Sir and Ma'am

I was greeted in church during the service with "Hello Sir" by a young woman.  Was it because my grey hair has made me into a Sir?  Or was it just the respectful title from someone younger to someone older? Or was it a person from the South steeped in the tradition of saying Sir and Ma'am?

Growing up in Louisiana, I remember addressing my parents with "Yes Sir, Yes Ma'am, No Sir and No Ma'am".  When you did not hear or understand the person the response was "Sir? or Ma'am?".   This was drilled into me by my 5th grade teacher in school when she informed me that if I said HUH one more time that I would be subject to writing "Yes Ma'am" 1000 times.

Sure enough, the next time I was called in class for participation, I said "HUH" or "What" - and bingo -  that weekend I filled 20 sheets of notebook paper with line by line cursive "Yes Ma'am" now permanently etched into my respectful memory.

Thank you,  Ma'am - to my 5th grade teacher.

Rate Prison

I returned the DVR/HD Converter to Time Warner.  After my emails to Time Warner, the BBB, Ripoffreport.com, Yelp and the PUCO (Public Utility Commission of Ohio), I can now calm down and feel the freedom of being without Cable TV for a week until Direct TV comes out to install the satellite.

The short story is that Time Warner raised the price of the DVR/HD Converter Box by $1.99/mth.  My anger was less about the rate increase and more about the fact that the "Price Lock 2yr Guarantee" that I agreed to in July 2010, only applies to the Digital Content Plan - not equipment and I have no recourse with their indiscriminate  price increase - if I would cancel, I would be subject to an early termination fee - Hence I was in "Rate Prison".  They can do anything they want to the overall rate but I am locked in my own rate prison.

Those that know me, would now understand that I have no patience for this type of  a corporate bully tactic (the fine print of the "Other Terms and Agreements" section of the contract).  Regardless of the cancellation fee, I was determined to cancel.  I will decide later whether to settle the bill with Time Warner.

Clearly Cable Entertainment, options and prices has been the subject of many of my postings - 9/1/2009, 1/25/2010, 10/31/2010, 9/1/2011.  The $61/mth I was paying in 2009 (without DVR & HD) is now $75/mth (with the Price Lock Guarantee) and would be $80/mth without the Price Lock Guarantee.  That is a 31% increase in costs for the benefit of DVR & HD Channels with inflation.

Bundling services - cable, wireline phone, wireless, and internet (which I have not done to date) is now becoming a necessity to reduce the overall subscripton price.  So back to the Direct TV  I will go.  Since Direct TV is bundled with Cincinnati Bell, I should be able to get some economic benefit of bundling  my internet, wireline phone, and now satellite TV.  The last thing to go will be my wireless service with Verizon.  However I'm stuck in Verizon prison for 2 years (ending 10/14/2013) because of Ellen and Jenna's iphone data plans.

So instead of three rate prison cells - I can be in one very big rate prison cell.

Thankfully Connected

Thanksgiving this year we are in Cincinnati but the extended family  are all at their respective locations (New York City, Wichita, Pittsburgh, Akron, Naples, Washington DC, Colorado and so on) ... as the network of connections extends beyond the first node. 

It would be interesting to see the visual "Linkedin" degrees of separation that shows the various Thanksgiving celebrations in process today.  Maybe an iphone app will be created called Pilgrim Square (like foursquare), or Get Turkey (like GetGlue ) to virtually connect us all at the Thanksgiving meal.  Or we could all  post to Facebook or tweet the moment we pass around the Turkey platter.

My thoughts connect to prior Thanksgiving gatherings and virtually connect all those family members today (those living and those beyond).  No need for technology for this type of connection - it is instant, continuous, ubiquitous, and requires no hardware or software. 

What am I thankful for today -  all those human and spiritual networks.

Peace Meal

Reviewing the history and beginnings of Thanksgiving, I pondered why Canada and the USA are the countries with designated days for Thanks.  Combining the harvest festivals of European and Native traditions seems to be the root. My childhood pictures of Thanksgiving included the Pilgrims and Indians sharing a meal together.

I have this theory that most of the worlds conflict is attributable to "grumpy tummies".  Whenever there is an argument brewing between family members, I always ask if someone is hungry.  It's funny how happy Jenna and Ellen become after a Sunday meal - singing songs in the back seat.  Like the Raffi song states:  All I really need is a song in my heart, food in my belly, love in my family.

At the root of poverty is hunger, and at the root of hunger is survival.  B.E. who is on the board of the Freestore/Foodbank told our Friday Men's Fellowship group that nearly one in four children in the USA are at risk of hunger or as he said "food insecure" (BreadfortheWorld).  I feel good that SVP Cincinnati last year chose Whole Again International  a faith based non-profit that provides summer lunches to kids at risk and yesterday we announced our re-investment for the second year.

This Thanksgiving at your meal - think about how food creates peace.

Invisible Moments of Impact

I like the visual of a small pebble creating the ripple in a still pond in describing the kind of impact one moment can create.  When I think back to the people who did something, wrote something, said something, encouraged something, or listened to something in my life that created impact, I think of how many ripples before them and the expanding ripples after them (and me) are yet to happen.

When your name is mentioned in a conversation; when "credit" is being given to you about something; when an action or deed is recognized;  all these moments are invisible to you - most even after you leave this world.

I think when you are in Heaven, you will suddenly see, hear and experience all those comments of others (a sort of Ebenezor Scrooge moment with the ghosts of time) and know all the impact moments.

What seems small and invisible to you today - will be infinite and known in eternity.

Donut Delight

After the Miami U. football game,  G.M dropped me off in the rendezvous parking lot close to midnight.  Dunkin Donuts caught my eye and I thought  Ellen needed a donut this morning before her critical science quiz (ignore that large portions of salivation had entered my mouth at 11:30pm).  Not one but six were purchased - 2 glazed, 2 pumpkin, 1 coconut, and 1 chocolate glaze. 

Doughnuts (as properly spelled) are an important staple in business decisions.  Morning meetings with donuts can make sure the people who had skipped breakfast do not take out their "grumpy tummies" on the issue or plans being made. 
I have the responsibility for the donut list for our Friday Morning Mens Fellowship group.  Even spiritual study can be most effective after a glazed doughnut. 

Mom tells her early entrepreneurial stories of selling door to door and delivering Spudnut (or was is Sputnik?) donuts in Kansas to suppliment the family income.   That makes me believe there may have been plenty of extra inventory for the kids to consume.

 In April 1952 a dozen Spudnut donuts retailed for $.50 per dozen.  My six Dunkin Donuts were $5.49   (that's a 5.32% Compounded Annual Growth Rate over nearly 60 years). But in any year the cost is worth the benefit of the Donut Delight.

The Guilty Introvert

Which word produces positive of negative images - extrovert or introvert.  I would hazard to say that the general populace has a negative perception of introverts - meaning there is something wrong with being an introvert. 

Myers/Briggs has Introversion and Extraversion as the first letter in their personality test  (e.g. INTJ or ENTJ etc).  Talk to any Introvert (that is if they are willing to talk) and they will indicate they feel guilty about the number of friends, acquaintances they have.  Or that they should be interacting with others more.  Is this guilt just the conspiracy of extroverts putting pressure on introverts?  Or is it a self inflicted pressure inside the Introvert forced into a world that values extraversion?

My Myers/Brigg profile is and INTJ with a close call on the I and E.  I can get "energy" in solitude and in social settings.  What I have learned over time is to minimize any guilt of my inner need to recharge with introversion.  I don't measure number of friends, acquaintances, network contacts, Linkedin & Facebook friends etc. etc.

What's the right dose of I and E.  Remember moderation in all things :)