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Decision Making Business Essay
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The cognitive process of selecting a course of action from among multiple alternatives. Common examples include shopping, deciding what to eat, and deciding who or what to vote for in an election or referendum.
Decision making is said to be a psychological construct. This means that although we can never "see" a decision, we can infer from observable behavior that a decision has been made. Therefore we conclude that a psychological event that we call "decision making" has occurred. It is a construction that imputes commitment to action. That is, based on observable actions, we assume that people have made a commitment to effect the action.
Decision making is an important part of many professions, where specialists apply their expertise in a given area to making informed decisions. For example, medical decision making often involves making a diagnosis and selecting an appropriate treatment.
Due to the large number of considerations involved in many decisions, decision support systems have been developed to assist decision makers in considering the implications of various courses of action. They can help reduce the risk of errors.
Decision making is an important part of many professions, where specialists apply their expertise in a given area to making informed decisions. For example, medical decision making often involves making a diagnosis and selecting an appropriate treatment.
Due to the large number of considerations involved in many decisions, decision support systems have been developed to assist decision makers in considering the implications of various courses of action. They can help reduce the risk of errors.
"Decision making is the study of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision maker".
Making a decision implies that there are alternative choices to be considered, and in such a case we want not only to identify as many of these alternatives as possible but to choose the one that
(1) Has the highest probability of success or effectiveness and
(2) Best fits with our goals, desires, lifestyle, values, and so on.
"Decision making is the process of sufficiently reducing uncertainty and doubt about alternatives to allow a reasonable choice to be made from among them".
This definition stresses the information-gathering function of decision making. It should be noted here that uncertainty is reduced rather than eliminated. Very few decisions are made with absolute certainty because complete knowledge about all the alternatives is seldom possible. Thus, every decision involves a certain amount of risk. If there is no uncertainty, you do not have a decision; you have an algorithm--a set of steps or a recipe that is followed to bring about a fixed result.
There are several basic kinds of decisions.
Decisions whether.
This is the yes/no, either/or decision that must be made before we proceed with the selection of an alternative. Should I buy a new TV? Should I travel this summer? Decisions whether are made by weighing reasons pro and con. The PMI technique discussed in the next chapter is ideal for this kind of decision.
It is important to be aware of having made a decision whether, since too often we assume that decision making begins with the identification of alternatives, assuming that the decision to choose one has already been made.
Decisions which.
These decisions involve a choice of one or more alternatives from among a set of possibilities, the choice being based on how well each alternative measures up to a set of predefined criteria.
Contingent decisions.
These are decisions that have been made but put on hold until some condition is met.
For example, I have decided to buy that car if I can get it for the right price; I have decided to write that article if I can work the necessary time for it into my schedule. OR even, We'll take the route through the valley if we can control the ridge and if we detect no enemy activity to the north.
The following are the most common types of decision making styles that a manager in a business or even a common man might have to follow.
These decisions are permanent. Once taken, they can't be undone. The effects of these decisions can be felt for a long time to come. Such decisions are taken when there is no other option.
Reversible decisions are not final and binding. In fact, they can be changed entirely at any point of time. It allows one to acknowledge mistakes and fresh decisions can be taken depending upon the new circumstances.
Such decisions are put on hold until the decision maker thinks that the right time has come. The wait might make one miss the right opportunity that can cause some loss, especially in the case of businesses. However, such decisions give one enough time to collect all information required and to organize all the factors in the correct way.
Quick Decisions:
These decisions enable one to make maximum of the opportunity available at hand. However, only a good decision maker can take decisions that are instantaneous as well as correct. In order to be able to take the right decision within a short span of time, one should also take the long-term results into consideration.
One of the different types of decision making is the experimental type in which the final decision cannot be taken until the preliminary results appear and are positive. This approach is used when one is sure of the final destination but is not convinced of the course to be taken.
Trial and Error:
This approach involves trying out a certain course of action. If the result is positive it is followed further, if not, then a fresh course is adopted. Such a trail and error method is continued until the decision maker finally arrives at a course of action that convinces him of success. This allows a manager to change and adjust his plans until the final commitment is made.
Conditional decisions allow an individual to keep all his options open. He sticks to one decision so long as the circumstances remain the same. Once the competitor makes a new move, conditional decisions allow a person to take up a different course of action.
These are by far and away the most common and when many people think of decision making, they typically consider some kind of rational model. The general idea here is to weigh up the pros and cons, and work out the most sensible, logical option. There are usually a series of steps involved and these are done one after the other.
These models often involve plugging information into a graph or chart. This information usually includes facts as well as assumptions. And the scoring method is designed to produce the optimal decision.
The second main category is the intuitive models. These models do not depend on reason and logic. The choice is reached usually by an intuitive 'knowing' of what the best answer is. People talk about 'feeling it in their gut', 'listening to their heart' and receiving visions or hearing voices.
Of course, there are combinations of the above. Gary Klein's recognition primed decision making model uses the information in the environment and the inner senses in a very particular way. He believes that we naturally make up to 95% of our decisions this way.
A further refinement of his model, is the decision making model put forward in this website. A good place to start to read more about this is in how to make a decision.
A critical factor that decision theorists sometimes neglect to emphasize is that in spite of the way the process is presented on paper, decision making is a nonlinear, recursive process. That is, most decisions are made by moving back and forth between the choice of criteria (the characteristics we want our choice to meet) and the identification of alternatives (the possibilities we can choose from among). The alternatives available influence the criteria we apply to them, and similarly the criteria we establish influence the alternatives we will consider. Let's look at an example to clarify this.
Suppose someone wants to decide, Should I get married? Notice that this is a decision whether. A linear approach to decision making would be to decide this question by weighing the reasons pro and con (what are the benefits and drawbacks of getting married) and then to move to the next part of the process, the identification of criteria (supportive, easy going, competent, affectionate, etc.). Next, we would identify alternatives likely to have these criteria (Kathy, Jennifer, Michelle, Julie, etc.). Finally we would evaluate each alternative according to the criteria and choose the one that best meets the criteria. We would thus have a scheme like this:
decision whether ... select criteria ... identify alternatives ... match criteria to alternatives ... make choice
However, the fact is that our decision whether to get married may really be a contingent decision. "I'll get married if I can find the right person." It will thus be influenced by the identification of alternatives, which we usually think of as a later step in the process. Similarly, suppose we have arrived at the "identify alternatives" stage of the process when we discover that Jennifer (one of the girls identified as an alternative) has a wonderful personality characteristic that we had not even thought of before, but that we now really want to have in a wife. We immediately add that characteristic to our criteria. Thus, the decision making process continues to move back and forth, around and around as it progresses in what will eventually be a linear direction but which in its actual workings is highly recursive.
The Decision Environment
Every decision is made within a decision environment, which is defined as the collection of information, alternatives, values, and preferences available at the time of the decision. An ideal decision environment would include all possible information, all of it accurate, and every possible alternative. However, both information and alternatives are constrained because the time and effort to gain information or identify alternatives are limited. The time constraint simply means that a decision must be made by a certain time. The effort constraint reflects the limits of manpower, money, and priorities. (You wouldn't want to spend three hours and half a tank of gas trying to find the very best parking place at the mall.) Since decisions must be made within this constrained environment, we can say that the major challenge of decision making is uncertainty, and a major goal of decision analysis is to reduce uncertainty. We can almost never have all information needed to make a decision with certainty, so most decisions involve an undeniable amount of risk.
The fact that decisions must be made within a limiting decision environment suggests two things. First, it explains why hindsight is so much more accurate and better at making decisions that foresight. As time passes, the decision environment continues to grow and expand. New information and new alternatives appear--even after the decision must be made. Armed with new information after the fact, the hindsighters can many times look back and make a much better decision than the original maker, because the decision environment has continued to expand.
The second thing suggested by the decision-within-an-environment idea follows from the above point. Since the decision environment continues to expand as time passes, it is often advisable to put off making a decision until close to the deadline. Information and alternatives continue to grow as time passes, so to have access to the most information and to the best alternatives, do not make the decision too soon. Now, since we are dealing with real life, it is obvious that some alternatives might no longer be available if too much time passes; that is a tension we have to work with, a tension that helps to shape the cutoff date for the decision.
Delaying a decision as long as reasonably possible, then, provides three benefits:
1. The decision environment will be larger, providing more information. There is also time for more thoughtful and extended analysis.
2. New alternatives might be recognized or created. Version 2.0 might be released.
3. The decision maker's preferences might change. With further thought, wisdom, and maturity, you may decide not to buy car X and instead to buy car Y.
And delaying a decision involves several risks:
1. As the decision environment continues to grow, the decision maker might become overwhelmed with too much information and either make a poorer decision or else face decision paralysis.
2. Some alternatives might become unavailable because of events occurring during the delay. In a few cases, where the decision was between two alternatives (attack the pass or circle around behind the large rock), both alternatives might become unavailable, leaving the decision maker with nothing. And we have all had the experience of seeing some amazing bargain only to hesitate and find that when we go back to buy the item, it is sold out.
3. In a competitive environment, a faster rival might make the decision and gain advantage. Another manufacturer might bring a similar product to market before you (because that company didn't delay the decision) or the opposing army might have seized the pass while the other army was "letting the decision environment grow."
The Effects of Quantity on Decision Making
Many decision makers have a tendency to seek more information than required to make a good decision. When too much information is sought and obtained, one or more of several problems can arise.
(1) A delay in the decision occurs because of the time required to obtain and process the extra information. This delay could impair the effectiveness of the decision or solution.
(2) Information overload will occur. In this state, so much information is available that decision-making ability actually declines because the information in its entirety can no longer be managed or assessed appropriately. A major problem caused by information overload is forgetfulness. When too much information is taken into memory, especially in a short period of time, some of the information (often that received early on) will be pushed out.
(3) Selective use of the information will occur. That is, the decision maker will choose from among all the information available only those facts which support a preconceived solution or position.
(4) Mental fatigue occurs, which results in slower work or poor quality work.
(5) Decision fatigue occurs where the decision maker tires of making decisions. Often the result is fast, careless decisions or even decision paralysis--no decisions are made at all.
The quantity of information that can be processed by the human mind is limited. Unless information is consciously selected, processing will be biased toward the first part of the information received. After that, the mind tires and begins to ignore subsequent information or forget earlier information. (Have you ever gone shopping for something where you looked at many alternatives--cars, knives, phones, TVs--only to decide that you liked the first one best?)
Decision Streams
A common misconception about decision making is that decisions are made in isolation from each other: you gather information, explore alternatives, and make a choice, without regard to anything that has gone before. The fact is, decisions are made in a context of other decisions. The typical metaphor used to explain this is that of a stream. There is a stream of decisions surrounding a given decision, many decisions made earlier have led up to this decision and made it both possible and limited. Many other decisions will follow from it.
Another way to describe this situation is to say that most decisions involve a choice from a group of preselected alternatives, made available to us from the universe of alternatives by the previous decisions we have made. Previous decisions have "activated" or "made operable" certain alternatives and "deactivated" or "made inoperable" others.
For example, when you decide to go to the park, your decision has been enabled by many previous decisions. You had to decide to live near the park; you had to decide to buy a car or learn about bus routes, and so on. And your previous decisions have constrained your subsequent ones: you can't decide to go to a park this afternoon if it is three states away. By deciding to live where you do, you have both enabled and disabled a whole series of other decisions.
As another example, when you enter a store to buy a DVD player or TV, you are faced with the preselected alternatives stocked by the store. There may be 200 models available in the universe of models, but you will be choosing from, say, only a dozen. In this case, your decision has been constrained by the decisions made by others about which models to carry.
We might say, then, that every decision
(1) follows from previous decisions,
(2) Enables many future decisions, and
(3) Prevents other future decisions.
People who have trouble making decisions are sometimes trapped by the constraining nature of decision making. Every decision you make precludes other decisions, and therefore might be said to cause a loss of freedom. If you decide to marry Terry, you no longer can decide to marry Shawn. However, just as making a decision causes a loss of freedom, it also creates new freedom, new choices and new possibilities. So making a decision is liberating as well as constraining. And a decision left unmade will often result in a decision by default or a decision being made for you.
It is important to realize that every decision you make affects the decision stream and the collections of alternatives available to you both immediately and in the future. In other words, decisions have far reaching consequences.
This is knowledge about the decision, the effects of its alternatives, the probability of each alternative, and so forth. A major point to make here is that while substantial information is desirable, the statement that "the more information, the better" is not true. Too much information can actually reduce the quality of a decision. See the discussion on The Effects of Quantity on Decision Making above.
2. Alternatives.
These are the possibilities one has to choose from. Alternatives can be identified (that is, searched for and located) or even developed (created where they did not previously exist). Merely searching for preexisting alternatives will result in less effective decision making.
3. Criteria.
These are the characteristics or requirements that each alternative must possess to a greater or lesser extent. Usually the alternatives are rated on how well they possess each criterion. For example, alternative Toyota ranks an 8 on the criterion of economy, while alternative Buick ranks a 6 on the same criterion.
4. Goals.
What is it you want to accomplish? Strangely enough, many decision makers collect a bunch of alternatives (say cars to buy or people to marry) and then ask, "Which should I choose?" without thinking first of what their goals are, what overall objective they want to achieve. Next time you find yourself asking, "What should I do? What should I choose?" ask yourself first, "What are my goals?"
A component of goal identification should be included in every instance of decision analysis.
5. Value.
Value refers to how desirable a particular outcome is, the value of the alternative, whether in dollars, satisfaction, or other benefit.
6. Preferences.
These reflect the philosophy and moral hierarchy of the decision maker. We could say that they are the decision maker's "values," but that might be confusing with the other use of the word, above. If we could use that word here, we would say that personal values dictate preferences. Some people prefer excitement to calmness, certainty to risk, efficiency to esthetics, quality to quantity, and so on. Thus, when one person chooses to ride the wildest roller coaster in the park and another chooses a mild ride, both may be making good decisions, if based on their individual preferences.
7. Decision Quality.
This is a rating of whether a decision is good or bad. A good decision is a logical one based on the available information and reflecting the preferences of the decision maker.
The important concept to grasp here is that the quality of a decision is not related to its outcome: a good decision can have either a good or a bad outcome. Similarly, a bad decision (one not based on adequate information or not reflecting the decision maker's preferences) can still have a good outcome.
For example, if you do extensive analysis and carefully decide on a certain investment based on what you know about its risks and your preferences, then your decision is a good one, even though you may lose money on the investment. Similarly, if you throw a dart at a listing of stocks and buy the one the dart hits, your decision is a bad one, even though the stock may go up in value.
Good decisions that result in bad outcomes should thus not be cause for guilt or recrimination. If you decide to take the scenic route based on what you know of the road (reasonably safe, not heavily traveled) and your preferences (minimal risk, prefer scenery over early arrival), then your decision is a good one, even though you might happen to get in an accident, or have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. It is not justified to say, "Well, this was a bad decision."
In judging the quality of a decision, in addition to the concerns of logic, use of information and alternatives, three other considerations come into play:
A. The decision must meet the stated objectives most thoroughly and completely. How well does the alternative chosen meet the goals identified?
B. The decision must meet the stated objectives most efficiently, with concern over cost, energy, side effects. Are there negative consequences to the alternative that make that choice less desirable? We sometimes overlook this consideration in our search for thrills.
C. The decision must take into account valuable byproducts or indirect advantages. A new employee candidate may also have extra abilities not directly related to the job but valuable to the company nonetheless. These should be taken into account.
8. Acceptance.
Those who must implement the decision or who will be affected by it must accept it both intellectually and emotionally.
Acceptance is a critical factor because it occasionally conflicts with one of the quality criteria. In such cases, the best thing to do may be to choose a lesser quality solution that has greater acceptance.
For example, when cake mixes first were put on the market, manufacturers put everything into the mix--the highest quality and most efficient solution. Only water had to be added. However, the mixes didn't sell well--they weren't accepted. After investigation, the makers discovered that women didn't like the mixes because using the mixes made them feel guilty: they weren't good wives because they were taking a shortcut to making a cake. The solution was to take the egg and sometimes the milk out of the mix so that the women would have something to do to "make" the cake other than just adding water. Now they had to add egg and perhaps milk, making them feel more useful. The need to feel useful and a contributor is one of the most basic of human needs. Thus, while the new solution was less efficient in theoretical terms, it was much more acceptable. Cake mixes with the new formula became quite popular.
Thus, the inferior method may produce greater results if the inferior one has greater support. One of the most important considerations in decision making, then, is the people factor. Always consider a decision in light of the people implementation.
A decision that may be technologically brilliant but that is sociologically stupid will not work. Only decisions that are implemented, and implemented with thoroughness (and preferably enthusiasm) will work the way they are intended to.
There are two major approaches to decision making in an organization, the authoritarian method in which an executive figure makes a decision for the group and the group method in which the group decides what to do.
1. Authoritarian. The manager makes the decision based on the knowledge he can gather. He then must explain the decision to the group and gain their acceptance of it. In some studies, the time breakdown for a typical operating decision is something like this: make decision, 5 min.; explain decision, 30 min.; gain acceptance, 30 min.
2. Group. The group shares ideas and analyses, and agrees upon a decision to implement. Studies show that the group often has values, feelings, and reactions quite different from those the manager supposes they have. No one knows the group and its tastes and preferences as well as the group itself. And, interestingly, the time breakdown is something like this: group makes decision, 30 min.; explain decision, 0 min.; gain acceptance, 0 min.
Clearly, just from an efficiency standpoint, group decision making is better. More than this, it has been shown many times that people prefer to implement the ideas they themselves think of. They will work harder and more energetically to implement their own idea than they would to implement an idea imposed on them by others. We all have a love for our own ideas and solutions, and we will always work harder on a solution supported by our own vision and our own ego than we will on a solution we have little creative involvement with.
There are two types of group decision making sessions. First is free discussion in which the problem is simply put on the table for the group to talk about. For example, Joe has been offered a job change from shift supervisor to maintenance foreman. Should he take the job?
The other kind of group decision making is developmental discussion or structured discussion. Here the problem is broken down into steps, smaller parts with specific goals. For example, instead of asking generally whether Joe should take the job, the group works on sub questions: What are Joe's skills? What skills does the new job require? How does Joe rate on each of the skills required? Notice that these questions seek specific information rather than more general impressionistic opinions.
Developmental discussion (1) insures systematic coverage of a topic and (2) insures that all members of the group are talking about the same aspect of the problem at the same time.
As you know, there are often many solutions to a given problem, and the decision maker's task is to choose one of them. The task of choosing can be as simple or as complex as the importance of the decision warrants, and the number and quality of alternatives can also be adjusted according to importance, time, resources and so on. There are several strategies used for choosing. Among them are the following:
1. Optimizing. This is the strategy of choosing the best possible solution to the problem, discovering as many alternatives as possible and choosing the very best. How thoroughly optimizing can be done is dependent on
A. importance of the problem
B. time available for solving it
C. cost involved with alternative solutions
D. availability of resources, knowledge
E. personal psychology, values
Note that the collection of complete information and the consideration of all alternatives is seldom possible for most major decisions, so that limitations must be placed on alternatives.
2. Satisficing. In this strategy, the first satisfactory alternative is chosen rather than the best alternative. If you are very hungry, you might choose to stop at the first decent looking restaurant in the next town rather than attempting to choose the best restaurant from among all (the optimizing strategy). The word satisficing was coined by combining satisfactory and sufficient. For many small decisions, such as where to park, what to drink, which pen to use, which tie to wear, and so on, the satisficing strategy is perfect.
3. Maximax. This stands for "maximize the maximums." This strategy focuses on evaluating and then choosing the alternatives based on their maximum possible payoff. This is sometimes described as the strategy of the optimist, because favorable outcomes and high potentials are the areas of concern. It is a good strategy for use when risk taking is most acceptable, when the go-for-broke philosophy is reigning freely.
4. Maximin. This stands for "maximize the minimums." In this strategy, that of the pessimist, the worst possible outcome of each decision is considered and the decision with the highest minimum is chosen. The Maximin orientation is good when the consequences of a failed decision are particularly harmful or undesirable. Maximin concentrates on the salvage value of a decision, or of the guaranteed return of the decision. It's the philosophy behind the saying, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
Quiz shows exploit the uncertainty many people feel when they are not quite sure whether to go with a maximax strategy or a maximin one: "Okay, Mrs. Freen, you can now choose to take what you've already won and go home, or risk losing it all and find out what's behind door number three."
Example: I could put my $10,000 in a genetic engineering company, and if it creates and patents a new bacteria that helps plants resist frost, I could make $50,000. But I could also lose the whole $10,000. But if I invest in a soap company, I might make only $20,000, but if the company goes completely broke and gets liquidated, I'll still get back $7,000 of my investment, based on its book value.
Example: It's fourth down and ten yards to go on your twenty yard line. Do you go for a long pass or punt? Maximax would be to pass; Maximin would be to punt.
As you read this procedure, remember our discussion earlier about the recursive nature of decision making. In a typical decision making situation, as you move from step to step here, you will probably find yourself moving back and forth also.
1. Identify the decision to be made together with the goals it should achieve. Determine the scope and limitations of the decision. Is the new job to be permanent or temporary or is that not yet known (thus requiring another decision later)? Is the new package for the product to be put into all markets or just into a test market? How might the scope of the decision be changed--that is, what are its possible parameters?
When thinking about the decision, be sure to include a clarification of goals: We must decide whom to hire for our new secretary, one who will be able to create an efficient and organized office. Or, We must decide where to go on vacation, where we can relax and get some rest from the fast pace of society.
2. Get the facts. But remember that you cannot get all the facts. Get as many facts as possible about a decision within the limits of time imposed on you and your ability to process them, but remember that virtually every decision must be made in partial ignorance. Lack of complete information must not be allowed to paralyze your decision. A decision based on partial knowledge is usually better than not making the decision when a decision is really needed. The proverb that "any decision is better than no decision," while perhaps extreme, shows the importance of choosing. When you are racing toward a bridge support, you must decide to turn away to the right or to the left. Which way you turn is less important than the fact that you do indeed turn.
As part of your collection of facts, list your feelings, hunches, and intuitive urges. Many decisions must ultimately rely on or be influenced by intuition because of the remaining degree of uncertainty involved in the situation.
Also as part of your collection of facts, consult those who will be affected by and who will have to implement your decision. Input from these people not only helps supply you with information and help in making the decision but it begins to produce the acceptance necessary in the implementers because they feel that they are part of the decision making process. As Russell Ackoff noted in The Art of Problem Solving, not consulting people involved in a decision is often perceived as an act of aggression.
3. Develop alternatives. Make a list of all the possible choices you have, including the choice of doing nothing. Not choosing one of the candidates or one of the building sites is in itself a decision. Often a non decision is harmful as we mentioned above--not choosing to turn either right or left is to choose to drive into the bridge. But sometimes the decision to do nothing is useful or at least better than the alternatives, so it should always be consciously included in the decision making process.
Also be sure to think about not just identifying available alternatives but creating alternatives that don't yet exist. For example, if you want to choose which major to pursue in college, think not only of the available ones in the catalog, but of designing your own course of study.
4. Rate each alternative. This is the evaluation of the value of each alternative. Consider the negative of each alternative (cost, consequences, problems created, time needed, etc.) and the positive of each (money saved, time saved, added creativity or happiness to company or employees, etc.). Remember here that the alternative that you might like best or that would in the best of all possible worlds be an obvious choice will, however, not be functional in the real world because of too much cost, time, or lack of acceptance by others.
Also don't forget to include indirect factors in the rating. If you are deciding between machines X, Y, and Z and you already have an employee who knows how to operate machine Z, that fact should be considered. If you are choosing an investigative team to send to Japan to look at plant sites and you have very qualified candidates A, B, and C, the fact that B is a very fast typist, a superior photographer or has some other side benefit in addition to being a qualified team member, should be considered. In fact, what you put on your hobbies and interests line on your resume can be quite important when you apply for a job just because employers are interested in getting people with a good collection of additional abilities.
5. Rate the risk of each alternative. In problem solving, you hunt around for a solution that best solves a particular problem, and by such a hunt you are pretty sure that the solution will work. In decision making, however, there is always some degree of uncertainty in any choice. Will Bill really work out as the new supervisor? If we decide to expand into Canada, will our sales and profits really increase? If we let Jane date Fred at age fifteen, will the experience be good? If you decide to marry person X or buy car Y or go to school Z, will that be the best or at least a successful choice?
Risks can be rated as percentages, ratios, rankings, grades or in any other form that allows them to be compared. See the section on risk evaluation for more details on risking.
One important item often overlooked in implementation is that when explaining the decision to those involved in carrying it out or those who will be affected by it, don't just list the projected benefits: frankly explain the risks and the drawbacks involved and tell why you believe the proposed benefits outweigh the negatives. Implementers are much more willing to support decisions when they (1) understand the risks and (2) believe that they are being treated with honesty and like adults.
Remember also that very few decisions are irrevocable. Don't cancel a decision prematurely because many new plans require time to work--it may take years for your new branch office in Paris to get profitable--but don't hesitate to change directions if a particular decision clearly is not working out or is being somehow harmful. You can always make another decision to do something else.
Because making decisions involves a degree of risk, it would be helpful to examine risk and risk analysis in order to gain an understanding of what is involved. Risk and uncertainty create anxiety, yet they are necessary components of an active life.
General Comments on Risk Taking
1. Only the risk takers are truly free. All decisions of consequence involve risk. Without taking risks, you cannot grow or improve or even live.
2. There is really no such thing as permanent security in anything on earth. Not taking risks is really not more secure than taking them, for your present state can always be changed without action on your part. If you don't take the risk of dying by driving to the store, your house could collapse on you and kill you anyway.
3. You are supposed to be afraid when you risk. Admit your fears--of loss, of rejection, of failure.
4. Risking normally involves a degree of separation anxiety--the anxiety you feel whenever you are removed from something that makes you feel secure. Many children feel this when they first leave their parents for school. Some college students feel this when they go off to college. Travelers sometimes feel it when they get homesick. The way to overcome separation anxiety is to build a bridge between the familiar and secure and the new. Find out what the new place--school or country--is like and how its elements compare to familiar and secure things at home. Take familiar things with you--books, teddy bear, popcorn popper, whatever.
The same is true of all risks. Make the opportunity as familiar as possible and learn as much about it as you can before you release the security of the old. Find out about the new job, its location, the lifestyle of those who live there, and so on.
There are four stages that should be involved in all group decision making. These stages, or sometimes called phases, are important for the decision-making process to begin:
Orientation stage- This phase is where members meet for the first time and start to get to know each other.
Conflict stage- Once group members become familiar with each other, disputes, little fights and arguments occur. Group members eventually work it out.
Emergence stage- The group begins to clear up vague in opinions is talked about.
Reinforcement stage- Members finally make a decision, while justifying themselves that it was the right decision.
Life is full of choices at every moment of time. There are multitude of possibilities in front of you to choose from. You need to choose one course of action from all available options based on your judgment. That is what constitutes making a decision. If you think about it, life is a series of decisions and consequences that follow them. Smart decisions are the triumphs of judgment while bad decisions are opportunities to learn from and rectify our strategy. The importance of decision making in life is immense as what we eventually become is a consequence of the decisions we made in the past. We are what our choices and decisions make us to be. In the text that follows I'll identify the importance of decision making skills in leadership, business, management and running an organization.
Importance of Decision Making in Leadership
Leadership is perhaps one of the toughest tasks ever because a leader makes decisions for all his followers. The fate of all followers is entwined with the decisions that a leader makes for them. He is the leader because of his higher level of understanding and experience. He must choose what is best for all his followers and then his own self. The fact that they trust his judgment puts immense responsibility on his shoulders. There are many types of decision making processes that one can adopt.
Who can know the importance of decision making, better than a leader? The leader's respect is heightened when the decisions he makes are validated by the test of time to be the best ones under the circumstances. He must consider all variables and possible paths to attain a collective objective and choose the one with highest success rate. His ability to study and observe situations deeply helps him in choosing the right path. He must trust his ability and soundness of reason when making a decision. Becoming a leader of men is the ultimate test of character!
Importance of Decision Making in Management
Management is not just about taking care of businesses or corporations. It is a broad concept applied to every sphere that we are a part of, extending from the self and expanding through family, community and ultimately society. It starts with personal management skills. All of management boils down to two things which are creation of effective strategy and its execution. In short, it is all about making decisions and seeing them through to their end through execution.
Every decision made by the management of a business affects employee morale and performance, ultimately influencing the overall business performance. Management is all about getting things done in the most efficient manner. Every management decision needs to be made while making most judicious use of resources at disposal with economical use of the time factor. The importance of decision making in management is immense as business policy and culture adopted, ultimately affects a company's output and performance.
Importance of Decision Making in Business
The fate of any business venture is decided by the decision making ability of the business leadership, at the helm. They are the ones who captain and steer the ship to its destination. Profiting in a business is all about making the most of a window of opportunity that appears in a market place. Timing is of essence in business. Quick decisions on the spot, need to be made by business managers to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.
You can't mull over decisions for too long. In today's world, one needs business managers who can take snap decisions and execute the outlined strategy, despite obstacles. Sometimes, a loss or profit for a business boils down to one deciding moment of judgment! That is what business is all about, a combination of effective strategy executed with painstaking precision.
Importance of Decision Making in an Organization
The decision making ability of the think tank of any organization, be it the local city council or United Nations, decides how effective a role it will play in the world. Many organizations exist for the sake of existing and despite phenomenal amount of resources available at their disposal, they hardly do any work. That is because there is no will or decision making ability at the helm. An organization without people, who can't make decisions and take them to their logical conclusion is doomed. However, when there is a decision making will power, with tenacity to execute strategy, miracles can happen despite limited resources. That's why, importance of decision making in any organization, can never be overemphasized.
The way to get better at making smarter decisions is learning from experience and not repeating the same mistakes again. No decision is perfect in the sense that no decision can guarantee a 100% success rate in attainment of objective. However, you must choose the best course of action that has highest chance of success and is backed by logic and confidence in your own judgment. Decisions may turn out to be good or bad but none of them are wasted. Bad or good ones, both add up to what we call wisdom if they are analyzed in the aftermath. One often realizes the importance of decision making only after making a couple of bad ones! Don't avoid making decisions on your own. Every decision that you make for yourself is an opportunity to grow and learn.
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spring has been slow to come to the north land and as most of you know, i'm somewhat loathe to tempt the gods of warm weather when they first show their sunny faces. they seem like ground hogs sometimes, hiding again if you make too big a deal over their early appearances.
so it takes more than a few warm days around here to get me talking about spring. but today, i heard my first sandhill cranes and we hit about 50F at the height of the day, so i'm sure we can't turn back now.
to celebrate, Dea and i spent a chunk of the afternoon purling on the porch, enjoying the warm sun and melting snow.
who cares if the rest of the country has green grass and cheery flowers by now? we work hard for our spring in these parts and sitting on the deck knitting, while watching the snow recede from the yard as cranes fly overhead might just be the best way to spend an afternoon.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
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subset: commoncrawl


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While in Coroico, Erik and Felix took a guided hike to see some of the agricultural lands the Yungas region is famous for, the most important of which is coca. As in other parts of Bolivia, agriculture in the Yungas is carried out on steeply sloping fields, but these ones really put the "eeeeeee" in 'steep'. By Erik's estimation some were as steep as 60%!
Not surprisingly, coca fields are terraced, not in broad swaths but in micro fashion, meaning that every row is a double-sided hill, each row being successively lower than the last, not so much like stairs but more like undulating waves (two feet down, one foot over, one foot up, two feet down, etc). Consequently, building a coca field properly is an enormous amount of work, as is harvesting it. Coca plants are woody shrubs, so their leaves must be individually plucked off, every three months, with 100% of the work being done by hand.
In the Yungas, most of the coca is used for chewing, since the leaves are much smaller and more tender than those of the coca plants grown in the Chapare (the region of Bolivia where a great deal of the coca grown finds its way into the nefarious cocaine supply chain). Coca is typically grown on very small plots of land – in fact, there are government-imposed limits to the amount of land any one person can use for growing coca – but it can net a farmer around $8000 (USD) cash per hectare per year, spread over four harvests. That's probably an order of magnitude more than you can get for any other crop in Bolivia (not counting quinoa).
As most Bolivians will tell you, there is a world of difference between coca and cocaine, even if the latter is made from the former. I won't say much about the politics of coca – just like I've avoided blogging about Evo Morales – because I don't know enough about either, except that the government, led as it is by the former president of the coca growers' association, is very supportive of coca growing, emphasizing its legal uses and actively trying to invent more of them, while attempting to enforce the rules put in place to thwart illegal activity. This is very hard to do, and some people have told us that the amount of coca being grown (especially in the Chapare) far outweighs any quantity that could plausibly be used for household consumption in the country, even if every single family was using it for chewing, medicinal and religious purposes on a regular basis – the suggestion being that Evo is well aware, but turning a blind eye.
Suffice to say that coca has great economic, cultural and religious significance; it is both commonplace and revered. As a mild stimulant and appetite suppressant, it is favoured by miners, trufi (mini-bus) drivers, farmers and anyone else who puts in a long day with not much food, and may explain why so few Bolivians smoke cigarettes. It is prized as a medicine, particularly for "sorochi" (altitude sickness) – tour operators, hoteliers and doctors all encourage its use. And it is central to the Andean religious practice of making offerings to Pachamama.
Several weeks ago I started a post to explain this thanking of Pachamama that is so central to Bolivian culture, but I never finished it. It now seems an appropriate way to wrap up this whole blog at the end of an unforgettable trip: with the theme of thanks-giving. But it's not quite so simple. The act of making offerings to Pachamama is multi-faceted and more reciprocal than just giving thanks. It is also a way of petitioning Pachamama for her blessing, and for that reason there are many types of offerings that can be made. The simplest ch'alla involves just pouring a little bit of alcohol (the first sip or so) on the ground. You can do this even indoors – in a bar, say. Or you can just dip your finger in your drink and flick a few drops on the ground. I've seen people do this in the street with regular beers, so it's more of a habit or spontaneous act than an organized or formal affair, though I'm sure the intention is sincere.
Another form of ceremonial offering is called a mesa (not to be confused with the 'mesa' that is also Spanish for Catholic mass), though to make matters really confusing, this is sometimes referred to as ch'alla as well. When you do a mesa/ch'alla, you collect all manner of materials that symbolize what you want and/or what you're thankful to Pachamama for, and burn them. Alcohol is sprinkled on the ground as an offering to Pachamama, and many coca leaves are chewed. It is a social and colourful occasion. Noisy too, since many fireworks need to be set off to ward away evil.
Early in the trip, we were invited to participate in a ceremony to honour Pachamama at our Spanish-language school in Cochabamba. While we don't claim a deep understanding of the mesa/ch'alla, we can share our observations of how this one was done. First, the offering itself needs to be assembled, usually on a sheet of white paper (newspaper will do in a pinch). On the bottom is a pile of some dried plant or herb (we saw sprigs of rosemary and also something looking a lot like sage) representing things that grow – the fruits of the earth for which we are grateful. Next are small shapes made of corn flour (maizena) and sugar, some in the shape of valued material possessions (whether that be books, cars, toys, clothes or candies) and others having words or pictures drawn upon them to represent abstractions like love, health, work, education, prosperity, or fertility.
Added to this are a couple of 2" by 2" sheets of silver and gold leaf (probably not real, judging by the sticky backing), and a handful of brightly coloured streamers and/or confetti. Fresh flowers are placed all around the outside of the pile, along with dried coca leaves. Some ch'allas include a llama (either a real dried llama fetus or a facsimile made from corn flour and sugar). If you have a llama, it should be placed so that it faces the east, the direction of the sunrise. Then you sprinkle incense over the pile, leaving some to be added later while the ch'alla is burning down.
At the ceremony we joined in, the school's founder, Joaquin, verbally acknowledged the four directions as he lit the pile. Then he sprinkled some alcohol on it, a little on each direction. He offered us each a handful of coca leaves and invited us to come up to the offering one by one and set the coca upon it while it burned. Some people also made offerings of alcohol – a little spill here, a little spill there – and/ or spoke quiet words of thanks. Then we all gathered together to drink juice and eat cheese buns.
The mesa (ch'alla) we were invited to was a special one that is performed every year on the same day as Shrove Tuesday, which is also during Carnaval. But Aymara and Quechua people have mesas or ch'allas at other times of year as well. Here, I am confused, because I've read or heard such different things: 1) that many people do this every Friday, or every second Friday; 2) that every day of the week except Tuesday and Friday are good for doing it; 3) that it is done on average once every three months; and 4) that it is done whenever there is an occasion calling for it, such as wanting to wish somebody well or ask for health or a good job or a good harvest or a blessing for a new car. Yes, a car. In Copacabana it is common, especially around festivals, for people to bring their cars to the cathedral – all dressed up in streamers – for the priest to bless them in what seems to be the perfect blend of indigenous traditions and Catholicism (also a substitute for car insurance?) We saw a few newly blessed vehicles when we were in Copacabana.
The day before we left La Paz, I went to the witches' market and paid a woman to make up a mesa or ch'alla for me (minus the coca leaves, since I could be jailed for life if these were discovered in my bag by US authorities at our stopover in Washington…) I think it is most common for Bolivians to choose the individual ingredients themselves (there is a nearly endless array of possibilities) but for a small fee it is also possible to pay someone to custom-make you one, according to what it is you want to focus on (whether that is health, fertility, a good harvest etc). Ingredients are also chosen according to what the woman preparing it decides is appropriate for you (that's the witchy part). So now we have one, which we successfully brought home through three countries (Columbia, the US and Canada), and we have to decide what to do with it.
Is anyone interested in coming over to our house for a ceremonial ch'alla??? (We figure anyone still reading this voluminous blog deserves a blessing and our deepest thanks for taking such an interest in our lives and adventures these past ten weeks.) Date TBA. It will be a bring-your-own-coca-substitute event (bay leaves, lime leaves or ficus leaves would all be suitable, I think). We'll be giving thanks for all that we've seen and encountered and enjoyed, and asking Pachamama to bless Bolivia and all the wonderful people we met there. What an amazing experience it has been. Do let us know if you are interested.
And so we come to the end of our family's adventure. After 40 hours of traveling which saw us miss most of two nights' sleep, we are home, feeling both exhausted and ecstatic over little things that we used to take so much for granted: the warmth of the water coming out of the tap; the delightfully familiar sounds of CBC and Co-op Radio; the ability to make ourselves a soothing cup of tea; the diversity and safety of the foods that are available to us; and the ease with which we can do everything, including communicating with people. (And what's this two-ply stuff? OMG it's thick.) For the next day or two we are letting the pleasure principle rule (is there really a principle in that?) – savouring our oh-so-delicious real coffee, napping when we feel like it, and excitedly re-engaging with all the friends, activities and events that make Nelson such a rich place to live. This weekend there is the Deconstructing Dinner film festival, and tomorrow Quinn will be back singing with his choir, Corazon, as they perform five mini-concerts at Touchstones (Nelson's museum & archives). The soccer season has already begun and it's time to plant the peas and spinach (though we could probably still get in one last ski if we wanted to). Lots of work also lies ahead for both Erik and me, but it all feels like something we want to do right now, instead of something we have to do.
Felix said last night, "Before the trip I never thought about my bed being comfortable. But now I keep thinking that. There are so many things that make a bed comfortable. And my bed is all of them." Then he paused. "I wonder how long I'll go on feeling this way. I think forever."


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The Cincinnati Bengals are working on hanging onto their own players. On Sunday, the team locked up defensive end Wallace Gilberry with a 3-year, $6.75M deal, according to a source who has seen the contract. Gilberry played in 14 games for the Bengals last season, his first in Cincinnati, registering 6.5 sacks and one forced fumble.
NFL Headlines
Wallace Gilberry re-signs with Cincinnati Bengals
NFL.com | Mar 10


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The theme of October was mostly elementary and middle grade non-fiction as I immersed myself in reading for my role as a Round 1 Cybils panelist. Throw in a bunch of mysteries, some other middle grade fiction and a handful of short stories and it was an interesting month.
Fiction Read in October:
Oh, Jerusalem by Laurie King (Audiobook)
Justice Hall by Laurie King
I'm continuing to listen to this series starring the duo of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes during my morning time in the car. I read the print version of Justice Hall as my library didn't have the audio version. They are just as good the second time around.
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
As most people know by now, Galbraith is a pseudonym for J. K. Rowling. I stayed away form Rowling's other foray into adult fiction (The Casual Vacancy) as I heard too many very negative reviews. This detective story confirmed my previous thoughts of Rowling: she can write. She especially has a gift for character development. Even the minor characters are well-drawn individuals. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Read along with John to go along with our studies of ancient Egypt.
Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper
I had such high hopes for this book, a Cybils nominee for middle grade speculative fiction. Susan Cooper is the author of my all-time favorite series from childhood, The Dark is Rising series. We went on our honeymoon to Cornwall, primarily due to that series. Let's just say I'm a fan. Overall, I was quite disappointed in this latest book, which takes place in 17th century Massachusetts and is told half from the perspective of a Wampanoag boy and half form a young Pilgrim boy. I hope to review it in more depth soon.
Short Stories read in October:
The Six Napoleons by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Greek Interpreter by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Bear Came Over the Mountain by Alice Munro
Non-Fiction Read in October:
-I've read over 40 books for the Cybils but I'm only listing the ones here that are for older kids. No real reason, except that I don't typically list picture books that I read. Most of these that haven't already been reviewed, I hope to review soon.
The Skull in the Rock: How a Scientist, a Boy, and Google Earth Opened a New Window On Human Origins by Lee R. Berger and Marc Aronson
The Tapir Scientist by Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop
Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickels, America's First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone
Ten Plants that Shook the World by Gillian Richardson
The Wild Horse Scientists by Ky Frydenborg
Master George's People: George Washington, His Slaves, and His Revolutionary Transformation by Marfe Ferguson Delano
Fourth Down and Inches: Concussions and Football by Carla Killough McCafferty
Bones Don't Lie: How Forensics Helps Solve History's Mysteries by Elizabeth MacLeod
The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees by Sandra Markle


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Monday, November 30, 2009
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I'd like to thank Jim, Billy, Erin, and Erin's friend whose name I don't remember for donating to the Jeff fund. Your twenty-one dollars will be put to a few good fast food meals. Many thanks.
Future note to self: If Alfred is in the hand, consider folding.
Monday, August 02, 2004
Charitable Donations
Posted by LeperColony at 3:22 AM
Labels: Miscellaneous


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Yasmin Coleman of the APOOO Book Club has invited me for a chat on Blog Talk Radio this Sunday at 6 pm EST. Call in (347) 838-9511 and join the discussion!
Hey Yasmin, at BEA Donna Hill told me she'd heard about Orange Mint and Honey from you. Thanks for spreading the word!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Chat with me on Blog Talk Radio
Posted by Carleen Brice at 7:52 AM
Labels: Orange Mint and Honey
4 comments:
- Demon Hunter said...
Carleen on the radio. Congrats. I'll definitely try to be there! :*)
- Wed Jun 04, 09:38:00 AM
- JC Martin said...
See I'm away from my house. I hope I can remember to tune in. Especially, since I'm a part of APOOO.
- Wed Jun 04, 01:43:00 PM
- Carleen Brice said...
I hope y'all can join in!!! I might be dropping some news... (Teaser! Teaser!)
- Wed Jun 04, 08:18:00 PM
- Yasmin said...
Yippee and will talk with you tomorrow and glad that Donna heard about your book from APOOO!
- Sat Jun 07, 09:35:00 PM
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Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Sunset through kitchen sink window
It was nearly dark so the Venetian plaster walls look much darker than they are but the sunset through the window I thought worth a shot.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Morning on the Trail
Posted by Richard Earl 3 comments:
Labels: Landscapes
Quick shot of the Venetian Plaster makeover of the kitchen
Early morning spider web
The early morning sun catches this magnificent web. We have lots of huge "garden" spiders that we just co-exist with. Apparently they catch all sorts of mosquitos and other annoying insects. They don't bother us humans (yet) so it's live and let live.
Labels: Birds - Insects
Miss "S" Rides the Rails #5
Miss "S" Rides the Rails #4
Abundant crops of apples
Most of the apples on the trees on the property look better than they taste. The variety is unknown to us but to make a pie, or even just to eat one, you have to be fast. They turn brown within seconds of being cut open. We did discover a few Macintosh trees... and that fruit is delicious!
Bee on chives
The challenge to successfully capture an image of an insect "doing its thing" on the flora is perhaps even more exciting than the resulting picture. Sometimes it's enough that the darned thing is not blurry!
Labels: Birds - Insects, Flora
Wagon Wheel
We inherited this antique with the house. There's nothing quite as useless nor as eye-catching as this item amongst the "blasts from the past" that lurk in our house, barn and sheds.
So far, of the 8 or 10 glads we planted last year, only this one has bloomed this year... and it took it's time!
Great Northern Aster
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text: I seem to be doing a lot of updates lately not just regular posts, sorry. We had the free Home Depot kids project on Saturday, they made art easels to display their art on, it was fun, and we got there just in time, they ran out of projects right after we got there. I took my camera but unfortunately forgot to take any pictures. We finally put up our tree on Sunday, it was a lot of fun the ornaments are kind of hung all together in certain areas but I'm leaving it, the kids had an awesome time and I love looking and seeing what they see as beautiful. I'm going to be sad to take all of the decorations down the house feels so cozy and warm. My first venture into candy making happened yesterday, I finally made caramels and they were a huge success. It was a lot of work wrapping them when I was done but I have had tremendous positive feedback from the people who have sampled them, they were even compared to See's candy yummy. Don is continuing to stay busy with work, thank God for providing a job with employers who value him and keep him busy. He just reached his six year mark with the company and I am so thankful he has stuck it out with them. I know he doesn't neccesarily enjoy the job I know he does it to support us and I am thankful for that. School is going well for the kids I am thankful that I get to teach them at home. Ty is beginning to read we can actually tell him a word and he can sound most of them out to spell them amazing how quickly he's caught on. Morgan is doing great with division and multiplication, it's hard but so cool to see when she gets it. Cale is still loving penmanship and breezing through everything else it seems. Brock is still a bruiser, he is talking a ton more and imitates us a lot. Anyhow, I'm posting some pictures of our tree, enjoy!


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The graphics, the tackling and running physics, amazing. That's as far as this game goes. If you just play Exhibition mode, then this game for you is a 5/5 easily. But for those who play other modes and want more than just a 1 on 1 matchup using teams, this game is a 1/5. And the 1 is just for Exhibition mode alone.
They took out Franchise mode!? Why would you take out the storyline of the game? Without Franchise mode, then there is nothing to achieve in this game. They give you this Connecting Career mode, which lets you play as just 1 player for seasons. That's not fun. You can play defense as Adrian Peterson. Unless for playing as a Quarterback, then offense is boring to play. I tried playing it as Adrian Peterson and I was bored. I quit after 1 game.
The game forces you to buy online. And if you have X-Box 360, online costs money. So they give you a game with Exhibition mode, a boring Career mode and force you to get online so you can have the full game experience?
How do you take a step back like this EA? You take away the best part of your game. You take away drafting a team and making trades to beef up your rosters and then fight for a championship. That's 1/3 of your game. 1/3 is Exhibition, 1/3 is online matches and 1/3 is Franchise mode.
It's a huge disappointment to fans of this game because we expect so much more. And who would've thought they would take out one of the most popular parts of the game. That's like making a Mortal Kombat game without fighting a boss at the end, where the game is just random fights without anything to achieve.
I give Madden 13 a shocking 1/5.
Joe Reyes


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T-ara has recently released the PV for their single "Lovey-Dovey"!
The group's Japanese album 'Jewelry Box' has already hit first on Tower Records' chart for pre-order numbers.
"Lovey-Dovey" will be out on May 23rd, while 'Jewelry Box' is slated for a June 6th release.
Check out the PV for the funky retro track below:


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Early Early Early on 12/5 (or Late Late Late on 12/4)
As I type this it's almost 1:30am on Saturday night (or Sunday morning depending on how you look at it). I'm in Northern Virginia at a after attending the TGEA Holiday Gala in Alexandria, VA earlier this evening. I'm chilling for a few minutes before going to sleep....
I was talking with a couple of gals when one of them says to me, "That's a beautiful wig!" I looked sort of incredulously at her and told her it wasn't a wig - that it was my real hair. She seemed to not believe me so I offered for her to tug on it, which she did. She proceeded to ask me if I've had any surgeries. Oh brother....where to start. Later someone stopped by to tell me that "She's new". No worries. :)
This is my first weekend at "home" in well over a month (which is odd to say given the fact that I'm in a hotel room that would seem to indicate otherwise). I could very easily have driven home after the event tonight but I decided that it'd be nice to do just what I'm doing - relaxing for a little while - rather than get back into my car for the two hour drive back north.
Speaking about my car - I had some more work done on her last week. Little by little I'm working through the list of things that need to be done and have to admit that she's driving like a dream. The car has been quite the investment in recent weeks but I've mentally made the commitment to stick with her while she gets better. Friday's fix was "upper spring seats" - something having to do with the front suspension - and an oil change/fluid top off to get it ready for the months ahead.
One of the things that's hard to learn is when to let go of something and when to stick with it. That's as true of a car as it is of relationships and other aspects of life. Even when you approach things logically and weight all the pro's and con's in the end it's little more than a crap shoot. In this case my fingers are crossed that getting past this jag of expense will keep her happy and healthy for quite a while.
Monday 12/6
Man - it's brisk outside. The temperature isn't that big a deal. It's the wind that's killer. I hear that Buffalo got 2 feet of snow, and Rochester got almost a foot today. So by that standard I suppose we're fortunate. We haven't seen much more than a stray flake here and there. But it's friggin' brisk out there.
Last year when I left PA to go back to the Phoenix area I got rid of most of my winter stuff. I never expected to be back in this climate again (which is probably silly of me) so as I decided what to keep and what to give away almost every wintery jacket I owned ended up finding a new home. I've got a couple of nice coats, but what I don't have is a good, warm, all-purpose winter jacket. I mean, what do you put on when there's a foot of snow outside and you need to go out and shovel? That's the kind of jacket I'm talking about....
So yesterday, with all this chilly wind going on, I decided it was time to get a new jacket. Comfort was important, as was warmth, fit, and of course cost. It took the better part of the day. I tried on dozens of them. Long ones. Short ones. Puffy ones. Down filled ones. By mid afternoon I was at REI with a couple of friends and we found "the One". It's made by Columbia - a good name. It was on sale - that's a big plus in my book. It was comfortable. All things considered - it seems perfect.
I don't think the fact that it's technically a man's jacket should matter. I tried on women's jackets but typically they were shorter and tighter. Men's jackets seem to have more room, be more comfortable, and be generally longer. I don't really care one way or the other as to the "gender" of my jacket. I'll be the first to admit that I like men's bikes too - the ones with the bar across the top - better than women's bikes any day of the week. Perhaps it's just what I'm used to but I don't assign gender-ness to my athletic gear any more than I do to my jacket. Anyway, for anyone who's curious as to what I bought, here's a link.
As I type this I'm listening to a mix of Christmas music. Chloe Prince has put together a very nice collection on the PinkEssence website.
To revisit something I said earlier: Part of what I'm thinking about at the moment is this process of letting go. Learning to let go of things in life is an important skill. Somehow it's easy to forget that and there's often some misguided sense that letting go is a sign of weakness or of failure. Even if that's true, so what? How does anyone expect to be able to grab new things if they're unable to let old things go? We often outgrow things during the course of our lives but we can't or won't recognize it. Relationships. Careers. Interests. Lots of things. That's not to say that any of us should give up on something the moment things get hard. Learning when to let go is probably harder than learning how to do it.
The reason this has any relevance to me right now is the need to let go of parts of the life I led in Arizona until recently. Many aspects of that life are gone forever. They just are. I could certainly go back there and live there again but aspects of my life that were simply part OF my life there are gone. In a way, a good example is the transition process itself.
There are some examples in my life right now of things that I've let go of, but that I have subsequently come to embrace again. Like wrestling. That doesn't change the fact that part of my own survival instinct involves consciously letting go of things rather than allowing them to fester too much. Granted, things can bubble over in my world before I shut it down but that's a whole other discussion. The main point is that letting go is sometimes followed by subsequent engagement again.
That's probably a bunch of mumbo jumbo to most, but some will know what I mean.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Wig, Pony Tail, and other Hairy Situations....
Posted by Donna at 8:31 PM
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3 Weeks Ago
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The Dominican Foundation for Marine Research (FUNDEMAR), along with the Dreams La Romana, Catalonia Gran Dominicus, Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach and Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace hotels have set up coral nurseries on their respective beaches.
All the hotels are situated in the fishing village of Bayahibe, some 15 minutes east of La Romana, home to the world-famous resort "Casa de Campo" .
Guests are given updated information on the coral reef program, the importance of coral-reef conservation, and are encouraged to visit the coral nurseries and see how they are actually planted in the nearby coral parks.
Launched in 2011, the reef conservation program has, to date, planted 9,745 centimeters of coral grown in two local nurseries that feature more than 20,000 centimeters of the coral species Cervicornis Acropora.
The FUNDEMAR Foundation recently reported on the work it is carrying out with local hotels, all members of the Hotel Association of La Romana Bayahibe, to maintain the coral nurseries situated in the nearby coastal areas through sustainable tourism practices.
The program also includes training local divers on the upkeep of the coral nurseries, and how to plant the coral once they are ready to be transplanted in the nearby sea.
FUNDEMAR also educates the staff of the participating hotels on the importance of the reef-development program.
The hotels are in charge of maintaining the program, including providing updated information on the importance of the conservation of nearby coral reefs.
Local scuba diving centers, such as Scuba Fun and Gri Gri Divers, are co-sponsors of the initiative.


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|love glowy sunrise
|a touch of otherworldliness
|original photo
|waiting for spring's Lupins
|waiting for the first bus
|waiting for the second bus
|toward downtown Torrance, CA
|toward downtown Torrance, CA
|toward downtown Torrance, CA...railway bridge in sight
|railway bridge, Torrance, CA
|Love the tropical view from the bus stop.
|One tough pansy.
|Spring in the foreground and fall in the background. Such is SoCal winter.
|accidental photo - foot while walking
|"Burst" by Olga Lah, in front of the Biola University Library, February - June 2016.


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As evidenced by the lack of posts lately, it would seem obvious that blogging is the last thing on my mind.
Yes!! No!! I mean....
While I have been VERY busy, I have been thinking about blogging and even participating a bit, although not on this particular page.
I've moved my blog to The Wise Alternative and have been extremely busy with website redesign, products, photography and a jillion other things.
Btw a jillion comes right after a trillion....just don't tell the politicians. Ha
While I've been doing all of these things, I've also been featured in a blog post by Amy Backs of Gluten Free, Soy Free Aussie that you should definitely read. It's called "A Possible "Natural" Solution to Gluten Intolerance. Amazing post and comments.....Thanks Amy!
I'm having a bit of trouble with my RSS button so people can subscribe to the new blog feed. I'm a novice when it comes to these things and Wordpress is a brand new challenge as well.
I hope to have this subscription feed fixed in the next few days and I hope you'll come over to the new blog. I'll check back in a couple of days and let everyone know what the status is. If there are Wordpress pro's out there I'd love to hear from you. Email me firstname.lastname@example.com or comment below.
Have a great one and talk to you soon!!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
New Blog, New Site, & The Land Down Under
Posted by The Wise Alternative 918-836-0565 at 10:41 AM
Labels: Gluten Sensitivity Formula, New Blog
2 comments:
- health ecology said...
Thank you, thats very interesting information. I need to share with my friends.
- February 1, 2012 at 2:36 PM
- health ecology said...
I just wanted to add a comment here to mention thanks for you very nice ideas. Blogs are troublesome to run and time consuming thus I appreciate when I see well written material. Your time isn't going to waste with your posts. Thanks so much and stick with it No doubt you will definitely reach your goals! have a great day!
- February 1, 2012 at 2:45 PM
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How do you restore critical services if your primary infrastructure is rendered inoperable by a disaster? Having a duplicate set of hardware on hand could be a substantial investment that may not be practical for most organizations. Liberty offers a virtual solution with cloud recovery options in tandem with SWAN DR.
- On Demand Virtual Recovery. Liberty provides a cloud environment available to you on demand. Liberty will keep an image of your environment and copies of your software for deployment in Liberty's virtual environment. In the event of a disaster, the virtual environment has been pre-engineered to your specifications and your hardware infrastructure is restored virtually. SWAN back-up data is retrieved from the Avamar and your services are back-up and running.
- Mirrored Recovery. For this option, the virtual environment is always "live" on Liberty's virtual environment. In the event of a disaster, customers can re-direct server access to the virtual environment and update any missing data from the Avamar.
Liberty's virtual environment runs on VMware and takes advantage of vMotion. Multiple hardware clusters are deployed to maintain high availability. Customers can choose from pre-existing packages or provide specifications and have the environment built to exact requirements.
Liberty's basic packages include:
- Shared Services
- Virtual Private Servers running VMware on multiple hosts
- Vmotion used to maintain high availability
- Shared SAN storage
- Managed firewall
- Dedicated Environment
- Dedicated hosts running VMware
- Vmotion used to maintain high availability
- Dedicated SAN storage chassis with RAIDed SAS or SATA drives
- Managed firewall
- Hybrid
- Dedicated hosts running VMware
- Vmotion used to maintain high availability
- Dedicated drives on shared SAN – RAIDed drives
- Managed firewall


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As you all probably know, my name is not Mark. ...Just to make it explicit.
Also, heat induces royalty, thus...
Real people. Let's see if I can actually articulate what this means to me.
Back to Mark. It is a fairly common name, insofar as there are a lot of people named Mark. A lot of other people. A lot of real people.
One time, I was on a bus with a guy named Mark. Circumstances allowed that Mark's mother (or, mom) was also going to be on this bus. When the passengers were informed of this, one of them shouted, both appropriately (for choice of meaning) and inappropriately (for tone and choice of time to speak up) that "Mark has a mom!"
This of course makes sense. I even knew Mark's mom prior to this event, at the very least at the acquaintance level.
So far, how unremarkable (no pun intended, really).
Then I got to thinking. I was on the north-west side of the road with one of the things I will probably never forget. I was listening to Seeking The Wise by P.O.D.. That is irrelevant. Really.
Sure, Mark has a mom. Indeed, I also have a mom. Through no experience, though through logic and firm belief I maintain that Mark's mom also has a mom. This, I think, is the second biggest leap in faith in this mind boggling journey.
'Mom' is a noun and is used to refer to a person. (A real person - but we're still getting to that part).
I also am a person. Let me tell you about myself. I'm sure you will relate to a lot of the following.
I was born, experienced a childhood I can remember only through stories and videos. I went to school, was disoriented, learned things eventually.
When I was really young I got separated from my parents at an outdoor fair event thing. I found a place to sit down and cry until my mom found me (this I actually remember without stories or videos). I had emotions then. I grew older, had fights with my siblings, moved to a different city. Made and lost new friends until a few people learned they could tolerate me.
I was a teenager, had raging hormones, did stupid things without realising how stupid they were. I aced classes, I've failed classes, I've not cared either way. I've had painful relationships, financial trouble, too much candy at Hallowe'en. I've disliked people, I've loved people, I've been happy, sad, rueful, depressed, exuberant, fun, boring, etc. etc.
I have a mother, and brothers and sisters, and friends, and people I barely know, even people I don't know at all.
I experience life in a wonderful way. My eyes can view things with immense detail - I have never seen a pixelated image on account of the resolution of my eyes! I can remember things and forget things, be intuitive, feel something on my back that I cannot see, hear someone coming from a distance, imagine, hallucinate, be in pain and quell it with drugs.
The range of things I do and can experience are endless! Endless! (and yet...)
By des Cartes, I am a real person.
Through some sort of belief that I claim is based partially on my faith, and partially on idle speculation and paritally on fear, I do believe that other people are similar to me in the above regards. They were also born, have families and hatreds and loves and pet peeves, annoying co-workers, etc. etc. This is also the case of their moms. These moms also were born, have moms, weird friends, loose acquaintances, and also physically see with such impossible detail, having a massive range of emotions and potential experiences. Ad nauseum, all people who have ever lived are as real, intricate, astounding and impossible as I am these things and more!
I went to the Glenbow museum for the Greek, Rome and Egypt exhibit. I got to stand very near a carving which was over four thousand years old. The neat thing? The guy who carved it was a real person. He may have cut himself while carving it, and cursed or something. He may have been tired, or hungry, or well fed, or migrating or wealthy... but he was a real person. His mom was also a real person in the same way.
The essence of real people, then, is that as I have a lifetime of experiences, memories, associations to people and breadth of experience, I believe through inexplicable faith that you are the same way. That everybody is the same way.
This gets a little more weird when I start thinking about size and perspectives, and focus, but I hope this at least gives a little insight into my thoughts.
So, if you ever want to get an odd reaction out of me, mention real people.
Goodnight :)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Real people
Coming soon: An articulate description of the thing which most easily explodes my mind. Real people. Conjured from a weak grasp of history, unverifiable belief, and several strong desires.
Posted by wanderer/wonderer at 12:43 AM No comments:
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Although the legitimacy of this information is entirely disputable, I felt it necessary to share with you, the listener, everything that I have found out.
The first bit of information comes directly from David Bendeth, the producer of Breaking Ben's new album. On June 20th 2009, Bendeth himself posted this in the NEWS section on his website:
This is a big deal, as it implies that our boys have hit the studio to begin recording. And since this was posted on Bendeth's own website, it is probably legit.
The other bit of info I have come across carries with it a veil of uncertainty since it is little more than chatter amongst fans. At any rate, the chatter claims that on June 17th, the creator and founder of Breaking Benjamin's official website, Shallow Bay, revealed that a new song from the band would be out in August of 2009. But again, I cannot locate any source for this information, so the truth behind it is up in the air.
Still, the fact the David Bendeth mentioned that Breaking Ben is now in his studio offers a lot of hope for us getting our hands on this album before the end of 2009. I refuse to uncross my fingers.
As always, keep it here for updates on this and other new rock announcements.
And don't forget, you heard it FIRST from 97.9X!


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It's the Release Day for my dear friend, the lovely and talented Faith Ashlin. I'm so happy for you, my dear. You are such a great author. I really, really admire you! xxx
I got to ask Faith some questions. Check out her awesome answers!
1. What inspired you to write Knights and Butterscotch?
Knights and Butterscotch
A story of modern-day knights, paint-splattered artists and a lightning bolt of attraction that hits hard enough to make a knight think he's going crazy. And then things get complicated.
The year is now, the place is somewhere like here but the feeling is very different. Matti Elkin is a modern-day knight and, while he may not have a horse or a suit of shining armour, he's brave and true, has a sense of duty and honour a mile wide and a passionate belief in his king.
There's a war on and the knights are fighting hard, but while on R&R Matti is hit hard with an overwhelming attraction for Jamie, a tall, handsome painter.
Jamie makes his head spin and his cock harden, and has him acting in ways that make him question his own sanity. But when the war takes an appalling turn, they are both thrown into a world of confusion that has them questioning everything they thought they knew.
Matti pushed his hair back off his face and blew out a long slow breath. Enough—he'd had enough socialising for now. There was only so much wholesome happiness a man like him could take and he'd
had his fill for the time being.
It was pretty damned awesome to see Maxim so happy he glowed as he looked at his bride-to-be. To see her looking back, eyes filled with promise for the future, filled with love and possibility. Matti just hoped—no, prayed—that they could have all they deserved. That events would turn out in the right way for them and that the future…but that was for another time. Now was for the simple love between two people. One that burned bright and would be fulfilled tomorrow at their wedding.
A wedding. It was an interesting thought at a time like this. But right now he'd had enough of small talk and playing nice. After the wedding, and its formal reception, his group would gather to celebrate in their own way. That would be more Matti's thing, one where he could really relax.
Now he needed cool air and a glass of something very cold because it was damned hot in the banqueting suite. He stepped up to the bar and asked the bartender for water and ice, smiling when it was handed over quickly. Air, and the relief from being polite, were next on his agenda. He pushed his way between the groups of chatting people and made for the glass doors out onto the big balcony overlooking the city.
The noise stopped as soon as he closed the heavy door behind him and the respite was palpable. Space and peace, cool air on his face, they all drew him forward. Then there were the shimmering lights below. All those people living, loving, dying. They called out something to him that he couldn't understand and wasn't sure he was ready to hear. Or maybe it was all only in his head.
He was being daft again and there was nothing else for it but to laugh at himself. The world below didn't need him, wasn't asking anything of him. It didn't even know he was there.
He rested both forearms on the ledge of the curved, stone balcony edge and looked down. Max was getting married. That was enough to make anyone smile. The amazing Isobel had finally decided it was time and they were making it formal and permanent. It kind of put everything in perspective.
"Anything interesting going on out there?" a voice asked from the darkness at his side.
"Oh." Matti turned but couldn't see the man's face. "I didn't know there was anyone out here."
"Doesn't matter. I just thought, as you were studying it so intently, there had to be something going on in the big wide world."
"Nothing as far as I know. I only came out for a bit of peace and to look at the pretty lights."
"Then I should let you have your peace." The man took a step forward and Matti saw him properly for the first time. "I'll go."
"No," Matti said, louder and with more feeling than he'd expected, intended. "I don't want you to go." Now that was just a plain stupid thing to say to a complete stranger. "I only… I…" He stopped, knowing how foolish he sounded, feeling his cheeks flare and the skin on his face tighten.
"Are you all right?" the man asked.
Matti took a step away as the stranger came closer, and now they were both in the light.
Tall, was Matti's first thought. Very tall with wide shoulders and thick hair and the most startled look on his face Matti had seen outside a comic book. No, not startled. Shocked and a little dazed. "I think maybe I should be asking you if you're okay," he said. He wasn't quite sure how he managed to get the words out in the right order, his mind was whizzing so fast. Tall and right-looking and something else he had no intention of thinking about.
He might not be thinking about it but his blood was pulsing under his skin—he'd swear he could feel it.
"I…" It was the man's turn to stammer, but he didn't take his eyes from Matti's. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck. A big truck. One that's going very fast and landed right on my head."
"Trucks don't hit you on the head, they smack into you. Falling aeroplanes or meteors hit you on the head."
"And you'd know this because?" The man smiled and Matti wasn't sure if he was going to be sick for all the wrong reasons.
"'Cause a meteor just smacked me on the head?" Matti couldn't look away or breathe properly. Yeah, breathing properly—deep and slow—that was a good idea. It might stop him talking stupid crap to a perfect stranger for a start. "That bitch hurt and now I feel like I have my skin on inside out."
"I…" The man put out a hand, not quite touching Matti but looking like he wanted to. "This is…"
"Yeah, it is," Matti agreed, knowing just what he meant.
"Is this weird?" the man asked, his face scrunching up like something was hurting but in a good way.
"Weirdest thing I've ever known." There really wasn't anywhere else Matti wanted to look, anyone else he wanted to look at. He wasn't even sure he wanted to stop the crazy talk.
The man took a deep breath, holding it as he stared at Matti. Then he gave a curt nod, and held his hand out properly. "Jamie. I'm Jamie or my name's Jamie or something."
"You think your name's Jamie?"
"No, pretty sure it's Jamie. I'm Jamie, who are you?"
"Matti. My name's Matti and…" He grasped Jamie's hand and lost the ability to speak. Jamie's hand sat so perfectly in his, it seemed to mould itself to his palm, skin flushing and fusing and tingling as their hands settled together. And when did he think such crap? He guessed it was better than saying it out loud.
He looked up, his breathing still not working right, and Jamie didn't look much better than he felt. Jamie's pupils had dilated to ridiculous proportions, his face was flushed and there was a sheen of sweat across his forehead. He was trying to say something but he didn't seem to be having any more success at forming a coherent sentence than Matti.
"I…you…" Jamie said, clutching Matti's hand tighter.
"Yeah," Matti agreed again, nodding furiously, although he knew it made no sense.
For the longest moment they stood like that, at the edge of the balcony, palms pressed tight in what looked like a handshake that had become frozen in time, with the rest of the world forgotten. They were so still they could have been a photograph, a moment captured forever.
Since that first innocent book—written in purple sparkly pen—she has written many stories, set in varied worlds, but always with two men finding their way to happiness.
Still nothing much has changed because now she can be found in a daydream, wandering around the supermarket, or sitting in a meeting at work still dreaming up stories.
Last but not least, a GIVEAWAY! Click HERE to get to Faith's blog to find out about it. 😀