More Visualizations on the how we got to where we are..

As I continue in my desire to learn more about effective communication, one area that I like to learn about is how to best use visuals to get a point across. Getting rid of bullet points etc. is becoming a war cry for me. I have recently been observing the power of simple drawings to obtain this (somewhat lofty) goal.

Along those lines I have run across a few interesting visuals on how the economy got to where it is at right now. If you are offended by foul language, you may want to skip the first one (it drops the f-bomb a few times), but it does do a really good job of simplifying how we got to where we are.

Visual 1 - 'A Subprime Primer ' - a slide show that utilizes stick people

Visual 2 - 'Uncorking CDO's', - A video that does a good job of explaining the same thing utilizing a slightly different but yet simple delivery method.




Enjoy!

The Rise of the Machines!

A friend sent this article to me today and I thought it was interesting enough to rant about. It has to do with the current financial crisis and the fact that nobody can really pipoint how it happened. With movies like Terminator and The Matrix floating through our heads we usually think of computers taking over the world as battle. Maybe they already have and we are doing it willingly in the name of speed and efficiency? Here is an quote from the article:

"But we are suggesting neither that the human race would voluntarily turn power over to the machines nor that the machines would willfully seize power. What we do suggest is that the human race might easily permit itself to drift into a position of such dependence on the machines that it would have no practical choice but to accept all of the machines’ decisions. ... Eventually a stage may be reached at which the decisions necessary to keep the system running will be so complex that human beings will be incapable of making them intelligently. At that stage the machines will be in effective control. People won’t be able to just turn the machines off, because they will be so dependent on them that turning them off would amount to suicide."

Read the article to find out who originally wrote that statement in their manifesto. It will blow you away. - dv

The Long Run

I ran across this video today on something called 'L Studio'. I thought it was pretty amazing and inspirational so I posted it on the rant. Enjoy! dv

Easy FREE Home Heat

I found this on my friend Tony's blog and thought it was worth posting on mine. I think I may try this out in my a few rooms in my house. Check it out - it is pretty easy to make and the concept is very simple. Enjoy!



Easy FREE Home Heat! - Click here for this week’s top video clips

System Stockholm Syndrome

I was attending a meeting the other day and we (my friend Larry and I) were amazed by the amount of manual work that was happening to get out some monthly reports. At a break, he and I were chatting and he told me about this phrase that his girlfriend 'Lee' came up with. System Stockholm Syndrome. In reality it is a take off of Stockholm Syndrome but it is totally spot on! If you look up this term on Wiki it refers to a bank robbery in which people were held hostage for 5 days or so. At the end of the ordeal, the hostages actually defended their captors. It ultimately refers to the idea that no matter how bad some systems are, people will still defend them and deal with it and not even attempt to make it better.

Ultimately it got me thinking about the way I do things and how I could do them better. It is funny how sometimes it is so much easier to keep doing things the way that we know how to do them, rather than investing a little bit of time to make them better. So, as you go about your day and perform routine tasks, ask yourself this: Could I be doing this in a more efficient way? Enjoy!

Taking 'Self-Sufficient' to a whole new level...

So I was poking around at some of the sites that I frequently go to and ran across this YouTube video. The Ginger Ninjas is a band that goes on tours (like many musical groups do) and decided that to get out their message regarding saving the planet they would do a tour on bikes. Problem was that they still had to carry their gear using trucks etc. So, when they scheduled their next tour, they decided to do the WHOLE thing using only their bikes. They devised a way to turn their bikes into generators and to carry EVERYTHING with them. They can do a whole show for 400 people without ever having to plug into an electrical receptacle. Kind of rare to find people like this who totally believe in a concept and find a solution to support it. Usually it is just lip service.. Check it out! dv

Google 'Chrome'

It appears that Google has introduced a beta of their new web browser called 'Chrome'.  I thought I would give it a whirl and have to say that is very fast.  Not available for the Mac yet, but apparently they are working on it.  Since it is still in beta (does Google ever take software off of beta?) you may run into a few bugs now and then. So, if you are running Windows - take a gander. It has a few cool new features that I think are intuitive and in true Google style, they have a different take on the UI. Check it out and see what you think!  Enjoy!