In my ongoing effort to both remember what the heck I have done and to share good ‘pracademic’ ideas, I present a method to track staff training. Hopefully you can use/adapt what you find here and hopefully I can remember how I built it in case I need to do it again in the future!
Are you looking for that perfect Christmas present for someone who likes a combination of history, technology, science and is not too squeamish? If that case, can I recommend that you give him or her some space… err, history?
Mercury Capsule cross section courtesy of nasa.gov.
I love Roach’s style and ‘Packing For Mars: The Curious Science Of Life In The Void’ fills the vacuum left by other science writers. In it, Roach discusses the most daunting aspects of manned space travel. These are not escape velocity, not heat shielding or hostile aliens. The most difficult aspects are things like what do you eat, how do you shit, carnal needs and keep morale up in an environment of bland food, fecal bags, abstinence.
While such challenges may evoke junior high’esque guffaws these are also real problems particularly as space travel increases in duration and may eventually lead to colonization if not more permanent moon or mars bases. Roach focuses how astronauts are selected (including a discussion on whether the smaller and less hungry all female crew might make more sense then their larger male counterparts), the fragile nature of humans trying to attain earth’s escape velocity and can you jump out of a crashing space station.
Roach spends a considerable portion of the book dealing with basic human needs such as hygiene, eating, defecating and making babies. Some key take away messages from this section includes space food tastes horrible and was designed by military veterinarians and had the taste and texture to prove it. The space toilet was worth every penny as it not only beat shitting in a fecal bag but it also likely saved the astronauts from developing nasty e-coli infections from escaped post-digested-veterinarian chow. Also, it is good to plan to periodically pee in space as the bladder’s fullness sensors generally don’t work in zero gravity. Pee collects on the side of bladder due to surface cohesion as opposed sitting on the bladder floor creating the urge to void… ahh, in the void of space.
Making babies in space and having babies has its challenges. The first is how to do it in a gravity free environment with Newton and his pesky third law hanging around. Assuming enough duct tape and foot straps can be found, the second problem is the developing fetus. Evidence is scanty but what there is suggests that the baby would not make it to full term. If the baby did make full term, the ambient radiation exposure may create serious problems outside of the womb.
Like Stiff: the curious lives of Human Cadavers, Roach has written a very approachable book. Somewhat graphic in parts with lots of interesting notes and asides.
It is a maxim that war is bad and peace is good; everyone know this. In his book “War! What Is It Good For’: Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots” dares to ask the question, is War good for something? The surprising answer is yes with two HUGE qualifications.
The answer is that by allowing for the destruction of moribund civilizations, new civilizations, societal structures and technologies emerged. Because of this, when the smoke clears, the resultant societies are better organized, beneficiaries of technological innovations and wealthier than their antecedents. In other words, Morris’ thesis is that ‘… over the long run, it (war) has made humanity safer and richer. War is hell, but – again, over the long run – the alternatives would have been worse.’ (page 7) [1]
Fort Henry Guard reenact a training exercise. Author’s collection.
This is the first qualification, war is good for something but only over very long time scales with lots of suffering and misery in the middle bits. To explain this, Morris has four parts to his thesis:
Perhaps unsurprisingly the first part is that war has given humans cause to organize. There is nothing that focuses the mind or the organizational needs of the group than a marauding band from two tribes over. This in turn likely influenced such things as our evolution to communicate and our underlying social nature. As well, as society increased in its organizational complexity, there was an inverse use of force. Thus “If you were lucky enough to be born in the industrialized twentieth century, you were on average ten times less likely to die violently… than if you were born in a Stone Age society. (page 8).
Essentially as rulers of one tribe took over another, they tended to incorporate the losers into larger units of organization. As well, the rulers imposed a monopoly on the use of force – restricting its use to the elite and the government. This is why you are much safer in the twentieth century notwithstanding world wars, genocides and other nastiness.
Morris’ second point is that war has been successful because, well, everything else has failed or faltered in the face of war. Morris recognizes that this is a depressing state of affairs but ‘People hardly ever give up their freedom… unless forced to do so, and virtually the only force strong enough to bring this about has been defeat in war or fear that defeat is imminent (page 9).
Larger societies created by war have in turn become wealthier – over the long run. After the smoke clear, the societies created with bureaucrats to collect taxes, impose laws, enforce contractual relationships, etc.
War is putting itself out of business it has been so successful. ‘… in our own age humanity has gotten so good at fighting … that war is beginning to make further war of this kind impossible.’ (page 9). Historically, war was always an option with a likelihood of success that could be estimated and calculated. In 1914, the Germans and their allies made this calculation and bet heavily that they would win. Four years and millions of lives later, the bet was lost. One hundred years prior to this Napoleon made a similar bet and lost at a Belgium town now immortalized as his Waterloo.
As it turns out archaeologists and anthropologists. Certainly there is always room for interpretation but Morris’s thesis rests and the general consensus of these sciences and fields of study.
Morris does an excellent job inter-twining the current research with a very deep dive into history. This includes are nearest living non-human relatives the great apes. In particular he compares us with the social and morphology of gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos. As it turns out, chimpanzees are nearest to our temperament and bonobos are perhaps what we can aspire to “Unlike what goes on among chimps, however, bonobo sperm competitions (note, this section dealt with strategies for passing procreation) are almost entirely nonviolent. … Male bonobos win the sperm competition not by fighting each other but by making themselves agreeable to females.” (p. 305).
The second qualification is how do we get out of the ebb and flow of building up societies and then have them torn down by war? While Morris does a great job and seems to have an excellent grasp of the history, biology and connections to make his case. Where he falls down, in my opinion, is the human end game. What he suggests is our way out of war is the singularity. In case you have not heard of this, it is when humans and machines merge and we transfer our consciousness into an uber-computer living out our existence in peace.
Well that is the plan anyway. More than likely, I suspect that once we get there, we will discover that our human instincts for competition will kick in but without the physical outlet. Soon we will have the same challenges but without the benefit of an untimely death – a perpetual cyber hell existence.
Beyond not quite believing the end-game Morris has proposed, another criticism I have of his book is his lack of focus on religion as part of the supporting cast for war. History is full of examples of religion providing the social construct that allows humans to do terrible things to each other. I can understand that Morris may have been a bit squeamish getting into this debate (with real personal risks depending upon which religion you pick on – ask the editorial staff of the French Magazine, Charlie Hebdo), nevertheless he misses an important driver of not only war but also peace as well.
Because of the historic breadth of the subject matter, Morris has done an excellent job providing context of not only war but our current geo-political system in context. This includes the concept of the European ‘Five Hundred Year War’ against the rest of the globe. From 1415 to 1914, Morris explains how European ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’ not to mention organizational skills and missionary zeal, allowed Europe to colonize or dominate most of the rest of the globe. This domination only came to an end when Europe tore itself up in the mud of Flanders and the First World War.
In the end, while I may disagree with this end argument, getting there is well worth the read. As well, this is not a book that glorifies war. Morris takes extreme pains in this book not to minimize the impact war has on the people involved. As well we recognizes that while the spoils go to the victors (the Romans, the Barbarians invading Rome, the invading Muslims, the crusades trying to displace the invading Muslims, indigenous people displaced through colonization, and on and on…) – this should not minimize the suffering of the losers.
[1] All page references are from the Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2014 edition.
Nicholas Taleb is back with a new book, ‘Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder‘. Okay the book has been on the market for a few years but I am behind in my reading.
I have resisted getting an eReader but last spring I splurged and bought a Kobo. The result, I found it a little bit clunky to get it work but generally I like it. In particular I like the ability to change font size given that I am now on the wrong side of fifty years old.
Prior to mid-July of this year, I had read about a half dozen books on the Kobo most from my local library. Getting a book from the library to the Kobo has become somewhat routine and I had it down to about a 3 minute effort.
Recently though, something went wrong. I suspect that I updated something or made some seemingly innoculous change that cost me about 15 hours of my life. I won’t go into all of the details but after loading a book from library a dozen different times in a half dozen different ways, there would either be no book transferred or the book would open with the message that I did not have the correct digital authorization. In the end I reset the Kobo to factory settings, re-installed Adobe Digital Editions, flipped a number of switches and presto, I am back to reading on the Kobo!
What was most frustrating about the experience was that each of the three parties in the transaction indicated that, from their perspective, everything was A-O-KAY. That is, the book download perfectly from the library. It opened perfectly in Adobe Digital Editions and transferred successfully to the Kobo. The Kobo gave no indication of trouble -until the moment I tried to actually open the book – when the digital rights error message would come up. I get that digital rights are important and I am a law abiding citizen who followed the letter and spirit of the law completely. I also was less angst as it was a ‘free’ loan from a library, but still – not being able to use something I had legitimate access to was galling.
In the end, I would suggest that the engineers who designed the Kobo and Adobe Digital Editions failed to fully consider the user experience. Generally both work okay but the above technical problem could have been avoided and my fifeteen hours of effort saved in there was a simply little protocol like this:
ADE’s job is to not transfer a file, it is to transfer a file that can be READ with the correction permissions. Kobo’s job is not to receive a file, it is to receive a file that can be READ.
So, dear Kobo and Adobe, if you are listening, can you please implement the above bit of pseudo code in your next update? I really want to get on reading the next book on my ereader, not trouble shooting for 15 hours!
Strategic planning can be more effective by focusing on three principles: first, prioritize the planning process over the final document; second, timely execution is crucial, as plans quickly become outdated; third, concise plans of four pages promote clarity and strategic thinking. These methods aim to enhance organizational responsiveness and focus.
Continue readingSome thoughts on how the FMI eJournal could be position in Canada as a premium vehicle for both public sector and accounting thought leadership.
Continue readingDay 3 was the chance to really enjoy Vegas as a metro area that actively supports cycling. We drove only a little ways from our hotel (mostly to be closer to the bike shop for when it closes) and then rode the street and dedicated bike lanes through Henderson and into Lake Las Vegas.
Our destination was recommended newly created trail called the wet lands. A name one does not normally associate with Vegas. As it turns out, this was a water-course that collects much of the rain water from metro-Vegas, channeling it into Lake Las Vegas and then into Lake Mead.
2014-11-02 – Las Vegas Watershed
Many of the streets in Las Vegas either have a separate cycling lane or a dedicated on-street cycling path. Generally drivers seem to respect cyclists and for the short time I was in the city, did not notice much in the way of conflict between the two.
2014-11-02 – Las Vegas Cycling Lane
Following the man-made and natural contours of the desert, the Wetlands trail is an undulating route that starts at the river level, quickly climbs and then desends again back to river level. Being closer to the metro areas, we saw more walkers and bikers en route including numerous families.
2014-11-02 – Descending to the river after Immediately after climbing out of the valley
The trail itself was well-marked with sign posts along the way.
2014-11-02 – Signage en route of the Wetlands Trail
After a juice and snack in Lake Las Vegas (and a decision not to climb the hill to see if Celion Dion was home in her palatial abode), we returned to Henderson. A side trip to McGhie’s Bike Shop allowed me to pick up a souvenir bike jersey. Afterwards, we returned the bikes and had a final supper at the Las Vegas Hofbrau Haus (see trip advisor review below).
This was the third and final day of nearly 200km and 8,000 ft of excellent cycling. I will likely be back to complete some routes and challenges missed in this go-round, but until then – a great trip in the surprising cycling nirvana of Las Vegas!
2014-11-02 – Day 3 Ride
Having lived in Munich for nearly two years, I was used to taking visitors to the HfBH. Ten years on, I thought it would be fun to visit the replica in Las Vegas.
The conclusion, a good illusion, ok food and tasty beer. The LV location was authentic in that the serving staff were a bit indifferent and seemingly bored with the whole schtick.
The food was dry and obviously prepared well in advance so that guest could eat and turn over the table fast for the next set of tourists. Overall, an OK replica but visit the real thing when you can – even better spend a few days enjoying the German life in a beer garden with real Munchners.
Red Rock Canyon is visible to the west of Las Vegas on most days. A band of red rock and small’ish mountains/hills provide a physical border towards the setting sun. Beyond a border, the area has a history of being a place of year-round water, a way-station for ranchers and Spaniards, a place of homesteading dreams and a playground for the wealthy (including Howard Hughes). Today, these different threads are combined into a National Forest with stunning vistas and about 20+ km of great riding.
Given that about half of the trail is ascent with the other descent, overall there is on average a 4% grade both up and down. The trouble with averages is that they don’t help your exploding lungs as you climb steep pitches. Given that the road was one way and quiet when we started, my solution was a traversed ascent for the steeper bits. A slow zig-zag across the road took the 8-10% grades closer the to the 4% average.
The day itself was considerably cooler than the prior day with a strong wind later in the afternoon. While G. remained firmly bundled up for the entire ride (he was also not feel 100% due to some dehydration from the previous day), I welcomed the 10C weather.
Perhaps the greatest challenge with this ride is selecting the photos for inclusion. The following is a collage of the 12 mile posts found along the way, each suggesting a slightly different character found along this short ride.
2014-11-01 – Mile Post Collage
I was hoping to see more wildlife and some of the desert critters. Alas, the following was the only desert dweller we came across on our rides (and fortunately not in our hotel room).
2014-LasVegas-Day2-Desert Critter
G and I were planning on riding further on Day 2. Unfortunately strong winds, cool temperature and G not feeling great cut our trip short. While G took a nap, I poked around Las Vegas and enjoyed an afternoon of playing car-based tourist. The rest was probably a good idea given the distance and elevation on day 3.
2014-11-01 – Day 2 Overview
Last February I tried something in which I assembled a ‘virtual-team’ to help me review an article (see IAEA Property, Plant and Equipment Framework). Given that this group provided such excellent advise, I thought I would try it again with my next article.
So, a huge note of thanks (and a libation or coffee on me next time I see you) to the following individuals who provided ‘friendly-peer-review’. As in the last go round, the result was a much better article with bad bits beaten out with bats.
Of course no good deed ever goes unpunished and to that end, the following are the folks who have helped me with the friendly-peer-review. Hopefully I can return the favor in the future. Also, if you are on the list and are logging this as professional development, feel free to refer to this post and notice below.
|
Person |
Organization |
| Anne-Marie A. | Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute |
| Rhonda S. | Andwa Consulting |
| Pam Q. | Athabasca University |
| Catherine S. | Government of Alberta |
| Chad B. | Government of Alberta |
| Darwin B. | Government of Alberta |
| Stacey R. | Government of Alberta |
| Eric S. | Government of Alberta |
| Shakeeb S. | Government of Alberta |
| Nicholas T. | Social Metrics |
To whom it may concern, the above individuals were asked to perform a friendly-peer review of an article intended to be published in the Financial Management Institute of Canada journal, FMI*IGF Journal. The estimated time to perform this review was between 2 to 3 hours. All of the above individuals demonstrated a firm grasp of the subject matter and helped to createnet-new original thought and critique through this peer-review which will be reflected in the final article. I welcome contact if further confirmation is required.
Organizational Biology 