Evolution of Interest

I have been a magazine reader for quite some time. In fact, I’m a periodical reader by nature, it would appear. Whether it’s the newspaper or the variety of magazines I currently read or have read in the past, I guess that I prefer material that is relatively fresh. I still don’t like reading my news online, however I have accepted it as a necessary evil. I simply can’t subscribe to the print version of all the newspapers I would like to read, but I can get what I need online.

It’s a little different with magazines though. True, the online versions of news magazines such as Newsweek and Time do present breaking news on their web sites, that’s not what I read them for. I read weekly news magazines (I subscribe to Newsweek) for more in-depth analysis of the news and to get a better perspective on the trends that might be developing. Although the stories still tend to be episodic, there is at least an attempt to provide the necessary background to help explain how certain stories emerged.

Besides news magazines, I read an odd assortment of special interest magazines. The magazines I read evolve as my interests do and I find these monthlies (usually) have a wealth of information that can get me caught up on the nomenclature, the technology and the industry of whatever my interest du jour is. When I was young, it was Hot Rod magazine, of course. As my interests changed, so too did my monthly reading materials. I would find myself anticipating their publication and then devouring them in a matter of hours.

A variety of circumstances have prompted me into new and exciting hobbies. Among the more profound was the loss of my driver’s license due to too many (ahem) speeding tickets. As a result, I purchased a new road bicycle and started commuting to my two jobs on it. I was logging as many as 250 miles per week and, as luck would have it, it was right about the same time Greg LeMond was turning the cycling world upside down as the first American to win the Tour de France not once, but three times. Lance Armstrong was just a child.

Bicycling magazine was my primary source of information of all things cycling. Over the three or four years I read it, there were stories recalling the sport’s history, the current technology and where the sport was heading. When mountain bikes began to take hold, I migrated to the new sport and began reading Bicycling’s new publication - Mountain Bike magazine. The information gained through these and other bicycle-specific magazines that I would pick up at the newsstand kept me informed to the point that there was little I did not know about the sport.

Eventually my interest in cycling faded only to be replaced by another. And then another. Currently I am involved in snowboarding, photography and four-wheel drive vehicles; I read magazines that are specifically oriented towards these activities. Although I still maintain some interest in former hobbies, I rarely read the magazines related to them anymore. One exception would have to be Hot Rod Magazine. My son owns a 1969 Impala and has a great deal of interest in classic Chevys. I probably wouldn’t care so much otherwise. Ironically enough, it was one of the first magazines I read on a regular basis. And the beat goes on…

Happy Birthday Mom!

When I was a small boy in the 60s, my mother was what is known today as a stay-at-home-mom, or a SAHM. Where I grew up in the middle class suburbs, what became known as Silicon Valley, most moms stayed at home and ran the household. Nobody called them stay-at-home-moms however… they were called housewives and nobody really took issue with the term at the time. That would come about a half-generation later.

My mom’s “job” was to manage a family of five and she was damn good at it. She did the shopping and the cleaning and the laundry and prepared almost all of the meals. She made it look easy. It wasn’t, I know that today. My dad’s job was his career and he was equally dedicated to it. In those days the husband was typically the breadwinner and my father followed the lead set down before him.

In my family, my mother also handled the day-to-day financial matters. She was (and still is) the family’s Chief Financial Officer. On top of making her children’s lunches to bring to school and planning the family dinners and doing the laundry, etc., etc., etc., she also wrote the checks and made sure the bills were paid on time. And there were so many other duties that I could only really appreciate after having to perform them myself. Compared to my mom, however, I’m not even in the same league.

School clothes, dentist appointments, back to school night, Little League, doctors (both routine and emergency), arts and crafts, rainy day activities, referee, tutor, quartermaster, landscaper, painter, nurse, taxi driver, seamstress, and of course, Santa Claus. And after she retired from that career, she handled all administrative and financial activities for the small business she and my father started in our garage. It turned into a hugely successful enterprise with more than 20 employees, thousands of square feet of manufacturing and administrative space and sales worldwide by the time it was sold.

She is a woman of many talents and I don’t remember her ever complaining about how much work it was. Her dedication, perseverance and strength are second to none… and today is her birthday.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you,

Michael

The Left Coast: Lieber Returns

California Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, is at it again - working hard, earning her money by proposing redundant legislation to make herself and perhaps her constituents feel like they have hearts of gold. They’re defending those who cannot defend themselves, dammit! Someone’s got to do it, right?

Um, Sally… hello; somebody already has. You remember Lieber, she’s the one that proposed legislation that would make it a misdemeanor to spank children under four. She referred to spanking as “beating” and her now aborted attempt to legislate against it would save our kids from their parents who just don’t know how to raise a child. Lieber, who I am sure would be the perfect parent if she had any children, knows what is best for us.

Her proposal met with immediate and overwhelming opposition. That should surprise no one, but apparently it caught Lieber off-guard. It would appear that she is not the type to admit defeat and move on. No, now she has proposed yet another bill that would define certain acts of violence against children as illegal and punishable by up to $1,000 and/or one year in jail. A judge could also sentence the offender to parenting class.

This all sounds perfectly reasonable. Who would be in favor of throwing and kicking children or hitting a child with a cord? There are one or two problems with her measure. The first should be obvious: These things are already illegal, and in the more extreme cases they are felonies punishable by far more than parenting class. This measure is a waste of taxpayer dollars and the Assembly’s time. There are much, much bigger Californian fish to fry.

The greater issue is Lieber’s not very hidden agenda. She has some kind of problem allowing parents to raise their children as they see fit. Actually, she has no problem as long as you do it her way - and in her mind spanking is child abuse. It’s just that black and white… she said it herself. The fact that her previous proposal met with such universal opposition has not dissuaded her at all. I am certain that parenting is not the only thing we don’t know anything about.

Thank God we have Lieber providing us better living through legislation. Perhaps Lieber can just write the book - and pass it into law - so that we’ll all live happily ever after, or else. What kind of dream world does she live in and how in the world does this kind of nut get elected to the Assembly? The bright side? Two year terms. Mountain View, are you listening?

The Forecast Calls For...

Our unseasonable warm weather here in Northern California has come to an end and the winter chill is back. Although it never gets really “cold” here, for those accustomed to the balmy California climate, this is winter. It’s supposed to rain again later today and tomorrow and with it will come another dumping of snow in the Sierras. Although nobody’s panicking yet, it has been a very dry year thus far; we need the precipitation.

Life, like the weather, is unpredictable. And I can never fully prepare for everything that might come my way. I can, however, be prepared for the occasional storm that is always lurking on the horizon. Relatively minor and always temporary squalls will come and go and I am perpetually prepared - I always have an umbrella in my trunk and firewood at home, ready to burn. Indeed, it seems the more travails that I survive, the more naturally prepared I become.

For the immediate future, calm weather and mild temperatures are in my metaphorical forecast. There are only the day-to-day chores, appointments and assignments to be kept. All of my deadlines have been met and none are looming for at least a few days. The extended outlook is, of course, always unpredictable. I am ready, however, to weather whatever storm life may have in store for me. Experience tells me so - Sping is just around the corner.

Disconnected

Although it’s been a while, there are times when I just feel out of sync. Oh yes, I’m fine. If asked, that’s my answer and I’m sticking to it. It might just be a sense of proportion, for I know this is an exciting time in my life. And I have been riding this wave for a while now. Life has been good and I take pride that in the areas where I could make the difference, I have done so - not only with tenacity I am so familiar with, but also with the consistency that I am not. All the same, today and for the past several, I have been feeling a little ill at ease and I can’t quite put my finger on it.

It would be arrogant beyond belief to say that nobody understands… that I am the only one who has ever felt this way even if I can't describe what “this way” is. But I’ll try -

Everything is pretty well caught up. Ok, that’s not entirely true, but in the very short term, things are done. There are a number of things that are looming down the road - some due to my own choices, wreckage from my past as it were - and others are simply associated with any major changes in life and lifestyle. Many unknowns and possibilities are coming up and I think it is safe to say that there is no small amount of trepidation on my part. Indeed… some of it is quite likely fear.

Graduation is only about three short months away. Until recently, I didn’t have to think too much about the future; to get my degree, the direction was pretty well defined. Sure there have been options, and choices had to be made, but they have been pretty limited and bad choices weren’t included among the options. For the last three plus years all I had to do was follow a well-defined path. Beginning in June, my path is entirely up to me and there are plenty of unknowns. It’s the real world again rushing up to greet me.

I’ve been here before. I have leapt without looking more times than I care to remember. At least this time I am far more prepared for what lies ahead. Perhaps that is part of the problem. I know enough to know what I don’t. True, I’m not jumping headfirst into an empty pool this time, but do I know how to swim? Oddly enough, the very knowledge that my degree will have bestowed upon me has me questioning whether I know what I’m doing. At the same time, I am very confident that I am capable of writing for just about anyone. So I guess I am also somewhat confused.

In the meantime, I feel disconnected in my social life as well. I think this is due to the uncertainty of what the coming months will bring. I am feeling unwilling to commit, yet I am committed. I have an incredibly close group of friends that is fairly large - almost too large… large enough to get lost in. I want to say that they just don’t understand, not because they don’t (as far as school is concerned, many of them probably don’t), but because it takes the onus off me. That way, it’s not me. But it is, and it’s important that I understand it or I will certainly place blame when there is none.

Look, my life is good. It’s better than it’s ever been - seriously. I have much to be grateful for, many friends and family to thank and, for my part, much to be proud of. Coming out of the fix I was in just a few short years ago was no small feat and there is no way I could have done it alone. Perhaps I have become just a little jaded by good fortune or maybe the relative quality of my life leaves me needing more. That is a very dangerous place, one I am all too familiar with. Writing all this out helps put things back into proportion.

Scantron Psychoanalysis

Personality profiles are a wonderfully entertaining way to while away some idle time. Perhaps more accurate than a horoscope and less exacting than a complete psychological workup, they have the almost uncanny ability to identify some very general characteristics based on a few simple questions. Some are created purely for entertainment and others claim to have their origins firmly rooted in scientific evidence. I don’t think the conclusions drawn by these “serious” profiles are necessarily accurate and where they dictate or “suggest” direction, or portend to indicate the predisposition of one’s career potential (or personal relationships), they can actually be acting irresponsibly.

It is clear that countless variables affect the outcome of these assessments. These factors could be as uncontrollable as age and maturity or as fleeting as a specific - and often situational - emotional state. Furthermore, even subtle and perhaps unnoticed changes in these and other factors can produce considerable changes in the outcome of these surveys from day to day or even hour to hour. In short, I don’t put much faith in the results. Presented as evidence, however inconclusive (due to this project’s limited scope), are my results from different personality profile tests and the contradictions between not only different types of tests, but also between remarkably similar tests. Additionally, as luck would have it, I have results from one of these surveys that I took just about one year ago and can compare it to the same test taken just several days ago.

One of the most thorough tests I have ever taken was called the “SDS,” or Self-Directed Search. Sub-titled “A Guide to Educational and Career Planning,” this assessment was portrayed as the “state of the art” in career assessment guides. Of course there is a disclaimer of sorts. The section entitled Next Steps states, “Remember: no one but you can make your vocational decision. Our knowledge of careers is too limited to provide you with a single, exact choice, but we can help you focus on some of the more likely possibilities.” Fair enough, but consider the wide-eyed teenager who is just trying to find a fit.

The test asks questions about various skills and catalogs the results in six areas. Based on the three highest scoring categories, career possibilities are recommended. Although space does not permit elaborating on each of the six categories, one does demand attention. I scored lowest in the artistic (A) category. Because I can’t draw or play music or do any of the other things considered by many to be “art,” it was not recommended that I entertain careers that were considered artistic. However, all careers that had anything to do with writing or journalism had an (A) designator. Apparently, to be considered a writer, one must possess other artistic talents as well. My 19-year-old self would have been steered away from what turned out to be my passion due to an interpretive flaw and consequent deference to “expert” opinion. Fortunately, my 40-year-old self was not so easily taken.

The most recent profiling tool I used was one that draws some very specific conclusions based on minimal input. In fact, as the instructions were given, there were two options; one ostensibly would produce more “accurate” results while the other less time consuming option would return more general results. “True Colors” also had the added benefit of foretelling how others might view some of my “qualities” as anything but. My results two weeks ago returned a “true color” of green. However, when I took the same profile through the Tickle web site only a little more than one year ago, I was a “blue.” Although I can’t be absolutely sure of how my specific circumstances have changed in one year’s time, I do know that no major changes in my life have occurred in the last year. The results, therefore, should have been the same.

Lastly, I took the Keirsey Temperament Sorter II. After paying $19.95 for the complete report, I discovered I am an ISTP. Perhaps the “S” stands for sucker. Nevertheless, with my pockets $20 lighter I was pleased to discover that I am highly introverted (I), moderately sensatory (S), a little more thinking (T) than feeling and more perceptive (P) than judgmental. Nice. Then I took the Jung Typology Test and found it to be nearly identical to the Keirsey. It even used the same standard code for the resulting personality type. Imagine my surprise to find out I had another personality lurking in the background. Jung results: INTP. However, the weighted percentages in each of the four areas were not as close as the code would lead us to believe. For example, Jung had me as a borderline introvert whereas Keirsey pegged me as a veritable recluse. These two tests were taken minutes apart.

Like fortune telling and horoscopes, the characteristics given for many of these profiles are broad and ambiguous; virtually anyone could be squeezed into any category. If the fit seems a stretch, just wait a little while or slightly change the wording of the questions. Some of these profilers proclaim remarkable consistency and repeatability. This has not been my experience - ever, and I’ve been around a while. The tests are fun, they are interesting and offer some insights that can be useful, but to take them as seriously as their creators would have us - disclaimers and caveats aside - is irresponsible bordering on dangerous. Imagine making major life decisions based on some faceless clinician’s diagnosis disguised as a personality assessment. The best way to find out what we’re made of is by real-world experience - not Scantron psychoanalysis.