Letting Go of Outcomes

Over the past ten years I’ve become much more “process-oriented.” Part of this learning comes from my work—as a consultant I’m often in situations where I don’t know very much about the specific content, but contribute to change based on looking at the larger system. I used to say that a focus on process leads […]

Great Bass, Lesh Philling

Right up until Sunday, the day of the show, I wasn’t sure if I’d go to see Phil Lesh & Friends at SPAC. I’d been sick for two weeks, the first week full-blown, with all symptoms known to (wo)man, and a second full week with the phlegmish hacking cough. Symptoms had died down by Saturday, […]

Stadium Arcadium

The new double-album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium, really rocks. People were raving about it, and I liked the single I heard on the radio (Dani California) , so I splurged and bought an actual physical CD – made of atoms no less. None of them ephemeral DRM encrypted bits for the […]

Concert Etiquette

Overheard at SPAC: Why do you carry a lighter to rock concerts? You don’t smoke. —Sometimes people ask for a light. But smokey rooms suck. Why would you help smokers by offering them a light? —Because if, at a rock concert, someone asks for a lighter, the chances are good that you’ll have the option […]

Where’s the….

Went to iron a shirt for tonight’s event. It turns out I don’t own an iron and ironing board anymore. Put it on the list. I bet there’s a bunch of stuff like that. Update: Drove over there and the parking lot was surprisingly empty. Hadn’t really considered the situation where I’d be one of […]

Narrative Selection Bias™

Doug and I had an interesting exchange in the comments that’s worth bringing to the front page. I pulled a quote from a blog post and out of context the quote had a different meaning. A reader could get the wrong idea. So this is a formal disclosure statement that Notio is extremely biased. I […]

Choices Have Consequences

The title says it all. Was just thinking that every choice we make means some things are more likely to happen, and some things are less likely to happen. Yes, I have embedded a probabilistic worldview into that statement, but the important point is that we have choices to make and those choices have consequences […]

[Local] Dairy Day

Saturday is Dairy Day at the Co-op. Free food samples, hayrides, music, and big news this year: sunshine! I’ll be there around lunch for an hour or two with my board member badge on. It’s a great community event.

From the Mouths of Babes

What do 1st and 2nd grade students wish for? Mostly the same things you and I do. Excerpt: * I wish thar was mor peas in the world * I wish pepol wloud be treted farly * I wish evey body could go to scool * I wish to have more fun * I wish […]

Love, Taste, and Sublime Dignity

Grateful Dead keyboard player Vince Welnick died June 2. John Perry Barlow: When Jerry Garcia died, Vince was alone among us in his wretched sense of utter loss. He attempted suicide about six months later, thereby 86ing himself from any further creative interaction with what was left of the Grateful Dead. As a culture, we […]

Fire Dance With Me

The CCMA party was held at The Compound in Atlanta. Weird place. Had fun. The tent had fans, but acted like a greenhouse, so it was pretty hot in there. The indoor area had A/C, but they left the doors open so it wasn’t that cool. Really loud; hard to talk. Kind of a weird […]

The Difference Between Heaven and Hell

I’m at the Consumer Cooperative Management Association conference in Atlanta. This morning Peter Couchman from the Midcounties Co-operative in England (near Oxford) presented a (probably well-known) parable during his keynote address. I paraphrase: There once was a highly developed Buddhist guru who had the ability to transport himself to any place in the universe. He […]

Never a Still Moment

To give you a flavor of the multi-media nature of modern baseball, here is a short video clip of the national anthem from the game last night. Notice the thin horizontal video screens over the third-base line (and presumably over the first-base line where we were sitting). The effect of these was to have motion […]

Home of the Braves

Thanks to my friends at CDS, I was able to enjoy The National Pastime tonight: The Atlanta Braves vs. the Washington Nationals at Turner Stadium in Atlanta. I uploaded 15 photos to Flickr. There’s so much to say, and it’s so late to say it. Even though we were outdoors, watching a live event, it […]

Walking in Atlanta

Flight from Boston landed early. Forgot to make reservations for the hotel shuttle, so rather than take a taxi I headed for the Marta subway. Helpful employee guided me to the stop I wanted, even calling a secret cell phone number to verify my destination and best stop. Arrived at the stop and asked another […]

The Most Thankless Job in Tech Support

Tried to use the web without paying the $10 extortion tonight. No go; way slow. So I went to the upgrade screen and authorized the billing. But nothing changed—still super-super-slow, as billg would say. So I called the tech support line, cringing all the way. Can you imagine a worse job in tech support than […]

Royal Sonesta Boston

Unlike the Hotel Marlowe across the street, the Royal Sonesta is not a particularly engaging hotel. It’s essentially generic, if upscale. Yes, I’m sitting in an Aeron chair, but it’s one of the cheap models that is only somewhat adjustable. And, as usual, working at a desk that is too high for typing. Confidential to […]

Dashes Are Not Just for Running and Salt

My punctuation questions provoked good comments, including a grammar correction from Meg (which created the opportunity for a [third {level of} parenthetical] comment) and two professional citations from Hannah: Per Strunk and White, third edition, Elementary Rules of Usage #8: Use a dash to set off an abrupt break or interruption, and to announce a […]

Nature Abhors a Vacuum

Fast Company on changing your behavior: If you want to change something in your life, it’s common to try to stop the behaviors you don’t like. While this certainly seems logical, it seldom works. The reason is simple – it unintentionally creates a vacuum where the old behaviors used to be. And since nature hates […]

What Up That?—Yo.

My brother-in-law said this yesterday at the Circle-Y barbecue. It made me laugh. The phrase has just enough words to convey something, yet not enough of them to resolve the ambiguity. Add the street slang (he’s a law officer) coming from a white boy (though, from New Jersey) and somehow it just stuck with me. […]