Falcon 9 launched this morning. Friday it is due to dock with the ISS. First Tesla and now this. He wants to put a man on Mars. I don’t have the words to describe Elon Musk. This clip, by what is said and left unsaid, does the job.
Oh and just so you know. And I say this to Africans and, in particular, my fellow countrymen. Musk is South African, born and raised.
Hearing about someone like Musk, reading about what he is doing, and perhaps most importantly understanding why he does it all. It just makes me think that we waste our collective time doing and worrying about a lot of silly things. Why in this day and age do we still have illiterate people? Why are we still fighting about differences regarding race and personal beliefs? Why are education and healthcare still problems in my society? In recent news, a major public hospital shut down all surgeries for a day because they didn’t have enough clean linen and school children haven’t received textbooks in a province they are desperately needed. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot repeatedly, slowing our progress and hampering our futures in the progress…
This is an incredible introspection on the nature of the web. He wants the world to be a more beautiful place by really making it more human.
He has some rather interesting ideas about trends on the internet. I’ve kind of subconsciously been acting on two of his counter trends about curation and self promotion. I try to consciously create and reflect more than I curate or self promote. I hardly reblog and the whole point of this blog from my perspective is about reflection. There are bigger personal posts waiting in my drafts box and I think I will act on one or two them soon, if not only to make the web more human.
The video is another long one but you should watch it. Not because it will inspire you but because the message that Harris brings needs your help and understanding, and it will make you more aware of the digital world we live in. It also in some ways connects to what my most recent link to the Sinek talk is about. Paradigm shifts about the way we go about our lives and in particular how we remember and share our experiences.
I came fifth out of 100 or so photographers with this photograph. The competition was held by the Transformation office at Wits university with the theme of capturing transformation on campus. I titled the photograph, We’ve come a long way. I was awarded a decent amount of prize money but the real award was having my photograph chosen.
The kind of work that has your fingerprints all over it. The kind of work that you’d never compromise on. That you’d sacrifice a weekend for. You can do that work kind of work at Apple. People don’t come here to play it safe. They come here to swim in the deep end.
They want their work to add up to something.
Something big. Something that couldn’t happen anywhere else.
Welcome to Apple.
Apple, a note given to new employees on their first day.
In my short blogging history I’m now posting a Simon Sinek link for the second time.
For good reason, he always leaves me feeling inspired. The kind of inspired that isn’t quite the same as hearing about someone’s triumph over great adversity or being inspired by hearing about someone’s great achievement. Not Sinek’s talks, his are different. It isn’t about him or him telling us about somebody else it is about you and me and everyone else. It is just a message.
A message about how the world could be and how great it would be if we just did what we are here to do.
It’s a long clip, almost half of which is a Q and A session. Take break from whatever you’re doing whether it be work or procrastination. Watch it and share it.
If you want my advice, Peter,” he said at last, “you’ve made a mistake already. By asking me. By asking anyone. Never ask people. Not about your work. Don’t you know what you want? How can you stand it, not to know?
So true. Unfortunately what Fried says also applies to me at home. What I would accomplish if I could be awake and be left alone for four hours. It is impossible.
Also if you haven’t read his book, Rework. I highly recommend it. It is short, it is an easy read and most importantly it shows that the normal way is not necessarily the right way.
It is a sense of enormous expectation, the sense that one’s life is important, that great achievements are within one’s capacity, and that great things lie ahead.
I guess I have always known that whole foods are better than processed foods but it isn’t something I have used to restrict my food choices. I’m not talking about the difference between eating a between fast food and a home cooked meal (I like to the answer to which is obvious) but rather drinking an energade versus a fruit juice.
As my interest for good food (both production and consumption) and reduced environmental impact increases I’m becoming more critical of my own behaviour. I need to eat better for myself and the plant, even if as an adoring meat lover that means significantly less animal in my diet. Likewise my energy utilisation needs to decrease and that means hopping onto my bicycle and continuing my family’s aggressive lights off when not needed policy.
The clip above drew some criticism on YouTube from commenters. Some were saying that the narrator was projecting her biased viewpoint. I don’t disagree with that except it reminds me of those who reject global warming. Would it hurt to reduce our carbon emissions? How bad could it be to lead more environmentally friendly and sustainable lives? Why go artificial when we could be organic? We have the technology and a healthier society benefits us all. When I say “all” I don’t mean you the person reading this because by the act of having access to an internet connection to read this you probably eat badly by choice. I mean it for those who have to eat comparatively unhealthy food because that is all they can afford/all that is available to them.
Ever imagine one of those perfect societies that you can only glimpse of in science fiction media? Utopia. Perhaps it is unattainable in the way that true perfection is but I sometimes wonder, are we even trying? Getting rid of poor nutrition and living efficiently and sustainably are surely the first steps. Not to sound like a futurist but the alternative is likely nothing short of Soylent Green.
