Unsafe at any speed?

One of the miracles that technology has brought us is more up to date news. Whether that speed is a blessing or a curse hasn’t been settled yet, for me anyway.

Listening to the people who attract the cameras most these days, I wonder whether the media believe that they have no responsibility to educate the consumers of their product. Why is it OK for Trump to make promises that no president can legally deliver, promises that no rational (I’m tempted to say ‘sane’) president would want to deliver? Why does no one with access to the media stand up and call BS? Why is it that the only rational rebuttal to the Bundys’ crazy interpretation of the constitution is an editorial on a site that covers local news in Billings, Montana?

As they like to say over on Popehat, the proper response to words you don’t like is more words. Why aren’t we all trying to make this country stronger by using words to disseminate facts to educate people instead of letting ignorant people dumb us down with the blessing of the media? These are my words. If you agree, where are yours?

An approach that can be used in parallel to great effect would be to stop giving so much attention to people who have lost the thread.

Fair and Balanced
They’re not the only guilty ones.

Everything is entertainment, even (especially?) the shows that are not labeled as education. ‘Reality TV’ has no reality in it, buffoons get more airtime than serious people talking about serious issues, and people who present wacky interpretations of the constitution are not presented with an opposing viewpoint while people giving us facts are countered with baseless opinions in the name of balance and fairness.

Just turn off the TV. Maybe take one of your strongly held beliefs and try to find facts that support the other side. At least consider it. What’s the worst that could happen?

Thanks to Scott Sakamoto for telling me to stop ranting and blog. I feel much better now.

Coworking Options vs How I Work

Coworking Options,, Kurt Sussman, Portland, Oregon

While evaluating coworking options here in Portland, Oregon, I have discovered that the coworking pricing shows an expectation of a certain momentum that I don’t have. Yeah, that’s pretty vague. I’ll explain how I work, and then how the pricing models clash with that. (Photo: Tyler Ingram)

Most of my work is pretty self-contained. Setting up a server and some software for a specific purpose, writing code as necessary. Implementing reliable operations so those servers don’t surprise anyone with downtime or excessive resource usage. Evaluating business plans and investment pitches and reporting the relevant facts and opinions. For all of these tasks, I can stare at a screen, read a little and type a little, and the work is done.

Flexible, Coworking Options,, Kurt Sussman, Portland, OregonSometimes, though, I need to build a team for a particular task, normally because the window of opportunity is shorter than I can manage alone, or the work has a broad scope and some of tasks require results of a quality that I can’t provide myself. So I hire contractors, explain the goals and give them their assignments. Sometimes they can work alone, just syncing up at a few milestones along the way. Sometimes we need to be in the same place to get the work done properly, without wasted time waiting for replies or interruptions like a ringing phone. I turn my ringer off when I need to concentrate, which prevents both interruptions and quick communication. Wouldn’t it be great if we could work in the same room‽ (Photo: Emdot)

Let’s say that I have an office with a door at Ye Olde Coworking Place. Let’s say that I share that with some people I work with occasionally, people who also want a place with a door. We either pay for the space (number of people is constrained by the space, bunk-desks not being a thing that exists, as far as I know) or we pay per person. Some places have a per-person ‘initiation fee’. How does this work when I need one more person in my space for a project that may last a couple weeks or a couple months? What if one of my ‘permanent’ office-mates is going to be travelling, freeing up the space for a different person to work in his space?

Fortunately most coworking spaces in Portland are local, and local usually means adaptable. We will be testing that soon!

Coworking Options,, Kurt Sussman, Portland, Oregon, Downton Portland, Pearl District