Category: Personal Reflections

My son requested I download Minecraft at some point in history; I’m not sure when. The months (years perhaps) of watching him engage the game impressed me. This game engages creativity in a deep and significant way, in ways no shooter one can. With his current creation, he’s taking into account architectural details like work and room flow (currently building a bakery). Then when I mentioned to him about how Boeing camouflaged their Seattle plant during World War II (built a fake neighborhood above), he announced that he was building his own Boeing factory.

It delights me to see his brain working like this. And the standard gaming side-benefits (most noticeably better hand-eye coordination and dexterity) are nice, I love the creativity. His right brain is getting brilliantly stimulated. For that, I’m grateful.

My son requested I download Minecraft at some point in history; I’m not sure when. The months (years perhaps) of watching him engage the game impressed me. This game engages creativity in a deep and significant way, in ways no shooter one can. With his current creation, he’s taking into account architectural details like work and room flow (currently building a bakery). Then when I mentioned to him about how Boeing camouflaged their Seattle plant during World War II (built a fake neighborhood above), he announced that he was building his own Boeing factory.

It delights me to see his brain working like this. And the standard gaming side-benefits (most noticeably better hand-eye coordination and dexterity) are nice, I love the creativity. His right brain is getting brilliantly stimulated. For that, I’m grateful.

We need to be able to experience annoyance about the descending into judgmental rage. Far too often, people burst into a rage at the mildest of provocations. The all too familiar “Road Rage” is, perhaps, the most common variation.

My perception: we have developed a lack of ability to process modern life’s nuisances. Perhaps it’s the speed, or expected speed of today’s life. Anything that impacts our speeding at maximum perhaps frightens too much.

Finding that place of tranquility; tis a serious challenge. Not something we teach much. Our ability to collaborate gets compromised. And collaboration is our economic future. Socially corrosive, this is.

I heard a great deal about Mr. Musk today, what with all the buzz about The Big D. A few thoughts really strike me:

1. When was the last time that an automotive announcement created such buzz? 
2. How many CEOs (in any industry) can say, publicly, that they’re colonizing Mars and not be laughed off the internet?

Saw a flyer earlier today for a Business Planning Clinic which amused me. I support thoughtful business planning, however, this flyer failed to impress me. First, it presented me with a whole page of information, including such things as the presenter’s marital status, but didn’t have date, location or price. In other words, a marketing “fail”. Really, none of the key “Ws” were communicated besides “who”.

So, would I take business planning advice from someone who fails a basic flyer, their critical chance to get me engaged? Perhaps a rhetorical question, but I’ll leave that analysis up to you.

This piece left by Kathy Sierra me disturbed. That Ms. Sierra went through this horror is unacceptable to civilized humanity. Yet, what’s to be done? Can we reign in these trolls without losing the glorious free speech such venues as Twitter promote? I really don’t know. This abuse is what will kill the Internet, of anything will. If the sociopaths win, we all lose, especially the sociopaths. Interesting conundrum.

Sometimes leadership is simple. All you need to do is take that terrifying, or painful, action that everyone KNOWS needs to be done, but are afraid to do. Simplicity does not equate to ease.