Music at Work

Normally I can't listen to music at work. It's not important why but for a couple of months I am once again able to enjoy soothing and motivating melodies as I go about my duties. There was a time I always had music going. It helps to motivate me and keep the day rolling.


I find when you get deep into your work and really start to get productive the music keeps you going. The music gets deep into your soul and stimulates creativity. More is completed with better ideas when the music is playing. I miss it when I can't listen and that is the norm since I moved to Ottawa. I don't expect it to be silent for the rest of my working days but there will be a time it will be quiet again.


When it gets too quiet, I can hear the lights hum and the click of keyboards. It gets painful. It's stifling to creativity and slows my production. It makes me less motivated to go to the office. However, when the tunes are going, I can seem to find a better solution. I can seem to get it done sooner and I can seem to be more pleasant in the workplace. To me, that's all upside.


The Tragically Hip wrote a song about music at work and when I hear it while I sit at my desk, everything just seems right.

Penn State

The NCAA handed down the punishment today. For me, it doesn't really matter what the NCAA says. For me Pennsylvania State University committed the worst foul you can commit. They looked the other way when a youth was being harmed. It doesn't matter when or how or why. It only matters that they did.


From what we seem to know is the senior leadership believed they had to cover it up to protect the image of the school.


I don't know what was said in the discussions that lead to the decision to not act on the information they had. University presidents, athletic directors, and head football coaches can be persuasive people who tend to impose their will on others to get things done. Unfortunately in this case, whoever was the most influential, had the wrong idea. They may have feared for losing their jobs because this happened on their watch. They were right because they chose not to act and lost their jobs because of it.


When the first incident happened it was an act of an individual. By not acting on the information the school made it a Penn State issue. Once they knew all they had to do was call the police. When the story broke all they had to do is to hold a press conference and say they called the police because of information that became available. That would have shown the school did not condone the activities of an individual and will act if something like this happens. That would have been the right answer.


Any organization that deals with youth has a fiduciary responsibility to protect the young people. The difficult part is until someone does something wrong there is no reason to believe they are not a stand-up person. However, once they cause harm, they must be held to task. That's where this student fell down.


A lot of bad decisions can be forgiven, I'm not sure this one can.

Vegans and Vegetarians are Awesome

I eat meat. I eat quite a bit of meat and I like expensive cuts of meat. This is why I like people who choose to not eat meat so much.

I have a Commerce degree, in Marketing. I went to school to try and end up on the right side of the supply and demand equation. Everyone who doesn't eat meat pushes the overall demand down so it should move the price down.

Fresh food moves quickly thought the supply chain. It has to to remain fresh. Since it moves quickly, the front end can react quickly to demand or lack there of. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for consumers, the margin on food is very low so you need to move a large volume to cover your overhead. That's where we win. Day after day and week after week slaughterhouses and processing facilities run at capacity irregardless of demand. So the more people who choose to not eat meat the more is available and the price will drop.

That's why I don't try to encourage people who don't eat meat to try it.

I realize it may be a bit cold and calculating but if it means my ribeye is a buck cheaper, I'll take it.

If you love meat, eat it. If you don't, that's fine, you are helping me too.

Hipsters

Hipsters are annoying. There I said it. They don't care what others think of them and they don't notice how they affect others.


To make my point we are going to need some context. I walk down Rideau Street in Ottawa to get to work and back. They just started construction along part of Rideau Street. This includes a fence that runs along the sidewalk to keep the construction in and the non-construction out. It's a good idea but it has made the already narrow sidewalk really narrow. It's only about two people wide. 


As I was walking home from the gym I caught up to three hipsters who were walking very slowly and talking about comic books. I don't care about the comic books but they were walking two-abreast. The odd man out was pushing his bike and routinely turning around and walking backwards to see his hipster friends. He was so self-absorbed that he did not notice the group of people they were holding up by walking so slowly. It should not take five minutes to get from the Second Cup to The Beer Store, but it did.


I don't care if you want to walk slowly and talk loudly but let others by if you are. To put it in language a hipster may understand, "Dude, you're harshing my mellow." It upset my post workout bliss.


There is a lot about hipsters that I could rant about by most of it doesn't change my life at all so it really doesn't matter. What does matter is when people are so inconsiderate that they impact others. Try to not be that guy. Be aware of the world around you. Not only will you make others lives better, you will enjoy yours more. I'm not perfect but I try to be polite and considerate of how others want to live.

Power of Music

Although music is really just a combination of tones that can be broken down mathematically there is nothing that can grab ahold of you and influence your mood more.  People are moved and debate and seek out music. There was a tweet from Alan Cross that lead to an article about what computers hear when they listen to music. I think everyone was impressed by Shazam when they added it to their iPhone but the article outlines the larger and amazing ramifications of this type of technology.


Possibly the most amazing thing about music is it doesn't have to be familiar to you to have a profound effect. It's always great when you see a band you love and know every note but it may be even better when you see a band you never heard of and are entertained by every note. You have no idea what comes next but each beat brings more sonic bliss. Often a festival is a great place to discover new music. You get it live, as i was meant to be.


Music can get under your skin. It can get stuck in your head. It can motivate you. It can sedate you. It can express how you feel, even when you can't. It can be a warm blanket, a beacon of hope, or a cold shower. All of this is simply a collection of tones that can be broken down mathematically.


Everyone needs to have music in their life. Most of us should probably have more. We need to seek out new music and love old music. We need to close our eyes and let it take you away. We need to enjoy music as it gets to us and strikes our soul.


When was the last time you let music take you away? If it hasn't been recent, it's time for you to be taken away.