When the going gets tough it is very easy to forget the thousands of people who live in REALLY difficult conditions and who against all odds have the admiring capacity to find joy within their misery.
This is not about losing a job or not earning a bonus at the end of the year. This is plain and simple about survival!
Please take six minutes to watch this short film and see exactly what I mean:
Y gracias de nuevo a Griselda, co-autora honoraria de este blog, por compartir!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Fly High Inc.
Hillary Clinton is on a two-day visit to Mexico to discuss what the U.S. has now acknowledged as a “common problem”: drug trafficking.
Does this mean that before Obama took office, the problem was seen by the gringos as one strictly confined to anything south of the border? As if once the drugs cross the Rio Grande they magically distribute themselves among the hundreds of thousands of American users, leaving the U.S. authorities free of responsibility for any of the 6,000+ drug-trade related violent acts that occurred in Mexico last year!
Not acknowledging this as a common problem would be as stupid as the persistence of my ex-boss that the only way to stop it is to legalize drugs. This is the typical opinion of those who have no idea of what goes on in the world beyond their noses, and who do not have the vision to see that there is a huge gap between theory and practice. It is also the opinion of your average cokehead.
In theory, through legalization governments would tax and regulate the drug trade and use the money generated from this to educate the public about the risks of drug-taking and to treat addicts. In theory, legalization would push prices down as drugs would become easily available and because reputable pharmaceutical companies would get involved in the development and distribution of safe and cheap alternatives.
Ha ha ha. What I would like to see is the implementation process of this theory.
Let’s say that Mexico decides to legalize drugs and by definition the drug trade. Then what? Mr. Drug Baron, who is already paying hefty bribes on both sides of the border to run his business and has a complicated network that goes all the way from producing to distributing and pushing, agrees with this ‘wonderful’ idea and goes legal?
So he registers “Fumate Un Churro S.A.” in Mexico and “Fly High Inc.” in the U.S.A. Enrolls his gangsters in the IMSS (social security), exchanges their guns for business cards, starts raising invoices, paying taxes and allowing the government to regulate the selling price of this produce? All this to see his revenues and profits plummet because the demand is not there anymore as Pfizer and Novartis are producing safer and cheaper alternatives to good’ol coke and marihuana?
Ha ha ha. Wake up and smell the coffee! Legalizing drugs without getting rid of the drug cartels first will only give users a cheaper ride to lah-lah-land and will increase the violence exponentially.
And unless you have a magic wand to transform all the bad guys into toads, I don’t really see that happening anytime soon.
Addendum 28/03/09: Since I publish this blog on Facebook, that's where I receive a great number of comments to my posts from my closer friends. For this particular post, a good friend made a comment that I found very interesting, and I believe it deserves a place here together with my reply:
JF:
My reply:
Does this mean that before Obama took office, the problem was seen by the gringos as one strictly confined to anything south of the border? As if once the drugs cross the Rio Grande they magically distribute themselves among the hundreds of thousands of American users, leaving the U.S. authorities free of responsibility for any of the 6,000+ drug-trade related violent acts that occurred in Mexico last year!
Not acknowledging this as a common problem would be as stupid as the persistence of my ex-boss that the only way to stop it is to legalize drugs. This is the typical opinion of those who have no idea of what goes on in the world beyond their noses, and who do not have the vision to see that there is a huge gap between theory and practice. It is also the opinion of your average cokehead.
In theory, through legalization governments would tax and regulate the drug trade and use the money generated from this to educate the public about the risks of drug-taking and to treat addicts. In theory, legalization would push prices down as drugs would become easily available and because reputable pharmaceutical companies would get involved in the development and distribution of safe and cheap alternatives.
Ha ha ha. What I would like to see is the implementation process of this theory.
Let’s say that Mexico decides to legalize drugs and by definition the drug trade. Then what? Mr. Drug Baron, who is already paying hefty bribes on both sides of the border to run his business and has a complicated network that goes all the way from producing to distributing and pushing, agrees with this ‘wonderful’ idea and goes legal?
So he registers “Fumate Un Churro S.A.” in Mexico and “Fly High Inc.” in the U.S.A. Enrolls his gangsters in the IMSS (social security), exchanges their guns for business cards, starts raising invoices, paying taxes and allowing the government to regulate the selling price of this produce? All this to see his revenues and profits plummet because the demand is not there anymore as Pfizer and Novartis are producing safer and cheaper alternatives to good’ol coke and marihuana?
Ha ha ha. Wake up and smell the coffee! Legalizing drugs without getting rid of the drug cartels first will only give users a cheaper ride to lah-lah-land and will increase the violence exponentially.
And unless you have a magic wand to transform all the bad guys into toads, I don’t really see that happening anytime soon.
Addendum 28/03/09: Since I publish this blog on Facebook, that's where I receive a great number of comments to my posts from my closer friends. For this particular post, a good friend made a comment that I found very interesting, and I believe it deserves a place here together with my reply:
JF:
Great!!! Acknowledging that drug trafficking is a common issue is a powerful way of clearing the space for any possible further and joint collaboration between the two countries. Now, what do we want to create on this issue given the clear space we have?
My reply:
How about having the Americans commit to selling to someone else the top-notch weapons that have been empowering the drug cartels? Hey! How about giving those weapons to the Mexican drug squads instead so that they can fight on equal grounds with the gangsters? ... and how about if the Americans lend us their international agents, specialized in finding the really bad guys (the ones that found Sadam Hussein, please, not the ones that are still looking for Osama Bin Laden) to locate the drug barons? This way you leave the 'little guys' headless and under-armed and easier to control ... and then, Hillary can come down with the 3 Black Hawks she so kindly suggests to donate to fight the drug war, and can take some lovely aerial pictures of a safer Mexico.
If you liked this post, what about buying me a coffee?
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Lenta y perdida
Después de vivir fuera de México por más de veinte años es obvio que hay muchas cosas de las que me he perdido y en otras en donde ando medio lenta y perdida. Perdida me siento muy seguido con los cambios en el slang mexicano, y lenta definitivamente cuando se trata de torear albures.
Por ejemplo, ahora todo lo que me parece “muy padre” resulta que ya no es “padre” sino “chido”, pero según yo “chido” solo lo decía Luis de Alba (¿o era Alejandro Suárez?) y sonaba mas bien como “¡chiiiiiiidoooo!”
Luego hay otras palabras que yo ya no sé si pasaron de moda o si de plano nunca lo estuvieron pues cada vez que las oigo siento como si alguien me gritara ¡chiiiiiiidoooo! bien fuerte en el oído.
A ver, cuando salíamos del cine hablábamos de los buenos y los malos de la película. ¿O es que recuerdas alguna vez haber usado “héroe” y “villano” o “heroína” y “villana” cuando hablabas de los protagonistas? ¿Verdad que para nada?
¿O es que ya no se dice “para nada”?
Lo siento en el alma, pero la heroína NO es buena y la única villana de la que yo me acuerdo es Catalina Creel. ¡Esa si era bien chida!
De torear albures hablaré en otra ocasión. Y no se apene si tiene alguna pregunta de atrás tiempo no dude en hacer mela saber.
Por ejemplo, ahora todo lo que me parece “muy padre” resulta que ya no es “padre” sino “chido”, pero según yo “chido” solo lo decía Luis de Alba (¿o era Alejandro Suárez?) y sonaba mas bien como “¡chiiiiiiidoooo!”
Luego hay otras palabras que yo ya no sé si pasaron de moda o si de plano nunca lo estuvieron pues cada vez que las oigo siento como si alguien me gritara ¡chiiiiiiidoooo! bien fuerte en el oído.
A ver, cuando salíamos del cine hablábamos de los buenos y los malos de la película. ¿O es que recuerdas alguna vez haber usado “héroe” y “villano” o “heroína” y “villana” cuando hablabas de los protagonistas? ¿Verdad que para nada?
¿O es que ya no se dice “para nada”?
Lo siento en el alma, pero la heroína NO es buena y la única villana de la que yo me acuerdo es Catalina Creel. ¡Esa si era bien chida!
De torear albures hablaré en otra ocasión. Y no se apene si tiene alguna pregunta de atrás tiempo no dude en hacer mela saber.
If you liked this post, what about buying me a coffee?
Friday, March 13, 2009
Father and son
The son asked his father if they could participate together in a marathon, and the father said yes. They completed that marathon and participated in many more.
The father always agreed with his son's requests to race together.
Then came the day when the son suggested to do the Iron Man Triathlon together, and the father said yes, as he always did. The Iron Man consists of a 2.4 mile (3.9 km) swim, 112 mile (180 km) bike and 26.2 mile (42.2 km) run.
This is a video with highlights of their effort; it is touching and inspiring! I have to confess that it brought tears to my eyes...
Gracias a Memo por compartir!
The father always agreed with his son's requests to race together.
Then came the day when the son suggested to do the Iron Man Triathlon together, and the father said yes, as he always did. The Iron Man consists of a 2.4 mile (3.9 km) swim, 112 mile (180 km) bike and 26.2 mile (42.2 km) run.
This is a video with highlights of their effort; it is touching and inspiring! I have to confess that it brought tears to my eyes...
Gracias a Memo por compartir!
If you liked this post, what about buying me a coffee?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
It's all Chinese to me
When I was checking my websites and blogs' stats earlier today, I realized that Forty-something.com had two visits from Guangzhou, China this morning. The visitors spent quite some time browsing the site, and what puzzled me is that I could not recognize their referral source.
So, I followed the link that brought these Chinese visitors to site and realized that they had used Google Translate. Although I find this tool's translations very inaccurate it was great fun to see what the site looks like in Chinese. (click on the image to enlarge it)
So, I followed the link that brought these Chinese visitors to site and realized that they had used Google Translate. Although I find this tool's translations very inaccurate it was great fun to see what the site looks like in Chinese. (click on the image to enlarge it)
If you liked this post, what about buying me a coffee?
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Conquer the world
Conquering the world has probably been one of the main incentives of many civilizations over the centuries. Ever since Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian Empire (which was pretty much all that was known of the world at the time), the rule of the Roman Empire during the Pax Romana, and later the reigns of Spain, France and Britain starting at the end of the 1500s, and all the way to Hitler’s mad wish to take over the world; the thought of being in charge of it all has been a strong motivation to many.
Other than in politics, the concept of "conquering the world" can also be applied, in a smaller scale, to the business world and even at the personal level.
Businesses try to conquer the world within their scope and over their competition. It’s all about the survival of the best. And, just as with Alexander the Great in his time, the winner is always the one with the best strategy.
The problem with many small businesses nowadays is when the boss decides to apply the same world domination strategy within his own organization: the number one symptom of the bad manager.
The easiest way for a manager to make sure that he is always in charge and in control of his own little world is to hire under qualified and inexperienced employees. These workers will always feel grateful for the opportunity and work hard in return executing the boss’ commands. But, these employees have absolutely nothing valuable to contribute since they don’t know any better, and therefore, the entire organization relies on the vision of one individual only.
Not exactly a winning strategy unless you are a genius and the other’s insane.
Other than in politics, the concept of "conquering the world" can also be applied, in a smaller scale, to the business world and even at the personal level.
Businesses try to conquer the world within their scope and over their competition. It’s all about the survival of the best. And, just as with Alexander the Great in his time, the winner is always the one with the best strategy.
The problem with many small businesses nowadays is when the boss decides to apply the same world domination strategy within his own organization: the number one symptom of the bad manager.
The easiest way for a manager to make sure that he is always in charge and in control of his own little world is to hire under qualified and inexperienced employees. These workers will always feel grateful for the opportunity and work hard in return executing the boss’ commands. But, these employees have absolutely nothing valuable to contribute since they don’t know any better, and therefore, the entire organization relies on the vision of one individual only.
Not exactly a winning strategy unless you are a genius and the other’s insane.
If you liked this post, what about buying me a coffee?
Friday, March 6, 2009
What is that?
How many times do we need to be shaken by an event to realize the treasure we have in front of us and that we haven’t noticed? How often do we allow trivial things to become the center of our lives and take the place of what is truly meaningful?
An event is the sum of many moments. A significant event is the sum of many significant moments, and this five-minute video clip captures the full essence of the value of appreciating, creating and identifying those significant moments to transform our ordinary (and sometimes hectic) lives into significant events.
Watching this video my first thought is that I wish I had created more meaningful moments with Little Johnny when I had the chance. My quest now is to make sure I don’t get distracted by the petty stuff when I have the opportunity to cherish a special moment with one of my loved ones.
Enjoy the video.
Y gracias de nuevo a Griselda por compartir.
An event is the sum of many moments. A significant event is the sum of many significant moments, and this five-minute video clip captures the full essence of the value of appreciating, creating and identifying those significant moments to transform our ordinary (and sometimes hectic) lives into significant events.
Watching this video my first thought is that I wish I had created more meaningful moments with Little Johnny when I had the chance. My quest now is to make sure I don’t get distracted by the petty stuff when I have the opportunity to cherish a special moment with one of my loved ones.
Enjoy the video.
Y gracias de nuevo a Griselda por compartir.
If you liked this post, what about buying me a coffee?
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Eleven years tyranny
Back in the 17th Century, King Charles the First decided to rule England without a parliament and pretty much did as he pleased when it came to introducing high taxes and other reforms. This period of ‘personal rule’ lasted between 1629 and 1640, hence it’s known in history as the “Eleven Years Tyranny.”
The reason I am mentioning this history nugget is because tomorrow is my daughter’s 11th birthday, which means that I have been a mother for exactly, yes, eleven years (duh!). And as a single mom in a foreign country and with an only-child I could easily be labeled as a tyrant mom. You know, the absolute dictator, in absolute control of her kid’s life, with no opposition and, of course, with no one other than me to dictate the rules.
Seriously, how do you know if you are doing the right thing when you have no benchmark and no one to discuss your decisions with? You need to be extremely egocentric to believe that every single one of the steps you take is the best one, and on the other hand, you can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of it all.
The only way to know is to focus on the output. On whether your actions and decisions to guide your child one way or the other result in the formation of a confident, generous and happy human being.
Whenever I see her, I believe that I see all that and give myself a pat on the back thinking that ‘so far, so good’. But there are still seven years to go - probably the most difficult ones - until the time comes when she will not be under my wing anymore.
I just hope I won’t be writing about my own version of the “Seven Years War” the day before her 18th birthday.
The reason I am mentioning this history nugget is because tomorrow is my daughter’s 11th birthday, which means that I have been a mother for exactly, yes, eleven years (duh!). And as a single mom in a foreign country and with an only-child I could easily be labeled as a tyrant mom. You know, the absolute dictator, in absolute control of her kid’s life, with no opposition and, of course, with no one other than me to dictate the rules.
Seriously, how do you know if you are doing the right thing when you have no benchmark and no one to discuss your decisions with? You need to be extremely egocentric to believe that every single one of the steps you take is the best one, and on the other hand, you can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of it all.
The only way to know is to focus on the output. On whether your actions and decisions to guide your child one way or the other result in the formation of a confident, generous and happy human being.
Whenever I see her, I believe that I see all that and give myself a pat on the back thinking that ‘so far, so good’. But there are still seven years to go - probably the most difficult ones - until the time comes when she will not be under my wing anymore.
I just hope I won’t be writing about my own version of the “Seven Years War” the day before her 18th birthday.
If you liked this post, what about buying me a coffee?
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