On the Cusp of Possibility

There are a handful of moments in history where dramatic changes in direction are possible.   And it is possible we are in one of those moments now.

The entire world is in shock from the blitzkrieg recession of 2008, and are looking to the US and its new President to lead the way out of the worsening mess.

The middle east is in shock from Israel's Gaza incursion, seemingly waking up for the first time to the ferocity of the Jewish nation's dedication to its own survival.  

Corrupt regimes in Africa result in such misrule old scourges like cholera return to savage the populace.

Aggressive rulers of oil-producing nations have backed off their rhetoric in the face of falling oil revenues, realizing their power is propped on the value of a commodity, and not much else.

India and Pakistan inflame old hatreds, but clearly see the dangers that lie down that path.

It seems like every conflict or enmity, whether ethnic, religious, territorial, or philosophical, is reaching, or has already reached, a point of decision.  There is no mood for temporary patches, no tolerance for retracing old routes.

The world and its peoples have slipped down the mountain and struggled in the valley for too long, and are collectively looking upwards to higher ground.  We are looking for leaders who will get us out of this stinking valley and take us up the mountain again.

We are on the cusp of possibility, waiting ...

Deep Boredom

It's easy to get bored, caught up in the same old same old daily routine. 

In fact,  you might be bored right now. 

That might be why you are here, browsing this blog instead of working on that presentation, or shoveling snow, or blogging yourself (go blog yourself?)

So, if you are bored, might as well go Deep, and give yourself a chance (a very small one, mind) of participating in the discovery of new life.

ORCA, the Ocean Research and Conservation Association, has a streaming web camera - it's 'Eye-in-the-Sea', planted at the bottom of the ocean, 3000 feet down, off the coast of Monterey, California.  The 'Eye' brings you live black and white images of whatever creatures swim/float/undulate by. 

A friend of mine sent me the link to this site, with the best of intentions I am sure.  Of course, he didn't figure on me being the easily bored type (which I most definitely am), and had no idea of the damage he would be causing.  I assume I will tire of this deep watch at some point, but for now I am hooked.

It's a small price to pay for a chance at a new discovery.  (I see a Nobel in my future ...)

[Note: I am watching the 'Eye' as I type and I am seeing what appears to be a sea-snake. Dorso-ventrally flattened and with a slightly widened 'paddle' tail. It undulated into view and now sits coiled with head facing the camera. Never heard of sea-snakes in cold, deep water, and snakes would need to surface to breath, so it must be an eel or a mighty strange, elongated fish, but it looks just like a sea-snake. Trust me.]

Sicko Revisited

Just in time to presage the coming changes in healthcare policy (that is, if the economy allows), Michael Moore's 'Sicko' is being re-run on the tube.

Moore's documentary, slanted by his fervently anti-Bush views though it may be, raises powerful questions about how a democracy should treat its people, and what people should expect from their government.   Does a government have an obligation to protect the people from catastrophic medical expenses?  Or should it be survival of the fittest (sink or swim)?

The questions raised in the movie have no uncomplicated answers, but we must find answers. And soon.

Universal healthcare would be expensive and raise taxes, but would free many people from crippling debt, allowing them to spend that money -  otherwise gobbled up by healthcare alone for a broader range of goods and services. On the other hand,  blunting the profit motive in healthcare might reduce competition and perhaps adversely affect new discoveries.  Then again, what good are new discoveries if only a privileged few are able to benefit. (Unequal distribution of quality medical care in a society is not the same as uneven distribution of the latest electronic gadgets.)

Sicko's at times painfully heavy-handed tactics don't obscure its core message: It is absolutely embarrassing, and close to criminally unfair, for the richest country in the history of the world to have such unequally-applied healthcare.  It is so wrong it hurts to contemplate, that one citizen can get the best possible care while another dies or is permanently damaged because that same care is denied.  It is incredibly evil to force anyone to choose between financial disaster for their family and the medical care needed to save their lives.

Critics might say that healthcare is available to anyone who works hard, saves money, and buys the right insurance.  But Sicko puts that idea into question as well.  Claims denied over the slightest and most inadvertent mistakes on complicated applications.  Benefits canceled because of a minor illness suddenly, and retrospectively, considered a 'pre-existing condition'.  Insurance canceled after a long illness, with the victim unable to obtain any other coverage.  It's a nightmare that plagues the sleep of millions of hard-working Americans.  And it is especially frightening for the large but aging 'baby boomer' segment, who are the most prone to debilitating chronic illness and who will depend the most on reliable and affordable healthcare.

More now, in this time of economic crisis and uncertainty, than ever before in the history of this country, the potentially crippling expenses of medical care rise to the very forefront of millions of American's fears.  Sicko is a shout for us to pay attention, to get it right, and soon.

Old Friends in Cold Places

Lately there hasn't been too much to smile about.

Oh sure, we've had an historic, much-celebrated Presidential election.  We've had a plane crash that was more landing than crash, in which no one was killed, and which gave meaning to that spiel about water landings you usually ignore. Those were good.

But we've also had to watch our government in action, which is never pretty, whoever's in charge.  Botched presidential appointments, partisan (as ever) bickering, and stimulus packages that are either too bloated or not bloated enough, depending on the color of your state.

We've also been riding an emotional roller-coaster in lock step with the stock market, and the crazy gyrations have left many of us in a semi-permanent state of quease.

Add to all of that the sad truth that too many of us are unemployed, or underemployed, or self-employed (which these days is the same as the first two, it just sounds better).

All of that is bad.

Imagine, then, hearing from an old friend calling from a cold place, far away:

Rrrnnnggg ....

'Hello'

'Hey Buddy, it's [friend].  I'm sitting here in a Bavarian-style eatery sipping an ice-cold Bitburger.  It's 36 degrees (F) and I'm outdoors.'

'Are you nuts?'

'No, but I'm having some with the beer.  Hey, I just got an urge to call and see how you were.  Something about the beer and nuts made me flash on you, and I thought I'd call.'

'Great, so how are you?  Hanging in there in the frozen north?'

'Yeah.  It's a change and the transition hasn't been perfect, but I just keep on truckin'.  What else is there to do?  Wish I was back in sunny California sometimes, though.'

'Yeah, but it's raining here right now.  Outside, no rain, with a nice cold Bavarian beer and maybe a bratwurst or three... sounds like heaven.'

'Well, I'll drink this beer in your honor...'

A few minutes more of conversation featuring personal and work updates, horror stories about dumb-ass stock moves (both of us, but more me), and sundry other remembrances, ensued before my friend had to sign off.

Simple stuff, but the moment had worked it's magic.  Not much later I received an email telling me I'd missed the cut for a job I really wanted, but the blow was lighter and caused less damage thanks to that call.

How did he know?  Telepathy?  Empathy?  Telempathy?

Perhaps it was only coincidence that he called when hearing an old buddy's voice was something that would help me.  My friend might have just himself been seeking a familiar voice, a voice associated, however peripherally, with his own better memories. A voice to weaken the pack ice that had him feeling stuck in his cold place.

If that's so, I hope it worked.  

His call, perfectly timed, worked for me.

Morning Babble 10

Early minutes of Friday morning, and I find myself half-watching a movie on the tube called 'Last Night', about a group of people making their way through the last few hours until the end of the world. Not an edge of your seat flick, and not cathartic in any sense other than a reaffirmation of the mystery that is Canadian film. 

It made me think though.  If the world was really ending, would we pay as much attention to the 'news' that floods us from LCDs, plasmas, speakers, and (yes, still) paper?  Could we, in our last contemplative hours of existence, give any time or credence to news stories like ...

Prehistoric Big Snake Ate Crocs - It seems they've found the vertebrae of a 43-foot long, 2500 lb 'Titanoboa' in the Amazon.  They postulate it ate crocodiles and giant turtles while slithering about the hot tropics about 60 million years ago.  Snakes had been around during the dinosaurs, but once that dominant crew were wiped out by the meteor, the serpents crawled out from their bomb shelters and grew into the top predator role.  But that's not the best part.  The discoverers believe the sheer size of the snake indicates that the tropics were much hotter than previously thought possible, upping the limit on possible mayhem global warming could do to that sensitive habitat in our time.  They say that it had to be hotter to allow a snake that size to keep warm.  But, wait - isn't it true that animals tend to get larger in colder climates, and not warmer?  After all, the larger an animal gets the less surface area it has in relation to its mass, reducing heat loss.  True, it's tougher to warm up too, but it's a big leap to conclude the tropics were a broiler without further study.  But then this wouldn't really be acceptable nature news without some scary global warming tie-in, would it?

Aquaman gets off the box - In the wake of a pic showing that Michael Phelps, Olympian extraordinaire, does indeed inhale, Kellogg has dropped Phelp's from his contract to flog cereal.  This is a huge mistake.  It occurs to me that those who actually inhale on a regular basis ought to be the most rabid consumers of the kinds of cereals and snacks Kellogg makes...

Eight is NOT enough - Just a few days after releasing the heart-warming Guinness-friendly news of the birth of octuplets to a southern california woman, the press sheepishly and belatedly told us that a) she's single,  b) she already has 6 kids at home, and c) they were all conceived using fertility drugs.  Aside from the sheer sad horror of a system that supports such a freak show, what the heck happened to fact-checking stories before reporting them?  Seems accurate vetting isn't a problem reserved to just President Obama's appointment team...

Would any of these stories hold the same interest if the world was about to end in, say, 15 minutes?

Would I have watched a Canadian film?

Rejuvenating Sports (of Sorts)

A great writhing mass of baby boomers are moving into their golden years, looking mortality in the eye, and swearing to not go quietly, and not without a fight.

Trouble is, many boomers are not in such good shape.  Forget fighting, a mild scrap could bring on a coronary.  

But physical condition, strictly speaking, is not the greatest problem - it's attitude.  It's feeling old and acting old that can put a boomer in a grave sooner than might be desired.  And anything under 100 is sooner than desired for most of us.

I believe I may have found an answer in sports.  Not just any sports, though.  Not sports like tennis, golf, badminton, handball, bowling, pool, or even ping pong.  All of those are too aggressive.  They make you angry and that's not good.  Pissed off people rarely make it to 100 and beyond. In fact, if you are (were) a routinely angry boomer you are probably dying (dead) already.  Doesn't that just piss you off?

No, what boomers need are life-affirming, adventurous sports, and I know two good ones:  SCUBA (diving) and Motorcycling.  I know, I know.  Some of you cynics out there won't think of these as true sports, since (unless you are in a spearfishing tournament or racing) there isn't any obvious competition.  But I respectfully disagree, since both hold an element of competition, it's just that it's with yourself, a constant contest to become more skilled at each.

If you don't know anything about SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus), then look up, a) a documentary about Jacques Cousteau, or b) old episodes of Sea Hunt.  Lloyd Bridges' Mike Nelson is indelibly stamped in most boomers minds as the archetypical diver, but Cousteau had the Calypso and the advantage of being non-fiction (mostly).

If you want to know the thrills of motorcycle riding, watch the following, in order:  Easy Rider, old episodes of Then Came Bronson, On Any Sunday, The Road Racers, and Faster.  If you are short on time,  just watch 'On Any Sunday', it pretty much says it all, and Steve McQueen's in it.

These sports are perfect for creating and nurturing an adventurous spirit, and are not too hard to pick up at a level of basic competence.  Significant training is required to be really good at either, but that is also part of the appeal - learning is a forward-thinking and hopeful activity.

Both can be dangerous, but, again that's part of the invigorating appeal.  And, let's face it, when you reach the number of birthdays most boomers have already celebrated, just waking up is a risk.

And both SCUBA and motorcycling reward late-blooming beginners in a unique way.  If you had taken up either when you were in your teens or twenties, chances are you would be a physical wreck by now - there is a price to pay for a long lifetime of active involvement in either. However, by starting them later in life, their life-enhancing joys can actually make you feel younger, more alive, and possibly help you live longer as a result.  

Kind of a miracle.  But if you happen to be one of those boomers who has racked up a lifetime in either of these sports (God forbid both!), you might not see it that way.  You might think it's unfair and get really pissed off about it.  

But if you do, you might not make it to 100 and beyond - so don't.  Just hobble on down to the water, or swing that gimpy leg over your bike, and keep on keeping on.  You might be battered, but you will be an expert, and can give all the Johnny-come-latelys a hand...

Inefficiency Desperately Needed

In the teeth of this howling recession, corporations are scrambling to find 'efficiencies' to bolster the crumbling bottom line.

And efficiency is good, right?   

Could this be one of those silver linings we hear so much about?  Something good that will come out of all this pain?

Maybe.  But take a closer look at the 'efficiencies' these companies are implementing.

For most of these companies, most of the time, increasing efficiency simply means holding the line on profits by cutting costs, and this cost-cutting most often means slashing payroll.

The economic news of late has been a litany of company after company announcing job cuts.  And, usually, the news is greeted with approval on Wall Street, and the stock of these companies gets a lift in value (if ever so briefly).

The reality to the customers of these companies - unless they also happen to be stockholders, is less rosy.  They get to enjoy reduced customer service, and sundry other 'inefficiencies' resulting from an overworked, stretched-too-far workforce.  And a workforce, it should be noted,  that has been made fatalistic and cynical.  Just the attitude you want coming from someone on the other end of a line or email whose helpful attention you need.

So - is there an answer to this situation?

Yes!

Starting now, from this minute forward, let's urge all the CEO's we know, or can lookup in Lexus Nexus, to implement inefficiency. Urge them to start with the biggest of all, and that's to add jobs.  

And add them inefficiently, with no thoughts of whether the new positions are really needed - or for what they are needed.  Just hire talented people, the kind of people any company would want, give them a desk and a clean slate and tell them to, 'make something happen'.

Chances are they will too.

Sloppy and slapdash as we often are, as demanding and difficult as we can be, there is nothing so magnificently good for business as an inefficient human being given a nebulous and open mandate.  

Out of nothing, people can make something.  

Business 'leaders', Wall Street boffins, and just about everyone on the business news channels forget companies are people.  Corporations are not simply buildings, contracts, materials, and products.  

With too few people, companies are like zombies, staggering along, capable of doing only what's been ingrained in them, and creating nothing new.  Without people, they are just dead, spirit-less bodies, awaiting the embalmer...

Or perhaps awaiting a new possession and infusion of people.

An infusion of delightfully inefficient people.

And right now, inefficiency is desperately needed ...