An Electronic Pilgrim

A Few Random Thoughts On Modern Technology

2012-01-25T06:10:00.001-08:00

I love some things about this age. I like sitting in bed working. Getting some calm family time, yet also arranging my day, answering email and the like. And making a much delayed blog update.

Another "like" is being able to utilize wasted time better. Things like standing in line, waiting for the doctor. I don't sit reading months old magazines; I get work done.

Crazy side bar: I've spent the later half of this year working for a real estate company. Same sort of work, whole new sector. I never would've guessed just how tech dependent real estate is. Or can be. Perhaps a piece of this tech utilization is related to locale. We are in a major tech hub. My team lives and breathes via Dropbox and Gmail. Acrobat is additionally critical. Most communication with our sellers is via email, or via website.

Thinking of websites and real estate, one thing I spend time researching are Home Owners Associations, water associations and such. People, in today's age, there is NO EXCUSE to not have a website with key information. At least post contact information. You must make some effort to be found if you want to be paid.

Made For Walking

2011-12-23T23:21:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Sign Board

2011-12-04T17:55:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Eight

2011-12-04T17:25:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Night

2011-11-30T18:32:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Pumpkins

2011-11-27T08:06:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Saturday

2011-11-26T17:56:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Even Sith Lords love Christmas. @starwars

2011-11-26T14:59:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Forgotten

2011-11-24T09:21:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Flickr Thoughts

2011-11-18T05:59:00.001-08:00

Just spent a few minutes looking over my Flickr feed; always fun to see. Got me thinking, though. I started using Flickr right after Yahoo acquired it. An easy choice since: 1) I used Yahoo's briefcase photo service quite extensively and 2) other friends used Flickr, thus it was familiar.

At that time, we uploaded images from our desktop. The value came from not emailing masses of images, and dealing with email restrictions (back in dial up days). Mainly, the focus on artistry and close connections.

Evolution occurred. One big piece came with social media. The site became about larger audiences. Then cell phone cameras dramatically changed usage. And Facebook dominates sharing family snapshots.

Now, Flickr offers real time viewing of the world. Users who dive deeper into photography, using artistry to communicate more. Capturing emotion. Well, somewhat. Citizen journalism occurs, too.

Ultimately, I see Flickr's evolution. Not dramatic; steady, resolute. Flickr adapts to change, users find new uses. Those signs point to a site with legs. I expect it to last, with continued value. Save for mismanagement. That's another blog post, though.

Happy Friday to you all!

Nightbound Words

2011-11-16T02:54:00.001-08:00

Racing mind
Fears awakened,
Given voice,
Speaking loudly
Into murky peace of night.

Dreams unrealized,
Yet still dreams.
Voices of neglected
Priorities. Reminding
Me; deepest values.

Empty grave
This frantic life.
Delightful sense of purpose
Untethered to accomplishment.
Illusions of effectiveness.

Self directed rage
Unuseful, empty sounds.
November's east bound
Wind pushes still,
Fiercely, chilling.

Tools of the trade

2011-11-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Marketing Thoughts

2011-11-11T17:12:00.001-08:00

A few days ago, I sat in a seminar. The panel's discussion interested me, but wasn't my main takeaway. My main "bit" was when the leader was asked about his company's latest tv campaign. Simple question: how well did it work? Imagine my surprise when he said that there really wasn't any way to track the ROI. I expect most major companies have tools to do just that. Exact? Probably not. Exactness is probably not that critical. But some metrics to justify the expense seem prudent.

I thought of a basic way to measure. Simply compare inbound leads/contacts against "background". Of course, that requires having a historical dataset to build off of. AKA, background.

Additionally, it would be valuable to have contacts asked "how did you hear of us"? Again, not terribly scientific, but valuable.

Random thoughts on a Friday night. Happy weekend to you all!

Seattle Center Sculpture

2011-11-06T16:59:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Rouge

2011-11-05T17:53:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Motion

2011-11-05T17:52:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Worn

2011-11-05T17:51:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from Infernally Curious

Innovation and the Gut

2011-10-23T07:23:00.001-07:00

I read an interview earlier this week that discounted, well, derided, following your gut. For instance, she pointed out all that folks like Ted Bundy didn't look threatening. Thus quantifiable reasoning is the only way one should make decisions. (This is oversimplified for the sake of space. I'll post the link to the original when I find it.)

Oddly, people like Mr. Bundy are reasons I would cite to say trust your gut. There was no evidence he was dangerous until after he was caught. Same's true for most criminals, even today. Nothing readily researchable until after an arrest.Yet many people felt there was something wrong with Mr. Bundy and kept their distance. I don't know if it's spiritual attunement to deeper truth or just your subconscious picking up on subtle clues, but I've found my gut to be right. And ignoring it comes at my peril.

Another thought with this: innovation. Innovative thought is, by definition, pushes past known bounds. Trusting your gut is requisite. Only deciding based on detailed analysis kills innovation.

Thus, I say trust your gut. It's both aware of more, but also connected to the core, those deepest values. But learn to listen. Learn how our fears twist the voice, mess up the message. Then you'll hold true wisdom.

My Musical Tribute to Harold Camping

2011-10-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

Not the most original, but I haven't seen anyone else put this up.

Happy Friday!

Battling Insecurity

2011-10-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've heard the question, "what would you do if you won the lottery?" Or any of its many variants ("received a million bucks", or the simple (heard at a Franklin/Covey seminar) "what would you do if you didn't need to worry about income?"). These tools guiding you past fears and to your deeper values. A bit of insight shows me they miss a personal roadblock: insecurity.

Sure, I worry about money, or, rather, it's lack. Which impacted my life/career choices. This nagging sense I should be doing something great pains me, pushes me. I have friends who have done mission work in Africa/Central America/Asia, have led teams in Fortune 500 companies, are globally sought out speakers, along with many other amazing things. All of this tweaks my underlying insecurity, this sense that I should be doing "more". And that my "lacking' in this area is due to some laziness, a lack of focus, or some other character malaise. I see the irrationality, and challenge it regularly. Yet, the influence is deep, and ancient. Roots so deep their origin uncertain.

Perhaps, then, my question, tool, to delve past these issues should be "what would I do if I didn't need to prove anything?" If I root that out, my personal vision clarifies. Then, my goals visibile, leaving me to pursue them with focus and drive. What would that look like?

It's quite profound, and will take time to work through. Imagining this gone, an underlying "voice" ever-present. Gone? This insecurity impacted each and every career decision I made, and adds tension to my current life. Imagining life without it challenges me deeply.

Sustainable Computing Systems

2011-10-08T07:41:00.001-07:00

A few years back, I came up with a project that sounded fun: build a Linux system focused on older hardware. It pained me to see operational machines made non-functional simply due to software-side demands. Wasteful. Now, though, I'm not convinced of it's practicality. Is the problem with the older machines simply due to OS creep, or could the OS expansion be due to user demand?

Most users have increased their demands on their machines. So many Internet apps, for instance, are video and image rich. An older machine, even with a lean OS, will still be taxed by the demands of Flash, et al. My goals would only be realized by refining all the apps, too. Then those those refinements would ripple back to the mainstream systems, giving them performance gains. Upon which new apps would be built utilizing the freed resources. Thus, everything would revert back to the previous state. Assuming, of course, that I was able to overcome such other challenges as security.

So, how do I look at my original goal, now? I'm refining my vision. My concern was waste. How do we maximize these obsolete systems? Perhaps we could look at a more basic level. Look at the computer as a series of pieces, then apply the cradle-to-cradle lifecycle approach. Perhaps dissembling the machines and returning those components to the manufacturing stream.

A truly sustainable economy has zero waste. Every item, at the end of it's life becomes a building block for something new. That's my underlying vision. The task is both simple and massive.

iPhoto Picture Export

2011-09-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

To answer a requst via Twitter, here is the quick & dirty way to export photos. For this example, we're putting the pictures on iDisk (MobileMe, if you will).

Open iPhoto, then "File":

Then select "Export":

Then "File Export":

Lastly, Choose "iDisk", or wherever you want to save the files:

Overactive Mind

2011-09-20T04:37:00.001-07:00

I'm getting a lot done, but accomplishing very little. I don't find it satisfying. I enjoy checking off to-dos, but without direction it's, ultimately, empty. Way too many directions in my life. I need focus.

Examples: the hundreds of email news sources I subscribe to. And the dozen, or more, tasks I load into a day. That's a weakness in the electronic-tools age. Keeping those emails to read "later" is so easy. Or just shuffle those tasks to another day. Then I get to a point where I have several hundred emails waiting to be read. Or I'm spending 15 minutes moving my collection of overdue tasks to today. It all creates a sensation of "spinning my wheels".

I'm tacking this, slowly, carefully. First, I'm now aggressively deleting email. And also unsubscribing. For things I've been subscribed to for years, I feel discomfort. But with so many I haven't even opened in years, it's just time. Time to accept that see the value, but don't feel. And give myself permission to feel it. Also, I'm culling tasks. Some have lingered for months, even years. My mind is telling me something here. Time to listen.

The next step for me requires stepping back, reprioritizing and focusing. I know it will be painful. Selecting that which I won't do; ugh. I want to do everything. I see, though, I can't do even half of everything well. Quality is important. Much more so than quantity. Time to embrace it, and live it.

Perhaps I'll embrace an agile approach. Re-evaluate every few weeks/months. Ensuring I'm meeting my needs; watching for those needs to change. I like that idea. Allowing my life to flow, fluid-like. Accepting my needs will change, and seeking to be ahead. Rather than waiting until I swirl into misery. There's zen.

Summer moves to Autumn

2011-09-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

Cool and grey out my window; Puget Sound’s traditional weather returns. Muted, calm light flows through trees, still bearing mostly summer leaves. A few flecks of yellow and brown, however, foreshadow fall’s approach. Time, I guess, to put away flip-flops and shorts. Cool air and breezes dominate outside. Uncovered feet now hurt. I sit, eyes following leaves pushed by a gentle breeze, wondering what autumn, and the ensuing winter, brings. A bitter winter, perhaps, laden with snow? With a great ski season ensuing, mitigating said bitterness? Or traffic regularly snarled by snow, sleet and hail? Or perhaps a gentler winter awaits? I expect a blend, snowy delights in the nearby mountains, with occasional impacts upon civilization. That, with much drinking of tea and hot cocoa, excite me.

Reflecting on September 11

2011-09-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

Early in the morning, 10 years ago, I dozed listening to NPR and heard something about a plane flying into a building in New York. Imagining a terrible accident, I rose, turning on CNN. I'm unaware of how much time passed before the second plane flew into the towers. At that point I knew this was deliberate; and horrible beyond imagination. The office manager of a church, I made my way there and we opened our chapel for prayers (it's an inner city parish; unmonitored open doors are generally a recipe for trouble). A predominately progressive church, but with a diversity of political views, I heard angry diatribes about Bush's destructive policies, to raging demands of blasting all Arabs to dust. My personal reaction was more complex, more focused on compassion; solidly progressive. Anyway, ten-years out, I'm trying to ascertain how this changed me.

Clearly the world changed. But I wasn't at ground zero. Nor did I lose friends or family. My personal, direct impact was small. Yet, something(s) changed. For many, the change was a sudden awareness of the burning hatred so much of the world carries for the US. Having read such works as Zinn's "A People's History of the United States, I was well aware of my country's list of offenses. So the venom directed at the US was hardly news. So that's not it.

Air travel security seems an obvious change for us all. However, I haven't traveled by air much since. Thus the impact on me; very minimal. I'm hard pressed to find anything else obvious. Perhaps it's not so clear. So much has changed in ten years. How do I separate out 9/11 vs. the other changes of my life? Perhaps I need to look deeper than these minute details.

I have become more committed to my values. Embarking more deeply Christ's commandments towards compassion. I see their value at deeper level than before. I am more committed to redemption, to eradicating fear from my life, and to layering peace throughout my life. I also try to think bigger picture. Such things as remembering the less dramatic heroes. Like the Canadian families who took in our displaced citizens when we shut down our airspace. Important acts of kindness during moments of horror. Hold those examples up.

My world is dramatically different now. Separating out the effects of the terrorist attacks is futile. Yet 9/11 influences me deeply; a small, tight thread woven throughout my life. My life, my being is the gestalt. These subdivisions merely academic and, ultimately, empty. Perhaps that's the most fitting lesson to me of all.