Quarantine

It's been a while since I've rambled. Life has been very busy as most of us now know. The world situation concerning the Coronavirus has exploded and the globe has almost shut itself down. It's very strange how things happen.

As I sit here My Beloved and I are watching Live PD. All the hosts of the show are doing their parts from their homes. Strange indeed. The rest of the world is following suite. I however work at a business that is deemed essential and is excluded from the lockdown so many  businesses face. The good part for me is I still receive a paycheck. I suppose the bad part is I am exposed daily to whomever decides to come into the business whether they are sick or not. I guess I am possibly sacrificing my health for the greater good. I don't really feel that way.

Mine is not a popular opinion on this situation. I firmly believe it is completely overblown. Yeah, I hear the numbers and see the reports on a daily basis just like everyone else. Is it a new pathogen that has leaked into the world? If so, why is it imprinted on the back of a Lysol spray can? It's not new.

What is new is how this is portrayed in the media. Many people get extremely mad when someone compares it to the flu. Okay, I won't do that. What I can compare it to is how the flu effects people. The contagion is higher for the flu. The death rate is higher for the flu. The range of ages it adversely affects is higher for the flu. You can be mad all you want about that but those are the numbers.

Am I concerned that anyone is dying from this? Sure. I'm not a fan of anyone dying from anything. I am of the belief this has been whipped to a frenzy due to how we communicate every tidbit of information in this world. If this were the 1970's or the 1980's the reporting on this would be virtually nonexistent. Because of that there would be no panic and most would simply have gone about their day with no change. People are panicking because they are driven to panic. They see every symptom possible and now are convinced they are infected and run to the hospital. If the concern for life were as true as we are now led to believe many countries should shut down every flu season. But you know what? That doesn't happen. Ask yourself, why is that? Why is this different?

I for one am simply not going to panic. That's my take on all of this, like it or not. You're welcome to leave comments telling me I'm a horrible person. That's your right. I don't block comments other than spam. I may make an exception for hate. To comment, use logic and reason. Those won't be removed, I promise.

Leadership forgotten

There are many ways to inspire and ignite a spark beneath those who are working to rise up through the ranks in their respective professions. Several years and companies ago when I was a much younger lad, one of the development pieces we were to perform consisted of reading through a few books on leadership and development. At the time, I thought that wasn't too bad of an idea.

I won't bore you with the titles or author names as there were several and frankly, they are irrelevant, at least to me. It wasn't that there weren't lessons to be learned. I think one can learn something from nearly anything they read as long as the presentation is coherent. The lessons taken from these sort of books can be either good or bad. That doesn't always mean they are right or their lessons reflect how the business world actually works.

I remember one such 'lesson' was on how companies should go about passing on the helm to a successor. The case study was a very large and well known corporation. The man who built and guided this company was considered one to put the welfare of the company first. The true way to continue growth and success was to chose someone who had the same values. That is an excellent lesson, if it were true in practice.

Over the years in my career I've come to realize that lesson is for a bygone time, an era that no longer exists. I've gone through too many changes in the business models of my career to believe many of these leaders understand the basic ideas of how the business runs. Sure, there are changes in every industry. One must adapt to ever-changing environments, but too often now the attempt at growth undercuts the foundations of the company. Wall Street and stock prices now drive the business instead of a solid base. The investors come first. Unfortunately that is what is getting so many businesses in trouble. Growth that can't be sustained ultimately leads to failure of the company and where is the investors now? They're left with loss or nothing at all.

And what happens to those who run these companies when things begin to go bad? They wind up with golden parachutes worth more than the combined payroll of all the rest of the associates in the company. Hardly the lesson put forth in the book and certainly not something commonly in practice in this day and age in the business world.

Coldest day

Today is supposed to be the coldest day in a year here in flyover country. Actually, the high temperature is projected to be twenty-two degrees. In my opinion that's not really all that cold as we haven't had a hard winter in the last few years. Heck, this winter we haven't even had double digits in snow and it's half way through February.

You know what us old guys say...back in my day...

The one thing that gets me every winter whether it's a real winter or just a false winter like these last couple have been is the number of people I run into that are always complaining they are cold. Well yeah, it's winter. You're going to be cold.

Hey, here's an idea; dress for the winter season with winter clothing. But Robert, we just want to be comfortable (or fashionable). Well let this old guy tell you, being cold isn't comfortable. Even in the dead of winter I see too many people walking around in the same clothes they wore during the warmer months of the year and simply toss on a coat.

That's not how it works folks. If you want to be warm in the winter you need to dress in winter appropriate clothes. That means heavier jeans, not stretchy fabrics that have no insulation to them, heavier tops, thicker socks (as I constantly see others without socks on) and, God forbid, long underwear.

I personally know no woman (that I am aware of) who wears thermal underwear beneath their clothing. I know a few men who do but even that is a rarity. For me, once it gets cold I wear thermals all winter long, indoors and out. Guess what? I'm comfortable...inside and out. On really really cold days, like back in the olden days of my youth, I may perhaps put on a sweater if I'm sitting still in a chair writing on the computer...or something like that.

So, if you're generally someone who complains they're cold and you are dressing like it is June and you have flip flops on, I don't want to hear it. At that point you simply chose to be cold.

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day...we still have four and a half weeks left of winter. Damned groundhog.

Unintended consequences

Sometimes things happen, unexpected things. Sometimes these are small, inconsequential steps that simply add up when you're not expecting it.

Several months ago, My Beloved and I along with Ragin' Cage and his dad went to the nearby (sort of) Pumpkin Festival. Actually, this festival is during the fall months here in fly-over country. So, you see it's been several months since then. Yeah, so?

Well, during the festival filled with rides and fair food there was this game...land a ping pong ball in the bowl of water and win a goldfish. Those games are very hard to win, not that I'm saying they're rigged against you, but well, you know. The problem is, his ping pong ball landed in one of the bowls and he was the happy winner and now owner of a fabulous goldfish.

So again, what's the problem?

Well, we took the goldfish home, now named Mr. Waffles and put him in a large glass bowl. And there he sat, and sat, and sat. We kept changing the water every few days but Mr. Waffles lived on. We figured what the heck, goldfish don't live too long. But he kept on going, and going, and going until finally, we had to do something.

And so it began. We finally had to break down and spend money on a small tank for him to live in. I got tired of seeing a bowl of water on the kitchen counter. So, twenty-five dollars later for a small filtered tank and Mr. Waffles had a new home. But Mr. Waffles looked lonely. He swam around and hid behind the plastic plants for a couple weeks before we broke down and bought a companion fish, Oreo, another goldfish.

So they have been swimming around now for another month living happily together. Today however the tank had to be cleaned. We realized Mr. Waffles was getting black spots and likely an ammonia buildup was the cause, so, another ten dollars for a siphon to clean the bottom of the tank.

This little fifty-cent gold fish has now cost us about $44 in equipment and supplies, not to mention a companion. I guess that's the price you pay for raising a little boy. Oh, we also have a tree frog, but that's another story altogether.

A writing challenge

It is the new year, welcome to 2020.

Often it is time for many of us/you to set new goals for the year to hopefully improve ourselves for the coming year. Many times we succeed, many times we fail. I'm not one that usually makes new years resolutions either professionally or personally. I have a general idea where I'm trying to go in life and carry on.

Now, in my writing career I've sold a few books; not as many as I would have hoped over the years but just enough to pat myself on the back. Making a career as a writer isn't for the feint of heart especially when there are bills to pay, a family to keep and life to face in the everyday world. I may never be able to retire from the day job and become strictly an author but hey, you have to keep the dream alive.

So where is this going Robert? Glad you asked.

For the year I have given myself a writing challenge, a type I've never done before. I have two novels to work on this year, finishing Serrian Sector, the fourth book of my sci-fi series and picking up work again on the third book of my fantasy series which I have let languish due to the former series. But the other challenge I've set for myself is a 365 challenge. I will write one paragraph per day for 365 days and post it to my facebook author page and on Twitter.

The story is a continuation of two first person fantasy short stories that I had no intention of continuing but, inspiration happens. If you would like to follow along and see how far I go with this challenge feel free to follow along on either Robert Thomas / Black Cover Books or @42rthomas

My challenge began on December 26th, the birthday of my beloved brother 'The Stache'. Perhaps he will follow along as well, but I won't count on it. He's very busy in retirement these days.

And that's what little girls are made of

It's the Christmas season and that means toys...lots and lots of toys being sold. We've got cars and trucks and dolls and blocks and a whole bunch of stuff I've never heard of. I haven't been in the toy business for a long time and, well I'm old.

Most of these toys weren't around or even a conception when I was a lad eagerly awaiting the ripping frenzy of Christmas morning. Even in my toy retail days when I worked for the defunct Children's Palace stores, many of those toys were new to me. My first big 'toy craze' I worked through was the introduction of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Fortunately for me I had just missed the Cabbage Patch phenomenon.

But there are some things that just don't change. There are dinosaurs, action figures, dolls, science toys...wait, did you say science toys? Yes! There are all kinds of toys that let children discover science and the natural world around them. But you know what hasn't changed in my opinion? Parents don't buy these toys for girls.

We hear all the time that parents want more for their girls and they don't want them to just follow the traditional paths laid out for women. But guess what, most don't (in my opinion) begin setting them up for those paths. I've conducted a brief experiment at work asking moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas who they are buying the discovery / science toys for. And guess what? Well over ninety percent of them are buying those toys for boys, not girls.

It's obvious what parents (mostly women and moms buy for their girls because men don't do most of the shopping) buy for girls; dolls, jewelry kits, makeup kits, anything pink and a bunch of cutesy products specifically aimed at girls.

So here's my challenge to the women of this country; if you want your daughters to grow up and become active in the sciences or biology or any of the 'non-traditional' fields we all hear has a glass ceiling it's time to put your money where your mouth is and break the mold. Don't just hope your little girl stumbles into one of these professions, start them on the track at a young age. Even if they don't follow that path, you've set them on a course that offers them insight to a place they may at least have an interest.

Ball's in your court now...

Cowboys and Indians

Yesterday when I was at my day job, you know, that one that actually pays the bills, I was stocking the shelves as it is a common occurrence. This time of year toys are a prime object. Most of the time I don't give much notice to what the toy is. More often than not I have no connection with whatever the toy is to my past. You must remember, most of what is on the shelves these days wasn't around when I was a young lad.

One toy however did give me pause. Like the skillful merchandiser I am, I deftly slipped my regulation safety knife under the cardboard flap and within the blink of an eye had the box open. Of course one has to have a regulation safety knife because everyone who works in the industry these days is too stupid to use a real razor knife without doing themselves some serious harm...but I digress.

Inside the box was a 'replica Black Canyon' western rifle set. It came complete with a rifle just like Chuck Connors had in the old Rifleman television series, however it was orange, not sure Chuck would have approved of that, as well as a pistol and holster for said six shooter. It got me to thinking, do kids these days play cowboys and indians? I'm thinking that's a fantasy that has long since passed into the history books. Even in my day, North of 50 and I never really played that even though we were only a few generations removed from that era. Yeah, I'm a bit old. We were more into playing 'war' being we were fresh off the World War II era.

North of 50 on the left, me on the right

with our trusty rifles

The funny thing about that is we really didn't play good vs bad and make one be the Germans or the Japanese. I guess we didn't think along those lines. Now, the era of cowboys and indians is so far removed from the public mindset that this toy seems like an antique. Not to mention the politically correctness of it being, just not. I suppose unless one lives in the plains states or what would have been considered the 'old west', it isn't something kids gravitate to as that era is well over one-hundred years past.

Even if some kids thought of this these days it would likely be called 'Oppressive White Man vs Native Americans'.