at xavier rudd thanks to @x929 opening act izintaba was AWESOME. Looking forward to the main show!

Sad truths..: http://ping.fm/8xPUq

In light of my [second] last post I’d like to fire a couple of great talks your way..

Now, it’s no secret I’m critical of the education system.  In fact, I still have relatively few teacher-friends because of my disdain for Edjamukational Institutions and what they stand for. Or maybe.. Maybe more correctly what they don’t stand for.

The teachers I do know, I cherish.  They think like this, and act accordingly.  They are incredible resources, undervalued, underpaid, and overworked.  They work tirelessly and never complain. They make me want to go back to school and learn what they have to share.

I wish more teachers were more inspired and understood this..

I announced that I was down at the T&C the other night to see Quentin Reddy play, but it was a bit too late for people to come down..  Thanks to those of you who tried though!

Quentin and the guys played a few great sets before I had to leave (an early morning was looming) but I managed to grab a few images while I was there.

Thought I’d share them with you all here as I still don’t have the dromedary company blog up and running (too busy with other projects!).

I came across this BBC article today and it strikes me as yet another indication of the problems with school systems in the western world..   Here a kid finally takes interest in politics and the state of a country; he’s engaged, informed and holds an opinion about how the future of the UK should look…    The trouble? He’s 14, several years away from voting age.   What makes me a bit crazy is that his teacher ratted him out rather than using the situation as a pure learning opportunity and having the kid in question fess up properly.  What’s the lesson we learned here?  In the ‘real world’ it’s okay to be a tattle-tale.

Right..

I say, good on ya Alfie. I’ll buy you a beer when you’re 18 and it won’t get you in any more trouble..

at the town and country at 50st and 17 ave SW Calgary to foto Quentin Reddy play a gig at 930. Come on down and join us!

I spent the day chasing around Calgary, making busy in the blowing snow (yes, snow at the end of April). After two day long appointments came and went, and I returned home from a third, impromptu photography workshop I realized that I’d an evening commitment for a birthday celebration.  Mind still buzzing from the day, I hopped into the car and headed downtown.

By the time I reached my destination, giant slushy flakes of snow were blowing sideways down the alleyway and I huddled deep in to my jacket trying to isolate myself from the biting wind as much as possible.. As I rounded the final corner, I noticed a man huddled in a dry corner under an overhang and made the deliberate choice to walk past him with enough distance between us to deter any conversation about spare change.  I noted my choice and promptly set it to the back of my mind as my priority shifted to getting out of the sloppy wetness raining from the sky.

After three hours of wonderful conversation a few drinks, a shared plate of poutine, and a piece of chocolate cake that I didn’t need but really wanted, we all parted ways and I returned to my car past the same huddled man who by this time was laying down curled up to stave off the near freezing temperatures.

For the first time in years I found myself not just walking by but actually putting myself in to his situation. Not out of guilt or any obligation but because it felt like the right thing to do..  I felt completely panicked by the prospect of spending the night out there uncovered and unprotected and as I walked back to the car I pondered my options and finally settled on digging out a fleece blanket that I’d been using to cover my equipment when it sits in the back of the car..

I felt a range of emotions sweep through me and was surprised by how many related to my attachment to a blanket.  It was expensive, it was mostly serving a purpose, what was I going to replace it with? Then I contemplated whether one of the two emergency sleeping bags in the back would have been a better option.  They were about the same price, but might have been better options. But then I need them for an upcoming camping trip. But do I need both?

As I arrived home I wandered through the empty house and contemplated why I wouldn’t have just offered this guy a place to sleep that was warm and dry.  I have plenty of  space, and extra bed and plenty of hot water.   The obvious answer is rooted in safety, my own personal, and the security of my stuff,  electronics, cameras, personal effects etc..  I’ve pondered this evening, the limitations of stuff and whether my decision would have been different had I nothing worth stealing kept in the house.  That led me to wondering why I would immediately consider someone homeless a threat.

My only conclusion at this point is that this whole scenario is messed up. I need to reevaluate my own values and consider what is really most important. I’m near certain right now that the ‘stuff’ will not win out in the reconciliation.

This may quite possibly turn in to a very long post. I apologize in advance.

I’ve been absent.

Not just from this site, but from life in general. I’ve been holding on to some ridiculous notion that I’ve been busy with this or that, but the pure truth of the matter is that I just switched off.

It’s not entirely clear to me why or when exactly this happened, but I’m pretty darn sure that my time in the field didn’t help.  I also think it wasn’t the cause though I may have laid blame there previously.  Looking back further, it’s really difficult to identify the last time I felt really alive.

This is a problem.

Switching off has provided me with the capability to handle a number of small catastrophes and major life-events with ease.  It has meant that I can easily rely on the illusion of simple pragmatism to explain how easily I deal with strife (without completely losing my nut).

I’ve deceived myself and in the process I’ve likely deceived others.  If I take an honest look at the issue it becomes clear that I’ve completely lost any sense of caring.  Caring for myself, caring for others, the environment and even the world at large.

This conflicts with my morals and my dreams.

Since returning to Canada, I’ve become increasingly disconnected from the beliefs, behaviours and paths of the people around me. Something is wrong with the way we live our lives (both here in ‘the west’ elsewhere) and I can’t quantify it, and it often feels as if nobody else really gets that. Yet, I continue to live the life here as if nothing has changed.

This cognitive dissonance is no longer just uncomfortable, it’s systemic and paralytic in my own life. I have let it stop me from caring, and I have always understood that we as people are capable of great things, but rarely do I see more than doom, destruction and death being broadcast on a daily basis.

Going it alone.

I’ve done a lot of things solo in my life, I’ve travelled, bought a house, photographed, run, biked, hiked, consoled a dying friend, and stood up for an underdog.

I understand the need to be capable of working on my own, entertaining myself, and being self sufficient. In fact I have vehemently pursued individual goals in an attempt to prove (to myself?? others??) that I am self sufficient. I’ve turned away or ignored opportunities for assistance and in the process have learned what an incredible strain it is to be an individual in this world.

Empathy.

Something my cousin has suggested in a yelling, spitting rage that I do not posses. This in the wake of the death of my Uncle Dale, a man I’ve learned an incredible amount from over the past thirty years and who has been the only father I’ve ever really known.

The problem really hasn’t been not caring enough, but rather caring too much and about too many things. I’m not just whelmed, I’m überwhelmed. Figuring out what matters again is a top priority and in order to do that I need to clean house a bit.

Taking stock.

Over the next several weeks, I’ll be taking stock and having a serious look at what really matters to me and what I want to do about it. There will be a literal and a figurative clearing of house in the attempt to simplify what has become an unreasonably complicated life.

This is a smattering of the thoughts running through my head at the moment.  In the past CAVOK has been about clearing my mind and keeping my word.   It has been inexplicably difficult to begin to document the happenings of the last few years and so I shall endeavour to document from this point forward with the caveat that I may at some time visit the past..

For those of you who still check in here once in a while, and who’ve made it this far through the post, thank you for taking the time to care..

So the shiny new Apple iPad has been released.  Sorta.

This message appears at the tail end of a video trailer from Apple describing the wonders of their new product and in an rather anticlimactic close suggests that FCC approval for the device isn’t quite in place yet.  As a customer (or potential customer) this felt like a bit of a buzz kill, right after a drinking the big-gulp sized cup of Apple hype.  From a business perspective however, it makes complete sense. I mean, really, is there anyone out there that believes they won’t get the approval?  Sometimes it’s better to get the momentum started and worry about the finishing details later.

By odd coincidence, as the announcement came through this morning, I was watching this video presentation by Seth Godin on the merits of shipping, getting your product to market, and fast.  His commentary on productivity revolves around hashing out details in the beginning of your product development and then rejecting the impulses of what he calls “the lizard brain”, the little voice in our heads that resists success in the long term.

In essence, he’s describing the concept followed by countless successful companies and entrepreneurs which is, ship, then bug fix. Perfection it seems, is a long lost concept.   As a company this makes you more marketable (not to mention solvent) but is it good for clients to receive an imperfect product for their hard earned dollars?  Or do they even care?  What do you think?

People use their computer desktop in countless different ways.  My uncle uses his to store shortcuts to all of the applications that he uses regularly.  Several of my friends prefer to keep theirs entirely barren, preferring instead to work out of folders buried somewhere deep in the computer.  I had a manager once that insisted all of the files and folders on my computer should be arranged alphabetically..

Personally, I’ve always treated the desktop as a work area and tend to group files contextually or by project. Having groups of files directly in view helps me keep tabs on what I’m trying to accomplish and keeping them grouped logically significantly simplifies the task of finding them when you need them.

The Achilles heel of this system though is when things get busy and I stop organizing my files.. This is when I know I’ve taken on too many projects. If you experience the same thing, this article is for you..

The last several days have been complete and utter bedlam for me, and this evening I realized why.   Upon a quick review of my desktop I found this unmitigated disaster; full of files and snippets of partially completed and stalled projects. In a word, unmanageable.

So, what to do about this?

The obvious answer is, finish a few projects. But what if this isn’t possible?

1. Start by deleting any unnecessary files
2. File anything that you don’t need immediate access to in your ‘documents’ folder
3. Organize the remaining files in to logical groups.   This will be different for every person, do what works best for you whether it be alphabetical, chronological or by color of icon.

On occasion, if I know I’ve got a few ongoing projects that need to be organized I’ll take one additional step that helps keep me in check.

4. Create a desktop background in an image editing program like PC Paint or Adobe Photoshop (or Pixlr)  with dividers between which you’ll store your working files and folders.  I use smaller boxes to limit the number of files I can store for a particular project (thus limiting the amount of unfinished work I will allow for each).  Label each box to enforce a place for everything and don’t forget to leave yourself a sandbox where you can place files throughout the day while you’re dealing with them..  I try to ensure that my sandbox is empty at the end of the day to make my life easier the next morning!

A few additional notes:

• To find the size of your desktop
  • In Windows: right-click the desktop and choose properties and click the settings tab to see the screen resolution
  • On a Mac: Open the displays preferences panel and click the display tab to find the resolution for your current monitor
• Consider creating multiple desktop arrangements for different groups of tasks or additional screens

I’d love to hear your thoughts!   How do you organize your desktop, and does this system work for you?