Calvin Coolidge Quote of the Week

This week's quote is from President Coolidge's essay "On the Nature of Politics" in his book Have Faith In Massachusetts  where he talks about his philosophy on reform.

"Laws do not make reforms, reforms make laws.  We cannot look to government.  We must look to ourselves.  We must stand not in expectation of a reward but a desire to serve.  There will come out of government exactly what is put into it."

Government is not the first solution.  How foreign a concept is that to our society?

Gopher Football

Thursday night will be a day I have been looking forward to for quite awhile.  Thursday night will be the the Opening Game for the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team at TCF Bank Stadium! 

I'm a season ticket holder and look forward to the season.  I think there will be "measurable progress" this season as the team continues to improve under Head Coach Jerry Kill.  I have to say Coach Kill reminds me a lot of my own high school football coach, the late great Proctor High School HOF Dave Hylla.  In fact, there's some resemblance.

 Here's Coach Hylla:

Now here's Coach Kill:

There philosophies are similar too: Tough, physical football that emphasizes maximizing limited talent by getting everyone to buy into the "team" concept.  I truly feel the excitement this season as I have seen slow, but noticeable improvement the last two seasons under Coach Kill.  Hopefully we'll see a big step this season!

So hopefully I'll see you at the Bank!  Go Gophers!

Some Fair Time

This past Saturday and Monday I took some time to go to the State Fair.  I really enjoy the State Fair for it showcases the variety of talents throughout the state (for the most part), which includes the food.

Here's some moments:

On Saturday there was quite the mass of folks at the Fair.   As one walked down the streets, it seemed like a sea of humanity was coming at you to swallow you up.

While I like walking through the Fair to watch other folks, this year I was given a t-shirt from my employer to have folks watch me:

I saw some that stopped to read my shirt walking around the Fair.  Kudos to the marketing staff.

At the Fair, of course I like to eat.  However, when I lost my 45-50 pounds I lost my ability to eat large amounts of food at one time.  So I have to go to the Fair a couple times to find all the foods I like to have.  But I'm actually pretty simple in what I choose to eat at the Fair:

1) Roasted Corn
2) Mini - donuts (I'm addicted)
3) Pork Chop on a Stick
4)  Vescio's
5) Cheese Curds

That's really it.  What can I say, I'm a boring guy.

I generally walk around large sections of the Fair, particularly the Education building (I like getting free bags) and the Swine Barn:

At eh Swine Barn, I generally look for two things.  One is the state's largest boar

Which this year was 1,045 lbs!  A large pork chop.

I also look at the sow and piglets:

Looks like the scene of those looking to extract from our current welfare state in my myopic opinion.

All I have to say is three cheers for the Fair.  Hip Hip Hooray!!

Calvin Coolidge Quote of the Week

This week's quote is from a April 3, 1931 newspaper column President Coolidge wrote regarding the importance of religious teaching.

"Outside the teachings of religion there is no answer to the problems of life."

Quite a keen observation in my myopic opinion.

Head Slapper of the Week

So it has happened, government is attempting to not label gender.

According to Der Spiegel:

Germany is set to become the first country in Europe to introduce a third, "indeterminate" gender designation on birth certificates. The European Union, which is attempting to coordinate anti-discrimination efforts across member states, is lagging behind on the issue.

The option of selecting "blank", in addition to the standard choices of "male" or female" on birth certificates will become available in Germany from November 1. The legislative change allows parents to opt out of determining their baby's gender, thereby allowing those born with characteristics of both sexes to choose whether to become male or female in later life. Under the new law, individuals can also opt to remain outside the gender binary altogether.

Read the rest of the article here.

So beginning on November 1, a child may legally grow up in Germany with no recognized gender.  Is it too polemic for me to suggest that a societal and biological disaster isn't far behind?  Four Head Slaps.

"Helpful" Information

At Deluxe, I  have been provided additional investment in me.  Apparently the Executive Director of Research and Decision Sciences decided that I needed a "Communications" coach so she earmarked funds for it.  The reason - my laugh.  Apparently the ED thought it was a "nervous tick" that needed to be address along with other things such as how I listen and engage in meetings.  

I have actually found the intervention somewhat helpful as the coach has come in a few times to engage in diagnosing and addressing my communication skills.  But I just wanted to share with you some of the things I learned regarding body language, which apparently is 85%-90% of our communication.  Here's some signals and what message they convey from what my coach has said.

Hands to face: the person is lying

Scratching neck/hand:  the person is in doubt

Head down, peering over glasses:  the person is judgmental

Head up, looking down on audience:  the person is arrogant

Bowed head: the person is shy

Constant nodding, bobbing:  the person is very anxious or eager to please

Cocked/titled head:  the person is confused or is trying to flirt

Hands behind head, leaning back in chair: the person is a confident "know it all"

Hands clasped behind back, palm-in-palm:  the person is conveying superiority/authority

Hands on hips: the person is aggressive and wants to appear bigger

Standing with palms up and outward: the person is trying to show openness and honesty

Rubbing hands together:  Positive expectation or devious

Hands clenched with fingers interlocked:  the person is insecure and negative

Crossed arms : person feels rejected or shy  (women can sometime say they are cold)

Crossed legs standing up:  The person is nervous, shy and insecure

Straddling a chair:  the person is dominant and aggressive.

So there you have it folks.  The results so far of what I've been told.  What do you think of them?

A Grateful Moment

As a former Best Buy employee at its Richfield Headquarters,  this story this past week caught my attention:

Best Buy snipping employees at headquarters in Richfield

Posted by: Thomas Lee under Best Buy, Retail Updated: August 5, 2013 - 5:30 PM

Paired together, “tornado” and “Best Buy” are usually in reference to the retailer’s legendary turnaround when it held a tent sale at the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul after a tornado destroyed the flagship store in Roseville in 1982.
 

Today, the words carry a different meaning for corporate employees at Best Buy’s headquarters in Richfield.
 

Over the past several months, Best Buy has been laying off groups of employees on Tuesdays, a tactic that has prompted the rank and file to nickname the second day of the work week as “Tornado Tuesdays” or “Termination Tuesdays.”
 

Multiple sources say the layoffs vary wildly across all departments, ranging anywhere from a handful of workers to as high as 25.
 

It’s no secret that Best Buy needs to trim its corporate headcount. Under Best Buy’s Renew Blue strategy, the company has been working to shave $700 million of the company’s balance sheet over the next few years.
 

Since CEO Hubert Joly has ruled out cutting stores, Best Buy’s corporate employees will bear the brunt of any cuts focused on its work force.
 

“When we committed to reducing costs as part of our Renew Blue transformation efforts, we said our first priority was to identify savings in non-salary expenses,” spokeswoman Amy von Walter said Monday. “But we have also had to make some difficult decisions involving headcount which ultimately allow us to accelerate our work to transform our business.
 

In February, Best Buy laid off about 400 employees, stage one of its cost cutting effort. So far, the company has shaved about $295 million in costs, though not all of that has come from job cuts.
 

Since then, there has been a steady drip of layoffs week to week. Employees say such a piecemeal approach has damaged morale. Large corporations tend to announce in one larger move so to minimize distractions over time.
 

But stretching small numbers of layoffs over several months means employees who survive one week still must worry whether they will make it through the next.
 

Employees say it makes coming to work on Tuesdays especially difficult.
 

“Whenever someone leaves their desk, we think that person just got laid off even he or she might just be going to the bathroom,” said one employee who requested anonymity because the worker was not authorized to speak to the news media.
 

Some employees suspect that Best Buy prefers this approach because they don’t want to report larger layoffs as required by the federal WARN act. But the law requires a company to report cumulative layoffs under certain situations over a 90-day period. "

After reading this story, I first reflected on the how much of a morale killer this is figuring out if you will have a job Tuesday to Tuesday. I felt for my old colleagues who still work there, a few of whom have told me about their anxieties.

I also thought about how thankful I am that the opportunities that showed for me, particularly the one at Deluxe, showed up when it did. It's just reminds me of how the Almighty's hand has blessed me many more times than I deserve.

This one verse just comes to mind:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.


I'm truly am blessed indeed.

Calvin Coolidge Quote of the Week

Today's Coolidge Quote of the Week is from an address to the  Holy Name Society on September 21, 1924 discussing his view on faith and government.

"The foundation of our independence and our government rests upon our religious convictions"

Upon reflection, think about the interaction between the increase in the proportion of the population in the last 25 years that do not have any religious affiliation and how that has affected our government policies.  For sure, the more than doubling of the number of adults saying they no religious affiliation (it was 8% in 1990, about 18% now) has had a profound effect on how we view government in terms of social, economic and security related policy.  

A Blue Trip

As previously stated, I traveled down to Indiana to view the Chelsea FC (aka the Blues) game against Inter Milan.  Here are a few photos from the trip!

On the trip down I stopped at an "Oasis" in Illinois.  Pretty much a glorified rest stop.  It was an interesting place to recharge though.

I was able to make it through Illinois without having to refuel (whew!) but had to refuel in Ashley, IN.  I think the town is wishing me a Happy Day!

I traveled from the Cities to Milwaukee (first day) and then to Fort Wayne, IN (2nd day), where my friend Josh took me to Indianapolis for the game.  Here's some banner from outside the Indy mall.

A view from my seat (it was announced around 42K at the game)

Here comes the teams!

Peter, I never knew!

The Blues won (of course) 2-0.  The game was free flowing with everything from end to end runs, long ball passes, red cards and here a penalty kick.  Sorry for the bad production.  Eden Hazard for Chelsea scored here.

The day after I stayed in Indy to do a little work remotely and then headed for the mall in Ft. Wayne.  Apparently the kids were out in force!

As a token for my appreciation, I gave Josh a gift that he chose to wear here.  I hear the other gift I provided went over better with the family.

All in all, it was a nice couple days.  Hopefully I'll be back soon.

Head Slapper of the Month

This month's Head Slapper if from an old idea I saw a few years ago that has resurfaced.  I wonder how the Unleavened product looks like.

Calvin Coolidge Quote of the Week

This week's quote if from Coolidge's speech to the Massachusetts's State Senate after his election as Governor in 1914 talking about the concept of prudence in governing.

"Do the day's work. If it be to protect the rights of the weak, whoever objects, do it. If it be to help a powerful corporation better to serve the people, whatever the opposition, do that. Expect to be called a stand-patter, but don't be a stand-patter. Expect to be called a demagogue, but don't be a demagogue. Don't hesitate to be as revolutionary as science. Don't hesitate to be as reactionary as the multiplication table. Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong. Don't hurry to legislate. Give administration a chance to catch up with legislation."

Upon reflection, is gridlock a good thing?

Blue is the Color!

This evening I'll be heading down to Indiana to watch Chelsea Football Club (aka "the Blues") take on Inter Milan in the International Champions Cup soccer match. I'm quite excited to be attending.

Why?  Because I'm a Chelsea FC supporter.  Here's the membership card to prove it.

Before I continue, let me clarify:

- Despite a specific blogger's contention (no further explanation needed), I did not become a Chelsea FC supporter to spite him.  I was intrigued by the team when I was looking through my London Pass booklet on my last trip there two years ago and saw that my London Pass paid for a tour of Stamford Bridge, home field of Chelsea FC.  So I decided to travel there and saw that they had a museum.  Upon touring the museum I became quite intrigued with the team history, some of the players (namely Frank Lampard and Petr Cech)  and the song "Blue is the Color."   It is what it is, not what it seems.

So let me educate:

Here's the team seal:

Here's a picture of Frank Lampard, longtime midfielder who has scored over 200 goals (that's a lot of goals):

Here's the text of the team song, Blue is the Color:

Blue is the color, football is the game

We're all together and winning is our aim

So cheer us on through the sun and rain

Cos Chelsea, Chelsea is our name.

Here at the Bridge, whether rain or fine

We can shine all the time

Home or away, come and see us play

You're welcome any day

Blue is the color, football is the game

We're all together and winning is our aim

So cheer us on through the sun and rain

Cos Chelsea, Chelsea is our name

Come to the Shed and we'll welcome you

Wear your blue and see us through

Sing loud and clear until the game is done

Sing Chelsea everyone

Blue is the color, football is the game

We're all together and winning is our aim

So cheer us on through the sun and rain

Cos Chelsea, Chelsea is our name.

Blue is the color, football is the game

We're all together and winning is our aim

So cheer us on through the sun and rain

Cos Chelsea, Chelsea is our name.

If you want to hear what it sounds like, well, I'll sing along to a recorded version (I applaud those who can bear my singing as much as those at church :)):

So now you know a bit about what I'm doing the rest of this week, why I'm doing it and a little bit about Chelsea FC in the process.  I should get going.  Go Blues!