"Great ideas, it has been said, come into the world as gently as doves. Perhaps then, if we listen attentively, we shall hear amid the uproar of empires and nations, a faint flutter of wings, a gentle stirring of life and hope. Some will say that this hope lies in a nation; others in a person. I believe rather that it is awakened, revived, nourished by millions of solitary individuals whose deeds and works every day negate frontiers and the crudest implications of history. As a result there shines forth fleetingly the ever-threatened truth that each and every person, on the foundation of his or her own suffering and joys, builds for all."

- Albert Camus

coffee is so yesterday.

so, we carry a new product at the store called NOS.  it's an energy drink that's like red bull, but on anabolic steroids and with a 500-hp engine strapped to it. it's just more fuel to add to our already overcaffeinated world :)

let's put it into context.  each coffee has about 100mg of caffeine in it.  each regular strength caffeine pill has 100mg of caffeine.  each red bull has 80mg of caffeine.

NOS beats out the pack with approximately 350mg of caffeine.

that is so sexy.

so sexy, in fact, that they only recommend that you drink one a day, at the risk of palpatations and shakes.  you know it's bordering on the limits of consumption when they have to label the drink as a 'natural health product', as opposed to a consumer beverage.

***

while doing some cost-minimization analysis of my own spending habits, i have found a better way to get my daily intake of caffeine.

previously, i've been doing it the old fashion way with a cup of Tim Horton's or Starbucks, but each of these have an additive cost.

consider, an XL Tim Horton's coffee daily is:

$1.65/cup  x  5 working days a week  x  52 weeks a year = $429 / yr

On the other hand, i've discovered the beauty of caffeine pills (which bring back fond memories of 2nd year pharmacy medicinal chemistry exams).  Let's do a similar calculation:

$7.11/100 pills x 1 pill/day x 5 working days a week  x  52 weeks a year = $18.49 / yr

score!

3 lessons can be learned from this exercise:

1) who needs coffee when popping pills is sufficient to keep you awake?
2) my graduate school pharmacoeconomic courses that I took have finally paid off.
3) i have too much time on my hands.

current stats:

ht: 6'0"
wt: 181 lbs.
bmi: 24.5
waist: 32"

leadership. it's being the person that people trust to guide them to what they want.

there are thousands of text books expounding upon this topic when it can really be distilled into a few sound principles.

first and most importantly, be credible and trustworthy. be the person that people know they can cede their own will and have faith that you will guide them to the proper destination. when they know that you have the integrity to stand by your word, and the ability to realize your vision, they will follow you.

understand your people.  understand their motives, passions, desires, problems, their wants, and their needs. each person is different, and each person requires different things.  if you can instill a sense of hope in them, then you can get them to do anything. inspire them.

all employees should be treated like a volunteer.  yes, everyone works for money, status, and lifestyle.  but there are a million and one jobs out there, and they don't have to work for you if they don't want to.  everyone is a volunteer. respect them like you would a volunteer.

guide them. spell it out for them. challenge them. no one likes to have unknowns in their life. people want to know what they are doing. give them the routine and the steps to complete the task.  but challenge them.  let them be creative.  let them modify the routine to acheive the task in the best way possible.  give them the opportunity to make the final product better than you even envisioned.  celebrate with them.

listen to them. speak with them. make sure everyone understands. people don't like to be left in the dark. people want to feel like they're part of the team. make sure everyone understands their role, and the context they play in the big picture. make sure there is complete candor, and no one is left guessing on what needs to be done, or what is said.  people need to be told exactly how things are, without any b.s., and without any time wasted.  that is efficiency.  that is transparency.

it's all about people. it's all about people skills. it's all about the soft skills. i spend each day talking to 50 people. my job is basically to talk. it's my job to understand what goes on in other people's minds and what makes them tick. each interaction is a negotiation.

and when i get home, i'm so sick of talking i just want to be alone.  

oh no, they did not just ruin my childhood.

once again, George Lucas has unfailingly disappointed me with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  and Steven Spielberg, you didn't help either.

as my friend varuna said after the movie, indiana jones is all about the historical bordering on the mystical. it, however, is not about sci-fi.

i mean, using the context of the Mayan civilization? could you have chosen any civilization more unsophisticated? sure, they had the Chichen Itza, but that in no way is a spectacular structure. 

and extraterrestrial crystal skulls from another dimension that suck up gold coins? that's worse than watching ashlee simpson lip-synch through saturday night live.

if it were up to me, it would've been indiana discovering the land of eden, or the the ancient civilization of atlantis. and it would have had a religious context of christianity, judaism, or buddhism. throw in a few nazis and communists, blend them together, and you have a hollywood blockbuster. wow, that script is so good i should've been born a jewish screenwriter.

anyway, I've given up on expecting sequels to be any good.

first, they ruined matrix 2 and 3.  then, it was starwars I, II, and III.  then, it was the lord of the rings II and III.  now, they've killed the indiana jones series.  what's next? ruining terminator 4?

it's like being caught in an abusive relationship. you always think it's going to get better, but it never does.