Random notes from an insomniac...

Random notes from an insomniac...

Yesterday I got to work after tossing and turning and found two of my staff members in an argument over who had less sleep the night before. The one with the 6 month old baby won - he was up every hour on the hour. (Incidently, she (the baby) showed up later that morning looking bright-eyed and eager, and willing to be passed around to everyone in the office.)

So this morning I decided to get up and post a few notes...

For the impeachment folder...

Pete sent along this note:

Check out this Harry Shearer song, 935 Lies. It can go in the impeachment folder along with being added to the play list of the Heisenberg Orchestra.

http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=624

The reference, of course, is to the recent analysis by The Center for Public Integrity that "Following 9/11, President Bush and seven top officials of his administration waged a carefully orchestrated campaign of misinformation about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq."

Maybe we need a new measure of performance for our government officials: the DPL (Deaths Per Lie). Based on official reports by the Dept. of Defense, that is 4.2 US Deaths Per Lie. According to this site, that is 94.61 Iraqi Deaths Per Lie. I know I've seen higher estimates, so this is probably conservative.

This is depressing.

On more cheerful notes...

I'm learning to knit! I'm not greatly ambitious, but I wanted a nice, long, cotton scarf and asked a friend to knit it for me. When she turned me down I decided "I can do this myself." After buying some yarn and needles and watching a variety of youtube videos I decided maybe this was something my Mother - with many zillions of stitches under her belt - would have some tips on. So Sunday night I brought my gear and had her unteach what I learned and get it right.

In the middle of the lesson she dropped this purl... er pearl: "Your Dad knit." Huh? Turns out about the time I was born Dad got the idea that he wanted to knit, so he did. Knit himself some socks and mittens, then talked my mother into learning to knit so she could knit him a sweater. So just when I think I'm on the pushing the boundaries of what I can do, I find my dad was there 50+ years ago. One question I need to ask: who actually taught him the stitches? His mother wasn't around to help, and Mom made it sound like he learned first.

And speaking of things I'm learning...

I've been putting a lot of energy into learning Goldratt's Theory of Constraints, along with the accompanying Thinking Processes. It is helping me uncover some interesting stuff in my business.

And finally...

Tomorrow morning I'm heading North for a weekend of skiing. L is flying home to join me with a bunch of friends from church for a long weekend. Weather forecast looks good with fresh snow coming every day. I'm looking forward to seeing my daughter, getting out on the snow, and eating good food.

I guess not finally...

Obama wins more states and fewer delegates. Clinton takes NY and CA. I have to say I'll be disappointed if Obama loses. Will this still be undecided by the time I get to cast my vote?