Pre-Ramble: I’m sure the producers of The Bachelorette were thrilled when the President of the United States and the Speaker of the House cut into last night’s show to banter about the nation’s debt crisis.  What could be more simpatico than budget talks and one-on-one date night in Fiji? (Can you believe that Constantine??)

So, basically, some of the folks on Capitol Hill want to scootch up the amount of $$$ we as a nation borrow to cover some stuff we want to buy/pay for (like a prescription drug program, missiles, … probably some of those pricy toilet seats, etc.) that we can’t actually afford right now.  If we raise our “debt ceiling” that means we can borrow more $$$ to cover that stuff … and then pay it back sometime in the future.

When the U.S. government is kicking around a plan like that, it seems like it could almost be reasonable.  Sure, we’ll just borrow some $$$ now and figure out how to pay it back … later.

GOP leaders met tonight to discuss what to do, and aides said there were two options:

• They could elect to lower the increase of the debt limit extension. Right now the plan is to extend the debt limit by $1 trillion; they could move that to a number under the $850 billion.
• They could elect to cut more, to push the $850 billion number back above $1 trillion.

“However,” one of the aides said, “the former is a lot easier than the latter.”

Glad we cleared that up.  What’s a billion dollars here or there?  And, why don’t we put the “aides” in charge, as they clearly have this all figured out.

The Take-Away: I want to raise my debt ceiling too.  What a great concept … just borrow a bunch of $$$ from Big Bucks Bank and buy all kinds of nifty things … furs, yachts, jets, cocktail rings … trips to Figi … and then have some of those “aides” figure out the easiest way to pay it back.  Brilliant!

Pre-Ramble: … What’s hot?? … If you live in the Midwest, I don’t need to tell you what’s hot — this blasted heat wave is hot.  The air is hot, the sidewalk is hot, the dashboard is hot, even the grass is hot.  There is a lot of hot going on around here right now.

Well, so, according to the hot spotters at college-fashion-dot-net, the hottest summer accessory for 2011 is … hats!  Apparently, a trendy topper is this summer’s must-have.  Any type of hat under the sun … floppy hats, cowboy hats, straw hats, baseball hats, … hats, hats, hats.  Hats are hot, which means that hats are cool.

Cool hats are hot, and hot hats are cool …

Cleary this stretch of extreme summer heat has gone to my head.

All this talk about hats, hats, hats reminds me of one of my favorite children’s books … The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, written by Dr. Seuss in 1938.  According to the experts at wikipedia, Geisel, who was a collector of hats, got the idea for the story on a commuter train from New York to New England while sitting behind a businessman wearing a hat …

Set in feudal times, the story begins in the Kingdom of Didd, when King Derwin is riding through a street past Bartholomew Cubbins, a poor boy in the market. Bartholomew removes his hat, according to the laws, but another hat mysteriously appears; when he attempts to remove this one too, another one appears again, and this continues, even as he removes more and more hats, each growing in extravagance and beauty from the 451st hat onwards.

Eventually, as Bartholomew is being threatened with death, the 500th hat, studded with massive gems and gilding, comes off and Bartholomew’s head is bare again. Stunned by the beauty of the hat, King Derwin grants him reprieve and trades him 500 gold coins for the 500th hat.

That must have been one very hot hat — !

For today … when it’s 98 degrees with a dew point of 82 (Yes, 82 – a new record for Minnesota), … it is too hot for a hot hat.  In fact, it is also too hot for a cool hat.

The Take-Away: No hats.

Post-Note: Actually, a really hot hat look totally depends on the hotness of the person wearing it. A really hot girl wearing a fun floppy hat, for example, is a way different thing than say, Larry the Cable Guy wearing it.  Same goes for guys … Ashton Kutcher looks hot in a hat ( he also looks hot not in a hat, btw), whereas, again, Larry the Cable Guy, not so much.

I think I might have to check out hottie AK in his new role in Two-and-a-Half Men … I never watched while CS was in it, but Ashton is two-and-a-half times the man Charlie will ever be.

Pre-Ramble: As I’m driving home, I hear on the radio that the government shutdown over here in Minnesota is close to being resolved …

I’m thinking … “IT’S ABOUT BLOODY WELL TIME!!!  … Those legislators should have been forced to sit at their desks with their heads down until they could play nice. Who do they think they are, just taking their toys and going home before they got all of their work done? … Rant, rant, rant …

… Lots of folks have been put in tough positions with so many “nonessential” government provided services suddenly unavailable during the shut down …

• No road work; guess we’ll just have to live with miles of abandoned orange cones and bumpy roads …
• No youth and family services; guess we’ll have to find alternative summer programming for kids in the foster care system …
• No liquor licenses; guess we’ll have to toast with toast at our weddings …
• No trash pick-up at the zoo; guess we’ll have to hold our breath in the elephant house …
• No tours of the State Capitol Building; guess we’ll have to tour the Cathedral instead …
• No professional licenses; guess we’ll just have to turn away those newly-minted nurses …
• No lottery tickets; guess we’ll just have to hold off on buying all those cars, jewels and mansions …
• No fishing licenses; … oh darn, darn, darn, … guess we won’t be able to go fishing …
• Rant, rant, rant …

Hey, wait a minute … Maybe I haven’t thought this whole thing through …

If the government isn’t going to be shut down any more, that means all that stuff will be available again.

I’ll be able to go fishing.

I hate fishing.

The Take-Away: Here’s the deal – I’ve been wanting to go to the Cathedral anyway, and if I win the lottery, I’ll go fishing.

Pre-Ramble: So, for the past month-and-a-half I’ve been working with a client on a strategic planning project.  Strategic planning is basically creating a viable roadmap to a future vision based on the context of your current environment and capacity.

As we zero in on specific goals and strategies, it has become clear that the more focused and clearly defined these are, the more useful they will ultimately be when it comes time to put the plan into action.  Simple, straightforward, carefully-considered language that articulates key concepts paves the way to a clearly understood plan and a greater likelihood of successful implementation …

Meta-thought here … that last sentence has too many buzz-words and ideas for its own good.  The nut of that thought was, “less is more” … Communicating strategies/strategic thoughts is most effectively done using clean, pared-down language. … Efficient language leads to efficient understanding, which leads to efficient action … blah, … blah

Where am I going with all of this on a Saturday morning?  … I’m seeing a dynamic in the work world that might have a useful parallel in everyday life.  It looks like the concepts of clarity, simplification and efficiency have real bearing on our ability as individuals to focus and get things done. Researchers have found that the aging brain (like older than 30 … which in some camps is NOT considered old) is less able to tune out distractions and focus on a topic because the filter mechanisms in the brain have become frayed/less effective over time.

Huh? … Wait, I missed that point … had to check a text and fold a load of laundry.

It’s like, instead of racking in with a zoom lens, you’re working with a wide-angle … you’re taking in the bigger picture.  In a single scan of your environment, you’re getting unwashed dishes, … stacks of paperwork, … that article you’ve been meaning to read, … the dog’s water bowl is dry, … a new post on your blog is long overdue …

The problem is, your brain isn’t able to tune out this clutter of tasks and ideas. It tries to process it, which gets in the way of successfully processing the stuff you intentionally want to address.

To accomplish important life goals, you can enhance your focus and efficiency by eliminating some of the stuff that is cluttering up  your environment and your mind.  Start small and gradually bring a sense of simplicity and order to your inner and outer world. Tune out the media once in a while; … tidy up your workspace; … consider washing the windows (I’m not suggesting you actually do this grueling chore); … haul extraneous stuff out of your kids’ rooms (this is especially productive when they are out of town on summer internships); … go for a mind-clearing walk, run or bike ride; … seal off the laundry room; … Stop, drop and roll! … (Oh, wrong PSA) …

The Take-Away: The only way you are going to realize the vision you have for your life is to clear a path, physically and mentally to the heart of the desired goals. Do whatever it takes to strategically claim your fraying brain-capacity and bring focus to the things that really matter to you!

Do it now, before you get ….

Pre-Ramble: Day eight of the Minnesota government shut-down …

The fact that our governor and legislators couldn’t/didn’t do the job they were elected to do is lame and unacceptable.

The Take-Away: Here’s a list of all of the members of the Minnesota House of Representative and the Senate. Print yourself a copy to take into the voting booth, so you can be sure that you never vote for any of these individuals again.

Pre-Ramble: Probably should have saved the “bald eagle” post for today … wrapped it up in the whole patriotism angle … a nice furling flag photo … Bam. Done.

Well, so, next best option — while you’re flipping burgers, catching fly balls, floating on a raft, or taking a second scoop of potato salad, take a minute to think not only about the very precious freedoms we enjoy as Americans, but also about the very precious freedoms you can exercise as an individual …

• Freedom to make choices about your life.
• Freedom to think about things in your own way.
• Freedom to see things in a positive light.
• Freedom to take the high road.
• Freedom to do things differently.
• Freedom to take risks.
• Freedom to set goals and make a plan.
• Freedom to ditch the plan.
• Freedom to go against party lines.
• Freedom to go with party lines.
• Freedom to take time to do the things you really want to do … while you are still capable of doing them.
• Freedom to be happy.
• Freedom to set your marshmallow on fire and eat the charred remains, cuz that’s the way you like them, dammit.

The Take-Away: Eagles and flags are nice, but I actually think fireworks are the perfect expression of all of the dimensions of freedom.  Bold, … explosive, … expansive, … soaring, … sparkling … beautiful, …  Fireworks encapsulate all of that and give us an opportunity to reflect on our good lot.

They also give us an excuse to eat red-white-and-blue jello.  Happy 4th!!

Pre-Ramble: There’s a reason my golf handicap is so high … In addition to being a bad golfer, I am often distracted by the array of pretty flowers and wildlife that can be found out on our neighborhood golf course.

We’ve got foxes, turkeys, deer, egrets, great blue herons, goldfinch, blue birds, bunnies, turtles, … and three-quarters of the way up a big pine tree on hole #13, there’s a bald eagle nest — with two eaglets — !

If you’ve ever seen a bald eagle nest, you know that they are basically a giant heap of sticks wedged into a fork near the top of a tree.  And, if you’ve ever seen a baby eagle, you know that they are … well, how do I put this delicately?  …. ugly, homely, hideous-looking, … rather awkward in appearance and larger than the word “baby” would imply (they’re huge) … (juvenile eaglet shown at right).

If you look up from the tee-box, you can often see the mother eagle soaring around looking for edible little critters on the ground, or stationed on a nearby branch, patiently watching over the nest.  Such a majestic and diligent creature.

Based on the amount of squawking that comes out of that nest, I’m pretty sure we’ve got a couple of teenaged-girl-eaglets up there. Bet you a dollar that there are seed husks under the beds and feathers clogging the shower drain.  Ah, the tribulations of parenthood.

The Take-Away: Be that as it may, as the mother of two nearly grown girls who are all but perched on the edge of our nest this summer, I have only two words of advice for Mother Eagle:

1. Soak up as much of their wonderful presence and exuberance as you can because the time you can keep them under your wing is so, so short; and
2. Brush up on your tech skills. … Once those kidlets fly out of the nest, a quick text, Twitter or skype is all you’ve really got.