We've been telling Kenny for almost 2 years now to cough into his elbow. That's what his daycare teachers ask the kids to do, to avoid transmitting germs. It seems like a good idea to me, considering that most of the time a tissue isn't handy.
Anyway - Kenny almost never actually did cough into his elbow. He would cough, not covering up, we would say, "Cough into your elbow!", and that would be that. If he coughed again within a minute or so, he might cough into his elbow, but otherwise he would forget.
Until about a week ago. Eric and I were baking Christmas cookies with Kenny, who had a persistent cough. He coughed right onto the Christmas cookies. Yech! We said the usual, "Cough into your elbow!" He coughed onto the Christmas cookies again a few minutes later. And then I gave him a time out.
Ever since then, literally without fail, he coughs into his elbow. Eric noticed that he was coughing into his elbow all the time, and said, "What brought that on?". And then I remembered the time-out that I had given him for NOT coughing into his elbow. That must have been it - it would be too much of a coincidence otherwise.
This is an interesting concept. I had always had the idea, previously, that time-outs should be reserved for bad behavior such as hitting, being rude, etc. But now I see that giving a time-out for behavior that's not really bad, just forgetful, can also be quite effective.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Seattle Windstorm 2006!
We got power back – yippee! This happened about 7 PM Friday night. We were right in the middle of watching the children's video Charlotte's Web on the laptop (Eric had patched together enough power via spare laptop batteries and a UPS). And boom - the lights went on! Thrilling. Overall the length of the power outage for us wasn't that bad. It started sometime early Friday morning (but definitely by 2 AM), and lasted, like I said, till about 7 PM.
I had previously kind of romanticized the electricity being down. I sometimes get so tired of one of us always being on the computer, surfing the web, doing email, or watching TV. But honestly, not having power is bleak. It was dark by 5 PM, and darn cold (we got down to 54 degrees inside the house, eventually).
The windstorm itself early Friday morning was pretty exciting. Both Eric and I were up during the worst of it, listening to our wind-up radio (the power was already out). The wind was pressing against our large windows, and there were scary creaky noises, like the house was going to be blown down. We listened to AM 1000 (kiro?) because they gave lots of weather and traffic updates. Their phone lines were apparently jam packed with people kept awake by the storm, giving updates from various neighborhoods. We have a good view of the whole Seattle area from our house, and except for downtown Seattle and downtown Bellevue, everything was dark.
We eventually did get to sleep...maybe around 4 or 5 AM. I woke up at 8, and went into Kenny's room. He said excitedly, "Look Mommy, there's a towel in my crib!". Eric had gone in last night, when the heat went out, and put a large fluffy towel on him to keep him warmer.
In the morning I did some crafts with Kenny. Eric checked out the house – a large chunk of the back fence was torn town, and a small metal piece from our awning was blown away. But that’s all the damage we had. A friend in the neighborhood came by with a horror story – their skylight had blown out twice overnight, and her husband went up on the roof each time and nailed it back in again.
Then Eric was bored, so we went to Bellevue Square – thinking that since it looked like the power stayed on in downtown Bellevue overnight, we could go there, hang out at the kiddie play area, do some shopping, go to a restaurant, etc. But what do you know – although the mall was open, the power was out, all the stores were shut (except Nordstoms), and it was just lit by skylights. No restaurants were open at the mall. We eventually walked across the street to the Galleria area (also nothing open there!) and finally to the Barnes and Nobles area. There was a grill type restaurant there which was open, but apparently there was a 2 hour wait, so we decided to drop the whole idea and head home. Traffic was pretty bad because of all the unpowered traffic lights, but we managed to get home fairly quickly by going on less traveled roads. We just had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at home.
Since we don’t have a gas stove I recently bought us a gas cooker and an attachment that fits it to the large propane tank for our grill. Thank goodness we had this, because we were able to cook a hot dinner (boxed macaroni and cheese, with diced tomatoes thrown in). I’m glad we had the lanterns that we did, but still, cooking with limited light and no hot water is tricky. It’s definitely not the time to be cooking anything fancy.
We were all bundled up by this time – Kenny in two pairs of pants, and his fleece jacket, and Eric and I also in multiple layers, including hats. Cold wasn’t really an issue, with us being bundled up like that, but it’s definitely less comfortable with so many layers.
Here’s the things I’m glad we had:
Wind up radio from LLBean. This was fun and sturdy, and let us listen to the news. Kenny really enjoyed winding it up, too.
LED lantern from LLBean. Small and handy, and with hooks for hanging it wherever necessary. Also, it doesn’t use very much power, since it’s LED – I think it’s supposed to run for something like 100 hours on one set of batteries.
Gas burner to cook on
Plenty of extra clothes
Rubber gloves for doing the dishes. Doing dishes by hand in cold water is cold! It’s cold even with rubber gloves on, but of course it would be much worse without them.
Things I would have liked to have:
A phone that didn’t require power. Our regular phone requires power, as do most phones nowadays, and our cell phones were very flakey
The yellow pages! We count on the internet to look up phone numbers, but of course that was not possible.
A rubber drainer to fit over the sink. I’m so used to just letting food waste go down the disposal that I really need something like this for when there’s no power, because otherwise the sink gets all clogged with food scraps. Yech.
We’re going to call some friends today, now that we have power, and check up on them, and see if they’d like to come over. I think much of the area is still without power, and right now the temperature outside is 30 degrees.
I had previously kind of romanticized the electricity being down. I sometimes get so tired of one of us always being on the computer, surfing the web, doing email, or watching TV. But honestly, not having power is bleak. It was dark by 5 PM, and darn cold (we got down to 54 degrees inside the house, eventually).
The windstorm itself early Friday morning was pretty exciting. Both Eric and I were up during the worst of it, listening to our wind-up radio (the power was already out). The wind was pressing against our large windows, and there were scary creaky noises, like the house was going to be blown down. We listened to AM 1000 (kiro?) because they gave lots of weather and traffic updates. Their phone lines were apparently jam packed with people kept awake by the storm, giving updates from various neighborhoods. We have a good view of the whole Seattle area from our house, and except for downtown Seattle and downtown Bellevue, everything was dark.
We eventually did get to sleep...maybe around 4 or 5 AM. I woke up at 8, and went into Kenny's room. He said excitedly, "Look Mommy, there's a towel in my crib!". Eric had gone in last night, when the heat went out, and put a large fluffy towel on him to keep him warmer.
In the morning I did some crafts with Kenny. Eric checked out the house – a large chunk of the back fence was torn town, and a small metal piece from our awning was blown away. But that’s all the damage we had. A friend in the neighborhood came by with a horror story – their skylight had blown out twice overnight, and her husband went up on the roof each time and nailed it back in again.
Then Eric was bored, so we went to Bellevue Square – thinking that since it looked like the power stayed on in downtown Bellevue overnight, we could go there, hang out at the kiddie play area, do some shopping, go to a restaurant, etc. But what do you know – although the mall was open, the power was out, all the stores were shut (except Nordstoms), and it was just lit by skylights. No restaurants were open at the mall. We eventually walked across the street to the Galleria area (also nothing open there!) and finally to the Barnes and Nobles area. There was a grill type restaurant there which was open, but apparently there was a 2 hour wait, so we decided to drop the whole idea and head home. Traffic was pretty bad because of all the unpowered traffic lights, but we managed to get home fairly quickly by going on less traveled roads. We just had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at home.
Since we don’t have a gas stove I recently bought us a gas cooker and an attachment that fits it to the large propane tank for our grill. Thank goodness we had this, because we were able to cook a hot dinner (boxed macaroni and cheese, with diced tomatoes thrown in). I’m glad we had the lanterns that we did, but still, cooking with limited light and no hot water is tricky. It’s definitely not the time to be cooking anything fancy.
We were all bundled up by this time – Kenny in two pairs of pants, and his fleece jacket, and Eric and I also in multiple layers, including hats. Cold wasn’t really an issue, with us being bundled up like that, but it’s definitely less comfortable with so many layers.
Here’s the things I’m glad we had:
Wind up radio from LLBean. This was fun and sturdy, and let us listen to the news. Kenny really enjoyed winding it up, too.
LED lantern from LLBean. Small and handy, and with hooks for hanging it wherever necessary. Also, it doesn’t use very much power, since it’s LED – I think it’s supposed to run for something like 100 hours on one set of batteries.
Gas burner to cook on
Plenty of extra clothes
Rubber gloves for doing the dishes. Doing dishes by hand in cold water is cold! It’s cold even with rubber gloves on, but of course it would be much worse without them.
Things I would have liked to have:
A phone that didn’t require power. Our regular phone requires power, as do most phones nowadays, and our cell phones were very flakey
The yellow pages! We count on the internet to look up phone numbers, but of course that was not possible.
A rubber drainer to fit over the sink. I’m so used to just letting food waste go down the disposal that I really need something like this for when there’s no power, because otherwise the sink gets all clogged with food scraps. Yech.
We’re going to call some friends today, now that we have power, and check up on them, and see if they’d like to come over. I think much of the area is still without power, and right now the temperature outside is 30 degrees.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
The magic of K'nex
I went to a garage sale a few weeks ago, and picked up a box of K'nex for $5. K'nex is a type of building toy, made by the Lego company. It's basically a bunch of rods and connectors, with some wheels thrown in. I was fully prepared to put it away in the closet for a few years, because it's supposed to be for older kids. Luckily I still had it out on the counter when Eric and I went out for a date night, and the babysitter let him play with it. The next morning it was the first thing he wanted to play with.
Kenny will spend hours playing with it, building things (nothing that recognizable yet). Eric and I build him more complicated models (windmill, swingset, cars, windsurfer) that he'll play with and modify. It's an amazingly well-designed and constructed toy. Even the box to hold it is designed very cleverly, so that pieces don't fall out. It's just a pleasure to see him play with a toy that holds his interest so long.
We just bought him another set, and are holding onto it until his 3rd birthday (in about a month).
Kenny will spend hours playing with it, building things (nothing that recognizable yet). Eric and I build him more complicated models (windmill, swingset, cars, windsurfer) that he'll play with and modify. It's an amazingly well-designed and constructed toy. Even the box to hold it is designed very cleverly, so that pieces don't fall out. It's just a pleasure to see him play with a toy that holds his interest so long.
We just bought him another set, and are holding onto it until his 3rd birthday (in about a month).
Monday, August 21, 2006
Car camping with an almost 3 year old
This past weekend we went car camping for the first time with Kenny. In Washington, reservations are pretty much a necessity for the state campgrounds around the busy time of year (i.e., now). I tried reserving a campsite at Deception Pass, but it was completely booked. The only place I found a campsite available was at Dash Point State Park. And let me tell you, there's a reason that nobody else wanted this campsite.
Let me preface my complaints with the fact that Kenny had lots of fun. Sleeping in a tent, having a campfire, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs - all were new and exciting experiences. And Eric and I enjoyed it, through Kenny.
Having said that, the campground itself was a sea of dust. It was about an inch thick wherever there was no pavement. The campground staff actually put some stuff that looked like grass clippings on the dust, which did improve it slightly, but still - very dusty.
The beach was crowded, dirty, full of dogs, and encrusted with mats of dried seaweed. Nothing close to a wilderness experience. Of course, we were 7 miles north of Tacoma, so what did we expect? I was kind of hoping for something like Seahurst Park, in Burien. That doesn't have camping, but it is a great waterfront park, and also pretty close to an urban center.
I have a reminder set up in my Treo for January of next year - make summer reservations at the most popular campgrounds.
Let me preface my complaints with the fact that Kenny had lots of fun. Sleeping in a tent, having a campfire, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs - all were new and exciting experiences. And Eric and I enjoyed it, through Kenny.
Having said that, the campground itself was a sea of dust. It was about an inch thick wherever there was no pavement. The campground staff actually put some stuff that looked like grass clippings on the dust, which did improve it slightly, but still - very dusty.
The beach was crowded, dirty, full of dogs, and encrusted with mats of dried seaweed. Nothing close to a wilderness experience. Of course, we were 7 miles north of Tacoma, so what did we expect? I was kind of hoping for something like Seahurst Park, in Burien. That doesn't have camping, but it is a great waterfront park, and also pretty close to an urban center.
I have a reminder set up in my Treo for January of next year - make summer reservations at the most popular campgrounds.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
The Worst Diet in the World; follow-up
I've been fully recovered from a while now from my bout with doxycycline induced esophagitis (see previous post). It ended up being about a week of being seriously ill, then another week or so of needing to be really careful of what I ate, as lots of things still caused pain on swallowing.
I had written a letter of complaint to Rite Aid about their policy at the pharmacy of not asking if you wanted to speak to a pharmacist (see my earlier post for details). About a week after that, I got a call from a pharmacist who worked at Rite Aid. He could have been a little more gracious, but he did apologize for the whole episode. Interestingly enough, it turns out supposedly they are supposed to ask you if you'd like to speak to a pharmacist. As a matter of fact, it's a legal requirement.
He also said I'd be receiving a gift card from Rite Aid. Haven't gotten it yet, and it's been more than a month. Humph.
I had written a letter of complaint to Rite Aid about their policy at the pharmacy of not asking if you wanted to speak to a pharmacist (see my earlier post for details). About a week after that, I got a call from a pharmacist who worked at Rite Aid. He could have been a little more gracious, but he did apologize for the whole episode. Interestingly enough, it turns out supposedly they are supposed to ask you if you'd like to speak to a pharmacist. As a matter of fact, it's a legal requirement.
He also said I'd be receiving a gift card from Rite Aid. Haven't gotten it yet, and it's been more than a month. Humph.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Life with a 2 year old
Kenny will be three in a few months. So I can say with relief that there were no "terrible twos", few tantrums, and in general, things run very smoothly. I'd like to chalk it all up to our parenting, but I think the truth is that Kenny is very easy-going and happy.
Okay, I do want to take some credit here. Having firm consequences for misbehavior eliminates a lot of whining and temper tantrums. I'm a huge fan of the book 1-2-3 Magic, by Thomas Phelan. That's what we've based our discipline techniques on. It boils down to firm, reasonable consequences, consistently applied.
Also, I troubleshoot the problems that we have. For example, recently I had some issues with getting Kenny dressed. He can get himself dressed, albeit slowly. But frequently he would rather play than get dressed, so I had to nag, remind, cajole, and punish when he dawdled. I had a flash of insight, which led to me creating a rule. Now, well before it's time to leave, I present him with his clothes for the day. Then, he needs to stay in his room until he's dressed. He gets dressed immediately because he wants to be around me, and play until it's time to leave.
Okay, I do want to take some credit here. Having firm consequences for misbehavior eliminates a lot of whining and temper tantrums. I'm a huge fan of the book 1-2-3 Magic, by Thomas Phelan. That's what we've based our discipline techniques on. It boils down to firm, reasonable consequences, consistently applied.
Also, I troubleshoot the problems that we have. For example, recently I had some issues with getting Kenny dressed. He can get himself dressed, albeit slowly. But frequently he would rather play than get dressed, so I had to nag, remind, cajole, and punish when he dawdled. I had a flash of insight, which led to me creating a rule. Now, well before it's time to leave, I present him with his clothes for the day. Then, he needs to stay in his room until he's dressed. He gets dressed immediately because he wants to be around me, and play until it's time to leave.
Friday, July 14, 2006
The ability to feel guilty
Feeling guilty is often derided in pop culture as unhealthy and not leading to good self-esteem. I disagree. I have as healthy a sense of self esteem as anyone I know, yet if I feel that I've done something wrong, or caused someone a problem, I have the ability to wallow in guilt for days.
A recent experience I had at work illuminated this. I worked with somebody who categorically said that a certain feature (I work with computer systems) wasn't possible. And they were in a position to know. This feature would have saved a huge amount of time, so I did some extra research, to satisfy myself that this feature was indeed not possible. And lo and behold, it was 100% possible. So, you'd think that the person who originally had stated categorically that the feature wasn't possible would feel, if not actually guilty, at least a little perturbed. Discomfited, perhaps. But no. Once they were shown to be wrong, the story became, "Well, it won't save that much time anyway".
Something like that can really change your desire to work with someone in the future. Feeling guilty is a valuable indicator that the person will probably take pains to avoid that kind of situation in the future. Hopefully they'll take what they say more seriously. On the other hand, not showing any remorse at all is a danger sign - don't trust this person.
A recent experience I had at work illuminated this. I worked with somebody who categorically said that a certain feature (I work with computer systems) wasn't possible. And they were in a position to know. This feature would have saved a huge amount of time, so I did some extra research, to satisfy myself that this feature was indeed not possible. And lo and behold, it was 100% possible. So, you'd think that the person who originally had stated categorically that the feature wasn't possible would feel, if not actually guilty, at least a little perturbed. Discomfited, perhaps. But no. Once they were shown to be wrong, the story became, "Well, it won't save that much time anyway".
Something like that can really change your desire to work with someone in the future. Feeling guilty is a valuable indicator that the person will probably take pains to avoid that kind of situation in the future. Hopefully they'll take what they say more seriously. On the other hand, not showing any remorse at all is a danger sign - don't trust this person.
Monday, July 03, 2006
The Worst Diet in the World; continued
Can't sleep now for hunger (see previous post), so I'm going to jot down some of the things I'm craving right now.
Tops on the list - the Greek omelet with feta cheese and spinach, at Goldbergs Deli at Factoria Mall.
Artichoke dip - the kind that's made with about half mayonnaise and the other half sour cream. Very rich and creamy.
Anything, really, that's rich and salty. Nowhere on the list is anything sweet. This is probably because the only things I've been drinking are Kool Aid and Ensure, both of which are very sweet.
I tried a small piece of Triscuit this afternoon, just because they were out. It was a particularly bad thing to try, since it's very fibrous and rough, and almost felt like it got stuck in my throat.
Tops on the list - the Greek omelet with feta cheese and spinach, at Goldbergs Deli at Factoria Mall.
Artichoke dip - the kind that's made with about half mayonnaise and the other half sour cream. Very rich and creamy.
Anything, really, that's rich and salty. Nowhere on the list is anything sweet. This is probably because the only things I've been drinking are Kool Aid and Ensure, both of which are very sweet.
I tried a small piece of Triscuit this afternoon, just because they were out. It was a particularly bad thing to try, since it's very fibrous and rough, and almost felt like it got stuck in my throat.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
The Worst Diet in the World
I'm on a diet now, and have been for the past 5 days. I'm losing a lot of weight - down 6 lbs - but I didn't want to lose weight, and I don't want to be on a diet. This is an involuntary diet, caused by not being able to swallow without severe pain.
I'll explain. I was prescribed an antibiotic called doxycycline, and started taking it last Sunday, twice a day. Monday night I took the regular dosage, and went to bed. During the night I felt some discomfort in my chest, and thought perhaps the pill hadn't gone down correctly. Tuesday morning I was pretty sure something like that had happened, and tried eating some cereal to help it go down. Swallowing was painful.
Swallowing continued to be painful on Wednesday as well. I wasn't sure anymore that it was caused by the pill, and researched on the internet for heartburn, thinking that was perhaps what it was. I also searched for "pill stuck in throat", and finally found the right information.
It turns out that doxycycline is one of the prime culprits in pill-induced esophagitis, or injury to the esophagus. It's quite caustic, so if it gets stuck in your esophagus, it can cause ulcers. If you take it right before going to bed, and don't drink a full glass of water, you could end up in the morning with a big problem.
So, at least I knew what it was, but aside from the satisfaction of knowing, this information didn't help me very much. Thursday I progressed from just feeling pain while swallowing to feeling ill and feverish. Friday I was in bed all day, feeling very ill, Saturday (yesterday) I was in bed all day as well, but Saturday around noon I turned a corner, and am now starting to feel like I'm on the mend in terms of general health. However, the pain during swallowing is as bad as it ever was. I haven't eaten solids for 2 days now, and am living off Ensure and Kool-Aid. And I literally groan with pain whenever I take a swallow.
A big thumbs-down for Rite Aid, where I had the doxycycline prescription filled. I wasn't warned to not take it right before going to bed, wasn't warned to drink plenty of water. In fact, I never spoke to a pharmacist at all, and was never asked if I wanted to speak to a pharmacist. They have a terrible system whereby, as you get the drug, you have to check one of two boxes. Choice 1 is "I decline to be counseled by a pharmcist", and Choice 2 is "I have already been counseled by a pharmacist". They never actually ask you if you'd like to speak with a pharmacist, you just check one of these boxes.
I'll explain. I was prescribed an antibiotic called doxycycline, and started taking it last Sunday, twice a day. Monday night I took the regular dosage, and went to bed. During the night I felt some discomfort in my chest, and thought perhaps the pill hadn't gone down correctly. Tuesday morning I was pretty sure something like that had happened, and tried eating some cereal to help it go down. Swallowing was painful.
Swallowing continued to be painful on Wednesday as well. I wasn't sure anymore that it was caused by the pill, and researched on the internet for heartburn, thinking that was perhaps what it was. I also searched for "pill stuck in throat", and finally found the right information.
It turns out that doxycycline is one of the prime culprits in pill-induced esophagitis, or injury to the esophagus. It's quite caustic, so if it gets stuck in your esophagus, it can cause ulcers. If you take it right before going to bed, and don't drink a full glass of water, you could end up in the morning with a big problem.
So, at least I knew what it was, but aside from the satisfaction of knowing, this information didn't help me very much. Thursday I progressed from just feeling pain while swallowing to feeling ill and feverish. Friday I was in bed all day, feeling very ill, Saturday (yesterday) I was in bed all day as well, but Saturday around noon I turned a corner, and am now starting to feel like I'm on the mend in terms of general health. However, the pain during swallowing is as bad as it ever was. I haven't eaten solids for 2 days now, and am living off Ensure and Kool-Aid. And I literally groan with pain whenever I take a swallow.
A big thumbs-down for Rite Aid, where I had the doxycycline prescription filled. I wasn't warned to not take it right before going to bed, wasn't warned to drink plenty of water. In fact, I never spoke to a pharmacist at all, and was never asked if I wanted to speak to a pharmacist. They have a terrible system whereby, as you get the drug, you have to check one of two boxes. Choice 1 is "I decline to be counseled by a pharmcist", and Choice 2 is "I have already been counseled by a pharmacist". They never actually ask you if you'd like to speak with a pharmacist, you just check one of these boxes.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Book "Making great decisions in business and life"
I just got this book (by David R. Henderson and Charles L. Hooper) from the library, and am enjoying it thoroughly. It's full of illuminating little stories, and has given me some interesting insights about decision making and priorities. Probably the kind of insights that they charge their consulting clients big bucks to hear.
I do have a minor quibble with the authors, with their view on sunk costs. An example of a sunk cost would be (and this is one of the examples they use) a person starting a coin store in a small town. The store is losing money every day, but the storeowner says, "Well, I've already invested so much into it, I can't walk away now". In this case, assuming the storeowner really does know that a coin store is just not sustainable and he has no bright ideas for fixing things, it's a cut and dry case - he probably should call it a sunk cost, chalk it up to experience, and move on with his life.
But in most cases, it's not nearly so clearcut. The other example that the authors mention - you've reserved and paid for a camping spot, but there's a rainstorm - do you still go, or do you call the reservation fee a sunk cost, and do something else? If you go, you'll likely be uncomfortable, but the rain may stop, you may experience wonderful solidude because the rain has driven everyone away, or you may befriend some other fanatics who don't mind the rain. You may also have some insights about how people lived before modern conveniences protected us from all discomforts.
There's lots of potential positive outcomes. Plus, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you planned something, and then did it, weather be damned.
Good book, though. I particularly like chapter 7, Realize What's Important. I need to work on that some more.
I do have a minor quibble with the authors, with their view on sunk costs. An example of a sunk cost would be (and this is one of the examples they use) a person starting a coin store in a small town. The store is losing money every day, but the storeowner says, "Well, I've already invested so much into it, I can't walk away now". In this case, assuming the storeowner really does know that a coin store is just not sustainable and he has no bright ideas for fixing things, it's a cut and dry case - he probably should call it a sunk cost, chalk it up to experience, and move on with his life.
But in most cases, it's not nearly so clearcut. The other example that the authors mention - you've reserved and paid for a camping spot, but there's a rainstorm - do you still go, or do you call the reservation fee a sunk cost, and do something else? If you go, you'll likely be uncomfortable, but the rain may stop, you may experience wonderful solidude because the rain has driven everyone away, or you may befriend some other fanatics who don't mind the rain. You may also have some insights about how people lived before modern conveniences protected us from all discomforts.
There's lots of potential positive outcomes. Plus, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you planned something, and then did it, weather be damned.
Good book, though. I particularly like chapter 7, Realize What's Important. I need to work on that some more.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Potty training Kenny
On May 21st, Eric and I started potty training with Kenny. It had been a frequent topic of conversation among my friends who have kids of the same age, and we had a completely uncommited weekend, so we thought - why not?
If you'd asked me during the first week how it was going, I would have been pretty negative. The first week was rough - the first day in particular, we went through 16 (!) pairs of underwear. But it's been getting better and better all the time, with accidents coming further and further apart. He had an accident yesterday, but before then we had 4 or maybe 5 accident-free days. I don't hesitate to go anywhere now.
I know this doesn't work for some parents - particularly those with younger children. But for us, "boot camp" potty training (i.e., no diapers except at naptime and night) really worked well. The World War II quote from Churchill, about the choice between "and end with horror, or horror without end", seems somewhat appropriate (if a little over-dramatic). In other words, a messy and stressful few days or weeks, with relatively quick potty training, vs. allowing diapers, which can confuse the child and draw out the whole process.
If you'd asked me during the first week how it was going, I would have been pretty negative. The first week was rough - the first day in particular, we went through 16 (!) pairs of underwear. But it's been getting better and better all the time, with accidents coming further and further apart. He had an accident yesterday, but before then we had 4 or maybe 5 accident-free days. I don't hesitate to go anywhere now.
I know this doesn't work for some parents - particularly those with younger children. But for us, "boot camp" potty training (i.e., no diapers except at naptime and night) really worked well. The World War II quote from Churchill, about the choice between "and end with horror, or horror without end", seems somewhat appropriate (if a little over-dramatic). In other words, a messy and stressful few days or weeks, with relatively quick potty training, vs. allowing diapers, which can confuse the child and draw out the whole process.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Search any magazine or newspaper that you want, online
Many people don't know that their local library has a wealth of information available to them besides the books. Most libraries have access to online databases that index the full text of thousands of newpapers and magazines. I live in King County, Washington, which has one of best library systems in the country. We have access to most popular magazines and newspapers - including expensive ones like the Wall Street Journal. You can even do this all on the web, without needing to go to your local library.
Something to take advantage of!
Something to take advantage of!
Monday, April 17, 2006
How best to talk to kids
I was talking with a friend yesterday who has a kid about Kenny's age (2). We were talking about all the advice you get nowadays on how to speak to your children. One particular piece of advice is that you should phrase everything positively. For instance, if they're running where they shouldn't be, say "Put your walking shoes on!" instead of "No running!". The idea is that if you say, "No running!", then they'll focus on the "running" part, and tune out the "no".
Later, when I thought about it again, I thought - what a bunch of baloney. Saying "No running!" is a much clearer and more direct way of saying what you want. The word "no" is one of the first words that children learn - they're not going to miss it, except deliberately.
It's this kind of advice that makes me skeptical of a lot of parenting books. Particularly the "kinder and gentler" ones that advocate more discussion, more understanding, more catering to children. My favorite child-rearing book is 1-2-3 Magic, by Thomas W. Phelan. Great book, very down to earth, and full of great ideas on how to make life with kids happier.
Later, when I thought about it again, I thought - what a bunch of baloney. Saying "No running!" is a much clearer and more direct way of saying what you want. The word "no" is one of the first words that children learn - they're not going to miss it, except deliberately.
It's this kind of advice that makes me skeptical of a lot of parenting books. Particularly the "kinder and gentler" ones that advocate more discussion, more understanding, more catering to children. My favorite child-rearing book is 1-2-3 Magic, by Thomas W. Phelan. Great book, very down to earth, and full of great ideas on how to make life with kids happier.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Big corporations function as socialist style command economies
This is my first ever economics blog, so please bear with me. I'm a small-time economics fan - have read some Hayek, read the latest popular economics books like Freakonomics, and read the Wall Street Journal every day. I'm a big believer in the free-market.
I'm currently work at a large online travel company, in a data services group. We do all kinds of stuff with data - purge, merge, consolidate, cleanse, report, etc., for the whole company. Recently there was a big reorganization. And because management felt that there were a lot of uncoordinated projects going on, there was a big effort made to gather all the project plans in one place, and prioritize them.
It was the master plan. And it struck me - this master plan is similar in one very important way to the old socialist style economic planning. There's no prices to determine what's actually important to people! Different groups in the company can't say, "It's worth $10,000 to me to have this new report ready by next week". Instead, they have to pressure management, and be a squeaky wheel to get what they want. If there were actual dollar amounts attached to the different requests, it would be much clearer what's actually valuable to people.
Of course, pricing is not as meaningful without competition. As in, "My group can create this report for you for $5,000 instead of $10,000". That would be interesting, to have multiple data (or other) groups in a company, all competing to provide services of one kind or another within the same company. It certainly wouldn't be a corporation as we currently understand the term.
It's not too likely that this kind of company will come in the near future. But I think that experimenting with some elements of a free market economy (meaningful prices, competition) inside the corporation could shake things up a bit, and introduce some of the efficiencies of a free market into the inner workings of large corporations.
I'm currently work at a large online travel company, in a data services group. We do all kinds of stuff with data - purge, merge, consolidate, cleanse, report, etc., for the whole company. Recently there was a big reorganization. And because management felt that there were a lot of uncoordinated projects going on, there was a big effort made to gather all the project plans in one place, and prioritize them.
It was the master plan. And it struck me - this master plan is similar in one very important way to the old socialist style economic planning. There's no prices to determine what's actually important to people! Different groups in the company can't say, "It's worth $10,000 to me to have this new report ready by next week". Instead, they have to pressure management, and be a squeaky wheel to get what they want. If there were actual dollar amounts attached to the different requests, it would be much clearer what's actually valuable to people.
Of course, pricing is not as meaningful without competition. As in, "My group can create this report for you for $5,000 instead of $10,000". That would be interesting, to have multiple data (or other) groups in a company, all competing to provide services of one kind or another within the same company. It certainly wouldn't be a corporation as we currently understand the term.
It's not too likely that this kind of company will come in the near future. But I think that experimenting with some elements of a free market economy (meaningful prices, competition) inside the corporation could shake things up a bit, and introduce some of the efficiencies of a free market into the inner workings of large corporations.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Another productivity enhancement
I'll admit that I tend to think more than most people about how I could make my life more productive and efficient. Okay, okay, a lot more! Hey, at least I'm not like some people whose blogs I've read. They seem to spend far more time thinking and writing about the lastest time management methodology than actually doing anything.
One of my recent posts (My latest productivity enhancement - dump the junk!) was about how my new plan was to totally cut out all time-wasting activities. This eliminated web surfing, TV, and leisure reading. I knew it wouldn't last long, because it was pretty extreme, but it really didn't last long - about 3 days. That's 1 day after I wrote up a post on it.
What didn't work? It felt too punitive. I expended too much willpower in not doing things, as opposed to doing the right things.
Anyway, I'm back to the old standby now, which is
a.) making a list of things to do each day, and
b.) actually doing what's on the list
The main enhancement is that I plan to do this, without exceptions, for a full month. This is supposedly how long it takes to create a habit. I've done it now for 2 weeks, and have 14 little stars on my calendar to show for it. Halfway through! It feels really good.
One of my recent posts (My latest productivity enhancement - dump the junk!) was about how my new plan was to totally cut out all time-wasting activities. This eliminated web surfing, TV, and leisure reading. I knew it wouldn't last long, because it was pretty extreme, but it really didn't last long - about 3 days. That's 1 day after I wrote up a post on it.
What didn't work? It felt too punitive. I expended too much willpower in not doing things, as opposed to doing the right things.
Anyway, I'm back to the old standby now, which is
a.) making a list of things to do each day, and
b.) actually doing what's on the list
The main enhancement is that I plan to do this, without exceptions, for a full month. This is supposedly how long it takes to create a habit. I've done it now for 2 weeks, and have 14 little stars on my calendar to show for it. Halfway through! It feels really good.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Grass is greener syndrome
What is it about human beings that causes us to always want what we don't have? I know that our striving for more and seeking improvement is what has caused us, as a species, to do so well. But it doesn't lead to a relaxing life
Specifics - I'm the mother of a two year old, and I also have a part-time job. When I was first thinking about it, this seemed to me the ideal situation. And in general, it does seem pretty good. But now that some of my friends with kids are starting to go back to work full-time, I sometimes run out of friends with kids, for playdates and excursions. And then I start thinking - well, maybe I should just go back to work full-time. At least Kenny would then have playmates there.
So, the grass continually looks a little greener on the other side of the fence.
Specifics - I'm the mother of a two year old, and I also have a part-time job. When I was first thinking about it, this seemed to me the ideal situation. And in general, it does seem pretty good. But now that some of my friends with kids are starting to go back to work full-time, I sometimes run out of friends with kids, for playdates and excursions. And then I start thinking - well, maybe I should just go back to work full-time. At least Kenny would then have playmates there.
So, the grass continually looks a little greener on the other side of the fence.
Monday, March 13, 2006
My latest productivity enhancement - dump the junk!
I was getting annoyed with myself recently at how little I've been getting done. Tasks seemed to have an eternal life on my To Do list, irritating me each time I looked at them.
What was stopping me from getting things done? It wasn't my 2 year old - I had time in the evening after he had gone to bed. It was the fact that my time was taken up in doing so many other activities. Just like good food is crowded out by junk food, productive time can be crowded out by "junk time". I define junk time for myself as web surfing, TV, and reading. Reading is tricky, because obviously, certain types of reading can be great.
My plan (in effect a whole 2 days now) is to BAN all the life-energy sucking activities mentioned above - web surfing, TV, and reading. I've gotten so much done in the past couple days! Things that had been dragging me down for weeks - I got them done, because I had nothing else to do!
Is this a sustainable system? Probably not. I've built in some exceptions (Friday night movies, etc) but I still don't see this lasting forever. I'll learn something from it, though, which will be great.
What was stopping me from getting things done? It wasn't my 2 year old - I had time in the evening after he had gone to bed. It was the fact that my time was taken up in doing so many other activities. Just like good food is crowded out by junk food, productive time can be crowded out by "junk time". I define junk time for myself as web surfing, TV, and reading. Reading is tricky, because obviously, certain types of reading can be great.
My plan (in effect a whole 2 days now) is to BAN all the life-energy sucking activities mentioned above - web surfing, TV, and reading. I've gotten so much done in the past couple days! Things that had been dragging me down for weeks - I got them done, because I had nothing else to do!
Is this a sustainable system? Probably not. I've built in some exceptions (Friday night movies, etc) but I still don't see this lasting forever. I'll learn something from it, though, which will be great.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
The Microsoft Permatemps Fiasco
I recently became a beneficiary of what's known as the Microsoft Permatemp class action lawsuit. Basically, a number of people who worked at Microsoft on a contract basis over the years decided, "Hey, the stock has gone up tremendously, why don't we sue Microsoft to see if we can squeeze some money out of them, even though we signed contracts specifying that we aren't employees and aren't entitled to anything other than hourly wages".
When I worked at Microsoft, I worked on a contract basis, getting paid for each hour of work. This was clearly detailed in the papers I signed when starting work. The employees who got stock options and ESPP (employee stock purchase plan) were frequently there 60 to 80 hours a week. This was part of the deal - employees worked for salary, stock options and benefits, including the employee stock purchase plan. If the stock went up, they did well. Contractors worked for their hourly rate, period.
Yes, I got some cash out of the deal, but I certainly don't feel that it's money I deserve. And overall, it's been a huge net loss because now the job market is much more limited for contractors. Almost all large companies that hire lots of contractors now have a mandatory break period for contractors, to protect them against lawsuits. This mandatory break period means that after you work a year, you must take a certain amount of time off. At Microsoft, it's 90 days. What does this mean? Basically, if you enjoy the contractor lifestyle (flexible scheduling and vacations, less stress, high hourly rates) and want to continue being a contractor, you're screwed. You'll have to take 90 days unpaid leave after one year of work. Doesn't matter if it's mid-winter and you don't particularly want to be taking a vacation, you have to take leave anyway. Also, this usually this means that you'll need to be looking for another contract every year, since very few groups are able to have a potentially critical person gone that long.
How much did your average contractor make out of this deal? Anywhere from hundreds to potentially tens of thousands of dollars. And how much did the lawyers make out of it? A total of $27 million in attorney fees. This is our legal system at its worst.
For some more background, search on google for Microsoft Permatemp or check out this link
When I worked at Microsoft, I worked on a contract basis, getting paid for each hour of work. This was clearly detailed in the papers I signed when starting work. The employees who got stock options and ESPP (employee stock purchase plan) were frequently there 60 to 80 hours a week. This was part of the deal - employees worked for salary, stock options and benefits, including the employee stock purchase plan. If the stock went up, they did well. Contractors worked for their hourly rate, period.
Yes, I got some cash out of the deal, but I certainly don't feel that it's money I deserve. And overall, it's been a huge net loss because now the job market is much more limited for contractors. Almost all large companies that hire lots of contractors now have a mandatory break period for contractors, to protect them against lawsuits. This mandatory break period means that after you work a year, you must take a certain amount of time off. At Microsoft, it's 90 days. What does this mean? Basically, if you enjoy the contractor lifestyle (flexible scheduling and vacations, less stress, high hourly rates) and want to continue being a contractor, you're screwed. You'll have to take 90 days unpaid leave after one year of work. Doesn't matter if it's mid-winter and you don't particularly want to be taking a vacation, you have to take leave anyway. Also, this usually this means that you'll need to be looking for another contract every year, since very few groups are able to have a potentially critical person gone that long.
How much did your average contractor make out of this deal? Anywhere from hundreds to potentially tens of thousands of dollars. And how much did the lawyers make out of it? A total of $27 million in attorney fees. This is our legal system at its worst.
For some more background, search on google for Microsoft Permatemp or check out this link
Monday, February 06, 2006
Getting back into camping
Camping, hiking, and backpacking - these used to be some of my favorite things to do. That was before my two-year old, Kenny. Except for a few very short little hikes, it was all over.
I've really been itching to get out there again, though. To wake up outdoors, climb around in the mountains, identify wildflowers, see wildlife - just generally get away from the indoors environment that surrounds me 99% of the time.
There's some problems, though. Even before I had a two-year old, I never found camping very comfortable. I didn't like sleeping on hard ground, being cold, and especially having to set up a tent in the dark. The payoffs made it worthwhile, but it sometimes got a little uncomfortable.
So now I'm thinking - how to get out into the great outdoors again, go camping, without getting cold and wet and miserable? I love the idea of a little pop-up camper, something we could tow with my Toyota Highlander. There's lots of decisions to make (Is this even a good idea? Where would we store it? Should we just buy a big tent instead?). But I'm jazzed about the idea of getting into the wilderness again, and the Pacific Northwest has so much to offer in terms of natural environment. I also love the thought of being away from electricity and the internet.
The FleetwoodRV Elements trailer is looking good to me now: http://www.fleetwoodrv.com/
I've really been itching to get out there again, though. To wake up outdoors, climb around in the mountains, identify wildflowers, see wildlife - just generally get away from the indoors environment that surrounds me 99% of the time.
There's some problems, though. Even before I had a two-year old, I never found camping very comfortable. I didn't like sleeping on hard ground, being cold, and especially having to set up a tent in the dark. The payoffs made it worthwhile, but it sometimes got a little uncomfortable.
So now I'm thinking - how to get out into the great outdoors again, go camping, without getting cold and wet and miserable? I love the idea of a little pop-up camper, something we could tow with my Toyota Highlander. There's lots of decisions to make (Is this even a good idea? Where would we store it? Should we just buy a big tent instead?). But I'm jazzed about the idea of getting into the wilderness again, and the Pacific Northwest has so much to offer in terms of natural environment. I also love the thought of being away from electricity and the internet.
The FleetwoodRV Elements trailer is looking good to me now: http://www.fleetwoodrv.com/
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Kenny and the never-ending "Why?"
Before I had Kenny, I had heard and read about parents getting irritated with constant "why?" questions from their children. I thought to myself that these parents were just not patient enough, and that they failed to consider how beneficial, in terms of language skills, that this type of interaction was for their children.
Well, the shoe is on the other foot now. I, too, find myself getting a little bit impatient when faced with the "why?" that just never ends. Cute, but also kind of irritating. For example, when I tell Kenny that I'm dropping him off at daycare because I have to work:
"Why are you going to work?"
"Because I like to work"
"Why do you like to work"
"Because it's fun"
"Why is it fun?"
At about this point, I pull out some techniques to cut short the questioning. For example, "Look, do you see that bulldozer!", that always work. Or I say, "Why do you think? I almost never get a real answer to that one, but it points the conversation in a different direction.
On the plus side, I'm now getting some real "conversations" with Kenny. For instance, on the way home from daycare he might tell me about a fire drill, where there was a loud siren, and then they all had to hold hands. I love it.
Well, the shoe is on the other foot now. I, too, find myself getting a little bit impatient when faced with the "why?" that just never ends. Cute, but also kind of irritating. For example, when I tell Kenny that I'm dropping him off at daycare because I have to work:
"Why are you going to work?"
"Because I like to work"
"Why do you like to work"
"Because it's fun"
"Why is it fun?"
At about this point, I pull out some techniques to cut short the questioning. For example, "Look, do you see that bulldozer!", that always work. Or I say, "Why do you think? I almost never get a real answer to that one, but it points the conversation in a different direction.
On the plus side, I'm now getting some real "conversations" with Kenny. For instance, on the way home from daycare he might tell me about a fire drill, where there was a loud siren, and then they all had to hold hands. I love it.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Zero Tolerance for Donuts
The group I work in at Expedia holds a "donut day" every Wednesday. What this means is that every Wednesday, somebody in the group brings in 2 dozen donuts to share. Responsibility for the greasy treats rotates around the group. I decided about a year ago that I would not participate in eating the donuts. Previously, I'd try to restrain myself to eating a half.
The remarkable thing about my new decision (and what makes it blog-worthy) is how much easier it is now. There's no mental stress, no decisions, no angst about should I eat a half or a quarter. Nothing. I just set zero as the tolerance level, and haven't had a problem with that.
Too bad eating as a whole can't be like that.
The remarkable thing about my new decision (and what makes it blog-worthy) is how much easier it is now. There's no mental stress, no decisions, no angst about should I eat a half or a quarter. Nothing. I just set zero as the tolerance level, and haven't had a problem with that.
Too bad eating as a whole can't be like that.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Keeping websites simple and easy to use
I learned something about the importance of keeping things simple in the last few months. I had been working on a new website for our community association (it's a big one - 1,300 houses). I wasn't developing the website from scratch. Instead I choose between service providers that do this type of pre-built website.
After a lot of evaluation on my part, and on the part of other committee members, we came to a decision, and set up the website on OneCommunity. I had very high hopes that lots of people would register, post content, interact with other community members, and keep on coming back online. There were tons of features - a calendar, classified ads, discussion forum, profiles, notice board, you name it. I did my best to encourage people to use the site.
What's happened so far? Well...nothing. Okay, not absolutely nothing, but not very much. When the site first went live, I went crazy putting up ads and posting in the discussion forum. But I was almost the only one, and the site never really took off.
Why is nobody using the site? It could be so useful (so I thought to myself). People could sell stuff they didn't need anymore to their neighbors. They could ask for and receive recommendations for babysitters, housecleaners, yard care services. They could post items of neighborhood interest.
But the bottom line was, it just wasn't easy to use. That critical fact was hidden to me, because I work with computers. I understand how websites work, and how to work around whatever doesn't work. Most people didn't understand it immediately, and weren't interested in investing the time into learning it. This one fact has been critical in making the new website bomb.
Why is Google so successful? Lots of reasons, of course, but mainly - they're so easy to use! There's one box to imput text, and there's 2 buttons (although frankly, I think they should get rid of the "I'm feeling lucky" button). Anybody can jump right in there and get information almost immediately.
There's a superb book on web usability called Don't Make Me Think. It's my all-time favorite book on web usability, but it also has a lot of lessons on how people process information in general, too.
After a lot of evaluation on my part, and on the part of other committee members, we came to a decision, and set up the website on OneCommunity. I had very high hopes that lots of people would register, post content, interact with other community members, and keep on coming back online. There were tons of features - a calendar, classified ads, discussion forum, profiles, notice board, you name it. I did my best to encourage people to use the site.
What's happened so far? Well...nothing. Okay, not absolutely nothing, but not very much. When the site first went live, I went crazy putting up ads and posting in the discussion forum. But I was almost the only one, and the site never really took off.
Why is nobody using the site? It could be so useful (so I thought to myself). People could sell stuff they didn't need anymore to their neighbors. They could ask for and receive recommendations for babysitters, housecleaners, yard care services. They could post items of neighborhood interest.
But the bottom line was, it just wasn't easy to use. That critical fact was hidden to me, because I work with computers. I understand how websites work, and how to work around whatever doesn't work. Most people didn't understand it immediately, and weren't interested in investing the time into learning it. This one fact has been critical in making the new website bomb.
Why is Google so successful? Lots of reasons, of course, but mainly - they're so easy to use! There's one box to imput text, and there's 2 buttons (although frankly, I think they should get rid of the "I'm feeling lucky" button). Anybody can jump right in there and get information almost immediately.
There's a superb book on web usability called Don't Make Me Think. It's my all-time favorite book on web usability, but it also has a lot of lessons on how people process information in general, too.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Preparing for a possible bird flu pandemic
Recently I've been spending WAY too much time on a website devoted to bird flu (http://www.fluwikie.com). I tell ya, you can really get sucked into this. There's a lot of people - thoughtful, intelligent people, but probably leaning more than a little bit to the paranoid side - who are preparing to hunker down and have enough stocked up to be able to live on their supplies for months on end. The idea is that the flu will be raging outside, so the more that you can avoid going to stores, and contact with other people in general, the less likely it will be that you'll catch the flu.
I spent a few hours reading the posts, then starting making lists of what we need to buy in order to be prepared. And I actually did go out to Wal-mart and buy lots of canned goods, and other things that I thought would be useful. No harm done - I tried hard to buy things that keep, and that we use regularly anyway. Plus, this is earthquake country, and it doesn't hurt to be prepared for power outages.
Intereseting to note, though, that a few of things I bought - namely a wind-up, no battery needed LED flashlight from LLBean, and also a simple one-burner propane stove from Campmor - exactly what people would be buying when preparing for emergencies - were backordered, and only expected to be available in a month or so. Also some bulk food storage containers from the Container Store were out of stock. Coincidence? I don't think so. What with all the coverage of the potential flu pandemic, and also the New Orleans hurricane, people are stocking up on these kinds of items.
I spent a few hours reading the posts, then starting making lists of what we need to buy in order to be prepared. And I actually did go out to Wal-mart and buy lots of canned goods, and other things that I thought would be useful. No harm done - I tried hard to buy things that keep, and that we use regularly anyway. Plus, this is earthquake country, and it doesn't hurt to be prepared for power outages.
Intereseting to note, though, that a few of things I bought - namely a wind-up, no battery needed LED flashlight from LLBean, and also a simple one-burner propane stove from Campmor - exactly what people would be buying when preparing for emergencies - were backordered, and only expected to be available in a month or so. Also some bulk food storage containers from the Container Store were out of stock. Coincidence? I don't think so. What with all the coverage of the potential flu pandemic, and also the New Orleans hurricane, people are stocking up on these kinds of items.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
My strength workout - making it easy and quick!
In my quest to get the best workout in a relatively short period of time, I'm looking at my strength workout. How do I motivate myself to actually do this? What's the minimum I need to do in order to stay strong?
My regular aerobic workout is 30 minutes, 4 times a week. I work out on the treadmill while watching TV (yea for TiVo!) and try to break a good sweat by going uphill or doing some jogging. I also do a 15 or 20 minute brisk walk on the treadmill on those days that I work and have very little time in the morning. I have no problem at all motivating myself to do the aerobic workout - it's my chance to watch some of the home decorating/home organization shows I've taped!
However, motivating myself to do strength exercises is a different story. I tried doing some strength exercises in the evenings, while watching some TV with Eric. It doesn't work well for me. It requires an enormous effort of will to get off the couch, plus I'm tired in the evening anyway. So, I'm going to tack the strength exercises onto my morning workout, though time is very tight then. My goal is to add only 5 minutes to my workout time. This means a limited number of exercises, and only one set. I'm tentatively thinking push ups, leg lifts and sit ups (both on the exercise ball), and maybe a few others. I'd have to rotate them to keep under the 5 minute deadline.
By the way, I've dropped stretching entirely. The latest info is that it doesn't do you any good, and actually causes more injuries than not stretching.
My regular aerobic workout is 30 minutes, 4 times a week. I work out on the treadmill while watching TV (yea for TiVo!) and try to break a good sweat by going uphill or doing some jogging. I also do a 15 or 20 minute brisk walk on the treadmill on those days that I work and have very little time in the morning. I have no problem at all motivating myself to do the aerobic workout - it's my chance to watch some of the home decorating/home organization shows I've taped!
However, motivating myself to do strength exercises is a different story. I tried doing some strength exercises in the evenings, while watching some TV with Eric. It doesn't work well for me. It requires an enormous effort of will to get off the couch, plus I'm tired in the evening anyway. So, I'm going to tack the strength exercises onto my morning workout, though time is very tight then. My goal is to add only 5 minutes to my workout time. This means a limited number of exercises, and only one set. I'm tentatively thinking push ups, leg lifts and sit ups (both on the exercise ball), and maybe a few others. I'd have to rotate them to keep under the 5 minute deadline.
By the way, I've dropped stretching entirely. The latest info is that it doesn't do you any good, and actually causes more injuries than not stretching.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
The importance of getting feedback from customers
We took a cruise over the Christmas holidays on Royal Caribbean. It was enjoyable, but could have been more so. Quite a few times during the cruise I wished that there was a suggestion box somewhere, where I could give some feedback on what I liked, and what I didn't like. There was actually a customer survey form given out at the end, that you were supposed to fill out before you left the ship, but by that time (it was a 10 day cruise) I had forgotten what the original issues were, and I wasn't necessarily motivated to fill out another form. So, I left it laying on the bed.
Too bad for Royal Caribbean. Feedback from customers is incredibly important, and they were neglecting that important resource.
I have a lot more thoughts on the whole topic of establishing and maintaining a feedback loop with customers (or employees, too). From what I've seen, it's grossly undervalued. I'll be trying to make my thoughts more cogent and writing them up soon.
Too bad for Royal Caribbean. Feedback from customers is incredibly important, and they were neglecting that important resource.
I have a lot more thoughts on the whole topic of establishing and maintaining a feedback loop with customers (or employees, too). From what I've seen, it's grossly undervalued. I'll be trying to make my thoughts more cogent and writing them up soon.
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