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AUDIENCE RECOGNITION: KNOW THE ROOM

Albert Einstein had audience recognition with his letter in 1939. His audience? Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States. He knew the room. It was one person.

BETTER LISTENING SKILLS FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING

If practicing better listening skills isn’t a life goal, it should be. How hard is it to pay attention? You did it in the classroom with the encouragement of a teacher. I still remember Mr. Kraus singing ‘Toot toot tootsie goodbye’ when he tossed little tootsie rolls to students with the right answer in algebra. […]

RETURNING REVERENCE TO IT’S RIGHTFUL PLACE

There’s a scent of reverence in the air, of returning reverence after a long pause. It started in my doctor’s office where I’d been called to sit on a panel with others. One of the others was Roy Pittman, one of my personal heroes. The next time I saw the doctor he told me he […]

CLEAN LIVING FOR A QUIET LIFE

Clean living is an art form, and like all art it takes practice. Yes, we’re talking about practice. It takes practice to talk without a particular tone, without too much edge. Do that and you may have a productive conversation. Go ahead and save the tone and edge for people you don’t know, who don’t […]

PREDICTION BETTING FOR THE CLAIRVOYANTS IN THE CROWD

If you listened to a clairvoyant’s advice watching the 4th game of the NBA Finals last night you would have cleaned up on prediction betting.   Clair: Sure they’re twenty-nine points down, but just wait. You: Yeah, okay swami, I’m turning it off. I can’t take it. Clair: Don’t do that. You’ll be sorry. What […]

OFF THE HOOK IN GOLDEN YEARS?

As the golden years of retirement stretch out before you there are a few things to keep in mind. Probably more than ten line items, but this is a start. You don’t have to agree with any of them, but pick and choose in any order. I’ll start:

END PRODUCT IS WHAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT, NOT PRACTICE

‘End Product’ is another way of saying, “What have you done lately?” We pay to go to concerts, games, and races. We don’t pay to go to practice rooms, weight rooms, or interval track training, the stuff done before the end product. Buy a ticket for an event and you expect a competent performance? Sounds […]

HISTORICAL ACCURACY? IMPORTANT, OR NOT

I’m a fan of historical accuracy, of a story that stands up to scrutiny not opinion, My feeling is that the people involved in historical events deserve the decency of applied history. How to apply history? It’s all about the sources.

MAKING THE CANCER CALL 2026

Ten years ago I got the cancer call. Me: Hello. Doc: Are you sitting down? Me: Yes. (I was in the bathroom.) Doc: The tests came back. You have cancer. Me: That’s not good.

OPENING NIGHT AT THE ROSE GARDEN

I watched the Rose Garden, home to your Portland Trail Blazers, rise up on the Northeast bank of the mighty Willamette River. From opening night until now it’s been . . . thirty-one years? As long as the Memorial Coliseum stands, the Rose Garden will always be the new kid on the block. And now […]