Managing Through Tough Times : Finding Your Inner Ball

Posted on June 24, 2008 by danspira

What is presently the tallest completed skyscraper in the world (but not for long) also has the world’s most massive ball.  As an elegant solution to stabilizing the tower against lateral stresses such as wind shear and earthquakes (because human civilizations have a tendency to build along windy coasts and major fault lines), the designers of the [...]

Filed under: Architecture, Business, Career, Life, Metaphors | 5 Comments »

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Posted on June 16, 2008 by danspira

The ghost of Marshall McLuhan lives on in a recent article by Nicholas Carr in the Atlantic Monthly. Carr poses the question, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?“ No it isn’t, unless we let it.

Filed under: Diversions, Learning, Social Media | 5 Comments »

Enough to Fill Yankee Stadium…

Posted on June 12, 2008 by danspira

Last week a friend took me out to see a baseball game at Yankee stadium, a first for me. The New York Yankees were playing the Toronto Blue Jays, so based on my history of metro-area residency, it meant I had the pleasure of watching two of my hometown arch-rivals play against each other.  The Yankees [...]

Filed under: Architecture, Diversions, Green Style, Metaphors | 2 Comments »

Getting To/Away From A/B

Posted on June 5, 2008 by danspira

“A few turnings later and I was thoroughly lost. There is a school of thought which says that you should consult a map on these occasions, but to such people I merely say, ‘Ha! What if you have no map to consult? What if you have a map but it’s of the Dordogne?’ My own [...]

Filed under: Career, Cartography, Life, Metaphors, Project Management | 11 Comments »

More Random Career Tips Overheard in Conversation (Long Tail Revisited)

Posted on June 4, 2008 by danspira

During boom times, you got a job if you had a pulse. During these times, there is increasing pressure to hit the ground running.  Hence the push for job candidates to be so specialized.  Perfect fits.  Precise fits. Fit to be tied. Two broad categories of specialization: Domain Expertise and Functional Expertise Often recruiters don’t distinguish [...]

Filed under: Business, Career | 2 Comments »

There’s No Such Thing as a Synonymous Synonym

Posted on June 2, 2008 by danspira

  Synonym: Syn”o*nym\ (s[i^]n”[-o]*n[i^]m), n.; pl. Synonyms (-n[i^]mz). [F. synonyme, L. synonyma, pl. of synonymum, Gr. synw`nymon. See Synonymous.] One of two or more words (commonly words of the same language) which are equivalents of each other; one of two or more words which have very nearly the same signification, and therefore may often be [...]

Filed under: Art, Communication Skills, Diversions, Jargon, Learning | 1 Comment »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.