Law of accumulation

I’m taking a workshop these days, based on Brian Tracy’s ideas. I probably wouldn’t have searched it out on my own, but a few friends are sold on the concept, and they’ve asked me to sit in on their intital efforts in presenting the material. So far, so good.

According to Tracy, there is a “Law of Accumulation”. It says that accomplishments are the result of hundreds, if not thousands of efforts – all unnoticed. Everything counts. Nothing is neutral in the process – each effort either helps or hinders.

In other words, when we see an accomplished person, we seldom think about all the previous work that went into getting there. Successful people have all had ups and downs in their careers, but they’ve managed through the process and come out on top. They’ve learned.

That’s hearty food for thought, especially for someone starting a solo business. There’s only so much time to do all the things that need to be done, and a lot of it seems like it’s getting you nowhere. Mistakes get made. Small victories happen. Running solo may take some time, but all the effort counts.

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Gadgets and glasses for boomers

Picked up an article in FutureWire that comments on a story from USA Today . It relates to something I’ve been thinking about over the last while (as I peer at my cell phone and pda through ever-stronger glasses each year). Here’s a clip of a clip that caught my eye:

“Deep social change can happen because cell phones are now in our pockets all the time. “We’re evolving from a world where the PC was the communications device to one where the cell phone or PDA is the center of gravity,” says Kim Polese, CEO of open-source software company SpikeSource. These gadgets will alter habits even more as they become the way people listen to music, get information, blog and pay for purchases at stores”

Yes, bring it on! I’m thirsting for the one device that will give me it all, at a reasonable price.

Still, is there an opportunity for some innovation here. How about some sort of add-on for us oldsters that would simulate a larger viewing area on some of these gadgets. Perhaps an attachment for eyeglasses that provides a virtual screen? As people age, their eyes aren’t what they use to be, and those small screens on cell phones and pdas become harder and harder to see.

Remember, sooner or later all those young folks that are driving these trends will start getting older, and it sounds like the cohort behind them will be much smaller. We boomers are already there, and as much as we might like technology, all this miniaturization is starting to present some challenges.

But, that’s just my 2 cents for now. I may feel differently when I get stronger glasses next year.

News flash: no gravity today

Picked up from Doc Searls today. He refers to an article in The Onion regarding some of the discussion about science vs intelligent design in the States. Apparently now we have no gravity – just “intelligent falling”.

Weird. What can I say. I’m at a loss for words, other than to say…”somethin’s happen’in here. What it is ain’t exactly clear…” (apologies to Buffalo Springfield)

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Coming out

Well, practice makes perfect, but it’s time to go public. Gulp.

I’ve spent the last couple of months reading and learning about the blogosphere. I’m still not all that clear on a number of things, but you learn by doing, right?

So we’re open for business.

Over the next few months, some kind of theme, or meme, or niche will probably show up. Right now, I’m following through with the “at large” aspect of my

life. Until I find more of a focus, I expect I’ll drift around commenting on whatever piques my interest.

I’m sure that I’ll make some mistakes, but a reader or two might find me as well.

Guess we’ll have to see how it all goes.

So for now….Welcome to my blog.

Cleaning off your desk.

Cleaning off your desk every once in a while is a good thing. Little bits and pieces of leftover projects, or just things you might use (or have to reach for once in a while) do tend to build up on the real estate.

I tend to collect pieces of paper where I’ve made short notes about something. Of course, those things “can’t” be done right away, so they come back to bite me from the side of my desk. Frequently. You’d think I’d learn.

I think I’ll try this tip from Signal vs. Noise (clips mine):

“Toss everything, and I mean everything on your desk in a box. If it doesn’t fit in a box, put it on the floor. Your desk should be completely cleared of everything …..clip.

Next, get to work. Only remove something from the box (or the floor) when you absolutely need it. Not before….clip… If you don’t need a pen now, don’t get the pen. Only place it on your desk when you need it.

Throw out the remaining items in the box in 30 days …clip.”

I’ve done this before, but recidivism is common. I really need to clean up at the end of each session, before moving on.

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Weddings and forestry camps

I’ve managed to whine and complain a couple of times recently, and it’s making me feel guilty. After all, who wants to read a whiner.

So, for something more positive, I thought I’d post about my latest trip, into the interior of our wonderful province of BC.

I traveled up to Gavin Lake last weekend for my nephews wedding. We stayed at the forestry camp that’s operated by UBC in the Alex Fraser Research Forest. That may sound like an odd place for a wedding (it was, I guess), but everything worked out well. The guests ranged from 8 weeks old, to one person in her 80s, and by all accounts, everyone, including the myriad of dogs attending, had a good time.

The camp is quite modern. There were probably 15 or so cabins on site that would hold a family or more each. I bunked with my sister, her husband, and her son. There were four beds, one in each corner of the cabin, and double closets, one set on each side. It was quite comfy considering you are only inside for sleeping and changing. No heat though, so it might be a bit chilly after the end of August or so.

( Credits to the UBC Field School website for the photos )

Communal facilities included warm showers, regular toilets, cooking and eating facilities for groups, and canoes for your boating pleasure. There was also ample room to set up tents, campers, and motor homes . I was told that the fishing was good, but I wasn’t prepared to spend the money for a fishing licence, just for the couple of days I’d be there.

The camp is a ‘bring your own bedding and food’ kind of place, but all went well because the hosts and their families arranged for the food. Our per-person rent for the site was only $10 per night, and we contributed a bit for the meals. Can’t beat that.

Believe it or not, there had been a recent frost in the area and there were no bugs. What a bonus. During the summer, the Cariboo can host some serious populations of mosquitoes, black flies, and horseflies. As it was, we enjoyed our marshmallow roasts and storytelling around the campfire in peace. And there was lots of storytelling about the bride and groom by friends and family (heh).

It was an 8 hour drive up to the camp from Surrey, but I took my time and enjoyed it. What amazes me whenever I travel to the interior is the diversity of small businesses you see along the road. I traveled the Coquihalla Highway (#5), through Merritt and Kamloops and on up to Little Fort. Even outside of the larger towns, you can find just about any business imaginable.

Here’s a quote from the ‘Communities of the North Thompson Valley’ website about the economy of Little Fort. It illustrates what I mean.

"The economy consists of traditional businesses such as hay and cattle farms, restaurants, hotel, campground, pub, gas station, general store, craft store and fly and tackle shop. Little Fort’s diversification can be seen in the unique businesses in the area such as a Trout Fish Farm, an Emu Ranch, a Fishing Resort and a Game Ranch.

On the Game Ranch, birds such as turkeys, partridges, chukars and pheasants are raised. During the appropriate hunting seasons hunters pay to have a set number of birds released onto the estate to be hunted. It is estimated that 60% of the birds released are never killed and are then left in the wild."

There are numerous lakes along the highway between Little Fort and 100 Mile House. They host a bevy of lakefront campgrounds, restaurants, and bed and breakfast hotels. At one point I passed a business building garden sheds, right in the middle of nowhere. I should have stopped and got the name of it, but I didn’t. Trucking companies, machine shops, craft stores, rafting guides, and even vineyards show up when you least expect it. We have an amazing diversity of business in this province.

Long drives can be such a pain if you let them. But if you take the time to look around, there’s lots to learn.

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Personal email from your local business??

I’ve shopped a lot at Staples in the past, because there is a local store that’s handy to the office and home. Recently I’ve started getting emails from them announcing store specials and savings.

Well, I thought that was great, but up until now I haven’t had a chance to click through the email links to the offers and see what was there.

I tried today. Sigh. What’s the first thing they want? My postal code! Sheesh, they don’t even know it’s me.

I would have thought that in this day and age it couldn’t be that difficult to target your ads a bit. But I guess that escapes many marketers.

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So much, so fast, so well?…

Caught a Wired story via Ross Mayfield. It’s called “We are the web”, by Kevin Kelly . Definitely worth a read!

The article provides an excellent history of the web, and some thoughts about what it means and where it’s going. Here are a couple of quotes.

“How could we create so much, so fast, so well? In fewer than 4,000 days, we have encoded half a trillion versions of our collective story and put them in front of 1 billion people, or one-sixth of the world’s population. That remarkable achievement was not in anyone’s 10-year plan.”

Wow. What’s going to happen in the next 10 years with everyone creating and publishing their own content through blogs, ezines, ebooks, etc. Are we at some kind of tipping point? Or, will we approach one soon?

The article has some interesting observations about that growth of content.

Later, Kelly talks about the future in an ‘all connected’ world and says:

“What will most surprise us is how dependent we will be on what the Machine knows – about us and about what we want to know. We already find it easier to Google something a second or third time rather than remember it ourselves.”

This touches on something that crossed my mind a couple of days ago. I’m already starting to google for sites, rather than use my bookmarks. I was also thinking about all the content I’ve collected and carefully stored on my hard drive – and never looked at again (but I might someday, right?). Couldn’t I just use one of the search engines to locate most of it again online. Do I really need 120GB of storage on my hard drive? Sure, engines like Copernic can help me sort through the stuff I’ve collected, but at some point I’ll have to archive and store it somewhere. Unneeded duplication?

I have to admit that I’m more comfortable having my ‘most important stuff’ on a personal machine for now. But I’m thinking hard about it. Is yesterday’s news worth the cost? At what point will I trust the infrastructure enough and believe it will be there when I need it?

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Ferry crash simulation – try it?

Noticed this link for the boomcity ferry crash simulator in a short blurb in the Vancouver Sun the other day. Now I can test my theory about the potential damage caused by various grounding scenarios for the Queen of Oak Bay.

I blogged about it just after the crash, and now I can test it myself. The damage I get so far ranges from around $230K to over $8 million, depending on the route. Tricky business.

Give it a try. Basic. Kind of macabre. But interesting.

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Go ahead and paint yourself a snake

Here’s a new site on reptiles in British Columbia, brought to you by Thompson Rivers U and Ministry of Water Land and Air Protection. Thanks FORREX Conservation Biology listserv for the link.

The page after the jump let’s you (your inner child?) colour in some snakes. Role models are pictured above each drawing for you to base the colors on – if you’re in a less-than-creative mood, that is.

Some of the other links on the page offer pictures, references, range maps etc. of common reptiles you might meet in various areas of the province.

If you are into taming rascally reptiles there are also some hints to help you keep your pets (and neighbours?) happy. Apparently it’s more difficult to keep a pet reptile than meets the eye.

Interesting stuff. Good for learning. Good for education.