I Usually Don't Read This Magazine, But ...

This is just about one of the worst corporate trends I've seen in a long time.

Wilmington, Del.
If you're a loyal employee like me, you occasionally check your company's Vision Statement to make sure all the T's in "empowerment" have been crossed, and the I's in "mission" have been dotted. But if you come across buzzwords like "excellence" and "leadership," you should know that your corporate culture is sadly behind the curve--those terms are as '90s as Reebok Pumps, Zima, and Total Quality Management. There's a new core value on the loose, and it goes by the name of "Fun."

Here's the link to the full article:

http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/081tidkp.asp

and here's an antidote:


In the interests of full disclosure, the above poster comes from a hilarious web site. I was scolded mildly by a since-departed, fellow middle-manager a few years ago when I worked in New York for not providing a "sufficiently motivating atmosphere," whatever that means. So I bought about a half-dozen posters from the above folks, put them in our little slice of cubicle heaven, and was commended for my attention to employee motivation.

In other news, I still have a nasty swollen lymph gland. Very much the Ted Kennedy look. Last time I had a badly swollen gland, it was in an extremely uncomfortable place, and I was having very bad dreams about a Lance Armstrong-type scenario ... except, of course, without multiple Tour victories. Turned out to be a minor, stress-related infection. But still. I'm getting it checked out Friday.

And Will is sick. Stayed home from school today and has been asleep all day. Worrisome. He likes school. And so does John, these days. He came up to my loft office last night and wanted to know what I could teach him about Spanish numbers. Caramba!

Going great guns on another day job project. The problem with it is, it's very complex, so I can't just blow the proverbial whistle and stop at 6p. Last night/this morning, I plugged away until I got to a stopping point ... which was at 2a. Sigh.

What else, what else? Oil, $80/barrel. Dad's in the geology business in Texas, and this is what he's been saying for a long time: It's gonna get ugly, people. No one paid attention until Matt Simmons -- who's a complete effin' genius -- came out with his book on dwindling supply, but I think we'll see a lot more attention paid to peak oil. And not just because I went through the Lehman's summer catalog and found, oh, about $18,000 worth of stuff that I really, really, really need. People just do not freaking realize what happens when oil gets tight. The gas lines are the least of it, people.

Going to try taking Monday and Tuesday off to get the chicken barn finished.

Gotta get back to work.