Comfortable With Uncertainty

There's all sorts of leadership gobbledygook out there. It makes it difficult to weed through and actually find something of value. I thought this nugget was particularly valuable:

"Maybe the hardest part of leadership—be it leading a company, a family, a relationship or simply your own life—is that often times you don’t know and you still have to act. Leadership in some ways is built on learning to be comfortable with not knowing, with imperfect knowledge, with the inherent uncertainty of it all."

— The Monster In Your Head » Comfortable with Uncertainty

h/t - Bijan

"Who Vs. "That"

Can I just get something off my chest; it's petty and will only take a light flick? Thank you.

Recently (over the past 14 years), I've been noticing a lot how people use "that" when they should use "who." Even professional journalists do it. In fact, it's rare I observe someone use it correctly. Rule: Use "who" when referring to people. Use "that" when referring to groups or things.

Truthfully, it doesn't really matter which you use. Truthfully, I don't talk correctly all the time either. This is just one of those pet peeves that I had to get off my chest. A sentence is easier to understand when you use "who" when you're supposed to. People that don't talk correctly frustrate me.

The Swell Season

I'm in a music kind of mood this brisk, sunny Friday.

I'm lovin' Falling Slowly by The Swell Season.

Male-Pattern Baldness

Who knew 11 week olds could experience male-pattern baldness?

From The Bowels Of My Brain II

And now for the second batch of "From The Bowels Of My Brain."

Let's do this.

>> The words “flammable” and “inflammable” mean the same thing: “easily set on fire”

>> "Loosen", "unloosen", and "unloose" all mean the same thing too.

>> I blame the above facts on the people of England.

>> If you're going to publicly discuss the ending of a movie, TV show, game, sporting event, court case, or similar and there is a greater than 1% chance I am not aware of the outcome, I plead with you to say or write "SPOILER ALERT" and allow ample time for me to disengage before proceeding. Thank you.

>> Soda is a dessert. And should be consumed as such.

>> Certain words are just fun to say. I really like to say "particularly". I say it like, "parTICulaurly." Try it. It's fun. And if you say it in a sentence with a British accent you sound really smart. Weird, but smart.

>> If you're reading this in August, I have no idea how you found this post and I'm sorry your life is so boring.

>> Why in the world any regular person would buy a clothes hanger is beyond me.

>> I proclaim popcorn as the most under appreciated food in America, both for its flavor/texture and the ingenuity of its creation.

>> Nilla wafers are really good too.

>> Figure Skating's prominent TV coverage is one of life's great mysteries.

Out.

Wolfpack or Tarheels?

So N.C. State Men's Basketball isn't having a great season. The team had a good home win over Wake Forest today to improve to 3-10 in the ACC. But, if they win the rest of their games they'll be National Champs!!!

The Tarheels, well, they're terrible this season too. Almost as bad as the Wolfpack. Victories have been tough to come by. It's now been 41 days since they've beaten any team other than the Wolfpack.

These facts have laid a general morose over the basketball season in the Hill house. Last Saturday, though, we were assured one of our teams would get a victory. We put Kessler in the "House Divided" outfit his Loli made for him and settled in for what we hoped would be a competitive game. Loli and Pops came over to watch the game (and play with their grandson). The Heels won 74-61 over the uninspired Wolfpack.

(Notice the Half UNC Half NCSU pants)

Kessler was disappointed about the loss, but not nearly as animated about it as this guy:

Christmas With The Hills

Whoops, it's February and I'm posting a Christmas post. I had this post teed up 5 weeks ago, but it slipped my mind.

For the past 5 years, the weeks surrounding Christmas have been a fun time for the Hill family. It's a small reunion. All 3 kids and any significant others come to The New Miami and we basically just hang out all the time. We mainly hang at the 'rents' house. Mom fixes a bunch of good, casseroley dishes and we play games, go on walks, watch movies, eat, listen to music, make music, eat, play games, rinse, repeat. There's a certain familiar rhythm to our time together. This Christmas, it suddenly went from a simple 3/4 meter to a compound 9/8. Two new Hills joined the fold by way of chromosomal combination. It was Kessler's first Christmas and our 5-month old Niece, Honey Cate's first Christmas. It was a new rhythm, but a welcome one. Many of the familiarities remained; the games, the laughter, the Hill Holiday Holla, the music, and, of course, the casseroles.

Many memories are made over those few weeks and I look forward to the tradition continuing for many years to come. Viva la Christmas with the Hills.

Here are some snapshots from those few weeks which include some great moments with the Roses (Ashley's family) as well.
(Hover over the picture and click the paper icon for captions.)

Kessler Goes Sledding

We got some more snow here in The New Miami. Last snow, Kessler was a little too young to play in it, so we had to take advantage of the soft, white, crystallized water droplets this time around. Who knows when we'll get another snow like that again.

We put him in his toddler snowsuit, threw him on the disc sled, gave him a 1-2-3-go and off he went. He wasn't all that interested. By that I mean, he just laid there. He didn't realize he wasn't lying inside on the floor. Remember, babies are dumber than dogs.

It was fun to watch him slide down the hill on the snow. Ashley wasn't even nervous. She just smiled and waited for him to slide down to her. You can see a really boring, soundless, almost pointless, 3 second, stop-motion video of his first sled here on the Youtubes. How's that for a sales pitch? Sad thing is, now I'm thinking you're more likely to click over to the video. But now that you read that last sentence, maybe you're less likely to click over. Oh, forget it. I'm going to bed.