Shatter the Illusion

It is amazing how refreshing a week away from the daily grind can be. My family along with my sister, brother-in-law and nieces spent a week in Colorado, waking up every morning to mountains, chilly air and the fresh smell of nature. It was an awesome and humbling experience. When you can look out from the deck over a steaming mug of coffee and see snow on the mountains in July, you know you are experiencing the true beauty of God’s creation. We took plenty of pictures and I know that I will relive that experience every time I fan through the bountiful displays of ever changing scenery.

Now that I am back to the daily grind, I find that the inner peace is swiftly flying away. The creeping in of the reality that is the work place makes taking an extended vacation worth the time and effort. I do not understand the desire to spend too much time at work and not enjoying the things that life has to offer. There are so many people that do not take the time to get away every year and they are the ones that seem to suffer the greatest stress in their lives. They seem to resent it when you take a vacation like it is undeserved. People need to get away even if it is camping in the yard.

I will try to stay in the vacation mind set for as long as I can. Keep relaxed and not letting the stress of work and life take control of who I am. I am not sure how long I will manage to maintain my state of leisure but as long as I can picture Independence Pass at 12,000 feet, the view of the aspens on the slopes below and the patches of snow that look like sand traps on a golf course, I will certainly be able to block out the worst that life has to throw at me.

Icool

Cobb

Parting Is Such....

I know that I have been AWOL for most of this month. It has been one of those times when you are looking at the end of the day and wondering what happened. I have been working at a plant that has closed, cleaning it up and shipping the material to a sister plant. It has been quite the busy time and I find that today, when it is almost over, quite sorrowful and ready for a weekend.

I have been at this plant on and off since March. I had two young ladies reporting to me that I developed a budding friendship with. Today was there official last day. Both of them have worked their hearts out over the last several weeks and I admire them for their dedication. Some people would have just gone through the motions but these girls gave 100% every day and continued to work right up to the end. Unfortunately for one of them, when Monday comes, there is a long pause. She has not planned for the next thing to come. The other starts another job the 1st of August. It worked out perfect as she had a planned vacation that she wanted to fit in.

It is a sad time when things come to an end. Today feels somewhat like a funeral. There are people that I have enjoyed working with that I will probably never see again. Of course, Toledo is not that big of a town that I might not come across them in a Meijer or Wal-mart but it will be a quick catch up and a glad to see you. I guess if you can get that much out of a work relationship, you have done something right.

Icool

Cobb

Disposing of the Past

We’ve all heard the adage, “The only thing constant is change.” Most of us recognize technological change and either embrace it or leave it heaped on the floor. So the individual has a strategy for dealing with the continuous parade of newness they are deluged with. But what of those whose livelihood is directly effected by the change? It no longer becomes a take it or leave it style for dealing with the issue. If you are not the brains or cash flow behind the innovation, there is a lag where you must keep up but in today’s world, copying someone else’s idea is not a major issue. But what if the change is so significant; it obsoletes your entire future.

The one that comes to mind is the typewriter. How many companies based their entire future on producing typewriter? When the computer revolution hit, these companies attempted to make the transition by adding computer style innovations to their machines but in the end, they lost. Word processing and spreadsheets have proven to be a superior method of presentation. What happened to these companies that relied solely on selling typewriters for their livelihood? If they are not gone, they are barely breathing. But IBM with its Selectric Typewriter and Big Blue technology was poised to step into the future.

We are on the path of technological change that could alter the entire concept of utility companies. The introduction of hydrogen as a fuel source would alter everything from how we get our electricity, to heating our homes, to getting our drinking water, and foremost fueling our cars. Producing cheap, plentiful hydrogen in the home will allow individual households to run themselves. The utility companies will become the next typewriter manufacturers. The overhead power lines will be gone. The pipelines will disappear. The corner quickimart will no longer have pumps setting in front. And how will these businesses respond to such a drastic change? You can bet they will not go quietly into the night. With their heavy investment in machinery and property, they will fight tooth and nail for government regulations that keep their power in place.

Let us hope that the free market is allowed to do its job. We will get these intrusive companies out of our households and realize a major savings every month as we no longer pay for electricity, natural gas, propane, water and gasoline. That adds up to a nice yearly savings for the average American. Thinking globally, it amounts to a revolution for the underdeveloped nations of the world.

Icool

Cobb