Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

Remembering Fallen Heroes of Floyd

We attended a Memorial Day service at the Zion Lutheran Church cemetery to honor some of Floyd's military veterans who served our country ever since it was founded.
 
Under somber skies, a color guard composed of American Legion/VFW, Sons of the American Revolution and Sons of Confederate Veterans posted the colors behind a full-scale model of the granite monument which will be installed later this year.

After the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all, Pastor Richard Giessler gave the Invocation. It was an inspiring and memorable speech that brought tears to our eyes.

Miss Malory Coartney read the Oratory and Thomas King, SMSGT, USAF (retired) began reading the Roll Call of the Fallen. The names included veterans of almost every war since the Revolutionary War.

It seemed entirely appropriate that a light rain began falling as the names of the Fallen were being read. It continued during the 21-gun salute by the VFW/American Legion rifle squad and the sounding of Taps by the American Legion bugler.

The Benediction by Pastor Giessler was followed by the Retiring of the Colors.

It was a fitting way to give thanks to those who have served to uphold our way of life.

The granite monument to be installed on this spot later this year is the result of a project sponsored by the Zion Cemetery Committee:  Woody Farley, Sue  Quesinberry, Bill Gardner, Rhonda Daiber, Pat Burton, and Thomas King.  Tom King is the project coordinator.

Every good idea starts with one person, and this monument project started when retired Senior Master Sergeant Thomas King discovered grave sites that went back to the Revolutionary War in an older part of the cemetery at Zion Lutheran Church.

One of these graves belonged to Private George Sowers who served in the Revolutionary War. He was born in 1750 and died in March 18, 1834.

Tom King started asking questions about the old cemetery and found that the records were incomplete. He joined the Zion Cemetery Committee and enlisted the help of organizations like the DAR, the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of the Revolution to help him locate information on the veterans buried in the old cemetery.

More people got involved and the idea of a monument was born. You can read about this project on the project website: fallenheroesoffloyd.org

Computers slightly better at identifying sex than climate change

Computer models are often used instead of common sense because computers are faster and cheaper than finding experienced people with good judgment. Unfortunately computers are not much better at determining your sex from your writing than determining climate change from broken ground stations.

Example One: Gender Identification by Gender Genie

Those of you with inquiring minds and some spare time on your hands might want to submit a little of your work to the Gender Genie. This a program that analyzes text and identifies the gender of the writer based on a scan of key words and syntax.

Do NOT take this test if you are inclined to accept the output of computer programs as valid evaluations of your self-worth, gender, intelligence, or general value to humanity. I do not believe that the results should be interpreted in any way but as an amusing diversion.

The program was developed by Moshe Koppel of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. Koppel and colleagues trained their algorithm on a few test cases to identify the most prevalent fingerprints of gender and of fiction and non-fiction.

Gender Genie is claimed to be 80 percent accurate when the submitted text is 500 words or more, but I question the validity of the results, as they are based upon patterns in written works, not anything that actually validates sexuality or gender.

Writing is such a fluid means of expression, with patterns that change so markedly over time, that it is difficult to believe that syntax is a reliable reference for gender. When I look at my current writing style, I see little in common with my writing of a few years ago.

This is a fine way to spend a few minutes amusing yourself, but you would not want this process to have any control over your life. The algorithm is incomplete at best and is highly subject to the data you give it. At least it is claimed that it gives results that are right about 80% of the time and it has no preconceived bias built into it to skew the results..

Example Two: Climate Change Prediction

In this case, the most powerful computers available are being used to massage data from thousands of points on land and at sea to predict changes in Earth's climate.  Currently the computer results indicate that the seas are rising, the temperatures are rising catastrophically and we are all in for a disaster which can only be alleviated if we shut down essential industries, and buy carbon dispensations from Al Gore's company.

This prediction is being stalwartly supported by those who will profit from selling carbon credits and by those who feel that "green" industries do not need to be economically justified.

The unfortunate truth is that yearly temperatures have been falling for the past few years and that the majority of weather stations ( more than 70%) have been compromised by the encroachment of buildings, parking lots, incinerators and air conditioning units.

The computer model has been adjusted to produce a "hockey stick" output in the presence of data that is mostly white noise. The measurement errors have been known and published for several years, but the advocates of global alarmism are telling everyone to ignore the men furiously rushing about behind the curtain making adjustments to the data so the results come out right.

If the climate disaster predictors were half as good as the local weather predictions (30% - 50% right) they still would not measure up to the Gender Genie discussed above. Using such inaccurate output to control government policy is extremely unwise.

For a thorough discussion of the pros and cons of global warming, read Global Warming, the science & impacts of global warming.

My takeaway from this is that computer models have a long way to go before we should trust our future to their predictions.

Every solution has a cost and we should be solving real problems, not imaginary problems dreamed up by opportunists who are out to make a fortune from the credulous.

Those of you with inquiring minds and some spare time on your hands might want to submit a little of your work to the Gender Genie. This a program that analyzes text and identifies the gender of the writer based on a scan of key words and syntax.

Life after downsizing

When I started blogging in 2003, I had the opportunity to capture our family transition from corporate life to the self-employed afterlife. It was an interesting experience.
A few years ago, while trying to effect changes at Sun Microsystems, I thought to myslf that there had to be more to life than endless meetings and glacial progress on programs of doubtful longevity.

It would have been helpful if a voice from the heavens had called out, "Take your family and flee this place, for it is cursed!" But, nothing so fortunate occurred.

I had to go through this same scenario many more times before the decision to leave high tech showbiz finally percolated into my consciousness.

I began a search for other opportunities, but failed to find any that matched my expectations. I began writing a novel, but kept on with my day job which provided all the satisfaction that goes with herding cats and training water to run uphill.

The novel seemed to be going well and I could almost envision a life as a writer if I could solve the problems of finding an editor, an agent and a publisher, etc.

The increasing agony of the day job was mercifully cut short when some executives finally looked at the bottom line and decided that the way to profitability was to reduce the workforce.

Since Silicon Valley employment was following the example of the Titanic, we decided to live where skies were blue and where we couldn't hear the freeway system. After searching the internet, we decided on Charlottesville, Virginia, where we could enjoy country life and the advantages of a university town.

Lake Monticello, near Thomas Jefferson's mansion of the same name, offered wooded privacy and high speed internet access. We felt this was the best of both worlds and immediately bought a house. We moved here more than a year ago and have never regretted it. Living here required major changes in my career choices, but these changes have brought new opportunities and interesting challenges for the future.

When I grill steaks for supper and watch a herd of deer feeding down by the stream, I can barely remember my past existence at Sun or before. My attention is entirely in the present and future. Life is good. I will do whatever it takes to keep it that way. ^{Click on image to enlarge}

This was written in late 2003 and we have since moved to Floyd, Virginia, which provides an even better environment for the lifestyle we have adopted since leaving corporate life.

Faraway Places...

I am working almost 12 hours a day right now, so I am reposting an essay from simpler times when I had more time to write.

When I look back at the beautiful places I have been privileged to visit, I realize that my memories of these trips have been distilled over time to a few bright images, not all of which have been caught with a camera. ^{Click on image to enlarge}

I treasure the moments of breathtaking beauty from our visits to Kauai, Maui, Oahu, and Hawaii which were enhanced by the warm welcome we received from tourist-savvy natives.

Sometimes the single lasting memory is of a happy moment spent with a loved one. Some of these moments were captured by helpful passing strangers, like this shot of Gretchen and me on a beautiful and isolated north coast road on the Island of Maui.

Why does your customer do business with you?

If you could adopt your customer's viewpoint of your business, would you be able to understand why that customer does business with you?

If you learned the truth behind your success or lack of it, could you use that information to change your future? Here are some ideas to consider. Your mileage and reality may differ.

Suppose you have a small business. Do you feel that your customers patronize you because of your low prices? A more likely scenario is that your prices are somewhat competitive but your location is far more convenient and you provide a level of personal customer service that a larger business does not.

If that is the case, dropping prices might bring in a few more customers, but it would certainly cut your margins and your profitability.

Increasing your level of customer service, on the other hand, might generate more business from the same customers and also increase referrals.

Let me use an example that all can possibly relate to. There are restaurants, snack shops and markets where one is greeted warmly by the owner or manager and made to feel extremely welcome. These are usually places that are owned and operated by a family.

Some of these places have employees who have not grasped the importance of personal customer contact and they do their jobs while chatting with other employees or with friends. When the owner is absent, the customer is treated as a minor inconvenience or as an anonymous business transaction.

When I go into one of these establishments, I try to deal with those who recognize me and make me feel welcome. If they are not available, I often take my business elsewhere for that day. If I am in a hurry, and there is no easy alternative, I will spend money there, but it is not a pleasure.

The bottom line is that few people need to do business with you, they are usually patronizing your business because the experience makes them feel good! There are so many stresses in life today that most of us treasure the times when we are enjoying ourselves.

Can your business make your customers feel good about their experiences dealing with you? If you can answer that, you may find that your business activity is more rewarding both personally and financially.

Signs and portents

What do you do when the signs and portents are confusing and contradictory? Do you search for answers or do you strike off in the most likely direction?

A quick sampling of recent observations made in Southwest Virginia:

• Government grants (your taxpayer dollars coming back to you) are funding jobs and projects that help our local economy
• The government and the United Auto Workers union are taking over General Motors to protect our "national interests"
• Nationalization of banks is well underway
• The servicing of our national debt requires a strong private economy, yet all signs point to increasing Federal control of the economy.
• More layoffs are anticipated, but numbers of new business startups is on the rise in many areas
• Some local businesses are going like gangbusters, while other local businesses are laying off employees

One can read the signs any way you choose, but reliance on external forces to solve your problems leaves you at a continuing disadvantage. You become effect instead of being at cause.

Sitting and worrying about things you cannot directly control achieves nothing and leaves you in a state of apathy toward life in general. Try taking life into your own hands and see how much better you feel at the end of each day.

There is a well-proven fact that a person or group's morale improves as worthwhile production is achieved.

Finding something that you can do which people need and want is a first step toward creating income. Joining a group that needs your skills or starting your own business is the next step toward creating an income flow.

Sooner than you expect, you will have to learn how to actually manage the business because people tend to support and buy from businesses that have a positive outlook and are providing excellent service.

Your concerns shift from "how to generate income" to the more challenging problems of "how do I get all the work done and am I covering my expenses?"

You may still be concerned with how things are being run at a national or state level, but your waking hours will be fully occupied with problems related to satisfying customers or corporate employers. Your morale may be improved and you will have the confidence that you are doing what is right for you.

I know this sounds counterintuitive, but producing worthwhile results will raise your spirits more effectively than anything else you might try. Leave the signs and portents for the media pundits and concentrate your energies on things you can do right now to improve your life and community.

If everything matters, does anything get accomplished?

In a life where every issue is ratcheted up to the sticking point, how does anything get accomplished?  Perhaps it is a matter of choosing your priorities and sticking to them.

If you are truly concerned about these issues, can you decide which ones are really important to you?

The demise of newspapers
Climate change
The Socialization of America
Mountaintop removal
Decline of literacy
Lack of recycling
Real or imagined pandemics
Preserving the Constitution
Supreme Court Justice appointments
Making a living
Staying healthy
Your children's futures
loss of basic freedoms
loss of jobs to other countries
illegal immigration
Being/staying creative
Doing things you enjoy

You are bombarded with urgent requests to contribute money and time to making a difference in other people's lives. If you are a parent with young children, every day has an endless list of things that have to be done just to keep life on an even keel.

So, how do you chart a course through all of this?

First of all, there is no single answer. Your first choice is to decide whether you will take control or whether you will let life control you.

You are not going to please everyone and you might as well decide that you are going to do what is best for you and your family first, then your friends and the community and then the world beyond.

Attempting to save the world but losing yourself and your family in the process is not a winning strategy.

On the other hand, focusing only on yourself and your family leaves you at the mercy of those who are far more organized and have created political power structures that can affect your life and that of your family.

We also know what we think of politicians who put their family interests ahead of their job responsibilities. Feeding government contracts to family members is a well established tradition in Washington, DC, and elsewhere.

So a balance is required between family and personal needs and the needs of the greater community in which you live and depend on for security, income, etc.

Perhaps the best solution is to include your immediate family in prioritizing your activities while making sure to include both short and long term goals into your planning. Remember too that playtime is as necessary for adults as it is for kids.

Everyone has to find the mix that works for them. If you have any suggestions that have worked well for you, please share them.

Quality of Life vs Gainful Employment

I had hoped that I would have resolved this matter satisfactorily by this time in my life, but it appears that I still have many lessons to learn.

The crux of the problem is that success in business seems to carry a burden of responsibilities that eat up your time and turn your days and nights into a whirl of scheduled activities.

This is true whether you work for yourself or for others. There should be a way to balance enjoyment of life and production of income. Somehow, that balance is hard to find.

When you are between careers, there is a period when you spend more time meeting new people and exchanging creative ideas on living and commercial ideas for supporting yourself and your family.

Eventually, some of your plans take root and start to show signs of becoming viable businesses. This is an exciting time as you are still having fun and your bank balance is beginning to look healthier.

If all goes well and you continue to provide products and services that customers need and are willing to pay for, your income and your workload continue to grow.

Sooner or later you find yourself spending as much time organizing and managing your business as you spend creating and producing products that you enjoy.

If your business volume is high enough, you can afford to hire others to help, but that actually moves you away from producing things and into a management role where your time is spent managing others instead of creating.

You now have more time than money and have other people doing tasks that you used to do yourself.

I have been through this cycle several times over the years and although it is nice to be able to share the wealth and provide employment for others, I have never learned how to maintain a tranquil and satisfying quality of life. Things seem to escalate until stress becomes an overriding concern and work is no longer satisfying.

I am resolved to figure out a way to handle this before the cycle begins anew. The pressure is mostly self-imposed and I think it comes from a desire to produce quality results on a tight schedule and maximize income.

If I can set more relaxed delivery schedules and still provide outstanding customer satisfaction, I should see an improvement in my quality of life. I expect to be doing creative design work for many more years and I want to enjoy every minute of it.

With the advent of the Internet and the growing popularity of home-based micro businesses, there should be more opportunities to run a business at a comfortable level where sufficient income is generated, but there is still time to enjoy life.