Howdy.
I’m still here. Things have been busy, though. Finishing the school year. Getting all our shots. Continuing to build Serendeputy. Got a lot going on.
Once of the things I’m trying to do more is “noticing” — getting out of my head and into the world. Being a geek, I’ll frame that as trying to maximize my noticings per day. I’m guessing that I can boost that number by trying to write some of them down. Interesting experiment, if nothing else.
The noticings idea comes from 10% Happier, an audiobook by Dan Harris I’ve been listening to. Highly recommended.
I’m also trying to improve my writing. I’ve been heads-down writing in Elixir and Erlang, so my basic essay-writing skills have atrophied. Not to mention my copywriting skills. Perhaps someday I can work my way back to “decent” writer.
Interesting links from the last couple of days:
Next-generation blogroll. I don’t have a blogroll on this site yet (though I should — just need to hack the WordPress template at some point). For now, you can get a feel for what I’d put there by looking at the tags (sites, tweeters, concepts, etc.) I’m following.
How the cookie poisoned the Web. Doc Searls with some thoughts on cookies, ad tech and how we all got here.
‘Who does that?’ Family outraged after woman throws coffee at teen managing Dunkin Donuts. Comments on the r/boston subreddit. Ok, it’s been a long damn time since I was a swing manager at the ol’ McDonalds Milford II — the late 80s, when dinosaurs roamed the earth — but I remember stuff like this. I dealt with a lot more crap and abuse closing on a Saturday night than I ever have in my executive life.
And now, I’m seeing lots of stories about how businesses are having trouble ramping back up staff.
Discontinuities often provide massive opportunities. A forced break in inertia will make a lot of people reconsider what they’re looking for. If you can only offer a crappy job, then you can’t be surprised when folks aren’t too excited about it (see DD story a couple paragraphs up). The best business owners will step up and hire the best workers.
Finally, one of the kids was asking about brain/computer connections. I pointed her to Tim Urban’s piece on Neuralink and Marshall Brain’s great short story, Manna.
Other random noticings:
Traffic is back here in Concord. I’ll need to recalculate how long it will take me to get to the school for pick up. I’m glad to see it, but I kinda got used to freely zipping around town.