Archives: Inspiration

This mixed media project was inspired by a my daughter Sophia's infatuation to draw stylized girls — over and over (and over). A years worth (from age 4 to 5) of girls portrayed in different outfits, colors, and styles! With our refrigerator covered and boxes full, I knew there was something creative we could do with her hard work... I created a huge 4 foot wide canvas from plywood and we spent the next couple days painting the frame, laying out her drawings, gluing them down and putting many layers of glaze over them. Never underestimate your creative instinct. With awareness and the imagination of children, this art exists... forever. Here are a few pics showing our process.

Once a month, the Madrona neighborhood of Seattle gathers at St. Clouds Restaurant to cook for some less fortunate folks. I have the honor of doing all the dishes for the cooking process. We feed 450-500 people at 5 homeless shelters. As the head chef (and St. Clouds co-owner) John Platt says, "We invite any and all of you to join in. We hope by the act of creating a meal together, we can build more connections among ourselves and provide an hour of dignity and good food for those who find too little of both in their lives".

I am always amazed at the quality of the food we produce. People bring whatever they want and John decides what the menu will be on the spot. I asked him for the menu of this last cooking day...

Halibut, Brown Rice and Mint Summer Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce and Carrot-Cabbage Slaw

Wild Shrimp Skewers with Wasabi Mayo

Herbed Roasted Chicken

Vegetarian Stuffed Yellow Squash

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Herb Roasted Potato Skewers

Jalapeno Pepper Poppers

Spinach Salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Garbanzo Beans and Balsamic Herb Vinaigrette

Spring Pasta Salad with Asparagus & Truffle Oil

Mixed Fruit Salad with Mint (apples, strawberries, apricots and pineapple)

Homemade Cookies

It is always a long day but always worth it. It's also fascinating how many dirty pots, pans, etc. can get produced by 40 cooks.

Proof that necessary stories exist and need only be told; leaving me to wonder what moves some to words and others to action? Bravo to the filmmakers and their mothers.

http://findingkind.indieflix.com/home/

Since we are going to be around for at least another year (the rapture last weekend not having taken place, the one in October being a bunch of hooey, and the Mayans being a reasonably intelligent group), here’s what I see happening.

Everyone’s life is going to be wrapped up in one little box. I say little, because data can be compressed into surprisingly small areas. And when I say box, I mean a server. Or any data hardware in general. I’m not especially hardware savvy, so forgive the terminology.

Our lives are online! We socialize and have friends online. Meet people. Order food. Pay bills. Engage in entertainment of all kinds. Virtual realities, even. You barely have to leave your house to have a 'full life’. Many people don’t! If all this data is out there, it’s only a matter of time when we all just have our own little box with all of our information in it. (Or perhaps a card would be better so it fits in your wallet.) It’ll be tied to your SSN and phone number, I imagine. It’ll plan bus routes for you, create your shopping list, schedule meetings and more. It can do all these things because it knows everything about you. So you don’t have to think about it. So it’s automatic.

This is all starting to sound very Matrix-like, which isn’t what I intended but it was the natural thought progression. Interesting, isn’t it? Perhaps that really is where we are headed, even if we are arriving there naturally. In this case though, the Matrix would be voluntary, and it would be our real lives. Augmented reality? Hmmm.

What does this mean for our businesses? For humanity? Both are making a push towards being a fully integrated information society. For better or for worse, that is where the opportunities lie. But companies have a responsibility not to abuse it. It isn’t a power tool, it shouldn’t be treated that way. But it should be used to supplement our lives for the good.

Challenge: How can we create more integrated data tools that will augment our lives in a positive way?

And…. Go!