Ideas are like rabbits.
You get a couple and learn how to handle them,
and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John Steinbeck
I don't usually commentate on my randomly-chosen quotes. I remember worrying about my dissertation project; none of my area professors had an active research program, and I had somewhat eclectic research interests (in computer documentation and human factors in IT). However, I was blessed with a dissertation chair (Dr. Scamell, who had also led our major field research seminars and was very encouraging. This was a case of learning by doing, built on a base of literally reading hundreds of research articles in related interests. (I had seen management issues with poorly documented systems as a programmer/analyst; I was intrigued by criteria in assessing documentation. That first project really increased my confidence, and I soon found myself swamped with project ideas: for example, how readable are published IT standards? I was in an interdisciplinary field, and I loved to look at how research was done is reference disciplines. At the same time, I saw issues with measures used in my own discipline vs/ reference disciplines. One of the initiatives I had at the time I was forced to leave academia in a recession (I was on a 1-year visiting professor appointment) was to establish my own computer user satisfaction measure. When I had joined UTEP's faculty, I was interested in researching critical success factors at maquiladoras. It seemed like I always had at least a dozen projects going on--some going through peer reviews, doing background research for others, collecting data and/or writing up findings for still others, etc. God knows what could have happened if I had worked with other productive researchers on synergistic topics.
I think to some senior faculty in my discipline (MIS) I posed a threat and there was some professional jealousy. I remember one professor interviewing me for a job near the end of my run, saying, "I could publish, too, except it would take time away from my students." That still pisses me off over 20 years later. It's sort of like economically illiterate progressives seeing economics as a zero-sum game, e.g., research comes at the expense. I spent more time on preps than anyone I ever knew. I was almost always on campus I was routinely changing textbooks, which meant new preps. I required more computer assignments than my peers, which made me unpopular. I came to lectures with typewritten notes, unlike almost all the professors I ever had. How did I do it? A phenomenal work ethic, over 70 hours a week. No social life. I told myself as an ABD, "There will be time to date when I'm a professor." And then, "There will be time to date when I get tenure." Only I never got tenure.
How We Thrive: ERP Solutions For the Emerging Cannabis Industry
Recently I published the third episode of the FEE "How We Thrive"series. (Again, as I've constantly republished, I do not and have never participated in the cannabis, tobacco or other industries. I have a adult work career of urine testing to prove that. I simply do not agree with government prohibition policies.) This episode is particularly interesting for me, because I've spent a significant amount of time over the past 21 years installing, upgrading, and operating ERP (integrated enterprise application systems, from invoicing to financial statements) systems and their databases. I've seen, for instance, issues with complicated compliance in the aftermath of the corporate scandals (Enron, Tyco, etc.) around the turn of the century. Here they have been dealing with differing, sometimes conflicting state and federal regulations, never mind the issues in attracting investors, employees, banking, etc.Woods On Hitler's Economics
I thought Woods would point out the obvious things that leftists are completely oblivious to, like Hitler's embrace of a welfare state (old age pensions), his anti-capitalist rhetoric, primacy of the State, etc. He does do that, of course, but from a more comprehensive basis of economic theory.I did find Woods' anecdote of by mistake sending around the class an attendance sheet, only to realize later he had distributed his outline of the platform of the Nazi party by mistake, but the students signed it without questioning it. Isn't it ironic? Woods quips that he considered retaining the sheet for purposes of future blackmail.
Inspirational
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Henry Payne via Townhall |
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists
Elton John, "The One". One of the top hits of the 90's and on my all-time favorites list.
