The Underlying Blog

The Way of Rabbits or Philosopher Kings?

I've had this nagging thought over the last few years. If human progress keeps up its pace, and we don't do anything overly self-destructive as a species, there should be an abundance tipping point before Captain Kirk is born.

At which point, do we go the way of rabbits or philosopher kings?

(My Answer: Who cares, I'm going to Burger King.)

{not paid to say that but should've been}

Ponder that as it will be a couple of weeks before my next post.

Technorati tags: The Tipping Point, Philosophy, Kyle McFarlin, Visual Strategist, Humor, Burger King

The Year of Amish Recruitment: 3 Tips to Fight Future Shock

I've noticed something in 2007: A lot of people making jokes to me about ditching all of their technology, a great deal more than in 2005 or 2006. Could it be the stress of upgrading to Windows Vista, could it be the technology has turned into the Glenn Close stalker from Fatal Attraction?

As I live an hour away from one of the largest Amish communities in the United States, the temptation is EXTREME for me.

And I've got to admit folks, even after releasing a system of life management, VSS, I feel it sometimes too, the desire to go to something simpler and something more pure. Like damn, are we becoming the Borg?

I even get sick of the efficiency of GTD sometimes. Remember when crap used to just go into a big pile... And you kept on ignoring it even when forest creatures made homes in it? Do I see torches and pitchforks in the distance?

Strange world, that those I speak to, Early Adopters on any scale, would reminisce of a simpler time. Is it future shock, or are we finally noticing that there is NO GOING BACK? I think it's the latter.

So, here are 3 tips to fight the shock of no going back:

1. Turn it ALL off on Saturday or Sunday. I know, it follows you, so pick a day and broadcast ferociously to always on co-workers that you're gone on Saturday/Sunday. Seriously, create the space in your life for one day to yourself or with loved ones, where the technology truly doesn't find you. You may just get frisky or find inner-peace... UNINTERRUPTED!!! To put it succinctly, the online world can go to hell one day a week.
2. Check e-mail on your terms, not theirs. I've seen numerous bloggers over the years recommend you turn off Outlook e-mail notifications, and they're all right. And Crackberries... they're great, but the same rules need to apply, even more so. Of all the people who venture toward the edge of Stephen King's classic line from The Shining movie: 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy', the Crackberry addicts teeter the most toward drone oblivion.
3. Use a Moleskine to record your thoughts. My buddy Mark Hollander put me onto this, and I'd still say it's the closest I come to feeling like Thoreau at Walden Pond. Sorry Tablet makers, you just haven't come close yet.

And here's a little humor for you that was forwarded on to me from Rob Wendt:

Still want more humor / fascinating-from-nowhere reading, check out Heisenberg Fridays by Walter Terry at ROICopy.

Technorati tags: Technology, Future Shock, GTD, Blackberry, Crackberry, Stephen King, The Shining, Amish, Mark Hollander, Rob Wendt, Fatal Attraction, Gyronix, ResultsManager, MindManager, Visual Strategist, Visual Strategist Solution, VSS, Walter Terry, ROI Copywriting, Henry Thoreau, Walden Pond, Tablet PC, Mindjet

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

I thought the blue shirt goes well with the holiday... now who's a better Mindjet MindManager fan?

                                           

And how hungry I am for the country delicacies of Independence Day... don't get in the way of my cheesy potatoes. Seriously. Don't.

Hope everyone has a great and safe holiday!

San Jose Mercury News - Google chafes at Vista

I'm a Windows user (gotta be for Mindjet MindManager 7 with ResultsManager), and was forced to upgrade to Vista in a malfunctioning computer mishap earlier this year... a bit more on that in a future post. Therefore, it's no surprise to me as a Google Desktop Search user in Vista that Google is angry at the way Vista Desktop Search is almost impossible to turn off if you don't have a Ph. D. in a related field. Take a look at the following article, which sets the stage for quite a war between two behemoths. Will this be as good as Bill Gates vs. Larry Ellison? We'll see...

San Jose Mercury News - Google chafes at Vista

NBA.com SCHEDULE: Cleveland Rising...

Didn't know Visual Strategist likes basketball?

I DO. Okay, so I know San Antonio is favored to win the NBA finals, but Hell hath no fury like Lebron James. Earlier this decade I watched my Alma Mater highschool play against him, so the bonds run deep.

On a sociological note, Cleveland, as a city has gone through a tough transition into the 21st century... and now you can sense it everywhere, from the coffee shop I'm sitting in to mood on the streets - THE PRIDE IS BACK. 

Here's a link to the NBA Finals schedule, so you can mark it in your calendar:

NBA.com SCHEDULE

On an unrelated note, I'm listening to U2's 'Where the Streets Have no Name' on repeat - incredible composition.

 

Technorati tags: Kyle McFarlin, Cleveland, Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA Finals

More from the Twilight Zone

Well, I thought an update was in order on my saga, no make that epic struggle to get a working computer. See my previous post for more. Just got off the phone with Beth, the HP caseworker who's now saved me twice, and Vista Home Premium 32-bit is finally on its way to me in the mail. But wait you ask, wasn't it supposed to be sent to you last week Kyle (Kyle your name rhymes with style)? Shouldn't you be using it NOW?

Not quite. You see, HP accidentally sent me Vista Home Basic, which I received on Monday. When I called in to complain, the support center told me it's not their policy to send Recovery DVDs for anything but the preinstalled OS (Vista Ultimate 64-bit in my case), so they're not allowed to fix the mistake and send the correct Recovery DVD. Yeah, that's great for me I told them: Now I'm supposed to be up creek because the guy who was willing to massage the rule to get me what I needed goofed? Naturally, I demanded an audience with his supervisor, who was helpful in setting me up with a promised call from a caseworker.

Yesterday (Tuesday) the caseworker Beth tried to reach me early in the day, but I missed her and was unable to reach her through the rest of the day.

Finally, today, things got resolved when Beth called. Beth, if this were a hip-hop album, this is your shout out for finally getting Home Premium 32-bit in the mail to me (Why doesn't HP offer Vista Ultimate 32-bit again?). It'll be fun to able to use my software again. 64-bit is cool, but I can't go without Itunes, which doesn't work on Vista 64-bit, not to mention Dragon Naturally Speaking.

It's taken me 3 days of calling through to different areas of HP Support to get this thing resolved. And only 9 weeks since the sound blew out on my original DV 9000 laptop. Scary stuff if you're doing business folks.

Okay, if you're thinking I'm spoiled for complaining, I know I'm lucky to even be having a problem at this level on Maslowe's hierarchy. Still, 10 weeks this will have taken when it's concluded. Damn, that ain't cool HP. I've been telling people to buy your stuff for years. I mean, I wore an Ipaq at my college graduation - I should be your flipping mascot. And then this... disappointed doesn't even begin to cover it.

Laptop Woes, Sick as a Dog

Quick update on the never-ending computer saga, or here's a better idea, a quick summary.

• Nov 2006: I buy a new, HP DV 9000 17 inch widescreen laptop with Windows XP Media Center installed. Happy camper.
• Late-Jan 2007: The sound blows out on my HP laptop. It goes in to HP Support for the first time via Best Buy. Annoyed camper.
• Mid-Feb 2007: The laptop comes back from HP Support to Best Buy - unfixed, despite it having been sent back as fixed. Very-annoyed camper.
• Mid-Feb 2007: HP Laptop goes to HP Support second time, this time directly through HP Support because I called during one of our Ohio snow storms, and they sent me a Fedex box. Anything less than a Hummer wouldn't have gotten me to Best Buy during that storm. Impatient camper.
• Late-Feb 2007: Still haven't heard from HP. Livid camper.
• March 2007: Call HP until I finally get to someone who tells me my laptop will come back to me fixed Late-March. My position: Unacceptable considering I've been without my laptop for six weeks. Twilight Zone Camper.
• March 2007: I finally reach a 'case worker' who sets me up with a replacement notebook - it'll come with Vista Ultimate (XP wasn't available)! Ooohhhh.... Ahhhhhh.... Happy camper returns from techno hell.
• Late-March 2007: Replacement HP notebook arrives, with Windows Vista Ultimate. Great except they sent me the 64-bit version. For those of you not familiar with 64-bit, it would be like Chevrolet sending you a flying Corvette to replace a busted one: Really cool and definitely the future, but not practical in the day and age we're living in because the technology to support it hasn't arrived yet. In my case, crucial software doesn't run on the new machine. Numb camper.
• Currently: I've paid HP $18 to send me a 32-bit Vista Home Premium recovery disc. So, to summarize, I've paid HP money to send me an inferior operating system to Vista Ultimate that SHOULD run my software. Ripped off camper.

In conclusion, it's now been 8 weeks since my laptop crashed and burned, and I'm still not up and running yet.

Oh yeah, and I'm sick as a dog.

I'll be in Amish country for the next, oh, 6 years if you need me.

But seriously, it makes me think back to my previous post on what I would do if the technology left me. I've realized it wasn't just hypothetical, it can happen. Check it out here.

Can you 'See' the News Yet?

My buddy Ron Robison has blogged about some great visualization resources, and I thought you'd want to check them out:

Link to Ron Robison: Learn by Pictures? 

Ron's the guy who brought us the Periodic Table of of Visualization Methods, and I can say firsthand the resources in his new post are topnotch as Maramushi was my startup page a while back... good to be reminded.

If You Can't Pick Someone, Pick 6 Billion

I feel like this is a copout on Time's part.

Am I being elitist? Aren't we all special?

Sorry folks, I just can't get behind the logic. Sure we're all special, but I count on Time for an in-depth analysis and careful selection when picking the Person of the Year (with that in mind, I am fully open to Time creating a 'People of the Year Award'). Maybe Time picked now to declare the Web the great equalizer because social ecosystems such as MySpace and YouTube seem to be hitting critical mass, but you could create a web presence pretty easily over the last 10 years, so why now? And further, hasn't human communication and interaction always been a patchwork quilt by the masses, for the masses even if there weren't yet digital frameworks to capture the interactions? Spend a little time with Karen Stephenson or Malcolm Gladwell and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Bottom-line, I think 'You' is unfair to previous generations who would have gladly collaborated to the utmost given the technologies we currently have. And like I said before they did and always have collaborated, it just has never been captured on this level before.  My opinion therefore, is the person of the year should be someone who has facilitated such togetherness: Maybe SecondLife founder Philip Rosedale.

Time is correct in asserting that everyone can have a voice online if they choose to accept the mission. And it's true, anyone can blog, create a videocast or podcast, and do it at very little cost. Problem is, I've seen a lot of bloggers, podcasters, MySpacers and YouTubers who wonder if anyone is listening. And I encourage them wholeheartedly to continue doing so, just with realistic expectations. Check out my previous Red Pill Post for more on this. Further, just because the cost of creating and delivering media has gone down, it does not at all influence the amount of time people have to consume it.

And the numbers just aren't adding up in this mind of mine: If everyone is focused on capture, is there still time in the moment - the moment to enjoy all this newly created media? The answer of course, is no, there isn't time, and therefore, only a few of those who create content will be viewed in any mass numbers. This rocks if you're cool with fulfilling a deep niche, but may be hard on those who deem themselvers stars and are subsequently disappointed by the 3 hits their blog got last month.

Bottom Line: If everyone is constantly creating their very own media empire, who listens?

Link to TIME Magazine Cover: Person of the Year - Dec. 25, 2006 - Technology - Person of the Year

(Last thought: I think Time should do a recount and pick Borat as Person of the Year for 2006)

Me, Late-Stage Roman Empire?

Those of you who've followed my blog are aware of my propensity to use the Roman Empire as an analogy for self-conquest, as evidenced by my guest posts at the Taming Project Chaos Blog. 

Recently, I've noticed a certain trend in the media and thought current of America that the US is late-stage Roman Empire, at power's peak with nowhere else to go but down.

I've found an interesting way to possibly evaluate the late-stage empire assertion, and I want your opinion on whether or not its valid. Here goes:

People never seem to want to empty their garbage cans: (okay, I'm even guilty at times) Anyone else notice this?  You can walk into someone's kitchen, open up the door to the trash can and see a veritable Taj Mahal rising from the top of the bin.  And the oddest part is you know it took more work to create the trash sculpture than it would have to simply take the trash out and put a new bag in the can.

So here's where I need your help:  Has it always been this way, people making garbage art 3 feet high off of the tops of their trash cans?  When the Greatest Generation was getting the baby boom on in the 1950s, did they pile the trash until it looked like the Lexcorp Towers.  Or did they take it out?  Because if it's always been this way, then who's to say we're late-stage anything?  We're just great artists. 

On the other hand, if we've just recently taken up the habit of making sculpture out of trash, well then my friend, we may just smack dab in the fat and happy camp.  It would either show laziness to discard the ultra-convenient products we consume, or an unreal amount of materialism that we cannot part with the waste elements of our activity.

Well, I'm off to Chipotle for my 1 pound burrito.  Bling Bling.