My Manifesto

Will triumphes over lazy, but lazy is a sly and devious foe.

A fresh new sparkling idea makes your day, week or month better.

Awareness unstimulated by concepts and thoughts outside your core area means awareness becomes dulled.

Recognize your own elation point and make plans to revisit it. With some frequency.

Human nature is naturally selfish enough that we don't ever need to supplement it with more.

Trying for the best outcome in whatever you do is rarely incorrect.

By default, understand there are things you don't understand.

Any stake in the ground, any manifesto, only reflects what you've learned so far.

The Change from Red v Blue

There's a change afoot in US politics...red v blue is starting to give way to a new division.  Rich v not.  The 1% vs the 99%.  This is quite something, nudging aside old biases in favour of new ones.

People vote with their wallets, and it's hard to listent to the old ways, when the 'Establishments' - red, bue or purple, are all wealthy 1% types.

Watch as the defense of wealth becomes a bi-partisan cause.

When does our Calendar end ?

I was thinking about the Mayans the other day.

2012 is supposed to be a big year for them, depending I imagine on how you elect to interpret their calendar.  It either signifies the end of the world, or the calendar simply stops.  A fairly important distinction one might imagine.

One the basis that I don't know if any Mayans are around any longer - I have certainly not met any, though have been to the land presently identified as Mayan a few times. Their recorded history seemed to hit a wall with the arrival and subsequent colonization by the Spanish a few hundred years ago, though like any ancient civilizations some small remnants remain, celebrating the dress, dance, culture and trying to keep their language alive.   I think it's probably fair to conclude that their civilization as such is but a memory - not unlike Rome, Egypt or Mesopotamia.  In all these ancient locations people still thrive and may identify their roots with the once-great powers that lived there - but these communities are not what they once were in any case.

Which brings me back to the Mayans and their calendar.  If I take a view that the calendar simply runs out in (our) 2012, did they know they wouldn't be around, and hence not need it any longer..?  Were they prescient after a 3000 year run, or did it hit a logical "revisit-it" time that they'd deal with when it arose.  If I look at our own culture, we've just changed from 2011 to 2012. It's not impossible to imagine a date 100, or even 1000 years in the future for us thanks to futurists and science fiction, but can we really consider the year 9912 - a time 7900 years ahead.  The corollary is 5888 BC, a time before we had records at all.  Then, the wheel had just been invented and animal husbandry was just beginning.  The current state of our species would not seem remotely familiar, and hence they couldn't and wouldn't have planned for us.

To assume that our straightforward calendar addition will cater for our own far future seems a little simplistic now doesn't it, and so I'd like to suggest we also make a review date in the future.  Let's call it 3012 and start to celebrate a count-down.  Not to the end of the world, but to a time when we will formally re-evaluate how we view time, and take into consideration another thousand years of humanity's inventiveness.

Happy -1000 everyone.

Christmas Dawn

The house was quiet and dark, the sun hadn't yet started to warm the eastern sky.  The lights had been switch on so the Christmas tree glowed, shimmering reflections off the gilded wrapping beneath, untouched and unexplored by little hands. 

The house sang with memories of earlier days, the whispering and creaking of young feet approaching the area tentatively, almost expecting to see the big elf himself, hoping not to, and wanting it at the same time. It would be four or five am, the children realizing even in their excitement that it was too early to ask to be up. So they were quiet, at least as quiet as thrilled could be. 

The house remembered. It smelled of Christmas with pine and sweets and reflections of the neighbour's coloured lights peeked in the windows.  It was warm and safe and full of love and good.  Mostly, it was good.  Pre-dawn Christmas morning was a special time even when the now-larger kids slept, as it knew that on this day, memories were etched and impressions that last a lifetime are forged.  The house embraced the moment and was magical in that darkness.  That pre-dawn time and place where all Christmas past lived to be visited once a year, awaiting this years merriment.

2011 - 2012 What did we Learn?

I don't know about you, but I love this time of the year for the lists, the looks back at the year that was, and the look forward and predictions made.  It's a crystal perspective ball on writers - and shows us what they really think about things - in selecting the seminal moments from the last 12 months, or the attempts to seem clairvoyant looking ahead.  With the small chance others also enjoy this, let me do it for you here.

I've put this together around a premise - one that we should all live with - what did we learn, and how does that affect our world going forward..?

1. We saw Social Media mature into mainstream platforms in 2011, from the role it played in the Arab Spring through to various Occupy movements, from Facebook's continued stellar level of growth through to Linked-in's IPO.  The thought that Social media is a fad like pet rocks, or that is restricted to Gen. Z is widely accepted as absurd now.  Seth Godin whom I greatly admire for his eloquence characterized that we shouldn't be surprised when we self-publish (our photos, blogs etc). Rather, a brief respite (that took the form of mass marketing) for a hundred years or so allowed us to forget our self-publishing nature.  2012 will see a higher proliferation of self publishing activity as we don't appear to have our fill of it yet.
2. There was lots of pure science activity, but little in the way of world-shaking results in 2011.  CERN is due to give us big news, as are the various Mars-bound probes. 2012 will be a year marked by news in pure science.
3. Obama will be re-elected in 2012.  While the national split will remain largely in place in the US, there are no huge challengers to him in the horizon, and the end of the war in Iraq, coupled with a re-emergence of the election-pulpit pounding rhetoric that helped him get elected initially will carry the day.  We learned this year that he seems shy of reaching towards the remarkable, and he has favoured the middle of the road so as not to rock approval ratings.  Once it's clear to him that November is the only approval rating that matters, he'll be re-born. Wait for it.
4. Canada's RIM will be purchased by Microsoft in 2012.  I don't have insider info, just a sad, sinking feeling that the one-time darling of the tech world has suffered enough to submit.
5. 2011 saw device convergence in the mobile telephony world. Bad news if you're a stand-alone vendor of digital cameras, GPS units or handheld gaming platforms.  This was largely stimulated by the nice folks at Apple who do have a crystal ball it seems based on their attempts-to-win record.  2012 will see that trend continue, but the base platform will change - it'll go to TV's.  You thought perhaps 3D/4D was enough ?  Wait til the nice Apple folks build in DVD players, DVR capabilities and make TV's without wifi anachronistic.  Who is in Apple's cross-hairs now ?  Sony.  For what it's worth, they're susceptible to the pending attack. 
6. Politically, 2011 was a shaky year - an 'anus terribulus' in the Queen's vernacular for much of the Arab world. Governments fell, instability reigned and the protestor was omni-present.  2012 will continue that trend.  We'll see Syria's current regime crumble and see some structural changes - preventative measures in the quasi-free states - Saudi, the UAE etc.  It may not be enough.
7. 2011 also saw the departure of Kim-Jong Il, our fearless leader (My favourite reference of the week is from the Economist - "Farewell earthlings!").  While there will undoubtedly be a settling in period for his 3rd born as heir apparent, North Koreans should expect some respite in famine terms as he attempts to buy some love from his subjects.  The kid went to school in Switzerland, so it won't have been lost on him how to be neutrally positive.
8. Mainstream entertainment will continue to thrill a smaller and smaller portion of the population at large, which goes to explain why reality TV shows will continue to be dominant.  This is the long tail's gift to the rest of us.
9. The Cubs won't win, neither will Arsenal, or the Leafs.  Some teams just can't get their heads out of their own ...well, you know.
10. Global Warming rounds out the top 10 - the veracity of it will continue to be debated while vast chunks of the Arctic and Antarctic seas break away and melt at ever-increasing rates.   The sunken frozen methane in the tundras of the northern hemisphere will start bubbling to the surface, and it will be clear in 2012 that whether or not we ratify Kyoto and do our part, this was never going to have been enough.   It's remarkable that dinosaurs with brains the size of walnuts will have outlasted us as the dominant species on the planet by hundreds of millions years.  

That's it.  What we saw in 2011, and what we should learn from it looking forward.  I do promise to revisit this in 12 months to see how I scored.

I hope you enjoyed this look into my crystal ball - happy new year.

Canada's 3rd Party - Our Conscience

Canada is different that the US in one major political structure way, and it's an interesting and important difference.  Ours is a three party system, whereas south of the border, there are two.  Of couse in both places, there are peripheral groups that would like to be considered proper political parties, but they aren't legitimate in the sense  that they couldn't be elected to govern due to their geographic distribution or minority group specialization.

This third party provides a wealth of benefits for Canada - it provides for a greater likelihood of minority governments and therefore enhances the level of public debate in the country.  Often, it provides for the actual opposition party on a national or provincial basis - as it stands right now.  This takes place when one of the two dominant parties falters or fragments.  Very occasionally, this third party is elected to govern.  It's usually a disaster as while they have good intentions, the very nature of providing an ongoing critical eye of the governments' affairs doesn't qualify one to actually govern. They are missing the experience and awareness to do the job for real.

Nonetheless, the continued success of the third party in Canada is largely due to their leadership, which I'd like to characterize as the countries 'voice of compassion'.  We've seen this in the form of the late leader - Jack Layton - who recently passed away while in office.  Mourned disproportionately to his role, Mr. Layton embraced a set of values and virtues that was widely admired.  He lived and did his job idealistically, with his focus fixed on the greater good.   In an era of George Bush and Stephen Harper, Mr. Layton was celebrated for his humane character, something most politicos couldn't buy with any amount of money.  There was an outpouring of public grief at his passing as we knew that one of the great ones was now gone.  Jack Layton personified the best of what we think of ourselves, and his death sounded the bell tolling for political virtue.

I was thinking of Jack Layton today, and what kind of a national leader he may have become, and it struck me that there are other leaders in his party - past and present - that embody the same ideals.  Bob Rae and the indefatigable Stephen Lewis.   Both of these gentlemen embody what we consider to be the best parts of our national identity.  They are selfless, empathetic, and champions of the little guy in situations where a fair deal isn't offered.  Lewis is revered for his work in Africa battling Aids, and is probably Canada's most deserving recipient of knighthood - the acknowledgement of greatness that still holds sway in the Commonwealth.

What is it about this third party, these new democrats that attracts and develops national personalities that eloquently capture our spirit, and are the conscience of this country ?   And why can't the major parties see the respect and admiration that Canada holds for this kind of leadership and try to emulate it more.  Shallow, self-serving politicians with skeletons in their closets is the default expectation of many I fear.

We are lucky to have a respit from this political dreariness, and have the benefits of Layton's common sense, Lewis's humbleness and Rae's intellect.   Mostly though we are fortunate in Canada to have three parties and a nurturing environment where idealism and a belief in fair play are equated as the qualities of those we select to lead us.  Let's hope it never changes.

How fast am I moving..?

I'm in a commercial airplane - travelling from here to there, west to east.  I get up and walk from row 20 to row 2 going towards the front of the cabin.   I'm moving at 2mph down the aisle.  The aircraft is travelling over the earth at 500 mph.

How fast am I moving ?

The answer may be selected from the options below..

1)  I'm moving at 2mph
2)  I'm moving at 502 mph
3)  I'm moving at 18mps (where s = seconds)

Which is it..?









Look down here once you select an answer..




The answer, which may surprise you is that all three answers are equally correct, and the answer you arrive at depends 100% on your perspective.

I am moving at 2mph down the aisle, and if in the cabin of the aircraft with me, that's the correct answer.  To an observer on the ground, the aircraft is travelling overhead at 500mph, and if they knew I was moving in the same direction as the plane while onboard, they would conclude I was moving at 502mph.  That's the correct answer from that position.  To an observer standing on the Sun, (very warm feet) the movement I'm making and the aircraft too for that matter are a rounding error on the earth's rotation.  To them, i'm moving at 18 miles per second.  For them, that's the correct answer.

How can all answers be equally correct ?  It's because I never stipulated where you were in asking the question.  So you have to understand you are in any location.  For that matter, there are other answers if we locate you in the Andromeda Galaxy and ask for the observations from there, and so on.  I think you get the point though.

Perspective rules.  Remember to acknowledge that.