Gray Matter Musings Archives - Page 7 of 19

Capacity Constraints: How Knowing Your Limitations Can Save Your Life (And Your Business)

By Chris Carosa on March 8, 2022

There’s a scene towards the end of the classic movie The Outlaw Josey Wales when a bounty hunter saunters in looking for Clint Eastwood’s titular character. When Wales asks him if he’s a bounty hunter, the man says, “A man’s got to do something for a living these days.” To which Wales responds, “Dying ain’t much of a livin’, boy.”

The bounty hunter considers this “advice” and saunters off only to return moments later to, well, let’s just say he wasn’t very good at making a living.

This would have been the perfect moment for Clint to growl “A man’s got to know his Continue Reading “Capacity Constraints: How Knowing Your Limitations Can Save Your Life (And Your Business)”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Clint Eastwood, Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Harry Callahan, Howard Beale, Magnum Force, Network, The Goal, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Theory of Constraints, TOC

The Truth Behind The Mystery Of Weather Forecasting

By Chris Carosa on February 8, 2022

Ah, winter. Remember that? Well, if for some reason you had forgotten, last week certainly provided a useful reminder.

Of course, if you live in New England, you got your reminder a few days earlier with a classic Nor’easter.

Yes, that’s the way the National Weather Service (“NWS”) spells this famous type of storm. These weather events feature notorious low pressure systems that travel up the eastern seaboard. They’re so named because the winds along the coast come from the northeast.

Nor’easters are not limited to the winter. The NWS tells us these storms generally occur in Continue Reading “The Truth Behind The Mystery Of Weather Forecasting”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged American Model, Bill Gutsch, Blizzard of 'yy, Boy Scout, British Model, Canadian Model, Channel 13, Connecticut, European Model, Gettysburg, Good Morning America, Hayden Planetarium, Kevin Williams, lake effect, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, McClennan, National Weather Service, New England, Nor'easter, Pickett's Charge, reverse-psychology, Seminary Ridge, snow, Strasenburgh Planetarium, The European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts, thunderstorm

This Is More Important Than Being ‘Tolerant’

By Chris Carosa on January 25, 2022

No matter where you are, there it is. It’s called by a lot of different names, but it all means the same thing.

The trouble is, it doesn’t. And that can hurt people.

You may have heard this story before.

Decades ago, before I had the joy of children, I was assigned as the Town Board liaison to the school district. It was during the initial hype of political correctness. At the time, and not so different from today, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing the maxim “Be Tolerant” plastered somewhere.

During one meeting, (a strategic planning discussion), we were asked to brainstorm on Continue Reading “This Is More Important Than Being ‘Tolerant’”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Axis Powers, Captain Kirk, City on the Edge of Forever, commonality, Crusades, Edith Keeler, HFL School District, Hue de Tabarie, King Saladin of Egypt, Nazi, Ordene de chevalerie, Order of Knighthood, Prince Hugh II of Tiberias, Star Trek, Tolerance Paradox, Town Board, World War II

What’s Your Dream? (Here’s How To Capture It)

By Chris Carosa on January 18, 2022

The original vision that was my “sure winner” in the Florence Brasser art contest. It didn’t win. Then. But The Vision ultimately prevailed.

You have a dream. It may be new. It may have been lingering in the back of your mind for years. Either way, you have a dream.

And it’s compelling.

If you’re like most people, you’re wondering “How can I achieve this dream?” If you’re ambitious (and who isn’t?), you’re wondering, “How can I accomplish my LIFETIME Dream?”

Many years ago, I wrote a column about an ironic first-place award I received in an art contest (see, “Sometimes Second Best Turns Out To Be the Very Best,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, March 20, 2016).

I say “ironic” because the winning drawing was a throwaway picture not meant for the Continue Reading “What’s Your Dream? (Here’s How To Capture It)”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Abruzzi, Dad, Florence Brasser, Fontecchio, grandfather, Kenny, L'Aquila, Lifetime Dream, three mountains

Josh Allen Had His In Tampa, Where Did You Have Yours?

By Chris Carosa on January 11, 2022

Something happened in the second half of the game in Tampa Bay on Sunday, December 12, 2021. After being outscored 24 to 3 in the first half, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills battled back by besting the Buccaneers by the identical score of 24 to 3.

Although Tom Brady would bring the Bucs victory in overtime, the second half turnaround marked more than a turning point in a single game, it signaled the start of a mid-season adjustment that sparked the Bills on a winning streak that ended with them standing atop the AFC East for the second year in a row.

So, what exactly happened in that second half? And why is it important for you to know?

It’s called the “Thermopylae Moment.”

OK, nobody calls it that. I just made that up.

But it works.

To fully appreciate the term, you’ll need to go back in history a little bit. And by “a little bit” Continue Reading “Josh Allen Had His In Tampa, Where Did You Have Yours?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 300 Spartans, AFC East, Alamo, Athenian, Athens, Battle of Marathon, Bickering Bills, Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills, Darius, Greece, Greek, Hades, Hollywood, Josh Allen, Leonidas, Malian, Marathon Race, Persia, Persian, Pheidippides, softball, Sparta, Tampa Bay, Theban, Thebes, Thermopylae, Xerxes

Just Say ‘No!’ To Drugs

By Chris Carosa on November 30, 2021

On March 31, 2021, then Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). According to the official State website, “The legislation created a new Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) governed by a Cannabis Control Board to comprehensively regulate adult-use, medical, and hemp cannabis. The OCM will issue licenses and develop regulations outlining how and when businesses can participate in the new industry.”

What does this mean?

Well, there are several gears in motion here. The first pertains to private use by adults. Here, the State says “The Office of Cannabis Management needs to draft and issue regulations to implement the law before adult-use sales can begin. However, while there Continue Reading “Just Say ‘No!’ To Drugs”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Andrew Cuomo, Cannabis, CATO Institute, consumption, dispensary, Marijuana, MRTA, opt-out, tax revenue

Ode To The Open Road

By Chris Carosa on August 31, 2021

In the minds of many, the fast-approaching Labor Day represents the metaphorical end of summer. Before we take that literary leap, however, let’s spend one final weekend basking in the glory of the sun and the freedom of endless fields of rolling hills, chirping nature, and fragrant wild flowers.

There’s more to it than that, though.

From the beginning of our lives, we’ve come to see summer as a 10-week break. It starts with the calendar of school. Out in June. Back in September. July and August became the Continue Reading “Ode To The Open Road”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged America's First Frontier, Arhcer Butler Hulbert, Articles of Confederation, Beach Boys, British Invasion, car, classic American film, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Endless Summer, Federal Aid Highway Act, Founding Fathers, Great American Novel, hot rod, I-90, inalienable rights, Interstate Highway System, Jan and Dean, Labor Day, lonesome cowboy, Macadmized, Mike Love, Rock & Roll, Route 15, Route 5 & 20, Route 66, summer, The Beach Boys, The Genesee Road, U.S. Constitution, U.S. Highway System, western

The Road All Runners Run

By Chris Carosa on August 17, 2021

The world is an imperfect place. And we are its imperfect inhabitants.

You shouldn’t, as the saying goes, allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. For all our imperfections, we all possess some ounce of good.

Like hating the sin and loving the sinner, it is that ounce of good that we should glorify, amplify, and dignify. It’s what gives us all hope in a world marred by inadequacy and faultiness.

So it was with A.E. Housman, the troubled poet of the 19^th Century. If you’re on your toes, you may have caught that the title of this piece alludes to a line in Housman’s greatest work: “To an Athlete Dying Young.”

While Housman’s works reflect the tragic demons that tormented him, this poignant poem still contains that ounce of good that makes it memorable.

A behavioral economist might call it “reframing.” Us regular folk simply say it’s looking at Continue Reading “The Road All Runners Run”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged A.E. Housman, Behavior Finance, Ben Franklin, courteous, friendly, Giovanni Torriano, Good Samaritan, grandmother, kind, Poor Richard's Almanack

Will Teenage Minimum Wage Hurt The Poor?

By Chris Carosa on August 3, 2021

Talk to any restaurant owner and you’ll immediately get two comments: “Covid was H-E-double toothpicks” and “We might not survive Albany’s minimum wage mandate.”

Of course, both points cover many different types of businesses, but it’s the latter sentiment that impacts businesses that rely on entry level workers to butter their bread, especially restaurants (yes, the metaphor was slyly chosen).

Interestingly enough, up until 100 years ago, the Supreme Court deemed minimum wage laws illegal. In 1923 the Supreme Court declared it “simply and exclusively a price-fixing Continue Reading “Will Teenage Minimum Wage Hurt The Poor?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Law of Supply and Demand, living wage, minimum wage, restaurant, Supreme Court

Hooray For The New Space Race!

By Chris Carosa on July 27, 2021

An amazing thing happened in the course of a week and a half this month. Did you notice it?

On July 11^th, Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic spacecraft, fulfilled a pledge he made decades ago to fly into space. He brought along five others in his rocket plane.

Nine days later, and on the anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, Jeff Bezos took a crew of four to the edge of space in his Blue Origin rocket. Aboard with the Continue Reading “Hooray For The New Space Race!”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries