Category: Professional
Just the facts, ma’am
In reading a work-related on-line article about effective presentations, one forwarded from our marketing department with professional development intent I’m sure, I found myself nodding in agreement and chuckling with one particular exerpt…
“Never Let Facts Speak for Themselves
Facts need interpretation. According to Mark Twain, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” If you don’t believe this, tune in to the next political campaign. People can make facts and numbers mean almost anything. Interpret yours so that your listeners draw the same conclusions you intend.” Continue reading “Just the facts, ma’am”
Scattershooting the Day
The day started at at 4am. Showered, shaved, dogs petted and feed, and out the door at 4:45.
Arrived at Terminal D parking and found a spot right away at area J5 (I tell you that mostly so I won’t forget where I parked).
Got through airport security without have a visual violation by the full body scan polaroid. Dang it…and I wore clean underwear just for those guys today.
Boarded the plane at 5:50. At 6:15 – our scheduled departure time – the captain comes over the PA mumbling something about a cooling fan for the navigation system was not working and the whole unit would need to be replaced…not once, but twice.
We pushed away from the gate at 8:00.
A Morning Get After
I haven’t had a meaningfully important 7:00 a.m. meeting in a long, long time…maybe since K-State landscape architecture construction lecture classes with DJ. Oh the agony of those! You dared not doze off in his class either, or else you got a chalked-up eraser pitched at your chest. Wait a minute…I wasn’t going there. Continue reading “A Morning Get After”
Oh what a week
It (the week) ends on a Friday the 13th, the only one in 2011, BTW. Maybe that’s why the commute tonight was “driving” me crazy. Folks were coming to a complete stop to make a turn, people were pulling out of parking lots across 2 lanes and unable to get in line straight…so both lanes are blocked, drivers were leaving 200 car lengths between them and the guy/gal in front (all that does is let people cut-in uninhibited). Everyone was being superstitious…yeah, that’s it, superstitious!
But lets not talk about friggatriskaidekaphobia, no, lets speak of LID! Continue reading “Oh what a week”
In conference
The past three days were spent on the Gulf Coast (Galveston). A wonderful time despite the island losing power several times throughout the day on Wednesday, the wind blowing like nobody’s business, the hotel’s satellite TV was scrambled on occasion, and a 42″ waterline in need of repair kept water restrictions in force until today. We were told the electricity and TV were intermittent because of the sea salt buildup on lines and electronics (normally, rainfall would wash the salt off but the island was in a 4-month drought). Don’t take it wrong, a grand time was had in the 50°-60° -70° weather with a cool ocean breeze! Oooooo, ahhhhhh. Continue reading “In conference”
Wetlands wanted, apply within
Got to tromps around in the mud this morning. Our UNT stadium pond project got its first glimpse at wetland restoration.
Sign Sign, Everywhere a Sign
It seems like every day of the week I get another of my way-too-many e-newsletters related to my profession, sometimes only ever so remotely related to the things I do (or better said: “want to”…maybe “should do”). So many I get that sometimes a quick click of the “X” in the toolbar without even a quick look-see is done just to keep the ol’ inbox manageable in size. And here’s the bad thing…unless I skim through them for any thing of interest, I usually feel bad deleting them unread as if some person had really taken the time to compose, then send the email to me personally.
A Lunch Party
We did a celebratory lunch party for my good friend and co-worker Jeff’s passing of the P.E. exam today.
A bunch of us knuckleheads in Denton came together with Jeff’s family to enjoy food and fellowship…and cake.
I think most of Jeff’s family ended up shaking their heads at all of us. His four young kids (#5 on the way) are as cute as a bug’s ear and had I remembered to ask his permission to post their photos, I would have shared those with y’all – maybe soon, maybe soon. But it was a good time had!
Congratulations again Jeff. Go seal some engineering plans why don’t ya! Continue reading “A Lunch Party”
Adhering to a Standard
For those of you that can say “see how you are?”, this might help explain a bit why I am like I am sometimes….
Global Blog Action Day 2010: Water
Today (October 15th) is Global Blog Action Day 2010…bet ya didn’t know that, now did ya? And today it’s all about WATER.
Just one of the “things” I do in a professional life, and also just one of today’s blog topics is dealing with the issues of stormwater pollution. So don’t think less of my post as being a desperate search for a blog story…otherwise it might make me feel like I need a new profession (you better start talking now if that’s the case).
Parking it with Purpose
On this 9/11 anniversary weekend, flags fly, “what you were doing that morning” memories come back to us, and families directly affected by the attacks are still remembered by all with great sadness of loss and senselessness of reason.
An unforgetable day, I first heard a sketchy report on the radio that a plane hit one of the Towers as I arrived at work. My daughter Tiffany was in school in NYC at the time, and I said to myself “she has no reason to be in that part of the city this morning”, and I set out about my morning with an under-the-breath prayer that the “accident” would not be too tragic for the City. Well the events unfolded, as we all know, and my family’s lives became one of the many chapters written that day, although comparatively insignificant with most others…perhaps that is another post if interested, but know Tiff was safe that day.
This is really pretty way cool
Those that frequent this blog know of my unquestionable loyalty to Kansas State University, both academically and athletically (let’s not mention the thousands of dollars they got from me here). Because of that, a reluctance to give “press” to the rival college(s) is stubbornly applied, i.e. just about anything to do with the University of Kansas or the rest of the Big 3+7 (another post yet to come). But with this post, I make a proud exception!
Bettering
As yet another new page to my Blog is added, please know it’s a public way to journey in trying to be a better and smarter kind of guy. Some of you know I enjoy the business, management, self-improvement, rah-rah type books, so I’m going to capture some of the advice from those books, here on the blog. I’m also doing other self-improvement experience besides the books (that might be kind of scary if you think too much about it). If you’re so inclined, over on the left margin (of the Blog page) you will see the page Better to click. In … Continue reading Bettering
777 and a year-long goodbye to friends
It was a year ago yesterday, 9/29/2008, that this crazy economic recession hit home with a drop in the Dow Jones, 777 points. This was a stock market crash never before seen in world economics – it out-performed (probably a poor choice of words noting my IRA value right now) The Great Depression and the tough recession in 1987 (the year I started my own business I might add…because of a job loss then). Our recession has thus far survived two presidencies, an impotent Congress, unrelenting political finger pointing, and facts and figures that really give me a headache. But the worst of this economic mess is job losses for the American worker.
Moral courage, moral cowardice
I will be the first to admit I can be annoyingly addicted to business advice, leadership education, and becoming an overall better guy. Advice taken to heart recently – please know, despite what you may have heard, I strive for moral courage in both my personal and professional daily life:
From Nashville Business Journal, Nancy Reece Guest Column on Friday July 31, 2009
Strategies
Making the right call can make all the difference
Jim was a self-described “yeller.” He knew he yelled, but rationalized his yelling with the phrase, “That’s who I am.”
Game day lawnchairs
As a spectator I huddled in the corner of the athletic director’s conference room trying to note the many on-going playbook conversations while enduring a debatable presentation from a peer today for the landscaping of the new UNT football stadium. This post will not talk of the presentation because of my professional courtesy to her, but one active conversation did raise the cross bar in my mind. Had the play calling been a bit louder, the landscape discussion would have appreciatively been muffled. Continue reading “Game day lawnchairs”
T-minus 1 week
Sorry gang, I’ve studying for an exam lately and have neglected the ol’ gossip rag (aka The Blog). Hang with me – I will be through this in a week. Yessiree, I’m taking the LEED exam next Thursday morning. Please don’t ask me why because this old puppy-dog doesn’t always do well with new tricks. From what I’ve done online and studied to date, it would not surprise me to be taking the LEED exam again one day. Passing this test is becoming exceedingly discouraging each day. I don’t rightly know whether it’s the difficult material needing learned, or the fact I haven’t … Continue reading T-minus 1 week
What Say Me
Needless to say, I’ve taken several days and stayed away from the ol’ Blog scene (and Facebook too). But I just can’t stay gone for long. So busy was I over the past several weeks, both professionally and personally, I actually slept when I would typically write a thing or two. But now I’ve caught up on some sleep (and work)…let me tell you all about it:
Picture-a-day (aka 365) has continued to “shutter”. Check out my Flickr site – the 2009-365 gallery kind of tells a story of the day-to-day experiences. It gets updated weekly (ususually on the weekend)….
Spent a weekend at Dad’s, along with brothers and family – I wrote about that on 5/22 but it is worthy of a repeat (in my biased opinion): Got in a partial round at least. That was fun but Dad was much too much on the puny side of health, but he’s good now (so he says). The real golf game is next Friday. Pride and beers are on the line….
Professional showmanship
Here is today’s “catch phase of the day” from the Austin convention:
- Protective Water Management System
- Edge Effect
- Pre-vegetated
- Semi-intensive
- Biotray
- Mesic design Continue reading “Professional showmanship”
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