Charles Peters of the Washington Monthly points out in the Washington Post delineates:
Obama proved persuasive enough that the bill passed both houses of the legislature, the Senate by an incredible 35 to 0. Then he talked Blagojevich into signing the bill, making Illinois the first state to require such videotaping.
Obama didn’t stop there. He played a major role in passing many other bills, including the state’s first earned-income tax credit to help the working poor and the first ethics and campaign finance law in 25 years (a law a Post story said made Illinois “one of the best in the nation on campaign finance disclosure”). Obama’s commitment to ethics continued in the U.S. Senate, where he co-authored the new lobbying reform law that, among its hard-to-sell provisions, requires lawmakers to disclose the names of lobbyists who “bundle” contributions for them.
Taken together, these accomplishments demonstrate that Obama has what Dillard, the Republican state senator, calls a “unique” ability “to deal with extremely complex issues, to reach across the aisle and to deal with diverse people.” In other words, Obama’s campaign claim that he can persuade us to rise above what divides us is not just rhetoric.
I read a fascinating article on psychology that re-affirms what I discovered while sporadically working out over the past three months at the Franklin, TN YMCA. Physical activity, like running, literally jogs your mind.
Sue Halpern of Time Magazine highlights:
A decade ago, when neuroscientist Fred Gage of the Salk Institute made the discovery that the adult brain continues to regenerate, the brains in question belonged to mice. Some of the mice had been sedentary, others had been exercising, and the ones that logged the most miles on their wheels produced many more new neurons than did the sedentary ones.
Now it turns out that the same appears to be true for humans. In a paper published last spring, a team led by Gage, Small and Richard Sloan, a psychologist at Columbia University, revealed that after pounding the treadmill four times a week for an hour for 12 weeks, a group of previously inactive men and women, ages 21 to 45, showed substantial increases in cerebral blood volume (CBV)–a proxy for neurogenesis because where there are more cells, there are more blood vessels.
Not only did the CBV profile of the human exercisers mirror that of the mice, but the people who exercised more did better on a slew of memory tests. Other evidence backs this up. In a study of “previously sedentary” older subjects by psychologist Arthur Kramer at the University of Illinois and others at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, investigators found that those who engaged in aerobic exercise did better cognitively than those who stretched and toned but never got their heart rates pumping. What’s more, subsequent imaging showed that aerobic exercise “increased brain volume in regions associated with age-related decline in both structure and cognition.”
Meanwhile, researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm who have been following over 1,500 people for more than 35 years found a significantly lower rate of dementia, including Alzheimer’s, in those who exercised. Another study, this one of 2,000 elderly men living in Hawaii, showed that those who walked two miles or more a day were half as likely to develop dementia as those who walked a quarter-mile or less.
Cerebral blood volume is not the only thing responsible for this brain-boosting. Also at work is the fact that exercise increases what’s known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that stimulates the birth of new brain cells and then helps them differentiate and connect. BDNF also enhances neural plasticity, the process by which the brain changes in response to learning. In diseases like Alzheimer’s, depression, Parkinson’s and dementia, BDNF levels are low. In people who exercise, BDNF levels rise.
Ps. Time says you should eat more blueberries while eating less fat.
My guess is that science also indicates that exercise lifts the spirit too. (aka mind-body-spirit)
One by one the nails are sealing on a successful presidential run for Hillary Clinton in 2008 (and dare I say McCain). Reuters point out:
Obama gathered momentum in his battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination with endorsements from seven more senior party figures and a labor union, as well as strong praise from former Democratic rival John Edwards.
“Let’s assume Barack is the nominee, because it’s certainly headed in that direction,” Edwards told NBC’s “Today” show. He said Obama could unify the party and had a better chance than Clinton of winning November’s election against McCain.
The Wiggly Wigglers podcast demonstrates how even remote businesses can leverage social media tools, like podcasts to reach customers and spread the overall message of the organization globally. In fact, its a great case study in the small business use of social media and web 2.0 technologies. [Just grabbing the first 45 seconds or so of this gives you a good idea of how they are leveraging the technology in their marketing efforts]
With the emergence of Web 2.0 and social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and the explosion in corporate blogging, web analytics and Return on Investment (ROI) in experiencing a renewed interest and scrutiny.
Knowing what to listen to and track is critically important to a business bottom line. On Linked In Answers, I just asked “What are the most important metrics to track?” More specifically:
-Visitors per day/week/year
-Repeat visitors
-Time on site
-Website conversion action (# per on site to conversion–ie on email list, inquiry, purchase)
-Links for SEO purposes
What do you think is most important for a business website?
And how can you track the ROI of the web over time? (ie the ROI is often 3 to 6 to 12 months down the line on various web techniques. How do you take that into account?)
Bubba Ingram at church tonight (or rather last night) focused on the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. [Or as I would try to spell it: Shadrack and Meshack]. I’m helping lead a small group tomorrow night, and decided to pick the same verses. Here are some of the key Bible passages we discussed:
8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your [c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
No big macs. No fried chicken. No special sauce. Vegetables. Thoughts?What is the message here? How do these passages speak to you and this generation?
One specific area I am zeroing in on is a goals tracker. I think David Seah’s (below) is interesting, however I’m not sure I buy the numerical attachments David has for various tasks. (How is finding and hiring the right people a 5. Although this may result from my misunderstanding of Seah’s system.) Also, it may not reflect. Finally, it doesn’t seem to offer an option to create 80/20 focus on tasks in the individual subtasks.
