Friday, January 23, 2004

"If I Had Some Duct Tape, I Could Fix That."

Title of today's first blog is in honor of Richard Dean "MacGyver" Anderson, who turns 54 today. Very early on, MacGyver was a freelance secret agent. By the show's second season he was working for Pete Thorton at the Phoenix Foundation for Reseach. Over the years, MacGyver went from a homespun James Bond to a grownup Boy Scout. His MacGyverisms--death-defying solutions using whatever was at hand--went from escaping a bazooka blast with a paper clip, shoelaces, a gas pedal, and a steering wheel; to disarming a guillotine by kicking his shoes off.

The real-life lesson I take from "MacGyver" to this day is to keep brainstorming. Something in the background of every dilemma can solve or simplify it.

MacGyver: I'm going to need a nail.

Lisa Woodman: What for?

MacGyver: Well, if I can weld a good spark plug it'll replace the electrode.

Lisa Woodman: How are you going to weld it?

MacGyver: With wire, a battery, and jumper cables.

Lisa Woodman: How do you come up with this stuff?

MacGyver: Well, the stuff's already here. I just find a different way to use it.

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