Clyde's Corner

Clyde Lindley

Quotable Quotes

"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."
--Theodore Roosevelt

"When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; When health is lost, something is lost;
When character is lost, all is lost."
-- German proverb

"The six most important words in the English language -- I admit I made a mistake.
The five most important words -- You did a good job.
The four most important words --What is your opinion?
The three most important word -- If you please.
The two most important words -- Thank you.
The one most important word - We.
The one least important word - I."
-- Unknown

"The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart."
-- Benjamin Franklin

"In intelligent discourse, amidst weighty deliberation and abstract speculation, we must remember the human element. For the issues are too large and the world too small to forget that we are all manifestations of each other."
-- Exhibit by Emily Willis, Sr. Honors Student, George Washington University.

Reading II

While attending the IPMA Annual Training Conference in Minneapolis, September 1997, several persons gave me feedback on my column in the ACN: they liked the books recommended, the "Quotable Quotes," the issue on Training, Education & Learning (TEL), Aging, and others. (Didn't get to attend IPMAAC's conference because of illness in the family.)

Reading is such an essential element of learning, it needs to be encouraged, not only to stimulate the mind, but also the spirit/soul. It is a habit that one usually does alone, and while one is reminiscing, one is also relaxing and having that quite time that one needs in a busy-busy world.

To quote from Janice James: "I've traveled the world twice over. Met the famous. Saints and sinners, poets and artists, kings and queens, old stars and hopeful beginners. I've been were no one's been before. Learned secrets from writers and cooks; all with one library ticket to the wonderful world of books!"

And Fredrick Douglas: "Once you learn to read, you will forever be free."

Working Fathers: New Strategies for Balancing Work and Family. 1997. James A. Levine & Todd L. Pittinsky. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Why is this book of interest to assessment specialist and I/O psychologists? Most importantly, most of the surveys deal with women, and many organizations believe that the man at work "never sits at his desk worrying about his kids." (p. 19) Believe it or not many Fortune 500 companies have sponsored workshops on this topic, and to their surprise, men came in droves and didn't want to leave. So it is a fact that many men at work, including top executives, were feeling conflict between work and family life but were reluctant to talk about it. This evolution in men's work and family life is, at least, partly driven by the changing picture in women's work, their new roles, and new economic opportunities. What fathers want "is the ability to both provide for and spend time with their children. Although work is an unquestionable powerful source of male identity and satisfaction, family is equally strong." (p. 17)

"Working Fathers" provides a lot of guidance on many subjects of concern: creating the father-friendly workplace, breaking the culture collusion, managing paternity leave (a smart investment), connecting with your family and staying connected when you are traveling, and connecting through school, day care, and other significant others.

"Balancing the work-family equation for fathers represents one of the greatest challenges - and opportunities - of today. . . . Deeply ingrained workplace assumptions affect both working mothers and working fathers. But . . . Change is possible when any member of the system - mother or father, manager or employee - begins to challenge those assumptions, to break the culture collision that stalls progress toward true family friendliness in our workplace." (p. 227-8).

Global Warming

Since we are already focused on our children we should find out about global warming and the problems it presents. This may be more important for our future than most everything else since what the US does is going to have a terrific impact upon our lives.

Almost everyone now agrees that global warming and its resulting pollution is already here. About 150 nations will meet in Kyoto, Japan (December 1997) to decide what can be done about the threat of global warming.

Carbon Dioxide (CD) is of greatest concern (others are methane, ozone, hydrocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons, and nitrogen oxides). The US is the source of about 25% of the world's CD emissions. The goal of the Kyoto conference is to cap the CD levels by 2010 to 15% below 1990 levels; President Clinton is reported to cap CD levels at 1990 levels by 2012. One major problem is that a recent survey by the US Energy Department projects that by 2010 the CD levels will be 34% higher than 1990.

There are two positions on this question of global warming. One says the consequences to our health, environment, and ecosystems (sea levels would rise, hurricanes and floods and prolonged droughts would occur, etc.) are so imperative that action is needed now. The opposing side states that is we reduce our dependence on oil and gas there would be a devastating impact on our economy: job losses, businesses disappearing, gasoline prices rising, etc.

Generally speaking, you will get more information about the dangers to our economy. Therefore, the following book will provide information about renewable energy.

Charging Ahead: The Business of Renewable Energy and What It Means for America. 1997. John J. Berger. New York: Henry Holt & Co.

Dr. Berger is an energy and natural resources specialist who consults on energy and natural resources issues; he is the author of books on nuclear and renewable energy, environmental restoration and forestry. He believes there will be a shift from fossil and nuclear energy to solar-based renewables. He provides an exhaustive review of all the developments in the renewable energy field such as solar powered plant replacing a nuclear plant, solar electric vehicle charging stations, solar powered street lights, solar powered homes, electric vehicles, etc., and outlines policies for other developments. He shows how renewable energy will give us a clean environment and create new industries which will be healthy and productive economically.

Clyde is the Director of the Center for Psychological Services, 1608 Sanford Road, Silver Spring, MD 20902. Phone: (301) 754-1070.