Category: Personal

Hat tip to Pharyngula

Welcome to those of you visiting courtesy of Liz Strauss. This place started as an experiment while I was teaching courses in IT and Knowledge Management at Northwestern

One of the unexpected rewards of blogging is watching those that you’ve influenced in some way going off and succeeding in their own unique way. If for some odd reason you are not already following Jack’s work, you should correct that mistake immediately.

Blogging for five years

I have been blogging for five years now.  Amazing.  My focus has always been around knowledge management, but the specifics and surrounding topics have wandered over the years. 

Thanks to all my commenters and readers.  And a special thanks (again) to Jim McGee who told me, “You should really start your own blog” because I was leaving so many comments on his.  (So many, in fact, that I still get spam that thinks I have something to do with the ownership of his website.)

Statistics:

• 1860 entries (this is number 1861)
• ~1900 readers via FeedBurner
• 1415 comments (many from myself)
• 419 trackbacks (many from myself)
• 28 categories with anywhere from 6 to 616 entries
• 1753 tags (and not all entries are tagged)

Blogging for five years
Jack Vinson
Sun, 18 May 2008 20:06:58 GMT

Espen, my concern with Dr. Carlin as a potential consultant is that he has a reputation for calling it as he sees it, despite what the following might suggest. Would any large consulting firm be willing to take that risk with its clients?

Dr. GC floors’em

One of my academic colleagues suggested we hire Dr. G. Carlin as a faculty member in strategy based on the following test lecture – but in my view he would fit equally well in a consulting company. Perhaps a shared appointment?

Geek/nerd humor. I’ve seen this before somewhere and I’m glad to see it again. I’ve certainly sat through my share of presentations like this. You wonder how many takes it took to get it right.

Funny: Rockwells Retro Encabulator

The yin to Common Craft’s yang:

I wish I knew more about this, the YouTube pages offer little info.
Thanks to Paul Ingram and Ryan Turner for the pointers.

Updated:  Here it says “This is a hoax video produced by Rockwell
for a sales meeting. See also:
Turboencabulator” Thanks Bill! 

Yes We Can

Beautiful.

This is showing up in all of my news feeds. I thought I would pass it along as well. Thanks to Rick Klau and David Weinberger among others.

Food for thought on a chilly January morning North of Chicago.

The Data So Far
Mon, 21 Jan 2008 05:00:00 GMT

We just wanted to wish all of you a good holiday season and a healthy and prosperous 2008. I’ll be spending some family time over the next week. With luck that will include still finding some snow in Vermont. How much connectivity we’ll have (or want) remains to be seen.

Marc and I had been traveling in the same blogging circles for the last several years and trading emails from time to time. We finally had the chance to meet face-to-face in San Francisco earlier this year and that built readily on the friendship we had already established. I count myself lucky to have known him; even if for too short a time.

Update: 2:56PM Pacific Time December 9th, 2007:

It is with great sadness that I report that Marc Orchant, Husband to Sue, Father to Rebecca and Jason, and friend to so many, passed away just a short time ago. I was notified by Marc’s brother Craig.

His family and closest friends were at his side and his favorite music was playing. Craig said that Marc’s passing was as peaceful and easy as anyone could have hoped and he left this world surrounded by love from so many people that he couldn’t possibly have failed to know how many people cared for, appreciated and respected him.

Anyone that knew Marc also knew how much he loved music; especially the Grateful Dead. The excerpt below is from one of the songs that helped the family say goodbye to Marc and helped Marc move on to the next world. I talked to Marc almost every single day for the past couple of years. I’m sure that I’m not alone when I say that I am going to miss him so, so much.

To allow for people that may need to travel and take time of work, services are most likely going to be held this coming Wednesday afternoon at the Temple where the Orchants are members. I will provide more specific details as soon as they have been provided to me. Marc’s family expressed once again their gratitude for the outpouring of love and support that the technology community has shown in this very difficult time. Your warmth, concern and friendship will not be forgotten.

Marc Orchant Updates and Information | StarrTrek.

I got an email on this from my old friend and colleague Chunka Mui. I was going to write it up and post it, but the lazy web comes to my aid once again and Ed Yourdon has done the heavy lifting for me.

One Laptop Per Child: donation period from now through Nov 26th

My calendar popped up a to-do item this morning, reminding me that the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) donation period begins today, and runs through November 26th. In a nutshell: you spend $400, which purchases two of the open-source, highly innovative machines known as XO . One laptop gets sent to you, and the other is donated to a child somewhere, in a developing country. Not only that, you get a $200 charitable contribution on your income tax (well, at least that s true in the U.S.; don t know about other parts of the world).

I ve now ordered mine, and am eagerly awaiting its arrival (though the website makes it clear that I shouldn t expect overnight delivery a la Amazon). I ll let you know what I think of it once I get my hands on it; in the meantime, check out the OLPC website, and consider making a contribution of your own.

There are certainly lots of opportunities to make the world a better place. This is one of the ones I’ve opted to support. So, as Ed suggests, check out the OLPC website.