My name’s Nez. And I’m a blogger.

Today I woke up early. It was something folks like me did often, especially when we’re on a case.

The calm of the early morning is the best time to think. And this case required a lot of thought.

But first, duty called.

I fired up my Quad, the familiar bong of the Mac OS interrupting the silence. Faster than any one-armed bandit, I went through my usual routine.

My agents brought me the usual suspects, mail goons who had too much askey to drink the night before. I recognized a few characters from the local RSS. A few were new, defiant, even emboldened.

I picked out the ones I wanted from the line-up, leaving the rest for processing by the disposal team. I don’t envy those guys — the cyber-sanitation engineers — dealing with the everyday deluge of bogus deals on meds and warez, get-rich-quick schemes, flesh-peddlers and spammy low-lifes. It’s a thankless job.

Anyway, the minutes flew by, and before I knew it, they arrived.

My morning visitors.

I knew it would happen — it was inevitable, living in the Pa Rent ‘hood. Their footsteps got closer, and I wheeled around, expecting the worse. Clad in colorful, polyester outfits, the two made quite a pair. One had hair that was in all directions, as if he’d just gotten out of bed. Clearly, grooming was not high on this guy’s priority list. Of course, in their line of work, it rarely was.

In a high, squeaky voice, the other one said, “Daddy, can we have the Honey Nut Cheerios today?”

“Sure, kids.” I told them.

Two minutes later, the two brothers were contently munching away on the cereal, momentarily distracted. It won’t be long before they’ll be back, though. But by that time, I’ll be ready for them.

Returning to the job at hand, I continued working on tracking down my elusive target. She had given me the slip for a couple of days, but today I was determined to find her.

It had been a long, hard chase. For a while there, it was like I was always one step behind her. But I was close. I could feel it, for she was careless. There were clues left strewn about at each crime scene: a smooth and polished comment, a snippet of idea clearly cut by a sharp wit, and several incriminating photos to boot.

But she was good, and she knew it, and she knew that I knew.

Perhaps being careless was just her way of taunting me.

But I vowed it won’t be long before I found her again.

Just then, though, in walked a pair of the finest smooth-skinned legs any bipedal organism of the female persuasion would want for locomotion. And there were other uses as well, I can assure you.

But today, any stocking-covered, stiletto-heel bearing gam-gandering was precluded by the dark cotton-blend covering of a loose-fitting pair of sweatpants. The luscious lips that belonged to the rest of the warmly dressed body parted. What followed was to the point, a point I had no trouble getting.

“Honey, I’m off to class.”

“Okay, honey. Good luck on the exam today.” I replied. I gave the wife a kiss, and she went out through the garage side door. Such a cutie.

And then, another hour passed before I could get back on the case — you know, kids. School. ‘Nuff said.

I dug out my dog-eared notebook — great for keeping track of clues — and again worked on the case, going over and over all the pieces of information I had, somehow knowing that I needed to form a puzzle without the picture on the box. That puzzle could turn out to be highly valued, revered, maybe even talked about. But I wouldn’t know until the job was done.

I agonized and thought some more. I went to the john to pay my respects and thought there, too. Then I made a cup of tea and quaffed it down like there was no tomorrow. Decaffeinated, if you must know. And green, too.

And then I found her.

She appeared right where she was the other day, when everyone was out of the pad. When I was alone.

She stood right there in all her splendid glory, dressed in some sort of ethereal, swirling, wispy thing of excuse for a dress.

This was no ordinary dame.

Unlike a cornered animal, she would not fight back. Now caught, she would willingly relinquish herself. There would be no more games.

So without a word, she drifted up to me and peered over my shoulder at the screen.

“Oh, Nez, that looks like a great post!” Muse said. “Why don’t you fix that typo…”

To be continued…?

photo credit: borderhacker

During this time of year, sports fans are usually glued to their TV’s to watch the NCAA basketball championship tourney — also called March Madness. And basically right after that comes the professional NBA Playoffs. It’s the best time to be a basketball fan.

And while I’m pleased that our local professional team (the Golden State Warriors) is in the hunt for a playoff spot, I’m writing this to talk about dealing with pressure situations, in which during this time there will be plenty.

Clutch Performers

For athletes, we often praise the ones who are “clutch”, who, with the game on the line, are able to score the winning basket from the field, be it a lay-up against the “trees” clogging the lanes to the basket, a long-ranged jump shot over the outstretched arms of two defenders, or the successful free throws amidst the howling and hooting of thousands upon thousands of rabid fans, all with only seconds left on the game clock.

Real Life Pressure Situations

But for the rest of us mere mortals, let me ask you have you ever:

• Put in an all-nighter for a term paper, and wound up getting an A?
• Made a presentation in front of investors, and aced all the hard questions, landing the big contract?
• Received the proverbial client’s curve ball — something you never expected — but kept your cool and proceeded (and succeeded) as if you expected it all along?

Those are all pressure situations where the expectation to perform and deliver is high — and it feels GREAT when you do.

People often get paid big bucks for that kind of performance, and deservedly so.

Reason for Failure

However, many people do buckle under the stress.

And the stress comes from getting into a state of mind where uncertainty, doubt and/or fear reigns:

• What if I mess up?
• I’m not prepared!!
• What’s the next step?

These and any number of other questions and thoughts run through the mind, and the subsequent failure to perform is often summarized as paralysis by analysis.

Qualities of Clutch Performers

Clutch performers, on the other hand, have these qualities:

• Confidence from Practice - no one is born perfect, and neither does intense practice make one perfect, despite the popular saying. However, what practice DOES do is train your muscles, honing their “muscle memory”, and perfect practice instills the confidence to perform perfectly, so when the time comes, the person who has practiced a lot appears to perform effortlessly. When you know you’ve done it (successfully) before (in practice), you can be confident you’ll do it again (in real game situations). That’s the reason why Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly were notorious for their intense practices/rehearsals.
• Being Prepared - basically, this is the same as confidence from practice, but it bears explaining that the best performers are always prepared. For the job seeker, it’s as simple as doing the basic research of a company at which you want to work. For the self-employed, it’s keeping apprised of what the competition in your market is doing. For the lone woman traveling at night, it’s being aware of your surroundings. Preparation also comes from real practical experience — both successes and failures. Everything you do (or choose to do) prepares you for new challenges.
• Stay in the moment and let the chips fall where they may - the confidence from practice and preparation also allows the clutch performer to stay focused in the present, allowing their minds or bodies to perform without distraction. Sometimes we hear of athletes getting into “the zone”, in which the action seems to be flowing in slow motion. My theory is that when someone is in “the zone”, that person’s mind must be operating at peak efficiency and thus is able to process all the incoming sensory stimuli, making necessary calculations, adjustments, recollections and reactions at lightning speed. The effect would seem like the outside world has suddenly slowed down.
• Know that failures are inevitable, but see them as minor setbacks on the road to their goal(s) - Michael Jordan did not always make the game-winning shot, but that never stopped him from continuously honing his game, working on eliminating his weaknesses, and maintaining confidence in himself. His sheer force of will would not allow wallowing in defeat. Clutch performers know that failure does not mean the end of the world, and in doing so, is able to move on after the occasional lapses. That awareness and acceptance also allow them to stay in the moment, and drives them to persevere.

How about you? Got any tips or stories on dealing with pressure situations?

photo credit: *tom*

Blogging everyday
Reading, writing, commenting
A lot of hard work

photo credit: quas

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’m going to do a short review on the Artemis Fowl series of novels.

A New Take on a Popular Myth

Author Eoin Colfer has a wonderfully creative take on the world of leprechauns, sprites and pixies. In this series of novels, he mixes both magic and technology — beings living deep underground who have magical powers, as well as ultra-advanced computers technology and cool gadgets galore.

The Kid Factor

Throw into the fray a 12-year old boy, Artemis Fowl II — an evil genius in his own words — who uncovers the secrets of this hidden world, and you get a fun series that should delight a lot of readers, both young and old (assuming you like fantasy or science fiction). The use of a protagonist who’s not all on the up-and-up is a little different from norm, but we’re used to lovable rogues like Han Solo, or the vigilante Batman.

Action and Thrills

Artemis is aided in his exploits by his more than able-bodied bodyguard, Butler. And then there’s the true action-heroine, Captain Holly Short, a female elf who is a member of the LEPrecon — Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance — who’s a bit cocky, but has a “good head on her shoulders” as they cliché goes.

And because Artemis is not without his faults, Captain Holly puts him to the test, challenging his schemes and intellect, and teaching him some important life lessons in the process. And so throughout the series young Artemis slowly begins to change, to grow (up) and actually become “good”, even hero-like in his own ways.

The two characters butt heads in the first novel — in fact he captures her, but in subsequent novels, the two often team up, at first reluctantly, but later willingly.

Explaining Leprechauns

Colfer’s explanation for the existence of elves, trolls and other “fantasy” creatures, known in the series as “fairies”, is that they were driven underground by man ages ago, and today mostly live the underground metropolis called Haven. The LEPrecon forces are responsible for tracking fairies who accidentally or intentionally meet with humans, and wiping those humans’ memories. At their disposal are stealth technology to mask their comings and goings between the two worlds, advanced surveillance equipment and communications with Foaly, a centaur who the super-geeky IT guy of the underworld. Certain races, including the elves, have their own magic that can also be called upon.

Of course, we wouldn’t have a series if there weren’t any bad elements, both above and underground. Threats of exposure, harm to either worlds, and some very human subplots all make for very enjoyable yarns.

It’s not heavy reading in any sense of the phrase, but all in all, the Artemis Fowl novels is still a fun series — easy to digest for younger readers, and offering some care-free fun for the rest of us.

photo credit: furiousgeorge81

A couple of years ago, a friend bought one of my kids a toy bowling set. They took to it immediately and played and played with it. However, it wasn’t long before we noticed cracks developing in some of the pins.

Sure enough, at one point, one of the pins broke into several pieces after a particularly “intense” frame. I could only surmise that cheap, brittle plastic was used in the set’s construction. No doubt the toy was bought at one of those “5 and dime” stores (inflation has turned them into dollar stores).

Looking for Bargains

I’m not against being frugal — it used to be that I was always on the look-out for bargains. But, especially after that experience, and being self-employed for the last few years, I am more acutely aware that there is a lot behind the final product or service we see in ads or stores.

To Get Products to the Stores

Now, whenever I see a product — whether it’s a toy, or a piece of furniture, or even a car — I also see it as something that has undergone a production and distribution cycle that include things like conceptualization, resource acquisition, creation, distribution, marketing and customer service. (I apply the same evaluation for services: painting, roofing, landscaping, etc.)

Costs are Incurred at Every Step

I then think about the price in terms of the wholesale costs for each of these steps:

• conceptualization - paying designers, engineers, inventors, research and development, etc.
• resource acquisition - paying for, and growing and harvesting raw materials, digging them out of the ground, refinining etc.
• creation - the actual process of construction, through labor and/or machines, all of which must be paid for
• distribution - packaging, shipping, trucking, etc.
• customer service - retail services, warranties, repairs and replacements, etc.
• support infrastructure - all the buildings, administrative staff, insurance, etc., needed to run each of the above “components”

Economies of Scale

I also take into account whether the item is mass produced, or whether the service is provided by a local small business — since materials or services do not come cheap on a single unit basis — in order to see if product is (seemingly) affordable, or worth what is being charged.

When a Bargain is Not Really a Bargain

However, when I see a product that is too cheap, then I have to assume one or more of the following must be true:

1. Outsourced manufacturing - The product is produced overseas, where wages are much lower, and worker treatment may be substandard or abusive, such as sweat shops
2. Remainders - the product is being dumped, sold at a loss because it couldn’t be sold otherwise. No one really wants it because it’s a piece of junk
3. Product Sold at a Loss - a strategy to gain market share, stifle competition, etc., like what Microsoft is doing with the Xbox 360
4. Short-sighted Management - product is manufactured with profit as the only motive — people and resources are unduly exploited for short term gain, perhaps a disregard for health and environment, etc.
5. Product is made of shoddy material, or with materials that might be unsafe - lower grade ore, cheaper plastics carcinogenic paints, leaded materials, less robust circuits, etc.
6. Product is unreliable - poorly designed components, mediorcre workmanship, and such can result in an inferior product like a cheap PC, or a car that’s a “lemon”

If it’s a service, then I have to consider whether or not the person offering the service is executing sound business practices. If the price is too low, he or she may be subsidizing the service with income from a full-time job. If there is no other job, then I would wonder whether this particular small business will be around in a year or two.

Cheapest May Not be the Best Option

So as you can see, sometimes purchasing a product or service based on the cheapest price will not turn out all that beneficial.

The product may be unsafe or it may break sooner than later — such that you need to junk it, contributing to our landfills, and need to go out and buy a replacement. Or returning it or getting it serviced may be more trouble than it’s worth due to poor customer service.

The service may turn out to be a one-time thing, with little or no recourse if you are unsatisfied.

A lot of times, we don’t think or even consider any of these things — we’re happy to simply buy, buy, buy.

photo credit: *tdl*

Have you ever:

• Shared a joke with friends?
• At a game, gave a high five to a complete stranger next to you after your team has just made a tough score?
• Chatted with a coworker about a TV show at the water cooler?

What do these three actions have in common?

They satisfy a need to belong.

The Instinct to Belong

I’m sure the development of this need harkens back to the days of the caveman — banding together was the prudent way for early man (and woman) to survive encounters with woolly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and the like (oh, my!) — those who didn’t, did not survive, and so the instinct was passed on.

Today, however, with those dangers extinct, we find other reasons to bond together. In the end, after food and water, and perhaps shelter, that next need is the need to feel a part of a group, whether it’s a life-partner in the form of a husband or wife, or something beyond a simple pairing.

Benefits of a Group

Indeed, there many benefits to being in a group

• Teamwork - working together can overcome many weaknesses
• Social skills - being successful usually means developing social skills
• Respect for others - the best teams usually have members who respect one another
• Support from others and camaraderie within the group - when one member is down, the others can pick him or her up
• Getting things Done fast - such as in an assembly line
• Brainstorming ideas in a meeting
• Strength in numbers
• Specialists are able to be developed or recruited, since other aspects are handled by others in the group, etc.

In fact, achievements such as building the Golden Gate Bridge or Hoover Dam is only possible through the power of a group. The strongest nations, the strongest corporations, are all groups.

Being in The In Crowd

It’s more than a great Ramsey Lewis composition, the “in” crowd is what makes us feel happy when we belong to one, and certainly makes us feel bad when we don’t — whether it’s a discussion on the latest episode of Heroes, or joining the after-work soccer team, the good feeling we get from being part of something is usually ingrained in all of us from the time we’re born, with things like:

• Being held in mommy’s bosom, where it was always warm and safe
• Cuddling with a parent as a toddler
• Playing in small groups in preschool

And then leading on to:

• School clubs
• Spelling bees
• Kick ball teams
• Birthday parties
• Sleepovers
• Music class
• Little league

Then we hear conversations like:

• “Oh, my kid got into the GIFTED program.”
• “My daughter’s teacher is Ms. Smith — teacher of the year.”
• “My son got into Harvard.”
• “My daughter got a full scholarship.”

These are all everyday conversations we might hear, but they all seem to point to one thing.

A Sense of Competition, and OneUpmanship

In our society, we are taught to (try to) thrive on competition. That push to be better than the other guy or gal is oftentimes a great motivator, and many individuals excel. As a person develops their skills, he or she may find him or herself:

• on a team, or even an “elite” team
• in a fraternity or sorority
• in a club
• joining a political party
• becoming part of the workforce, for a company, or starting his or her own
• at a company, become part of a department
• joining a union, and so on.

The Dangers of a Group

As we can see, society inevitably puts us into a group. And while we’ve seen the benefits of being in a group, there are also many dangers. Those dangers also begin early in our lives.

For instance, in school, we get the “bad apples” who are immediately grouped by being sent to detention. “Loners” may be shunned by the rest of the students for being “strange” or “radical”.

At work, sometimes the employees (”us”) versus customers (”them”) will result in poor customer service — ever get the “that’s not my department” line from an employee? Or a certain department (HR or Accounting or middle management) will eliminate members of the “regular” employees.

However, the true dangers come from exploitation of individuals in the name of the group, simply because the need to belong is so strong:

• Gangs - the need to belong is strong enough to entice some young people to join a gang, where terms like “family”, “brother” or “sister” are often used. Actions are executed in the name of the gang — “initiation” rites, such as robbing someone “outside” the family, turf wars, and worse — done to elicit praise from the leader(s), to get that love that is perhaps missing from their own (broken?) homes or parents that are too “busy” or uncaring, or to have a purpose
• Fanatic groups - think of the extreme right, groups led by zealous fanatics who use their charisma to gather a devoted following, oftentimes pitting them against the rest of society or other groups deemed unworthy, promising deliverance for successful execution of their agendas
• Religion - Religion is supposed to based on teachings of their founders (Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, etc.), and these teachings are taught by those who know “the truth” — the religious leaders — and so they form the group at the top, a group that has great power. But, some of these groups inevitably abuse that power and become corrupted. For all the good that is done, there are also great harm done in the name of religion. Think the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, and so-called “Holy” wars
• Politics - the “us versus them” card is often played here as well, resulting in impasses on policies at home, questionable campaign contributions that can sway decisions one way or another. Groups can cause civil unrests and other disturbances. Special interests are groups as well, and have sometimes been linked to conflicts and wars abroad. There are many examples today, but easy historical examples include Hitler and the Nazis, the plight of Native Americans, global Colonialism, Yellow Journalism, etc.

Suppression of Individual Thought and Critical Thinking

It’s easy to see how the group can be exploited by its leaders. Through the use of peer pressure, fear (of being cast out, or even losing his or her life), or simply the promise of love, individual thought and critical thinking can easily be suppressed, forgotten, or simply abandoned.

This can lead to the Lemming effect, where individuals simply go along with the group, not really knowing, or caring, in what direction they’re headed — mob think.

But I think a lot has to the do with the ones who lead the groups. Be it a gang, political, religious, corporate, whatever, leaders of groups have great power. And sometimes decisions are made not in the best interest of the group, but rather in the best interest of the leaders (e.g. to preserve their power and status).

Group is Great But One Still Has to Think

In the end, I think it’s important to be aware of the grouping phenomenon/instinct. Unless one is a total hermit, becoming part of a group is inevitable.

One still should practice critical thinking, especially when the direction we’re headed is not ideal, and voice his or her concerns, or simply leave the group.

One still needs to tell the Emperor he has no clothes.

The Group to Which We All Belong

Ultimately, we should remember that, whether we want to or not, from the moment we are born, we already belong to one group.

The human race.

I love bread, and I’m often amazed by it.

Think about it. Someone figured out that it was a great idea to mix crushed grain with water into a dough and cook it over a fire to create the first bread.

Later on, through accident or design, leavening agents (such as yeast) allowed for the dough to rise, creating the “modern” bread.

When I’m totally starving, I can devour an entire sourdough baguette. Plain.

Bread is, simply said, another of life’s simple pleasures.

Bread Appeals to all the Senses

• Sight - have you ever looked at breads? I’m not talking about the factory-made, store bought “clones” like Wonderbread, but rather the artisan, hand-made breads, where each individual loaf has a crust that’s unique unto itself, almost like a fingerprint, but similar to the other members of its “breadthen”. Some breads are “lacerated” prior to baking, resulting in crust with character — hills and valleys, nooks and crannies. The texture continues inside each loaf, in the “crumb”, where leavened breads exhibit air pockets, some fine and uniform, others randomly sized, almost swiss cheese-like. The natural colors of bread are all warm, earth tones. A bread loaf is such a simple looking thing from afar, but really a feast for the eyes seen up close.
• Smell - one of the best smells on earth is the smell of freshly-baked loaves of bread, just brought out of the oven. There’s something so rejuvenating about that smell, and being exposed to fresh bread simply flips my gastronomic dial to “hungry”.
• Touch - with fresh bread, one does not need to even slice it — tearing off a large chunk works just fine. The crust breaks apart, and the interior stretches, releasing steam into the air. The aroma is especially strong then.
• Taste - and who can resist simply munching down on a piece of freshly baked bread, no spreads, no condiments needed. Yum! Of course, after a few hours, when cooled, the bread invites one to ply its surface with a favorite spread or jam, or perhaps to turn it into a toast of some sort — say, garlic bread!
• Hearing - and when we’re greedily devouring our favorite breads, we also experience the crackle of new bread being broken, or the crunch of perfectly toasted garlic bread, and of course the rumblings of the stomaches of everyone careless enough to see you savoring.

Anyone hungry yet?

(I’m not even going to go into all the types of breads out there — my favorite’s sourdough French bread — more information on bread can be had in this Wikipedia entry.)

If you liked this post, you may also like my earlier post: Simple Pleasures of Life

Photo credit: isolatediguana

Even before I started this blog, I’ve been gleaning the various tips and tricks that abound in the Blogosphere, so much like a baleen whale, taking them in huge volumes, trying to filter out the best ones. Here’s what I have thus far — I’m calling it the ABC’s of Blogging. Enjoy.

• Attract readers with compelling headlines
• Books - read them to help improve your writing
• Creative, insightful, or timely Content is what will keep your readers Coming back — Crappy Content will torpedo Clever titles
• Dedicate time researching for and thinking about your posts, Do spend more than ten minutes writing
• Edit, Edit, Edit — good writing comes from rewriting
• Find your niche, if you want
• Get into a habit of writing regularly
• Have a conversational tone in your posts and comments to build a welcome Haven for your readers
• Inspiration and Ideas for posts comes from everywhere — news, conversations, comments, so pay attention
• Jot down ideas in a little notebook that you keep close by
• Keep a regular schedule of posting to train your audience — consider an editorial calendar
• Leverage the power of a blog in your business
• Monetize your blog if you’d like, but Moderation is key — no one likes to be bombarded by ads
• Never spam — follow the golden rule
• Offer true value in your posts, Offer an e-book, Offer an RSS feed and Offer full feeds
• Profanity should checked at the door — your blog is Public and little People will find it
• Queen. Content can be Queen, too — blogging is equal opportunity, and many of my favorite bloggers are women
• Reassess your blog Regularly to see if you’re on the Right track, or if you need to Re-adjust your direction
• Stumbleupon and other Social networking tools can help people find you, but may not be necessary if you have good, clear content and some SEO
• Try to keep your stat-gazing to a minimum — Too much attention means you’re wasting Time
• Use humor if you’ve got the skillz
• Visit other blogs you like and comment meaningfully on posts when you have something to say
• Wordpress is your friend
• “X-it” the online world on a regular basis — go out, take a walk, talk to real live people, have a life
• Zee truth once again is that Content is King!

UPDATE:

• Yes, um…I deliberately left “Y” out to see if people actually read the entire thing, Yeah, that’s it, that’s my storY and I’m sticking with it!