Here's an article about a seriously ill ex-soldier in Seattle, who decided to spend his last days cleaning up a creek near his home. During that project he got better, and today he works with many other people to restore the environment around Seattle.
This is a beautiful example of helping yourself by … Continue Reading ››
All posts by Alexander
Coping with war
I've been wondering how to deal with the situation in Iraq on a personal level. We're living in a world which is now at war ? how do we cope with that? How stressed should we feel? How much do we need to hate Saddam or Bush and his people? How much CNN should we … Continue Reading ››
What’s in a name
One of the true pleasures of being a Kjerulf (or a Kierulff, a Kjerulff or a Kjærulf) is to know that I'm part of a huge family of over 11.000 other Kjerulf's. I know this beacuse of one guy, Cap Kierulff, who has collected the entire family tree going back 600 years to our common … Continue Reading ››
Putting a face to Iraq
To many people in the west, the only face we can put to Iraq is Saddam Hussein's. There are no Nobel prize winners, movie directors or pop stars that we know of, and the "ordinary" people of Iraq are equally unknown to us. George Capaccio has travelled in Iraq repeatedly since 1997, and in Continue Reading ››
Quote
We currently act as if people are not inherently motivated, rather that they go to work each day and wait for someone else to light their fire. This belief is common among managers and employees alike... It is right and human for managers to care about the motivation and morale of their people, it is just … Continue Reading ››
Short story
This winter I took a class in creative writing. I've never written any fiction or poetry before, so I thought it would be a good challenge. It was, and one of the results was a short story called "the mechanic" about a regular guy called Benny, who discovers a mysterious and unsettling talent. Here's the … Continue Reading ››
Good job experiences from Slashdot
I submitted a posting to Slashdot (News for Nerds) in the "Ask Slashdot" category. It basically asked readers to submit stories of positive job experiences. You can see the posting and the replies here.
There are some wonderful stories there but much of it is tinged with a sense that the good … Continue Reading ››
There are some wonderful stories there but much of it is tinged with a sense that the good … Continue Reading ››
Book review: Turning to one another
Margaret Wheatley has written another beautiful book, and this time the topic is conversation. Meg (as she's known) believes strongly in the power of conversation and dialogue to bring people together and to promote individual and shared development.
She starts the book by explaining her reasons for writing it, and by explaining her view … Continue Reading ››
Tom Lehrer interview
To my great surprise, Tom Lehrer is still alive - he just hasn't made any records for 35 years. For those not in the know, Tom Lehrer is a mathematician who became a very popular satirist and singer in the 60's. His humour was sharp and dry, and his tunes were catchy. His academic background … Continue Reading ››
Interesting Google categories
For anyone interested in improving work, here's a few relevant categories from the Google directory:
Coworker relations
Job burnout
Rethinking work
Workplace spirituality
Coworker relations
Job burnout
Rethinking work
Workplace spirituality