Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Where have we been?


Lost, but not gone!

I have taken a bit of a sabbatical from the blog posts. I have been traveling and working on things new and at times novel. I still astounded at the opportunities that exist in this down economy. More on that in future posts.

For today, this last day of 2008, I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year! May you and yours have strong and good health, a prosperous financial season and great love and friendship.

See you in 2009!

Jim

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Visual CV

Resume 2.0


I have long wondered how long we would struggle with archaic ideas such as paper resumes and job boards. A few months back I received a Beta test invite for Visual CV.

I waited longer than usual to try it out...but wow. This is a much better way of sharing information. Forget about the slow process of multiple interviews just to be considered for the "short list." This program allows you to build a digital CV with great layout. You can then add video, audio, photos and documents with ease.

It even supports Youtube and Google video usage. Check out my CV here.

Why use a visual CV? Well, it's a great way to promote yourself, your skills, your company or organization. There is tremendous ease of use when it comes to sharing your CV with others. There is even a link to send it directly to companies, which includes recruiters, and individuals. It's a great networking tool.

Now go give it a try for yourself.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Alternate Forms of Energy


By now, unless you watch no television, don't listen to radio or surf the web, you have heard of T. Boone Pickens and his alternative energy plan. His plan consist of creating a large field of wind turbines and distributing their energy back into the power grid. Several states allow and some even demand that power companies purchase excess energy.

Other applications like solar and wave energy are less effective and haven't met the necessary efficiencies that will lend large efforts such as the Pickens Plan.

With the massive exodus of US capital to the Middle East in payment for the millions of barrels of oil purchased per day, we must question our means of producing effective and efficient energy. Perhaps there is a greater cost to be paid by not investing in renewable forms of energy than the loss of capital.

A reduced carbon footprint cannot hurt our environment. Here's the link to Pickens Plan, check it out for yourself. Report back if you have some time.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Is it real?

Check it out if you wonder....

Friday, July 25, 2008

Obama and the burden of being a star.

Sic Transit Gloria!

In ancient Rome when a conquering general was invited to the capital for a victory parade, he was crowned with a garland of laurel and clothed in scarlet. The treasures of his conquest were paraded before him along with the captured slaves and often defeated kings. The crowd would chant yet all the while a slave positioned to speak directly into the conqueror's ear "Sic Transit Gloria" translated as "All Glory is Fleeting."

Yesterday we treated to a visage of the past as we watched the mighty Obama as he wooed the German public. He spoke of not being there as a candidate but as a citizen of the world. His platitudes were hollow and empty. Unlike the famous speeches given by Presidents Kennedy and Reagan, Obama chose to state the obvious. He spoke of tearing down walls...most any wall would seem to do; religion, global warming, education or even perhaps the one between your kitchen and dining room.

Obama would do well to have the ancient Roman wisdom whispered in his ear. Hopefully it could remind him that the President is a servant of the citizenry of the United States of America. There is perhaps no higher calling within political office than to serve freedom and protect democracy a s a means to preserve that freedom. One last thing that could be whispered; your not the President. I think he keeps forgetting this.

While the Senator enjoys rock star status he should remember Glory is Fleeting and Europeans can't vote in our elections! Every star will flame out, has Obama peaked too soon?


Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Being Heard not part of the Herd

Being Heard not part of the Herd!

Seth Godin writes in today's blog that it is not the product or the price but the audience's ability to listen. Seth makes a great point that should be considered long before contact. Ask yourself, "Am I necessary and will my products/ services benefit my audience?"

As a business owner, perhaps nothing is more frustrating than someone wasting your time. I understand the need to be in front of the customer, just make sure they are a potential customer. Better to waste some of your sales time as a researcher digging into what your customers really need than being a nuisance.

Three steps that will set you apart from the herd of sales people beating the path to the front door of your client;

  1. Be sincere. I don't need another back slapping salesman trying to persuade. Instead, look at my position and if you have products that will help me...I want to hear about em...if not, move on and stop wasting both of our time.
  2. Ask about my biggest challenge. Even if you can't help me with your own product, you may have a connection who can help. So as your moving on...call your friend and mention my need. If he calls on me, make sure he mentions you. i won't forget that you looked beyond self interest.
  3. Follow up after the sale. Don't just do what you said you would do...beat it to death with over delivery and do it every time. I will expect it.
If you can keep it up...I will notice you aren't a herd kind-a-guy /gal at all. Then you will have my trust and with my trust comes the chance for me to listen better and better.


Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Twitter

I have recently become slightly addicted to Twitter. My wife teases me about it. The computer will chime and she will joke..."some one just tweeted you." I am building friends there and meeting new people, but there is something pretty rich about it. These little url attachments have introduced me to a whole new world of sites that i could never find on my own. Link

So if you have time. Twop by and tweet me. I have to run...just received 11 new tweets and have to check them out :).

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Finding God (part 1) Good and Evil

Good and Evil

As I have been thinking about the presence of God perhaps one of my first thoughts was about the existence of evil. When I hear people speak of God they often use words like omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and many phrase from the Bible speak of his goodness and excellence. So...where does evil come from and is there such a thing? Lets look at the logic argument.

  1. If there is evil then we accept there is good. A comparison that can be made between the behavior of free thinking individuals.
  2. Instinct alone does not control the actions of humankind. Instinct is a piece of the data we collect and process when we make decisions. There is a choice involved.
  3. One chooses to act morally or immorally. One is seldom wholly committed to one or the other. In fact this is very rare. More likely each person is a blend of moral and immoral behavior. We are free to choose our actions.
  4. As actions become a choice, moral will define good behavior and evil will define immoral behavior.
  5. There are many generally accepted principles of goodness and evil; e.g. charity, trustworthiness, murdering, stealing and dishonesty are a few. These widely accepted principles are a universal moral law.
  6. Then a moral law exist that transcends religions, ethnic origin and geographic origin. These beliefs are universally true.
  7. If there is a moral law it originated somewhere. For there to be a moral law, there must be a moral law giver.
Logic would explain that we are free to act on our own accord. Free to choose behavior that has been defined by a moral law giver. In other words; there are some absolutes in life. We are free to decide if we shall pursue a life that attempts to walk the path that agrees with these truths or if we will pay them no regard at all.

Choosing to be moral or immoral does not guarantee success. Each of us will likely be faced with situations where we fail to take the path we would find most congruent to our past behavior. Circumstances may intervene that cloud a usual practice or make it less desirable. However, one may take a general path towards goodness just as one may choose a path of hedonism and self fulfillment.

This week consider the possibility of a law giver. How did we establish the ideas of good and acceptable behavior?

Friday, July 11, 2008

Rhetoric: Harmful or Helpful


The "Art" of reading and writing persuasively is called rhetoric. It may seem a bit odd that fiery rhetoric, we often hear in political debates or on the daily news shows, is very similar to the Greeks and their goal of persuasion. However just because it's old doesn't mean it's good, you may note the major failure in the Greek world ( think Alexander the Great).

Rhetoric hopes to fashion an argument that is persuasive, not always honest. If we tell a story and cover a single perspective, we get a flat image that lacks depth. It is very difficult to make worthy decisions based on this type of information. More over, rhetorical discussions often ignore scientific evidence and speak more deeply to the soul of man. These are discussions of passion.

One may ask if rhetorical arguments are even worth while these days. The answer would be a resounding yes! Just remember to listen to more than one side of an argument. This will add the depth that a single view blurs. Check out Cicero and The Murder Trials. Great examples of a superior orator and rhetorician.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Education and the Company Store


Here's the thing.  Many educators are just too caught up in regurgitating subject matter as it was regurgitated to them.  This continues a long line of regurgitation which, by now, you probably have realized is as unattractive in words as it is in practice.   How many thing in today's society begin this way?  I mean, we as a culture have to learn by those who come before us... you know the "Standing on the shoulders of giants"  sort of thing.  But hold the phone.  What if those who came before us  weren't as "Giant" as we thought?

What I mean to say is perhaps they were on the cutting edge of their day but...well they couldn't see far enough into the future to recognize the affect technology would have on learning, teaching and subjective knowledge.  Forget the possibility that they would predict the speed of change in the digital age.

In a relatively short period we have split the atom, discovered the genome and created a wireless highway of information.  So what does this have to do with the "Company Store?"  Well let me share.  The "company store" made famous by Tennessee Ernie Ford, explained the struggles of the American coal miner who couldn't leave the company because he could never get out of debt to the company.  Well, that's where we are if we fail to discover the new trends in education.  It is particularly troubling to see the adherence to age old ideas that worked with less tech savvy children.  If we feel we are indebted to those who taught us and for that reason we cling to their techniques, methods and curriculum we are preparing children for failure.
There is nothing wrong with content in many cases, but it must be presented with greater vigor and excitement.

I hope I have made the connection here.  The bottom line is originality and excitement must be infused into the teaching environment.  This is the Youtube, MTV, X-Box generation.  They are highly entertained...so why not step up the teaching methods?  

Monday, July 7, 2008

Finding God

I was listening last night to BlogTalkRadio.com when I came across a site on religion. No surprises there. It seems anything controversial can be found on the web in no short supply. There were two well intentioned young men, I think from the US, explaining how the Christian Bible fortold of Mohammad the "Prophet of Islam."

As I listened to them throw hermeneutics and apologetics to the wind I realized this was a problem for many. Not just the Christians, but also the Jews and even the Islamic community. There must be a God, I see the results of His work. Yet, there are many who would vehemently claim, there is no God!

So, there in lies a problem. First, is there a God? Second, who's version is the right potrayal of God? Is it Islam, Hindu, Jew, or Christian? It seems this is an important question in life. If there is no God then I suppose you are free to do whatever feels right. You have no one to satisfy except your own cravings and hunger.

I think this deserves a fair amount of our attention. After all, this could be very important. If there is no God, shouldn't we tell the rest of the world so they can join the party? If there is a God, shouldn't we begin to look more closely at His desires for mankind? Questions worthy of an answer.

I had intended to start another blog that would be separate from this one, perhaps I will in the future. For now, I will dedicate weekend posts to this topic.

Let me hear your thoughts on the issue.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Technorati Profile

Summer Learning at WorldClassTutor.com


Summer is a great time to catch up on a subject you may be a bit behind in or gain a bit of advantage for the next school year. It's easy to get behind with all of the work that is out there to be done during the regular school session.

In just a couple of hours a week you can significantly improve your standing or increase your mastery of a subject. Studies show that spending just 3 months working with a tutor can increase your skill level by 2 years of academic study.

Stop by WorldClassTutor's Learning Pod and check out a few of the tutors there. You will find a tutor to meet your needs in Math, Science, English and Language study. Joining is free, check us out today.

Friday, July 4, 2008

America



The thought occurs to me that we Americans may from time to time forget about our freedoms. We may get caught up in the day to day issues and forget to be thankful for all that is given to us as part of our birthright. Thankfully, we remind each other every year on the 4th of July at least in some small way that we are indeed free. The innovators of democracy, free markets, and liberty have an important responsibility to mankind.

Although we may at times be unpopular, let us never forget the charity and benevolence that our citizens display to the world. We are always ready to send our free people to the center of a danger zone to help those in need. We only need to look as far as Europe, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan to see images of valor and displays of the courage of America's youth. Don't stop there, look also to Myanmar, India, China, South America and see examples of America's generosity toward their fellow man.

Americans care about people, not skin color, geography or beliefs. While it is true, we would be happy to spread Democracy to the world, it is out of care for others and pride in our system that we do.

Happy Birthday America!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Digital Natives and Learning


I am amazed how young children can navigate the most complex computers and video games. In fact without knowing how to read, they can often change complex settings by being shown once. These are known today as "Digital Natives."

Unlike many of us, they were born into the age of technology. They have never known life without the benefit of computers. They have developed a digital intuition that supports a higher natural understanding of all things tech.

A couple of Christmases ago, my son Joel was fast to create the proper settings for linking the X-Box with a projector and surround sound and then made the connection to Wi-fi, he was 9 or 10.

This development will certainly serve the children of today well as we move towards even greater technological advancements. Technology has made learning easier in many ways. Next time you have a minute, stop by the Learning Pod.


I am not sure I am ready for this tech savy age of child dominance. What's next...will they be driving their parents around in new hi-tech cars that run on water? Oh well, there are some benefits to having a tribe of little Digital Natives....I can always get help setting the time on the VCR. :)

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Summer Break and WorldClassTutor.com


I noticed the other morning the roads were a little less congested in the morning, there was an absence of those big yellow buses, and the sound of poorly tuned musical ice cream trucks filled the air. It must be summer.

Do you remember when you were young and that was the best time of the year...well maybe next to Christmas and your Birthday. It was a time to get lost and enjoy your old friends and make new ones. Time for you to take a break from those difficult days of recess, study halls and gym class. Oh, if we could only go back.

Well...hold on just a minute. At the end of that long and memorable summer comes the old school bus again. that ,means the kids go back to school and try to remember the things they learned before summer. It is hard to retain information when you completely forget about it for three months.

One way you can hold onto some of that precious knowledge is by taking a tutoring session just one day per week. So if your child has difficulty getting back into the swing of things. Check out some of the professional tutors and teachers at WorldClassTutor.com .

Your child will thank you later...

If you are interested in tutoring students, visit our site and get started, it's absolutely FREE for the next year if you join in July.

July Newsletter at WorldClassTutor.com

Social Networking at WorldClassTutor.com


Social Networking! How can it help me?
With so many links and sites to choose from, it is a bit confusing these days where to turn for a good place to settle in. Unless you are a network marketer or have all the free time in the world...there are just too many site to visit, let alone add content.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

  1. Find a group, network or site that relates closely to what you do or want to do. If your a teacher or student I suggest WorldClassTutor.com.
  2. Limit yourself to a single personal blog. You can have them at other places but I suspect you, like others, will be more successful with a single blog. I like Blogger.com.
  3. Reach...get outside of your comfort zone. Reach for things that will help you build new skills and contacts. In other words not only become a life long learner but apply this new knowledge.
  4. Set a goal for new contacts per day, week or month. But define the quality, type and other specifics about the contact. If you make the goal too simple you will find yourself with hundreds of contacts that may or may not help you or them. The more you know about what your perfect contacts look like, the easier to hit a home run here.
  5. Touch base with every contact at least twice a year. It's part of being friendly. When you do, make sure their information is up to date. Be interested in things beyond work. Families, achievements and hobbies all are building blocks for a relationship.
Now, a final thought. If you want to make all your efforts worth while...be consistent. That is the key to success.

Happy Learning!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Hello

I am excited to move my blog to Blogger. I hope that some of you will find my insights helpful. This site will primarily speak to E-Learning. If you are interested in something particular, just let me know.

I hope to create a fair amount of buzz here for our FREE site http://www.worldclasstutor.com. Think of it as a repository for knowledge... a modern day Library of Alexandria. Everyone offers something...in return you may learn of a culture, language or just make a friend.

There are hundreds of very wise and experienced teachers there who can help you, your child or a friend. So...stop by and check us out. I am sure you will be glad you did.