Thought of the day: April 15

“April 15th reminds us what we are on April 1st.”

 Marty Baker

I think the problem I have with taxes is the growing distance between what we collectively pay and how that money is appropriated. We all understand the collective need for roads, schools, law enforcement, fire and all myriad things that make for a civilized society. But over time we have grown distant from what actually happens with this money. It takes a forensic accountant to follow how the money is used and if it is indeed, used wisely.  So, I get a paycheck with taxes removed.  Then, I take this money and buy things with a sales tax.  Then, I put a paltry sum in savings and I am taxed on the interest.  Finally, I watch Robin Hood and I feel a whole lot better.

Thought of the day: The definition of no.

“Saying no is a way of saying yes to yourself.”

Shonda Rhimes

I heard the writer producer Shondra Rhimes say this during an interview on NPR and loved it.  It resonated because a Vice President I worked with said, “We are going to have to get better at saying no.”  It was a conflict between bandwidth and our mutual desire to help other teams.  Great line.

Thought of the day: Inquisitive vs. Acquisitive

“It is smarter to be inquisitive than acquisitive. Cheaper too.”

Marty Baker

There is a big truth that most of us spend the first half of our lives acquiring things and the second half getting rid of those same things. The second part of our life is like one big white elephant sale.  I think George Carlin’s immortal bit “A Place for My Stuff” should be required viewing for anyone getting their first paycheck.

In my acquisitive stage, I once purchased  a limited edition of Star Trek The Next Generation — PEZ  dispensers.  The main reason I was compelled to plunk down money for this object de art was that the set included both Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Picard’s Borg persona  “Locutus of Borg.”   

My somewhat sage advice? If the object your desire is more about the acquiring and less about the object itself, then maybe it’s time to seal the wallet up.

A link to George Carlin’s A Place for My Stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLoge6QzcGY

Thought of the day: Reflections

My hair is always in a tousle

And my non-teenage body is losing a bit of muscle

I’d really don’t mind that it quivers and squeaks

But seeing my mirrored reflection, ah, that’s the ultimate struggle

  Marty Baker

Thought of the day: Perfection

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Thought of the day: New ideas. Old ideas.

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of old ones.”

John Cage

John Cage walked the talk. He was an American composer, music theorist, and artist.  He was a pioneer of indeterminacy in music non-standard use of musical instruments.  Critics have called him one of the most influential American composers of the 20th century.  He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance.

He is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′ 33″ — which is performed in the absence of deliberate sound; musicians who present the work do nothing aside from being present for the duration specified by the title. The content of the composition is not “four minutes and 33 seconds of silence,” as is often assumed, but rather the sounds of the environment heard by the audience during performance.

Thought of the day: The real Hoi Polloi

“It is ironic that the people who typically misuse the phrase hoi palloi are the hoi palloi”

Marty Baker

Contrary to popular belief, the hoi palloi aren’t the rich and famous, they are your average Joe.

Thought of the day: Chief Petty Officer

“A friend of mine is a Chief Petty Officer and he just complains about every little thing.”

Marty Baker

Thought of the day: The smallest amount of thought

“He has the gift of compressing the largest number of words into the smallest amount of thought.”

                                                                                    Winston Churchill

This quotation could easily been said by Mark Twain. One could easily mistake this Winston Churchill quotation as one written by Mark Twain. This meticulously crafted insult was meant for Ramsay MacDonald — a former Prime Minister of England and a frequent target of Churchill’s invective.

Curiously enough, Twain and Churchill met on the evening of December 12, 1900 in the Grand Ballroom of New York’s Waldorf-Astoria hotel where Twain introduced him as a speaker about his experiences in the Boer War. They also share the same birthday, November 30^th.

Thought of the day: Impossible Thoughts

“I discovered that it’s not impossible to have a least one impossible thought per day.”

Marty Baker

“Alice laughed: “There’s no use trying,” she said; “one can’t believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
                                                                                                               Alice in Wonderland