Two questions about transparency ...

Transparency is the new black.

But when we all live in glass houses

Will we stop throwing stones?

And when we dig up the bodies,

What will we do with the bones?

Bruno Schulz: "There are things ..."

"There are things that cannot ever occur with any precision. They are too big and too magnificent to be contained in mere facts. They are merely trying to occur, they are checking whether the ground of reality can contain them. And they quickly withdraw, fearing to lose their integrity in the frailty of realization ...."

(Bruno Schulz, 'The Book', Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass, from The Collected Works of Bruno Schulz, Edited by Jerzy Ficowski, 1998, p. vi.)

I know these things. I meet them every day. Sometimes, usually later, I recognize myself in a recollected experience.

In the world of retirement ...

"In the world of retirement, customary reticence is discarded, as needless baggage from the forsaken world of midlife responsibilities. We say what we think and ask what we wish."

- John Updike, "A Desert Encounter", The New Yorker, 2008.

Technorati Tags: experience, practice, retirement, relationship

Memorial Day 2008

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)

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

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.

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 ...

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