Tabled Ideas

Putting it all on the table

Category: philosophy

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philosophy

Searching For Something Meaningful

I’M NOT SURE WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR, BUT AT LEAST I’M CLOSER TO KNOWING WHAT IT IS NOT. I’ve often had a bit of a tortured relationship with my career. More so since I became a husband and father, I’ve been taking a more critical look at my life because some days I think it’s OK, but most of the time it seems like there’s something wrong. I know it’s not my wife, and it’s not my kids: those are things that are definitely right. It’s hard to put my finger on, because by most measurements I should be happy...

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philosophy

Wheel Stop

I GREW UP WITH THE SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM. Tomorrow morning, at 5:56 AM, that program comes to an end. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, as I posted previously, it is time to move on to the next thing. On the other, there are a lot of people, both at NASA and at contractors, who have been losing their jobs, and that is going to significantly accelerate tomorrow morning at wheel stop.

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philosophy

Innovation Through Osmosis

SOMETHING ABOUT SMART PEOPLE INSPIRES INNVOATION AROUND THEM. Since I’ve started spending more time in the space community online, and among some really creative and intelligent people, I find that I’m coming up with more ideas for “stuff to do” than ever before. Or maybe it’s just that I’m more motivated to do something about those ideas because of the energy of the people around me. Either way, I’m suffering from an overload of creative ideas right now with not enough space to track them or execute on them. So what’s the logical solution? Another idea!

A (real) Space Odyssey 0

philosophy

A (real) Space Odyssey

GALILEO WAS AN AMAZING SPACECRAFT. Launched in 1989, it arrived at Jupiter just under 6 years later and orbited for 7 years. Over 20 years after sending Galileo, we are about to launch his younger sister, Juno, on her way to Jupiter on August 5, and I get to be at Kennedy Space Center to send her on her way.

Beginning of an Era 0

philosophy

Beginning of an Era

THE SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM HAS ENDED. Some say this represents an end: an end to US human spaceflight, an end to a 30 year legacy. I prefer to see it as a beginning: the start of low earth orbit as commonplace, the start of the commercial era of space. For over 50 years now, space has been the provenance of governments. Now it’s time for private entities to show us that it is easy, and for NASA to move into the next era.

The Write Stuff 0

philosophy

The Write Stuff

THERE IS A LINK BETWEEN WRITING AND THINKING. When you write something, you remember it better. Done properly, it can also remove the idea from your head to a place where it can be more easily managed. Even knowing this, it is sometimes amazing what writing down just a couple words can do for you.

Focusing at a Higher Level 1

philosophy

Focusing at a Higher Level

GTD HASN’T (YET) SAVED MY LIFE, BUT IT DID SAVE MY SANITY. Without the discipline of Getting Things Done, I would in a world of hurt right now. Last year, when we decided to close down Dream Dinners, the choice was incredibly easy because I was able to look at my horizons of focus and instantly see that the business no longer fit with my 40k and 50k horizons. GTD also allowed me to keep track of all the work of closing down and moving. Without that I would have, quite literally, had a nervous breakdown.

Collecting My Thoughts 0

philosophy

Collecting My Thoughts

I DON’T CONSIDER MYSELF A CREATIVE PERSON. That’s not to say that I don’t have an original thought. It’s just that I always think of creativity associated with artists and visionaries, neither of which I count myself among. But since I’ve started working on getting things done in earnest, I’ve found that even just doing the first part, collection, opens the floodgates for new ideas.

Yet another person who has something to say 0

philosophy

Yet another person who has something to say

Decisions are made by those who show up. You can’t win if you don’t play. You’ve gotta risk big to win big. We’ve heard all the clichés over and over. We all know they’re true. Most of us still don’t listen.