Listen to the news and it sounds like a dramatic week. Look around my house and the two most obvious events were a wind storm and I mowed the lawn. There was the chance for dramatic good news from MicroVision, but not this time, again. The economy is improving, and as one client closes their project, others entice with attractive positions that merely lack compensation. A situation that must be improved. There’s little to be done this late on a Friday night. I can, however, continue my experiments brewing the new version of a cup of green tea. A quarter teaspoon of that herbal tea that is legal in a few more states may make more of a difference than all the drama.

Okay, so there were elections. The news made sure we know about that. The debates are moot. As one pundit put it, nothing’s changed except the party that is filibustering. Government has done a fine job of preferring ideological scrimmaging over pragmatic governing. Much of the real progress is happening thanks to non-politicians getting issues on the ballots. The news hounds chase through the halls of power, but the real work is being overlooked and unappreciated.

MicroVision announced news this week. Their quarterly earnings were released, and the lack of news was no surprise. As usual, stockholders were left parsing paragraphs and phrases from the news and the conference call to derive qualitative assessments of the company’s progress. The quantitative assessments were possible, but the numbers available were so weak and not representative of the potential that it is generally accepted the subsequent valuation would be bleak. Bleak, however, does describe the stock price. I continue to be divided about MVIS. I think they have great potential and could also never succeed. In general, the news sounds like things will be much better within the next 6-9 months; a situation that has been true for years. (Peter Jungmann has some good arguments for optimism.)

The best news I’ve heard this week all came from individuals. Businesses are busy. Friends are paying their bills, and one even bought a boat. I’m not the only one working seven days a week with most of the evenings included. I know some who include working nights, too; something I couldn’t sustain. Jobs are shuffling. Opportunities are developing. But, I continue to make enough for my regular bills, hope nothing breaks, and wonder where I’m going to get the money to pay my taxes. Ah, but a little bit of good news could go a long way. And, some of the potential news is big – if they can get the money. Fortunately, there are a few such possibilities and it would only take one or two to make me breath easier. Sooner is better than later.

Waiting on good news is a habit. The world impresses me. It is beautiful, rich, and defined by potential. Look at the seeds spinning from maple trees. Each seed is the potential to create another tree. One tree could produce one forest if given the opportunity.

This week, Whidbey had a wind storm. Fall has been warm, which means the leaves stayed on the trees. Thanks to the kind of weather forecasting that was a fantasy fifty years ago, we knew it was coming and could watch it on radar. The last bit of clear sky was around for the sunrise. A backdrop of the storm front was the canvas for a double rainbow that took up more sky than my wide-angle lens could see. The high winds and high tide hit together, throwing water and logs over the sea wall and undermining the beach. Power outages were scattered around the island as the leaves caught the wind and pulled their trees down across the lines. Luckily, no one was hurt; and I didn’t even lose power. (Losing power is one of the few ways I’ll take a day off, and even then, I’ve got emergency power. Gotta pay those bills! Gotta eat!) The next day, the storm was past. The Sound was so still it looked like a kayaker could coast for miles without paddling. It doesn’t work that way.

I remind myself that the storm I’m weathering, and many (but not all) of the storms we’re weathering, are dramatic and pass. In the midst of it, there are appropriate concerns, responsible actions, and developing stories. Afterwards though, Most things head back towards normal. A few things will have shifted. There will be some damage to repair; but, except for the big events like climate change, we manage to adapt and steer ourselves true. Eventually.

So, what’s a guy to do? Keep doing. Tonight, I’m doing the next step in my culinary cannabis experiment. This time, twice as much as last time: a quarter of a teaspoon. Not much of a thing; but, this time there is aroma, flavor, and still no effect large enough to notice. Of course, maybe that’s the best news – I’m making progress and I get to continue experimenting. That’s good news, and like so much progress, it won’t show up on the news.

Hmm, maybe I am feeling a bit more relaxed. A quarter of a teaspoon may a nice step.