thoughts on the news of the day: jobs

hmmm…..

            I read an article this morning about a chain of grocery stores in Massachusetts that has eliminated its self service lines at its check out counters.  They have determined that the personal contact that customer’s desire trumps the convenience of checking out speedily and promptly.  On the other hand, some stores are experimenting with offering a scanner to shoppers as they walk in the store.  You could scan your items as you (yes, you) put them in grocery bags and then pay by scanning your debit card as you walk out the door.  Let’s see, if that happened, wonder how many jobs it would eliminate? 

            I think we have outsmarted ourselves.  We want to save money, but the solution to saving money always seems to be less workforce and less hours on the job.  This sounds nice until the fact settles in that it could be our job that is eliminated.   

            There was a book written many years ago by Buckminster Fuller (the geodesic dome inventor).  He predicted that we would all someday work and go to school at home; that we would work far fewer hours and that life would be better.  I guess I have lived to see his predictions somewhat fulfilled.  Internet classes are available for most college courses and are being considered for high school and even grade school.  Lots of us take our computers and smart phones everywhere we go, so we can work anywhere we are.

            The down side of all of this is that less people are needed to work, which means fewer jobs for all of us.  Somehow we need to fix this – I’m not sure how.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: charlie

hmmm…..

            What goes around comes around …. That’s pretty much what Charlie Sheen is learning.  You may recall that Sheen spent a few months going on a rant about all kinds of crazy stuff.  He claimed he was “winning” when clearly he wasn’t.  He was out of control.

            But now his behavior has come full circle.  On Jay Leno’s show last night he said he was “pretty much losing” not winning.  He said that he would have fired himself from “Two and a Half Men” if it had been his decision.  He seemed contrite – sorry for all the trouble he had caused.

            We tend to reap what we sow.  Consequences have to be faced for our behavior.  We want to blame circumstance, situations or people for the trouble that befalls us.  But really, it’s our own bad behavior that gets us in such messes.  Sometimes it’s a while before it catches up with us.  We repeatedly fail in our responsibility in a relationship and one day the relationship is gone.  We ask what happened when really what happened started long ago.

            But good consequences can happen from good actions, too.  “What goes around comes around” fits our situations for positive outcomes also.  We study hard and the degree comes around.  We watch what we eat and slowly the weight comes off.

            Mostly it boils down to paying attention.  When things begin to get out of control, we assess our part in the situation.  If we can change the circumstances, we do want we can to make them better.  And when good things happen, we try to keep doing what we have been doing all along in the hopes that the good will continue.  And in all of it, we grow.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: fashion

hmmm…..

            Fashion is in the news today.  Target stores are marketing Missoni– a high priced Italian knitwear line that features zigzag stripes on its wares.  Apparently there was a run on the merchandise when it was previewed in stores yesterday.  So luxury fashion is not dead after all, especially when it is priced at discount store prices.  Customers stood in line for hours to purchase the clothing, household items and even bicycles.

            Then there’s another fashion twist.  Football uniforms are growing more and more flashy as manufacturers try to make a statement for teams both collegiate and professional.  There are helmets blazed with multiple colors and design, bizarre uniform color combinations and other designs that make us wonder if the game has become a crazy kind of Project Runway assignment.

            Lots of people don’t know this about me, but in a prior “reincarnation” I was a clothing designer.  I spent my early adult years in the fashion industry.  And Heidi Klum is right.  One day you are in and the next day you are out.  It is a very volatile industry and is not for weak willed sissies.

            But now I design for another entity and it is far more fulfilling.  I am in the God business today and we don’t worry so much about how things look on the outside.  The inside is what is important.   I learned many years ago that trying to match my insides with someone else’s outsides was a losing proposition.  I had to find a way to scrub my soul and clothe it with new garments.  That’s where God comes in. God is the best designer of all.  I found a forever fashion and I have never looked back.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: sports

hmmm…..

            Two seemingly unrelated stories captured my interest this morning.  First, the news that ESPN’s newscaster, Jaworski said a bad word on national television last night.  He was covering Monday Night Football and slipped in some foul language.  Jaworski apologized as soon as he knew that the mistake had been made and ESPN said that it was moving on after the error.

            Second, the Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose, California has a problem.  The principal has decided to enforce a dress code that doesn’t allow girls to wear skirts or shorts that do not reach their mid-thigh.  Unfortunately, the enforcement extends to the cheerleading squad whose $300 uniforms have skirts shorter than the rules.  The solution that the administration has offered is that the girls wear sweat pants under their uniforms.  One cheerleader said that doing that was just plain “dorky” and I agree.

            We seem to get very worked up over sports issues.  We want our athletes and our teams to be pristine in their behavior, but they are not.  When sportscasters curse, it makes national news.  When fresh faced all-American cheerleaders show their behinds, it does, too. 

            But maybe we should have higher expectations of our sports heroes.  Maybe the standard has been set higher for them.  Maybe we have the right to be disappointed when they fail us.  Tiger Woods is a worthy example of that.  We put our faith and our hopes and our dreams on the stellar athlete we found in him and he turned around and disappointed us.  If the goal of the athlete is to win, then maybe it should be to win favor too.

            hmmm…..

           

thoughts on the news of the day: penmanship

hmmm…..

            My computer has been running very slowly the past couple of days, so I suspected a virus.  I set up a scan, thinking I could run it fairly quickly.  Wrong!  Sitting here an hour later, I find myself still waiting to write my blog.

            Since I needed to compose it before I go to work, I decided to write it the old fashioned way – with pen and paper.  There is something very relaxing about putting pen to paper.  It feels like the words are streaming out of the brain and into the hand where they land on the paper without much effort.  I guess the same could be said about the keyboard, but really, it’s not the same.

            I have heard that penmanship is no longer being taught in schools and that soon cursive writing will be a thing of the past.  Wonder if there will be special classes to teach the art of calligraphy – that would be a nice twist.

            I admit that cursive writing can be hard to read.  My mom’s hand writing was nearly impossible to translate.  Every time I received a letter from mom at summer camp I struggled to read it.  Often I just gave up and simply appreciated the fact that she loved me enough to write.

            When my computer finishes scanning I’ll go back to the keyboard, but I hope that I never forget the art of good penmanship.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: 9-12-11

hmmm…..

            Today is the day after.  It’s the day after the 10 year commemoration of September 11, 2001.  Just about all day long there were television programs yesterday that reminded us of the tragedy and its effects on our country and our world.

            But today is tomorrow.  For many the sun will not come up.  Annie sings, “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow.”  The victims and the families of the tragedy cannot love tomorrow because their loved ones have not returned.  Ten years of tomorrows have not wiped away the memories of that horrible day when the world changed forever. 

            The monument at ground zero helps.  It keeps the memory of that senseless day alive for the families of the victims and for all of us who just watched as the towers were struck and tumbled down.  The names of the victims are engraved there and for those families of victims they are the only memorial they will have for the loved ones they lost.

            Why did this senseless tragedy happen?  Where was God in all of this?  Where is God in this today?  I have to believe that God was not in the evil that occurred.  God was in the bravery of the firefighters who lost their lives to save others.  God is in the prayers of us who can only imagine the sorrow that some must feel.  God cried when we cried, God was always there.  And God is with us now.  God is here.  God bless America.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: 9-11

hmmm…..

            A day or two after 9-11-01, a friend of mine who lives down by Houston, TX found herself in her homeland of Scotland with no one to talk to about the tragic events of a few days before.  She wandered into the little Granite Church at Crathie to mourn the deaths of so many Americans.  In the pews placed there was a small piece of paper with a prayer written by the minister of the church.  It was composed for Americans who might be visiting from overseas.  It was a great comfort to my friend and she brought it back to me.  Ten years later, the prayer bears repeating, and I share it with you now:

Heavenly Father hear our prayers for the world.

Our faith is tested; we find it hard to pray.

We want you to be aware of our anger.

Our frustration, our questions.

Why is EVIL allowed to prosper?

The prayer of the Psalmist is our prayer:

“Do something Lord and use your powerful arm.

The wicked won’t respect you.

In their hearts they say “God won’t punish us”

Dear God, in the name of Jesus Christ who died and

Rose again to conquer evil, hear our prayers.

We pray for the families who have lost their loved ones

And for those who wait for news.

We pray for the families of those who lost their lives as they went to save others.

We pray for our political leaders and their advisors as they consider their response.

Gracious God,

Through your Son you have taught us that nothing in life

or in death can separate us from your love.

Look in mercy on all to whom great sorrow has come

through the actions of terrorists in the U.S.

Help those who are injured

Support those who are dying

Strengthen the members of the Emergency Services and

all who bring relief and comfort.

Console and protect those who lost family and friends.

Give your light in darkness to all who are in despair.

And assure them that you hold all souls in life.

Through Jesus Christ our Risen Lord.  Amen.

            hmmm…..