Sunny and about 48 degrees this Saturday afternoon……..A whisper of Spring? We went for a ride. Island Ferry’s not running?? Hyannis is empty. Some restaurants advertising home cooked “takeouts” with curb-side attention available. People running or dog walking. Little else………As expected, but very different. Everyone, here and elsewhere, waiting, wondering, worried….We are both doing things that might have been done sometime ago…..organizing passwords, cleaning closets, reading, etc. One day @ a time…!!!..we shall see……..
Mar 19
Can hardly believe how many things I’ve forgotten, since the last blog………. e.g., passwords, how to navigate on this system…….coming back slowly. I’ll be 86 in a few more weeks. Expecting to live much longer, I’m caught-up by the idea of other changes, perhaps each year will bring?! Unless I work to slow it down, with reasonable focus. Hopefully that answer will be apparent to quick observation, right here on this website.
We’ll see
Jan 08
Years ago, soon after being elected a very young Vice President, the Chairman asked me to write, on one page or less…what the Management Information System”, was and what good it would do the organization and our customers?!?!…..well…….. I thought, we do need help if one page has to be the frame of important answers………..Of course I used a “legal” sized sheet….which annoyed him a great deal, but he accepted it, read and questioned..and we continued as one of the first in our profession!!! Actually for a number of years…… It took me many more years to really learn the power of being concise and to do it. Likely still in that quest!!
Sep 25
There’s been an increasing amount of literature on Web 3.0 – what is it?….. What does it do?…. How much of an impact might it have? Interesting. I’m actually still fully occupied working on my existing site [ web 2.0 , I guess], getting it integrated, more concise, & fully up to date reflecting my life as it evolves approaching 2020, and perhaps even beyond!
So is 3.0 a place leaders must be?? For me just now, 3.0 is a reach…spatial….. embracing digital…..with advanced A.I. and Augmented Reality……..plus blockchain connections.?? Ahead of where I’ve been [ well the list referenced in my last blog below includes all these………………. ]
Very motivating to us all, I believe. More to come hopefully
Sep 12
TED just published a talk [ I read them/listen, regularly] about reading slow, with your finger under each word, like we were all taught in our early lives never to do anymore. So I’ve tried. In certain situations..For awhile. Powerful. Stunning. Have I missed something key?? Could this spread to other situations? Well…we’ll move onto more complex trials or experiments with this idea….not predetermined as important, nor as pithy
Stay tuned…There is also a lot more on this perspective, connected to the talk!!…to follow/learn on your own…….
Aug 24
Having our kitchen updated and floor re-done, so it was a good time to travel, not to far….to places we’d been before but, being like tourists without an agenda or fixed destinations, and looking for surprise sites…….e.g. = Shaker Village[ recreated and explained] , Crane Paper Factory [also make most currencies and showed how], Boston Ballet [ ending their season with several new performances], a two person play[ brothers-tragic], a local brewery, etc., etc., wandering around…… Super. Relaxing. Learning new views/insights. People watching extraordinary. Doing lots of hiking, rain predicted each day but never occurred. Nice. A way of travel I almost never have done. Quite provocative & beneficial. Will again. Hope you do it….. or have often!!!
Aug 10
As August passes, with a summer that’s not “dogged” but more like late June, all these six descriptives, fit, for my now fully engaged life in my 7th Phase…….They were built of course, in the first six. But much of that time/energy was done via the opposite of these tonal descriptions, e.g., = more, now, intense, my way, fast, all!……surely they’re a flow, but, in total a major change in my style and focus. Not less effective……actually more so, just less urgent, or disruptive…as much of what people experience today seems
We will visit this period, some time in the future, to see!!
May 28
Memorial day weekend provided three long wonderful “Spring” like times for pondering/planning this 7th phase of my life , referenced below. It is in fact different. I’ve been documenting how/why, as I ease into my 86th year….Some generalities are listed below……..It’s not a binary sort, as so many things are/were in Information Services. Genuine leadership includes continually searching for, and identifying the appropriate “Tip” point in each situation or issue. Hopefully many are/will be explored on these pages. You’re welcome to join in as you see value for you
May 08
We shut down TDG Inc., as of 12/31/18 [a major change…much more than just an accounting shift!!]. Then traveled for an extended period to explore the option of Retirement…..relaxing…no contracts, nor retainer relationships. Then back focused in on life here on Cape Cod, as a Sole Proprietor, with all its ramifications…..like a new job, from my past life?!?
A work in progress. And a set of changes to this website reflecting that shift. As I move into my 86th year, believing more now, deeply in a different mantra:
more moving towards less
now moving towards deliberate
all moving towards choices
fast moving towards paced
intense moving towards balanced
My way moving towards include others
Hopefully it will show…………………..
Jan 16
Often it seems to me, the general press offers little but problems/ conflicts/negative views of mankind’s capacities or history. Of course part of the explanation is that it “sells better”……we want to hear/read it, apparently, so we get it! But I believe I’d prefer a a balance with more up-lifting events, trends, perspectives. For example, in Japan, physically disabled individuals now are hired to work with robots via eye tracking, engaging directly with patients and earning a useful wage! OR….Alpha Zero can now teach itself to play multiple games, freeing up experts to focus more on strategy, and thereby learning more about how human think!!.
There are many!!! So this provoked me to review critically, again, everything I read/subscribe to/ watch often/ check on my desktop screen… my whole “in-box” so to speak…..how might it change now…what other ways can I learn, keep up to speed or free myself up from old less useful habits??
I will ask many of you directly what is your experience/plan here……
Jan 02
It’s sometimes easy to conclude that our overall news sources/outlets, and the many audiences affected, disproportionately absorb or get focused on negative news. We all may be part of this tendency @ times. I believe, allowing that tendency to dis-balance”too much”, is detrimental to our potential of creativity, forward progress, and individual /group fulfillment. The current pace of change, especially based on technologies now available, or expanding in front of us, does seem overwhelming in its possibilities. Like fire or water…..very powerfully capable of surpassing our ability to control or harness. We might choose fear, ignorance or in-action………..or move into realization, preparedness, & collaboration. Yes, I believe that choice is harder work
I believe it was Peter Drucker who said…”The best way to deal with the future is to create it yourself”. On this site, and in our remaining life, we will tend to do that, understanding both positive and negative, and applying ourselves , our counsel, throughout our full network of connections, as best we can!!
More to come………
Dec 04
Analytics, or Data Mining, or Data Sciences have been elusive targets in many I.T. organizations for sometime. Often defined by whoever is leading the focus/search, in each situation. Consensus in the marketplace , or the literature is even more elusive. The latest issue of Barron’s doesn’t settle that uncertainty. but surely allows some to feel they are in the “lead”…. or have the right to “teach”. I’m told Boston University will provide 5 courses next year, for CIO’s who want to understand more about this growing area of exploration. I intend to make it a personal quest to find more, hopefully definitively…who will lead the courses, how might they differ, what might be expected learning output, what is the curriculum and format…….hopefully enough to share with those interested
