Once again my boy Scott McCain recommended a book to me, and once again his recommendation was pure: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami. About a 1/4 of the way through the novel, I came across a great quote, which applies to both business and life in general:

“Maybe he really did have a ‘magic touch’, but he also had a talent for finding capable people to work for him. He paid them high salaries and treated them well, and they in turn worked hard for him. ‘When I know I’ve got the right guy, I put a wad of bills in his hand and let him do his thing, he once told me. ‘You’ve go to spend your money for the things that money can buy, not worry about profit or loss. Save your energy for the things that money can’t buy.’”

I believe the author really hits the hammer on the nail with this one, and any business professional can apply this to their trade. Also, this quote seems to have a more empirical meaning when applied to every-day-life. One really should focus his or her energy on the things that money can’t buy, and trust money to life’s unavoidable expenses, things that are not entirely meaningful in one’s existence. The meaningful things (eg. happiness, love, fulfillment) can only be obtained through energy, struggle and ultimately an uncompromising pursuit of one’s personal satisfaction in the life they lead.

To be or not to be….that really is the question these days for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The season is drawing to a close, and losses such as last night to Portland could only be forecast. Why do they have our number in the new dome?  These things happen, but what a great opportunity lost with the final four games of the season coming down to the wire with playoff seedings ever-so-present.  Ultimately, the seedings are important, but as the Lakers have proven this year, and other champions in the past, winning on the road in the playoffs is how championship teams are made, and the season should prove not different.

he biggest unanswered question these days will be if Tanter’s baritone voice will be calling for the bright eyed, starlet-plucked Laker Girls in the NBA Finals this Year.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, the Lakers can make it to the finals if they can stay relatively injury free and if Kobe plays a smart, unselfish , team oriented basketball. This much  is certain: whichever team makes it to the finals, will more then likely be mopped up by the Celtics, or to a lesser degree the resilient Pistons.

That is unless Bynum comes back at 80%+ pre-injury and the team clicks. I’m not really worried about our offensive output, between the big three scorers, sharp shooting guards, and ever steady tandem of odom and fish, the Lakers will get theirs.

But will it be enough? Will we see those outstanding collective group of talent, the Laker Girls, on the big stage in ‘08?  Will there be a parade in downtown LA?

Time will only tell…..Go LAKER$

This will likely become one of many posts concerning our beloved Los Angles Lakers. I have been a Lakers’ fan for as long as I can remember, dating back to early 80’s when Showtime redifined basketball as we now know it. In fact, it was a member of that incredible showtime cast that I proudly call my favorite player - Ervin Johnson, the one and only Magic man (I will obviously post another quote at another time, dedicated to the man).

Now for this season, let’s turn our attention. This has been the most pivotal season since the Lakers acquired Shaq and Kobe. The additions of Paul Gasol and Fish-stick (halleluja), the improved play of Farmar and Sasha, the trimming of fat (I praise the day Kawame was jetisoned to a far of place), and the emergence as what can perhaps be foreseen (dare I say it) as the second coming of the Captain - Andrew Bynum (who needs a new nickname since baby bynum no longer flies).

Of course, the nucleus of the team remains in Odom and of course Kobe. Kobe has taken so much criticism in his still young career, but has emerged the leader we know he can be. I have to many friends who still downplay the significance of this Wunderkind, who is exactly that, a once in a lifetime asset. I will elaborate on Kobe’s impact in another post).

This season is now at a critical juncture since the Lakers must integrate their injured players before the season ends so we can get a feeling for the playoffs of what units function best. Now, I’d like to assume the injured (including dear fish, with his play-through-pain tendon injury) will remain pain or injury free, but that is probably to optimistic of a slant. Chances are, during the course of the postseason, we will further feel the bite of the injury bug, and Phil will need to transform the make-up of the units that go to battle for Lakerdom.

However, as much as the injuries and Lakers’ on court alignment will come into play, I don’t think this is the most critical aspect of the current squad. The chemistry with whatever players we put on the court will be critical, and this starts with Phil, and to a larger extent Kobe. Kobe needs to shy away from those high scoring efforts that we all know he is capable of doing. Even if he shoots a great percentage, this seems to alienate some of the other teammates that are on the court. This is not entirely Kobe’s fault, since who would you rather having taking the bulk of the attempts during a Lakers game? Or is this in itself the key to this season? The Lakers need to involve their big men when they return to the lineup, and get away from the hoisting of 3-point shots. If you live and die by the 3 point shot, in a seven game series, you almost always end of going down.

So it is then a challenge to you, dear Kobe, to lead your Lakers (and it is your team) to the promised land by providing the oil to make the cogs work. Yes, you are the biggest cog in the machine, but it is your responsibility to recognize this and to enable this to run effectively and efficiently. At the end of the day, you will always fill up a stat’s sheet; I just feel, you need to focus on assists and above all Leadership as the season wanes, and the Post Season begins.

This will not be an easy post-season, and whatever team rises to the top will have an eagerly awaiting Boston Celtics team that will be a daunting task to say the least. I believe we can do it this year, even if the future holds even more promise. Kobe, get the team in gear and let’s win another title for your beloved fans!

This post is not really my blog post, but a post attributed to Terry Friedman and his recently set up blog, www.nevada-attorneys.com/blog. I set this blog up for him, so he could login and offer his wealth of knowledge to the world, via the hunt a peck method I’m sure he uses (he didn’t grow up in the IT age).

While not a skilled technician of the Internet or blogging in general, I know he will offer up his Tid Bits of Wisdom, which is more or less the inverse of this blog. Terry is a skilled lawyer by trade, has previosly killed for his county in Vietnam, but most importantly he care about society and would do just about anything to help this world, and especially this country, along the right path.

So, he has already begun posting, and I perused his comments to see how things were coming along. And low and behold, a very salient entry on a very important issue: Our Next President of the United States.

I don’t want to steel any thunder so here is the link: presidential vote.

People need to heed this advice, since I believe the United State’s Hegomony is not only in fast decline, but on the precipice of some very dire possibilities. War does not protect us, it only provokes threats, especially when the war is not waged on the correct enemy. There may be a war on terror, although I wouldn’t use those exact words to explain my view, but by no means can that war be won by killing innocents in foreign lands that, for the most part, are not our adversaries. Often times the best way to fix a problem is to heal it, not fight it; and we are not only fighting it, but fighting the wrong entity entirely.

Aside: On a personal note, I believe Obama to be the best hope for the future of our country. Even if Hillary is more skilled and a better stateswomen, and to a large degree I believe this, the electing of Obama will prove to the world, both allies and enemies alike, that the United States really is the home of freedom and individuality. After all, he is black and his middle name is Hussein - similar to another man (Saddam). While he was a tyrant, similar to many others with do nothing about, we hunted down and executed him in retaliation to events that were not spurned by him, but a collective group, which he may be a part of after all; in addition, while the country and its people may have wanted to be democratized, I believe this presidency couldn’t have done a more terrible job (see No End In Sight), especially since its cause to invade was based on lies and deception. Enough, read his blog.

Well, I finally got off my lazy arse and decided to fire up a new blog. The layout is different, but I was able to salvage most of the entries from the previous blog. I specifically like the layout since it reminded me of pre-adolescent writer I was fond of named Harry Harrison and his epic series: The Stainless Steel Rat. There are a lot of new features, which I promise to unfold in the coming months. I’ve really lagged on this mother f#$%$ since I set it up, but a new energy has bubbled from my loins, and with the bubbling will come additional useless “Juicy Morsels and Tidbits For All to Graze.”

Feel free to comment if you ever stumble across these utterly useless pages in cyberspace.

JJ

Trust me, there are worse things that can happen then losing a critical blog post (incidentally, that just happened to this, although not critical, post), an excel spreadsheet or a well-written word file: Server Problems. Server Problems Suck.

This error invokes a greater error then just your own online environment, since there are often times multiple sites, clients and ultimately money residing on the same little box, sitting with a flickering light in a dust strewn attic of some kid’s garage, more commonly none as your network data center. And the rule of thumb is to have everything backed up and a contingency plan to boot, but unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen and life just sucks.

All kidding aside, put the axe to the grindstone, and buckle in for an unpleasant ride. Having a good support team is critical, and a quick shout out to Sago Networks for helping me not only restore the chaos, but also understand how the system works. As they say, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man……what the-f-ever.

Just remember that server errors do happen, downtime is sometimes inescapable, and sites ultimately pay the price. But at the end of the day, take a deep breath and ask yourself, “Is all this trouble, grief and stress worth this shitty little piece of machinery?”

Late.

I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field reveals to a man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools.

One of my favorite quotes from Major League.
icon for podpress Major League - Look at this Guy!: [display_podcast]

Dylan’s Resume is located here!

Bukowski is a genius!