http://halfthoughts.com By Eric Priezkalns. About anything, everything and nothing. Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:46:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Nobody can manage what they cannot understand. It is a common principle, enshrined in many business aphorisms. "Stick to the knitting". "You get what you measure". "Keep it simple, stupid". The list goes on, but the underlying idea is the same. At the same time, ... http://halfthoughts.com/2010/03/06/the-future-of-business-is-modular/ Regular readers of Halfthoughts will already know I receive letters from Prince Karl Zeis, of the deposed Royal Family of Delfthia. For those you unfamiliar with this tiny but proud nation, it lies midway between Macedonia and Bulgaria, and its finest hour came in 1745 with the victory of ... http://halfthoughts.com/2010/02/27/no-place-like-home/ Some movies are just so good that when the plot twists and turns, you may fail to notice that it also disappears up its own backside. Carried along with the moment, you may never see the incongruity amidst the events on screen. Here is my top five of ... http://halfthoughts.com/2010/02/20/five-movie-plot-absurdities/ Four years ago, a meeting of high-level representatives of the government, military, and the intelligence services sat down to address matters of growing concern. After 9/11, 7/7, avian flu, swine flu, foot and mouth, cyberattacks, superbugs, and tsunamis, they were worried at repeated failures to anticipate and plan for ... http://halfthoughts.com/2010/02/13/expect-the-unexpected/ 'The War on Terror'. It is not a phrase you hear much any more. The reason for its decline in usage is simple enough. We lost. If we had won, we would have never have heard the end of it. The War on Terror was never going ... http://halfthoughts.com/2010/02/06/how-we-lost-the-war/ [An unoccupied, windowless but otherwise plushly decorated hotel room. The single door opens and a valet escorts Tony Blair, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher into the room. Churchill and Thatcher take seats on either side of the room. Blair stands in the middle.] Blair: I have no regrets. Thatcher: ... http://halfthoughts.com/2010/01/30/hell-means-never-having-to-say-youre-sorry/ When actors land a big part, they do not get much bigger than Commander-in-Chief. Sometimes the role is played crooked, sometimes played true. Sometimes the President is a hero, sometimes a fool. Here is my shortlist of the actors who set the precedents for playing the Presidents. President: ... http://halfthoughts.com/2010/01/22/screen-presidents/ Area 51 is a secret military base in Nevada, where some say US Government scientists study the remnants of flying saucers that have fallen to earth. Area 53 is another secret military base, where different scientists turn what was learned at Area 51 into useful consumer products. In ... http://halfthoughts.com/2010/01/16/working-for-area-53/ In her last Christmas message of the decade, the Queen Elizabeth II began by saying: Each year that passes seems to have its own character. Some leave us with a feeling of satisfaction, others are best forgotten. 2009 was a difficult year for many, in particular those facing the ... http://halfthoughts.com/2010/01/08/all-for-nought/ Minutes of a Meeting of the Christmas Gift Delivery Steering Committee Date: 26th December 2009 Location: Santa's Workshop, North Pole Attendance: Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, Lesley the Chief Elf, Rudolf the Reindeer. Agenda: 1. Christmas 2009 Post Implementation Review 2. AOB Santa opened the meeting by expressing general satisfaction that the key targets had been hit. ... http://halfthoughts.com/2009/12/26/the-christmas-post-implementation-review/