Ok, I've published my favorite two (the only two I know) word pictures, integrity and detente. Both words have descriptive backgrounds, stories that paint a picture in your mind.
Now I'm looking for help in creating a new word picture. It should be tied to some other culture or language and possibly come from the same root word.
The word that needs a picture is crave. Another option, would be the word yearn.
There are times when I crave the company of my children. Times when I yearn to be with my wife, just to touch her hand, to see her smile.
These feelings need a better word than just crave and yearn, so I'm asking for your help. Help me find a word and a word picture that means crave or yearn, a word picture that fits the feeling.
Special note: for those that read the Bible, Job 19:27 has this same feeling "How my heart yearns within me" and Psalm 42:1 "so my soul pants for you, O God." I think Job and David had trouble coming up with a word picture just like me.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Word Picture - Detente
I mentioned in the previous post that I liked word pictures - where you define a word, by building a
picture or telling a story. Today's word picture is "detente" - a word picture that has stayed with me for around 30 years.
Thirty years ago, our nation was at war. It was the cold war, a war with the USSR (which doesn't exist anymore). The newly elected president, Ronald Reagan, was determined to win that war. That meant tough talk about the enemy, the bear in the woods. It meant building more and stronger nuclear weapons and implying (or saying it outright) that you weren't afraid to use them. It meant coming up with a nuclear defense shield or at least convincing the enemy that you could.
With all the talk about war, newspapers showed maps of strike zones, US cities that would be wiped out in the first wave of Soviet missiles, and in the second wave. I lived in Columbia, SC, a target in the second wave. Some may think I'm paranoid, but (as I admitted in my blog back in 2008) I even mapped out a strategy to escape, hoping I'd have time between the first and second wave. Just remember, even if you are paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
About that time, the term detente came into use. The picture that goes with it is this: imagine a Russian hunter, who has been trekking through the Siberian snow in hunt of food. Then he sees his prey. Slowly, quietly, he pulls an arrow out of his quiver and loads the bow. Just as slowly, he draws his bow, takes aim and is ready to let the arrow fly.
Then, he changes his mind. Slowly and deliberately, he releases the tension on the bow. That is detente. A deliberate reduction in the tension.
There are many situations that call for detente. Politics needs detente all the time. Friends need to practice detente. And families also (well, not in my house).
The next time you're in a discussion that you can't win, but don't want to lose, think of the Russian hunter and practice some detente.
What do you think? Good word picture? Will it stick with you?
Thirty years ago, our nation was at war. It was the cold war, a war with the USSR (which doesn't exist anymore). The newly elected president, Ronald Reagan, was determined to win that war. That meant tough talk about the enemy, the bear in the woods. It meant building more and stronger nuclear weapons and implying (or saying it outright) that you weren't afraid to use them. It meant coming up with a nuclear defense shield or at least convincing the enemy that you could.
With all the talk about war, newspapers showed maps of strike zones, US cities that would be wiped out in the first wave of Soviet missiles, and in the second wave. I lived in Columbia, SC, a target in the second wave. Some may think I'm paranoid, but (as I admitted in my blog back in 2008) I even mapped out a strategy to escape, hoping I'd have time between the first and second wave. Just remember, even if you are paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
About that time, the term detente came into use. The picture that goes with it is this: imagine a Russian hunter, who has been trekking through the Siberian snow in hunt of food. Then he sees his prey. Slowly, quietly, he pulls an arrow out of his quiver and loads the bow. Just as slowly, he draws his bow, takes aim and is ready to let the arrow fly.
Then, he changes his mind. Slowly and deliberately, he releases the tension on the bow. That is detente. A deliberate reduction in the tension.
There are many situations that call for detente. Politics needs detente all the time. Friends need to practice detente. And families also (well, not in my house).
The next time you're in a discussion that you can't win, but don't want to lose, think of the Russian hunter and practice some detente.
What do you think? Good word picture? Will it stick with you?
Thursday, May 09, 2013
Word Picture - Integrity
This is the first of three posts on word pictures. It's actually a rerun of a post I did back in 2008, but I've updated it somewhat. It fits with my next two posts, so I decided to revive it.
I like word pictures. It's where you define a word, by building a picture, telling a story. The result is a more robust definition, something that sticks with you for a long time.
One such word picture surrounds my idea of integrity. Wikipedia defines integrity as being the concept of basing of one's actions on an internally consistent framework of principles. Another way to say this is by asking the questions "Does a person's walk match his talk? Does he do what he says he will do? Does he follow through?"
But a better word picture comes from a pastor I knew in Charlotte, NC. It's been on my mind a lot and I've shared it with some friends lately. A little research (thanks to Google) told me that it comes from the Latin word sometimes interpreted sincere, which literally means "no wax".
The picture is that of pottery. Pottery is of course made out of clay. It is shaped carefully for a particular purpose, say carrying water. Then it is placed in an oven to bake it. During the baking process, the clay can shrink and sometimes leave cracks. Of course a pot with cracks is pretty useless, so it should be thrown away.
But some dishonest dealers found they could fill the cracks with wax. They might paint the pot, to make it pretty and then sell it to an unsuspecting buyer. The pot works fine until it ages or is heated and the wax melts out. Then the pot is fairly useless for carrying water.
The word integrity can be literally interpreted "no wax". It's a finer grade of pot and the seller has the integrity of only selling pots with no cracks.
Word picture number 2 is coming up next and then a special request for word picture number 3.
I like word pictures. It's where you define a word, by building a picture, telling a story. The result is a more robust definition, something that sticks with you for a long time.
One such word picture surrounds my idea of integrity. Wikipedia defines integrity as being the concept of basing of one's actions on an internally consistent framework of principles. Another way to say this is by asking the questions "Does a person's walk match his talk? Does he do what he says he will do? Does he follow through?"
But a better word picture comes from a pastor I knew in Charlotte, NC. It's been on my mind a lot and I've shared it with some friends lately. A little research (thanks to Google) told me that it comes from the Latin word sometimes interpreted sincere, which literally means "no wax".
The picture is that of pottery. Pottery is of course made out of clay. It is shaped carefully for a particular purpose, say carrying water. Then it is placed in an oven to bake it. During the baking process, the clay can shrink and sometimes leave cracks. Of course a pot with cracks is pretty useless, so it should be thrown away.
But some dishonest dealers found they could fill the cracks with wax. They might paint the pot, to make it pretty and then sell it to an unsuspecting buyer. The pot works fine until it ages or is heated and the wax melts out. Then the pot is fairly useless for carrying water.
The word integrity can be literally interpreted "no wax". It's a finer grade of pot and the seller has the integrity of only selling pots with no cracks.
Word picture number 2 is coming up next and then a special request for word picture number 3.
Friday, May 03, 2013
Thoughts on being a hermit
I think I've always been fascinated with the idea of being a hermit. Just dropping out from society and running away from it all. I thought about it many times as a kid (doesn't every kid?).
It's not that my life has been bad, it hasn't. I've been blessed in many ways. Sure, there are times when job or life pressures overwhelm me, but there's always tomorrow and when you look at the grand scheme of things, does it really matter if one thing falls off your oh-too-crowded plate? But there's a certain allure...
The first time I blogged about it was in 2005 (here), then two years later I posted about it again (here). Then less than a month later I posted about Drew Peterson who thought his wife just ran away and Ian Darwin who actually did run away for five years (see here).
Then in 2008, I posted twice about being a hermit: in March about a man who sold everything to run away (here) and in April, a some-what tongue-in-cheek post about running away (here).
So with all this hermit/running away fascination, what keeps me from doing it? Well first, life in the here-and-now isn't that bad. In fact, it's quite good. And if I ever doubt it, all I have to do is look around and see pictures of my family. And if it does get bad, I can look at where I've been and see that He's gotten me through a lot worse and will get me through the day's problems.
Which brings me to my point. Becoming a hermit would mean hurting a lot of people that I really care about. Back in 2009, a man, named Bruce Windsor in my town did just that. He found an interesting way to become a hermit, he robbed a bank. Life was at a bad point for him and the walls were caving in. By robbing the bank, he ran away for 25-years-to-life. (He got caught. Read my blog posts here and here).
Now I read where someone else has done it. Brenda Heist simply ran away from her family in 2002 and never contacted them again until earlier this week (full story here). Her family thought she was dead. She caused them a lot of grief. Now that she's back in the real world, her daughter doesn't want to speak to her. Which shows how wrong it is to simply run-away.
Still, there is that Siren song, calling...
It's not that my life has been bad, it hasn't. I've been blessed in many ways. Sure, there are times when job or life pressures overwhelm me, but there's always tomorrow and when you look at the grand scheme of things, does it really matter if one thing falls off your oh-too-crowded plate? But there's a certain allure...
The first time I blogged about it was in 2005 (here), then two years later I posted about it again (here). Then less than a month later I posted about Drew Peterson who thought his wife just ran away and Ian Darwin who actually did run away for five years (see here).
Then in 2008, I posted twice about being a hermit: in March about a man who sold everything to run away (here) and in April, a some-what tongue-in-cheek post about running away (here).
So with all this hermit/running away fascination, what keeps me from doing it? Well first, life in the here-and-now isn't that bad. In fact, it's quite good. And if I ever doubt it, all I have to do is look around and see pictures of my family. And if it does get bad, I can look at where I've been and see that He's gotten me through a lot worse and will get me through the day's problems.
Which brings me to my point. Becoming a hermit would mean hurting a lot of people that I really care about. Back in 2009, a man, named Bruce Windsor in my town did just that. He found an interesting way to become a hermit, he robbed a bank. Life was at a bad point for him and the walls were caving in. By robbing the bank, he ran away for 25-years-to-life. (He got caught. Read my blog posts here and here).
Now I read where someone else has done it. Brenda Heist simply ran away from her family in 2002 and never contacted them again until earlier this week (full story here). Her family thought she was dead. She caused them a lot of grief. Now that she's back in the real world, her daughter doesn't want to speak to her. Which shows how wrong it is to simply run-away.
Still, there is that Siren song, calling...
Thursday, May 02, 2013
L'eggs Pantyhose
Since I had such great success posting yesterday about a business-related issue, I thought I'd continue the trend and relate another business story I heard from long ago. A story about L'eggs Pantyhose.
Now just to be clear, I am not now, nor have I ever been a consumer of L'eggs Pantyhose. However, I may or may not have been a person who played with the packaging. You see when the product was first released in 1969, I was a 10 year old boy (if you want to devise my age from that, do the math). The product was packaged in what looked like a large white egg. I honestly don't remember playing with the eggs, but it seems like something I would have done.
Originally the product sold for 99 cents. However sales were weak. The manufacturer did what any good manufacturer would do, it brought in consultants. They evaluated the product quality and found that it was acceptable. They evaluated the packaging and (at the time) kept it. They evaluated the marketing effort and found it within expected norms. And then they evaluated the price.
The consultants found the pricing model to be good. The margins were good. The price was within the range that the expected consumer could pay and was, at 99cents, a bargain. So what did they recommend? Increase the price. To $1.49. Now that may not sound like much, but it's a 50% price increase. No change to quality, just 50% price increase. No change to style, no change to quantity, just 50% price increase.
And sales increased. Because the perception was that the product was now on the level of other products. (I've seen a similar reaction with pricing at an institution of higher learning) And consumers bought more readily.
So what do you think this says about the product? What does it say about consumers?
Now just to be clear, I am not now, nor have I ever been a consumer of L'eggs Pantyhose. However, I may or may not have been a person who played with the packaging. You see when the product was first released in 1969, I was a 10 year old boy (if you want to devise my age from that, do the math). The product was packaged in what looked like a large white egg. I honestly don't remember playing with the eggs, but it seems like something I would have done.
Originally the product sold for 99 cents. However sales were weak. The manufacturer did what any good manufacturer would do, it brought in consultants. They evaluated the product quality and found that it was acceptable. They evaluated the packaging and (at the time) kept it. They evaluated the marketing effort and found it within expected norms. And then they evaluated the price.
The consultants found the pricing model to be good. The margins were good. The price was within the range that the expected consumer could pay and was, at 99cents, a bargain. So what did they recommend? Increase the price. To $1.49. Now that may not sound like much, but it's a 50% price increase. No change to quality, just 50% price increase. No change to style, no change to quantity, just 50% price increase.
And sales increased. Because the perception was that the product was now on the level of other products. (I've seen a similar reaction with pricing at an institution of higher learning) And consumers bought more readily.
So what do you think this says about the product? What does it say about consumers?
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
The Sears Catalog
Most people today don't remember the Sears Catalog. Think of Amazon.com, put into a book and mailed to your doorstep. Or picked up in the store. This was a 1970's version of internet buying.
If you can imagine that, the Sears Catalog had pictures and descriptions of everything you could buy in the magazine/book. It was a couple of inches thick and you could order things over the phone or by mail (US Mail, not email.)
There's a story of a company that moved a plant into Mexico. This was before outsourcing was "popular", so ignore the negative connotations associated with it in this case. The company paid their Mexican workers a small amount compared to US workers, but an ENORMOUS amount on the Mexican pay scale.
The problem they had was that many workers would quit after their first paycheck. They had never before seen that much money at one time and couldn't imagine needing more, so they just didn't show up the following day.
After much consternation, the company came up with a good idea. Next payday, with every paycheck, they gave each employee a Sears Catalog. The following day, every employee returned to work, ready to make more money and order from the Sears Catalog.
The moral of this story? I'll let you decide, either from an individual viewpoint, the viewpoint of the company or even the viewpoint from Sears. Comments are welcome.
Now where did I place that catalog....
If you can imagine that, the Sears Catalog had pictures and descriptions of everything you could buy in the magazine/book. It was a couple of inches thick and you could order things over the phone or by mail (US Mail, not email.)
There's a story of a company that moved a plant into Mexico. This was before outsourcing was "popular", so ignore the negative connotations associated with it in this case. The company paid their Mexican workers a small amount compared to US workers, but an ENORMOUS amount on the Mexican pay scale.
The problem they had was that many workers would quit after their first paycheck. They had never before seen that much money at one time and couldn't imagine needing more, so they just didn't show up the following day.
After much consternation, the company came up with a good idea. Next payday, with every paycheck, they gave each employee a Sears Catalog. The following day, every employee returned to work, ready to make more money and order from the Sears Catalog.
The moral of this story? I'll let you decide, either from an individual viewpoint, the viewpoint of the company or even the viewpoint from Sears. Comments are welcome.
Now where did I place that catalog....
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Voter ID
I saw an interesting story yesterday about voter id requirements. I've followed this story as a part of my "compassionate conservative" approach to things. Or as I like to say it "think globally, act locally." What this means is I try to vote and think conservatively, then do local things compassionately.
Globally, I think a conservative approach is best for everyone, but then I also realize that there are some people who need a helping hand and when possible, I try to be that helping hand. I give to many local charities and volunteer close to 100 hours each year to help low income individuals and families in their tax preparation.
The voter id law passed by SC was done in an attempt to keep voter fraud in line. The idea is that by requiring an id, illegals won't be able to vote. Some of the opponents have noted that there has never been a case of voter fraud in SC, so the law is unnecessary. They also point to the 200,000 registered voters who do not have a valid SC id (yes, 200,000). They point out that most of these 200,000 are minorities and that, they say, shows that the law is targeted at suppressing minority vote.
Proponents of the law have offered to help un-identified, legal voters get the necessary documentation. Also, the NAACP (which opposes the law) is offering " to drive people to get their picture ID and even finds sponsors for those who can't afford one. I guess both sides can agree to help some of those impacted.
I honestly don't know how I feel about the new law and won't argue either way. But assuming that it stays in effect (the supreme court is reviewing), I think that the offers to help people get their ID is a great way to help people. But what if the people don't want to vote? According to the story I read yesterday (seen here) a lot of the people impacted have no "interest to go out and get a picture id." The story goes on to say "A lot of people don't want to vote. A lot of people say, why should I vote, it doesn't matter."
Unfortunately, I think this lady is right. It's not just about voter id, or even voter education. In order for more people to be interested in voting, politicians have to stay true to their beliefs and state those beliefs clearly. Then, we the people, can vote our hearts and feel that our voice is being heard. Whether it's voting someone into office or kicking someone out, we want our votes to be heard.
Globally, I think a conservative approach is best for everyone, but then I also realize that there are some people who need a helping hand and when possible, I try to be that helping hand. I give to many local charities and volunteer close to 100 hours each year to help low income individuals and families in their tax preparation.
The voter id law passed by SC was done in an attempt to keep voter fraud in line. The idea is that by requiring an id, illegals won't be able to vote. Some of the opponents have noted that there has never been a case of voter fraud in SC, so the law is unnecessary. They also point to the 200,000 registered voters who do not have a valid SC id (yes, 200,000). They point out that most of these 200,000 are minorities and that, they say, shows that the law is targeted at suppressing minority vote.
Proponents of the law have offered to help un-identified, legal voters get the necessary documentation. Also, the NAACP (which opposes the law) is offering " to drive people to get their picture ID and even finds sponsors for those who can't afford one. I guess both sides can agree to help some of those impacted.
I honestly don't know how I feel about the new law and won't argue either way. But assuming that it stays in effect (the supreme court is reviewing), I think that the offers to help people get their ID is a great way to help people. But what if the people don't want to vote? According to the story I read yesterday (seen here) a lot of the people impacted have no "interest to go out and get a picture id." The story goes on to say "A lot of people don't want to vote. A lot of people say, why should I vote, it doesn't matter."
Unfortunately, I think this lady is right. It's not just about voter id, or even voter education. In order for more people to be interested in voting, politicians have to stay true to their beliefs and state those beliefs clearly. Then, we the people, can vote our hearts and feel that our voice is being heard. Whether it's voting someone into office or kicking someone out, we want our votes to be heard.
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