There are rules all around us. Innovation happens by knowing what those rules are and then bending them or breaking them to do what we want. The surprise and kudos from friends regarding an innovation is the context from which it was achieved, i.e. “despite being a single Mom, she was able to get her degree and provide for her family.” Everyone understands that the woman’s achievements are monumental, because everyone knows what the rules are. They have a point of reference. If no one knows what the rules are there is no platform from which to start. The real question would be, because the woman was a single mom, was she aware that her achievement was so special and did that motivate her more to succeed?
The video isn’t me, but I rode this trail for the first time yesterday. It is literally up in the hills above my house and I never knew it was there. We rode from my house up the hill, about 10 miles of uphill climbing and then down, for about a 20 mile round trip. Like my buddy Jesse said, “it’s probably one of the best downhill trails you will ever ride!” It was epic.
Every day we look for inspiration for what we are doing. Are we making the right choices? Do we love our life? How do we start to make change in our life? This video helps with all of that and makes you pause and think about what might come next. The Washington Post calls this the new “Just Do It.” mantra that moved so many people to change their lives. I hope this video will do the same for you.
This is a pretty cool cargo bike documentary. What she is really doing is asking for your footage to create a “crowdsourced” cargo bike documentary. The video is well done and inspiring.
So, I’ve been bike commuting quite a bit lately and I came across this today in my email. Besides telling how “walkable” your neighborhood is, WalkScore now tells you how commuter friendly your neighborhood is. Wouldn’t you want to know? Check it out, http://www.walkscore.com/professional/neighborhood-map/commute/
So, I haven’t posted in almost a year. I don’t know why. Well I kept wanting to redesign it, so I just didn’t write anything. This blog is under a complete redesign, so there will be many changes. For right now, the new design may just be temporary, but I like the minimal design of this template. Please expect some more good stuff coming your way.
To a lot of people the desk is very symbolic. Even where their desk is located has meaning. No one wants to be in the basement, but you don’t want to be in the middle of all the commotion either. We want to be productive, yet we like that our desk reflects our personal space. It inspires us and provides security. That is My Desk!
I suppose the fondness for desks evolved out of the “corner office.” Not only was that a coveted space, but having a finely built desk with leather inlay, was another symbol of authority. To this day having your own office with a nice desk and possibly a couch is a triumphant achievement. For many, they feel they’ve made it.
The reality is that desks are disappearing and being exchanged for “work spaces.” These common areas promote the work anywhere attitude and are void of distractions such as paper, pictures and trinkets, found on many personalized desks. The computer or new tablet is the new desk, even coining the term “desktop” as your home area when you turn on your computer. These tend to be personalized by the user and are very similar in how we maintain the other desks in our lives. Some are messy, efficient and bare. They are an extension of our personality.
The mini-documentary below, by imaginary forces examines the desk as a tool for how we work and who we are. It’s fascinating. Enjoy!
Do you know those people who print out emails? Drives me crazy. There will always be those people, but we don’t have to do it at work! The paperless office has been talked about for decades. Critics have slammed it for years and the paper manufacturers are freaking out, lobbying heavily that they have taken it upon themselves to sustainably manage many forests. If they go, so do all of these beautiful forests! Hmm, I don’t know about that. Sure, some say electronic documents harm the environment just as much with the devices carbon impact, but to that end, the paper industry is just as much at fault, because we need printers to print on paper.
The new computer tablets offer a little more flexibility and are very handy document machines. In fact, we exclusively use the iPad for client contracts. They read, sign and get emailed a copy immediately. It’s a great solution.
The one problem is that we can refrain from printing as much as we want, but that doesn’t mean someone else wont print. There are grandmas and grandpas all over the country printing out emails right now and there is nothing we can do. Or is there? What if we could prevent people from printing the stuff we send them? I’m not talking about the, “save a tree, please don’t print this email.” in your signature. I’m talking about removing the Print button altogether.
Introducing WWF! “A new green file format that can’t be printed out.” The WWF format was created by the World Wildlife Fund and it’s partners to save habitats for wild animals by eliminating the possibility of printing. The WWF file format uses the same technology as a PDF and can be opened by most PDF software readers. It’s a brilliant solution that just locks the PDF down. Technically you could always do this with PDF’s, but now you can send a message. We are taking action to preserve the environment and you should too!
To learn more about the WWF file format and how to convert your documents to WWF, visit Save As WWF. Also, watch the great video below.
