow it to be banged-out.
Go, read the rest, share it, bookmark it.
Hat tip, Ruhlman.
There’s something wrong with this picture … would anyone care to guess what it is? 🙂