I Need A Change

Some days I find I'm just bored.  With my job, my interests and so on.  Very little seems to light that creative fire.  Rutsville.

This is one of those days.

I could make a few comments about how to overcome those feelings, or days like this.  But frankly, I don't really feel like writing that.

So dear reader - go read something else today.

Age & Wisdom and All That Stuff

I had a chance meeting with an old friend this week, someone I worked with 15 years ago.  He's a global traveller and always on the move in his job, and I knew there'd be some point when we were both in the same city.  I'll admit I don't remember everyone I worked with in the late 1990's, nor would I go out of my way to go sit down and have a coffee with them, but this person is special, he's always been my 'poster-child' of common sense, and I really like him.

I was actually looking for something when we met, I had an ulterior motive admittedly beyond just catching up.  I was looking to speak with him for a little while to see if common sense had matured into wisdom.  You see I've always been curious as to the nature of wisdom.  Sure, it comes with age and experience - I get that part.  But just as an Oak tree doesn't grow from a Lilac tree sapling, wisdom must have it's origins in a specific type of person, or personality.

I won't offer my conclusions here, suffice it to say people with wisdom continue to impress me.  It seems so rare a quality in society at large that we ought to value it highly, if only for its scarcity.  When combined with a strong ethical compass, it's the stuff great leadership is made of.

While I don't consider my efforts this week to have been at all scientific to determine the roots of wisdom, I am clear that it remains important to ask the question, and continue doing so.  After all if we're each on our own journey as the days go by, we should in my humble opinion aim for wisdom as a destination.  It does seem like the biggest possible gift we receive as we get older.

Squirrels

I have to admit a small obsession, and it's a a sign that I've been spending a little too much time at home of late.

 You see I've got a few bird feeders and I love watching the  sparrows, chickadees, cardinals and blue jays come in all day  long.  Makes me happy to help them survive a bitter winter.

Anyone who has done bird feeders before understands that it's a package deal however, and we have four neighbourhood squirrels that also appreciate a free meal.  I however have no place in my heart for these furry tailed tree rats though, and when forced to choose between birds and squirrels, well, let's just say the squirrel can't quite die fast enough for me.

I will give my local squirrels a little credit, they are more tenacious and persistent than I am, coming back over and over and over again.  I may have outsmarted them for a while by re-arranging the feeder they like on a long, high wire, out of their reach, and beyond leaping distance - and these little guys can really leap far.  However one of them has learned to walk the wire, and still gets into the food.

The interesting part is that only one of the four squirrels (and the non-dominant black fur one at that) has cottoned onto this, while the others continue to be frustrated and instead settle for fallen seed only. I'm going to watch them over the next few days to see if they learn from one another, perhaps via language (with tail movement??) or example.

To me this has all the traits of a lab experiment, with newly learnable skills and rewards.  It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.  Perhaps they are indeed smarter than I am.

The Magic Number is 17

One of my own new year's resolutions was to try to write and publish daily.  I felt it was good practice in a few different ways and I was also curious as to when I'd have to resort to writing drivel...clear indicators that I was fresh out of original ideas.

I'm saddened to say that my own ability to stay on the horse is 17 days.

But, like a new workout program or something else requiring will power, missing a day doesn't mean it's abandoned, it just means you missed a day.  Get back up on the horse, and try again.

How long have your own resolutions lasted..?

Freedom of Accomodation

Ever have one of those situations where you're exposed to an idea either for the first time, or it's reintroduced and then everywhere you turn, it seems to be popping up ?

Accommodations are like that for me right now.

I can't seem to get away from the concept of accommodating someone's specific need, beliefs or quirks.

And each time I hear about it, the same question goes through my own mind - since when did accommodating someone's personal situation include having negative implications for another ?

I see little problem with excluding someone from a given situation, so they aren't exposed to something they don't happen to like, except when the doing of it - the accommodating itself -  has a negative impact on another person.  In other words, accommodation has to be implication free.  The kid that elects not to hear the Lord's Prayer in school, stands in the hall when it's done - that is fine.  Only they are affected.  The child that cannot participate in gym class due to some physical issue, doesn't participate.

But when a person has to be accommodated and as a result others have to pick up the pieces, then that's not a case for accommodation, that's a person that isn't willing to participate in the activity, according to the rules of the activity.  If my chosen religion means I can't work on Tuesday's, and my job normally calls for that - well then I shouldn't be given that job. Play it out to extremes...I'd like to be a fish, but need accommodation as I can't actually breathe underwater, so I'll do all the other fish activities, except for being underwater. Silly, right ?

Today in society in an effort to be equitable, we are seeing more and more accommodation pop up. But it isn't a freedom or right, and I fear that in order to be reasonable we are confused about it in more than a few cases.

Substitutes

I spent some time with customers this week, and they have little to no intention of using our products and services in the future.

Of course they didn't say that.  But it was clear.

They took the easy way out - they threw money in our direction and then didn't support the desired outcome - their outcome by the way.   They weren't present to illustrate that this was important to them, instead leaving their staff in the hands of a 'substitute teacher'.  Me.

It was polite, and went fine.  No one threw gum, or wrote bad words on the charts we used.  We were all adults.

But this wasn't my first rodeo, and I saw them sending messages, subtly, that this wasn't important.  We say so much, when we say very little.

So, I was disappointed in the day.  I know what the future will bring here, and I see that I wasn't able to work any magic.  Sometimes that's the case.

The Anonymity of Travel

The hotels all look pretty much the same.   Dull, unremarkable hallways leading to rooms with the same stale scent, of too much stress and little joy.    Work hotels are different than vacation hotels, always.

The flights are similar too, as are the airports.  They heave with people, but we’re not together, we just happen to all be at the same place, trying to get through the same hassles. 

We don’t connect when travelling- at least not for business travelling when it’s wake, eat, meet, eat and sleep again.  Another city, another day where you don’t really experience the place, but instead think primarily of the tasks of travel – the logistics of keeping going, moving until you get to the magical ride home.

We’re surrounded and yet we’re alone when we travel.

The Industrious Sounds of Winter's End ?

All through my neighbourhood the sounds of shovels hitting ice rings out.  It's as if we can throw our energy into making winter end.  Cracking and moving the frozen evidence of January.

Given enough time I suspect we may prevail, but Mother Nature is unforgiving and soon enough our efforts will all be for naught.  Organic exercise it's called in my house.  And the winter fitness regime isn't about to let up anytime soon I fear.

Back to Reality

This week represents my own start to the new year. It's not the first days I've worked this year, rather this week represents going back to my own normal patterns - get to the airport, to some city, work for a day or four and then home again, usually on a red-eye.

I can't say I've missed the lifestyle.  I'm sure all the folks working at airlines, hotels, taxis and the like will be happy to see my spend again once more, even if not actually happy to see me.

Let's see what the year brings.  I bet it brings change.

 

Any Given Sunday

Footbal this weekend reminds me that for some of us, it all comes down to one play, one catch, one tackle or one kick.  All of it, everything.   Win or go home.

And you thought you had pressure in your job.

The Price of Ego

There are times when we disagree.

That's normal.  What happens next though really defines who we are. (I have as a precept going into this thought, that we are social beings)  When we ackowledge different perspectives, and elect to resolve the issue it usually involves compromise on one or both parties behalf.  And we move on.  If we elect not to resolve the issue, a sign of maturity is to still ackowledge that differing perspectives exist, and a conscious decision is made not to adopt the other's perspective - in whole or in part.  And that's also ok.  After all, you disagreed at the outset for some reason.

When we don't arrive at a resolution, that's when interesting things happen in my opinion.

We can maintain that two varied perspective exist, and consistently not appreciate the other way of looking at things, but we can intllectually understand that a difference exists.  I happen to feel that way for example about some people's dispute about the legitimacy on evolutionary science, when they instead claim biblical accuracy for how we got here.  I have no intention of agreeing with that 'story', preferring what I think is proven instead.  But I don't condemn them for thinking that way. 

The other option is to bolster your own perspective as "the only truth" - a myopia of ego.  When people do that, they make situations black and white, and there is no compromise in sight.  The only way to get a dispute resolved then is to buy into their version of the truth, whether it is based in reality or not.  This is a zero-sum game and a trick we play on oursleves.   

Beware falling for this only truth - the price of ego, as it's often the last respite of those that know down deep that they're in the wrong.

10 days later

So - how are your own New Year's resolutions doing ?

We're 10 days into the new year.  Who has fallen off the wagon, or already indulged in that thing you said you would do moderately.  Been to the gym daily as promised, or already shed those pesky 5 pounds ...

I suspect not.

That's ok.  Resolutions aren't intended to be kept, they are too lightweight in the sense that often to make really big life changing decisions and stick to them requires some real thought, a basis in reality in how we really live our lives and some sacrifices.  The significance of the calendar change in and of itself often isn't enough motivation for many of us.

If you still want to change things, think about the whole situation and then decide the timelines, the metrics to determine success and look at the bigger picture of what you're really trying to do.  Is it viable, or not.  Don't over-reach, or at least don't over-reach and then beat yourself up about falling short.  After all, 2015 is only 355 days away.

Cool New Science

Yesterday, NASA released it's deepest view of the cosmos ever taken.  Sort of. I offer it here, but it's available here too if you want an even  higher resolution view.

I say "sort of" above as it was actually imaged using a phenomena known as gravitational lensing - that situation where gravity from a very large, heavy object bends light.  This effect had previously appeared in some of the Hubble Space Telescope's earlier deep space images and it mildly obscures what's 'behind' it. (I'm using very general language here, the scientific concepts are quite involved).

By harnessing that very same gravitational lensing, NASA has used it as a further amplification of the area behind the galaxies that were bending light / obscuring in previous images.  In this case it's the gravity effect of the Abell 2744 galaxy being used in this way.

This is interesting in a number of ways.  Firstly, some very bright person at NASA came up with the idea that what had previously been an issue in earlier images could be itself leveraged as a tool for them.  Brilliant.  

Secondly, in my mind at least. as extremely deep space images are also a trip back in time (the light captured here on the camera's sensors will have had to travel for 12 Billion+ light years to get here, based on it's distance from us), doesn't this point to the area in the sky where it all began ?  Stay with me here for a moment.  If the universe is expanding as was proven by Edwin Hubble in 1929, then in theory we should be able to locate it's origin point.  If we make the analogy that we're on a ballon that keeps expanding so all points around us are moving farther away, then in theory where we look and see greater density in the past, points in the general direction of where it all started.  Doesn't it ? I'll admit I'm at the limits of my own knowledge of physics and I may be 100% incorrect based on what I don't know - but based on imagery like NASA just released...it makes one wonder a little. And I think that's the point.

 

Toronto Airport - An Expensive Screw-up

In the midst of challenges, we tend to show our true character.

There was a sudden very cold snap this week that swept across the US and Canada. Major airports such as Chicago's O'hare, Cleveland and Minneapolis saw thousands of flights cancelled as airlines cited immobilized equipment such as re-fueling trucks with frozen nozzles.   But Toronto - the continent's fastest growing hub and 2nd largest international gateway in North America elected to introduce a ground stop overnight Monday-Tuesday when faced with the same weather.  Aircraft (except from overseas) weren't allowed to land or take-off until 9am local time Tuesday.

The result ?  People stranded on arriving aircraft overnight on the tarmac.  For 4-5+ hours.  When those that could get brought to a working gate arrived, their luggage stayed somewhere else.  Situations such as this reverberate across the whole air travel system, as when you clog the major connecting airport, the rest of the country feels it. Pilots are in the wrong locations, as are their planes. Today's passengers fight with those from the last few days to get onto the few operating flights. Sleeping on benches isn't the last resort, it's considerably better than sleeping on floors. It's an ugly travel experience for all involved.

So the question in my own mind was 'why?'

Toronto isn't the coldest airport in Canada, why did the others (including all similar US hubs) continue to cope with the cold, when Toronto collapsed ?

An airport is a community on co-dependance to function properly, so some parties fell down.  Was it airline reluctance to staff appropriately, or airport operations myopia ?  Beyond who failed, why did no party lead ?  In my own youth, I worked at Toronto Airport, and understand the logistics of aircraft movements.  It's not rocket science, just coordination amongst various parties to do their part of the bigger task.  Even if we accept that landing and de-icing wasn't optimal, towing aircraft to gates (even the wrong terminals) is more desirable than letting people sit on arrived aircraft for hours.  Cycle them in and out, deal with the people involved as a first priority.  Thank goodness no one was hurt.  Beyond the reputation of those that work at the Toronto Airport Authority as incapable fools.

No one dared lead in Toronto this week, and the results are pretty clear.  The expensive screw up didn't happen this week in the airport of  North America's 3rd largest city, it happened when the people at the airport authority were placed in charge.

Cold

It's cold.

Perhaps that's an understatement, but a little understatement isn't a bad thing at present. From polar vortex to the reactions of people with very short term memories, the low temperatures across North America seem to be coming with seriously increased hype.

A few gentle reminders:

1. It's winter, and it gets cold in winter. Some animals hibernate for a reason.
2. It's cold yes, but not at levels we haven't experienced prior to this. 20 years ago this week it was colder in many areas, and so what we're experiencing isn't as sensational as many have made it out to be.
3. It's a high deviation winter so far, meaning we're just as likely to see abnormally warm weather as soon as the cold snap passes.  It makes it a little more tolerable.
4. Infrastructure is failing due to the cold - Trains aren't moving into/out of Chicago, Toronto airport shut down, oil refineries have had issues.  Seems like the plot of some fantastic hollywood yarn doesn't it ?  This just means we didn't plan well enough for weather occurrences that are predictable within our experiences. Shame on the people that built those systems.  

So yes, it's cold. Bundle up and think about today when it's 100 degrees in the shade in a few months.

The Start of the New Year - Expectations vs Intentions

The start of a new year - whether calendar, school or fiscal brings new hopes, expectations and the best intentions to make the most of the time ahead.  It's a reset opportunity, time to start fresh and really make a difference.  Regardless of how it actually turns out, the blank page of possibilities staring at us at the outset reflects our desires and hopes.

So, it's an odd approach to elect to go slow, and measured, and turn down as much as one takes on, but that's exactly the situation I'm in.  I don't want to be swamped by work, or constantly busy, in this my own busiest season historically.  Instead I'm going to try to focus on quality deliveries at home and work.  To do a smaller amount of work, but do it really well.

Understanding your own capacity to do things is a great thing, but also determining where cracks start to appear, where the deliverable isn't quite as good as it could be - that's also very important I'd argue.  I don't want to have to justify to anyone (including and especially myself) why the work I've done isn't up to my own specs.  Not when it's my own foot on the throttle.  We always have some degree of control to make what we each do, positive for ourselves.  Look for it, find it, and exercise it.

Here's to a new year full of expectations that you can meet.

Quiet Days

Yesterday our family members left after a month and went back to schools and their lives.

As a result, our house is very quiet once more.  Incredibly so.  It feels very empty after being filled with joy, laughter and activity for a month.  It was a nice month.  And now it's quiet.

At least we have going back to work to look forward to. (That was a joke).

Driving

I'm driving today.  11-12 hours on perhaps the dullest set of roads I know of.  It's time to think, time to sing, drink coffee, and wish for rest-stops.

I'm not writing or doing anything productive sadly.  And I won't be alone. At this time of year where I live, there are many people situating themselves to get back into their lives post a holiday break.

I'm helping someone I care about do just that.  And that makes it worthwhile.

Connection Dynamics - the Social Media Fool's Paradigm

One of the curious aspects of our society is how we are fascinated with our own interactions with one another.  Our days are spent sleeping, eating, working and surviving but it's the ways and means that we deal with one another that gather all the focus.

Watch a period movie about the 17th or 18th century, and it'll be about the letters written to one another that advance the plot, taking a long time as they did.  The messenger in those days always playing a vital connecting role. (I've always smirked at the need to respond quickly in thee fictions, as if an extra day of thought in response would be material to the months it takes to deliver the letters/messages in some cases). Go forward in time and the impact and popularity of mass media from the 1960's-1990's also seems disproportionately noted in any retrospective look back. Sure, it's shared identity, but there were other things going on too.  These days, it's hard to read a paper or have a conversation that doesn't touch on the rise of social media, the newest darling of how we interact.

Let's break this down a little though as there are interesting components here.

That we interact is the first thing.  We have done this for some time as a species in fact.  It's the foundation of our communities and shared vision of who we are and the basis of all politics and economics.  If there's anything that's apparent here it's that this is not new.  Raving about how Pinterest, Snapchat or Linked In connects us all is not only redundant, it belies a lack of understanding of history.

Social Media is here to stay - I'll call that the second thing.  We have already seen some social media die on the vine - AOL anyone ?  Like other mechanisms, it too will evolve and die off.  Arguably Facebook the grand-daddy of all based on it's membership is already losing it core constituency.  Kids are fickle, and what appeals to their mothers doesn't often also appeal to them.  This mechanism will change, and current players aren't guaranteed immortality anymore that the Post Office is. It isn't here to stay, it's simply the flavour of the moment until something more pertinent comes along.

We connect with those we choose to.  That's the third piece here and it's overlooked I might suggest. Way back when we interacted 1:1 as that's what the mechanisms allowed for.  Coffee-houses in London 300-400 years ago and newspapers started to change that, to push one message at multiple parties through portals.  Then mass media (newspapers, then radio, then TV and the web) allowed for broadcasting those singular ideas - in the form of commercials to sell something, or provoking us to believe in something political or emotional.  We all saw the same message as that's what the technology was geared to do.  As it has evolved, we've started to fragment and form sub-groups again, 'liking' a thing or idea on today's platforms, following one another in smaller groups, subsets and long-tails of society and this is impacting how we all deal with each other in the world.

I think this desire to only have a set number of connections is under appreciated in how we look at what social media success means today.  The idea is that it could be unlimited, when in fact we have historically acted to deal with only a small number of others.  Technology doesn't enhance trust, and the internet is full of crud - we all know that.  Instead, we have a small group we look to, that we lean towards,  and as there is more and more noise flooding at us, I'm guessing we'll retreat farther into our circle of trust, only connecting with those we choose to.

And that - perhaps more than any technology out there, will drive the next wave of how we interact.  Social media isn't the end-game, it's a step on the evolutionary ladder.

In Review - 2013

We can learn an awful lot about our future, by understanding our history.  What did we learn in this last year that we can re-purpose going forward..?

We learned that we're more obviously fractured in our views than perhaps has ever been - Miley Cyrus's twerking and antics gets her to be a front runner for Time's Person of the Year; Rob Ford - Toronto's crack cocaine Mayor with no class was vilified in the local media and yet retained tremendous voter support; and the US government shut down with half the country applauding and half appalled at the tactics used.   Going forward - we should understand that not only are we not all on the same page, we're not even reading the same book much of the time.  We're living in democracy gone wild - and there isn't a galvanizing person or potential issue on the horizon.

The environment and weather also continued to be unpredictable. Globally, we saw new record temperatures, unusual events abounded too such as Cairo's snow and extreme storms popped up all over, this time wiping out a significant portion of the Philippines courtesy of typhoon Haiyan, the strongest ever to make landfall.  The lesson here ?  We should expect the unexpected going forward. Storms will be bigger and stronger, and it'll be both warmer and colder than we are used to.  Patterns we have seen in recent memory won't be the norm.  Call it global warming, call it whatever you want to - just don't expect it to be predictable.

Resolutions

It's the start of another year, and hence resolution time.

One of my own that I hope you enjoy a little is to publish daily.   There will be deep thoughts and drivel, spelling mistakes, grammatical issues and hopefully a few profound statements.

They say that if you locked a few chimpanzees into a room with some typewriters that in something like an infinity or two (warning, bad math jokes will abound) they'd randomly produce the King James bible and complete works of Shakespeare.  They'd also create other, less readable material in abundance.  My aim is to be both more efficient and eloquent than the monkeys.

You be the judge.