The Adventures of the Reporter

Dear Jimmy,

As we were on our walk this morning, when I shared with you my love of writing, you came up with this amazing idea.

You were so excited that I could be someone who travels the world and write stories for people and find the truth. 

Just like Tintin.

I added our family in that picture.

We both got excited. What if we are a family on that journey of discovery!

And we already have a white fluffy dog.

So I decided to come up with a picture of the family in the style of Herge.

And this is what ChatGPT/Dall-E came up with, using a photo I have with our dog Cosmo.

What an amazing time and place to be alive. With each other, creativity in our blood and technology on hand to make new worlds. 

"What an amazing adventure this will be. 

What do you say to that, Cosmo?"

"Ruff!"

Night Vision Goggles - Part 2

Dear Jimmy,

They arrived quickly! 

Ordered Saturday. Arrived Sunday morning.

You were so happy. You could hardly wait to open the box. 

But you did wait for us to open the box with you.

You were so happy with your night vision goggles.

So happy, you took it to the park.

You had it with you while you climbed that massive park castle. 

Did you need it to be bashed about? 
Did you need to attract all that attention from the other curious children struggling with FOMO?

But you did listen to me. 

We kept the goggles in the car while you played.

You just played.

I remember when I struggled with that too.

You charged the batteries and you took the goggles out at night to find the animals.

You searched all around the bush of our home away from home.

You marvelled at how much you could see. 

You didn't find any creatures. 

And we went back inside. 

We spent another 5min on the deck.

Sam was on the screen playing a game. Happy.

So happy, you went to join the screen time.

I kept waiting on the deck and kept searching with the goggles.

Jimmy! Jimmy! 

Did you see the wallaby hopping about? 

Jimmy! Jimmy! 

Did you see it looking back this way?  

Jimmy! Jimmy!

Don't you want to see this?

Jimmy? 

The dangers are less outside like we thought.

It seems to me there are dangers - more... inside.

"Adventure's out there!" 

- from Up! the movie

to be continued... 

Night Vision Goggles - Part 1

Dear Jimmy,

I am so excited that you are so excited.

I am so glad you will get your own Night Vision Goggles arriving in the mail.

Tomorrow, perhaps!

To see, we need either

• A source of light OR
• A way to see the creatures who shine their warmth.

You have such an amazing vision for the world.

You see beauty and fun in so many things.

You live in an age of power.

You can acquire it. And enjoy it.

 

Darkness is falling around us.

I want you to see well.

We are not hunters.

We are curious.

We go outdoors together.

That's our thing.

We observe. We learn. We enjoy.

Together.

In the wild.

And what's more, I really love how you saved up for this.

You have kept yourself from spending your Smile Jar funds on other things.

I love saying yes to you.

I hope this works well for you, Jimmy.

Love, 

Dad

Forty-fied

Forty marks a significant inflection point for many people. 

Forty In the Word

Forty shows up more than 100 times in the Bible. The most significant examples are in the experiences of Noah, Moses, Saul, David, Solomon, Ezekiel, and of course, Jesus.

According to this author,  

Forty generally symbolised a period of testing, trial or probation.

According to this author,

...it’s a number associated with testing and the hardships one must endure to become more spiritually aware.

Forty in Asian words

Forty shows up in Chinese and Japanese culture too. 

Credit to Takeshi Yoshida who did a nice video on this.

My parents remind me that according to a Chinese proverb, likely from Confucius:

...三十而立，四十而不惑, 

In other words, 

...at 30 I stood firm at, 40 I had no more doubts

Forty in English words

Forty

This was interesting to read

40 years constituted a generation or the period at the end of which a man attains maturity, an idea common, it would seem, to the Greeks, the Israelites, and the Arabs.

Fortified

For some reason word "fortified" came up in my mind. I wonder about roots or links of the above symbols in the etymology. BUT something resonates with me. 

Fortified - Strengthened or made strong

40 Words about Forty

Through four decades of trials and troubles, 
    my awareness has grown more.

I still wrestle such weakness, confusion and doubt,
    but this I know for sure.

He who endured our painful forties with joy and kindness

    now fortifies generations more. 

To Move Big Things Along

Sam was mowing the grass and he got to the point where he always needed to stop and ask for help to move the trampoline.

We had paid some money for the trampoline to have wheels. But the task seemed initially too much for Sam to overcome on his own. 

I was curious at what prevented Sam from being able to move it himself. When I did, I noticed the wheels were all pointed in the wrong direction. So I lifted up the trampoline enough over each leg and turned each of the four wheels so they pointed in the right direction.

I also noticed that Sam found it hard to generate the momentum at first, but once started, and with some encouragement, he could keep the trampoline moving.

By aligning the wheels, Sam could complete the following three steps unassisted and mow the full lawn. 

1. Get alignment
2. Generate positive momentum
3. Equip someone with the confidence to do this again
   

On reflection, the critical steps are simple. I wonder how I had overlooked this solution.  

=====

I wonder how much this approach helps when we try and improve things in our corporations and communities. 

We just want it to be simple

On the way back from a work trip, I stepped into the cab and the driver was talking to someone on the phone.

I learnt that (let's say his name was Matt) was talking to a senior manager (who did not know a client could hear their exchange over the handsfree). Let's just say that what they shared was more back of the shop talk, and was in many ways... complicated.

I asked Matt about his week, and learnt that he'd been driving for 20 years. I was curious and found out about his most memorable experiences in that time. I discovered that though driving most of the time, Matt is quite influential in the cab business. He cares about the quality of the driving services, really loves doing the right thing by the customer, and and so is sought after by his senior managers for his insights. I heard about the impact of ride sharing on the regulated taxi industry. 

Quite simply, Matt liked being able to provide a quality service to people.

When I got out of the cab, I felt the need to encourage Matt. 

I told Matt I liked his personal commitment to driving. I told him how much I value a personal touch when I ordered a ride. And I enjoy those more when than when 5 star reviews are expected or mandated in the exchange.

========

You hear it a lot, often from a manager or a client, who say

"All these systems are just too complicated. I just want it to be simple!"

"Why can't we just have..." 

Who wouldn't want things to be simple? Yet...

• How many times do we see people take simplistic shortcuts, and down the track their community incurs costs many times over?
• How many times do we see people (e.g. engineers) make things too complicated, and see the cost blowout or project delays, and the "gimmick" is put aside because it is no longer usable?

-----

To pull off a "simple" feat you need something different.

Simple feats like

• Asking removalist to transport both large fridge, piano and a box of fragile vases
• Juggling a chainsaw, bowling ball and eggs
• Making a website intuitive for tradesmen on the job

... need extraordinary patience, strength, tenacity and practice over time.

And a few impressionable mistakes along the way.

=======

I got inside my house. I hugged my kids and smiled. 

I was able to enjoy that conversation with Matt without throwing myself into the discussion. 

I can see my wife and kids each had so much to share.

It was simply amazing to be home.

The WhatsApp Dilemma

Facebook is gone from my phone. 

Messenger is gone. 

WhatsApp will go next. 

Yes they have been expedient. 

Yes I have encouraged a few people to move to these apps in the early days. 

Yes there have been good times.

But the values of the people behind these apps are not in line with mine.

I do not Like how your engines are set to maximise my attention and habits. 

I do not Like how you sell my data to the next bidder.

I do not Like how you say you stand for freedom but cannot see how you erode it.

You no longer have my trust.

I have been asleep.

I repent.

It will be painful. 

It is time.

———

Further reading that may help you make your own choice:

https://www.axios.com/facebook-personal-data-scope-suer-privacy-de15c860-9153-45b6-95e8-ddac8cd47c34.html

https://stilgherrian.com/essay/moving-off-whatsapp/

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/social-dilemma-bigger-dilemma/https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/lie-privacy-world-data-mining/