Mike's thoughts on everything: Racism

Mike's thoughts on everything: Racism

Racism

Leah discovered this story, which I wanted to share....

A white man said, "Colored people are not allowed here."
The black man turned around and stood up. He then said:
"Listen sir....when I was born I was BLACK "
"When I grew up I was BLACK, "
"When I'm sick I'm BLACK, "
"When I go in the sun I'm BLACK, "
"When I'm cold I'm BLACK, "
"When I die I'll be BLACK."
"But you sir."
"When you are born you're PINK".
"When you grow up you're WHITE, "
"When you're sick, you're GREEN, "
"When you go in the sun you turn RED, "
"When you're cold you turn BLUE, "
"And when you die you turn PURPLE.
"And you have the nerve to call me colored?"
The black man then sat back down and the white man walked away ashamed.
Put this on your page if you HATE racism

Instructions for the Chia Alarm Clock

Last year we purchased a Chia Pet (I believe it was a hippo) for my 6 year old daughter for Channukah.  This was one of those great, relatively inexpensive gifts that kids love.  It was also a great learning experience for her.  For me, it was truly one of those moments that showed that you don't need to spend a great deal on a gift in order for it to be loved.  For kids and pets that don't understand the concept of money, it truly exemplifies the concept that the simple things in life are best, regardless of cost.

 

But I'm getting away from the point....which is the point of blogging anyway.  Accompanying the Chia Pet was the Chia Alarm clock, which, in 2006, was included to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Chia Pet. The Chia Alarm Clock is a small plastic LCD alarm clock resembling Chia Puppy at full growth, and plays the Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia jingle as its alarm function.  It's actually very annoying, and, as with most cheap foreign electronics, the instructions were not at all clear.

 

The alarm seemed to have a mind of it's own, and would go off at all hours.  At some point, I was able to silence it, and for months, it sat safely on my desk.  Recently, one of us triggered the alarm, and it would go off seemingly every hour.  I searched the web for the instructions....to no avail, including on the manufacturers web site.  The e-mail address posted on the Chia Pet website did not work, and the company did not answer their phones, nor return my voicemail.  Apparently this was a common problem, and there are many stories of the Chia alarms demise at the hands of a hammer, etc.  My wife accused me of tossing the instructions (I didn't), and the frustration of the alarm, and her accusations, led to the Chia alarm being tossed at her in frustration (I later apologized).  Since that time, the Chia alarm has been sitting in my garage, continuing to go off, with ever diminishing power as the batteries wore down.

 

Tonight, as I put my daughter to bed, she found the instructions for the Chia Alarm in her night table.  I was thrilled, as it proved my innocence.  I also now have the opportunity to once again disable this electronic nightmare, and to share the information on the web for the world.

 

So, without further adieu, here are the instructions....

 

To Set Date & Clock:

    1. Press B four times.

    2. Press A to adjust month.  When finished, press B.

    3. Press A to adjust day.  When finished, press B.

    4. Press A to adjust hour.  When finished, press B.

    5. Press A to adjust minute.  When finished, press B.

    6. Press A to active the clock.

 

To Set Alarm:

    1. Press B once.

    2. Press A to go activate alarm functions (alarm, chime, snooze)

    3. Repeat pressing A to set functions on or off

    4. Press B once again.

    5. Press A to adjust the hour of the Alarm.  When finished, press B.

    6. Press A to adjust the minute of the Alarm.  When finished, press B.

    7. When finished, press B to return to normal display.

 

Alarm:

    1. Will last for one minute

    2. Press C to stop

    3. From normal display,

        a. Press A once to show alarm time

        b. Press A twice to show date

        c. Press A third time to show second

        d. When showing second, Press B to reset the second.

        e. Press A to return to normal display.

My thoughts on the stressed workforce....

1) Everything is cyclical. Remember back to the late '90s. The economy was great, jobs were plentiful, and all of the power was in the hand's of the work force. Then it all came tumbling down...companies cut bloated costs, rightsized, outsourced, and started treating people like poo. At some point (and I think the time is nearing, the balance of power (read supply and demand) will shift back to the employee, and those employers that want to thrive, will need to address both the monetary and non-monetary issues that impact the stressed-out workforce. Those companies that do this best, will succeed, and those that do not get on board are doomed to failure.

2) Employees will push back. I'm seeing more and more people pushing back against poor working conditions (too many hours; inept management; too many "critical" priorities....etc.) This becomes contagious. Some companies (and managers) will resist, while the best will respond in a positive manner and act upon the feedback. Also, and perhaps more importantly, we will all stop pushing each other, and begin to act in a more civil manner. Those of us that aspire to be leaders, and that possess good people skills (when we are at our best), will serve as role models to help drive positive change.

3) On a related note, change will come from within. Ultimately, it is up to each of us, as an individual, to say "I've had enough!!", and in so doing, to begin taking the steps to enact positive change. We can be roll models for each other, and through our behaviors, begin to make a difference. In theory, this will make "us" more successful (less stress; better results) than those that do not make positive changes. Success will drive imitation and innovation, and a cycle of positive results will (hopefully) follow.