Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips Yet another rant by an old man about something we used to do. etiquette: noun, the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group. Hat etiquette. See above. I am old. I still have scars from my parents and grandparents and school teachers. Take […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Experts know heuristics or “rules of thumb.” Consult these folks before attempting something of importance. Did you know that a pizza will feed three people? Did you know that you should have half the food cooked and ready to serve at a picnic before the picnic-ers arrive? Did you know that sandstone […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips This week’s world-wide excuse for not doing your job continues. Due to an excuse, I will no longer be doing all of my job. I will continue to receive all of my salary (good for me), but don’t expect all of my efforts. It is pretty nice receiving all of my salary […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips The title is the hallmark of a person in a bureaucracy. Do less; just get by. I have worked in and around government agencies for four decades or more. Gosh, that’s a lot. The title of this little post summarizes the mean of the bell curve in these places. Let’s expand a […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Given histories on the Internet, the good news is that I can find the correct date and event. The bad news is, I no longer have the excuse that, “Maybe I didn’t remember correctly.” That is just lazy. I am making notes of my life for my children and grandchildren. The sort […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips It is easy to use my past as a reason for my behavior. It’s just an excuse. Put it and all other excuses behind and be here and now and better. “You have to understand” (when we hear those words, run and hide quickly) I could keep this list going for a […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips An apology is just that—an apology. It is neither an explanation nor a justification. Rats! An apology is simple: I did this wrong. I am sorry for that. I ask your forgiveness. An apology does not contain an explanation: I was trying to do such-and-such and … An apology does not contain […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Some of the worst mistakes I make are my mistakes about my mistakes and the corrections of my mistakes. Confused? Most of us are. We all make mistakes. Sorry to write that, but it is true. Then we make meta mistakes. These are mistakes about our mistakes and the corrections of our […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips We seem to be far more tolerant of technical failures. When I was a kid (we played baseball in the streets and things like that), I often heard the excuse, “The computer is down.” That excuse brought all sorts of grievous vexation that excuses usually bring. It was recognized as an excuse […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Some persons know what they want, but they don’t have the resources to tell me. Perhaps they don’t know what they want. Perhaps they have many other reasons for passing me to another person. Perhaps I should just stay away. Do you want to know what I want? Talk to Mr. ABC. […]

[Read more →]