edge city

Memorial Day 2008

2008-05-26T13:59:00.001-04:00

My friend Larry Winters, a Vietnam veteran, posted these Memorial Day 2008 thoughts.

I never served in the military. I have no idea what the men and women in uniform experience. I read what others have written. But I know they all need our tireless support when on duty, and care when they return.

Technorati Tags: Iraq, Memorial-Day, veteran, war

The three stages of expertise ... (from Simon Wardley)

2008-04-21T21:42:00.005-04:00

Copied in it's entirety from Simon Wardley's 'Bits or pieces?' blog:

The three stages of expertise ...

are "I know nothing", Hazard, and "I know nothing" (see figure 1).

Figure 1 - The three stages of expertise.

I've been in all these stages in many areas of my life. Which stage are you in?

Technorati Tags: experience, learning, practice

Arthur C. Clarke - a limerick remembrance

2008-03-19T16:13:00.001-04:00

Arthur C. Clarke gave us stories.
With science facts and fictional mores.
So when we do build our Hal,
(that uncooperative pal)
We should put him in geosynchronous orbit.

-----
Inspired by a Twitter from Jim Benson this morning. I'd like better, but am going for immediacy.

Technorati Tags: culture, free-association, poetry

It was a quiet and stormy day.

2008-03-19T11:48:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was an unusual day. The weather was stormy and changable. Air pressure was quite low, winds were brisk, rain showers came through quickly, and the sky successively cleared and clouded. Fortunately, the worst of the wind, rain, and tornado activity missed us. You would think that the raw energy of the weather would energize the day, but, in fact, something else happened. Our seven-month old puppy (who is full of energy and enthusiasm) pretty much took the day off. She slept, and didn't eat or drink much. Very different behavior. My weekly call with my good friend Dennis was also unusual. It's common for us to be forceful and verbal, eager to share stories and discuss whatever this week's topics might be, and fly off on the many tangents that arise. Yesterday was different. Our conversation was quiet, there were pauses between our exchanges. It wasn't a low energy call, but it was subdued in some way. I had the feeling that if we were face-to-face we would have sipped our coffees and been quiet ... together. Quiet, in the way close friends can be. But it's strange to be silent on a phone call. That's like dead-time on the radio -- a no-no. Or so it seems.

I wonder if we can be together in quiet ways online. I think it has something to do with intimacy. What do you think?

Technorati Tags: communication, culture, practice, relationship

There are a few simple questions ...

2008-03-01T16:42:00.001-04:00

My pal Orcmid sent me a link to a post by Luann Udell titled "A SIX-YEAR-OLD CAN DO IT…You Can, Too! " As I was saving this link in my del.icio.us list I added the following note:

This post reminds me that there are a few short simple rules of life available. For finding motivation: just ask "why" (like you did when you were young) and don't stop until you have an answer that's right. For getting things done: just say "no" and when needing help turning down another important, interesting, and juicy task or project, just ask "why".

I'm going to start with "why?"

Technorati Tags: practice, learning, puppy

Random reflection on a Monte Blanc Pen

2007-10-09T16:50:00.001-04:00

The Monte Carlo Pen.

No inkling of what's to come,

Take a chance, write now.

Technorati Tags: poetry, writing

Poetry Moment: Thinking about the mystery...

2007-08-18T15:25:00.000-04:00

SATRE: COURTING SIMONE

What if
the mystery proves
to be nonresponsive?

What if the mystery
doesn't see
or hear
or feel?

What if we are made
in the image
of oblivion?

What if we
are alone?

What if I
pray to you?

-CONSTANCE CAMPBELL

(The Texas Observer, Vol.99 #16, August 10, 2007) p. 19

I laughed out loud after reading the first verse. This is one of the best poems I've read in a long time.

From The Texas Observer: "Constance Campbell lives in Austin. Her poems have been published in Texas Poetry Review and Lilliput Review.")

p.s. You do subscribe to The Texas Observer, don't you? No? You should.

Technorati Tags: art, Austin, culture, poetry, practice

Could've saved money years ago on a new car ...

2007-08-03T19:25:00.001-04:00

but I wasn't told about a certain option that seems to be on all cars in showrooms, but apparently does not have to be in the car when it's sold.

Now I may be all wrong here, but I've noticed an increasing number of new cars on the road that seem to be missing what I think is a crucial piece of equipment. I use this equipment every time I drive. In fact, I can't get three blocks from my home without using it at least once. But there are so many cars out there, and they're in driving situations where this option might be a life-saver (literally). But I guess they saved a ton of money by refusing to have it installed. I can't see any other reason that explains their driving behavior. I know that if the car were equipped they'd be using it. I just never knew it was an option. The equipment I'm talking about is ... the turn signal.

Technorati Tags: driving, experience, practice, cars

SXSW - close encounters

2007-03-08T18:43:00.000-04:00

I've been near but not in SXSW-land until yesterday, when I scored a trade-show badge from Jeff Barringer of Club Kingsnake. I met Jeff at last year's interactive fest in a conversation about civility on blogs. He's managed an online interactive pet website for years, startin' from scratch and makin' it work. I learn something every time we talk.

This year Jeff and his staff are busy meetin', greetin', and otherwise beatin' the live music experience drum(s). Definitely worth visitin' in person (if you're at the trade show today it's booth I14), and stayin' in touch online. The online site has a wealth of cool personal and inside reports, interviews, and commentary on this year's south by experience.

And just before I left the trade show I noticed that Jon Lebkowsky (of World Changing notoriety, among many other things) was doing a live interview of Bruce Sterling. (I need to find the online link for these interviews.) This was one of the more generative conversations I've listened to in a long time. It left me wondering what world we're gonna build once we're done twittering and flittering from place to place and thing to thing. What practices and patterns will we find workable ... and, maybe even more important, what will we be workin' on?

The light changed ... it's Spring!

2007-03-02T13:15:00.000-04:00

Every time it happens I'm surprised. Every couple of weeks or so I notice that the days are getting longer. But two days ago I noticed that the sunlight was different. It's hard to describe, but I noticed a change in the colors of the trees and houses and pavement. I'm guessing that it's related to the angle of the sunlight on the surfaces. It's fascinating that even though the orientation of the earth relative to the sun is changing continuously, one day I see a big change that feels like a jump, not a gradual difference.

It happens every Spring and every Autumn and I'm always surprised. One of life's little pleasantries.

P.S. I tried to post this on Feb 19th, but I hadn't switched to the new blogger (it's now longer an option; it's a requirement). So now it's Feb 27th and I'm trying again. But I have a feeling it's not going to work ... my login is different.

P.P.S. 28 Feb. I was right, ecto can't post to blogger. I even changed my entire Google accounts password and nada. This is crap!

P.P.P.S. 2 Mar. and I say "Uncle!" I'm going to post directly with the browser. These kinds of irritations and impediments to just getting something out there seems to come with the so called "Web 2.0" package. Now even simple things aren't always easy. We call this progress. George Orwell just shakes his head.

Ah, the great outdoors.

2006-12-20T14:55:00.000-04:00

My wife and I moved to Austin, Texas, at the end of August and now that the home is getting set up, and the weather is cooling down (it was 103 degF the day we arrived), we're getting out and around a bit more. Being from the NYC area I've also been impressed with the big open sky and how clean the air seems, when compared with large metropolitan areas. So this fascinating note about a bacterial census of Texas air in The Scientist really piqued my interest.

We all know that there are bacteria everywhere. Heck, we're even in a symbiotic relationship with many of them. But not all of them. And from The Scientist article we learn that there are "some 1,800 different bacterial species -- including relatives of bioterror pathogens -- in the skies above San Antonio and Austin, Texas, revealing a level of diversity approaching that found in soil." Who knew?

The work that yields these interesting (startling?) findings is part of a homeland security effort to "monitor the skies over urban areas for signs of bioterrorism." So here's a side effect of monitoring and surveillance that is not necessarily good news, but provides key data that we need to know in order to be attentive to our lived environments.

So the next time I breathe deeply of the great outdoors of Austin it will be a different experience.

Technorati Tags: Austin, data, environment, science

My introduction to electronic voting

2006-11-03T14:32:00.000-04:00

In Texas one can vote early in portable voting locations in supermarkets, malls, etc. I took advantage of this since I'll be away on election day. This was my first experience of electronic voting and it was not encouraging. Two things that I noticed right away. First, the voting stations were portable electronic screens that were set up adjacent to each other separated by only a screen that came up to my ears. There was no curtain or cover, so it was pretty easy to see how people were voting while waiting in line. So much for secret ballots. The electronic interface was fairly usable, but I did see one elderly woman being walked through her entire ballot by a poll worker. Definitely no privacy for that service. I was given a screen summary of my ballot choices at the end and then asked to hit the red button to record the vote. I did that and the screen displayed a message saying "your vote has been recorded". But I have no paper receipt of my ballot choices, so I have no idea what happened. I have a receipt that gave me the code to use to retrieve the ballot appropriate for my voting district. That's it. And on the way out it would have been easy to use a fingernail to break the paper seals on the back of the voting stations. This is a setup that requires an enormous amount of trust in the computer and in the election officials and staff. But the lack of privacy is what bothers me the most.

Technorati Tags: electronic+voting, politics, voting, trustworthiness

I'm going to have to get beyond groups ...

2006-11-01T13:50:00.000-04:00

This Krishnamurti quote was posted by Taran Rampersad on his Digital Divide weblog more than a year ago and it remains apropos today ...

When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is trying to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind.

— J. Krishnamurti

We talk a great deal today about the web, and about it's ability to support community, communication, collaboration, and perhaps a different social future. The potential is real. But technology by itself isn't going to make any change in how we view ourselves and each other. The change is going to happen for me when I'm able and willing to understand that I am really in a human web, and that it's going to take work on my part to actually act out of that understanding. I'm not going to move beyond violence without revisiting my ideas of my self and of others. I need to understand that all systems are embedded systems, even my human systems of family, friends, etc.

Technorati Tags: Krishnamurti, quotation, systems+thinking, usthem

Be yourself: it's Independence Day

2006-07-04T13:35:00.000-04:00

My wife and I are moving, and this has given us an opportunity to think about what we want in a house and a home. Buying a home is a process of reflection. And yesterday, while deciding among three very nice, and very different, choices I had a deep and quiet realization. Let's choose our next home to support what we want to do with the remainder of our lives. Period. Let's drop the ideas we have about ourselves, the ideas about who we like to think we are. Let's try to be ourselves.

It seems like a good way to celebrate Independence Day.

Technorati Tags: practice, independence

One thing about dying ...

2006-06-13T17:39:00.000-04:00

In the book Cure Back Pain with Yoga, Savasana, a relaxation pose also called the "Corpse Pose" is described as follows:

Benefits: Relaxation of all muscles; mental repose.

Caution: As Ram Das commented, "One thing about dying, it's completely safe."

I feel better already.

Technorati Tags: death, relaxation, Yoga

Reading about writing and then writing about reading

2006-06-13T09:08:00.000-04:00

I was about to write that sometimes I stumble on a book that changes something for me, but that's not quite true these days. I've been finding, by referral and by accident, book after book that is pushing me to write. Today, however, I'm quoting from Mary Pipher's Writing to Change the World, a book that is changing me. In a section about getting started she quotes Mark Twain:

The human race is a race of cowards. I am not only marching in the parade, I am carrying a banner.

The open and undefended straightforwardness of Twain's statement stopped me cold and gives me hope. It gives me the energy to write and be a banner carrier myself. What could be more human that this? This is one of the great hopes for the internet and thousand-flowers-blooming blogosphere. As frustrating as it is to keep up with what's being written, it's also very pleasurable to keep finding new inspiriation. We're already marching in the parade. Now it's time to unfurl the banners. Speaking for myself, I need all the support I can get.

[Update 2006-06-17: fixed a punctuation typo in the quote.]

Technorati Tags: blogging, Mark Twain, Mary Pipher, writing

John Dewey breathes a sigh of relief

2006-05-25T10:43:00.000-04:00

Today's New York Times has an encouraging op-ed piece on science education by Brent Staples (subscription req'd). Staples writes about the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), science program that has been successfully graduating students (with diverse backgrounds) who excel in, and pursue, careers in science. The secret sauce? "The students are encouraged to study in groups and taught to solve complex problems collectively, as teams of scientists do. Most important, they are quickly exposed to cutting-edge science in laboratory settings, which demystifies the profession and gives them early access to work that often leads to early publication in scientific journals. At the same time, however, the students are pushed to perform at the highest level. Those who earn C's, for example, are encouraged to repeat those courses so they can master basic concepts before moving on."

John Dewey, that old pragmatist and educator, can finally relax a bit. It appears that we're paying attention to how people learn. I know that Dewey is not the only person to understand that humans are primarily social, and that we can learn and work well together. I read Dewey's Art As Experience over 20 years ago and it transformed my thinking about education. So it is very heartening to see further empirical evidence of how people can learn in groups and still be individuals. It's especially encouraging to have examples of successful science education. We need to keep reminding ourselves that science (like other work) is exciting, productive, and fun, because of its social nature, not in spite of it. We really are in this together and together is how we will make progress.

And I know there are a ba-jillion important threads thrown together in these two paragraphs that deserve more explanation. But, there it is; this is only a blog posting.

Technorati Tags: education, John+Dewey, science

Innovation is about renewal

2006-05-18T09:39:00.000-04:00

"For an innovation to be more than an exception, it must be repeated; it must be founded anew."

From the catalog of the current"Artists and Poets in Dialogue" exhibition at the New York Public Library. If you're in New York City, don't miss it.

Technorati Tags: culture, innovation, practice, art, quotation, writing

Sigmund Freud's scientific drawings

2006-05-07T12:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of Sigmund Freud's birthday, and ever since I became interested in the psychodynamics of groups, more than 15 years ago, I've been a Freudian, at least partly. Recently I read and commented on Jonathan Lear's book Freud. One thing Lear points out that if Freud were alive today he'd most likely be a neuroscientist. In recognition of this aspect of Freud's work the New York Academy of Medicine is exhibiting Freud's late 19th century drawings of nerve tissue and cells, alongside his early-20th-century diagrams of the working human mind. Cool; a field trip.

Technorati Tags: Freud, history, psychoanalysis, neuroscience, science

Quotation and question all in one ...

2006-04-08T13:15:00.000-04:00

On NPR this morning I heard the following quote attributed to the poet Robert Frost:

"How many things have to happen to you before something occurs to you?"

Technorati Tags: poetry, quotation, writing

Only science, history, music and art are left behind ...

2006-03-30T11:47:00.000-04:00

Kevin Schofield's Education Blog lays out the likely consequences of our fixation on testing as the way of insuring no child is left behind, at least in school. Aside from the fact that we have all learned a good deal of math and science by reading, playing music, and even futzing around in the kitchen, we are convinced that universal testing is the solution to declining literacy. Skill in reading and math are crucial for participation in modern society. But in addition to being able to count and calculate we desperately need some skills in learning how to choose what to count and when to calculate, and how to use the results.

I'm just starting to wake up to the fact that we all need a general understanding of both science and the humanities. This is especially true, if we're going to ask useful questions about how to use science and research to solve problems and imagine practicable possibilities.

In 1926 Everett Dean Martin wrote "The Meaning of a Liberal Education" (W.W. Norton & Co., now out of print). Near the end of the introduction is this:

"Whether the present increase of interest in education is to be an empty gesture depends on whether the thing demanded is really education. There is no one right way, and certainly each age with its special needs and peculiar industrial and cultural environment should make its own contribution to educational achievement. But there is something which belongs to no special time and to all times, a way of approaching our tasks or valuing experiences. No one who is merely a creature of his own times is really educated."

So now begins my own learning of what's going on now and what's gone on before regarding a liberal and useful education.

Technorati Tags: education, history, testing

Copyright gone Mad

2006-03-25T17:43:00.000-04:00

Rob Slade has a very sobering article in the current Risks-Digest about something that might happen to anyone who has published work and writing online. Asked to write a book about the history of computer viruses Slade, quite naturally, used and extended writing that he's done on the topic for nearly 20 years. The publisher has a policy of not publishing material that's appeared on the internet, so the book may not be published because the author has reference his own material.

Slade's short article is worth reading, and he has a very good attitude about the whole thing. But I can't help wondering what's next on the copy-right, wrong, and automated copyright management horizon? Are we having fun yet?

Technorati Tags: copyright, DRM, writing

Freud's legacy ... it's unsettling

2006-02-24T11:01:00.000-04:00

I'm reading Freud, by Jonathan Lear, a book that explores the philosophical significance of Freud's work and the work of psychoanalysis more generally. Lear uses the word "legacy" to mean not only ideas and insights that someone (or some many) may have discovered or invented, but also the unanswered questions that are left behind. For Freud, the unanswered questions are about learning to live an examined life, clearly a activity of philosophy as well as practical action.

The book touches on many aspects of Freud's legacy, but the one key insight that Lear provides for me is the realization that as much as I'd like to believe that I'm fundamentally a rational being, that I behave reasonably, and that, in the right context, even weird, unexpected, and potentially dangerous behaviors are rational, and can be supported by reasons, it just ain't so.

It's a bit startling to take this in and Lear suggests that one reason is that, as a society and culture, we've adopted an intellectual "complacency" that's let us believe that in the right context anything is reasonable. He suggests that this kind of relativity isn't accurate, and, furthermore, it impedes my ability to really work on my own development. I find this unsettling, and, oddly, comforting. I'm not sure if this rational or not, but it keeps me inquiring.

Technorati Tags: culture, Moral Issues, psychoanalysis, Freud

A public flogging is so much fun, why is that?

2006-01-28T22:52:00.000-04:00

The following letter to the NY Times made me stop and think about my own reaction to the James Frey - Oprah Winfrey news.

To the Editor:

Am I alone in feeling uneasy about the public shaming of a human being by a major celebrity on live television? In truth, it seems Oprah Winfrey's apology was an excuse for her to self-righteously berate the author James Frey for duping her.

With all of her power, was it necessary for Ms. Winfrey to take such an "eye for an eye" approach to her apology?

One thing is clear: The public support for her handling of the Frey fiasco proves that society still loves a good flogging in the square.

Patricia Madden, Orlando, Fla., Jan. 27, 2006

I was surprised at my own self-righteousness, and being caught up in the all the praise for Oprah being the grown-up and taking Mr Frey out to the woodshed. But Patricia Madden's letter is a good one. And I'm asking myself why the issues between Mr Frey and Oprah Winfrey, and how they resolve them, have any place on public television, or in public anywhere. I don't have any good answers.

Technorati Tags: memoir, public square, writing, truth

Africa: what is the value of outside help?

2005-12-15T11:15:00.000-04:00

Paul Theroux, in a provocative, compelling, and generative op-ed in The New York Times writes about the danger (and futility) of saving Africa with outside help. Theroux articulates something that I've been thinking about for some time and wrote a brief note about last year.

I don't want to minimize how hard it is to solve my own problems. I look the other way often. And I hope for some outside magic just as often. I do wish it were simpler and I could be a disinterested participant. Unhappily, but fortunately, none of that really works.

Technorati Tags: Africa, development, usthem