Is There Really Not Enough Time?

Posted on September 2, 2011 by SusanG

Ironically, having or making the time to write this article this week seems to have been an issue. And like most of us when we say we don’t have enough time to do something, I’m not real sure why I had time issues this week. I certainly don’t feel like I got near as much done this week as I did last week. So it can’t really be that I didn’t have enough time.

At some point you have probably complained about  not having enough time to do something. And, at some point some one has probably pointed out to you that you have the same amount of time as Albert Einstein, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Thomas Edison, Leonardo Da Vinci, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Warren Buffett. Basically, what that person is saying is: you have the same 24 hours in your day as all those great people did or do, it’s just how you use or spend your time that makes a difference.

We have a choice in how we use or spend our time. I’ll bet most of us don’t make those choices consciously. Most of us make the choice out of habit or default. For example, when you got home from work or school did you turn on the TV or computer and just sit down in front of it and start watching  some show or check email or Facebook and such? Why? Did you do it because that’s how you wanted to spend that time or did you do it because that’s just what you do when you get home?

Recently, I got really irritated by Farmville and the different stuff I had to deal with just to get to my farm. So I decided to stop playing the game and spend my time doing other things. Not long after that Facebook made a change that irritated me even more. At which point I decided I didn’t need to give as much time to it as I had been.

There is so much I want to do and so many projects I’m working on, and  the one thing I really don’t have enough time for is to sit in front of a screen sucking in some mindless supposed entertainment.

We really do have the same amount of time as the likes of Albert Einstein and such, it’s just that these days there are so many addicting diversions. Maybe that’s how our leaders want it. If we all have our attention diverted to some mind numbing activity then we won’t have time to become educated, think and reason for ourselves, question our leaders, solve world hunger and the climate change problem, and find an alternative to fossil fuels. If we don’t have time to do those things then we won’t disrupt the Status Quo. I propose that in today’s society, the ultimate act of rebellion is to turn off the TV and leave it off for longer than it’s on.

I’m not saying that TV is bad, evil, or responsible for all the ills of our society, I merely wish to identify it as a device for stealing time away from us. It is not the only device for that. For all the good things we have gained with the Internet, we have also gained one more distraction. Seriously, how many times  have you sat down to check your email, Facebook or look something up real quick only to find yourself still doing the same thing an hour, two hours, three hours later.

W really do have enough time to do great things and be  great people. Do you want to be a beat up, rusted out bucket of bolts coughing and sputtering down the road of life or some precisely tuned, smart and smartly designed performance vehicle. Personally, I’d rather be the BMW or Porsche.

There really is enough time, it’s all in how you choose to spend it .

 

 

Edited to correct a misspelling.

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What If You Really Do Get What You Pay For?

Posted on August 28, 2011 by SusanG

Originally I had planned on writing about another passing of an era. With Steve Jobs stepping down as CEO of Apple it would be appropriate. And then we went to lunch.

By we, I mean, most of my department at work. One of my co-workers asked if I was ‘brave’ enough to ride with him and I said, ‘sure’. He’s very fond and very proud of his car and well he should be. It is a very fine automobile. He drives a BMW something Active Hybrid. It’s definitely not an entry level BMW.

Since I had planned to write about Steve Jobs and Apple and their products I had already been thinking about price and quality and how much truth there may be in the phrase, “You get what you pay for.” BMW’s are not even close to inexpensive cars, but they are very nice vehicles that come with features that make a long car trip look and feel like a drive around the block. Apple products are not the least expensive things. In fact what generally keeps me from getting them is the price tag. In some cases you can get two or three of the PC equivalent for what you would pay for the Apple. And yet, for the most part they work, they work very well, and they are fully functional right out of the box. Similarly, I have been told that in general, people in Europe pay more for their food but it’s of better quality that say, in the US.

Let’s think about this a moment. What if, instead of buying more and more stuff because the original stuff broke or became obsolete so soon after getting it, what if we just bought the better stuff to begin with. I know we buy the lesser stuff because we want it now and it’s all we can afford. What if, instead of making that purchase right that moment we waited until we could better afford it and bought the good stuff. I know, this is crazy talk.

Let’s take it a step further. What if, instead of complaining about the state of our schools and quality of education and teachers, what if we paid more for them. I’m talking about our public schools K to 12. And what if we gave those teachers a better salary and the tools to do what we’ve asked them to do, ie. educate the next generation of workers, voters, citizens.

And what if, instead of complaining about our Government and the federal programs that are closing or failing, what if we fix the tax code so it’s a bit more fair and even. And then spend a little more time participating in the governmental processes so that when they come to us as tax payers and say “we want to raise taxes because…” we don’t just respond with knee-jerk whining about how much taxes we pay. What if we were willing to pay for a quality Government?

Ok, I know, this last one is quite a stretch and maybe even fantasy. But, what if…?

I’m tired of spending so much money and paying so many bills for things that I know I will be wanting or needing to replace before I’ve had time to save up for it’s replacement. I’m thinking it may be time to go back to the days of saving up for things and making it the high quality things. Sure maybe I won’t have as many things and maybe I’ll have to wait quite a while. Are either of those things really that bad?

If it’s true that ‘you get what you pay for’ then maybe it’s time to find those high quality things and be willing to pay more for them. Let’s think about this a moment.

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White Sands New Mexico

Posted on August 27, 2011 by SusanG

White Sands New Mexico

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Time to Read or Re-Read Orwell

Posted on August 26, 2011 by SusanG

I’ve seen a few things in the news lately that have me a little disturbed.

I don’t get the arrests of people for flash-mobs. As the headlines have read, people have been arrested for organizing flash-mobs. To be fair, I did not thoroughly investigate these stories. But on the surface I don’t get it. Right to assembly?

Arresting protesters outside of BART. This I’ve read a little more about and it still disturbs me. I understand BART not allowing demonstrations on the actual platforms do to safety issues. What I don’t understand is the arrests that took place outside the stations. There wasn’t enough information in what I read that makes me comfortable with these arrests being anything more than harassment. Right to assembly?

Tiananmen Square anyone?

And just this week I read this article on PCWorld.com about how TSA may end up tracking your every move around town and country. See the article here: PC World Article . It mentions the growing Police State that we in the US live in. As with so many things the TSA justifies itself with the “war on terrorism”.

One of the dangers I remember discussing with a select few people when the Patriot Act was fist passed and with each subsequent renewal and addition to it,  was that our willingness to give up our liberties in the name of so called ‘terrorism’ or ‘in the interest of national security’ is scary. We discussed that if you give them an inch they will take a mile. For every little bit we agree to give up it makes it that much easier for the people in power to take a little more. Until one day you wake up and find your world much like modern day China which we are so quick to criticize or maybe the world of George Orwell’s “1984”.

I had already been prompted to want to re-read “1984” because of something in another book I am reading and things like this make me think many more of us should be re-reading “1984” and if you haven’t read it perhaps it’s time you acquaint yourself with it. I picked up my copy over the weekend. I’d say it’s about time I get to reading it. How about you?

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New Look

Posted on August 24, 2011 by SusanG

Well, sort of a new look. I found a picture I think makes for an interesting header picture. I took it while on vacation a couple of years ago.

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