A Short Entry on Long Weekends

One extra day tacked onto the end of a weekend wouldn't seem to be that noteworthy, but it's really the difference between a weekend and a mini-vacation. It doubles the number of days where you're not working and not worried about the following day. For me at least, that's huge. That one extra day of true freedom is enough to decompress from months of unending routine and get back into life with a fresh head.

I would take it a step further. I think it would be smart for businesses to give their employees more long weekends. It would benefit productivity more than would be lost by the extra vacation days. One long weekend say every two months would do wonders for the working population. At that interval the breaks would be spaced out enough to reduce billable impact and make them feel special. They're just distant enough for employees to look forward to them without them feeling completely out of reach, and a hopeful, expectant employee, fresh from their most recent long weekend, is a happier more productive worker.

I know I would be. So Mr. President. Barack, if I may be so bold, sir. Please consider this a formal petition to declare the first Monday of every other month a national holiday. I'll leave it up to you and congress to decide the occasions. I really don't have a preference. National Tacos at Home Day. National Super Plush Carpet Day. Jean Claude Van Damme Day. Whatever. The particulars aren't important. Just give us six long weekends a year along with Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, and you'll have a strong, motivated and hopefully more heavily employed workforce in the coming years.

Hell, why don't you take one of those day designations for yourself. I think you deserve it. Barack on, Mr. President.

"I Inhaled. Frequently. That Was The Point."

When I saw the video of President Obama saying that I was overjoyed.  I'm already excited about his presidency and this statement just gave me one more reason to like him.

I'm not excited because I'm a smoker.  There was a two month period in college where probably more pot smoke passed my lips than oxygen, but that time is over.  No, I'm excited because it shows that our president, for possibly the first time in history, is truly not afraid to tell the truth.

Most politicians would consider that phrase a campaign killer, and would dance around it at all costs.  Now whether Obama felt more comfortable saying that because of the image he has cultivated for himself, and the fact that his base skews younger is inconsequential.  It was still a risk.  You could see him pause momentarily, carefully considering his words before speaking.

In the end he chose to say it, and gained that much more of my respect.  Now if only Michael Phelps would stop kowtowing to the media and accepting blame for something he did which isn't remotely a bad thing.  Tell the truth people.  This article makes the point that nearly one in two Americans have tried pot, and that pot smokers come from all walks of life; most gainfully employed, successful people.

Sorry.  I didn't mean to get off on that tangent.  My point is that we should all be excited by the fact that we have an honest president that isn't afraid to say difficult, unpopular things, and would rather tell the truth than apply the usual political gloss.

Here's to at least eight years of openness and honesty in government!