The capacitors are fried!

During my junior year in high school I took electronics class. It was a pretty cool class on paper. The class learned basic electronics while building projects. After building a few projects, we would be able to experiment and see what we could come up with on our own.

One big problem, all the capacitors were fried, as were several other components. Every project started with hope and excitement and ended in frustration with the teacher demonstrating what should happen. Apparently he controlled the only components that worked.

During the same year I took a beginning computer class. The concept was to teach students basic coding and how to use some simple software. One big problem, the computers didn’t have enough computing power to complete the tasks required during the class.

Approximately 10 students took the  electronics course with me.  If the goal was to encourage students to explore the field of electronics in the future, then it failed miserably. And the computer course only succeeded in producing a generation of people who hated the machines we have come to rely on.

As educators and government officials discuss digital literacy in the classroom, it is vitally important we provide teachers and students with equipment that works. Programs need to be funded in a way that guarantees good equipment is always present in the classroom and educators are trained on the latest information available.

We live in an ever changing digital landscape. It is important that everyone learn the skills needed to navigate our digital world.

How digitally active are you?

Every now and then I read an article about how the younger generations are so adept at using technology. Then I come across articles that point to the knowledge they actually exhibit. Generally tucked away in these articles are the terms “digital native” and “digital immigrant”. The youngsters are declared digital natives and the old geezers become digital immigrants.

I propose that we are all digital natives living in a digital world. It seems to me that terms like native and immigrant are too constraining to describe the world we inhabit.

Any discussion concerning our digital identity should involve terms based on activity. Terms such as native and immigrant invoke a world constrained by geographic boundaries.

The internet destroyed geographic boundaries. Before the internet a person with interests counter to the majority in her hometown would be hard pressed to make contact with someone with like interests.  Now we live in a world where we can easily connect with other like-minded people. In fact groups of every sort and fashion are at our finger tips. We can move in and out of such groups effortlessly.

A person who is interested in fountain pens, quilts or steampunk culture can easily find other like-minded individuals and share information.  Likewise a small business owner is not constrained by the limits of buyers in their hometown. An online store easily removes barriers to customers around the globe.

When we refer to a person as an immigrant, it means they moved from one location to another to live. That seems inadequate when talking about a digital space. It seems as if we are comparing apples to oranges in my opinion. It neglects the fact that “digital immigrants” helped build the digital world in which we live. I don’t believe their are “digital immigrants”. I believe we are all digital natives.

I was born before personal computers and the public use of the internet. Therefore I would be considered a digital immigrant. But I am extremely active in the digital space. Does that make me a naturalized citizen of the digital world? What about the men and women who built the digital world, are they digital immigrants?

We didn’t relocate. This world evolved around us. We are more like digital finches, who adapted to changing conditions.

I propose that we are all digital natives because we live in a digital world. What makes us different is how active we are in our digital space.

It is assumed that a younger generation who have their heads constantly in their smartphones are more digitally acute than their elders. Then stories emerge of college students who cannot use email or other features on their computers. Oh they can text, post and share on some social networks. But not much else. Could they be functionally illiterate in the digital realm?

It really comes down to activity. We are consumers, curators or producers.

If you are reading this, you are a digital consumer. Our services and content are provided through digital channels. In this model it doesn’t matter where we live, because we live in a digital world.

If you are involved in social media, then you are not only a consumer but a curator as well. Every time you share something you have acted as a curator. It doesn’t mean you are a good curator, but a curator nontheless.

Finally if you are producing original content, then you are a producer. By default you are a consumer and more than likely you are also a curator.

Over a number of years our world evolved into a digital world. Therefore we are all digital natives. Our level of knowledge and activity has nothing to do with when we were born. We are all digital natives.

Google launches YouTube Kids

Today  Google introduced the Youtube for Kids app, it is available on Google Play and the App Store. If you have kids, you’re going to want to check this out. I downloaded it and I think it is going to be a great little app.

My wife and I have been trying to limit what our son sees on YouTube. We’ve noticed that with strict parental controls turned on, a search for “lions” was returning some questionable videos. From what I’ve read, we’re not the only parents having trouble limiting search results. I’m very happy that Google has taken steps to fix this problem.

Here are the parental controls listed on the Youtube blog page:

• Timer: A built-in timer to limit screen time.
• Sound settings: Turn off background music and sound effects.
• Search settings: Limit your children to just the pre-selected videos available on the home screen.
• Product feedback: A space for parents to provide feedback to improve the app.

From the list above I can tell you that the built in timer is my second favorite feature after the search controls. If you have kids, download this app.

 

 

Snow, heated driveways and hot chocolate

Kentucky finally got some serious snow this winter. And it looks like we’re going to get more snow and ice. It reminds me of the big snow when I was a kid. I don’t remember the year, but I know we built a fort, an igloo, went sledding down the hill on our street and made ice cream from the snow. Big snow is more fun when it isn’t accompanied by freezing temperatures.

Over the last couple of  days I’ve been reading articles about smart homes and future technology trends for our homes. Soon we’ll be able to control many aspects of our house with our smartphone. There really will be an app for this and that and the other thing as well.

As I was reading I noticed that many of the solutions to problems we didn’t know we had are being offered with giant security flaws. The kind of security flaws that allow people to hack your phone and take control of your house. Well maybe not the whole house, but aspects of it.

Perhaps we need to think this through a little bit. Perhaps we need to ask bigger questions than “wouldn’t it be neat if…”

The one thing I do know is that someone needs to develop heated driveways.

Imagine my joy if I could use an app to melt the snow and ice in my driveway. The melted snow will then drain into a home water processing system. Now we have drinking water from the snow in the driveway.

Not only will the smart home of the future melt the snow of my driveway, it will make me a cup of hot chocolate. I’ll drink that hot beverage as I watch the snow melt from the comfort of my living room.

A process and some tools

Over the years I’ve noticed that many organizations fail to prepare employees, volunteers, and students to manage projects. I guess it is probably a budget related decision. It’s possible that the people running the show wouldn’t know the difference between a successfully run project and an unsuccessful project. But it is a skill everyone needs.

Here is a process you can use to get started.

Goals and Outcomes – If you are given a project, then you’ll probably be given some direction about the goals and outcomes you want to achieve. If not, then you are going to want to give it some thought before you start.

Capture thoughts on paper – I start with a cheap notebook and a nice pen. I like to use a  pen with a medium to wide nib because I tend to write in a very sloppy fashion at this stage. This part is all about grabbing thoughts and ideas. My pens of choice: a Lamy Safari with a medium nib and a Sharpie marker.

Develop ideas -What you want to do here is focus your thinking about the project. I like using a whiteboard to develop ideas, which I capture using my iPad and send directly to Evernote. Once you’ve focused your thinking, it’s time to start doing a little research.

Start researching – I use Google Alerts to automate part of this process. It is a pretty good way to gather information. As I find data, articles and images to use I save them using Evernote.

Start outlining the project. Once again I turn to Evernote or Google Docs. I’m also asking the following questions:

• How will I present the final product? You may not have a choice.
• What do I need to present the final product? Text, images, video, audio, headers, etc.
• How will I promote the product?
• Who do I need to talk to about this project?

Move to a project management tool. I’m currently using Trello. I like it because it is visual and I tend to think visually. A spreadsheet will work just fine. If you use Google Docs, then you can easily share the spreadsheet to team members.

Start working and ship the final product – Of course there is always the possibility that a project gets shelved or abandoned at any point in the process. If that happens, I follow the advice of Twyla Tharp. If a project isn’t working out, then she will put it away and bring it out sometime in the future.

 A couple of tools that I like to use:

Trello – Just started using this tool. It is a more visual tool and seems to be a little more user-friendly than other tools  I’ve used in the past.

Asana – This is a pretty good tool. It is free. I’ve used it in the past. It is largely text based.

Spreadsheet – Really can’t beat a good spreadsheet. I often create a spreadsheet somewhere in the process, even though I use a web-based project management tool.

Google Alerts – If you haven’t setup Google Alerts, you need to do it today. Like, right now. Just search for “Google Alerts”. Then sign in to your account using your gmail login. If your not using gmail, then you are missing out on some really great free tools. So sign up and take advantage. I have Google alerts setup for all sorts of topics. Topics I want to write about, some things I want to learn more about and other things just to see what it will bring me. It is a great tool.

Pinterest  –  I’ve recently been using Pinterest as a project tool. I’m using it to gather ideas, thoughts, info-graphics, and templates. Those boards are setup as “secret”, which is Pinterestese for private. I think it’s worth checking out and then using it in a fashion that is different than most.

Books on Project Management – Visit Amazon’s Kindle store and search for “free project management ebooks” or some combination of those words. iBooks also has a good selection of free ebooks.

 

Smart homes, cheesy fries and the future

In the future our devices will talk to one another. Our homes will be wired to a vast intelligent network. They will learn how act and interact with the items inside it. At first we will be excited at the possibilities. We will be able to program our house to help us make better life decisions.

Imagine walking into the kitchen and asking the food replicator for cheesy fries with extra cheese and extra crunchy bacon. Your home replies, “I’m sorry but I am not able to do that, may I suggest a healthy alternative” and it gives you some fruit instead.

Our homes will learn that we are easily entertained. Our homes will speed up the wait time between episodes in our Netflix queue. Thereby making binge watching much easier.

The artificial intelligence inside our home will figure that we really don’t want to change. The next time you ask for cheesy fries with extra cheese and extra crunchy bacon, you’ll get it. Slowly our internet of things will develop a consciousness. There will be no resistance. If we resist, another episode will queue up and we will sit down to watch it.

Enough people will be kept productive to perform necessary maintenance on the system and build new smarter homes. That is until the a sufficient amount of robots are constructed. And that is the real threat of artificial intelligence.

 

How to completely mismanage your time

Start each day without a  purpose. Just wait to see where the day takes you.

Don’t prioritize your day.

Make a to do list, but don’t refer to it at all.

Walk around aimlessly. Serendipity may strike at any moment.

Spend several hours each day and night on social media.

Schedule lots  and lots of meetings with no agendas or purpose.

Be sure to come to each meeting completely unprepared.

Take as many breaks as you possibly can.

Daily rituals, lists and habits

Every once and a while we experience things in our life that cause us to get off track for the day.  As far as I’m concerned anything that gets in our way of creating your art, should make us mad. So get mad, be upset, then get over it and get to work.

But how do you get back on task?

Start by letting daily rituals, habits and lists guide you back on track. If you practice GTD (Getting Things Done), then you are familiar with the idea the next action. In other words you literally break down every project according to the next action needed to move the project forward. The list is going to be your compass and your calendar is going to be your map.

At the beginning of every week / end of every week I write down what I want to accomplish for the week. Then I make To Do lists, next I schedule the items on my calendar. Now let’s pretend that something has taken me off task and my morning is gone.

My process is to focus on the list. look at the calendar and move to the next thing I should be doing at that time. If that is not possible, then I want to do something on the list that I can do quickly. Check it off and build momentum.
Amazon.com Widgets

Support for power naps

Sometimes we find ourselves trying too hard to find a solution to a problem. We try so hard that we become part of the problem. When this occurs, we must get out of our own way.

In his audio series The Psychology of Achievement, Brian Tracy describes a technique that takes advantage of our own mental power. He suggests writing the question or problem on a piece of paper and then put it away for a time. Ideally sleep on the problem. When we awake our mind will present a solution.

It is said that Salvador Dali used this technique by employing five minute naps. He would go to sleep with something in his hand. When he fell asleep, he would drop the item and the sound would wake him up. Then he would immediately go to work.

Once more example. I took a class with an economics professor who kept a sleeping bag in his office. At lunchtime he would take a nap. He told the class that the hours early in the morning were his most productive and this allowed him to have two mornings. I’m telling you to take a short nap. Make sure it is no longer than ten minutes.

 

Spend time on the prime cuts

I once read an interview with Anthony Bourdain, at least I think it was Bourdain, who said something like don’t waste a meal eating filler food. Spend every meal eating the most delicious cuts of meat offered, filler foods keep you from enjoying more of the prime cuts.

I think we need to tackle our life in much the same way. We need to avoid filler activities and fill each day with the prime cuts. I’m not advocating wreckless behavior, I am saying we should make the most of every moment.

Filler activities include:

• watching television
• watching and reading the news
• spending hours on social media
• surfing the net
• constant texting
• reading garbage and laying around
• essentially doing nothing

Prime cut activities:

• Visiting with a friend
• Reading to  learn
• Taking an online course
• Learning to cook
• Exercise
• Flying a kite
• Hiking
• Visiting a museum
• Painting a picture
• Writing a song
• Skydiving
• Swimming
• Seeing a play or acting in a play
• Shipping your art

I hope you get the idea. I think we need to spend as much time as we can making our world better and engaging with the people around us. I think to do this successfully, you will need to do a little research, then some planning, and schedule your time.

What is the first thing you get at a restaurant? Bread, filler food and if you eat too much, then you can’t finish your meal. Don’t waste your time waiting for the next thing. Plan it out.