Vol 1, Issue 1

Monday, July 31, 2006

Heidi Taskmaster continues ...

    There are two theories on bathroom cleaning. I personally like top-down, although other people swear by bottom-up. In other words, do you start with the floor and work up or do you start with the mirror, basin, toilet, shower and work down? To save time in the shower, shoot it with a recognized cleaner/solvent, and let it sit. You can finish the process when you take the shower you’ll surely need after you’ve cleaned. Toilets take priority over sinks because you can always “hit” a sink when you’re washing your face. During your five minute walk-through, take out the bathroom rugs for shaking. It’s up to you whether to restock toilet paper, towels and soap during the 45 minutes. It’s also a lot easier to clean a bottled “soft” soap mess rather than soap bar residue.

    Kitchen cleaning presents the greatest challenge in your limited time. You should clean the toaster or toaster oven and the microwave at least once every two months. If you don’t, the build-up becomes impossible, and you will not be able to see food burning through the window. (Oven cleaning is an additional chore and not included in this 45 minute schedule.) The 12-minute period does not allow for dishes. Mats and coverings should have been shaken before you started this session. Bottom-up or top-down, it’s your choice. I work from top to bottom because any dirt that falls gets cleaned up on the floor. There are some nifty floor mop products that do a fine job. A reasonably-sized kitchen floor can be cleaned between one and two minutes.

    The rest of the rooms are no-brainers. Any idiot can clean a living room, bedroom, dining room and den. The degree of cleaning depends upon how sloppy you and any pets are. If you have a large dog or more than one cat, allow an extra five minutes. Stains should be cleaned within a month of their origination. Don’t forget windowsills, blinds and picture frames. All of these in a room should take no more than 85 seconds for each room.

    You may have read the above shaking your head and muttering that I’m absolutely out of my mind. You may be right, but that’s not the point. If you have the right mindset to accomplish the job within 45 minutes, you’ll do it. Here are finer points:

1. No telephone conversations of any kind, even if you have a headset and can talk while you’re cleaning. Everyone can wait 45 minutes.

2. No music. This is work, not play. If you want to make play out of it, set aside a day and do it at your leisure.

3. If you live with someone, there’s usually a conflict as to who does what, when and where. Neither of you should take crap from the other. Pick out the most distasteful jobs and divvy them up. If it comes out uneven, switch off from week to week. If you inspect each other’s work, it must be inspected subjectively, not objectively. In other words, did you do as good a job this week as your roommate, spouse or significant other did last week? Tit for tat and all that jazz. Two of you equals 90 minutes worth of productivity. Under that scenario, your home should reach a pristine-like cleanliness.

    Put away cleaning supplies and equipment in an orderly and usable fashion for the next time. That’s one of the secrets of successful household management.

    When your 45 minute cleaning exercise is completed, open your own bottle of $5.99 Chardonnay, imported from Australia, Peru or Chile; dive into that gourmet cracker package; spread the Brie and have yourself a good old time. If you’re really worried about keeping your abode clean for, at least, the next half hour, eat over the sink. If not, what the heck. Kick off your shoes, put your feet up on the coffee table. Spills and crumbs be damned. Have yourself a blast. Happy housekeeping.

    Heidi

Need, Greed Continued ...

    The Bush Administration’s culture has allowed unabated greed to permeate every sector of our society without effective repercussions and restraints. Contracts were granted to contractors in Katrina’s aftermath clearly in violation of rules and law for which the American taxpayer is paying dearly. Public companies, including Halliburton, providing services and goods for the Iraq war effort, have over-billed and gouged our government. Halliburton, once the employer of Vice President Cheney and from whom I believe he still receives remuneration and has future rights to investment opportunities, has been allowed to continue lucrative government contracts in spite of its confession for over-billing, at least, $61 million for products and services. Halliburton, among other contractors, has somehow avoided government sanctions such as debarment. That, in itself, smacks of political influence and needs review and correction.

    The Bush Administration’s culture has easily lent itself to corruption, misfeasance and malfeasance. President Bush’s repetitive statement, “Let’s not play the blame game here,” is a cover-up for all including the outing of CIA Agent Plame, in violation of rules and law which placed a CIA operative in imminent danger. President Bush’s authorization of spying without, at least, adequately briefing appropriate legislators and recognizing basic citizen constitutional rights is just one example of extreme hubris and downright arrogance in the name of national security.

    Culture and environment are important in all institutions. The cultural climate includes both ethical conduct and management awareness and usually travels from the top downward. Enron should have known that; they had all those brilliant people running around. In retrospect, these supposedly intelligent employees were probably running up and down the halls with open scissors in their hands. The Bush Administration should have known the necessity of effective governmental management; look at all those highly-touted and presidentially-praised people working with and for the Administration.

    The defining moment of Bush’s presidency is not what President Bush recently admitted in an interview with German Newspaper, Bild am Sonntag, “I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound large-mouth bass in my lake.” He was describing, hopefully with humor, his best moment in office. However, we offer as the most instructive moment of his presidency his landing May 1, 2003, in a fighter aircraft on the carrier Abraham Lincoln, proclaiming that the war in Iraq had victoriously ended. More than 2,300 U.S. military deaths and 18,000 wounded later, the war has still not ended. The reason is quite simple. If the Administration had established a pre-war culture of intellect, analysis and wisdom, they would have clearly understood the diverse religious and geopolitical differences that existed in Iraq. Surely someone in the Administration knew or could have googled the lesson learned from the death of Joseph Broz Tito, the past Yugoslavian dictator: an aftermath of civil war and ethnic cleansing. Saddam Hussein, a classical despot, held together the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds under his despotic rule, favoring the Sunnis. Clearly, the Tito history lesson should have been applied.

    The similarities between Enron and the Bush Administration are plentiful. This country needs a person of wisdom who is both a leader and a manager. Simply espousing a strong belief system and waving the American flag are not enough. We require competent, thoughtful and wise leadership and management, someone who can honestly employ the word “Administration” after his (or her) name.