Oct 2006
Learning How
We've been
learning how to repaint the house. 'Though we each had some
experience with house painting before, this one's different. Really
different.
The house has been the primary teacher. It winces when we do something naive. It seems to swell with something like a teacher's pride when we figure out how to do something just right.
The experience has reminded me that I am a reluctant student. I somehow never seem to be able to envision myself succeeding until I succeed -- or until just after I've succeeded. And, as I've long thought, doing well isn't the same as feeling good about the result.
I am learning on several levels. I'm getting a lot of reinforcement about just how eccentric I am in work. Amy's son, who (unlike me) is a mechanical savant, can barely bear to watch me figure stuff out. He's more amazed than I am when it turns out.
I certainly don't often feel very masterly. The windows taught me how to remove them. To strip a hundred years of layered care and neglect to find the original workmanship intact. To chisel out the old glazing putty around the glass without breaking the window. (Sometimes.) And how to replace the window when it broke. How to layer the paint to create a thirty year finish. And how to re-cord the sashes to last.
Half the work is slight of hand stuff. The misdirection intended to fool the eye. A shredded board can be made to look like new with sanding, putty, epoxy, and paint.
The primary muscle groups engaged are not between the ears. The adductors. The pull muscles on the insides of my arms ache with the deep reminder that I've done something intended to last.
I will never be the same.
The pace is agonizing, but it is the necessary pace. A day of drying between every layer. Work sandwiched between wait. Wait sandwiched between work. No rushing, no matter what the weather promises.
I have not been writing much. I have been reading while waiting and listening to books on tape while working. Curiously, painting a house is an extremely literary activity.
The house has been the primary teacher. It winces when we do something naive. It seems to swell with something like a teacher's pride when we figure out how to do something just right.
The experience has reminded me that I am a reluctant student. I somehow never seem to be able to envision myself succeeding until I succeed -- or until just after I've succeeded. And, as I've long thought, doing well isn't the same as feeling good about the result.
I am learning on several levels. I'm getting a lot of reinforcement about just how eccentric I am in work. Amy's son, who (unlike me) is a mechanical savant, can barely bear to watch me figure stuff out. He's more amazed than I am when it turns out.
I certainly don't often feel very masterly. The windows taught me how to remove them. To strip a hundred years of layered care and neglect to find the original workmanship intact. To chisel out the old glazing putty around the glass without breaking the window. (Sometimes.) And how to replace the window when it broke. How to layer the paint to create a thirty year finish. And how to re-cord the sashes to last.
Half the work is slight of hand stuff. The misdirection intended to fool the eye. A shredded board can be made to look like new with sanding, putty, epoxy, and paint.
The primary muscle groups engaged are not between the ears. The adductors. The pull muscles on the insides of my arms ache with the deep reminder that I've done something intended to last.
I will never be the same.
The pace is agonizing, but it is the necessary pace. A day of drying between every layer. Work sandwiched between wait. Wait sandwiched between work. No rushing, no matter what the weather promises.
I have not been writing much. I have been reading while waiting and listening to books on tape while working. Curiously, painting a house is an extremely literary activity.
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Damned Lies
October 24, 2006 08:49 AM Permalink
The old adage claims that there
are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Schumpeter, the Viennese
economist who focused upon entrepreneurial engagement, distrusted
statistics because they depend upon what he called "reports of the
watchman," and the watchman reports whatever he damned well
pleases.
In this morning's Washington Post, education columnist Jay Mathews reports on some emerging observations on what has been reported as the deficient math training in the US. Are these disparities lies, damned lies, or just the result of many watchmen reporting what they damned well please?
Link Here
You decide.
Perhaps there are advantages to haphazard learning.
In this morning's Washington Post, education columnist Jay Mathews reports on some emerging observations on what has been reported as the deficient math training in the US. Are these disparities lies, damned lies, or just the result of many watchmen reporting what they damned well please?
Link Here
You decide.
Perhaps there are advantages to haphazard learning.
Department of Defensiveness
Reliable
Washington officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, report a
plan by the Bush Administration to consolidate all three branches
of the Federal Government under a new Department of Defensiveness.
“We find ourselves in the awkward position of needing to
comply with truth in government statutes,” one source
confided, “And the truth is, we are on the defensive. Under
present law, we could either tell the people the truth or more
accurately label our actions, and we’ve chosen to more
accurately label our actions.”
Washington insiders report that former Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX), who has deftly exhibited the greatest defensiveness of anyone in government over recent years, will be named to the powerful new post of Secretary of Defensiveness, or “Spin Czar”, beating out by a narrow margin the current, masterly defensive Defense Department Secretary Rumsfeld. DeLay’s responsibilities will include overseeing a consolidated bureaucracy of double speak consultants, most of whom will be secretly outsourced to experienced firms in former Soviet Bloc countries, with the ultimate goal of teaching every Federal employee and contractor how to consistently obfuscate the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
As a long time observer of Federal Government operations, I feel a deep sense of gratitude toward the public servants behind this plan. For years, we have been asking government straightforward questions, expecting straightforward responses. Now, with the creation of the Department of Defensiveness, we can ask any question, without the burden of expecting anything even remotely resembling a straightforward response.
Should this radical restructuring succeed at the Federal level, citizens should expect to see the denial model replicated at state, county, and even city levels. Insiders expect Florida, who tested an early prototype in 2000, to begin consolidation following the 2006 mid-term election cycle. Ohio won’t be far behind.
Most delighted by this change are those who expected dramatic efficiencies in government when control of both the Legislative and Executive Branches passed to a single political party. With the Department of Defensiveness in charge, we will never again be bothered by reports of unexpected cost over-runs on government projects. Other benefits will reportedly include the declaration of a balanced Federal budget and, ultimately, victory in the war on terrorism. In short, an ever more perfect-seeming Union.
So say reliable government sources.
Washington insiders report that former Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX), who has deftly exhibited the greatest defensiveness of anyone in government over recent years, will be named to the powerful new post of Secretary of Defensiveness, or “Spin Czar”, beating out by a narrow margin the current, masterly defensive Defense Department Secretary Rumsfeld. DeLay’s responsibilities will include overseeing a consolidated bureaucracy of double speak consultants, most of whom will be secretly outsourced to experienced firms in former Soviet Bloc countries, with the ultimate goal of teaching every Federal employee and contractor how to consistently obfuscate the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
As a long time observer of Federal Government operations, I feel a deep sense of gratitude toward the public servants behind this plan. For years, we have been asking government straightforward questions, expecting straightforward responses. Now, with the creation of the Department of Defensiveness, we can ask any question, without the burden of expecting anything even remotely resembling a straightforward response.
Should this radical restructuring succeed at the Federal level, citizens should expect to see the denial model replicated at state, county, and even city levels. Insiders expect Florida, who tested an early prototype in 2000, to begin consolidation following the 2006 mid-term election cycle. Ohio won’t be far behind.
Most delighted by this change are those who expected dramatic efficiencies in government when control of both the Legislative and Executive Branches passed to a single political party. With the Department of Defensiveness in charge, we will never again be bothered by reports of unexpected cost over-runs on government projects. Other benefits will reportedly include the declaration of a balanced Federal budget and, ultimately, victory in the war on terrorism. In short, an ever more perfect-seeming Union.
So say reliable government sources.
Tiny Minds and Big Mouths
A few years ago, I was driving across Eastern Utah looking for a radio station. I found two, but they were both playing Rush Limbaugh. Okay, I might disagree with Rush's politics, but I find his form of discourse even less agreeable. He's a blowhard. A riot inciter. A tiny mind hiding behind a big mouth.
For years, radio seemed to be the medium for tiny minds to hide out behind big mouths. Air America started a few years ago, and I found their minds just as tiny and the mouths just as big. Disagreeable discourse. Really no different than Rush.
I rarely listen to music when I drive. I find it distracting. And I really hate having other people choose my music for me. Also, my radio distorts music into squawks and squeaks, making most music sound like a Tourettes performance. So, I usually listen to books on tape.
For radio, and with the advent of podcasting I don't need a radio to listen to the radio, some terrific alternatives to tiny minds and big mouths are available.
I daily download Tom Asbrook's On Point program from WBUR in Boston. Tom employs a conversational style, invites a great mix of guests-ranging from the most frustrating conservatives to the most inspiring progressives. He takes calls and engages in lively discourse on really important issues.
I never miss Diane Rehm's Friday News Roundup program. She invites three top journalists in to dissect the prior week's news. Always at least one conservative voice. She also takes calls. The rest of the week, she invites authors and others to discuss their work and take calls. A warm and refreshing listen. Always.
To The Best Of Our Knowledge (to the BOOK, get it?) is an interview program specifically focused on discussing books. Short segments with thoughtful themes, always centered around some common topic. This program, too, is always inspiring.
To find your own favorite big minds with small mouths, I recommend Public Radio Fan. It lists virtually every public radio on the planet. Wanna know what's on in Australia this hour? Here's the place to look. It features RealPlayer (and that wannabe lightweight Windows Media Player) links. Also podcast links. I like to listen to the morning news from London before going to bed at night.
These are my top three talk radio programs. I download them to iTunes and listen at my convenience. If you're like me and insist upon civil discourse, these programs will reassure you that radio is a lot more than tiny minds and big mouths.
