Spent half the week with Kris Dunn in Omaha speaking and presenting for the Omaha HR Pros at HRAM on what HR Pros can learn from a money-hungry VP of Sales, and we had a ton of fun with the folks in Omaha!  While traveling my mind had extra time to roam, so here are my Friday Things:

Phone Cords: Let me just say this – I think the invention of the cordless phone, and further invention of cellular phones, has been the downfall of society.  How’s that for a statement!? So, really, Tim, phone cords were what was holding society together! Let me explain…When I was a kid, we had 1 phone in the house (yeah, yeah, and you walked to school up hill, both ways), that phone happened to be located on the kitchen wall next to the dining room.  So, if you wanted to talk to someone, you had two choices – call them or actually go find them in person and talk face to face.  Now my parents weren’t heartless, we had like a 20 foot phone cord, so for privacy you stretched all 20 feet of the cord into the dining room and buried yourself in the corner, so you could talk “in-private” with the family 20 feet away.  The phone cord kept everyone informed, made sure no one got to far off the reservation before Mom and Dad knew what was going on – in essence – the phone cord kept the family together.  It also forced me and my sister to learn how to communicate appropriately, since you were going to here about it if Mrs. Smith answered the phone and you didn’t address her properly, when asking if Johnny could come over to play catch.  I bet you never knew such a simple item, and subsequent loss of such item, would have this big of impact on society.  God Bless the Phone Cord!

Two Kinds of People: I believe you can put the entire world into two kinds of people – when going to a traditional Omaha Steak House (or Texas House, or Ruth Chris’s, or Del Frisco’s, etc. – you get my drift – high end $40 steaks) you have people who order a Steak or you have people who order the Chicken or Fish (whether they order Chicken or Fish makes no difference they’re the same person).   I’m an American.  If I’m invited to a high-end Steak House – you can best believe Timmy’s eating Steak!  If you order Chicken or Fish, you have some unresolved psychological issues from childhood that need to be dealt with.  I think I’ve said enough on this issue – you other people know who you are.

College World Series: The CWS might be the great college playoff type event in all of sports.  College baseball is funny, because unless you live in the SEC territory or have a kid playing college baseball, nobody pays attention.  But once per year, college baseball takes center stage in Omaha – and it’s the coolest place in the world to be!  Think major big time college football game, giant rivalry (Texas vs. Oklahoma, Michigan State vs. Michigan, Florida vs. Georgia, etc.) – for 10 straight days!   It’s like the final four, but with baseball and tailgating – in fact I think the CWS has taken the best of college football (tailgating atmosphere) and the Final Four (a bunch of games in short period or time, with an eventual champion) and put them together in one event.  If you ever get the chance – you have to experience the NCAA College World Series.