You can be right; but you could also be dead

This has nothing to do with being Republican, or conservative. I'm talking about actions taken by people.


I was reminded of this the other day when I pulled into the local grocery store parking lot. As I was passing in front of the store, an employee was sauntering across the traffic lane in his fluorescent vest.


Of course there is always the area near the entrance marked with the diagonal yellow lines and a sign mentioning something about yielding to pedestrians. In this area we are fairly aware that pedestrians have the right of way. This employee was not in that area.


Truth is, no matter where a pedestrian is, it would be hard to legally argue that they don't have the right of way. So, of course, it would be in all our best interests to yield to pedestrians whether they are in a 'walkway' or not.

That being said, there are two things about this previous incident that rub me the wrong way. 1.) His pace of movement was near incalculable because he was obviously in no hurry to gather the carts in the lot. If he was my employee, he'd be fired for moving so slow, and not giving a crap about his own safety. This brings be to point 2.) Our own safety.


It's true pedestrians have the right of way. It's also true that when a human is pitted against a moving vehicle, my money is on the vehicle.

I can't count the number of times I've seen people cross the street, in a crosswalk or not, without looking, then state, 'Well, I've got the right of way.' 


So what?!


Then there are some people who purposely walk slow across the street just to make cars slow down - morons! What if the driver truly doesn't see you?


I saw a video on TV the other day with some idiot protesters laying in front of a truck on the street. The driver didn't see them. Guess what? I suppose it's somewhat a just result for the lack of intelligence that went into that particularly stupid move. (by the way, no one died, but they did get injured)


If it comes to a showdown, if you end up dead, who cares if you are right?


So, would you rather be right, or be alive? Choose wisely.

Can you count?

This will be short and sweet.


If you can't count to six, or ten, or whatever is posted at the express checkout lane of the grocery store, then do the rest of us a favor and stay home.

And for the grocery stores, if someone has more than the allowed number of items, tell them to take their @$$ to the next lane. Why are you letting them stall everyone else - you, Mr. Checkout Person, are part of the problem.


And also, any grocery store with management with half of a brain, should make these lanes 'no checks allowed'. The idea is speed. These lanes are for the people who need to get something quick and get out.


When I'm behind you, yes I am counting your items. And if it is me behind you, I will make a big deal out of it because you are too self-centered to care about anyone else, and you deserve to be called out. You may get away with it most of the time because most people are too afraid to say anything - I'm not. You'll hope it's not me behind you if you're trying to skate by. Or better yet, take your @$$ to the next lane, and we can all live in peace. 

Priorities

As I write this, the case involving Barry Bonds' accused use of steroids is underway, and in the hands of the jury. This case started in 2003, and as of this minute it is still unresolved.


That isn't what bothers me. It's the fact that this is being handled by the U.S. Court System. The United States has Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Libya, and a national budget issue that currently threatens to shut down the federal government, among other problems to contend with. And they are wasting their time on the game of baseball.

Let me fill the court in on something: almost ALL the winners are on steroids! You won't hear many other people say that, but it's time to face the truth. I'm not condoning the practice, but I certainly understand why. All it takes is for one person to take them, then if the others want to compete, they too must take them. That's all it takes - one person starting it.


It's like women and makeup. Once one girl makes herself prettier, now all the other girls have to keep up. My preference would be that no women wore makeup because I'd rather know what I'm getting, and eventually I've gotta see what you really look like. This is just as much of a crime as taking steroids. The prettiest girls will still be the prettiest without their makeup. The best athletes will still be the best without steroids - but once one person starts, the race is on.

So let's just all understand that it's about as controllable as stopping women from using their makeup. There are are ways to beat the tests including new drugs that don't show up. Then when they are able to be tested for, another new drug shows up. Let's just accept that it's not controllable.


Let's put our efforts where they belong and stop wasting our time on someone who plays a game, who may or may not have taken an illegal drug, based on some shaky evidence, of a questionable attorney. Sheeesh! Let's get our country in order first!

What Can the Gym Tell Us About People?

Back to the gym today after taking a couple planned weeks off.


As I was getting ready to use one of the workout areas, I noticed that someone else had left the bar and weights in the area. Since it's rude to remove another person's weights and use the space, at least without asking, I looked around to see if anyone was in fact working out there.


The gym was basically dead at 0500 with only two other people working out. One was with me and I knew she was not the source of the gear being left on the equipment. The other person was on the treadmill and it was highly unlikely he was the source of this situation.

This reminded me about a great lesson in life that so many people ignore as they traipse around during the day in their own little self-absorbed world - our actions affect others. Unfortunately, these idiotic actions by others show that a lot of people just don't care.


Every time I'm done working out on each piece of equipment, I put it back to the way it was when I got there - empty. I don't even leave a small amount of gear on the equipment thinking, as some do, 'anyone can do that amount of weight'. Some people can't. So I put it back.


Every time you don't clean up after yourself, whether it's at home, at work, or at the gym, someone else has to do it. You are basically saying, 'Be my servant. Clean up after me. I am better than you.' It's not just about at the gym. It's about being courteous everywhere. Sure you might get away with it for a while, but in short order everyone will 'have your number' and have no interest in associating with you.


This also goes for 'working in' on someone else's equipment at the gym. First, ask if they will let you. If they do, then put the machine or gear back to the way it was - the way the other person had it - when you are done with your set. Since a lot of people don't understand this, I've found myself having to say, 'Sure you can work in, and I'd like you to just make sure you put it back to the way I had it after each of your sets.' They often act offended, but here's the rule of life - 'He who has the gold, makes the rules.'


You've got two choices: I'm nice enough to let you work in; you can be nice enough to make my life as easy as possible, or, You can wait. I don't care which you choose.


I also like to say, if you want something from someone, make it as easy as possible for that person to get you what you want. If you don't, you'll often find that you'll have to do without. Treat others as you wish to be treated. You'll be amazed at the number of doors it opens for you!

Debbie Fields Is Wrong

I once heard Debbie Fields, when talking about success, state 'Good enough, never is.'

The idea here of course is that it's not good to settle for 'good enough', and that's not the way to success. I respectfully disagree and I'd like to ask Ms. Fields, 'Debbie, at what point did you decide to start selling your cookies?'


We all know that 'perfection' by definition is unattainable. Therefore anything less than perfect can always be improved. And in the case of a cookie, one person's perfect will be different than another person's. Therefore if you were trying to create the perfect cookie, you would be chasing an unattainable goal.


This leads to my premise that at some point Debbie had to actually utter those words, whether out loud or in her head, 'This is good enough.' Had she not done so, she would still be working on her recipe in her kitchen.


So from a success standpoint, and making the most of your ideas, be sure to get 'out there' even before your product or idea is perfect.


General Colin Powell said he makes decisions after getting 80% of the facts. If you wait for 100%, you'll never make a decision.


Avoid the paralysis of analysis, and just do it. You can perfect it as you go. It's o.k. to have something be a work in progress. A nearly perfect idea making you money is better than a perfect idea sitting in your desk drawer.

Politically Correct

In this country we all have the right to our opinion. That, however, does not make all our opinions right.


While I have no problem with people being sensitive to each other's situations, we may want to examine the extent to which so many seem to go just to make sure we don't offend.


It seems as if so many people are letting others get away with doing the wrong thing, simply because they are afraid to stand up for what is right and wrong.


We all see things on a daily basis that we know are wrong, yet we fail to speak out simply so we don't offend the other person.


Well the truth is, we can't be all things to all people. I don't advocate going out of our way to be sure we offend, but if we don't offend someone, we really aren't doing much with our lives.


If we take a look back in history, even the greatest people we can think of had someone opposed to them. It is the people who live a life of quiet, that also lead a life of quiet desperation.


Stand up for what you believe. You will offend somebody, but it's better than being a nobody.


Stand for something. Be passionate about what you do. These two things often lead to great success!

President Bush's Oprah Appearance

Again, not to get political, but this just happens to be a good example.


I just saw former President Bush's appearance on Oprah yesterday. While I'm not a big daytime (nor night time) tv watcher, I couldn't help but pay attention as I was eating dinner.

One of the things that struck me was how good of a person he really seems to be, largely because of what I often refer to as someone's 'character'. Character as I describe it is when someone has conviction in what they are doing, and does what they believe in, and does what they say they will, never allowing popular opinion to blow you off course, no matter what others may think.


It was obvious during the interview, and by looking at his presidency, that he is a man of character. He could have done a lot of things differently and been more popular, yet he stuck to what he believed in the face of adversity, and public criticism.

As a result his popularity diminished, but you can tell he feels good about holding his ground about his core values and what he believes.


I'd much rather follow a man who tells you what he believes and lets you know where he is going, and does what he says, even if it is opposite of what I believe, than a man who is only in it for popularity. Popularity holds no substance, is fleeting, and eventually means nothing.


By contrast, if you look at the current administration, who campaigned on getting the troops out of Iraq, closing Guantanamo Bay, and has done neither. Sure it was popular and useful to get elected, but how does it look now, knowing the person making those promises didn't keep them? 


I'm not making a political example here, it's just a good, current example of the difference in character. I know we can find other poor examples of both political parties and I'm not saying one is better than the other. I'm just getting to the important point that it is much better to be unpopular and have great character, than it is to be popular and have a poor character.


In the long run, you will eventually be judged, based on your character.