tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7353870692882628222024-03-12T21:21:21.003-07:00FlippinPearlsThis is a blog for sharing ideas. Scroll to the bottom to subscribe. Comment to share topics you'd like to see on this site! And, um, the opinions here are my own and in no way reflect the point of view of my employer. And no, I'm not telling you who my employer is just in case!PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-6382857838212081372019-12-27T14:34:00.000-08:002019-12-27T14:34:02.117-08:002020 Goal Setting: A Professional Writer's ConfessionIt's nearly 2020. I haven't updated this blog since 2011. Over the past several years, I had the chance to take my "blog for fun" hobby to a new level by working as a professional writer for a New York startup, www.fitsmallbusiness.com. Most of the content I wrote was in the human resources, people management space as I'm a senior certified HR professional with oodles of executive experience.
PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-39968055624366428422011-09-22T16:45:00.000-07:002011-09-22T17:12:55.569-07:00Greek Kindness in Katakolon
Beach-combing in Katakolon w/cruise ships in background.
This past summer I made a promise to a Museum curator in Greece. My husband and I had been traveling and arrived that morning in Katakolon, Greece. Katakolon might not roll off the tongue, but most of us have heard of Olympia about 90 minutes away.
Having spent his traveling cash on airfare when he missed the ship days earlier, he had PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-53472864204311272832011-08-23T15:09:00.000-07:002011-08-24T05:59:44.236-07:00If Dogs Could Tweet, We'd All Know Where to Find the Best Dog Parks
Sparky awaits his entrance to Walnut Creek - Shramm Park
Sparky the boxer-doodle turned four this summer -- 28 years' old in dog years. It was time I let him off leash.
He didn't want me to have to drive all the way to Hefflinger Dog Park in Omaha, but wanted to celebrate by finding a park nearby where he could run, play, and maybe make a new canine pal. Sparky doesn't have Facebook so the PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com1Bellevue, NE, USA41.1586111 -95.93416669999999241.1151721 -96.0033752 41.2020501 -95.86495819999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-49328394956458963482011-08-21T11:23:00.000-07:002011-08-21T11:31:43.934-07:00Don't Be Afraid of The BirdI recently attended the Open Innovation Conference in Chicago and was astounded by the number of successful innovators within organizations who were afraid of The Bird.
No, no, no! Not the middle-finger-flip-off because you cut someone off in traffic BIRD, or the Angry Birds-bird, but rather the more benign, useful, and perhaps scary bird , TWITTER.
Stefan Lindegaard of @15Inno said it best, PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-52673598057999652752011-08-16T14:21:00.000-07:002011-08-21T09:16:54.424-07:00Innovation: Transparency vs. FearBusiness Leaders get it. Innovators get it. So why are traditional R&D Product Development people the last to understand that transparency is key to innovation and market leadership?
http://www.millenniumhotels.com/millenniumchicago
Organizational fear is what I heard from frustrated innovation managers at Innovation conferences including the Open Innovation Summit held in Chicago, and PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-71367251717999739902011-03-30T15:33:00.000-07:002011-03-30T15:33:34.692-07:00Day 51 With the Meanest ManI was enjoying a casual lunch at Mark's in Dundee with our newly hired administrative assistant when I shared my desire to lose a little weight. As fate would have it, she herself had just gone from a size 12 to a size 4 a few months prior, and eagerly told me of her success with The Meanest Man in Dieting. I was intrigued, and for only $26/month, I signed up. Here's how it's going.
Day 1: PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-55854931646072963592010-03-06T08:12:00.000-08:002010-03-06T08:44:41.167-08:00On a Rainy Day I PonderedWe've been buried in a snow bank for months, and just this week my carpool buddy mentioned she'd found a newspaper, wrapped in plastic packaging, on her driveway when the snow melted this weekend.It was dated, December 8.The dogs don't seem to mind the cold as much as I do, and therefore today's rain doesn't seem to lift their spirits much either. They're always happy - as long as they get to eatPearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-47897111970374858692010-03-06T06:44:00.000-08:002010-03-06T08:08:56.055-08:00No Boss, I'm Not Looking for a JobA while back one of my team members was caught interviewing for a job, when a former co-worker, still friends with her mentioned it. How thankful I was as her supervisor to recognize, before she accepted that position, that she was seeking employment elsewhere. Before the company could steal her away, I was able to negotiate a better position for her within our company, retaining a valuable PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-13941275538472010382009-11-21T19:55:00.000-08:002009-11-21T20:15:56.055-08:00It's All About the Skin This short post is just to show a few newly created outfits in http://www.secondlife.com/. The first is my male Avatar, MichaelVincent Nathansohn and the second two are my before and after female Avatar who goes by the same name. Changing Skin changes everything. Now I have several to choose from, and when I change to one that is male, well, you see. I look like my brother. And I swagger when PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-73686550497590580872009-11-14T12:43:00.000-08:002009-11-14T13:27:47.578-08:00No Cost Vacation to Mexico and North PoleFriday was a good day. Not just because it was a stay-home vacation day, but because I got to travel to new and exciting locations and experience wonderful adventures, even sleeping in a box under a bridge, just to see what it was like.How did the adventure begin? After morning toast and coffee and having checked my bank account balance online in RL, I signed into SL bound and determined not to PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-11745545690029896832009-11-08T16:42:00.000-08:002009-11-12T11:20:03.997-08:00Yes Mom I Can SewI just don't sew very well. I learned that you can't turn the side to the back without the zipper sticking out like a tail. So apparently there's a reason a seamstress uses a pattern. I'll spare you all the photos, but here's a litany of lousy stiching projects that started with my jr. high school cheerleading outfit in strechy-polyester and mis-matched thread, and ended last week with shimmery PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-60655373506082422382009-11-08T16:24:00.000-08:002009-11-08T16:42:50.942-08:00Sparticus the Boxer-Doodle's Funny PosesWhile working from home one day on the laptop loaned to me by my company, I turned around to see Sparticus, the Boxer-Doodle sitting in the entrance to my office, jubilant to have his mom home for the day. I grabbed my camera to snap a photo, and in a sequence of four pictures, got these funny poses. It's typically difficult to photograph a black dog, and this one rarely sits still long enough PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-499227265436871152009-11-08T15:54:00.001-08:002009-11-08T16:24:16.581-08:00A Tale of Two WardrobesTwo wardrobes aren't required of those living in year-round resort-like surroundings. My family and friends in California may even be said not to have a wardrobe as flip-flops and shorts hardly count. However, in my midwest home, the change of seasons provides a welcome opportunity to mix up the color palette, clean out the closet, and look forward to cool evenings in front of a fire.Saying PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-65662522883816788492009-11-08T15:37:00.000-08:002009-11-08T15:53:39.222-08:00Global Warming - Bring it OnSo the weather on the coasts has been wonky at best, and the Nebraska farms had such wet fields in October that the harvesters are just now getting the corn out of the fields. I've never really thought about global warming being real.Perhaps its just global weather distribution, kind of like global wealth distribution only with warm winds and late blooms. Think what you like and do what you thinkPearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-71367277838720715582009-09-12T19:55:00.000-07:002009-09-12T20:16:28.669-07:00There's Just No Way to Explain this to my DadMe: Hey dad, yea, spending some time in Second Life.Dad: What's wrong with the life you have?Me: What? No, it's just an online virtual reality. My life is fine, it's just my avatar is . . .Dad: Avawho? And what the hell is he wearing? What is that?!Me: I'm having a little trouble with the gender . . .Dad: Why is that guy wearing a skirt? Is that supposed to be you? What the?!Me: In Second Life, PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-41467640407201087792009-09-06T16:56:00.001-07:002009-09-06T17:21:03.519-07:00Yes, You Can Buy a House for $22KIt's been two years and the concept of a 'flip' has come and gone but we continue to make progress on the house that by habit we still refer to as The Flip.Siding should be done in the next few weeks thanks to Brian's cousin Jim driving up to help. Then it's caulk and stain and the outside will be done. Here's the stain colors we've chosen.Additional Interior Views and Exterior Views are out on PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-13678551730970555832009-09-06T16:42:00.000-07:002009-09-06T16:55:15.362-07:00The Eyebrow Will Grow BackSparticus had been so good all day at the flip house, right until after Brian headed home, and then two squirrels ran down the tree and he bolted to the side yard and ran into the field below the house. I was finishing up watering the plants recently harvested from the forest when he meandered back up the hill, rubbing his face in the dirt. Did he get stuck by a bee? No. Minute little green PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-59477580551917632082009-08-29T06:46:00.000-07:002009-08-29T08:05:49.632-07:00Getting Ready for Class I hadn't quite recovered from the post Performance Review funk using Success Factors in at the office when an email query arrived from SDSU asking if I'd consider co-teaching EdTec 685 at SDSU with Karen Boyle of LearningGurus this fall. So not everyone hated me, but then again, I hadn't given everyone a '3' out of '5' on communication skills when they thought they deserved a '5'. What part of "PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-3479678937648736912009-07-30T14:50:00.000-07:002009-07-30T15:18:23.915-07:00If You Saw Me in Police CarA friend emailed this question to me suggesting I email it to see how people would respond. Here are the answers from some of my friends. Now you know. If you saw ME in a police car what would you think I got arrested for?Stealing flowers from some nursery to put into your own yard. Thief!If I saw you, I’d think you were doing observations for a project. You know. A ride along.Disturbing the PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-74465487824148841552009-07-30T14:33:00.001-07:002009-07-30T14:49:32.962-07:00Next Year Let's Not CampA week to set up. Two days to tear down. Wet towels and mattresses, sandy floors and sticky cabinets. It was great to have the kids here for a week of Oma Camp Omaha. And now that we've done that, let's consider a cruise next year. I can hear it now, quiet ocean, kids arguing, door 'click'ed and locked. Peace at last.Here's what we did and didn't do. We went to the Zoo, we went to FunPlex, we PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-51705336783790114442009-06-25T18:37:00.000-07:002009-06-25T19:54:49.647-07:00ISD 2 Talk ROI or B DOA with NO $After participating in my first #lrnchat session on Twitter I realized that maybe there's a topic after all that ISD'ers need my help with. Or maybe not. The question being answered is this: How do I talk to C-Suite about $ Needed for Learning & Development? (ok, I'm paraphasing). Consider the following examples in scripted format as if you are the ISD:THE BAD EXAMPLE:ISD: "We need $10K forPearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-56877175532583969792009-06-24T16:53:00.000-07:002009-06-24T17:57:29.667-07:00I Love Twitter = It's Time for a Policy! At the request of management and for the record, the opinions expressed here are my own and no reflection of my employer, I've begun working on a Social Media policy with the best and brightest and youngest of our management talent and have found that the best social media policies address most of the following six (6) key items. Do you hear that lawyers, only six!There's the IBM policy, the PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-1780554274964086562009-06-05T19:57:00.001-07:002009-06-05T20:11:16.685-07:00PearlFlipper Has a TheFlipYou'll have to let me know if video from new THEFLIP camcorder works. It's my first YouTube video and shows my carpool partner Lisa as I pull up in the parking lot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-2AQ1YiPH8Lisa contacted me last year on Omaha Rideshare and our schedules coordinate most days, saving us each about $50/month. The best part? The 45-minute commute seems so much faster when there's PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-65260736430777864732009-06-03T19:38:00.000-07:002009-06-03T19:38:00.782-07:00I Don't Know What's Going to Happen to the Economy Either Have you noticed yourself spending less, mending more, or saving those things that in better times you might have tossed into the Goodwill bin? After 40 days of giving up 'shopping' for lent, I feel guilty now, in a good way, spending on anything not absolutely necessary. A tear in the comforter ?. . . I now fix it. A loose button, sew it on. Landscaping? Well I've always done that myself, but PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-735387069288262822.post-41878843360082411182009-06-01T20:17:00.000-07:002009-06-01T20:17:00.875-07:00A Tale of Two ShirtsI hate to admit that after my daughters grew and moved away, I slipped into a fashion coma. No longer was I able to ask Kristen whether my shoes matched my dress. Or whether my shirt should be tucked in or left loose. Upon the gentle advice of a former manager, I sought the assistance of a 'fashion' consultant, a local expert who was willing to spend 3 hours with me, my wardrobe and my quirky PearlFlipperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10945017106325527409noreply@blogger.com1