Wow! We are near the end of the first month of the year and I have not even begun to develop a set of “resolutions” or even plans for this year.

Some people do take the resolution concept very seriously, even as far as following the advice of goal-setting experts and writing them down. I came across this list found by someone outside a subway stop:

Resolutions 2008

1. Be smart.
2. Be strong.
3. Be aggressive!
4. End it with M.
5. Get through #4. No guilt.
6. Tell B how I feel.
7. Make B understand.
8. Don’t make mistakes with B.
9. Love like a Tiger.
10. Live the life.
11. BE with B.
12. Forget THE PAST.
13. Get healthy in the brain.
14. Be happy.
15. Don’t think about things too much.

While I am pretty sure I am not the ‘B’ referred to here I admire the list for its extremely strong positive ‘can-do’ attitude. Statements like “love like a tiger” and “live the life” sound like part of a valuable life manifesto.

Being able to sum up a goal in a short strong statement like that turns it into a mantra that can be used in a variety of ways to help you stick to it. Say it to yourself first thing in the morning. Repeat it when you are under stress or facing temptation. Write it on your mirror. Paint it in your house. Print it on a shirt. Keeping them short allows you to take writing it down to a whole new level.

I think for this year I might adopt number 10 for my motto:

LIVE THE LIFE!

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

This is apparently said by Robert Heinlein’s character Lazarus Long in Time Enough for Love. The book focuses on the adventures and musings of Lazarus Long, the oldest living human, who has grown weary and has decided that life is no longer worth living. It takes the form of several novellas tied together in the form of Lazarus’s retrospective narrative. There is a reverse Arabian Nights theme to the novel, in that Lazarus will consent not to end his life as long as his companions will listen to his stories.

Ok, I haven’t done one of these in a long time. Last year’s excitement in the gadget world was all about the iPhone. Everyone was waiting for its release. If you knew someone who knew someone who got one, you might be considered cool. Oh, the thrill of holding one in your hand with its cool interface.

Yah, well, ok, maybe not everyone got that excited but people did. So for all those people who spent the hundreds of US$ to get their hands on an iPhone, how do you protect its beautiful touch screen? How do you keep your iPhone safe in this dangerous world?

I have found the perfect phone case for you. If you remember my previous articles on a particular sandwich, sundae, and jam, you shouldn’t be too surprised to find that this phone case will set you back a mere US$20,000.

That’s right, only $20,000 to purchase one of a limited edition gold & diamond iPhone case. Produced by Case-mate, the case features:

• handcrafted with 42 diamonds (3.5 carats, all with VVS1 clarity and H color)
• set in 18K gold, with an 18K gold emblem
• embedded in a rare gold carbon fiber leather case previously available only in high end aftermarket cars (Techart Porsche) and very high end cell phones (Vertu)

Surprisingly, they don’t yet have any customer testimonials on the site. So if you hurry (limited quantities available), you could be the first.

Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, gave some wonderful career advice on his blog last year. He recommended a general formula for success:

If you want an average successful life, it doesn’t take much planning. Just stay out of trouble, go to school, and apply for jobs you might like. But if you want something extraordinary, you have two paths:

1. Become the best at one specific thing.
2. Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things.

He points out that capitalism rewards things that are both rare and valuable. So you make yourself rare by combining two or more “pretty goods” until no one else has your mix.

Now that is some good advice. It is very difficult to be the best in the world at one thing, but if you can be pretty good and combine it with something else you are pretty good at, then you can make yourself stand out.

His advice suggests that at least one of the skills in your mixture should involve communication, either written or verbal - that’s one. Then add to that whatever your passion is, and you have two, because that’s the thing you’ll easily put enough energy into to reach the top 25%.  If you have an aptitude for a third skill, develop that too.

If you look around at some of the very successful people you know, you will find that they have managed to find the perfect combination of their skills that sets them apart from those around them. So use this year to find your mix.

The sun has now risen
The dark night is passed
The next five minutes
Of sleep need to last
Try to raise your head
The morning is here
The day that you dread
Is dawning so clear
The weekend is over
You know that it’s true
A new week is starting
At work you are due
So force yourself up
Get out of that bed
Feet dragging so slowly
Grey clouds in your head
Today will be better
Such lies you repeat
As you try once again
A Monday to greet

The world of dreams is a strange and mysterious place and people are so fascinated with what happens in their sleep. Just recently, I was listening to someone try to remember what other symbols besides fish in dreams meant someone you know is pregnant.

There is always debate about whether your dreams represent subconscious desires or premonitions of things to come. Are they a product of the worrisome thoughts before sleep, or simply images compiled from our experiences?

Sometimes dreams are purely fantastical, with imaginary creatures and monsters. Yet other nights the dream may seem so real it leaves us disoriented when we awake.  Who has never woken up when they clutched the bed mid-fall? Or felt their heart racing from the run in their dreams?

Then there are the occasions when reality intrudes on the dreams. The telephone that turns out to be an alarm clock. The rain that is really pouring outside. The mysterious distant voice calling your name that turns out to be your mother.

So who is to say exactly where dreams and reality separate? Maybe we’re dreaming our lives now and this post doesn’t even exist.

Yep, it’s that time of year. It’s been a while since you’ve heard much from me on this. Last year was a bad year for me, and among the things that suffered was my carnivalitis which was very weak. This year, however, I’m back!!

Friday is the kick-off for the Mas Camp Fridays and I can’t wait! Two more days till I will be jumping and waving and chipping and wining! Whoohoo!!

I don’t want to

yet

I still do.

400 posts. Seems a far way from the day I started. But means I have shared a whole lot with whoever reads this. Here’s to the next 400.

In this day and age (boy, there’s a cliche, but it does fit sometimes), computer literacy is almost a necessity for daily life. Even more so an essential requirement in the world of work. Few businesses (outside the informal sector and those sole entrepreneurs with fabulous memories, penmanship, unlimited phone credit etc.) can get through a day without using computers as a daily part of their employees’ toolset. Looking through the job ads in the papers, we see that even the ’simplest’ of jobs often lists under its requirements some level of proficiency.

Unfortunately, coming from the I.T. field, what I am witnessing in businesses is a disturbing misunderstanding of what literacy and proficiency actually entail.

Using MS Word like a typewriter to spit out letters…

Using your spreadsheet software like a calculator…

Using your email programme to send and manage the equivalents of post-its…

These are all symptoms of the “of course I can use a computer” disorder. Refusing to admit that they only have basic knowledge of how to use a computer to actually improve their work processes, people are sitting and making more work for themselves and others.

What I consider to be the important elements of computer literacy are not things specific to any software. In fact, that is one of the key points. To be literate involves several skills that are severely lacking in the general population (a fact to which anyone involved in any sort of user support can attest).

1. The fundamental understanding that software is meant to try to help you improve (and or reduce) your work
2. Understanding that most software nowadays is developed to work in a reasonably standard fashion
3. Taking knowledge gained in using one software application and applying it to others even when seeing them for the first time
4. An ability to use a help file (which most software programs have)
5. The ability to express in words the task being attempted to facilitate the search for assistance (human or technological)
6. An understanding of the general terms that are used in the context of computing
7. An interest in learning how the features of the software can be used

But computer literacy is not just about software. The average person is not expected to be able to put together a working computer. Nor are they necessarily expected to to be able to diagnose and troubleshoot everything. But some familiarity with the hardware tool that they are using is really not asking too much. Examples of things that should be known include

1. The purpose of any buttons on the computer
2. The name and/or purpose of all keys on the keyboard
3. The purpose of any ports (see 6 above) on the computer
4. The meaning of any lights on the computer
5. What the working configuration of their computer looks like (which cables plugged where)
6. General care and maintenance of the computer (on a surface level)

The development of these skills should be considered top priority to anyone considering entering the world of work. A person who enters an organization functioning at the above level of literacy will soon prove themselves an invaluable asset because they will be able to

• work at a much higher level of productivity
• anticipate and identify additional potential improvements
• reduce the support and training costs associated with their employment

and most importantly, they will gain the support and respect of their I.T. department.