The marvels of earth, sea and sky,
These wonders untold
Are ours to behold

Some things never get old.

I watched this show for the third time last night.

It gets better every time I see it.

Walt was right.

Quality will out.

Every successful business knows this. Even if they don’t know they know.

Just Sayin’

You could just complain. Loudly.

You could stoically just accept things as they are.

Or you could look past the resignation and the complaints and see the possibilities.

Sometimes it isn’t the courage to change we need. Or even the wisdom to know the difference.

Sometimes we need the insight to see what could be. And the boldness to go where no one has gone before.

Just Sayin’

Though driver-less cars sound far-fetched and futuristic, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval recently caught a ride in a prototype:

He went in a car operated by Google, a self-driving Toyota Prius. It uses radar functionality, sensors and computers to map the terrain, allowing it to drive on autopilot.

GM is also working on fully autonomous vehicles. In 2007, GM worked with Carnegie Mellon University on a Chevrolet Tahoe that can drive itself. Called the Boss, the Tahoe was able to drive through 60 miles of urban traffic on its own.

via Nevada issues rules for driverless cars.

Cars already can talk. Navigate. Tell us what’s wrong and what needs attention. Search for information.

And, now, Nevada’s Governor rode in a car that can drive itself.

But, did it have super-pursuit mode?

Just Sayin’

Related articles

• Siri goes Knight Rider with a new car control hack (digitaltrends.com)
• Leave the Driving to the Car, and Reap Benefits in Safety and Mobility (nytimes.com)

“Tim Wakefield has been the epitome of class and determination in his remarkable career,” said principal owner John Henry. “He will be known as much for his character, dedication and perseverance as he will be for his knuckleball, his victories, and his key contributions to two World Series championship seasons.”

It turns out that Wakefield’s 200th career victory, accomplished Sept. 13 at Fenway Park, was the last of his career.

via Emotional Tim Wakefield announces his retirement | redsox.com: News.

Nice game, Wake

Just Sayin’

Related articles

• Tim Wakefield to Retire [PHOTOS] (wzlx.radio.com)
• Tim Wakefield is retiring after 19 seasons and 200 wins (hardballtalk.nbcsports.com)

Or a Sith lord?

In particular, the Galactic Empire strikes me as a quintessential example of how not to effectively run an organization. Let’s take a look at five of the Empire’s biggest mistakes and see how you can avoid them in your own organization.

via Five Leadership Mistakes Of The Galactic Empire – Forbes.

This article is a fun look at the Star Wars saga with some serious leadership lessons.

*Mike waves hand* This is the article you want. Click the link.

Thanks  to @Orchadia for sending it my way.

Just Sayin’

Is the bow He puts on it.

Just Sayin’

Huh?

•There was less chance that bags went awry, with 99.7% of fliers getting bags on time. Overall, the rate of mishandled baggage fell to the lowest on record in 2011, falling to 3.39 per 1,000 passengers from 3.51 the previous year.

•Fewer passengers were bumped from their flights last year. The rate for bumping passengers was 0.81 per 10,000 passengers, down from the 1.09 rate in 2010. That’s the lowest since 2002.

Despite the performance, the Transportation Department got 3% more complaints against U.S. airlines in 2011 than the year before. 

via Airlines have one of their best years for arriving on time – USATODAY.com.

Why would complaints increase if service improved?

The answer is obvious.

Isn’t it?

Just Sayin’

I have spent a fair amount of time in hotels

And, when I read this, I knew the author and I were very much alike.

1. Bad bedside reading lights. I own an iPad, but I’m one of those Neanderthals who still read real books, and I usually do it in bed. Very few hotels have decent bedside lighting (some do, of course, such as the Intercontinental Singapore and the Fairmont Battery Wharf Boston—but not its sister property, the Fairmont Copley Boston). Instead they give you fancy looking table lamps on a nightstand with those dim fluorescent light bulbs.

2. No outlets to plug in laptops and iPads etc. near the bed. Some hotels are getting better at installing enough electrical outlets at desks (although there never seem to be enough), but I want to charge my laptop and iPad while in bed without hunting behind furniture only to find that the clock radio and the aforementioned dim lamp are hogging the only outlet. In fact, I’m writing this as I recline in bed and notice that my Macbook Air needs to be plugged in soon. There’s nowhere to do that.

3. Televisions and their remote controls. I just want to turn the damn TV on to watch TV, not the movies you need to pay for, or the tour of the property, without having to scroll through menus to get to TV broadcasts. Hotels first try to sell you their in-room movies and other services. It’s annoying, especially since every system is different.

4. Confusing alarm clocks. How about just a simple alarm clock. On/off button and then set time. I don’t need a clock radio or an iPad dock that never seems to work anyway. New rule: All hotel room alarm clocks around the world should be standardized.

via Hotel gripes from a frequent flyer | Fox News.

Ok, we’re not exactly alike. The alarm clocks don’t bother me. I don’t use them. I use my Android phone‘s alarm.

I can’t figure how the ones in the hotels work.

Just Sayin’

Related articles

• The Hotel Workplace, Top 10 Gripe List (themarlincompany.com)
• No More Hotel Wake-up Call Roulette as Moshi Debuts Voice Control Travel Alarm Clock (prweb.com)

Walt also said Mickey was just a little personality created for the purpose of laughter.

And that’s exactly what this little post was created for.

Just Sayin’

Related articles

• Singer Whitney Houston dies at 48 – CBS News (cbsnews.com)
• Bishops Reject White House’s New Plan on Contraception – New York Times (nytimes.com)
• Syrian General Is Killed by Gunmen in Damascus Ambush – New York Times (nytimes.com)

Huh?

Some previous estimates of ice loss in the high Asia mountains had predicted up to 50 billion tons of melting ice annually, said Wahr, who is also a fellow at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. Instead, results from GRACE pin the estimated ice loss from those peaks — including ranges like the Himalayas and the nearby Pamir and Tien Shan — at only about 4 billion tons of ice annually.

Bristol University glaciologist Jonathan Bamber, who was not part of the research team, told the Guardian that such a level of melting was practically insignificant.

“The very unexpected result was the negligible mass loss from high mountain Asia, which is not significantly different from zero,” he told the Guardian.

Bamber was quick to caution that the new study doesn’t alter his view that the climate is changing, and rapidly.

via Himalayan glaciers have lost no ice in the past 10 years, new study reveals | Fox News.

So, if the glaciers aren’t melting, what does that mean? So what?

Well, for one scientist anyway, it evidently doesn’t mean anything. Bamber, referenced in the quote, is apparently not going to allow facts to confuse him.

Frankly, I don’t know if the climate is changing or not. If it is, I don’t know if it’s changing because of human activity or not.

Here’s what I do know.

The earth is the home God has given us.

We ought to be good stewards of the home.

Not because we are afraid the sky is falling climate is changing.

Because we love God and want Him to know we appreciate His gifts.

Just Sayin’

Related articles

• What does new glacier data mean for the climate debate? | Leo Hickman (guardian.co.uk)
• New sat data shows Himalayan glaciers hardly melting at all (go.theregister.com)
• Himalayan meltdown not so fast after all: study (thehimalayantimes.com)