The more things change...

This week, I had the strangest thing happen. I was informed that my ideas are too big and I have to pull back. Here is how I interpret that... people don't want to change and they don't want to see the future unfold. They don't want to prepare for change, they want to wait and react to it. They want to take the easy way out. It's very much like the auto industry, the traditional film/camera industry, the newspapers (and soon to be magazines). It's anyone who thinks that the rules will never change and that they are secure in where they stand today because of history, or size, or market dominance.

Those are the very things organizations ought to be afraid of because they mean that you are vulnerable. You have become complacent and don't have the fight in you anymore. You are resting on what made you who you are and are not focused on doing what needs to be done to become who you need to be to compete and survive.

You only have to look at the stories in the news to see examples of this very rapid change coming to an industry near you and how each group is responding in various ways. (Served up via RSS feed, of course.) Some are effective and many are not. Here are a couple to consider.

Click here for a story about Skype and iPhone putting the Telco's out of biz.
Click here for a story about the changing landscape of the hotel industry and the death of Encarta.

The list could go on and on.

Consider how rapidly everything is changing with the internet (now very old news, yet not much more than a decade old to many home users), web pages (so late 90's), blogging (old news, very 2004), text messaging, iTunes, Netflix, YouTube, Twitter, Skype... the list goes on and on. How about Wii, hybrids, biofuels, microlending? We haven't begun to see where Google and Amazon are going to take online commerce. Phones have just scratched the surface of their usefulness and will continue to dominate and change the way we interact with the world around us.

Who carrys a laptop anymore? We've all gone Blackberry in the last 5 years. Remember when you used to carry your laptop, cellphone, digital organizer, iPod and digital camera with you on a trip? Now it's all in your smartphone which is smaller, lighter and a fraction of the cost of all those items combined. You can make a call, update your blog, and post real time video to YouTube while sitting in a cafe half way around the world from your office or computer. The world just got a whole lot more convenient and a whole lot smaller.

All these big changes are going to impact the way we live our lives for decades to come. Here's the catch, a year from now, two years from now, they won't look the way they do today. They too are going to evolve into something even easier, cheaper and better. Convenience and usability will continue to be the driving force. When you can remove items from someones pocket and give them the world in their hand, they are going to go for that convenience everytime. The savings in time and frustration are well worth any initial upfront investment in the device.

These cycles of change are going to get even more rapid. What consumers don't yet know is change is happening before the new products and services even hit the shelves. This stuff is obsolete when you buy it. You just don't know it yet. Great innovators are in the business of putting themselves out of business before going to market. It's the way they stay one step ahead of the competition.

So what's a forward thinker to do when they find themselves told to slow down? I haven't figured that one out yet but I'm working on it. Perhaps I'll Twitter the question (in 140 characters or less) and see what evolves.

Better to be a "winer" than a "whiner"

I've learned to enjoy a bunch of new things in the last several years. Coffee, wine and sushi are the top 3 on the list.

Recently, I've discovered some really great and inexpensive wines that I just have to share with everyone I know.

1.) Cono Sur - 2008 Carmenere
Hard to believe that a wine that is so young could be so good, and so cheap. $8.99 at Whole Foods. Yep, Whole Foods and less than $10. Young, cheap and delicious. Sounds more like a romantic comedy tag line than a description for a wine but it's the perfect fit.

Here's the link to their website so you can check it out for yourself.
http://www.conosur.com/en/our-wines/our-varieties/carmenere/

One note, don't be put off by the screw top. It's becoming a favorite for me. Since I can't carry my wine opener on the plane anymore, it makes it easy to pick up some deli slices and a bottle without too much fuss. Way better than most restaurant meals on the road.

2.) Hawk Crest - 2005 Cabernet Sauvingnon

Great value but not in my normal $10-ish range for everyday wines. This one was in the $15 range.

Little sister to the infamous (and always amazing) Stag's Leap Winery, this is a wonderful bottle of wine. Great with steaks.

3.) Marquis Philips - 2007 Sarah's Blend
One of my everyday favorites. I used to buy this for sub-$10 at Costco. The newest vintage is now about $12. A great everyday wine. Like the Cono Sur, don't be put off by the screw top. Think of it as convenience for a nice everyday wine.

Cheers.

Home Improvement Update

An update for everyone... after 13 long months, my new fireplace, entertainment center, etc is complete. I removed the old fireplace completely, installed a new woodburning insert (see the little grey thing in the middle? That's it.) The TV is on a fully-articulating arm behind the two large panels above the firebox. Surround sound speakers in the little black spots along the middle, as well as in ceiling (which you can't see). 

The husband of a friend made it all by hand. He had to rip out the old wall and rebuild it, reinforce it, etc. Then build all the stuff you can see out of maple. It's amazing an beautiful. Totally worth the wait. 

Now on to the fun part... I get to finish painting the rest of the inside of my house this spring. All that's left to do downstairs is to replace the doors and trim. Next year, it will be time to start on upstairs. Let's hope it doesn't take as long to complete.   

Reinventing Myself

My life seems to be a series of "reinventions". Several years ago, I started this blog as an experiment on how do make one. You know - develop, design, code, post, manage, etc. It was 2005 - who knew I was entering so early on the curve. Of course, like everything in life, I got busy and my last post was in 2007. Partly because I was busy, partly because nobody in my circle was reading the darn thing so I was blogging to myself. Well, I don't need the internet to talk to myself. Geez.

Over the last 18 months or so, since my last post, I've discovered so much more about myself and the world around me that I've decided it's time to dust off the old blog and try again. I've added some widgets, including social networking and my calendar, to bring some interest and depth to the blog. (The old one was all text but that was where the technology was at the time.)

So here we go... the new and updated blog. Another event in the series of reinventions that have become the hallmark of who I am.