Skip to main content

Arbitrary Idea Generation

Friends,

Society seems comfortable with this notion that people born within a 20-22 year window share common traits. Marketers and the media casually refer to us as Boomers, Gen-Xers and Millennials. Popular as these groupings are, we seldom delve beyond the broad strokes they convey. Peel the curtain back a little, and a bizarre framework emerges. I’ll set aside the 80-90 year repeating cycles of idealists, nomads, heroes and artists –if you’re curious, read this. Instead, I’ve decided to share some random observations –from this easily amused Gen-Xer (yes, I had to look it up).

  • The now defunct Millennial catchphrase “OK Boomer” carries a secret irony: it’s based on a generational paradigm created by two Baby Boomers: William Strauss (b. 1947) and Neil Howe (b. 1951).
  • Gen-X gets its name from the 24th letter in the alphabet, because it’s the 24th generation on the list. Fittingly, unlike the preceding and following generations, we were too lazy to change it.
  • Baby Boomers were preceded by the Silent generation, which might help explain why we don’t hear much about them.
  • If asked, wouldn’t it be amusing to say your product is targeted at the Lost generation? Granted, it might have been funnier before April 2018, when the last member of the Lost generation was lost.
  • The Homeland generation (i.e. generation Z) started in 2005. With the alphabet exhausted, does that mean the world will end in the mid-2020s?  (Fortunately not. Greek alphabet to the rescue!)
  • Hanson Gregory, the alleged donut inventor, was a member of the Gilded generation (1822-1842). Is it any wonder he created an excessively delicious golden treat?

It’s just as well my list neglected to mention one living generation. Their superlative name tells me they don’t need a self-esteem boost –besides, we’re getting Monday off to celebrate their feats.

Happy Friday!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ashes to Ashes

  Friends, I don’t know about you, but my household tends to use things a tad beyond their reasonably useful life. Cars, razors, pillows... heck, we squeezed the last BTU out of our home’s 25 year old thermostat —15 years is for rookies. This week we bid our fire pit farewell. Structurally unstable and rusted to the core, this contrivance was well on its way to returning to the soil. Memories of s’mores, cigars and shared spirits come rushing back, as does the six foot tall cardboard peach burned atop it, which caused the first stress fractures in the waning days of 2019. Good times! I suppose nothing lasts forever, but memories can add a sense of permanence to the fleeting. So go, grab a donut and make some new memories!! Happy Friday!

To an end to Covid Games

  Friends, As 2021 comes to an end, it’s time to remember and be grateful for another year of life – there’s much for which to be grateful. Sure, some things could have gone better (they always can), but on balance things were good. At the GonzĆ”lez household, the cathartic process of capturing this year’s essence to burn at midnight is wrapping-up. This year’s theme, “Covid Games from home” uses Squid games (Netflix’s unlikely breakaway hit) as a way to mock the two main Covid variants of concern (Delta and Omicron) and commiserate about working from home with all the weirdness it carries along. Comfy slippers combined with dressing-up from the waist up for zoom meetings (not to mention the quarantine fifteen). As I hope for lots of snow and no wind (lest we need to call an audible on the midnight burn) my thoughts turn to my friends in Boulder county and hopes for a quick recovery. May 2022 bring an end to confinement and lots of opportunities to share donuts. Happy Friday!

BIrds of a Feather

Friends, The early bird catches the worm, however, as the sun rises I’d much rather have a Denver omelet than a diet of worms . Ready to fly the coop, my ducks all in a row, I ponder one more time whether a bird in hand is truly worth two in the bush. Egged-on by my quest to tuck away a nest egg, I’ve decided to change industries and hope that, like the phoenix, my career will also rise from the ashes of change. After all, I’m no spring chicken –my crow’s feet and gray bely my age – however, I have to trust my judgment and believe you can’t catch this old bird with chaff (whether or not folks think me an odd bird for my actions). And so I shall attempt to soar like an eagle, aware that counting my chickens before they hatch would be ill-advised. As I learn to talk turkey in the language of cybersecurity, I will endeavor not to hide my head in the sand, choosing instead to be like a duck – calm on the surface and paddle like hell underneath! And while my excessive use of bird-inspired