Wednesday Wickedness - 20100714

Hi and welcome to Wednesday Wickedness. We are like other memes in that we will ask you ten questions each and every Wednesday. But our little "twist" is that each week we will pick a famous person and pick ten of their quotes. Each of our questions will be based on the quotes. Got it? Great! Let's begin this week's meme!

Today we picked George Steinbrenner (who passed away Tuesday morning at age 80). Here's Wednesday Wickedness!

1. "But why shouldn't I speak out? Don't you speak out in this country?" Do you speak out as often as you should?

I tend to bite my tongue more often than not.  Growing up, and even as a young man, i found that my opinion was usually wrong or unwanted so now i prefer to keep my opinions to my self.  That is unless i am talking with my beloved... or blogging.

2. "I am tough. Sometimes I'm unreasonable. I have to catch myself every once in a while." Are you ever tough and unreasonable?

Just ask my Beloved. To be honest, i don't think i am.  In my opinion i say what i mean, and i mean what i say.  Sometimes what i will ask for is not fair, and i will share that i know this, but i still need it to happen and i appreciate the effort.

3. "I haven't always done a good job, and I haven't always been successful - but I know that I have tried." Do you believe that sometimes you learn more from a failure than a success?

Indeed i do.  If one succeeds to quickly the tendency will be to redo the same action as before and thus perhaps inhibit the desire to learn other ways of doing it.  One of the other ways can either lead to new discoveries, or a better way to make a widget.  Lessons can be learned from any result, if one is willing to take the time to evaluate the results.

4. "Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next." Do you feel that you always have to win?

No sir i do not.  For me the only desired result i have when i am playing a game with friends is to enjoy their company.  The only time where i feel winning is important is in war.  When it comes to that it my objective to give the other side every opportunity to exercise their right to die for their country.  When the sword is unsheathed it should not be the objective to fight upon an equal footing, the objective to is to inflict as much violence upon the opposition so as to overwhelm it.

5. "It is unbelievable to me that the highest-paid team in baseball would start the season in such a deep funk.” Do you think money always buys greatness?

Nope!  Well, i take that back.  The Yankees play in a sport where there i no salary cap and thus you can just look at the achievements Mr. Steinbrenner's money has bought.  However, if you look at the Washington Redskins, it becomes obvious that the owner there has NOT been able to buy such goals.  Money is a tool, and required in almost any long term goal, and can be misapplied.  However, if applied correctly, it goes a long way.

6. "I take my last phone call at home at about 11pm." What time is too late to call you?

Anytime after 2100 hours (9 PM for those not accustomed to the 24 hour clock).I prefer to rise early, get most of my objectives done by noon, and pretty much be winding up my day no later than 1800 (6 PM).  By 2100 i am winding down and wanting to close the eyes - or just spend quiet time with my family and/or my Beloved.

7. "Don't talk to me about aesthetics or tradition. Talk to me about what sells and what's good right now." Do you think tradition matters?

I LOVE tradition, i love the familiar, i love to be able to just enjoy the setting and atmosphere that the familiar brings.  However, there are times when one has to be (and i can't believe i am going to say this publicly) flexible.  Sometimes new things need to be tried and experienced in order to get to where you are going.

8. "And what the American people like is to think the underdog still has a chance." Do you tend to root for the underdog?

I do.  When the New Orleans Saints made it past the first round of the playoffs last year i was pulling for them to go all the way.  When the New England Patriots first started winning Super Bowls i was like, YES!  It is great to see an underdog overcome the Goliath because in all seriousness, if the Goliath had not been prideful, had been taking care of their own business - more often than not... the underdog is going home having not achieved the goal.  But when a "David" steps out on to the field, and the Goliath takes a moment to pause and not overlook the opponent, and the underdog still wins!  Just awesome.

9. "I don't think I ever could exceed my father's successes. He was a completely satisfied man, he knew what he wanted to accomplish and he accomplished it. I did do a lot, though, to try to please him." Do you ever feel that you want to exceed your parents successes?

When i was younger i never set a goal to exceed my parents.  I wanted to find out where i could go, what i could do.  Success is really a relative term.  At one point in my career i opted to take a 20% and a 2 paygrade cut in order to be able to be home with my family in the evenings.  To me, that is success.  To be honest, i am not even sure what my parents thought "success" was, or if they ever achieved it, and i am not one to really determine if they were successful or not.

10. "I'm really 95 percent Mr. Rogers, and only 5 percent Oscar the Grouch." In terms of cartoon characters, who are you like?

That is an interesting question...  i really have no idea.  This would be a question better presented to friends and family than myself.  When i was younger Grover was my favorite Muppet.  I also felt a "kinship" (if you will) to the Elves in the Comic Elf Quest and Wolverine of the X-men.

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