The Black Jacket Club

I've been training at Keith Hafners Karate for almost ten years now. In that time, I've earned a belt or two, I've picked up a smattering of skills in the martial arts, and I've even taught a few classes along the way. I've learned from and enjoyed almost every aspect. OK, I'll admit that I probably could have skipped the various minor injuries and been just as happy, but in general it was all worthwhile.

This past weekend I received a "lifetime" achievement award down at the school. Professor Hafner occasionally singles out one or two (or in this case four) students who, in addition to their efforts to become better martial artists, have devoted time and energy to help the school as a community.

The physical manifestation of the award was a beautiful wool and leather "letterman" jacket. Not including Professor Hafner himself, only twenty people have one of these coats. For the most part, they are Masters and other former and current instructors. Needless to say, I'm pleased to be a part of such an august company.

The ironic thing is, though, that every accomplishment in the martial arts is really only a milepost. I still have so much to learn that I will probably be training for the rest of my life. The road goes ever onward.

So, let's hear some horntooting from you. What awards or recognition have you received recently?

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

As many of you know, I have a tendency to suffer from a paralysis of analysis. This means that I will spend a lot of time studying, strategizing, researching, and planning any given situation before I actually do anything. I was well on my way to doing just that with my goal to create an e-zine this year (one of my 101 goals for 2007). Fortunately, because I can be taught, I listened to my lovely wife's advice and just started in on it.

As a result, as of 11:55pm this evening, I sent out my first issue. Hooray! Oh, it's not perfect by a long shot. I still want to do a lot with layout, creating an archive, using images, etc, but at least I can say that it's begun. The pretty details will follow.

If you are interested in receiving the e-zine, you can go to the subscription page and sign up. Be sure to check your email after you do as the mailing list requires a verification response. I hope to hear from you!

So, what project have you been putting off until you have the perfect plan?

A Whale of a Tail

My buddy, Dave Bodner, asked me to talk a bit more about our experiences with the whales on Hawaii. How could I disappoint a friend?

Lisa and I arranged a sunset cruise with Blue Dolphin Tours for Sunday evening. Not surprisingly, given it was Superbowl Sunday, the crowd was fairly sparse. There were probably about 30 of us on the boat with three crew members, including the captain. We had pretty much perfect weather -- warm, with a slight breeze and no significant waves. A gorgeous evening.

We departed the dock around 4:15 and within a few minutes of clearing the harbor we spotted our first whale. To be completely objective, they really aren't much to see. We didn't see any do a full breach, leaping out of the water to come down with a huge splash. Mostly we would see the plume from them surfacing with a brief glimpse of their back and occasionally a tail flip as they dove back underwater.

Subjectively, it was probably one of the most exciting moments of my life.

Seeing a spout and knowing the tremendous size of the creature below is more than enough to send shivers down your spine. They have an aura of playful serenity and peace about them, almost magical at times. Pictures can't do it justice. I tried to snap as many shots as I could, but even the best photo pales in comparison to being near the real thing.

Can we learn some sort of life or business lesson from the whales? Maybe. One thought came to mind as I was writing this. While the passengers on the boat were rushing from side to side to catch any minor glimpse of cetacean presence, the crew just went about their duties. They had seen everything so much that it wasn't particularly magical for them.

I think the same can be said for almost any business. Whatever we do, whether we do someones taxes, design their new home, or set up a website for their business, to them, whatever we do is almost incomprehensible, magical. That may be one of the secrets of success in business: Amaze your customers with (what for you is) the everyday.

So, what businesses can you think of which are almost "magical" in what they do?

School Days, Part 2

So, as I mentioned yesterday, we had our most recent Leadership Ann Arbor day on Wednesday. This one was all about education. Due to the snow up here, we missed out on the K-12 presentations (though we will supposedly be making it up at some point), instead we focused on higher ed and pre-K information.

All of the presentations were quite informative. Unfortunately, most of the information was pretty depressing. Still, I would rather know where we stand. Here are just a few of the points we covered:

• In Washtenaw County about 48% of adults between the ages of 25 and 34 have at least a bachelors degree. That compares to 22% for all of Michigan.
• According to census data, lowering taxes does not lead to more prosperity. In fact, those states with the lowest taxes also have some of the lowest personal income per capita.
• According to a report presented by Michigan Future, Inc.'s President, Lou Glazer, prosperous regions tend to have three characteristics in common:
  1. Focus on knowledge/export-based sectors. Where growth in these areas exceeds the national average (29%), prosperity follows. Michigan currently has growth in these areas of around 13%.
  2. High proportion of four-year degree holders.
  3. Anchored by a central city with an even higher percentage of four-year degree holders.
• In the same report, the authors came to the conclusion that for Michigan to succeed, it must focus on two policy priorities:
  1. We must invest in the higher education system, especially our research universities.
  2. We must develop the welcoming aspects of our central metropolis (Detroit), in order to retain existing talent and attract new.
     
• These are the two areas which Michigan has cut the most in recent years.
  

After this pile of sobering facts, it was a relief to listen to my friend, Jerry Bowman of NSF International talk about the "Scrub Club", a program developed by NSF to encourage kids to wash there hands adequately in order to reduce the spread of contagious diseases in schools. Ironically, the poor guy was having trouble speaking because he had come down with a cold and had largely lost his voice!

So, what can we do to get talent to come back to Michigan?

School Days, Part 1

Well, I was partially right.

Today we were scheduled to have our fourth class in the Leadership Ann Arbor course. This month our focus was on Education. According to our agenda, we were to visit a number of local schools this morning and then spend some time at Washtenaw Community College (WCC) this afternoon.

We did make it to the afternoon festivities (more on those later). This morning, though, as I expected, we got to experience a different school tradition -- Snow Day! As I mentioned yesterday, we got hit with a minor snow storm last night and, sure enough, when I awoke this morning I found that the Ann Arbor schools had been canceled. So I did what any self-respecting computer programmer would do at 6:30am. I crawled back into bed!

After getting in my beauty sleep and getting in a little work this morning, I was off to an afternoon of learning about education. Our first stop was lunch at Garrett's, the restaurant at WCC where the culinary arts students get to refine their skills. Unfortunately, due to the heavy snows, the students weren't able to get into the kitchens at 6am as they usually do and so could not create their masterpieces as they had planned. So, as far as I was concerned anyway, they did the next best thing.

They made pizza. And a delicious pizza it was, too.

After the delightful lunch, which included poetry readings and singing by our maitre di, we filed off to one of the auditoriums on campus to learn more about the state of education in Washtenaw County and in Michigan. Some good, some bad, and some that was downright depressing. I'll come up with more of a list tomorrow, but suffice it to say that, if Michigan wants to pull itself out of the economic doldrums, we've got a long row to hoe.

After we broke for the day, a few of us stuck around and chatted about what we had learned. Then it was a long, bitterly cold walk to the car before we could head for home.

Next month: Local Government!

So, what are some of your fondest memories of school?