Maxim of the Week for January 9, 2006
Posted by Simon
Perfect Practice Makes Perfect.
Darren Douglas
The Three Keys to Happiness
Posted by Simon
1. Low expectations.
2. Complete honesty is over-rated.
3. Find pleasure in small things.
Supplied by Arnie Siegel
Human Migration the Movie
Posted by Simon
Scene One ”It is the Right of the State”
In this scene it is 1730 in central Europe. There are two families huddled on the village green. A man in an official looking uniform is speaking to them “I’m sorry” he says “the King has ruled that you will not be allowed to settle in the kingdom. You will have to leave.”
Should be clearly wrong, ugly but not violent.
Scene Two
“The SS St Louis Story”
The SS St Louis left Nazi Germany with 1000 passengers mostly Jewish women and children. It was bound for Cuba but was denied entry there and then in the USA and other nations. Finally it was forced to return to Europe where hundreds of the passengers died at the hands of the Nazis.
There is a independent film about this story. Get one of the survivors to speak.
Scene Three
“Free to Live”
It is Detroit and a black family is being kept from living in an all white suburb.
There is an important movie and or book about this story.
Scene Four
“Dying at Borders”
Black Africa. This scene shows the misery of the camps on the Rwanda border. Perhaps with voice over from an aid worker talking about how people were turned back to their deaths.
Scene Five
“Dying in the Desert”
Perhaps a series of interviews with survivors of the US/Mexico crossing saying how risky the crossing was is and why they attempted it. Show video and stills of the death
Scene Six
“A Call to Action”
Oppose vigilanties (show Minuteman videos)
The underground railroad analogy?
Civil Disobedience. Stop the Wall!
Being Reliable
Posted by Simon
When a customer or potential customer is pressing you for a faster delivery date on a particular order, try using this story:
Imagine that one morning you start your car and at the first intersection you find you are in serious need of brakes. You have an option of calling one of two mechanics that you have used in the past. The first mechanic always says, “Bring the car right down, I’ll have it for you in the afternoon.” Sometimes he has it finished, and sometimes he doesn’t, depending on his workload. The other mechanic sometimes says, “Bring the car right down.” Sometimes he says, “I’m sorry, I can’t even look at it today, I’m too busy. If you bring it down I can fix the brakes tomorrow for sure.” He gives you a definitive answer as to when he can even look at your car, but he is always 100% reliable when he makes the promise. The question is which mechanic do you call first? Almost everybody I have spoken to would choose to call the one who is reliable first, even if he charges more money. If he says he can’t look at your car today, then you can still take it to the other guy and take your chances. Or you wait until the reliable mechanic can actually fix your car.The moral of the story is that being reliable gives you more business to look at and choose from. Being unreliable means you get the business that the reliable guy doesn’t want.
Maxim of the Week January 1, 2006
Posted by Simon
What you Measure will Improve.
Author Unknown
1. Safety
People are going to hike in the foothills anyway. That they have already made a trail across the big slide by the bridge is evidence of this. Having relatively safe trails for them to hike on will help avoid injuries, reduce evacuations and possibly save lives.
2. Fire
Fire fighters need vehicular access to the foothills to be able to suppress fires before they reach population centers.
3. Activities
Henniger Flats is one of the few good camping and picnicking places within a day hike of the San Gabriel Valley. Its existence allows generations of young people to learn the pleasure of hiking and camping. It helps to build a constituency for the environment.
4. Historic Significance
LA County has a large investment in the facilities at Henniger Flats. Not reopening the trail means that over time these facilities will be abandoned, vandalized and eventually burned down. The people who took the decision not to keep the trail open will not be remembered well by history.
A Modest Proposal
Bulldoze and grade in a 4 foot wide ATV trail to Henniger Flats on the existing right of way. It will be dramatically less expensive than rebuilding a full width road. It will allow the transportation of personnel and supplies to the facilities at Henniger and will be adequate for horses, bicycles and hikers. It should as in the past only be open for official vehicles. This is definitely a case where less is more.
If ATV’s had existed when the Toll Road was built in 1914 it would have been built for them not automobiles.
The County Supervisors have an opportunity to redefine the way we access the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains in a cost effective way that will positively enhance the lives of many people and communities.
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