Song of the Day Part 3: Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues

On a Dylan roll at the moment as you can tell. The video is almost as good as the song.
Hey, a music video before MTV (and a nice one too).



Lyrics:

Johnnys in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
Im on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says hes got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
Its somethin you did
God knows when
But youre doin it again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin for a new friend
The man in the coon-skin cap
In the big pen
Wants eleven dollar bills
You only got ten

Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phones tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early may
Orders from the d. a.
Look out kid
Dont matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Dont try no doz
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You dont need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows

Get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Ring bell, hard to tell
If anything is goin to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail
Look out kid
Youre gonna get hit
But losers, cheaters
Six-time users
Hang around the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Lookin for a new fool
Dont follow leaders
Watch the parkin meters

Ah get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance, learn to dance
Get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Dont steal, dont lift
Twenty years of schoolin
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Dont wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Dont wanna be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump dont work
cause the vandals took the handles

Song of the Day part 2: Bob Dylan, Don't Think Twice, It's Alright

How can such a simple song (and tune) seem so original?



Lyrics:

It aint no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It dont matter, anyhow
An it aint no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you dont know by now
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and Ill be gone
Youre the reason Im travlin on
Dont think twice, its all right

It aint no use in turnin on your light, babe
That light I never knowed
An it aint no use in turnin on your light, babe
Im on the dark side of the road
Still I wish there was somethin you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
We never did too much talkin anyway
So dont think twice, its all right

It aint no use in callin out my name, gal
Like you never did before
It aint no use in callin out my name, gal
I cant hear you any more
Im a-thinkin and a-wondrin all the way down the road
I once loved a woman, a child Im told
I give her my heart but she wanted my soul
But dont think twice, its all right

Im walkin down that long, lonesome road, babe
Where Im bound, I cant tell
But goodbyes too good a word, gal
So Ill just say fare thee well
I aint sayin you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I dont mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But dont think twice, its all right

Song of the Day: Bob Seger, We've Got Tonight

For me, this song goes into the category of "makes you feel sad and happy at the same time". All the best songs do.



Lyrics:

I know its late, I know youre weary
I know your plans dont include me
Still here we are, both of us lonely
Longing for shelter from all that we see
Why should we worry, no one will care girl
Look at the stars so far away
Weve got tonight, who needs tomorrow?
Weve got tonight babe
Why don t we stay?

Deep in my soul, Ive been so lonely
All of my hopes, fading away
Ive longed for love, like everyone else does
I know Ill keep searching, after today
So there it is girl, Ive got it all now
And here we are babe, what do you say?
Weve got tonight, who needs tomorrow?
Weve got tonight babe
Why dont we stay?

I know its late, I know youre weary
I know your plans dont include me
Still here we are, both of us lonely
Both of us lonely

Weve got tonight, who needs tomorrow?
Lets make it last, lets find a way
Turn off the light, come take my hand now
Weve got tonight babe
Why dont we stay?
Weve got tonight babe
Why dont we stay?

Motivating employees

There are all sorts of books and blogs that cover the topic of motivating employees. From experience, these two items caused me to be highly motivated.

Being part of a small company

It was hugely important for me (as a software engineer, as opposed to a manager) to be working for a small company.

In a large company my efforts were diluted by the performance of large number of other people. Therefore even if I did a tremendous job it usually did not "move the needle" very much in terms of overall company performance. In a small company, however, my performance has sometimes made a dramatic difference.

Having Skin in the Game (Part Ownership)

When you are an employee with no stake in the company you're a cog in a big machine, you come to work, you do your job, you leave, etc. You are basically working to make somebody else rich. If you do an outstanding job you might get a slightly higher than cost of living raise (or in these troubled economic times, you may get the privilege of keeping your job). On the other hand, if you have ownership in the company the decisions you make feel more tied to your own personal success.

How can a company share ownership with their employees? Two ways that I can think of:

1) A yearly bonus tied to individual performance (good)
2) Shares of the company (best)

In particular, item 2 was important to me. Knowing that my performance at work could lead to a payout at the end that could significantly change my life has been highly motivating. If I feel like I own a part of the business then I am more likely to make decisions as if they affect my own personal profit and loss (because, in fact, they do).

I am not sure what motivates others, but these two items have worked for me.

-BT

Robot hand

Not bad for only three fingers... I wonder how many times they had to shoot the video though, maybe they just got lucky in some cases. Either way it's fairly impressive. To me it drives home how incredible the human body is. Engineers are spending so much time and energy trying to make a poor replica of something most of us can do fairly easily.