Frazz by Jef Mallett for September 21, 2024

Did Orville’s and Wilbur’s?

I’m sure Orville and Wilbur flew by the seat of their pants.

Frazz has the right idea?

‘Every day in every way I am getting better and better.’Of course, I’m not old enough to remember Émile Coué …

So that’s what, 35 times better in a year? A bit under 1500 times better in two? (Assuming it compounds of course).

That seems a little high for expectations.

A very long time ago I read a shortened version of Eddie Rickenbacker’s autobiography. He described the turn-and-bank indicator on his WWI fighter as a bottle half full of water hanging from a string.

‘Seat of the pants,’ i.e., some days show greater than 1%, but others likely register in the minus range. A roller coaster instead of a steady upward ride? Kinda describes Caulfield’s life , , , and almost everyone else.

I would be very, very happy with my stock portfolio if it was able to be “1% better every day”!

 Basic Principles of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI, also known as the Deming Method, after American business consultant W. Edwards Deming, who helped Japan rebuild its post-WW2 economy into the economic powerhouse it is today)

1. Quality breeds success.

2. There are no perfect goods or services; everything can be improved.

3. See things as they really are, not as they once were or as one may imagine or wish them to be.

4. It’s possible to double the quality of something, but hardly ever by one giant 100% leap, far more often by a hundred tiny 1% increments.

5. Promoting a culture of CQI is a major responsibility of management.

6. Solicit ideas for improvement from their two leading sources: workers and customers.

How, exactly, would you measure “1% better”?

Life doesn’t come with precise measurements, so you just have to keep on trying to be good and keep pushing in that direction. Don’t be fooled into thinking that will get you to heaven, though.

You can’t always improve, but at least try not to backslide.

Coué, quantified.

But is it one percent of the initial value everyday (simple interest formula) or one percent better than the total value of the previous day (compound interest formula)? The person who invented the saying needed to be more specific!

Flying by the seat of my pants (and all the while)

Like some sort of ritualistic dance (and with a smile)

Convinced myself I had some sorta chance (and all the while)

Flying by the seat of my pants

—Schnier / Garvey / Derhak

Wonder if Caulfield (or Frazz, for that matter) have ever read the comment “There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots.”

Compound interest, compunded daily. (although “better” and “goodness” are hard to quantify.)

Don’t all pilots fly by the seat of their pants? Or do some of them stand up?

Chuck Yeager might have had instruments but he also had The Right Stuff. Others did as well. Neil Armstrong had only 13 hours in space before Apollo 11. But more than once he showed he had The Right Stuff, and that’s what NASA was looking for in a lunar crew.

Indeed Chuck Yeager had instruments aboard his aircraft; however, he seldom used his xylophone nor his bagpipes.