One nice thing about getting older (one of the few things :-)) is that I have much less interest in things that don't matter that much. So, I don't spend a lot of time chasing things that burn time and money. But I do spend time and money on things that matter to me. More simplification and focus is calming.
What matters to me now? In no specfic order I'd say music, making a difference through my career, family/friend relationships, great ideas, health, financial independence, sex, mental clarity, spiritual search, seeing more of the world.
Maybe that's about it. Activities that enhance those things pretty much take up my time these days. Now that I wrote the list, it seems longer than I expected, cause it doesn't seem like I do as many different things as I did in the past. But, that's probably enough as I seem to stay busy most of the time with just doing the next thing.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Connecting the Dots
Sometimes we may wonder why we don't do a better job of seeing around corners. Why can some of us do it better than others. Most of us can detect obvious or not so obvious trends. But how many of us can connect the dots in new ways. There are probably an infinite number of ways to connect the dots for any given arena, context or media, not to mention the meta-world. I think we limit ourselves in two ways.
First, we notice the way things really are. I believe this is a pre-requisite to connecting future dots. We have too many distractions that give us lots of noise around what's really there.
Second, we rely too much on the "experts" to tell us what the future will be. Here again, too much distraction the same kind but different effect blinds us to the obvious.
Third, some particular aspect of the current opportunity is forcing us into a particular way of thinking of the approach to take. So, we are blind to an approach that might be simpler and yield more benefit.
First, we notice the way things really are. I believe this is a pre-requisite to connecting future dots. We have too many distractions that give us lots of noise around what's really there.
Second, we rely too much on the "experts" to tell us what the future will be. Here again, too much distraction the same kind but different effect blinds us to the obvious.
Third, some particular aspect of the current opportunity is forcing us into a particular way of thinking of the approach to take. So, we are blind to an approach that might be simpler and yield more benefit.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Occupy Wall Street
I saw a sign hanging around the neck of one of the protesters. It said "A Job is a Right". Hmmm... Is that a right like the right to pursue happiness? If so, how is this enforced? Enforcing the right to pursue happiness means that the government will intervene if your rights are being compromised, meaning, your right to pursue happiness is being prevented or hindered. Or, you could go to court to sue someone for infringing on your rights in some way.
Does the protester think that everyone should be given a job as soon as they want one? So, anyone, say, 16 years or older can decide they want a job, then show up somewhere that has jobs (at the job store?) and demand a job. If the potential employer refuses, the police could be called, or the potential employee might start a lawsuit against the business.
If someone has a job and they are not performing it very well, they cannot be fired. This would be infringing on their right to have a job. Nobody would ever be fired and nobody would be refused a job if they asked for it. Because it's their right!
Who pays for this? The government? Does it just print money constantly to support the rights of all citizens to have jobs? (I am assuming this right to have a job only extends to citizens).
I wonder what kind of world we'd have if having a job was a right.
Does the protester think that everyone should be given a job as soon as they want one? So, anyone, say, 16 years or older can decide they want a job, then show up somewhere that has jobs (at the job store?) and demand a job. If the potential employer refuses, the police could be called, or the potential employee might start a lawsuit against the business.
If someone has a job and they are not performing it very well, they cannot be fired. This would be infringing on their right to have a job. Nobody would ever be fired and nobody would be refused a job if they asked for it. Because it's their right!
Who pays for this? The government? Does it just print money constantly to support the rights of all citizens to have jobs? (I am assuming this right to have a job only extends to citizens).
I wonder what kind of world we'd have if having a job was a right.
Seth Godin
If you are a mourning Steve Jobs fan (as I am) and you have never read Seth Godin, you should start. He articulates the mindset of "think different". His recurring themes are: work as a platform for art, avoiding the resistance of our lizard brain, don't be a cog and generally just setting larger, smarter goals. His blog is great. His books read like a series of blog posts, are easy reads and full of insights. I am currently reading Linchpin, which tackles the topic of how to become indispensable in your career.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Steve Jobs
When I first saw an Apple II, many years ago, I was inspired to do something different than what I was doing. I took a few computer science courses and got a job programming an Apple II+. Later I designed software and game music for an Apple IIGS. I learned everything I could about building interesting applications on many generations of Macs. I worked at Claris (a former sibling company of Apple) for two years. I have lead software teams doing Mac development. I recorded many hours of music on several generations of Macs. Just last week I used iTunes to convert some recent home recordings to mp3 to upload to my web site. I also used it to burn those recordings to CD. I own an Apple TV.
These are a few ways that the direct and indirect contributions of Sir Jobs helped spur my imagination and energy over the last 30 years or so. He will be missed.
These are a few ways that the direct and indirect contributions of Sir Jobs helped spur my imagination and energy over the last 30 years or so. He will be missed.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Saturday Night Live
I am surprised by the number of SNL fans I have run across lately. I lost interest during one of the "dry periods" ages ago where it just did not seem funny to me beyond occasional flashes of brilliance. Other than the original cast, my interest was piqued by Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman etc., but many of the skits seemed forced and gratuitious.
I caught a few episodes this past weekend on Hulu since a friend came over and started talking about some of them. The clips we watched were hilarious for the most part, but not enough to make me want to start watching the show on any kind of regular basis.
I prefer the comedy style of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell. SNL has the tendency to repeat a joke over and over long past the truly funny moment.
I caught a few episodes this past weekend on Hulu since a friend came over and started talking about some of them. The clips we watched were hilarious for the most part, but not enough to make me want to start watching the show on any kind of regular basis.
I prefer the comedy style of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell. SNL has the tendency to repeat a joke over and over long past the truly funny moment.
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