PlaysWithTrucks

Author: Scott Duvall

  • Random History Fact #237

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    Scott Duvall
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    “If I Could Turn Back Time”, Cher (1989)” Cher has a lot of good music, but for a certain demographic of the MTV generation this music video is our anthem. This video was filmed on the USS Missouri, shot in one night with the active crew while docked in the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. The…

  • Actions speak louder than words.

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    Scott Duvall
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    Read enough books on leadership, listen to enough Ted talks, scroll enough LinkedIn posts, and a common theme appears. According to those sources, leadership is all about action! A sucessful leader is all about doing! Creating! Managing Change! Executing! Responding to things! The funny thing is, if you talk with leaders with strategy and vision…

  • If we can’t imagine it, we’ can’t build it.

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    Scott Duvall
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    There’s a number of versions of this quote; I like the commanding tone of this one. When you have a grand idea, the first step is believing it’s possible. Everything after that is just an exercise in figuring out how to do it. If impossible things were fact, there wouldn’t be any innovation.

  • I’ve had the strangest dream…

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    Scott Duvall
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    Bob Newhart (1929-2024) Comedy comes in many forms, and no one was a greater master of the dry wit than Bob Newhart. With not just one, but two successful TV shows in the golden era of the TV sitcom he will remain not just one of my favorite comedy actors but one of history’s favorites.…

  • This was harder before the internet.

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    Scott Duvall
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    “..Edsel is a no-go.” This was a perfect SignPost. It tripped up about 70% of the people who saw it. They recognized it, but couldn’t place it. Had I started with “Harry Truman, Doris Day” I’m sure more would recognize Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” My brother had a history teacher in High…

  • Volcanoes are cool. And Hot.

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    Scott Duvall
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    A wonderful quote from Ms. Adventure, the aptly titled quarter-life memoir from geologist, explorer, and science evangelist Jess Phoenix. Go read her book and follow her on all the socials.

  • SignPosts: The I-IV-V Progression

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    Scott Duvall
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    The quote above is attributed to Harlan Howard (1927-2002), an American songwriter primarily known for his contributions to country music, penning songs for Patsy Cline, Charlie Rich, Johnny Cash, and a host of other first-generation country artists. It was his way of describing what makes a great country song. More recently, it’s the title of…

  • Book Club 2023

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    Scott Duvall
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    Update – November 2024: Book Club was so much fun, we’re going to do it again. Stay tuned for new titles, along with a “what I read this year” summary. Thank you to everyone who sent in their ideas! We ended up with over 75 different suggestions across many different topics. I hope you can…

  • SignPosts: Discord can sound beautiful

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    Scott Duvall
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    In a past life, we used to do weekly office hours meetings. You would open with a song, and then have a few minutes to deliver a message. This particularly week, the message I wanted to deliver was pretty simple: Even in the middle of Chaos, Talented People can produce Extraordinary Things.  The song I…

  • SignPosts: Meat Loaf (1947-2022)

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    Scott Duvall
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    I never “got” Meat Loaf or his music;  it just never struck the right chord within me.  I was born a little too late for “Bat out of Hell” and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. By the time our musical paths crossed again Meat Loaf was as much a caricature of himself and I was more interested…