When I was younger
Inadvertently discovered wrecks of lost endeavors, identified somewhat
By pinpoint shimmering within thickening ash and smoke from a trio of stacks at dawn
Once cut from the world
Once cut from the world’s rapid assembly…Then plunked back in without sound or blame…You search eagerly for the lever to repeat it, like a carnival ride
Gregor’s guidance (v1)
Ranked first to last…wisdom banks better from the shade…
Ferris Wheel on Fire
Lightning struck the ferris wheel before my kids had gotten their chance…
On crashing my motorcycle and laying on the ground
Beliefs melt…become unrecognizable to non-witnesses…
Umbrian Road
The pocked and gravel strewn road, parched and narrow, meanders and winds through the wide crevices between a patchwork of fenced olive orchards, fallow plains and fields of sunflowers with their necks bent in prayer meet and end. The road sings up at you in crunchy whispers from under your feet or wheels. The hills are sudden and steep…
No Bread Today (a 9/11 story)
Rebecca didn’t bring her famous bread to Thanksgiving this year. Each year, her mom would greet her at the door, each time asking “Did you bring the bread?” even though her mom knew she’d always bring bread. “Yes mom,” she’d reply, holding up the loose paper bag, tented on top of a weathered and seasoned jelly roll pan. Her mom would squeak with joy, make awkward little fists with her thumbs sticking out, and punch them into the air…
The Latent, Graceful Assurance of Kinnekeet Village
When the third police car sped by the small children’s playground at the head of Harbor Road, lights flashing…
Complexity shapes the future. How will we prepare our kids?
Out of a former post office tucked away in an industrial section of Boulder, CO, startup Mod Robotics develops toys for children to help them learn and thrive in an increasingly complex world. Though the popular mantra of KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) rings true with many of today’s business professionals, Eric Schweikardt, Mod Robotics founder with a PhD in Computational Design, would argue that keeping it simple might actually cause future generations to become less capable of managing the realities of a highly technical world…
Karma Wins
Boulder Colorado is a micro-culture, a unique place where you can still find hippie communities going strong along pale dirt roads, abutted against hiking trails that disappear into the trees. I was in Boulder to meet with two of the partners at Techstars, David Brown (also a co-founder) and Ari Newman. Both share an electric vibrancy that buzzes in the intensity of their eyes and the stillness of their postures. They are deep listeners, with algorithmic-process brains. They are living in the future…the film canisters of their brains capture more frames-per-second than the average brain. They shared five core values for success, which is basically “Karma wins.”
1. Give first. This might seem obvious in the realm of Karma, but remember Techstars is a tech accelerator program for start-ups meant to create millions if not billions of dollars in return on investments. This would seem antithetical to building wealth, but it works for Techstars…