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You need this lesson

Betty, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the
church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business.
Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities,
but feared her enough to maintain their silence.

She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member,
of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front
of the town's only bar one afternoon. She emphatically told George
(and several others) that everyone seeing it there would know what
he was doing.

George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just
turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny. He said
nothing.

Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of
Betty's house... walked home... and left it there all night.

You gotta love George.

A couple of months ago, I discovered a podcast called Manager Tools.

Allow me to paraphrase from their description of what it's all about. This is a down-to-earth approach to things you should be doing to make yourself a more effective manager. Each week they talk about new tools and easy techniques you can use to help achieve your management and career objectives. If you're tired of a lot of management theory and would rather learn specific actions you can take TODAY to improve your management performance, I think you'll enjoy the Manager Tools podcast.

This isn't some high-concept presentation where you agree with what's being said but then struggle to integrate it into your daily routine, like a lot of books on management seem to be.

It's like getting a weekly management training class. And one of very high quality at that.

I highly recommend you take a look at this cast.

Those of you who know me well, know that I travel extensively on business; 150k-250k mi/yr.

On my last trip, I missed getting the new carry on restrictions by something like three hours. With a lot more trips coming up, I started to plan on how to get all of my necessary toiletries on board with me so I could avoid the uncertainties associated with checked baggage.

Now, in the middle of a San Francisco - Hong Kong - Mumbai - Chennai trip, I'm happy to report on the results so far.

To summarize what I did:
  - Tooth powder instead of tooth paste
  - A shaving brush and soap instead of canned shaving cream
  - Stick deodorant

First the tooth powder. Man, this is some weird stuff. It's gritty and kind of salty-tasting - nothing like conventional toothpaste. To say it takes getting used to is an understatement. However, it leaves my teeth feeling very clean and the cinnamon aftertaste in my mouth is actually pleasant.

Now the shaving soap and brush are great stuff! I remember my playing with my dad's when I was a little boy and it's even more fun as a grownup. I guess I'm a sucker for small rituals - wetting the brush, working up a lather, applying it to my face (a sensual experience). It also does a better job of lubricating my skin for the razor. I may keep using this when I get back!

The stick deodorant. Yuck! Normally, I use an unscented gel, Almay. My local Walgreens didn't have an unscented stick, so I'm stuck with Speed Stick Cool Blast. I hate the smell.

Oh, one more thing. If anybody ever tries to book you on Air India, beg and plead for an alternative. The worst plane I have been on in my life, and that's saying something. The ceiling was still stained with nicotine from back when they had smoking flights. Uncomfortable seats with no seat power, in business no less! Food was decent but, hey, it's still airplane food.

Back to the Bay Area on Wed. Until Sunday when I leave for a press tour for a new product launch. :(

This isn't an entry for the squeamish, so if you are, stop reading now.

We've been trying to cut down on red meat consumption in our house, saving beefy goodness for the weekends and focusing on chicken, fish, etc... during the week. Thursday afternoon, my wife picked up some escolar from the fish market at the recommendation of the fishmonger. He cautioned that it was an oily fish, but very tasty. Since we both miss east coast fish like mackerel and bluefish, oily wasn't a turnoff.

When I got home from work, I fired up the charcoal grill and cooked the fish. We loved it. The kids loved it. Very tasty... not too strong, but definitely oily.

On Friday, we got hit with an unpleasant side effect. Remember Olestra, the non-digestible fat? The one that had "anal leakage" as a side effect? Well, we all received a nice, first-hand lesson, that has continued through today.

I pop over to Wikipedia and some other sources to read up on escolar. It turns out that the fish cannot metabolize the "waxy esters" in their diet (whatever the hell that means... do they eat candles?) and this results in a high oil content in their meat. Well, it turns out that humans can't metabolize that oil. At all. I'm on my 5th pair of briefs today and I'm being, how should I put it, overly cautious about passing gas.

So, if somebody urges you try try some nice, tasty escolar, run away! Either that or buy some Depends.

Why the hell do they even sell this? What's next? A fish that makes you vomit blood?