Techie Manager

How timely…
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
— Theodore Roosevelt

Excellent Economist article on why the war in Iraq failed:
What went wrong? The most popular answer of the American neoconservatives who argued loudest for the war is that it was a good idea badly executed. Kenneth Adelman, he of the “cakewalk”, has since called the Bush national-security team “among the most incompetent” of the post-war [...]

As seen on reddit:

Brilliant.

In keeping with my New Year’s resolution to “be the better man”, I have been studying traditional rules of civil behavior. Google led me to an interesting list of rules written (or at least transcribed) by George Washington back when he was a 16 year old student. These rules are originally attributed to [...]

Just saw an interesting quote on /. from a user named plopez:
Herding cats is hard because you are using the wrong management technique. You herd cattle (and sheep and goats and pigs etc.), you do *not* herd cats. Cats, you put them in the general area of the mice and let them do what they [...]

My 2007 resolutions:

Lose last of the fat - drop down to 170 lbs by March 1st (8 pounds to go!).
More patience - don’t snap to judgment, let others finish a sentence before cutting in, don’t get angry if others are going slower. 
Stop yelling as much - goes hand-in-hand with “more patience”.  Control the temper.
Focus [...]

Brendon @ Slacker Manager has hit the nail on the head yet again with this list:
I’ve been thinking lately about what overarching ideas guide folks like us (you know, smart people who want to do good work, but only when it’s good work we want to do). I’ve examined my own ways and I think [...]

Interesting essay on LewRockell.com on the subject of South Park and Libertarian philosophy:
It’s all too easy to become fixated on the vulgar and obscene surface of South Park, rejecting out of hand a show that chose to make a Christmas icon out of a talking turd named Mr. Hankey. But if one is patient [...]

What did libertarian Republicans lose on Tuesday?
You lost some “friends” who had exploited the libertarian label but who never deserved it. J.D. Hayworth in Arizona. George Allen in Virginia. Jim Talent in Missouri. In losing them, you lost … baggage. These were folks you never should have been in bed with in the first place [...]