Moody Monday: Being A Good Volunteer

 There is principle that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. That won't work  on a car assembly line, everyone has a job and if 80% of them didn't really do their job, it would be like American Motors in 1975, when parts fell off of the cars on the showroom floor because no one put the screws in. It sometimes happens in offices. It happens often in volunteer groups. In fact it is probably even more extreme, with 10% of the volunteers doing 90% of the work. I have done a lot of the work over the years. 

There is a saying, if you want to get a job done, find a busy person and ask them to do it. There is a grain of truth in this, a busy person who gets things done, and not just looks busy, but knows how to get things done. How to organize a project, how to put aside the hours and be productive. That has often been me. 

So what is a good volunteer made of?

They show up, even if it is inconvenient. 

If they say they are going to do it, they deliver. 

If they are critical of the work that is being done, they are willing to take on the task of doing it better. 

They are not concerned with their name on the project. They want to see the work get done. 

They don't need another listing on their resume, they want to see things done. 

They accept the work of others, even if it is not the way they would have done it. 

If they ask others for help, they are clear in what they want done.

If there are no instructions, all work that was done is just what was asked for - in fact more than what was asked for. 

Good volunteers, burn out. They need time off. They need to be supported. Recently I have been deep in several volunteer responsibilities, and at times wondering why I do this. 

Friday's Hanging. 

Every few weeks, I spend several hours on a Friday morning at a hanging. It is exhausting, three or four hours on my feet, double checking details, trying to make sure we get the names right. I have a volunteer who helps with the hanging, he is really good at it, he has been doing this for decades. In the end, it is nice to look at it, and see a job well hung. 

Another major art show on the walls.  

The Sunday Five: Shopping

1: How much of the grocery shopping do you do in your household? 

2: Do you enjoy grocery shopping, or is it a necessary drudge? 

3: Do you shop with or without a list, and why? 

4: Do you take shopping bags with you, or use bags from the store? 

5: How often does your home shop for groceries? 

My answers: 

1: How much of the grocery shopping do you do in your household? We share this, but I probably only do 1/3 of the shopping. 

2: Do you enjoy grocery shopping, or is it a necessary drudge?  Shopping brings out the inner hunter gatherer in me, I enjoy it. 

3: Do you shop with or without a list, and why? I almost never use a list, I don't know what I want, until I see it. 

4: Do you take shopping bags with you, or use bags from the store? There are a dozen reusable bags in the my car, I always take them with me. 

5: How often does your home shop for groceries? About every 5 days. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: To be creative, you need to be active

I didn't take the camera out for a month. I have excuses, the weather was hot, I was busy, yada, yada, yada, you know what they say about excuses. 

And I hit kind of a dry spell. I was lacking inspiration. Stumped, stuck. 

I kind of had to force myself to get out. And I chose a day, and it was miserable, hot, humid, and wonderful. I slowed down, I took some photos, some okay photos, some great one's. And I found my motivation again. 

My creativity had dropped off, because I had not made time, gotten out there to be creative. To be creative, I have to be active, you gotta do it - to do it. 

When you hit a creative dry spell, go do something creative. It does not have to be easy, it does not have to be fun, you just need to get out there and do something. Be active, to be creative. 
 

Friday Rant: AI Meeting summary

Below is an AI generated summary or lack thereof, of a meeting to discuss policy on biomarkers, genetic testing, funding for Social Security, assisted reproductive technology, supported decision making, and financial exploitation. 

Summary

Incoherent Meeting Discussion

The transcript appears to be fragmented and contains disjointed conversations without a clear central topic or decision-making context. The discussions seem to cover various unrelated topics including weather, cooking, building inspections, and technical issues, but no specific decisions, action items, or clear next steps were identified that would warrant summarization. Without more coherent content or clear meeting objectives, it's not possible to provide a meaningful summary that would be helpful to someone who missed the meeting.

So much for the idea of AI making our lives easier or better, I am glad I was taking notes the old fashioned way.  Thanks AI assistant, you can go back to to your data center and think about this one a bit more. 

I didn't ask for this, it was auto-generated by the video conferencing service and sent to me after the meeting. What a waste of electrons. AI needs to clean up the mess. 

Later last week, a colleague sent me an AI generated work plan, 53 pages, based on over 500 pages of policy. For the most part, it was a waste of electrons. It took me years to understand the distinction between, the parts of the policy statement and report and what counted and what didn't, the AI bot does not know that difference. And on the one that I checked the citation, it was entirely wrong, the document cited had absolutely nothing to do with the action suggested in the work plan. 

We need to double check the AI work, and not fear for our jobs until it gets a whole lot better. 

The Thursday Ramble: Sheep

We have a sizable fock of house sheep, sweet natured, fluffy, the inanimate kind of sheep. When watching video, I am often heard to say BaBas when I see sheep. I remember crossing Ireland on a train, and saying BaaBaas every time we passed a field of sheep, the elderly woman sitting across from must have thought I was daft or drunk. 

How did the sheep thing get started? 

About 20 years ago we spent a week one summer in Yorkshire. We rented a row-house in Pateley Bridge. The bedrooms were upstairs, we were in the one on the back, looking out over a meadow - with a flock of sheep in it. We could hear them in the morning, making their gentle sounds. We visited the cheese factory at Wensleydale. The parking area was a short walk from the tour, and the walk was through a meadow with the sweetest flock of sheep. These sheep had spent their entire lives with people going back and forth and stopping to sink their fingers deep into their fleece for a scratch.  Watch your step, it was a wonderful walk coming and going. Now I had never seen Wallace and Gromit so I had no idea what the connection was there. The cheese was decent - I prefer something with more age and less fruit - but the  sheep left a long lasting impression. 

If you ever come to visit, you may have to shoo a sheep off the chair. I have said it before, you don't have to be crazy to be us, but it would be easier.  

My World of Wonders: September 16, 2026

Where have I been this week? Trader Joe's, the National Portrait Gallery (see above), the community center, the pool, the treadmill, the farmers market. 

What have I been up to in the kitchen?  A chicken- veggie- pasta, pizza, pork chops and french fries, 

Who have a communicated with this week? My brother, I sent him an email, and several days later had a reply. He is unwell. My sister a couple of times. Amy, Eric, Anna, Giuseppe, Raf, Marcel, David, Warren, lots of neighbors. 

What social events have we been up to? We organize a nearly monthly LGBTQ neighborhood gathering. It was scheduled for the first friday, then the power went out, we postponed for a week. We gathered on the pool deck, I made a pizza. We had missed last month, it was good to see everyone.  

What is coming up this week? An art gallery show change, the current show comes down today, the new show goes up Friday, with an opening reception Saturday afternoon. I have one more to do this year - the December show is a solo show by someone who can handle everything.  

What am I writing? I sent an article on communication to the editor, an interview went back to the interviewee for his edits. I have two policy papers I am editing. Then I should be caught up for a while.  

Who deserves a slap this week? People who volunteer to serve on a committee, show up for the meeting, criticize the work that has been done and say "more research and editing is needed" and then don't have time to contribute when asked to help.  5 out of 5 slaps, this why it is so hard to find good committee leadership. 

What surprises me when I think about it? How much the rantings of the lunatic president, impact other countries.  Politely tell him to shut up and go away, and live your life while we wait for his term to end. 

Travel Tuesday: The Mansion at Mt Vernon

Above and Below are photos of the bedroom of George and Martha Washington. The desk was Martha's bought in Philadelphia. There are two closets, one was for clothing and the other was used by Martha to store valuables. Most precious were spices and bed linens. Bed Sheets were labor and materials intensive to make before the industrial revolution. They were numbered and she kept meticulous records of who handled each one and where they were used. 

Some years the Washington's hosted over 600 overnight guests, the house was large, but at times full. This space had originally been a storage room between bedrooms on the second floor, it was converted to be used as an overflow bedroom. It was the only guest room without a fireplace.