If you're new here, I just want to say how much I appreciate your dropping by! Oh, and you may want to subscribe to my feed. Thanks, and a tip o' the hat to ya!

In case you’re wondering about WILF this month…

Yep, April WILF day is next Monday, April 7th (you remember it’s always on the fist Monday of each month, right?) So get your pencils ready, folks, cause it’s comin’ (or is it ‘going’?) ’round the bend real soon!

[Update] By the way, this month’s WILF is going to have an “added dimension” to it for those who choose to participate. Stay tuned for details!

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Instead of a regular post, today I’d like to take a moment and acknowledge those of you kind enough to respond to my question from last Monday (Busy, Busy, Busy…). In case you missed, forgot, or otherwise ignored it, I asked the question:

What do you do when you haven’t read your RSS feed for a week, and there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of entries? Do you…

• Mark them all ‘read’ and start fresh
• Painstakingly read, or at least glance, at every one
• Only read your favorites and dump the rest
• ______________ (fill in the blank)

Now ordinarily, I prefer to give every comment its own individual reply; it makes the conversation far more personal, don’t you think? Besides, you guys are worth the extra effort! Er, unless I’m swamped, in which case I usually aggregate my responses into a single comment or two.

Alas and darn; last week, as I mentioned Friday, I was suffering from a combination of factors, a sortof “perfect storm” of things that just pulled me completely under for awhile. It’s a poor excuse for not responding, I know, but there it is.

But I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you - I wasn’t! But as your responses began to accumulate, I decided to acknowledge your contributions in a formal post instead of just the comment box. Hence this post.

I suppose one of those little poll thingies would have provided a more formal survey, but I freely admit it just seemed like waaaaaay too much work at the time… Anyhoo; I truly appreciate your contributions, and many thanks to those of you who took the time to comment!

Here are your comments (and in an experiment with color, here are my responses):

Brad Shorr - Painstakingly read, etc. Not a pleasant task, but I just can’t bring my self to ignore anything.

I must admit to being a bit, well, anal about this, too - at least, normally. But I’m simply not able to keep it up when there are this many posts to keep up with *sigh*.

Hey, Brad, do you live in my computer like Liz does? The ink on my post was barely dry when your comment showed up! Sheesh!

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Chip Camden - Skim your favorites and mark the rest “read”. Give yourself a break.

Gee, Chip, that sounds nice - ‘give myself a break’. Actually, that’s more-or-less what I ended up doing. But I can’t help feeling a bit guilty. Sad, I know.

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Mike DeWitt - I’m with Chip. Triage, baby! Life only lasts so long…

Well, that’s two for triage. Good way to think of it, too - thanks, Mike!

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Ellen Weber - Bob, you just named a problem that the busy folks out here all share! That’s why - the onus is on you to get it right. Why so?

If you sit and read a week’s worth of feeds - the rest of us will feel the guilt when we too travel with work.

If you race through the feed to get through endless posts your brain will fill with cortisol and you be cranky with family and friends you really care about!

If you be good to you - and move past the long list (skimming briefly for vital messages) … you’ll continue to be the leader you are … to laugh at the little things … and to inspire the rest of us to do the same.

Everybody’s approach will be different - but I suspect you’ll know the best one for you! Your friends are the same ones around on the other side of such dilemmas:-)

My 2-bits - but others may have better ideas:-) Stay well, friend:-)

Ellen, I can always count on you to see through the falderah and focus like a laser on the nub of the gist! Thanks for the sound advice. As you can no doubt tell, you’ve lots of company! Thank goodness friends remain friends, no matter what, though!

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Joanna Young - I have a top 10 list of blogs (which MZM is on of course) that I visit as well as read. So if I’ve got behind I’d still try and pop in and visit them but mark everything else as read. Even then if you’re pushed, mark it all as read. If there was something you were ‘meant’ to read or know you’ll find it in another way.

Of course this doesn’t apply to my blog! If you’re short of time here’s one piece to read, and if you do have a spare 5 minutes, share your 4 x 4 sources of writing inspiration (by midnight Friday). I’m sure it would make a good read

Group Writing Project: 4 x 4 sources of writing inspiration

End of shameless plug!

Methinks I see a trend developing here.

Don’t worry, Joanna; Confident Writing is at the top of my “must-read” list! And I can take a hint (not to mention a club on the back of the head!) I’m sure by now you’ve seen my 4 x 4 contribution(s) - one serious, and one just for fun.

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William Tully - I’m with Joanna - have your top 10 list that are worth reading at all times, regardless of just how far behind you are. Then pick the few that you want to read out of the rest (likely the few who are #11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 on the top 10 list). The rest? Scroll baby, scroll! I just trust the brain to know when it sees something worth investigating - most goes by in a blurr, but every now and then the brain says “STOP!” simply because it noticed something good. Trust the brain… Trust the brain!!!

I hear ya, Tully - spoken like a true ‘internet twin’! Alas, that “trust the brain” thing will only work if the brain is trustworthy, and last week mine was fried! But like I said, I hear ya!

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Scott - Just the faves man, just the faves.

Hey, thanks for stopping by and joining the fray, Scott. Looks like you’re in a very firm majority here!

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Mother Earth - I am a just the faves kindof person and I also trust the skimming process - universe calls to attention what I need to know.

PS - I really wish I didn’t garage sale all my son’s dinosaurs…

Howdy, Karen! Gee, I can’t believe it took this long for someone to comment on that photo of me an’ the boys up there!

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Ria Kennedy - I look at the titles. If something pops out, I skim the first paragraph. If it seems good, I put it aside to read later. I go through everything and just keep what I’m interested in. LATER, I put time aside to read, either a little every day or a lot at once just a few times until done.

I don’t feel guilty if I don’t read, I feel I might miss something valuable. So whatever you think might be valuable is what I would look for if I were you.

Thanks for the advice, Ria; sortof the “glance at every one” school of thought. I’ll do it if I have time, but otherwise, it’s just the “mark all as read” routine, I’m afraid. But inside, I’m sad.

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Well, there you have it, folks! A great conversation, if’n I do say so myself (and you know; I think I just did!)

By the way, if you’d still like to weigh in with an opinion - be my guest! Might be enlightening to see just how many of us do the same things…

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

[Note from the proprietor: OK, here’s my actual entry for Joanna Young’s 4 x 4 Group Writing Project! But - yesterday’s was still a bit of fun, don’t you think? Hey, Joanna did say we could “make this project our own”, didn’t she? Bwa-ha-ha-ha!]

Actually, I’ve been working on this post ever since I first heard about the project. But you know how it is, right? Things kept getting in the way: there was this big, week-long, out-of-town conference to prepare for (and, of course, to attend), I’ve been a tad ‘down’ lately with what is apparently a severe allergy attack, and I couldn’t find my American Express card and was afraid to leave home without it because someone might, you know, get me.

Anyhoo - enough excuses! Let’s see if the ol’ muse is out to lunch residing at the funny farm taking a break up for it this time…

4 Places That Inspired Me

Having traveled quite a bit, I can name several places that stand out in my memory as having been absolutely incredible adventures - and natural inspirations for many of the stories you read here.

Paris - Mrs. MZM and I visited Paris together in April, 2000, and it’s something that will stay with me always. When we got married, I promised to take her there one day, and we finally made it! Come to think of it, I’ve written several posts about our time there.

Taiwan - This ranks as one of the most unusual places I’ve ever been, particularly because of the language barrier. Luckily most people speak at least a little English! As a growth experience, you couldn’t beat it, though, especially during Chinese New Year! (Sadly, Mrs. MZM couldn’t go with me on this one - but we were at least able to communicate well by email.) I learned one or two interesting lessons, too.

Venezuela - Diametrically opposite my stay in Taiwan was a horrendous three-month assignment in Venezuela. Although it’s probably one of the most difficult times (not to mention the most harrowing!) I’ve ever had to endure in my working career, there were still some things I managed to learn from it.

Aruba - During my engineering career, work assignment locations have usually been in some of the most out-of-the-way, unheard of places you could imagine. But this time we hit the jackpot! Mrs. MZM and I both had the privilege of living there, not once, but twice (once - good; the other was - not so much). Hey, it’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it, you know! Yep; sometimes the toughest decision of the day was - which beach to go to after work. (Except for the odd iguana or two, it was pretty nice.)

4 Experiences That Inspired Me

Well, gee… how do I narrow it down to just four? OK, how about these:

When I was a kid (that’s human, not goat) my grandmother once changed my life forever.

I had an epiphany once, and it changed the way I looked at my career.

Then there was that time the weather made me reevaluate my career goals.

And I surely can’t leave out the time I knew Mrs. MZM and I were M.F.E.O. (made for each other)!

By the way, some have made a comment or two about how me and weather always seem to be at odds with each other. While it’s true that many of my most inspirational moments occur due to some sort of weather-related phenomenon (three of the four listed above, for instance)… well, OK - they’re right *sigh*. Never mind.

4 People Who Inspire My Writing

Well, now here’s where it gets, well, sticky. There have been so many wonderful influences on my writing, particularly from you good folks online, I hardly know where to start! But here’s four that stand out:

Liz Strauss - Liz is probably the one person who most influenced me in the right direction way back at the beginning of 2007. (I’ve always regretted the six months I’d wasted, before discovering Successful Blog!) Every blogger worth their salt will know of, or have been influenced by, her tremendous giving spirit at some time or other. For newbies and old hands alike, this is where the personal touch in blogging starts!

Joanna Young - I know Joanna well enough to know she won’t mind getting second place to Liz. For some reason, when we first “met” we just sortof hit it off. Her site, Confident Writing, is on my “must read” list - no matter how stuffed the RSS reader gets. Besides having a delightfully Scottish outlook, her site has provided a never ending stream of good writing pointers, ideas and friendship. Thanks, Joanna! Maybe one day me and the missus will be able to drop by for tea and toast. (But not, I beg you, haggis.)

Brad Shorr - Always one with a word of encouragement or inspiration, Brad has also “been there” from a while back. I always get a kick out of his “Word Nerd” and cartoon posts. At his site, Word Sell, Inc., Brad has a way of slicing through the baloney and getting to the heart of sales. And once I figured out the truth (that we’re all in sales, no matter what we actually do), I’ve never failed to find something great in everything he writes. Way to go, Brad - keep on, Brother!

Mike DeWitt - Even long before I deliberately guessed his age, er, low, Mike has been one of the most steadfast supporters of our monthly WILF projects. No doubt enduring unimaginable trials from being the only male in a house full of women, he’s been a great source of inspiration to me (and not just because of that!) Especially that trek down (and back up) the Grand Canyon - whew, I get exhausted just thinkin’ about it! Keep on keepin’ on, my friend! Sorry I missed ya last week, but maybe sometime I’ll be able to buy you that cuppa coffee I’ve been promising. (And don’t you owe me a steak - or am I getting the two confused?)

4 Other Inspirations in My Life

Mrs. MZM - OK; I know, I know - you’re probably thinking to yourself, this one’s a “gimme”. But it’s true nonetheless and must be acknowledged (and no, it’s not because she’s reading it, either, ya big wisenheimer!) The fact is, I wouldn’t be anything like the person I am today without her, and she has, by far, inspired me and fulfilled me as a person more than anyone else on this Earth. Here’s my favorite example: One day in 1993 I turned to her and said something to the effect of, “Hey, I think I want to finish my engineering degree.” Her immediate response: “Go for it!” What a woman! I love you, Sweetheart!

An attic - Yep; you read it right - an attic influenced my life. How, you ask? Well… you’ll just have to read it.

Where I didn’t go - Taking a bit of liberty with this one, but the fact is, I’m as much the person I am today because I didn’t do these things, as the things I actually did - if you get my meanin’.

Jesus Christ - I deliberately saved the best for last. Ever since I gave my heart to Him back in my University days, He has been hands down the most steadying influence to what would have been an otherwise wayward life. No one single Person has ever come close to what He’s promised - and delivered - in terms of hopes, dreams, and, well, assurance. Hey, I’m still not perfect (as far as I know, only one Person ever was!), but I freely admit my life would have been pretty much a disaster without Him.

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Well, I’ll tell ya; this has definitely been a heckuva “eye-opening” post for me! (Get it? the eye? it’s open? Oh, never mind) The thing of it is, we rarely appreciate all the influences in our lives. Thanks, Joanna, for inspiring me to take the time to sortof “take stock” of ‘em all!

Go ahead; try it yourself!

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Joanna Young over at Confident Writing is sponsoring a “4 x 4″ writing project I’ve been meaning to participate in for some time now, and the deadline looms near: this Friday, March 28^th (eek!) So if you’re interested, there’s still a bit o’ time left; just pop on over to this post for all the details.

So without further ado (because as you know, further do would make no sense whatsoever!), I present:

4 x 4

It sits. Poised, waiting; the sounds of its ponderous approach still echoing against the walls of the cavernous space in which it finds itself confined. Straining to leap, its cacophonous engine of destruction rumbling ominously. Even so, the beast awaits its master’s bidding.

Ahead: obstacles; empty, trembling, no chance of survival. Perhaps they can somehow sense the monster’s intentions; perhaps not. Either way, the outcome is all but assured: in a few moments, all will be over, and they will end their days as, well, less than they are now.

The moment has come. The mob, breathlessly anticipating the coming debacle, stand as one, imbuing the unholy event with the honor of their attention. The beast roars triumphant as, released, it leaps forward in anticipation of assured victory! The moment is now!

Striking the initial obstacle, it propels its vast bulk skyward; climbing, climbing, until at last gravity’s law reclaims its hold upon its ungainly body. It continues to sound its victory as it plummets like a judgment upon the helpless and arrayed obstacles in its path.

The force of its descent crushes the opposition, sending the beast rebounding into the air once more. But wait - something is not quite right! It landed badly, and now it is off center as it pounces on the next hapless victim. A cry of dismay can be heard just beginning from the bloodthirsty crowd, as if they can sense the beast’s uncertainty.

Once again, the raucous beast thumps to the ground with bone-crushing force, but now it is clearly in difficulty. Its normally four-footed stance is askew, tilting its body sideways, off-course for its next leap. It cries its anger as it rears up, tipping back into an impossible posture - and over still further - until the inevitability of its fall is evident to even the least members of the screaming horde.

Momentum takes over as the beast lands jarringly, sideways and suddenly, horribly, ungraceful. Its body rolls helplessly, once, twice - until it comes to rest again, miraculously, upon its unsteady feet once again. Clearly shaken and hurt, nevertheless it still manages to hobble from the field, staggering unsteadily around the confines of the area before its master guides it back to its lair to lick its wounds and prepare for another day, another event, yet another confrontation.

All the while the multitude, cheering continuously, overwhelmingly express their joy and gratitude at the valiance of the beast, and congratulate each other that they were witnesses of this day - the day the beast was victorious over its enemies yet again.

- (sound of needle scratching across a vinyl record)

Oh, wait - this isn’t what you meant, Joanna? Well, you did say “4 x 4″, right? Hmmm… better read the instructions again (sound of pages flipping).

Oops! Well, maybe you’d better tune in tomorrow for the, you know, actual 4 x 4 post…

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OK; perhaps a word of explanation here might be in order (sound of audience saying, “Well, duh - ya think?”)

I started writing my 4 x 4 post, and had this cool photo of Grave Digger (the giant, black-and-green car-crushing 4 x 4 machine you see pictured here in mid leap) I was going to use (cheeky, I know - but there it is), but somehow my fingers just started writing on their own! (To be perfectly honest, I’ve never had the, er, joy of attending one of these auspicious events - and don’t plan to start now!)

However, for this project we’re supposed to write about four groups of four things (hence the “4 x 4″ moniker) that inspire us. Sorry; I guess my muse must have gotten a ‘wild hair’ today. (Sometimes I hafta seriously question the sanity of my muse. On the other hand - it would explain a lot, don’t you think?) Oh, well; I’ve been planning to practice my fiction writing anyway.

So like I said, stay tuned tomorrow for the real “4 x 4″ post. (But if I were you, I’d keep an eye on your rear-view mirror. I mean, you never know where the beast might turn up next!)

And by the way, no actual “obstacles” were harmed in the writing of this post, the little dears.

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Have you ever found yourself wondering, just where the heck the money is? Oh, I don’t mean like the gold in Ft. Knox, or even that stuff down in the vault of your local bank. Nope; I’m talking about where the money is to be made. You know, as in “I’ll do X, if you’ll pay me Y.”

I discovered the truth about this many moons ago, back when I worked as a contract Piping Designer. Take my word for it; it was quite a well-paying occupation (although it did require considerable travel - the main reason we’ve lived so very many places).

Admittedly, this type of thing isn’t for everybody. I mean, you never knew; we might end up working just about anywhere in the country. Big cities like Atlanta, or small ones like Lower PoDunk - even other parts of the world, too; it was always a surprise. Like a trouper, though, Mrs. MZM came with me when she could (which luckily was most of the time), so it’s not at bad as it sounds. (Nothing like having your favorite person with you at all times, I always say!)

When I first started in the business, though, it was always puzzling (sound of me, scratching my head) why client companies were willing to pay so much for people like yours truly to do something they could accomplish for half the cost - if they only hired locally. (Not that I was complaining, mind you; I benefited handily; I was just wondering, er, out loud.)

Hey, it’s not a trivial question! Under what circumstances are people (or organizations, for that matter) sometimes willing to pay far more than they need to for an item or service? Don’t you think that knowledge just might be something worth tapping into?

In due course, an assignment in the exciting, bustling metropolis of Robinson, Illinois (population: 6,000 3,000 er, something) linked me up with an old hand who finally supplied the answer to this age-old question. His name was Jerry Arledge, and he was quite a character, lemme tell ya! (Hey, you think I have an accent! If Jerry were blogging today, if you imagine the slow-talkin’, down-home, well-weathered voice of an old farmer who’s “seen it all” - well, you wouldn’t be too far off.)

Yep; ol’ Jerry was somethin’, all right. (Alas for the contract piping community, Jerry’s taken a permanent position at that great drafting board in the sky; he will be missed!) I’ll tell ya what, though - he knew how things worked. One day I brought up this very question (trust me; sooner or later, somebody will bring it up at some point during any assignment) and Jerry gave us some interesting insights I’d like to share with you here.

5 Reasons They Need You

• Skill - One thing I learned early about being a contract employee: if you don’t tend towards excellence, the system tends to weed you out pretty fast. If not from fellow contract workers (who don’t like it when someone incompetent represents them), then the placement agencies or the companies themselves eventually get the word. It’s an great illustration of an old west Texas truth: it’ll all come out in the wash. Yep; sooner or later, the truth will come out.

• Time - Sometimes, the client just doesn’t have enough people available to do it in the time frame required (which in these cases is usually immediately or sooner!) So they bring on extra, temporary help to accomplish the task. In the engineering business it’s what we used to call the “Brown & Root method” of project management: For any given 10,000 manhour job, you hire 10,000 men for one hour! (Surely you’re familiar with the practice? And yes, I know; don’t call you Shirley.) But the inevitable consequence is they must be willing to pay big bucks for the help.

• Vision - On occasion, the client firm doesn’t have the experience to see what needed to be done. That’s when we had the opportunity to really shine. Our goal was to do such a fantastic job that when they needed to do it again, they’d immediately think of us!

• Resources - Smaller firms (and nowadays, some larger firms too) simply don’t have the resources to keep specific skills on hand all the time, either from a lack of funds, or due to intermittent needs. We functioned as an outsourced engineering and drafting force, on call whenever they needed us, but not a drain on resources when they didn’t. In fact, many large operating companies are doing this very thing today in the form of alliance agreements. It’s a win for both parties.

• Uncertainty - I’ll tell ya; I’ve lost track of the times I’ve been on projects where the final design is, well, let’s just say it wasn’t quite there yet. And in these cases, it’s been my observation that the organization’s regular employees, had they been subject to the vagaries we’d be subject to, would have run screaming into the night long before! It’s not that we were necessarily any better or worse than they were, mind you; it’s just that we were used to the inherent uncertainties of fast-paced work. (Even to the point of knowing that, when the job was finished, the best we’d hear was something along the lines of, “Thank you very much - now good bye!”)

The Key: Make Yourself Invaluable

As you look these over, think about what it is you do. Are you an independent worker, basically operating on your own (although I still say that’s a huge misnomer - you’re actually now working for everybody, instead of just one or two bosses). Even if you’re a regular, salaried employee, the fact is these things can still apply to you.

Are you looking for the money? Well, the fact is, it doesn’t matter what you do for a living. Take a look at what you’re doing - and what you’re capable of - and identify the above five elements. Then, focus your efforts on being your client’s best solution to every one of them!

Ironically, of those five items, that last one was Jerry’s favorite. And to this day, I can still hear him sum it up in that typically down-home way of his:

“Where there is confusion,” he’d smile, “there is money to be made.”

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

I spent all last week at an out-of-town business conference, and the week before getting ready. So that means this week will probably be spent getting caught up… Oh, the humanity! (Sound of distant sobbing…) Yes, I’ve been busy. (I know you’re not supposed to say that out loud, but there it is.)

Anyhoo -

Things may be a bit slow for around here for a few days as I get back into gear. And yes, I know it makes the case for better preplanning of blog posts for those inevitable busy times! As a matter of fact, me an’ the boys are workin’ on that right this minute (see the photo of one of our brainstorming sessions).

Advice Wanted

However, here’s something I’ve never been able to answer to my own satisfaction.

What do you do when you haven’t read your RSS feed for a week, and there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of entries? Do you…

• Mark them all ‘read’ and start fresh
• Painstakingly read, or at least glance, at every one
• Only read your favorites and dump the rest
• ______________ (fill in the blank)

I’d appreciate your responses in the comment box…

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Hey, it’s Tully here - just checking out a possible issue with the blog I detected this morning when I saw Bob’s latest post in the feed reader… You’ll likely only see this post in a feed reader anyways, but just wanted to let you know that this post can be ignored. T.

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!