Saturday, March 23, 2013

Day One, The Second Year

Wondering What the Future Holds...
It's Saturday, a day off after a rather long work week. No longer in terms of time then any other work week, just longer in the number of "management panics" undergone. Seems a day didn't go by without someone running around with their hair on fire. Oh yeah, a fun week.

I remember reading a novel once, I dare say it was an Alexander Kent novel. This one perhaps? 



 Though it's been so long I can scarcely remember. And if you've not read any of these, I ask why not? The man is brilliant, simply brilliant. Alexander Kent and his tales of Richard Bolitho, Royal Navy are rousing sea stories of courage, patriotism (though not the kind you might think), betrayal, battle and the love men feel for a superb leader. Bolitho's career stretches from before the American Revolution to the Napoleonic Wars.

But, once again, I digress. Point of this little side track is that as a leader, never, ever, let the troops see you panic or being unsure of yourself. A sure guarantee for trouble. As a senior British naval officer told the young officer, "Walk Lieutenant, walk! No need for the men to see you in an unseemly rush. Panic is contagious. So walk Lieutenant, walk to your post as if you had not a care in the world."

As you might well imagine, didn't see much of that at work this work. But things got done and done much to the customer's satisfaction. Jim and I are far too experienced to let management's panic attacks influence the competent accomplishment of our mission. (Jim is a former sailor, six years as an enlisted nuke aboard USS Abraham Lincoln. A very smart guy and a joy and pleasure to work with!)

But now it's Saturday, the cares of the work week have fallen away. But today, as the title suggests, it's also Day One, of the Second Year of the blog. Of course, it's also Day One of the rest of my life. I view every new day as something special and shiny. No matter what happens I have my family and my friends. With the Good Lord watching o'er all.

Snapped an interesting photo this past week, during our latest bout of frozen precipitation, i.e. snow. Just before going to bed, I looked out the window and just had to take the shot. It came out well. Then today, which is gorgeous, I took more or less the same shot. A before and after, if you will. I like it, YMMV.



(Hey, looks like the bottom of my down spout has wandered! Guess I'll have to mend that!)

But it's time to get out and enjoy this bright new day! I wish you all the joys of the day and may some wonderful small thing come along to give you pleasure and take away whatever troubles may beset you at the moment. Until next time...

6 comments:

  1. I have a few night time snow pics in my archives... those sorts o' shots ARE beautiful.

    As for the bad week at work... they happen. But weekends are hardly ever bad. ;-)

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    1. That night picture was an experiment. Of course, the little focus rectangle just kept whining how it couldn't see anything. I figured, what the hey! It's not like I'm wasting film. So I took the shot. I loved it.

      Weekends are seldom bad. And you, you've got like a permanent weekend. Nice!

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  2. If your neighbor likes to sun bathe you might want to do some tree pruning...you know so as not to block the sun.

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    Replies
    1. I have a better view from a window a bit further south (to one's right while looking at the photo).

      Not that you heard that from me!

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  3. Nice fence, too.

    Your post reminded me of a poem we had on the corner of one of the status boards in CIC:
    "When you're worried
    Or in doubt,
    Run in circles,
    Scream and shout."

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    Replies
    1. I think that little poem is on page one of my company's management manual.

      Our next door neighbor has done a TON of work on their backyard. It used to be pretty vanilla. He put the pool in last year and the fence went up two years ago. Used to be a chain link fence, when he asked if I minded if he put that new fence in, my answer was "Not at all!" Looks way better than it used to.

      Delete

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