Sometimes You Train and Sometimes You Clean-Fire Fighting Chores

 Firefighting isn't always exciting! Most of the time firefighters engage in training and during the other times they are cleaning/maintaining. Keeping trucks clean also helps them get inspected on a regular basis. It is hard to see things if there is dirt and grim all over the vehicle. Cleaning them up, removing salt, and washing them down lets you see problems before they become bigger issues. 

We are fortunate to have the ability to clean our vehicles in a heated garage. Often places don't always have the facilities to do this without going to a truck wash. Here they run their departments well and stay on top of maintenance. Keeping trucks running during emergencies and maximizing the ROI on the vehicle investment means increasing longevity as much as possible. 

If your interested in firefighting as a future job you can see the salary, job requirements, etc.... on Zip Recruiter. There are also lots of volunteer workers needed.

What is the Grace Commission? Bi-Partisan Letter to President Biden

A grace commission is something that was used during the Regan Era to minimize waste and lost money. Collaboration among government stakeholders in a bi-partisan manner sends a signal to both sides that there is an opportunity to collaborate to help ensure the budget is effective (That isn't a judgement at all as to which budgets as I haven't dug through the budget proposals in detail to make an educated conclusions).

The bipartisan call is to create an oversight committee to catch and remove waste. The process is being led by Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) and has 34 members of support from Congress members. It also has a number of political advocacy groups that are concerned about government spending support it.

When I look at a budget commission I would think of effectiveness and outcome. According to a study of on Collaborative Cost-Cutting: Productive Efficiency and Interdependency between Public Organizations it appears that there is effectiveness in cutting costs and a risk of confrontation from multi-stakeholder perceptions (That is what I see out of it!)(Elston, MacCarthaigh & Verhoest, 2018).

It appears that such a commission could be effective but it would be helpful if bi-partisan members maintain defined objectives as they relate to reducing costs, improving efficiency, and/or improving effectiveness (Will take some work to get the ground rules set). When the goals and objectives are clear participants have a shared sense of purpose and direction of the efforts.

What you don't want to happen is have a commission set on arguing about every little detail of the budget in order to delay and bog it down (That isn't support for/against/indifferent to any current budgets). Partisan politics detracts from the effectiveness of our government and outcomes are poor and the nation's resources are wasted. What I'm saying is that the members should be chosen wisely and should focus on creating a cost effective budget that wisely spends taxpayer money. 

Is it possible they can work together? 🤔(Not thinking of theoretically possible but can they actually do it to put the needs of the nation and the next generation first?)

Thomas Elston, Muiris MacCarthaigh & Koen Verhoest (2018) Collaborative cost-cutting: productive efficiency as an interdependency between public organizations, Public Management Review, 20:12, 1815-1835, DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2018.1438498

Grace Commission Congressman Rep. Jack Bergman & Rep. Ed Case 

For those of you who have student loans, and I'm sure there are a lot of you, you may be interested in this. Old news...in rapid time. The following was taken from a press release HERE. 

Pausing Federal Student Loan Payments

 "At the request of President Biden, the Acting Secretary of Education will extend the pause on federal student loan payments and collections and keep the interest rate at 0%. Too many Americans are struggling to pay for basic necessities and to provide for their families. They should not be forced to choose between paying their student loans and putting food on the table." 

Pope Wants COVID to Push Society to a "Copernican Revolution"

I think this is tapestry
of "Massacre of Innocents"

I suspect some might wonder why I'm writing about the Pope. Well, it doesn't really matter the religion so much it matters when individuals have the capacity to influence large amounts of people and governments to think beyond self interest. Wisdom can come from Muslim, Jewish, or whomever (diversity of contributory wisdom) that provide meaningful reminders to the leaders of the world to better think about the needs of humanity (empathy).

Personally, I believe there are many pathways to the Divine (Its just an opinion...please no yelling! 😨😱😭. Science and religion are not mutually exclusive but different lens in which to understand the world (i.e. environment) around us. Some methods pull on the heart strings and some follow the pathways of logic; yet, they all come to a single conclusion somewhere on "the nature of our existence". (Sorry for the rant. Yikes!🙊🙏)

The Pope asks for a "Copernican Revolution"

Ptolemaic model

What is a Copernican Revolution? This isn't an armed revolution it is one in which we change the way we think. Kind of important distinction considering the Capital Riots and other events around the world. Changing the mind so that it changes behavior (internal motivation) is a much better solution than changing the behavior to change the mind (external motivation).

Copernicus model

Copernicus was a philosopher/scientist/mathematician that studied the stars and discovered that the earth revolves around the sun. That little idea started a scientific revolution by adding a new perspective!😵

Prior to this the world followed the Ptolemaic model where earth was anchored at the center (He was fairly accurate calculating celestial events).  Changing the perspective to one of being inside a system was an "eye opener" for science. New knowledge is built from past knowledge.  You can read about Copernicus HERE.

Paradigm shifts occur when the right level of previous research, matched with the right brain, in the right environment where a single new thought changes the fundamental way we think of something. That is difficult to do as most people follow other's train of thought but not everyone can create whole new ways of looking at the world. 

Swedish Guard 
They are actually highly trained guards

Science is becoming increasing important again as we transition to an Information Age. There will be some who are going to be left behind as education and opportunity slip through their fingers. As a society we have responsibility to help them in some way. For some it is donating profits to orphans and to others it might be small acts of kindness to a neighbor.  

A few of the things the Pope asks for is....

1. ) Health Crisis: People don't have access to the basics of healthcare and improvement in access and affordability will help.

A terrace to ponder life.

2. Economic Opportunities: COVID has caused strife for those struggling to pay for elementary needs. The poorest people don't have opportunities like people from wealthier societies. 

3. Environmental Justice: Pollution is destroying the world. Personally, I think advancing green technology will help to solve this problem down the road. 

4.) Educational Improvement: Education helps people improve and be better. It affords new opportunities and ways of viewing the world. 

Some words from the Pope, “The democratic process calls for pursuing the path of inclusive, peaceful, constructive and respectful dialogue among all the components of civil society in every city and nation.” (Games, Feb. 8th, 2021, para 23)"

Games, R. (Feb. 8th, 2021). 'Pope to diplomats: world today needs medicines of vaccines, fraternity and hope'. The Vatican News. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-02/pope-francis-diplomatic-corps-pandemic-crises.html

SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans Available for Some U.P. Counties

Parts of the U.P. got flooded last year. With COVID and natural disaster many of these small businesses may have a hard time reopening their doors. If there is money available and it has already been allocated take advantage of it. Help is a wonderful thing. 

 The following was taken from the Congress Bergman email press release below....

SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans Available in Michigan Following Secretary of Agriculture Disaster Declaration for Excessive Rain

Washington - The U.S. Small Business Administration announced today that Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and private nonprofit organizations in Michigan due to excessive rain on Sept. 30, 2020.

Low-interest disaster loans are available in the counties of Alger, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Emmet, Luce, Mackinac and Schoolcraft in Michigan. 

“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities, affected by the same disaster,” said Kem Fleming, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East. 

Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. Except for aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers and ranchers.

The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 3 percent for small businesses and 2.75 percent for private nonprofit organizations of all sizes, with terms up to 30 years. The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition. These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoan.sba.gov and should apply under SBA declaration # 16866, not for the COVID-19 incident.

Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Loan application forms can be downloaded from sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Submit completed loan applications to SBA no later than Oct. 4, 2021.

Snow Shoeing in the U.P.-Testing Sub Zero Gear!

 The U.P. is known for its snow. After 6-7 inches I headed out into the -2 degrees temperature to test my gear for a climbing project I'm working on.  Its good to get out there when you get this weather because it mimics the environment you might face on a mountain range. 

First...not all winter clothing works well when you are out in the middle of no where. For example, I learned my snow pants and gloves did great. My jacket was just enough so I will have to change it. Shoes need to change as coldness bites the toes. If I was at -40 I would have been seriously hurting. 

On my buy list is a cold weather jacket I can climb with and new sub zero boots. 

Enjoy the pics! 

Five 5 G Stocks to Pick for 2021+

I'm thinking of stocks for investment/research purposes. I've played around with a few ideas and they seem to have worked more or less thus far. I came across an article '3 5G Stocks to Buy Right Now' and their stock picks in semi-conductors and 5 G technology is of interest to some of the things I'm working on. When experts make recommendations (disclaimer: I'm not one so go ask an expert! 👀) I like to put them on my watch list if they provide insight into socio-economic platforms. 5G and advanced telecommunications isn't going away so I look for companies that have long term staying power that are likely able to adjust and change as technology advances. 

One could invest up and down a supply chain. I'm thinking of the idea of pack investing where companies can invest up and down a supply chain to quickly build an advanced cluster that can compete on the global market (Each has a financial investment to engaged in new investments). Putting the right people in the right place and then feeding them with resources that fit within their natural entrepreneurial abilities is a great combination for innovation. If done well, a cluster could reach development synergy where ROI encourages nature reinvestment and new investment from a global perspective (i.e. smaller versions of Detroit automotive or San Diego pharmaceuticals). 

I suspect those who are first in investors are likely to reap the rewards as long as they are willing to accept the start-up risk (If they are already investing in start-ups it makes sense to do so in a network of start-ups that can draw resources from each other). Once synergy is created more risk-averse institutional investors get involved and push companies to mature beyond their "start-up" status. Angel investors often lead to IPO (if not part of a larger corporate investment) and further wealth generation. As we develop large scale communications abilities we will see some coordinated investments occur through natural self interest.  

Technology and global communications is going to be increasingly important for advanced technology and robotics. 

The article's picks (Duberstein, Feb 7, 2021)....

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) -Semi conductor business.

Applied Materials (AMAT)-Creates semi conductor equipment.

Ichor Holdings (ICHR)-Semi conductor sub systems.

You can learn about semi-conductors HERE.

My two picks are..... 

Ciena Corp (CIEN). A write up I did about it HERE.- Telecommunications networking equipment and software services supplier.

Ericsson (ERIC) -Provides telecommunications equipment mobile and fixed networks worldwide.

Duberstein, B. (Feb. 7th, 2021). '3 5G Stocks to Buy Right Now". The Motely Fool. Retrieved https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/02/07/3-5g-stocks-to-buy-right-now/

Cold Light and Sight

I'm not the greatest poet in the world but I still like to play around with it from time to time. Poetry is a long lost art for many. Yet it contains within it a story and symbolism that people have to decipher from their own perspective. 

Poetry also gives us an opportunity to connect our senses with words in a way that creates a rhythm to embed and store information. When we engage our sense we also can store and in turn retrieve information using multiple path ways. 

To me, poetry is a way to share information through symbolism and tell a unique story. 

The other day we received 7 inches of snow. Delta County offers recreational activities like snow shoeing and skiing. When we get this great powder you just want to get out there and do something (hence snow shoeing today). 

Coldness creeps the night, 

Pushed back by the light,

Blindness yields to sight. 😅😏

January 2021 Job Numbers: Economy in Transition

The Bureau and Labor Statistics released their job report for January 2021. It still seems like we are in a transition period. Some sectors of our economy like leisure and hospitality are taking a hit while others in professional and business services rose indicated a level of change in labor allocation. We are an adaptive species and when the playground fundamentals change, companies will adjust their strategies to maximize their investments (That impacts the jobs available). 

I had hoped our economy would have recovered in terms of GDP by start of 2021 (We were like 3.4% down) and then see the first few quarters of 2021 really start to show an economy coming out of its crisis transition. Perhaps a few year after that we can have a growth spirt as corporate investments and strategies learning during the pandemic take root. 

I watch mostly out of curiosity and see if there is a digital transformation brewing under the surface. This would be reflected in the job reports and other economic indicators but would have to be tracked over time to determine shifts (Our government tracks this kind of stuff) so they can make decisions for policy purposes. 

 The BLS lists the following....

"The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 6.3 percent in January, while nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+49,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The labor market continued to reflect the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. In January, notable job gains in professional and business services and in both public and private education were offset by losses in leisure and hospitality, in retail trade, in health care, and in transportation and warehousing." HERE.

murad abel

"Better than You" Bigotry and Implicit Social Learning

People learn from each other. It happens in the classroom and it happens on the playground. We don't stop learning when we get older. Bowling alleys, bars, sports clubs, politics, sailing, etc... all become part of our social networks. These are not passive activities but ones we find joy in attending and being engaged in. Healthy groups are open but those that take on a "better than you" mentality increase the risks for hate and exclusion. 

People believe all types of things and there is a natural propensity for people to believe they can beat the odds or that the powers of the universe are in their favor. If we didn't have a positive outlook on life we would would struggle with negative affectivity and its ill effects. But.....

Sometimes groups create a "better than you" mentality in which they compare themselves to others as a way defining their own identity. Its fairly common in society to feel that one and their friends are toward the center of life and experience.

The problem is when such inclusive and exclusive beliefs begin to dictate social affairs and encourage aggressive behavior. "Better than you!" turned into "You have no rights!" and "We don't want your type of people around here!".

A study that looked at the better-than-average effect and bias found that those who help themselves in higher regard than others were also very defensive when pointing out bias and racism (Its interesting because humbleness is a virtue that leads to better decision making).

In the British Journal of Social Psychology a study, 'Not your average bigot: The better‐than‐average effect and defensive responding to Implicit Association Test feedback' studied two different groups (Howell & Ratliff, 2017):

Group/Study 1: examined this prediction using archival analysis of two large, online samples of participants completing a Weight‐related Implicit Association Test (IAT

Group/Study 2: replicated Study 1 using nine different, randomly assigned IATs and additional measures of defensiveness.

The researchers found that those who believe they were better-than-average were more defensive when given feedback indicating they were engaged in biased behaviors. In many cases this was related to defensiveness most, if not all of the time, when people held these "better than you" beliefs.

Why is it important?

Hate behavior starts in the distorted beliefs that one is better than another that leads to the discounting of other's rights. The people who feel they are more entitled and better than those around also were more defensive about their bigotry. For example, if a group who learned distorted of their importance (i.e. sports group) in childhood that created a culture of exclusivity they in turn were more defensive about their racist/bigoted behavior.

We know something isn't right when individuals have a sense of entitlement and in turn force their distorted beliefs on others. It would be one thing if they kept those beliefs to themselves but it is something else when they spread those beliefs to their friends, community and children. Instead of learning respect for our most cherished American values and sense of fair play they have implicitly passed destructive values to others seeking social cues on how to act and behave toward people who do not choose to live by the same false distorted values. 

Howell, J. & Ratliff, K. (March 2017). Not your average bigot: The better‐than‐average effect and defensive responding to Implicit Association Test feedback. British Journal of Social Psychology, 56 (1). https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjso.12168