It’s October 29, and today’s big decision is when to dig up the dahlias, which are still happily blooming.
Per my friend Carolyn, who is a superb gardener, I should do it NOW, before there’s a hard frost.
Most of the mums have weathered the long period of rain that should banish any talk of water shortages for a good while, and roses are still blooming in other places, like the Fairgrounds.
Two Good Judges, Two Stories
Overriding a proposal for a lesser sentence, NH judge James O’Neill sentenced a Massachusetts man to 30-60 years for the repeated rape of a young relative. The girl was between 13 and 16 years old during her four-year ordeal.
Sock and a Shoe
One of the funniest bits from “All in the Family” was a goofy argument between Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), the blue collar patriarch, and his radical/intellectual son-in-law antagonist, Mike Stivic (Rob Reiner), about the order of putting on shoes and socks.
Decisions, Decisions
Something happened yesterday, a consequence of a series of decisions going back many, many years, and if anything, it proves the point that no matter how hard we try, we are still at the mercy of fate and folly, either our own or that of others.
Let’s just say that for my part, I’m damned sorry I didn’t change our family name when my son was a minor and leave it at that.
Sticking It
Incredibly, Sal DiMasi, the Speaker of the Mass. House of Representatives, found his you-know-whats yesterday and urged the House to reinstate the provisions previously removed from Melanie’s Law by Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty’s conference committee.
O’Flaherty and four other members of the 6-person conference committee make good livings as defense attorneys for DUI clients, a fact which outraged the public and resulted in the reversal.
Sharing Power, Giving It Away
Last week, I attended the second STEM Summit for Massachusetts teachers, school administrators and business people who are interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in the public schools.
It was an excellent session, a lot of great information, and as a bonus, included one of the smartest pieces of advice I’ve ever received about working in collaboration, either in the for-profit or non-profit sectors:
You have to learn to share power, and even to give it away.
Wal-mart and Employee Benefits Costs
The New York Times reported today on an internal memo written by Wal-Mart’s executive vice president for benefits.
I found quite a difference between the way the Times reported the substance of the memo, and, having read it, the actual contents.
The memo proposes ways to lower Wal-Mart’s total benefits costs by focusing on life insurance, retirement and health care.
In my opinion as a former benefits manager, the memo is a craftsmanly piece of work and does a good job of balancing corporate and employee concerns.
It Is a Dark and Stormy Day…
The weather people were right, the Cape is being “pummeled” with high winds from a confluence of atmospheric disturbances, including a cold air mass from the West and the remnants of two hurricanes, Wilma and Alpha.
Letter to the Governor
I am no fan of Mitt Romney, but he did the right thing this week by challenging the Massachusetts House of Representatives, which gutted Melanie’s Law, the bill intended to curtail drunk driving.
Here’s the text of a letter I sent earlier today:
Waiting for Nineveh
The success or failure of the referendum on the Iraqi constitution rests on the vote from Nineveh, one of the provinces with a significant Sunni Arab population.
If 3 of the 14 provinces reject the document with 2/3 or more of the vote, the referendum will fail.
So far, Anbar and Salaheddin provinces have rejected the document, with votes of 96% and 82%, respectively. This was expected.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi electoral commission is already looking into possible voting irregularities, and expressed “surprise” at Secretary Condoleeza Rice’s assertion in London last week that the constitution would be approved.