What do Police Departments and Public Schools have in common? In 2020 they’ve both been forced to reckon with situations that question their legitimate, organizational authority. One over perceived systemic racism and safety (Black Lives Matter) and the other over…
“Reel Lessons” — The Right Tool for the job, and examples from the History of Technology
Not long ago, I bought myself a Scott’s reel push mower. I’ve always wanted one, and I found one for $20 at our Habitat for Humanity Re:Store. It looked new, but had zero grease in the gears and wasn’t properly…
A Really Long View on COVID-19
I’ve been reading a bit about the 200 viruses that are known collectively as “the common cold.” Three or four of those are coronaviruses, the latest of which science believes jumped to humans approximately 10,000 years ago (~8,000 BCE). They…
“I hate to toot my own horn, but…beep-beep.”
Today the Tulsa World published an Opinion piece by me that I called “Hamilton Summer.” A Summer of deep-diving into the history and scholarship of the musical “Hamilton” made me think about how hard (and fragile) American democracy is. You…
There’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…
August 23, 2020 Make no mistake; the COVID-19 pandemic is expensive. In a macroeconomic sense: world economies sputter along in low speed, needing fewer of this and that means fewer people employed, making fewer dollars, and national and world GDP…
The Long Path
For years as an IT diagnostician, my most sought-after skill was being able to know someone’s mind (and thus their technology needs) well enough to anticipate needs, or at the least being able to translate needs into something I can…
“Isten Hozta Amerikaba”*
In 2018 I attended a United Way Finance, Talent, & Technology conference in Houston, TX. Being the sort of personal branding/marketing savvy person that I am, I posted extensively about the event on our new corporate Facebook site before I…
A new appreciation
March 27, 2020 A week ago today I went into the hospital for what turned out to be appendicitis. While I was waiting for my CT scan that morning, my appendix burst. I got out Tuesday this week with a…
Everybody Out of the Pool!
Note: I started this post in late February 2020, before the pandemic lockdown, to remind and describe how companies have “pivoted” (hate that term) in the past due to societal mandates. Now I finally went back, post-surgery, to finish it……
Culture vs. Strategy in Iowa
February 4, 2020 It’s noon on the day after the Iowa caucuses, and we have yet to know who “won” thanks to a snafu with a smartphone app. Officials in Iowa have announced they’ll have an announcement by 5 pm.…