Monthly Archives: March 2014

Being too busy

Posted on March 17, 2014 by JohnMatel

One of my most valuable tasks as a leader, of my own life and of my organization, is setting priorities. Priorities mean NOT doing most things in order to concentrate on those of highest value added. I spend a lot … Continue reading →

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Saturday in New York

Posted on March 16, 2014 by JohnMatel

The weather was nicer today; evidently Saturday will be the one nice day wedged between cold ones.  Today the wind had that soft feel; tomorrow back to the rough stuff. We went to the Met today.  You can never spend … Continue reading →

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Private-public-partnership saves Central Park.

Posted on March 14, 2014 by JohnMatel

It was a cold and gray day, but still worth it to walk around in Central Park.  Central Park is a monument to lots of things.  From the original smart idea devote a big area of the middle of the … Continue reading →

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Bright and brightening American energy future

Posted on March 14, 2014 by JohnMatel

We might worry that the American energy boom is creating too much prosperity, since we have bottlenecks in inadequate, ports, pipelines, rail and shipping. Of course, adapting to those things will create jobs based on REAL wealth. IMO, we sometimes … Continue reading →

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Fear tactics

Posted on March 10, 2014 by JohnMatel

Interesting misuse of statistics.  Cancer is a serious issue. The report on which this is based headlines “Effective prevention measures urgently needed to prevent cancer crisis.”  But there is no crisis. Why is cancer rising? Because people are living longer.  … Continue reading →

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Fire in the forests

Posted on March 9, 2014 by JohnMatel

Fire is unavoidable in natural systems. What and how it burns is often a human choice. The article acknowledges good fire management in Southern pine country, where practice and culture accept prescribed burning. There is an irony in the West. … Continue reading →

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Weird rain

Posted on March 9, 2014 by JohnMatel

The “dry” rainy season has now turned more normal and wet.  It has been raining every day, fortunately not all day.   I have been lucky in that it has not rained much on me while riding my bike to and … Continue reading →

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Learning languages

Posted on March 8, 2014 by JohnMatel

Freakonomics radio asks whether it is worth it to study a foreign language and answers yes for people learning English but no for Americans learning other languages. At the risk of being called an apostate, except in specific situations like … Continue reading →

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New place for the old blog

Posted on March 8, 2014 by JohnMatel

I have been having trouble with my old blog page interface and it is no longer supported by the Yahoo host.  So I am moving here.  It is a little different format, but I will write the same simple stuff.  … Continue reading →

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