Catching a Good Break

So my first post in a year and a half... and a pretty poor pun for the title.

1. I have had a break from this blog while living the Gen X and Y thing on FaceBook, Linked In and so many other parts of the Web-sphere

2. I recently broke my leg, so find myself awake a little more, unable to sleep in a comfortable position without waking myself with a painful twinge up as I turn in bed

3. As fractures go, though, I am told it was a "good" one; "Normally," the orthopaedic doctor at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital told me, "this kind of fracture would require a plate to be inserted to fix the bone... but you are lucky, it has not shifted..." So I can say it's a "good break."

4. I reckon that I catch good breaks often, I just don't often recognise them. In my current work contract (I build and manage enterprise type websites) I'm working with a great cross section of the generations - just how I like it - and they share their language, lives and culture with this boomer, in return for which I happily help them learn some useful stuff.

Catching a good break, I'd say.

BTW, our latest twenty year project is now a full-on toddler (20 months) and fills us with joy - and breaks - as she powers towards becoming the next gen. (No name for her generation has been popularised yet!)

Another birth, another generation

Just over two weeks to go before the new website I am managing the design and build for is due to go live.

Another birth in my life. It seems a litle like that. An eagerly awaited event in the life of those who have an interest, yet an event that is occurring at a frantic rateacross the Internet, thousands of times every day.

So a new website is born. It carries the hopes and dreams of many parents, uncles, aunties, brothers and sisters. It even carries children of its own, all with unlimited possibilities and expectation.

Expectation, that's it! How we have such expectations of the new baby, the new website the next generation.

This new baby happens to be the website of Australia's pre-eminent ICT research organisation. Expectations weigh heavily on all of us. I'll add the link when it's live. [now added]

Meanwhile, I'd better get back to managing the expectations and preparing for the birth!

New Beginnings

So, as previously warned, this blogsite has taken an significant turn... It's no longer the ramblings of a late (read young) baby boomer living in the convergence of Gen X and Gen Y and now contributing to the yet to be named baby boomers of 2000 - 2010.

After a few challenges, Kaelyn came home from hospital and her mum is well on the way to recovery from what turned out to be pre-eclampsia. That really messes with you, but she is improving every day and kaelyn is blooming.

And so the generation spread of influence represented on this blogsite stetches to another level. One of the best things about living and loving and being multi-generational is that there are new beginnings every day... for one of us or another!

Hello and Farewell

On Christmas day, just after 5.00pm, my wife gave birth to our daughter, a precious gift.

Through the power of the internet, and the assistance of my nephew in Adelaide, my mum was able to see up to date pictures of our baby girl and rejoice.

Yesterday, December 30 around 10.30am , after a relatively short illness, my mum died, peacefully, comfortably and with the solid conviction of the promise of eternal life.

Hello and welcome Kaelyn. Farewell Mother.

Not Long to Go Now

As I write this post, I find myself contemplating convergence... of new life coming and another ending.

Much of what drives the content of this site is the convergence of generations - the boomers, the gen Xers and gen Y.

As we wait in anticipation of our baby girl, my mum is dying. How more convergent do the generations get?

There is much to look forward to.

Crikey: Life's an Adventure

The deaths of wildlife warrior Steve Irwin on Monday Sep 4, and then motor racing hero Peter Brock in quick succession on Friday September 8 has given many of us pause to reflect.

Both were men of renown, with Brock, the stuff of legend in the Australian car racing scene over three decades, and Irwin the cocodile hunter having established fame on a world stage.

Like many Australians, I mourn their deaths - both sudden and unexpected, though both somewhat predictable in hind-sight. "Death by mis-adventure" is what will probably appear on their death certificates. "Life lived as an adventure," I would also like to think.

There are so many elements and so much has been recorded about the lives of Steve Irwin and Peter Brock, so my own contribution to the musings is modest. I simply acknowledge that they gave so many people hope.

They successfully tapped into and effectively influenced multi-generations - Brock, a War baby in his sixties, had a legion of fans across Boomers, Gen X and even Gen Ys. Steve Irwin had universal appeal across generations, across cultures and across the globe. Both brought messages of value to millions. Messages of passion, safety and the environment.

We all feel a little sad, and sympathetic towards those closest to these remarkable Australians. In time, we can see them as figures who helped shape or define our world and maybe even who we are or aspire to be like.

Mostly, I hope it gives us another reminder to be glad of our God-given time, that even our heroes are fallible and our human condition is frail, so we should all make the most of our time, our skills and our gifts - and inspire others to do the same.

Crikey, Steve and Brocky sure did!

Miracles in Edgely ND

After the school reunion in Iowa City, our next port of call was Edgely, North Dakota. Not heard of it? It's just a few miles from Ellendale, and pretty much at the centre of Mid-west Hometown, USA.

Our mission: real-time hugs with our dear friend (and Gen-X) Michelle, finally meet her wonderful husband Clete and stay in touch with the delightful darling Summer.

Earlier this year, in April, Michelle was involved in a serious auto accident. Doctors in Fargo assessed the impact of her spinal injuries as "unlikely to walk again." After her first round of surgery, they told Clete it was even worse than they initially thought.

Fast forward to August 14, and, on our arrival at their beautiful farm, who should be walking up to the front door, beamimg and glowing with vitality? Our Michelle, body-braced and crutches, but positively gleaming.

Miracle you might say? What is the miracle? Michelle regaining feelings, muscle tone and the ability to dispense with her wheel chair despite a seriously damaged spinal chord? Well maybe. God does amazing things, and sometimes He makes us recover from physical injuries and confounds medical science. I'm told these sorts of miracles happen in hospitals every day.

Here are the miracles I saw in Edgely ND:

Indomitable God-given spirit in a wonderful woman; Unbridled joy as old and dear friends reconnect; A home where love is clearly overcoming pain and adversity; A proud family coping with huge challenges and dealing with them one day at a time; A community collectively embracing a family with love and compassion; and friends, artisans, craftsmen, teachers and business people of Edgely and the surrounding district rallying around and sensitively giving this family room to breathe and space to recover - body, soul and spirit.

Michelle is an extraordinary woman. She has achieved extraordinary things and has truly let her light shine. And her recovery, still with a way to go yet, is miraculous. The miracles of love continue to ripple all over the district.

Filled with admiration for her work and determination, I told her as we left that my heart was singing with joy for her recovery, while weeping with the grief of parting again, at least until we see you again in Australia.

Hugs, laughs, tears, joy, quality talk and fond fare-wells. Without doubt, there are miracles in Edgely ND. God bless you all.

Great Expectations

I am today thrilled to report that Martha and Tom are about to move into a new market segment and expect a baby on or about Jan 4.

Our lives are blessed in so many ways and we look forward to receiving this latest gift from God with joy. So far, Martha is doing brilliantly, and we pray for her continued good health and safety.

We now reserve the right to engage in baby-related conversations at any time with anyone, and use pregnancy and baby analogies in any or all of our communications.

Without doubt, this news will change the flavour and content of this blogsite forever. It is yet another example of our Boomer / Gen X partnership.

I work in the tech sector, I live straddling market sectors, I love across the whole range.

Comments, suggestions ideas are welcome.

Time to make a living

A recent post on Squash that alludes to time "Making a living in the smallest possible time" caused me to reflect (and I had the time!)

In it, Phil Sim credits Paul Graham with some commentary that supports the idea encapsulated in the heading. Not far beneath the surface of this commentary is some sadness. While I hope that neither Phil or Paul have recently experienced bereavement, nothing makes us more respectful of time than death.

Other than actual death, everything else is an artificial deadline. And in our extravagant use of language in business, we speak of deadlines, even drop deadlines. Our lives - and our computers, the Internet and virtual worlds - are defined by chronology. This is a universally accepted measure broken into years, months, days, hours... nanoseconds.

As Phil seems to imply, I completely support the idea of making a living in the smallest possible. I spend time dreaming of ways to earn a living that will support me without taking up my time. I have a long list of things I'd like to be doing other than making a living, and I am forced by my circumstances, nature and patterns of behaviour to compromise this conflict.

We speak of realtime, Internet time, face time and "time for a chat" (usually not good)

Recently, I have come to understand time in a different boomerexy way.

Theologians, philosophers and rhetoricians make various interpretations of kairos. To me, kairos captures those moments in your life that give it definition. The time you kissed, had sex, proposed, married, became a parent, got fired, dumped or failed some test, won something or were elevated in some way for the first time.

While chronos time ticks along as I contemplate making a living in the smallest possible time, it's kairos moments for which I live. I'm no less committed to getting the money thing sorted out, and I am increasingly conscious of leveraging my making-a-living-days more effective, but kairos time can not be compressed. After all, how long does a decision take? Not the processing, contemplation, procrastination... a decision.

Seems we're all a few (kairos) decisions away from making a living. In the meanwhile, using your precious chronological allocation to hug someone you love (or better still, tell them), be with them or do that thing you've been meaning to, it's a small concession with potentially great reward. Do it even if, as a result, it takes you a moment longer to make your living.

Cardio-Technology Smokes - NOT

I had a check-up with my cardiologist today. This, by the way, is something baby boomers and an increasing number of Gen Xers need to do. Me, because I have a bit of heart disease in my family history, and well, because I can.

Both my GP and my cardiologist say things like, “There are some risk factors you can’t do anything about: your age, your genes and sex.” For some reason when my (female) cardiologist – we’ll call her Doctor P cause that’s what her surname starts with – says that, at some level, I always snigger. I know she means gender.

Anyway, the other factors are behavioural – exercise, diet and not doing dumb things like smoking.

So this tech savvy blogger is in the office of the office waiting for Dr P, and it occurs to me that my consultation will be more valuable if she has ALL the latest information. Like the results of the recent blood tests ordered by my GP.

So I mentioned this to the receptionist / office manager thinking “she can probably access it online, or the pathology company can send it electronically…”

Not so. Amidst the technology available to the leading edge of cardiology (and I mean everything that goes beep and scans for tiny little defects of the chest region) accessing blood tests over a secure session on the Internet has a way to go.

Almost to my joy and with some sense of nostalgia, the information was retrieved from the pathologist by way of a personal phone call and a subsequent fax.

My consultation went well. Thankfully, I’m in the low risk area. I DON’T SMOKE. Age, gender and genetic disposition allowing, this correspondent will be around for several Internet generations.

Meanwhile, I will discuss with the bride what we can do about the sex thing.

Miracle Rescue, Miracle Information

As a miracle rescue unfolds in Beaconsfield, Tasmania, spare a thought not only of the two men who at this stage are believed to be in good condition, but also for the community for whom this calamity has been their focus for five days.

Clinging to the remotest hope that the miners could be found alive, family, friends, colleagues, rescue service people and everyone linked to this mining town community have desperately held out for any news.

Even as rocks are being removed and rescuers inch closer to the surviving miners, the community craves news, reports and updates - information.

Letting people know and ending the anguish is almost as important as rescuing the men.

The miracle is not just in their survival and rescue. It's also in the spirit of a community, joined by millions via information channels.

We will, no doubt, be deluged in media coverage of this miracle. Squillions of hits on websites will follow. And is it not about time we all had a news story to celebrate and give thanks for?

God bless the survivors, the rescuers and the global community now linked by this story... and thanks for the fact that we will have all the information we want about this miracle.