The Power of Negative Blogging

First off, the most obvious failure I need to point out today is the lack of a post yesterday. One thousand apologies for a hectic day that sidetracked me enough to forego my blog. Shame…SHAME!

The failure I wanted to showcase today originated from spite. Spite is pretty bad thing. I would hope you don’t do anything out of spite. But hey, we all have slip ups. We all have weak moments when our anger lashes out to other people. If we can learn from them, then something worthwhile can be gained. Look at George Crum (From Wikipedia.org):

It is believed that the original potato chip recipe was created by Native American/African American chef George Crum, at Moon’s Lake House near Saratoga Springs, New York, on August 24, 1853. He was fed up with a customer — by some accounts Cornelius Vanderbilt (although this has been called into question) — who continued to send his fried potatoes back, because he thought they were too thick and soggy. Crum decided to slice the potatoes so thin that they couldn’t be eaten with a fork, nor fried normally in a pan, so he decided to stir-fry the potato slices. Against Crum’s expectation, the guest was ecstatic about the new chips. They became a regular item on the lodge’s menu under the name “Saratoga Chips.”

So George’s diabolical plan to get back at a customer blew up in his face. Thankfully! What would the world be without Pringles??

 It would be a sad, sad, unsalted world, that’s what. And who wants to live in a world like that? (To the lovely people at Pringles - feel free to send free chips!)

Uh…maybe that’s not such a good idea… I guess (unless I get free chips. Then its one hell of a good idea!) .

Many moons ago, I worked as an A/V Tech. Setting up sound systems, LCD projectors and such. You always had to think on your feet and be ready for anything. Negative thinking certainly applied.

If you have anything wireless, say a microphone, you had to make sure it was charged and ready. You also had back-up mics in case the one you brought didn’t work. You have extra batteries in case the ones in the wireless couldn’t hold a charge. You did sound checks before events to make sure the sound was set just right. Nothing is worse than adjusting the sound while the person is actually giving the presentation.

When you wired the rooms you had to secure any cables to the floor using gaffers tape. You don’t want anyone tripping over your wires. It’s not only bad on the equipment; it’s not real good for your insurance either.

Planning was the key. If you knew the layout in advance, you could properly set things up safely and effectively.

I wasn’t the best tech in the world, but now that I am on the flip side, I certainly appreciate them a whole lot more!

From the “this is so obvious that I’m not surprised” file comes the story of positive attitude striking down negativity and innocent people getting hurt. From BBC.com:

As many as 15 art lovers have been injured at London’s Tate Modern since the opening of an installation which features a large crack in the floor.

Now I’m sure many of you are thinking “Doesn’t that seem like a potential hazard to visitors? Didn’t anyone think this through?” You’re thinking that because I know my readers are smarter than the average bear (suck-up mode over). You bet someone was looking out for the interest of the visitors. Enter the museum’s head of safety, Dennis Ahern.

The paper also quoted an internal e-mail, sent by the museum’s head of safety before the exhibit opened, which discussed the safety hazards.

Dennis Ahern told colleagues there was a “potential for significant leg injury” if a visitor fell into the hole.

Problem solved. Right? Not in the world of the overly positive. I worked at the MOMA in New York. Great place to work, wonderful people. So I know installations can be done safely. But, the Tate decided:

that physical protection measures had been rejected because they were “not deemed appropriate” due to the “artistic nature” of the installation.

A spokeswoman for the museum said there were currently no plans to fence off the 167-metre (548 ft in AmericanJ) long crack.

So remember that when you go to the Tate, Art is much more important than your safety.

A startling development has occurred. The monkey menace has upped the ante, with the help of unsuspecting human stooges. From NewScientist.com:

With the ultimate aim of allowing paralyzed people to walk again, a team at Duke University in Durham implanted electrodes in the brains of two rhesus macaques and analyzed the electrical signals that drive their legs. The team then mapped the signals to specific leg movements and, via the internet, used them to control a pair of robot legs at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International in Kyoto.

Don’t these people know they are supplying these monkeys with the awesome power of cybernetics?? Imagine: Thousands of robot monkeys advancing on humanity! They say this is a toy but it’s really a prototype of how the apes want to create super-cyborg monkey soldiers!

And to answer your question: Yes, those are saw blade hands!!

This edition of Failure Friday isn’t a story of a complete failure. More a tale of potential failure. One I call “Plymouth Rocks (um…not so much)”.

The pilgrims landed in the New World, trying to escape religious persecution in England. Their timing and preparation were pretty bad. From Wikipedia:

On December 21, 1620, the first landing party arrived at the site of what would become the settlement of Plymouth. Plans to immediately begin building houses, however, were delayed by inclement weather until December 23. As the building progressed, twenty men always remained ashore for security purposes, while the rest of the work crews returned each night to the Mayflower. Women, children, and the infirm remained on board the Mayflower; many had not left the ship for six months. The first structure, a “common house” of wattle and daub, took two weeks to complete in the harsh New England winter. In the following weeks, the rest of the settlement slowly took shape. The living and working structures were built on the relatively flat top of Cole’s Hill, and a wooden platform was constructed to support the cannon that would defend the settlement from nearby Fort Hill. Many of the able-bodied men were too infirm to work, and some died of their illnesses. Thus, only seven residences (of a planned nineteen) and four common houses were constructed during the first winter.

Think that was bad…it gets worse.

Nearly half of the original 102 passengers died during the first winter. As William Bradford wrote, “of these one hundred persons who came over in this first ship together, the greatest half died in the general mortality, and most of them in two or three months’ time”.

I don’t know about you, but I would consider this a failure. But thankfully (get it? Thanksgiving, thankfully, what a sly wordsmith!) they got some important help. Enter…Squanto.

Squanto remained in Plymouth to teach the Pilgrims how to survive in New England, for example using dead fish to fertilize the soil. Numerous Native Americans arrived at Plymouth throughout the middle of 1621 with pledges of peace. On July 2, a party of Pilgrims, led by Edward Winslow (who would himself become the chief diplomat of the colony), set out to continue negotiations with the chief. The delegation also included Squanto, who acted as a translator. After traveling for several days, they arrived at Massasoit’s capital, the village of Sowams near Narragansett Bay. After meals and an exchange of gifts, Massasoit agreed to an exclusive trading pact with the English, and thus the French, who were also frequent traders in the area, were no longer welcome. Squanto remained behind and traveled the area to establish trading relations with several tribes in the area.

The point of this little story is that when we fail, it’s okay to ask for help. We can’t know, do or be everything all the time. We have strengths and we certainly have weaknesses. Don’t be afraid or too prideful to ask for help. You’ll be quite thankful if you do!