Month: June 2022

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S3 E20 — Celebrate the Anniversary of When Things Seemed So Normal

Yesterday marked the official one year anniversary of the end of the 1-year experiment. I celebrated by updating “February’s 2020” monthly summary to a running account of how the experiment evolved, what I learned along the way, and what surprised me.  

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “The day runs a little like a heist. Much depends on who knows what at which point in the timeline. You may need to create a distraction to make a plan go smoothly.”   Aries

It’s Saturday,  Nope, Sunday.  Yeah that’s it. Oh okay, it’s Thursday, April Fools Day. And, Episode 20 in Season 3 of  “My Paradoxically Normal Year” on this 1st day of April in the spring of 2021 — which is a three-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic year and then in the pandemic year, and now months after.

Previously from Season Three, the Paradoxically Normal Year

S3 E18 — My Teacher is Sending You to Detention!; S3 E17 — Guess What? You’re on a Treadmill Just Now Picking Up Speed; S3 E16 — Quid Pro Quo the Awesome Kind

Related from Season Two, The Pandemic Year

S2 E19 — What’s Percolating in Our Collective Unconscious?; S2 E18 — What is the Truth and How Can You Tell?; S2 E17 — Shutting Mountain Resorts Down, Closing Boutiques, Kicking Tourists Out; S2 E16 — Scroll to the Bottom for Foresight and Quality-of-Life, Right Leo?

Related from Season One, The Normal Year

S1 E19 — Day 19 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E18 — Day 18 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E17 — Day 17 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E16 — Day 16 of My 1-Year Experiment

Context

Here’s the timeline I’m following in reverse chronological order:

Spring

March 2020

Extension of First Year Experiment — 2/24/19 to 3/20/20

Winter 

Begin Second 1-Year Experiment 

Start COVID-19 2/15/20

February 2020

Pre- COVID-19

First Post on Patreon

January 2020

Launched my Patreon Page

December 2019

Fall

November 2019

Start of Scorpio Time — 10/24 to 11/21/20

October 2019

Origins of “Tau of Steves”

September 2019

Norway Vacation

Summer

August 2019

July 2019 

Jeffersonville and Dexter Vacation

June 2019

Spring

May 2019 

April 2019

Mueller Report

March 2019

Winter 

February 2019

1-Year Experiment — 2/24/19 to 3/20/20

Meanwhile, do we have any TauBits for the Taking today, which ever day it really is?

Evidence

Yes, the way your Holiday Tau (and Winkler’s and Emma the Baroness’ and mine) makes sense is it describes what I’ve done throughout almost all of my life,  starting way back in high school when friends felt they could lean on my shoulder and spill their guts out about their girl friends becoming their ex-girl friends.  I’ll dive into how this TauBit of Wisdom guided me throughout my work life and career in my “Volume Two — Work” manuscript and “Volume Three — Wisdom and Legacy” manuscripts.

 “5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “It’s true that you often get more out of helping people than you do from being helped. Even so, you could use the lift, and you’ll get offers that would be a shame to pass up.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Haha. I’m not at liberty to say why our Patron Saint, here may have spilled the beans about the timeline of my heist.  Whatever you do, don’t look to Steve Jobs for any clues.

“5”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “The day runs a little like a heist. Much depends on who knows what at which point in the timeline. You may need to create a distraction to make a plan go smoothly.”   Aries

Hello there Jobs.  Are you toying with me from above?  Yesterday I felt strung out like from when you’re almost finished with a project, but just another hour or so of effort will actually polish it off so you keep at it until your contact lens goo up and dry out.  Today, I’m consolidating “The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book” with less than a month remaining in the 1-Year Experiment, while working through portions of chapters in “Volume Two — Work” manuscript and “Volume Three — Wisdom and Legacy” manuscript.  

“5”  Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “You’re on a creative and productive high and will make the most of it by bouncing between three different endeavors, spending two or three hours on each before moving to the next.” Pisces

Oh, that’s just so special of you, Steve.  Are you interpreting the meaning of your Holiday Tau as suggesting I can go right ahead and twist pieces to satisfy my authoring needs, say in a memoir? No, what then?

“4”  Steve Nash, 45: “You don’t always feel at liberty to bend a situation to your preferences, but in today’s case, you would be remiss not to. More than that, you will be helped when you apply your excellent taste to making this improvement.”  Aquarius

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @KnowLabs suite of 36 digital magazines jumps from  7650 to 7742 this week organically grown followers

Foresight

Quality-of-Life 

Long-Form

    • “Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction” by David Enrich.  Before myriads of LLCs and questionable business dealings with Trump, Deutsche Bank wanted desperately to compete on Wall Street which grew out of “scandals related to money laundering, tax evasion, manipulating interest rates, manipulating the prices of precious metals, manipulating the currencies markets, bribing foreign officials, accounting fraud, violating international sanctions, ripping off customers, and ripping off the German, British, and United States governments.”  Enrich’s account fills in details missing from Mary Trump’s  “Too Much is Never Enough”, “A Warning” by Anonymous; “Very Stable Genius”  “Fifth Risk” by Michael Lewis,  “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership” by Jim Comey, “Devil’s Bargain” by Steve Bannon, and “Fantasyland” by Kurt Andersen
    • “Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History” by Kurt Andersen Both of us, Emma the Baroness and I, have been processing the acquittal of our ex-President — not really being surprised by the “Big Lie” promoting followers in the Senate, but more disappointed after seeing new video documentation of the insurrection and detailed evidence time lines.  I return to Kurt Andersen’s book “Fantasyland” to help me through the process of filtering the unfolding events.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trips

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S2 E28 — Hosting Norwegian Zooms While Trump Eliminated the Virus in April

We’re all self-quarantined before the tribal Norwegian Zoom event, after staging and technical trouble shooting. But today I lost my website access, which not until hours later did I discover I needed to point my DMS IP to the new Google Cloud address. Say what?

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69: “Life’s path may be smooth, but people can stumble over even the smoothest of surfaces. Pause. Regroup. And make some decisions about the course ahead.”  Taurus

Hi and welcome to Sunday’s Episode 28 of the Second Season’s  My Pandemic Year’s Natural Experiment, on April 12th in the spring of 2020 here in California.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E27 — Why I Have to Keep Leo da V on a Leash and So Should You; S2 E26 — Rethinking the N-Word; S2 E25 — Are You an Innie or Outie Thinker?

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E28 — Day 28 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E27 — Day 27 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E26 — Day 26  of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E25 — Day 25 of My 1-Year Experiment

Context

They’re back up and running.

But, on Patreon I published and shared to both LinkedIn and Facebook, “Sometimes It Feels Like Postcards from Another World”. 

“Join 1594 followers of “Fresh from the Labs. Literally bottled and set adrift from KnowWhere Atoll.” See what you may have been missing. Here’s a sample of headlines from a week’s worth of our digests bringing you our “Top 30” stories and trends daily.”

Evidence

Forget Zahnny and the Fonz, this Holiday Tau is just for Emma the Baroness and me.

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “There’s the one who witnesses your emotions when no one else seems to. That person is special to you. Not a lot has to pass between you in order for everything to be shared.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

If you picked Emma the Baroness or me as deserving of this birthday message you’d be wrong (it’s not our birthday), but right (both of us keep confidential secrets to ourselves).

Today’s Holiday Birthday:  

“The space between a private and public self is deeply personal. You decide what you want people to know. You write your story and present it however you please. You’ll have fun with this, using it as an opportunity for creativity, empowerment and drawing lucky people and situations to you as you thrive on every front.”

Thanks to our Patron Saint for his Holiday Tau rings true for many of our friends and acquaintances enduring these challenging times.

“5”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “Lots of people are thinking of you. Keep up with relationships, as the benefits of staying social will far outweigh any inconvenience you endure trying to get together.”  Aries

Hopefully, as the President insists this virus will disappear in April and life will return to normal.  However comma Emma the Baroness and I feel blessed that our decisions made along our path have taken us to this place together.

“5”  Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69: “Life’s path may be smooth, but people can stumble over even the smoothest of surfaces. Pause. Regroup. And make some decisions about the course ahead.”  Taurus

Look I was trying to be diplomatic, coach.  But the whole political expediency and strong hints of corruption stretch my skeptical self too. 

“3”  Steve Kerr, 54: “Your instinct to morally decide what’s wrong and right may be challenged by those who give priority to what works and what makes things easier. This could cause a quandary.” Libra

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @knowlabs followers of one or more of my 35 digital magazines grew from 1581  to 1594.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life

Long-Form

    • “The Fifth Risk,” by Michael Lewis  describes how the thinkers in federal departments were targeted by Trump’s administration, especially the scientists and researchers. “‘I was fucking nervous as shit, Bannon later told friends. I go, Holy fuck, this guy [Trump] doesn’t know anything. And he doesn’t give a shit.’ Even in normal times the people who take over the United States government can be surprisingly ignorant… The United States government might be the most complicated organization on the face of the earth. Its two million federal employees take orders from four thousand political appointees. How to stop a virus, how to take a census, how to determine if some foreign country is seeking to obtain a nuclear weapon or if North Korean missiles can reach Kansas City: these are enduring technical problems.”
    • “Chasing the Dime,” by Michael Connelly describes the inner workings of a (fictional) commercial research laboratory which fits the Paradoxy-Moron organization type. “(In the lab) is where you find time for more AE work. Analyze and evaluate. When the unknown or unexpected came up in the lab you stopped and went into AE mode. What do you see? What do you know? What does it mean? In the lab everything was clear … simple. Quantifiable. Scientific theory was tested and either proved or disproved. No gray areas. No shadows.”

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trip

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S1 E170 — Isn’t This Good-Bye?!

But, what about for our Patron Saint, Mr. McQueen? I’m liking the experiment reference and telling a story in my own style.  What could be a better fit for a 1-year experiment as it nears its conclusion?

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “Your story is yours to tell and yours to style, too.  Experiment with the way you see it.” Aries

Hi and welcome to Friday’s Episode 170 in the first season of “My 1-Year Natural Experiment” on this 14th day of February in winter of 2020.

Context

I’ve been focusing of what I’m calling “Volume Two” of the Knowledge Path, and like the first volume I anticipate it will consist of a 5-book series too. Over the years I’ve posted research articles to my knowledge bank describing challenges facing employers at specific stages of growth.

Here is an example of an organization in the Decline stage — McClatchy Co. seeking bankruptcy protection written about by Michael Hiltzik — latest in the newspaper industry controlled by a hedge fund, Chatham Asset Management, tied to American Media’s National Enquirer which figured in Trump’s scandals.

What triggered the topics I worked on today was Alvin Toffler’s quote, “In the ‘Transient Age,’ when people, places, things, organizations and information accelerate as they pass through our lives … transience, novelty and diversity stretch and mutate our limits of adaptability.”

His prescription?

Time and emotion forecasts; intelligent strategies may well prove the only adaptive response to life stress.

So, that prescription triggered working through time frames.  Something like:

    • Short (6 to 9 months) — Reactive, defensive. 
    • Medium (1 to 2 years) — Building career equity, waiting, timing, pursuing opportunities.
    • Long (3 to 5 years) — Taking calculated risks, weighing major life trade offs, investing in your future.

Oh, I visited a specialist again to determine why I’m experiencing balance issues which kept me from joining in the yearly family ski trip to Mammoth Mountain.  

With Emma the Baroness at my side we reiterated my symptoms. Still puzzled he referred me to a more robust MRI in Huntington Beach for clues — a pinched nerve, anything in my head?  

Evidence

Any motivational or inspirational TauBits for Emma the Baroness and me given that this is Valentine’s Day?  Nope, not legitimately.

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

What about for our Patron Saint, Mr. McQueen? I’m liking the experiment reference and telling a story in my own style.  What could be a better fit for a 1-year experiment as it nears its conclusion?

“5”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “Your story is yours to tell and yours to style, too.  Experiment with the way you see it.” Aries

Well, sure I see where you musicians are headed with the Holiday Tau hand crafted for you.  Fun, that’s a good thing.

“4”  Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69: “The best way to have fun with another person is to loosen the reigns on control a bit.  Do the things you think are fun.”  Taurus

I love the turn of a phrase in your Holiday Tau Smithy — a bit of chaos inside and internal weather.  I feel it fits nicely with how the age of transience stretches our adaptability limits. 

“5”  Steve Smith, 30: “Each person has a bit of chaos inside.  Sometimes the internal weather is more severe.  Whether you run from or chase the condition, it’s not hard to see the remarkable beauty in it.” Gemini

Do I make you horny? was Austin Powers’ catch phrase.  It is Valentine’s Day and Emma the Baroness and I have been separated for a few days, so your saying I should concentrate on the mood of the evening, then?

“4”  Steve Aoki, 41: “Attraction isn’t strictly about the essence of two people.  This is why filmmakers employ set and light designers.  These vibes don’t conjure themselves.” Sagittarius

For instance …

“4”  Steve Nash, 45: “You can be thoughtful in the moment because you took the time to consider the moment before it arrived.”  Aquarius

Seems like I saved the best of three Steves for last …

“5”  Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “You don’t exactly believe that love is a single soul in two bodies, but you cannot deny the connections with certain people.  On this holiday, celebrate loves’s depth.” Pisces

End of the Week “Knews” for FOSs

Trends — 

Short-Form — Headlines and Highlights from Fresh from the Labs

Long-Form — 

    • Tau is also used in some contexts to represent the golden ratio, defined as half of 1 + the square root of 5. This number, about 1.618, has shown up all over art and nature, including in defining the shapes of nautilus shells and plants with spiral forms in their leaves or petals. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-tao-of-tau/ 
    • Exulting in his impeachment acquittal, President Trump took a scorched-earth victory lap Thursday, unleashing his fury against those who tried to remove him from office while looking ahead to his reelection campaign.Trump, speaking to a room full of supporters at the White House, declared the impeachment proceedings a “disgrace” and complained anew that it was “a very unfair situation,” echoing his broadsides hours earlier that stunned the crowd at an annual prayer breakfast.“It was evil, it was corrupt,” Trump declared at the White House. “This should never ever happen to another president, ever.”

Progress and Procrastination — 

    • Procrastinate while feeling empty after trying to figure out what this nation has become by watching the Senate acquit Trump without calling any witnesses.  What’s up with that? 
    • Every time I get notified about a new software update I feel panic about what it will do to my inspiration files, where my next manuscript is mapped out,  like it did to my hypercard files.  The manuscript is now mostly upgraded to .isf formats, which will not be supported with the upgrade.

Speaking Volumes — 

    • Treating  “11 Simple Steps for Finding the Authentic Quality-of-Life You Deserve” as a missing chapter from Volume One, the first 5-book series and a bonus offer, for example. 
    • There’s the quote today from Kevin Parker on Tame Impala, “The feeling that time has passed and you didn’t even realize it — that’s the driving emotion of this record.”  He spoke about being able to see “exactly which chapter I’d finished and which chapter was just beginning.” And, about a recent success that has given him a platform for artistic leeway to do only what he wants. 
    • The what’s-in-it-for-me in Volume Two is you’ll be able to choose the next organization that offers the right degree of challenge and opportunity in a work culture that brings out the best in you.  And, maybe just as importantly when you’re choosing between job offers which one to take and which one to avoid and why.
    • From Alvin Toffler’s classic book, “Future Shock” about the pace of change and turnover of people, places, things, (nouns)  lead to a hunger for the past nostalgia. “Time and emotion forecasts; intelligent strategies may well prove the only adaptive response to life stress.  Life stress is here to stay.  In the ‘Transient Age,’ when people, places, things, organizations and information accelerate as they pass through our lives.  Transience, novelty and diversity stretch and mutate our limits of adaptability.” 
    • Refreshing chapters from co-authored book scenarios for Work and Investment Decisions — Chapter 11* How to Thrive in an Age of Accelerating Uncertainty*A previous version originally appeared as “Why Careers are like Real Estate Markets” in the Wisdom and Strategies section of “Adapt! How to Survive and Thrive in the Changing World of Work”, co-authored by Steve Howard in 2009

Banking and ATMs — 

    • So it helps if you are a founder or a comedian?  How does that work on a crowdfunding platform like Patreon? 
    • Encountering technical struggles with Patreon similar to the frustrating challenges I fought through with building my six WordPress websites.
    • Sobering plateauing of digital magazine followers (1215 to 1216) may be serious or a blip?  LinkedIn analytics (502 views) feel promising.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trips

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S1 E169 — Lockouts and Taxing 1-Year Season Coming to an End

What’s been going on? Having immersed myself in piles of paper receipts, credit card statements and downloadable interest and dividend statements I got to wondering if I need to claim a business in 2019 given the anticipated renewal of $250 for web hosting due this year? 

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5” Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69: “Your creativity comes from the connections you make between things, what you choose and how you bring them together.” Taurus

Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 169 in the first season of “My 1-Year Natural Experiment” on this 13th day of February in winter of 2020.

Context

Simultaneously I’ve encountered being locked out of the remaining five websites other than Know Laboratories, which is I’m the master administrator of the multi-site network, by WordPress / Zip Pack.  

What else piles up?

Is the ride over or was it just a bad day and night?  @knowlabs, my master digital magazine which drives “Fresh from the Labs …” as a benefit for Tier 1 “Balboa Island” Patreon supporters picked up just one new follower moving from 1215 to 1216 this morning.  

It wasn’t that long ago when only 800 or so people chose to find my magazines in their personalized feeds.  

What’s going on? 

Sometimes I’m surprised, but the pattern I notice is competing activities combined with slower story feeds pick up towards Wednesdays and Thursdays.  

The topics change according to regional and local news.  I blend vacation (Chamber of Commerce Visitors) with local, more mundane stories about what’s it like to live there year round (Realtor Neighborhood Comps).  Still when I share stories to LinkedIn here’s what they draw:

LinkedIn Analytics

1842 Followers “A New Year’s Wish” 1 mo. 502 views

Evidence

You know, I’ve always liked your TauBits Steve.  And, it’s not just because you’re the celebrity icon representing Emma the Baroness and me.  I’m pretty sure you deserve a high score for this Holiday Tau if I understood just exactly it means.

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “You’re a creative person trying to communicate about a need that goes beyond what word, images, music, tastes or anything you’ve experienced could possibly fulfill.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Researcher’s Note: Nope, this isn’t my birthday — still eight and a half months away. Is this meaningful work what Zahn is referencing?  I like it.

Today’s Holiday Birthday: 

“Here comes the meaningful work — work that’s measured in how far it can take you, also in how far you can take it.  Where stop will be an important thing to sense, as you’ll be switching vehicles for the next leg of your journey.  Your grateful heart and exemplary hosting skill will contribute to many happy occasions.”

Spot on.  I’ll add the pattern and pace of people, places, things, organizations and information accelerating as they pass through our lives.

“5” Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69: “Your creativity comes from the connections you make between things, what you choose and how you bring them together.” Taurus

Thanks Coach Kerr, I believe anticipation leads to resilience and makes it easier to adapt to whatever change is required rather than falling victim to energy depletion stress brought on by having to always catch up when time runs out.

“4”  Steve Kerr, 54: “Change will be a mixed  bag.  Relax. It’s better when you expect the work without dreading it.” Libra

Good God, I certainly hope you’re right, Steve. 

“4”  Steve Howey, 42: “The habit you’re trying to form will be worth the persistence.  Also, it will get easier.”  Cancer

Haha.  My LinkedIn Analytics support your supposition, but the peaking of my digital media followers at 1216 gives me pause.

“3”  Steve Aoki, 41: “It feels good to deliver something that people want.  This is just the beginning.” Sagittarius

End of the Week “Knews” for FOSs

Trends — 

Short-Form — 

Long-Form — 

    • Tau is also used in some contexts to represent the golden ratio, defined as half of 1 + the square root of 5. This number, about 1.618, has shown up all over art and nature, including in defining the shapes of nautilus shells and plants with spiral forms in their leaves or petals. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-tao-of-tau/ 
    • Exulting in his impeachment acquittal, President Trump took a scorched-earth victory lap Thursday, unleashing his fury against those who tried to remove him from office while looking ahead to his reelection campaign.Trump, speaking to a room full of supporters at the White House, declared the impeachment proceedings a “disgrace” and complained anew that it was “a very unfair situation,” echoing his broadsides hours earlier that stunned the crowd at an annual prayer breakfast.“It was evil, it was corrupt,” Trump declared at the White House. “This should never ever happen to another president, ever.”

Progress and Procrastination — 

    • Procrastinate while feeling empty after trying to figure out what this nation has become by watching the Senate acquit Trump without calling any witnesses.  What’s up with that? 
    • Every time I get notified about a new software update I feel panic about what it will do to my inspiration files, where my next manuscript is mapped out,  like it did to my hypercard files.  The manuscript is now mostly upgraded to .isf formats, which will not be supported with the upgrade.

Speaking Volumes — 

    • Treating  “11 Simple Steps for Finding the Authentic Quality-of-Life You Deserve” as a missing chapter from Volume One, the first 5-book series and a bonus offer, for example. 
    • There’s the quote today from Kevin Parker on Tame Impala, “The feeling that time has passed and you didn’t even realize it — that’s the driving emotion of this record.”  He spoke about being able to see “exactly which chapter I’d finished and which chapter was just beginning.” And, about a recent success that has given him a platform for artistic leeway to do only what he wants. 
    • The what’s-in-it-for-me in Volume Two is you’ll be able to choose the next organization that offers the right degree of challenge and opportunity in a work culture that brings out the best in you.  And, maybe just as importantly when you’re choosing between job offers which one to take and which one to avoid and why.
    • From Alvin Toffler’s classic book, “Future Shock” about the pace of change and turnover of people, places, things, (nouns)  lead to a hunger for the past nostalgia. “Time and emotion forecasts; intelligent strategies may well prove the only adaptive response to life stress.  Life stress is here to stay.  In the ‘Transient Age,’ when people, places, things, organizations and information accelerate as they pass through our lives.  Transience, novelty and diversity stretch and mutate our limits of adaptability.” 

Banking and ATMs — 

    • So it helps if you are a founder or a comedian?  How does that work on a crowdfunding platform like Patreon? 
    • Sobering plateauing of digital magazine followers (1215 to 1216) may be serious or a blip?  LinkedIn analytics (502 views) feel promising.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trips

Posted on

S1 E168 — A Mammoth Thank You to Kobe and Steve Jobs

This is what has become of the President’s Weekend extended family ski (and snowboard) trip to Mammoth Mountain.  Emma the Baroness hitched a ride with Shaggy and SLO Girl as I waved “Good-Bye” and they disappeared out of sight when they turned the corner in Shaggy’s 4-Runner onto Longleaf.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “The joys of reuniting are not possible if you never part ways.  So while you can’t be with your loved ones at all times, you’ll hold in your heart the wonderful anticipation of being together again soon.” Scorpio

Hi and welcome to Sunday’s Episode 168 in the first season of “My 1-Year Natural Experiment” on this 9th day of February in winter of 2020.

Context

Shaggy and I talked a little bit about the text I shared with Shaggy and Jazzy about Dave McCoy’s passing.  After they left for Mammoth, I flipped “McCoy” into my Western Skies & Island Currents digital magazine, which somehow got tagged @skiing and identified it as “theknowledgepath.com— by Steve Howard.”  

Los Angeles, is in the throws of mourning and favorite moments of Kobe Bryant’s legacy and now this news. Dave McCoy lived to be 100 and his passing was expected and not shocking like Kobe’s.

On top of that, every time I get notified about a new software update I feel panic about what it will do to my inspiration files, where my next manuscript is mapped out,  like it did to my hypercard files.  The manuscript is now mostly upgraded to .isf formats, which will not be supported with the upgrade.

Thank you Steve Jobs.

So, now I feel an urgency to write Volume Two. How will the “Work” chapters in “Live, Love, Work, Play, Invest and Leave a Legacy” unfold? 

The what’s-in-it-for-me in Volume Two is you’ll be able to choose the next organization that offers the right degree of challenge and opportunity in a work culture that brings out the best in you.  

And, maybe just as importantly when you’re choosing between job offers which one to take and which one to avoid and why.

Initial outline:

      1. “01113 SPIP Idea Packagers” 
      2. What do you further need to understand to make sense? 
      3. Code: explain the three dimensions with medium and high degrees 
      4. Organization Type: One of four, Talent Culture with many types, but two major previous growth stage stuck in control crisis favoring two other (Brand-as-Experts and Institutional Traditionalists) — 
      5. Decline Stage as best fit addressing a crisis compared to the previous stage
      6. Control to strengths exercised beyond their usefulness and effectiveness leads to Red-Tape Crisis 
      7. Bring in Idea Packagers and Thought Leaders to overcome blindness and dug in resistance to change. From outside of the organization.
      8. Thought Leaders hail from Paradox-Moron with a different Code; Talent Culture; complementary talents and approach. 
      9. Worse Fit (Sustaining-Associates, Rapid Growth, Autonomy Crisis) 
      10. Thought Leaders and Idea Packagers coach and advise through the transition to reinvention from decline or the organization may not make it in its present form.
      11. Reinvention Growth Stage (back to as “clients they’re motivated to change in a decline” in “011 Introvert Secrets”).
      12. Advising CROs Reinvention Team, one each from each Talent Organization Type, Inner- and Outer-Directed; High and Medium Degrees of all Dimensions;

At the core of the manuscript two At-a-Glance descriptions — Profile-at-a-Glance describing you and talent cultures, and Organization-at-a-Glance describing your best fit and worse fit type of employer.

Profile-at-a-Glance

Talent Profile

Degrees of:

Code

MBTI Equivalent — Introvert or Extravert

Inner Directed or 

Outer Directed

Organization-at-a-Glance

Best Fit

Organization Type

Stage of Growth

Crisis Challenge

Worse Fit

Organization Type

Stage of Growth

Crisis Challenge

Turning to my Holiday Tau, what inspiration or bit of wisdom can I lean on?

Evidence

Since I’m home alone, Zahn’s addresses Emma the Baroness and my situation apart with a hint of joy at the end of the extended vacation I can’t enjoy.

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “The joys of reuniting are not possible if you never part ways.  So while you can’t be with your loved ones at all times, you’ll hold in your heart the wonderful anticipation of being together again soon.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Researcher’s Note: I know, I know.  Look it might be easier if and when today’s birthday is actually my birthday.  Here’s a hint.  Whenever people congregate outside at night they wear masks.

Today’s Holiday Birthday: 

“Your dreams swirl into a desire to be of service, producing some of your best ideas yet.  The practical help and mentorship you seek in the next 10 weeks land at the intersection of usefulness, creativity and commerce.  A thriving relationship will spread joy all over your life.”

Fewer Steves equated into a better chance to win the Tau competition.

Look, if any famous Steves would bring the strongest TauBit of Wisdom, I figured it would come from an inventor and two comedians.  Alas …

“3”  Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “You are not a train on the road of life — an engine that moves in predestined grooves.  You are free to make the turns, merge to the onramp, leave the town or country and know new lands.” Leo

Hey G&G for my home alone panic and sense of urgency, I’m swiping your Holiday Tau.

“5”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61: “When things get a little tense, it might help to think of this as an adventure, or the movie you are starring in.  If you take a moment to sense it, you’ll get the feeling there’s an invisible audience out there rooting for you.” Virgo

Wait, this might be a three-way tie.  Has the Apple upgrade upset my well, Apple cart?  Volume Two — Work manuscript wasn’t on the front burner at all, because it had already been theorized with a team of experts and then field tested over the last decade with Executive MBA students stuck at a point in their career while aspiring to qualify for the C-Suite in their current of another organization. 

“5”  Steve Aoki, 41: “It takes many years to know yourself well enough to pace yourself.  Of course, this is different depending on the particular endeavor and your time of life.  When you overdo it, just know that it’s part of learning.” Sagittarius

End of the Week “Knews” for FOSs

Trends — 

Short-Form — 

Long-Form — 

    • Tau is also used in some contexts to represent the golden ratio, defined as half of 1 + the square root of 5. This number, about 1.618, has shown up all over art and nature, including in defining the shapes of nautilus shells and plants with spiral forms in their leaves or petals. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-tao-of-tau/ 

Progress and Procrastination — 

    • Procrastinate while feeling empty after trying to figure out what this nation has become by watching the Senate acquit Trump without calling any witnesses.  What’s up with that? 
    • Every time I get notified about a new software update I feel panic about what it will do to my inspiration files, where my next manuscript is mapped out,  like it did to my hypercard files.  The manuscript is now mostly upgraded to .isf formats, which will not be supported with the upgrade.

Speaking Volumes — 

    • Treating  “11 Simple Steps for Finding the Authentic Quality-of-Life You Deserve” as a missing chapter from Volume One, the first 5-book series and a bonus offer, for example. 
    • There’s the quote today from Kevin Parker on Tame Impala, “The feeling that time has passed and you didn’t even realize it — that’s the driving emotion of this record.”  He spoke about being able to see “exactly which chapter I’d finished and which chapter was just beginning.” And, about a recent success that has given him a platform for artistic leeway to do only what he wants. 
    • The what’s-in-it-for-me in Volume Two is you’ll be able to choose the next organization that offers the right degree of challenge and opportunity in a work culture that brings out the best in you.  And, maybe just as importantly when you’re choosing between job offers which one to take and which one to avoid and why.

Banking and ATMs — 

    • So it helps if you are a founder or a comedian?  How does that work on a crowdfunding platform like Patreon?

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trips

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S4 E11 — Were Putin and Trump Dipping into the Same Piggy Bank?

In 2017, some headway from outside Deutsche took hold.  New York prosecutors accused the Donald J. Trump Foundation of operating as a political slush fund as it was associated with the new president and his dozens of legal entities and shut it down.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5” Steve Kerr, 54: “Belief is a first step. But if you don’t or can’t believe, it’s fine. Then stepping is the first step. Your mind will catch up later. It does help to have good people around you.” Libra

Hi and welcome to Saturday’s 11th Episode in Season 4 of  “Our Disruptively Resilient Year” on this 19th day of March in the spring of 2022.

We concluded the three-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed — during the “normal” pre-pandemic year compared to the pandemic year, and more recently to the paradoxically normal year. 

Season Four continues now within domestic and global chaos.

Previously in Season Four, The Disruptively Resilient Year

S4 E10 — Who’s the First Person You Wanna Tell?; S4 E9 —Did the Luck of the Irish Run Out This Time for Old Orange Hair?; S4 E8 —A Suicide and an Epic Trail of Destruction

Related from Season Three, the Paradoxically Normal Year

S3 E11 — Looking for a New Predictive Belief System?; S3 E10 —Feeding the Beast for Sheila in Fantasyland; S3 E9 —Melancholy and Undercover Brooklyn Moms Know Best; S3 E8 — Wait, You’re Saying I Should Read It Again? 

Related from Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E11 — Waiting for the 3rd Shoe to Drop; S2 E10 — Cats, Ladders and Shaking Salt …; S2 E9 — Blame It On Your D4DR Gene, Not Me!; S2 E8 — How Does the Entangled Fish Hook Theory of Creativity Work?

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E11 — Day 11 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E10 — Day 10 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E9 — Day 9 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E8 — Day 8 of My 1-Year Experiment

Context

David Enrich puts the pieces together in “Deutsche Bank Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction”

On one particular day in the fall of 2013 a spreadsheet captured a network revealing the matrix of money laundering.

In the one DBTCA unit of Deutsche. tens of millions of dollars outstanding with VTB. Alfa-Bank—another large, oligarch-controlled Russian lender—was on Deutsche’s list, too. (VTB and Alfa both were under American sanctions.) Also, Russian International Bank and Russian Joint-Stock Commercial Roads Bank and Russian Mortgage Bank and Russian Commercial Bank (Cyprus) Limited

Was this the rumored evidence exposing how Trump was supposedly being in Putin’s clutches? Maybe Deutsche was what connected Trump to the Russia rumor.

    • Deutsche acting as a conduit for dirty money. Deutsche was the only reliable connection that Trump had to the mainstream banking world.
    • Deutsche’s Russian oligarchs and other Putin cronies routinely practiced the Russian mirror-trading scheme.
    • Deutsche Bank’s money had built the Trump International Hotel.
    • Deutsche Bank  had helped stabilize Trump’s floundering business and indirectly, helped stabilize his floundering presidency.

After leaving Zurich Insurance in 2014 in shame, according to Enrich, Joe Ackermann took a new job opportunity in Cyprus.

Bank of Cyprus, new owners: Wilbur Ross, Trump’s future Commerce secretary, Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch with ties to the Kremlin.  Even after the collapse of its economy and financial system, Cyprus was a portal for Russians to launder money into the European Union and the eurozone.

Deutsche’s Cypriot work in general lasted much longer. Well into Trump’s presidency,

Deutsche’s anti-money-laundering offices in Florida on behalf of various Cypriot lenders had been pushing uphill with their internal investigation.

Days before Trump was sworn in as president, the Obama administration’s Justice Department pummeled Deutsche Bank with a $7 billion penalty—among them MortgageIT, tricking investors and misleading customers.

In early 2017, the previously undisclosed Russian money-laundering scheme was revealed by British and German journalists.

The internal watchdogs were reaching the breaking point. 

They’d been chafing for years under a succession of regional executives whom many staff members perceived as imperious and incompetent. And, instructed to stop highlighting transactions involving companies exposed in the massive leak known as the Panama Papers.

In 2017, some headway from outside Deutsche took hold.  

New York prosecutors accused the Donald J. Trump Foundation of operating as a political slush fund as it was associated with the new president and his dozens of legal entities and shut it down.

Evidence

But enough, what about you and me?

“3”  Steve Zahn, 51: “Focusing too intently and too small is a danger now that can prevent you from seeing the many opportunities that exist around you. For perspective, talk to people who are different from you.” Scorpio

I suppose, but my weakness stems from focusing too intently on the macro picture and struggling with making those opportunities more concrete and practical for others to take.

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Today’s Holiday Birthday: 

It’s no accident when your life falls into beautiful balance, it’s a direct result of your choices. The most important one is to surround yourself with people who are good for you. You’ll approach basic needs like nutrition, exercise and sleep with an intelligent response. Work will be stimulating and empowering.

“3”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61; Stephen King, 72: “You could easily take on something small and finish it by the day’s end. However, things get exciting when you go bigger. What’s worth doing can’t be done alone. Tasks that force you to reach out are favored.” Virgo

Does research count?  I’ve collected so much documentation and data that most often getting excited about big things tend to confuse me in the moment.

“5” Steve Kerr, 54: “Belief is a first step. But if you don’t or can’t believe, it’s fine. Then stepping is the first step. Your mind will catch up later. It does help to have good people around you.” Libra

Emma the Baroness and I engage in an ongoing conversation about the playbooks Trump and Putin follow.  She asks how people who seem so smart fall for these cult-like lies and misinformation.  And, I try to explain what I’m understanding about how susceptible we humans are.

“4”  Steve Aoki, 41; Steven Spielberg, 74: “You’ll accomplish what needs doing if you disallow distraction. It’s time to crack down. Don’t let yourself do anything else until the main thing is finished.” Sagittarius

Thanks for the permission to put everything else on hold until I finish this 11th Episode in Season 4 of  “Our Disruptively Resilient Year”.

“4”  Steve Nash, 45: “What happened long ago is still part of your inner scenery, drifting on a lake of thought. Eventually it will wash up on a far shore. But for now, you have better things to think about. Direct your mind to do just that.” Aquarius

Emma the Baroness and I viewed Jane Fonda in Five Acts last night.  Reflecting on it helps me organize my “Volume Three Manuscript.” One comment so true about me remained with me. Each time Jane entered a new act, she moved on leaving those she knew in a previous act without looking back as she transformed into the start up of a new life. Guilty here, too.

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll

    • @KnowLabs suite of 36 digital magazines according to my analytics, grew from 12148 this week to 12252 organically grown followers.
    • Orange County Beach Towns 236 viewers stopped by the week before.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life

Long-Form

    • “Here, Right Matters: An American Story” by Alexander Vindman. “We’d long been confused by the president’s policy of accommodation and appeasement of Russia, the United States’ most pressing major adversary. Russia’s president Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, seizing the Crimean Peninsula, attacking its industrial heartland, the Donbass, from the capital, Kyiv. By 2019, little had changed, Russian military and security forces and their proxy separatists continued to occupy the Donbass. The biggest change was to Ukraine’s importance as a bulwark against Russian aggression weeks earlier, the White House had abruptly put a hold on nearly four hundred million dollars.” 
    • David Enrich begins his book with a suicide in “Deutsche Bank Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction” and then meticulously details the bank’s Russian money laundering operations. Deutsche’s Russian business surged after revenues had fallen 50% due to the 2008 financial crisis. Putin’s Russia, poured in to Deutsche from deals it did with VTB Bank, linked to the Kremlin’s intelligence apparatus. Deutsche positioned itself as a crucial cog in “The Laundromat” by doing what couldn’t be done — processing cross-border transactions for banks that were too small  and didn’t have offices outside their home countries.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

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S3 E19 — Thought Flickers, Cosmic Swirling and Exacted Costs

The huge circle, looking faded as if erased, caught my eye as we pulled out of our neighborhood in Emma the Baroness’ yellow pollen-dusted silver Acura heading south.  By the time we returned north on the 5 freeway the full moon’s intensity glared like a street lamp in the blackened sky. 

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69; Stephen Colbert, 56: “Analysis can only bring you to a point of decision; it cannot decide for you. There’s a point in every situation in which logic will take a back seat to more insistent contenders such as emotion or the master driver of them all, action.”  Taurus

Hi and welcome to Sunday’s Episode 19 in Season 3 of  “My Paradoxically Normal Year” on this 28th day of March in the spring of 2021 — which is a three-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic year and then in the pandemic year, and now months after.

Previously from Season Three, the Paradoxically Normal Year

S3 E18 — My Teacher is Sending You to Detention!; S3 E17 — Guess What? You’re on a Treadmill Just Now Picking Up Speed; S3 E16 — Quid Pro Quo the Awesome Kind

Related from Season Two, The Pandemic Year

S2 E19 — What’s Percolating in Our Collective Unconscious?; S2 E18 — What is the Truth and How Can You Tell?; S2 E17 — Shutting Mountain Resorts Down, Closing Boutiques, Kicking Tourists Out; S2 E16 — Scroll to the Bottom for Foresight and Quality-of-Life, Right Leo?

Related from Season One, The Normal Year

S1 E19 — Day 19 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E18 — Day 18 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E17 — Day 17 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E16 — Day 16 of My 1-Year Experiment

Context

So, it’s only fitting that I’d resonate with today’s Holiday Tau Theme:

The full moon in the sign of the scales reminds us that all things hang in a balance with other things, and every move we make affects the rest of the picture. Our gestures and conversations are creating relationships. Our life’s daily efforts and arrangements represent the level of artistry we care to apply. Honor the Libra moon by applying a lot!

But you know what that means, right?  There’s a cost to be exacted.

OMG I’ve been converted.  

Feeling settled and warm and slightly inspired in that amateur artist kind of way, I’ve lost my reason and submitted to whatever it is I look forward to.  

Most people like Emma the Baroness and I can tell you what their sign is in that ‘70s greetings kind of way.  Other people like President Ronald Regan’s wife Nancy, the First Lady, consulted his Tau each day to assess which activities he should accept or to Just Say No.  

Me, I began this as a lark out of that ‘70s greetings kind of way noting mine and Emma the Baroness’ if for some reason it caught my eye for the few seconds it takes to read three lines.  

And that was that.  Until.  And, that’s a big until.  

Until that fateful day on February 24 in 2019.

Now I’m all in.  

For next week I needs me some cosmic swirling, more morphing, some thought flickers, a smidge of alchemy, but most importantly a lot more dream and a heavy dose of imagination.

Holiday Forecast for the Week Ahead: 

According to Plato, the four elements of air, water, earth and fire are all derived from the same source, the prima materia or first matter, which blossomed from the heart of chaos.

Which came first? Did chaos create prima materia or did chaos merely form around prima materia in the manner of an oyster making a pearl out of sand? Whatever the origin, the prima materia holds the alchemical properties of the ages and is the power source of the legendary “Stone of the Philosophers.” Any elements touched to the philosophers’ stone turn to gold. All who ingest the stone’s dust are healed, indeed, immortalized… recalls how one thing can morph into another, all because of something as small and bright as the flicker of a thought across the screen of the mind.

Nothing embodies the catalytic properties of the Philosophers’ Stone like a dream. Indeed, it could be argued that imagination is the prima materia, the essence intrinsically linked to chaos, that galvanizes the cosmic swirl into something solid, beautiful and golden.

Evidence

How can there not be more Holiday Tau for Zahn, Winkler, Emma the Baroness and me? Oh well, maybe that’s the price we have to pay. But, we might be able to make up loss by stealing from your birthday and those other Steves

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

I’m interpreting your birthday’s message as meaning one day you’ll emerge from this year long pandemic without any lingering agoraphobia. 

Today’s Holiday Birthday:  

A tone can be lovely on its own, but it is only a melody when you line it up with other notes, and only harmonious in relation to other tones. This year, you sing out alone, and then become part of a greater symphony. Meeting people takes effort and is always a risk. Your courage in this regard pays off many times over.

Look, there can’t be any rhyme or reason or tone or rhythm for denying that the Holiday Tau for two musical icons and a talk show host pays off many times over.

“5”  Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69; Stephen Colbert, 56: “Analysis can only bring you to a point of decision; it cannot decide for you. There’s a point in every situation in which logic will take a back seat to more insistent contenders such as emotion or the master driver of them all, action.”  Taurus

This is so true, especially for Emma the Baroness and me, except we’ve grasped it and bottled it for sale. Haha.

“4”  Steve Smith, 30, Stevie Nicks, 72: “The subtle and wonderful aspects of a relationship can be felt but not kept. The rush of experience is as ungraspable as the waterfall — possible to touch but impossible to hold.” Gemini

OMG.  Hey Harvey, is this why I got converted?  At least for today?

“4”  Steve Harvey, 62: “The good thing about the sort of vague and contradictory input you’ll receive today is that it frees you to make your own assertions. Being both creative and willing to grapple with contradictions, you’ll excel.”  Capricorn

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @KnowLabs suite of 36 digital magazines jumps from  7650 to 7742 this week organically grown followers

Foresight

Quality-of-Life 

Long-Form

    • “Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History” by Kurt Andersen Both of us, Emma the Baroness and I, have been processing the acquittal of our ex-President — not really being surprised by the “Big Lie” promoting followers in the Senate, but more disappointed after seeing new video documentation of the insurrection and detailed evidence time lines.  I return to Kurt Andersen’s book “Fantasyland” to help me through the process of filtering the unfolding events.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

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S2 E27 — Why I Have to Keep Leo da V on a Leash and So Should You

I let Leo da V do out on a leash and he pointed out how lately I’m automatically judging and labeling and categorizing and attaching an emotion to an article’s headline.  Or to a topic in conversation.  Or off in the distance to someone walking the wrong way around the lake in a red hat.  

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve Howey, 42: “You’ll cut through the noise. Instead of trying to prove a point, you’ll appeal to the emotions of others and let the point arise naturally in a story that proves itself.” Cancer

Hi and welcome to Saturday’s Episode 27 of the Second Season’s  My Pandemic Year’s Natural Experiment, on April 11th in the spring of 2020 here in California.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E26 — Rethinking the N-Word; S2 E25 — Are You an Innie or Outie Thinker?; S2 E24 — Working Remote from KnowWhere Atoll

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E27 — Day 27 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E26 — Day 26  of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E25 — Day 25 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E24 — Day 24 of My 1-Year Experiment

Context

He didn’t let me dwell very long on my self-development challenges.  Instead he triggered a replay with Emma the Baroness from last night.

“Wait, you’re saying I was right?” 

Friday night.  Happy Hour. 

The three Zooming Boomer chicks laughed, asked what was that about, traded pajama-all-day stories, capped on a super organized friend who has completely rearranged every closet, every drawer, every room, in her house.  

They’ve known each other since post-college Orange County Beach Town days.  

Two husband-less.  One widowed.  One divorced. One living alone.  

One wondering when she would shed an elder millennial recently divorced and who moved back home away from his ex and his kids. 

A blur in the background of the smallest Zoom window sings out, “See you Mom I’ll be back a little later.” She swivels slightly as he reaches for the front door’s handle. 

“Ok, what do you want for dinner?” 

Two Boomer chicks Zoomed before including my chick, Emma the Baroness, but she had never hosted.  

About 15 minutes earlier when they were about to go live Emma the Baroness wanted me to help her make certain the rookie would be able to make her way through the confusing mine field of interpreting prompt after prompt in the newer safety upgrades new Boomer Zoomers face. 

Time was running out. “Now you’re saying she shouldn’t just click on the active link I sent to her yesterday in the email?” 

Emma the Baroness wanted to text a confusion-busting message to make it easier. 

I could sense her panic while I tried not to judge, label, categorize and attach my growing annoyance to our exchange. 

“Just call her. We’ll walk her through.” 

“But, you said she didn’t have to set up a Zoom account, yesterday.”  

“Yes, but it might be easier if she had already signed in.” I said.  

“I’m going to call Shaggy, our millennial.” she said.  

Ten minutes until we go live. 

“You, said …” and the Emma the Baroness rattled off all the anxiety-reasons the social meeting would begin in disaster. “I’m calling returned-home-millennial mom because she’s done it.” 

She did after putting rookie Boomer chick on speaker phone.  

Five minutes left. 

We three hit a snag over which password, new or the one she uses for her email stopped us in our tracks. “I’m going to call mom of returned-home millennial and have her call you.” Baroness said.  

Two minutes.  If looks could kill.  

“I don’t even have my wine poured yet.” 

One minute. 

“I’m clicking on the email link and I hope they worked it out.” One was already in the waiting room the screen I showed Emma the Baroness. 

She clicked.  

Something was wrong on our end with the Emma the Baroness’ MacBook Pro.  She couldn’t use her computer’s audio like we had done in two earlier events. 

I ran to my office, grabbed my MacBook Air, instructed the Emma the Baroness to email me the invitation, clicked on the link.

Two screens of us sitting in front of our picked-up remodeled kitchen with the mood lights turned on greeted us. 

Emma the Baroness asked about the third Boomer chick, the rookie.  

“She’s here, oops what happened to her? I see you in two screens. Oh, there she is.” 

“So you were able to …” 

“I’m here, but why do I see you two?”  I told her about the gallery view and she clicked on it.  “How did you sign in?” the Baroness asked.  

“Oh, it was easy.  I didn’t have to become a member.  I didn’t have to use my email password. I just clicked on your email link you sent us and at the website clicked on join the meeting and here I am.” 

Two last things.  

I gave Emma the Baroness my computer with the audio working fine while closing hers and walked deeper into the kitchen to pour her a glass of happy hour wine saying in passing, 

“So, you’re saying I was right?!” 

“Yes dear.”

Evidence

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Seeing no Pandemic TauBits for Emma the Baroness and me, let’s move on to our Patron Saint. Wait, Steve you’re saying enjoy the Zoom?

“3”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “The situation seems far from ideal. What if you thought of this as perfect how it is? Imagine it would be ruined by any addition, subtraction or change. Suddenly, there’s a lot to love about it.” Aries

Wait, did I just do that with the Zoomer Boomers, Howey?  There you go.

“5”  Steve Howey, 42: “You’ll cut through the noise. Instead of trying to prove a point, you’ll appeal to the emotions of others and let the point arise naturally in a story that proves itself.” Cancer

I know I’m getting busted by Emma the Baroness anyway, so why not own up to not paying attention to deadlines imposed by others, social arrangement meeting times or planned events in the not too distant future?  Emma the Baroness can’t help but attend to them.  So, what you three amigos are saying is my strength she would point out how it irritates her.  

“5”  Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “If you do things when you think of them, you save yourself the stress of having one more thing on your mental list. In general, anything you can get out of your mind and into the world will make your life easier.” Leo

For a gameshow host usually the answers on the board to questions make sense, but I’m not getting your Holiday Tau today.

“2”  Steve Harvey, 62: “There are a wide variety of interruptions that might restore you, so long as the ruckus is outside of your ordinary pattern, and also out of your alternative pattern to that.”  Capricorn

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @knowlabs followers of one or more of my 35 digital magazines jumped from 1532  to 1581.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life

Long-Form

    • “The Fifth Risk,” by Michael Lewis  describes how the thinkers in federal departments were targeted by Trump’s administration, especially the scientists and researchers. “‘I was fucking nervous as shit, Bannon later told friends. I go, Holy fuck, this guy [Trump] doesn’t know anything. And he doesn’t give a shit.’ Even in normal times the people who take over the United States government can be surprisingly ignorant… The United States government might be the most complicated organization on the face of the earth. Its two million federal employees take orders from four thousand political appointees. How to stop a virus, how to take a census, how to determine if some foreign country is seeking to obtain a nuclear weapon or if North Korean missiles can reach Kansas City: these are enduring technical problems.”
    • “Chasing the Dime,” by Michael Connelly describes the inner workings of a (fictional) commercial research laboratory which fits the Paradoxy-Moron organization type. “(In the lab) is where you find time for more AE work. Analyze and evaluate. When the unknown or unexpected came up in the lab you stopped and went into AE mode. What do you see? What do you know? What does it mean? In the lab everything was clear … simple. Quantifiable. Scientific theory was tested and either proved or disproved. No gray areas. No shadows.”

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trip

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S1 E167 — Why is Tau the Golden Ratio Showing Up in Nautilus Shells?

Did I over tax the Holiday Tau for us — Zahn, Winkler, Emma the Baroness and me?  Oh well, one of the other Steves will have to compete for today’s championship.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “You’ll have a message.  Think about it, practice it, try and make it land as softly as possible.” Pisces

Hi and welcome to Saturday’s Episode 167 in the first season of “My 1-Year Natural Experiment” on this 8th day of February in winter of 2020.

Context

With my comparisons of each of my six websites to my “Patreon Brand Statement” completed and the identification of the first candidates to appear on the platform for the public or behind one of the three tiers, I turned exclusively to preparing my 2019 Federal and California State Taxes.

Evidence

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

How’s the strength of your Tau today, W&W?  Hmm.  I like your groove but I’m not following your lyrics.

“3”  Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69: “All of life is a rhythm.  Don’t underestimate your power to change one that’s not working for you either.”  Taurus

Hmm.  Sorry Smithy frankly I was hoping for more wisdom.

“3”  Steve Smith, 30: “Visualize what feeling you want to create by stepping into the room — and by leaving it.” Gemini

So, is your Holiday Tau more for me or for those competing on the political stage?  Or for those singing along with the Doobie Brothers, “What a fool believes, he sees …”  

“5”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61: “To check your ethics will be conscientious and more than most people will do.  Most assume they’re right without giving a thought to the bigger picture.” Virgo

Aha, now it’s a competition.  Story.  I keep receiving the message that most everything boils down to story.

“5”  Steve Aoki, 41: “Ever feel like you’re doing a bad impression of yourself?  To get comfortable, find the cause of discomfort.  Probably, it’s a story you’re telling yourself.” Sagittarius

So, Steve is your Holiday Tau about syncing up your internal story telling with your external story and how to go about it?

“5”  Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “You’ll have a message.  Think about it, practice it, try and make it land as softly as possible.” Pisces

End of the Week “Knews” for FOSs

Trends — 

Short-Form — 

Long-Form — 

    • Tau is also used in some contexts to represent the golden ratio, defined as half of 1 + the square root of 5. This number, about 1.618, has shown up all over art and nature, including in defining the shapes of nautilus shells and plants with spiral forms in their leaves or petals. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-tao-of-tau/ 

Progress and Procrastination — 

    • Procrastinate while feeling empty after trying to figure out what this nation has become by watching the Senate acquit Trump without calling any witnesses.  What’s up with that? 

Speaking Volumes — 

    • Treating  “11 Simple Steps for Finding the Authentic Quality-of-Life You Deserve” as a missing chapter from Volume One, the first 5-book series and a bonus offer, for example. 

Banking and ATMs — 

    • So it helps if you are a founder or a comedian?  How does that work on a crowdfunding platform like Patreon?

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trips

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S1 E166 — Falling Down the Time Sucking Rabbit Hole

I  continued with my website makeovers after hunkering down while 40 to 50 mph Santa Ana winds wrecked havoc. Oh, and after I assessed damage, then swept up leaves, twigs and branches. 

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “Time won’t be a significant contributing factor to the quality of the day’s products, so you may as well go fast.” Scorpio

Hi and welcome to Friday’s Episode 166 in the first season of “My 1-Year Natural Experiment” on this 6th day of February in winter of 2020.

Context

It dawned on me I should figure out which published “Best of Essays” are for attracting potentials to Patreon and which are for the tier-paying Patrons behind the gate — like specific checklists and steps? 

Looked at each website’s blog archive for one or the other audience.

      1. The Knowledge Path: Live. Love. Work. Play. Invest. Leave a Legacy.
      2. Western Skies and Island Currents: From the Desert to the Mountains to the Sea and all the Pristine Rivers, Lakes and Islands in Between.
      3. Best West Road Trips: Natural Beauty. Awesome Adventures.
      4. Knowledge ATMs: A peak behind the scenes of self-publishing, crowdfunding, and working for yourself
      5. Knowledge Banking: Wealthy Choices. Healthy Lives.
      6. Know Laboratories: Thriving in an Age of Accelerating Uncertainty

Taking a deeper dive into Knowledge Banking I focused of 4 components of a system to guide future posts.

    1. To 4 ways of repurposing Knowledge Product offerings, illustrated by @knowlabs: Fresh from the Labs. Literally bottled and set adrift from KnowWhere Atoll.
      • Guided — This or That?
      • Experimental Trial & Error —Sort Through, Search Again
      • Repackaged Segment — Subscribe to Your Niche
      • Personalized — Tagged to Membership Profile
    1. One post should transition from your bucket list of best places to “With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

3.  To Volume Two (Work) “With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variation in your new employer by:

      • MBTI Equivalent — Outer or Inner Directed
      • Talent Profile — Degrees of: Disruptive Innovation, Independence, New Knowledge, Affiliation, Speed, Imbedded Knowledge, Improvement, Mastery
      • Best Fit — Organization Type, Stage of Growth and Crisis
      • Worst Fit — Organization Type, Stage of Growth and Crisis

4. To value creation stages

      • Commodities or Noise
      • Goods or Data
      • Services or Information
      • Experiences or Knowledge
      • Transformations or Wisdom

You know I concerned myself about falling down the rabbit hole into major time sucking morass before I limited my comparison process.

Evidence

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “Time won’t be a significant contributing factor to the quality of the day’s products, so you may as well go fast.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

I get what wavelength your Holiday Tau resonates with, but for my tasks at hand, I’m not choosing yours for the Tau of the Day.

“3”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61: “The right tune will enhance what you’ve got going on today, though the wrong one will help you appreciate the value of silence.” Virgo

Hey Coach Kerr, how competitive do you feel your Holiday Tau is today?  Guess what?  You bricked it like a Shaquille O’Neil free throw.

“2”  Steve Kerr, 54: “If a compliment is like honey, criticism is like vinegar.  Taken the right way, both enhance what’s healthy.” Libra

End of the Week “Knews” for FOSs

Trends — 

Short-Form — 

Long-Form — 

    • Michael Connelly has become one of my favorites for his style of writing found in his Bosch series, including “Lost Light” for his turn of a phrase like, “At night when I try to sleep but can’t … It is when all the pathways seem to connect and I see the people I have loved.” Or, like, “Like trying to figure out Vietnam in 1967 by watching Walter Cronkite at night.” I view his writing as essential for my efforts at writing my Volume Three series about legacy.

Progress and Procrastination — 

    • Procrastinate while feeling empty after trying to figure out what this nation has become by watching the Senate acquit Trump without calling any witnesses.  What’s up with that? 

Speaking Volumes — 

    • Treating  “11 Simple Steps for Finding the Authentic Quality-of-Life You Deserve” as a missing chapter from Volume One, the first 5-book series and a bonus offer, for example. 
    • Volume Two (Work) — beginning to wrangle key concepts: MBTI Equivalent — Outer or Inner Directed; Talent Profile — Degrees of: Disruptive Innovation, Independence, New Knowledge, Affiliation, Speed, Imbedded Knowledge, Improvement, Mastery;  Best Fit — Organization Type, Stage of Growth and Crisis;  Worst Fit — Organization Type, Stage of Growth and Crisis

Banking and ATMs — 

    • So it helps if you are a founder or a comedian?  How does that work on a crowdfunding platform like Patreon?

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trips

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