We Are In Trouble …
So Saturday afternoon we were heading up to our first Durham Bulls game with my Cousin Steve visiting from Toronto. As we were driving on the highway Wesley calls from the back seat of van and says.
“Daddy, I know what you call a HOT girl.”
There was a moment of disbelief which hung in the van. No one could believe his was coming from our 6 year old.
I responded, “Wesley what do you mean by HOT?”
“I mean when a girl is very beautiful Daddy, not like when she is warm.”
Still silence hung in the air. I know I shouldn’t have but I had to ask. “Wesley. what do you call a very beautiful girl?”
“A Hottie!”
The three adults in the car were trying to maintain our composure. But I had to respond, after all his Mother is now snickering in the passenger seat, looking at me with the “You Wanted to Have All Boys” look again.”
“Wes, it’s not appropriate for you to call any girl HOT or a HOTTIE, they don’t like that. It’s disrespectful. They want you to see them as ……”
Wesley interrupts, “Does that mean I shouldn’t whistle at them either?” and then he let out a wolf whistle.
“No Wesley, that is also disrespectful.”
I turned to Lauren and said, “We’ve got a little Hugh Hefner in the back seat”.
We are in sooo much trouble.
So Suddenly Toyota is Crap? Beware the Messenger …
Is it just me or does it seem that the past few days have been filled with ominous government warnings about Toyota vehicles and today the newspapers are filled with stories about the quality of Japanese vehicles eroding while American car companies are building better cars then ever. Today Toyota’s stock dropped 7% when Obama’s Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood said American’s should stop driving their Toyota’s until they all fixed.
So the United States Government makes the unprecedented statement that Toyota drivers of recalled vehicles should immediately stop driving their cars. They never made such a statement when Ford Explorers were rolling over in what seemed like everyday. What could their motivation be …… maybe, just maybe it’s because the very same Federal Government owns 60% of GM? Could someone in the Obama administration be pressuring government officials to trash the most respected car maker in the world in an effort to improve the return on their $30 billion investment in an effort to hide the fact that GM still cannot make a car people want?
We do not own Toyota stock (we do own Ford stock so this is oddly helpful …but still wrong)… but I do own two Toyota vehicles and thy and one’s I’ve owned before have always been heads and shoulders better then anything GM could produce.
Some say Toyota’s decision to halt production of these vehicles as an admission of some kind of widespread problem, I disagree. The culture of Toyota demands that you stop to fix a problem. For some time I’ve kept this list at my desk the 14 Management Principles of Toyota or the Toyota Way … check out number 5:
The 4 Sections and the 14 principles of the Toyota Way
I. Having a long-term philosophy that drives a long-term approach to building a learning organization
1. Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals
II. The right process will produce the right results
2. Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface
3. Use “pull” systems to avoid overproduction
4. Level out the workload (heijunka). (Work like the tortoise, not the hare)
5. Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time
6. Standardized tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment
7. Use visual control so no problems are hidden
8. Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes
III. Add value to the organization by developing its people and partners
9. Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others
10. Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy
11. Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve
IV. Continuously solving root problems to drive organizational learning
12. Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (Genchi Genbutsu).
13. Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement decisions rapidly (Nemawashi).
14. Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement (Kaizen).
I think we should follow the money and understand who has the most to gain by trying to beatup on Toyota … I think we will find their their motivations are far from genuine. I applaud Toyota for sticking to their principles and putting safety before financial gain. There can be no other explanation when you see how their principles are guiding them through this problem.
BTW. I dare say that I may be picking up some Toyota stock tomorrow. Symbol TM. They are going to bounce back much bigger and better than GM will.
Toyota FTHS - What Real Innovation Looks Like
Motivation for New Year’s Resolutions
This time of year many of us will make resolutions to improve ourselves. If you are anything like me you’ll probably have a few resolutions to work out more and get in better shape. So I’ve compiled these videos to inspire you for the year ahead and help you achieve your resolutions.
First let’s start with a classic motivational speech. Caution this has very strong language.
Let’s get to work.
You might feel like you are too old for your I offer up this montage!
No you don’t have to belong to some big fancy gym. you can you what you have around you.
Ever feel like you want to give up? Like skipping a day is ok well here’s 40 Inspirational Speeches in Two Minutes.
Now sound off like you’ve got a pair!
SIR Yes SIR …..and Happy New Year!
New Snoop Dogg Video – Gangsta Luv
I’m luvin this new song from Snoop Dogg. The Dogfather has done it again … enjoy
Joe Wilson and Flava Flav?
This morning I was on my way to work listening to the local news talk about the “outburst” of Rep. Joe Wilson SC (R) during President Obama’s Healthcare reform speech last night. During the speech Rep. Joe Wilson took particular exception to the President’s claim that no government healthcare funds would be extended to illegal aliens. Rep Wilson shouted “You Lie!”. Unfortunately for Joe that happened to be the one moment when the Democrats weren’t clapping and cheering for the President as they publically slobbered their love all over him. It was hard to watch as it was Political Porn.
In case you missed it here is the event here is the video:
P.S. I love the look on Pelosi’s face. It looks like someone slapped her with a board. But I digress …..
At first, I was taken aback by the lack of decorum in the chamber. But as I continued to listen , I tired of the bashing the outspoken Representative of South Carolina was taking, so I turned on my iPod and continued driving to work. Then a song came on and the introduction caused me to reconsider my disappointment in the congressman. The spoken intro goes like this:
“Yet our best trained, best educated, best equipted, best prepared troops refuse to fight”
“In fact, I think it’s safe to say that they would rather switch … than fight!”
Of course my younger readers will immediately identify that this is the introduction of Public Enemy’s landmark song “Fight the Power” from their 1989 Album Fear of a Black Planet. Need a refresher? The video does not contain the introduction that was found on the album but any reason to hear Public Enemy is a good reason in my book.
Then something clicked in my mind. Maybe we have traded real progress for the “theater” of legislation with all of it’s traditions and codes. Maybe we need to get a little medieval, maybe to need to say it out loud when we think someone is feeding us bullshit. Maybe we’ve been a little quiet too long.
Some believe that conflict should be avoided at all costs. We fall victim to group think at work because everyone is afraid to rock the boat. We try to ignore children in our community that misbehave because to a degree we are afraid of what their parents might say to us if we said something to them. Maybe we as a peopl have lost our stomach for conflict.
Maybe our troops are refusing to fight. But the other side’s haven’t … leading up to the election of Barack Obama the left certainly wasn’t congeneal. Remember MoveOn.Org calling Gen. Pateraus a Liar in a full page Print Ad? They called a commanding General (not a politician) a liar while he was in full command of 130,000+ troops in Iraq. Remember CodePink? Remember every G8 summit for the last 8 years? Bush was called many things worse than a liar (granted not during a nationally televised speech) but does the venue make all that much difference when they instead stand just ouside the chamber and called Bush a liar for the better part of 4 years. I don’t think it does.
Perhaps this and the type of conservative outrage at the Healthcare townhall meetings this summer, were the conservative version of what Bush was forced to absorb during his term.
Perhaps they set the bar so low that it’s easy to step over it
Perhaps our troops are beginning to stir.
And perhaps this is just what we conservatives needed.
By the time I had gotten to work, I had turned the corner from being disappointed in a conservative politican to getting on Twitter and yelling “Yo, Joe!” and “Fight the Power!”
P.S. facebookers will have to click through to see the videos.
Video – Obama Admits His Healthcare Plan will Eliminate Your Insurance
For weeks the President has been defending his healthcare plan by saying that if you have employer provided healthcare and you like it you can keep it. That this plan of his is for everyone else.
What conservatives know is that there is no business in the world that can compete with the federal government and employers will drop their plan, pay any small penalties they are assessed and their employees will be added to the govern plan, leading to a single-payer system. The Obama team and their minions including MoveOn.org have decried those concerns as fear-mongering. Let’s see what they don’t want you to see:
Still think your healthcare is safe?
Facebookers, you will have to click in the picture to see the video. And you need to see this video. Click It!
What is D-Day?
I was appalled yesterday by the number of people who were celebrating D-Day as National Doughnut Day. They thought that’s what D-Day was. There were thousands of tweets saying “What’s D-Day?” “Glad I got my D-Day Doughnut”. It made me sick.
So for those of you who don’t know what D-Day is I offer this history lesson:
The fact that many people, especially young people, don’t know what D-Day truly means is a failure of our school system, their parents and perhaps society at large. Our public school systems have become academies of mediocrity, parents have neglected their responsibility to truly educate their children and instead try to bribe their good behavior with more material things. As a society, we are becoming so disgustingly obsessed with ourselves that there is little need to know anything but what our next status update is going to be.
D-Day forces us to consider that EVIL exists and is manifest in the world, even today. And that is it the responsibility of the righteous to confront and destroy it not for our own sake but for those who cannot fight for themselves. Remember the American, Canadian, and British forces that landed on D-Day were NOT defending their homelands but instead were defending the right of those who could no longer fight to life and liberty. 65 Years later that lesson is more important than ever.
FDR’s Speech on the 6/6/1944
Regan’s Speech on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day 6/6/1984
Facebook Note: Click on the Pictures to See the Embedded Videos.
Jack Bauer Should Have Died!
I just finished watching in the last episode of season 7 of 24 and I feel like I’ve been robbed. I am a huge Jack Bauer fan, and I’ve religiously followed 24 from season 2 until this debacle they call a season.
This was the most convoluted, disconnected, and by far the worst season of 24 ever.
Here are my 24 Season 7 Awards:
Worst FBI Agent in the History of Bureau and Worst Jack Babe to Date
Annie Wersching playing Renee Walker – Lauren and I joked through the entire second half of the season “and here comes the worst FBI agent in history!” Blowing it again for Jack and Co.
Worst FBI Agent On Television
Day 7 Jumped the Shark When …
Tony Alameda invites Jack to the reflecting pool to tell him that another attack is going to happen. Except these will be completely unrelated to the events in the first act of the story except both bad guys are from the same African country. OOOOOOO! Watch out for those Sengalans.
Worst Sub Plot …
Chloe O’Brien pitted against the annoying Janeane Garofalo playing the more annoying Janis Gold in a I can top you side by side technology forensic ironchef competition. Where secret ingredient is “Fake Techno Babble Bullshit”! BTW if you are a real fan you know NO ONE can touch Chloe.
Person We Most Wanted to See Die and Were Denied …
Annie Wersching playing Renee Walker – Congratulations on your second award of the night, although technically your first award was “a double” … which is exactly what we needed to believe that someone as brainless as her character could even get through Quantico.
Person We Hated to See Die …
James Morrison as Bill Buchanan his death was completely unnecessary.
I Almost Shot My TV When …
Tony admits to Jack that he had to fake being bad, while he was being good, as he was faking being bad. All to avenge his dead wife. Really, that why you took us on this fly-ridden dung heap of a season. BANG!
The “A Drama Club Student from Brentsville District Could Have Acted Better Than Award” …
Cherry Jones playing President Allison Taylor. Awful … makes we want to puke.
Yeah they tried to pass her off as the President
AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL.
If the writers truely loved the character of Jack Bauer they would have let him die instead of potentially having his good name dragged through another pile of crap like this season.
It would have been the honorable thing to do.
Microsoft: A Vision of the Future 2019
A great video showing where the application of technology can take us:
Facebook Readers: You will have to click on the photo to see the video.
Daddy, What Does Chinese Sound Like?
So tonight on the way home from Soccer the boys, Aiden and Wesley, were debating what the Chinese language sounded like.
Aiden rattles off a string of nonsensical sounds and announces, ” That means ‘let the race begin’”.
Wesley counters by making a bunch of whooshing sounds and then informing me, “That means ‘the second challenge is a Dance Off!’”
Have I told you how much I love my Wesley. He is such a goof ball.
Best Commercials of 2009 Superbowl
Here are what I think were the best commercials of the 2009 Superbowl.
Career Builder – “May Be Time to Get A New Job” Commercial
Doritos – “Crystal Ball” Commercial
Pepsi Max – “I’m Good” Commercial
The only funny Bud commercial came from Bud Light – “Bud Light for Office Meetings”
And a Sentimental Favorite – “G.I. Joe – The Rise of Cobra”
The Chinese Strike A Blow Against Christmas
So my huge project to coming to a close at work and I’m finally ready to celebrate Christmas. So I decided we are really going to go grizwald this year with the lights.
Nothing is better in a recession than a completely gratuitous Christmas lghts display.
So today Wes and I pull out everylight we used last year, both inside and out and drag them all outside. Last year was the first year I very neatly rolled them up on extenstion cord hangers I wouldn’t have to spend half the morning untangling them. Aren’t I smart. Wes and I carefully laid every string on the ground and moved on to testing.
We had 20 strings of lights . . .and two worked! I could not beleive the number of lights that didn’t work so I changed my extension cord thinking something was wrong with the testing rig . . . Nope. The damn Chinese made holiday lights, which I purchase last year, had a 90% failure rate. Un flippin believable.
Wes was, of course, disappointed that we couldn’t decorate any more than one tree.
Wes and the Broken Lights
But like Clark Grizwald I won’t give up. I may kick the crap out of a plastic Santa but I won’t giveup!
Boys . . . . let’s go . . . .we’re going to Walmart!
The Election Part IV – A New Hope – Guest Speaker
This Pre-Election Series Includes:
Part 1 – Acknowledge the Sins of the Press
Part 2 – Obama Tax Plan
Part 3 – Poll Dancing
Because I’m half frozen from taking my kids Trick or Treating, I invited a guest lecturer in for Part Four of our pre election series taking another look at Obama and McCain. This is a facinating video presented by Jedi Master Alfonzo Rachel!
In addition to his latest speech , I present this truely inspiring beatdown of Barack Obama . . .
Well done Master Jedi!
P.S. – Thanks Again Anne for the Great Link! I really should make you a guest contributor to Kofacts!
Why You Should Vote!
It’s not over yet! No matter what the press says.
Don’t Miss The Obama Show Kids!
Remember Kids You Have To Watch With Your Halloween Masks On . . . And Remember The Big Giveaway at 8!
When I heard he was going to be broadcasting on almost all the networks, this was the first thing that popped into my head!
Remember Halloween III?
Obama’s Tax Plan
This is the second in our series up to the election, you can find the first story here.
What we found is that the press have provided him such onesided coverage that it has failed it’s duty to properly vet this man or his proposals.
Now we’ll take a fresh look at Obama’s Tax policies.
If you raise taxes on businesses, jobs Go Away [FACT!]
Removing so called “tax breaks” on business amounts to a Tax Increase [FACT!]
If you raise Capital Gains Taxes Treasury Revenues Go Down [FACT!]
Darth Wesley
So Wesley tried his Halloween costume on and started to get into character. We rolled video tape and we ended up with this great video:
We’ll add this to Wesley’s Movie Collection. You might have prviously seen this video: Col. Wessup
Happy Halloween!
Wesley Rides A Two Wheeler
It’s taken a couple weekends but Welsey is now riding his two wheeler. I’ve been taking him up to the park on Saturday’s to try riding the trail. Unlike Aiden who took just two pushes. Wesley seemed to like going 50 yards, and stopping. Waiting for me to come get him started again. But look at him now.
Here is another video of him later.
He’s not quite a driven as his older brother so it will take him a little longer to become completely comfortable with it.
You can mark # 7 off my 101 in a 1001 List.
Powerful Message To Barack Obama
A powerful message from an Iraqi War Veteran
Special thanks for my sister in law, Anne, for sending this to me.
How Are Democrats Like Redskins Fans?
I grew up in Washington DC and there is nothing I disliked more than the start of football season. Not because I was going to be spending the summer in two or three practices a day but because Redskins fans would put on their Maroon and Gold colored glasses and we’d all hear how they were going to the Superbowl and every other team sucked.
Every year it was the same, [slurping natural light sounds], “man we are going all the way this year. We got [insert latest player/coach here] no one can stop us . . . And your team sucks. Here are all the reasons why . . . “
It didn’t matter who the skins picked up. It could have been Desmond Howard, Heath Schuler, Michael Westbrook, Stephen Davis, Stephen Alexander, Champ Bailey, Fred Smoot, Patrick Ramsey, Sean Taylor (RIP), Jason Campbell, Joe Gibbs, Levar Arrington, or Jason Taylor. Every year it was the same thing.
It doesn’t matter pick a name and I’ve heard it all. And no matter how bad they were the year or game before skins fans would always talk crap about their team. Perfectly good players on other teams were dogged until they became Redskins then they were the second coming.
Skins fans are so blind to the truth that once after watching my Giants shellac them at FedEx field, some skins fan was talking crap in my face about how “the Giants Sucks” as we exited the stadium. With all due respect to my good friends who are now season ticket holders for the Skins . . Skins fans are irrational their view of their team and their opponents is fueled by emotion not logic or fact . . . much like Democrats.
Let me explain. Every election I see the same pattern. They pick some new guy and then they start talking crap (I’d really like to use a stronger word but this is a family friendly blog). “Ohhh Gore is going to own Bush, he doesn’t stand a chance that dummy”. “Kerry is an intellectual he’s gonna cream Bush, that dummy.” “McCain is an idiot Obama is gonna bury him.”
And this year they’ve added that “McCain is just like George Bush. It’s going to be his third term”. Well you know it wasn’t too long ago that democrats were showering McCain with praise for this willingness to work together with democrats. For reaching across party lines and being a Maverick. Don’t believe me check this out:
It seems to me that like the Redskins every year, Democrats are looking through their Obama colored glasses and seeking a false image of reality. One in which they are unstoppable. These glasses blind them to the reality that John McCain is the only qualified candidate for president. I’m not saying Obama sucks . . . .he’s more like Bengals. Great on offense when using his playbook(script), weak on defense.
Anyone including Obama who says that this will be Bush’s third term is a liar. You would have to been asleep for the last ten years to think that McCain = Bush. That’s probably why Obama is doing so well with new voters. They don’t know recent political history. Hell to an 18 old, 143 days in the Senate sounds like a long time.
They want you to beleive that it is a predetermined fact that they are going to win the Superbowl . . .ohh and your team sucks!
But alas don’t worry my fellow conservatives . . . how did that unwillingness to see reality turn out for those Skins fans last year? I think we all know what happened:
Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Ad
Paris responds to McCain’s Celebrity Ad and has a plan of her own.
“Loves It”
I Agree With Hillary!
That’s right I said it. I agree with Hillary Clinton. I can’t believe I’m saying it . . .but I do!
Hey . . . . She Said It Not Me! Wait a minute he said it himself.
Pay No Attention to the Rock and Roll Magic Show. This guy is not ready yet. By his own admission.
JibJab Time for Some Campaignin’
Do you remember JibJab? They are back with a new video for the 2008 election, “Time for Some Campaignin”
You may remember one from the 2004 Election called “This Land”
Which was followed quickly by my favorite “Good To Be DC”:
Great Driving Songs
It’s been a while since I dropped your into the Kovacs jukebox to see what’s on the hot list so I thought I’d show you one of my favorite songs right now.
This is a song that you have to listen to while driving with the windows down and the volume turned all the way up. One great driving song. It’s Airbourne – “Running Wild”
In fact I should put together a CD will all the best driving songs . . . what would you recommend? Leave a comment with your vote for what should be on the CD.
Hi, My name is Kris Kovacs and welcome to KoFacts my blog about everyday leadership, management, technology, politics, scouting and other fun stuff. I have a diverse background in financial services and information technology so the topics I cover tend to be applicable to business and IT. Thanks for stopping by. Please subscribe to my blog or bookmark it and visit often.
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