Just as I was complaining in my September 16 post, Windows XP Service Pack 2 needs some serious tweaking to integrate it with your existing system. Now, in an article published in PC Magazine, Scott Spanbauer takes you through the settings. And while we’re at it, read another piece entitled Windows XP SP2: Fix or Foe?

Everybody seems to be forwarding the following column written by CBS’ Andy Rooney - unfortunately, I couldn’t track down the original source. Here it goes:

As I grow in age, I value women who are over 30 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why: A woman over 30 will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask, “What are you thinking?” She doesn’t care what you think. If a woman over 30 doesn’t want to watch the game, she doesn’t sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it’s usually something more interesting. A woman over 30 knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 30 give a damn what you might think about her or what she’s doing. Women over 30 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won’t hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it. Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it’s like to be unappreciated. A woman over 30 has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend because she doesn’t trust the guy with other women. Women over 30 couldn’t care less if you’re attracted to her friends because she knows her friends won’t betray her. Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 30. They always know. A woman over 30 looks good wearing bright red lipstick. This is not true of younger women or drag queens. Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 30 is far sexier than her younger counterpart. Older women are forthright and honest. They’ll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one! You don’t ever have to wonder where you stand with her. Yes, we praise women over 30 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it’s not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed hot woman of 30+, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress. Ladies, I apologize. For all those men who say, “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free”. Here’s an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage, why? Because women realize it’s not worth buying an entire Pig, just to get a little sausage…

Who the heck is STS9? That was the question I was asking myself last Saturday, on my way over to the Irving Plaza venue near New York’s Union Place. A friend of mine, floral sculptor Anthony Ward, was performing live with Soundtribe Sector 9 and had invited me to the show. As I entered the theater, throngs of STS9 fans started to converge in front of the stage - their “earthy” appearance apparently a defining hallmark. If you’re wondering what that means, I am trying to figure it out myself…

Anyway, all I can say at this point: interesting music, worth taking a closer look at. And while you’re on their website, check out STS9’s photogallery - just to see those earthlings.

An interesting tidbit from a new study on the cumulative cost of the German reunification process for the fifteen years of 1989 to 2004. According to a group at the FU Berlin, more than 1.5 Trillion Euros have been transferred from the states in the former West to their East German counterpart. In addition, the study concludes that in 1989 East Germany had a standard of living comparable to that of the 1950s West Germany. By 1995, that standard of living in the former East had caught up with that of the former West. Amazing, isn’t it?

I haven’t been writing as much as I’d like to lately, in part because I had to deal with my Dell Inspiron laptop. What’s the matter? After installing Windows XP Service Pack2 - which beefs up security with numerous improvements and a software firewall, I ran into problems with my existing firewall from ZoneAlarm. The two weren’t too happy together.

After some browsing on CNET, I came across two articles relevant to improving your computer’s security. The first of discusses the question Is it better to use the Windows XP SP2 firewall and turn off ZoneAlarm or the other way around? while the second article sheds light on Is your laptop safe at the coffee shop? I can’t imagine that I am the only one wondering about these questions, so enjoy the articles.

In the same realm as the recent post on courage, I pondered the implications of a statement by Michael Useem, Director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. Useem was asked to answer the question of how to prepare to be courageous. What struck me about his answer was not the specific advice on how to become more courageous, but how implementing his specific recommendation will improve your business. Or your entire life for that matter.

In his response, Useem cited the textbook example from the Apollo 13 mission when mission leader Eugene Kranz declared that “Failure is not an option”, referring to their attempts at bringing home the endangered crew of Apollo 13.

He [Kranz] was confident because he had enough experience. He knew the staffing down there in Houston; he knew all the moving parts. And by looking at his resources and relying on his prior mission directorships, he could draw the concrete assessment that the mission would successfully return to Earth.

According to Useem, the number-one way to prepare for future tough moments is to do what the military calls an after-action review. “Do it routinely, not only in your operation but for you personally. I’ve spoken with entrepreneurs who routinely sit down at the end of their week and look at the decisions they’ve made. It’s almost meditative. They get rid of all other distractions and review what they did, what they might have done differently, and what lessons came out of that, for future reference.”

Useem added a second component in an individual’s possible preparation for courage, but it was the first point that resonated with me. As in any mission or project, you prepare yourself for future tough moments by establishing confidence in your skills, your knowledge - gained through numerous experiences over the course of your life. Reflecting on the inherent lessons of each experience will not only put you in a position to be courageous, but will also improve your business’ bottom line. As with courage, improving your business shouldn’t be a daring one-time act. It should be a leadership behavior on consistent display, fueled by the constant review of life’s learning lessons.

Jonas Salk was spot-on when he administered the experimental polio vaccine to himself and his family, pointing out that “it’s courage based on confidence, not daring, and it is confidence based on experience.”

Today’s business leaders need more of that kind of experience-based courage.

Is courage obsolete? Heroism is awfully hard to find in this era of expedience, excuses, and evasion. But as the people and ideas featured in a special issue of Fast Company make resoundingly clear, courage is still the essential virtue. Among the many articles, including a great essay by John McCain, I came across a piece written by Pete Hamill discussing the courage to use clear, unobstructed language.

For me, the article directly tied into the current election season, chock-full of meaningless language and ever-shifting policy positions. I wondered aloud where the courageous politicians are that say what they mean and mean what they say - regardless if it is convenient at a given moment. In particular, Hamill explored Barry Goldwater’s record on this matter, and compared it to today’s politicians on both the left and right:

Instead of Goldwater’s blunt lucidity, we get weasel words, as in Bush’s “weapons-of-mass-destruction-related program activities,” from his 2004 State of the Union Address. We get dissembling, as in Rumsfeld’s tortured answer to a reporter’s question about Abu Ghraib: “My impression is that what has been charged thus far is abuse, which I believe is technically different from torture.” We get legalistic evasions, as when then-vice president Al Gore replied to a 1997 question about his phone calls from the White House soliciting Democratic campaign contributions: “There is no controlling legal authority that says this was in violation of the law.” And we get Bill Clinton’s notorious nonanswer to the Starr grand jury: “It depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ means.”

Great examples, indeed. Beyond what we’ve become accustomed to from many politicians, I feel a general lack of leadership, courage and just doing what’s right. Too often for my taste, people take the convenient road to personal gain with disturbing disregard for the good of society. Somehow, I sense that the public at large is ready for a new leader that rises to today’s challenge of dumbed-down cover-your-ass safe political phraseology.

Hamill later transitioned into why speaking bluntly is a matter of courage:

Telling the truth, of course, can carry heavy penalties: condemnation, ostracism, slander, the end of careers. Telling the truth often requires as much courage as that of the foot soldier, the police officer, the fire fighter. The arena is different; there are no rocket-propelled grenades, no roaring fires or desperadoes with guns. But truly brave people share one big thing: In doing their duty, they can lose everything. Without such people, we can lose everything, too. No democracy can survive if it is wormy with lies and evasions.