Trip of a Life Time- Around the World

Traveling is one of the true amenities of the human experiences.  If you are an environmentalist there are things that you constantly think about relative to your carbon foot print.  I have friends and family all over the world and own a dilemma; how to I enjoy the company of these friends and people I cherish, while maintaining my sense of responsibility to protecting the environment?

Over the past five years I have made many changes in my lifestyle.  I sold two cars and a motorcycle; developed an acute awareness for my waste habits, including recycling, and composting to produce my own food (effectively reducing the distance food has to travel to get to my table and the environmental costs associated with producing that food).  I use a waterfall system to wash my dishes by hand; I turn my hot water tank down to a temperature I can bare (warm) in the Summer; I don't leave water running when brushing my teeth or taking a shower (meaning, I turn the water off while I am soaping my body); I use a rain barrel to water my house plants and in the winter, I use the water running in the shower for my plants (because it takes time to heat up- why waste usable cold water?); I buy used clothes because I know how much water it take to produce a pair of jeans; and I pick up furniture being thrown out by others to furnish my home as I think about how long it might otherwise sit in the landfill as waste.

Despite all these things and more, I still have reservation about doing extensive traveling.  So how do I reconcile these concerns?  My hope is that I will learn more things along the way that will make a bigger difference in my life; enable me to make a bigger difference in the lives of others, so that my overall impact is reduced because of the net benefit.  Obviously I hope to share some of my experience and research to persuade others to practice environmentally sound habits.

It is challenging to see that some of the worst habits are right here at home in the United States.  Perhaps there are some positive lessons in the economic downturn we are currently experiencing.  Slowing our consumption rate is a really good starting point.  We could begin to reconcile our fuel usage and establish a national campaign on conservation that is relentless with clear objectives that achieve specific milestones- that would be data worth tracking.

I would like to say that I will just do my part, but the planet is much too important to me to not be diligent in persuading others, while consistently raising the bar for myself about acting more responsibly relative to being climate conscious.

How do I justify making this journey I believe to be an important next step in my life?  My answer may not be the correct one, which I will reserve until I collect more responses from my readers and friends, but I will begin by telling you the impact I have is on my mind every waking moment; at night I dream about a better world.

Crowdsourcing and Collective Intelligence

by Scotland Willis

As I continue to work on my book "Peering Into the Future"; it is impossible to avoid the events that are unfolding like the advancements in technology itself.  It could be that social networks are advancing so rapidly because the ability to participate in change events are multiplying exponentially.  Crowdsourcing and peer to peer (p2p) networks are very much related.  How people communicate, socialize and accomplish tasks is an intricate network of interconnectedness of nodes and ties that help demonstrate how crowdsourcing is occurring.

Crowdsourcing, by Jeff Howe, of Wired Magazine, explores the power or crowdsourcing and its relationship to business, and how the business model is changing.  Several excellent observations and empirical data capture the essence of what is occurring in crowdsourcing. His investigation into experts who exploited the early stages of what evolved into what is now known as crowdsourcing, is compelling.  There are some important connections which I will mention here, that in some way relate to the work of business leaders in the computer field.  My additions then might reflect the model of Ned Gulley and his work at MATLAB.  I see what exists, have insights that might improve the observation, and will present it here.

One observation we can make about human learning, is that what we produce is based on what we have experienced or been exposed to in the past; a kind of next step linkage if you will.

I'm not as interested in TopCoders, as much as I am in the social science of it; as a visitor and myself were having dialogue about sub atomic particles to help rationalize the orthodox and unorthodox view of scientist perspective about attracting of such particles, as a means to examine complex social networks, what really interests me is the evolution of social behaviors.  With that, my observation into crowdsourcing.

In the chapter titled The Most Universal Quality, there was a comparison that stood out for me; the issue being addressed was the importance of experiential diversity.  Howe made a point to delineate between political diversity and that which he was conveying; for this reason I identify his form of diversity as experiential diversity.  In experiential diversity, we contribute to crowdsourcing by being enabled by our experience to influence outcomes outside of what might be considered our traditional realm of expertise for a specific project, which would require perhaps years of education and training, i.e., our social/ academic/ experiential exposure-- one might even identify it as psychological diversity (the different modalities of cognition in among a large group).  We become experts at being who we are, and that attribute can have a profound affect on a project being crowdsourced.  Thus there are multiple ways to contribute to a project 1) technical expertise and 2) organic experience that provides a new element to traditional thinking.

Diversity does not stand alone as an attribute in crowdsourcing, in fact in Howe's book, one argument is that attributes are not the key in crowdsourcing.  I would argue that attributes absolutely are a key in crowdsourcing; along with attributes is experiential exposure.  The two make up a primary component to how crowdsourcing will continue to function and prosper going forward.  My skills as well as my experience will have a more profound affect than either one standing alone- you cannot exempt one any more than you can exempt man from being human.  Experience and attributes work hand in hand.

Note: If you have additional thought about peer to peer networks or crowdsourcing, I invite you to dialogue or email me with additional insights.

Blazing Desert

Temperatures in Phoenix, Arizona the other day set another record, reaching 116 degrees.  Sweltering heat keeps most residents inside, visitors may venture out briefly, only to retreat to a better climate controlled environment.

For the few people who do get out; it is with a sense of purpose.  During my visit to Phoenix recently, I reconnected with a friend who is extremely athletic, she is well traveled, has climbed numerous mountains including the Rockies, hiking the White Mountains in the Northeast, and even some of the world highest mountains.  Her energetic spirit motivated me to step up my game.

Thursday morning I got up to hike one of the local mountains, the sweltering heat I spoke of earlier, was upon me, and it was only 7:15 a.m.  Moving at a pretty good clip, I topped the small mountain in about 24 minutes.  From here you can see most of Phoenix, Tempe, Glendale, parts of Mesa and upward beyond northern Phoenix.  Visibility about 50 miles.  I had just arrived the night before around 10:15 p.m. and did not sleep well that night; I also did not eat that morning before I left for the hike but I did not want to wait too long and allow the heat to intensify (good think too- on this record day).  I don't think about much as I make my ascent on Squaw Peak, there are multiple areas to be mindful of due to the dryness.  The dirt in some areas can seem like ice.  Though I brought water with me, the relief was minimal.  Looking outward beyond multiple horizons, I do my best not to pause, (to restart is just too draining)  but merely slow my pace, and make a momentary observation.

Nearing my destination, I capture the reason why I put myself through this draining exercise.  Those of us who partake in such events, against reasonable odds, and down right grueling conditions, are part of a unique assembly of individuals; not all are at the same level, but are driven by the end game.  Sometimes the end game is satisfaction of the achievement, other times it is being able to remove ourselves from the mainstream population that we feel does not reflect the soul of who we are; some of us are running away or towards something we have not yet identified; and at times we just need to escape.

As I continue to produce photos for a photo installation (art show), I am working towards, I find that today I was making my journey to to enjoy; enjoy all of the things I mentioned above, to let go and embrace what I might experience in the end, or perhaps somewhere in the middle.  By the end, I got exactly what I needed, something undefined, without boarders and restrictions-- a continued sense of inner peace.

As I continue to learn new things about Arizona, more importantly, experience new friendship, my perspective continues to evolve.  I see something more beautiful here, each time I arrive.  Nothing can disrupt the balance I am achieving at this time; it is a good space to be in.

Zen at 304

What is Zen, and how do you achieve it?

Zen is not something you pursue, Zen is an enigma yet ubiquitous, it will find when it is time for you (i.e. the current [flow] in which things occur).

It is a point at which you arrive in your own life; you learn to understand that nothing has dominion over you, not even nothing. Zen is about peace, balance, but not to achieve those things- it is more like being those things.

Allow yourself to be in the joy of your struggle; if you believe something to be so and it is not, accept it not being so; you are not wrong; it is only that what was to be, was different that what might have been so.

When you arrive you will see it is more a state of being rather than any form of attainment-- this is the what is around you; you become an observatory where each of your actions reveals a new layer of understanding.  You stop with yourself, and in each moment you, accept/ reject, and uncalibrate what has been ordered in your life.  There is no order in Zen, in some respects, one should not follow Zen, the mere act of doing so rejects Zen.

Enjoy Life; Balance all things; Come into yourself; Breathe the gift of the human experience; Allow expectations to escape- un-expect; Fear is nothing and what is, is everything- but do not want for it.  Detach and allow yourself to be unconsumed by all things- then observe them.

Everyone should know Balance

by Scotland Willis

Balance

Balance is something we strive for in our life.  We see it in how we try to manage work and our 

personal life; balance between consumption and preserving the environment; balancing disruptions and getting tasks done; and in our personal health versus stress.  The list is extensive.  By and large balance is a very difficult goal to achieve; this assertion could be made anywhere in the world.

So here is something to consider about balance you may not have thought of; 1) the most important balance in our body is pH balance; while that may sound simple, achieving it is like trying to balance yourself on a tightrope (ok perhaps not that difficult but it might seem that way) but certainly as challenging to achieve balance in other areas of our life; 2) alkaline and acids make up these two very important chemical that represent this balance, which also influence many other activities that occur in our body.

A bit more understanding migh make you more conscious about your eating decisions and thereby resulting in a happier healthier you.

So why is this make up so important?  Let's not   focus on things like kidney, liver and blood disease, to avoid talking about thsi from a medical perspective- though they are legitimately related to the matter at hand.  Rather I would like to share important factors to understand which will make the importance of acids and alkaline a little easier to digest.

 Most foods (especially processed foods) have high levels of sugar or high fructose.  The result is that most of our diet is made up of sugary acids that means that we have a alkaline deficit much more often than not in our body, across the majority of our U.S. population.  Alkaline foods mean more green foods and raw veggies (which don't appeal to most peoples taste buds the way sugary sweets do).  It's time to change that.

Keep this in mind increasing your alkaline intake will result in more energy, healthier bone structure and a wide range of health benefits including lower blood sugar levels, less chances of heart disease and the other major threats to human health.  For children it can mean improved neurological performance.

Understanding the Scale

The pH scale reflect whether the pH in your body is acidic or alkaline.  The scale ranges from 1 to 14.  A pH of 7 is considered neutral; above 7 is considered alkaline below 7 is considered acidic.  Seven then is the ideal balance for humans.  Because we have a diet that is so heavily influenced by sugars, achieving the balance (i.e., consuming more raw or alkaline foods) is a real challenge.

Less important to understand but good to know is this:  a pH of 4 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 5 and 100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than a pH of 6. The same holds true for pH values above 7, each of which is ten times more alkaline—another way to say basic—than the next lower whole value. For example, a pH of 10 is ten times more alkaline than a pH of 9 (epa).  Sounds impressive but the simlicity if each level of increase refelcts an acidic increase of ten times that.  The same would be true for alkaline, except most people don't have alkaline saturated diets. 

People and Plant Benefits

And here is something else you probably did not know; your plants require a similar pH balance to that of humans. Depending on what region of the world your food is from will also influence whether that food requires more alkaline or acid in its uptake.  Beets for example do best in a alkaline environment(pH) around 7-8; while grass  are slightly acidic or close to neutral between 6.5 to 7.  Basically plant life also thrives in close to this balance of 7.  

All of this makes sense if you consider a couple of different points: 1) we consume a lot of plant life (or we should)  so we should attempt to maintain a similar balance 2) we are evolved from single cellular organism that thrived on plant life (if you subscribe to the scientific theory) as such, our biological system  should have similar requirements.

 Maintaining a better pH balance means a better quality of life.  Eating more alkaline and raw vegetables, fewer sugary and processed foods (which includes milk) will reduce the negative affects of an acidic body.  

If you are a gardner, seek to balance your soil as well (there are devices to monitor this).  I use to have a 100 gallon ( 378 liters)  salt water aquarium at one point; maintaining the pH balance was critical to the fish survival, so it is no surprise the level of importance pH has on the body for me.

From healthy bones to healthy blood, pH affects everything about you and your bodily function.

Please work harder to stay healthy by balancing what you eat and likely adding more alkaline type food to your diet, while consuming less sugary and processed foods.

Alkaline foods: flax seed or oil, brown rice, millet, soaked almonds, tomato slices, fresh avocado, natural vegetable soups or pressed vegetable juices (not canned likely to have sugar) and beets. For a comprehensive list email me

Alkaline foods: flax seed or oil, brown rice, millet, soaked almonds, tomato slices, fresh avocado, natural vegetable soups or pressed vegetable juices (not canned likely to have sugar) and beets.  For a comprehensive list email me