anyone still out there?

So, about a week and a half ago I joined the iPod generation.

Cool, yes, but I've already had my share of the headaches that accompany owning (relatively) new technology. I'm on my third iPod, (two exchanges in one week) and after talking to three different Apple techs re: the three different devices, we isolated the problem(s) as having to do more with my five year old G4 than with the iPods themselves.

On saturday I had an appointment at the local Apple Store where it took the guys at the Genius Bar about 20 minutes to figure out that my iPod works fine, but I need to upgrade the USB drive on my G4 to a 2.0 in order for the interface between iPod and G4 to work properly.

Now that I'm working in graphic design and tech issues are an integral part of my career, I'm starting to enjoy learning these things. I see it less and less as a pain or inconvenience, and more and more as a giant matrix of interconnected ever-shifting, constantly-advancing puzzles to solve. Keeps the brain active and challenged, and that's a good thing.

Thoughts, stories, tangents?

Hey everyone-

I think nearly everyone who reads this is also on myspace, but for those who aren't I wanted to let you know I am starting to use the free blogging option there as well. I think that even if you aren't a member on myspace (which is free, by the way) you can still view my profile and read my blog at http://www.myspace.com/artist_athlete

At some future time I may figure out two different focuses for the two different blogs, but for now I'm going to be using both in a completely random and unpredictable manner.

So, if you'd like to get the full picture of my blogging activity, please visit http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=47872533
as well.

Cheers, Jay

About a month ago I was hired as a graphic designer for a small electronics company. The company produces items for home and personal use such as air purifiers, electricity-conservation devices.

It has been an interesting month on the job so far- I've learned alot but have a long way to go. I am very excited about the position- it feels like the sort of work I was made to do- which is not how I felt so much about teaching art several years ago.

So I've been scouring the magazine racks at Barnes and Noble to learn more about graphic design, advertising, commercial art, and of course the beloved Mac. I'm amazed at how many interesting publications along these lines are out there.

Last but not least, I signed up for a 2-D design class at the local Community College, which met for the first time last night. I really like the instructor and am very excited about the class.

...I also bought a graphics tablet over the weekend- Wacom's Graphire 4, and have been learning to ropes with that. Lots of fun.

Okay, there's my update... anyone still reading? ;-)

"Nearly Beloved"

by the Wallflowers


Last night I dreamt one thousand lies
I could see the dawn through a different set of eyes
There in my slumber passing time
Long live the world resting on its side

I walked the orchard with you
Your hand in mine
In the evergreens drinking wine
I saw the snow fall in black and white
Fram the auburn sky
Last night I lived more than one thousand lives
Not one of them survived

Up through the earth and at dawn I came
I crossed the kingdom through venom pouring rain
In the vacuum of my own brigade
Resurrected to make you mine

Orpheus looked back once
She sailed the underworld
No second chances will be earned
I have returned as a phantom now
To walk the bow and stern
Last night I lived more than one thousand lives
Not one of them survived

If we could do better I know that we would
Maybe admit it now, we're not that good
We keep the needle between zero and one
You play your fiddle, baby, I'll play dumb

Into the pastures of our minds
Goes my nearly beloved and I
Blazing two parallel white lines
Through this broken heart spilt open wide

Time may be on my side
But it's mostly far behind
I was the apple of your eye
Now I'm the boy spinning on a wheel there
Stuck with knives
Last night I lived more than one thousand lives
Not one of them survived

Just saw it last night.

I highly HIGHLY recommend that everyone who can, go see this film.

Unfortunately some are going to connect the fact that it's an Al Gore production with politics. Although I once leaned significantly left in my political views, today I am more independent/ middle-of-the-road. About halfway through the film it did bother me a little bit that he was including parts about his political past, it seemed to muddle the message at first...

THEN I realized how deeply committed to this issue he is, and that he was showing detachment by taking a biographical approach, and showing how closely the issue of global warming has been intertwined with his career and his life, even going back to college and childhood.

If anyone has seen it, or goes to see it and would like to discuss it with me, drop me a line or post a reply.

The website he's set up, www.climatecrisis.net is very good, informative, and most importantly has tools for concrete action that can be taken on an individual, person-by-person basis to address some of the issues surrounding global warming.

Thanks for reading, God bless,

jay

As I am devoting more of my professional time and energy toward being a graphic designer/ artist, and the necessary corresponding self-education on business and marketing, I'm finding that my interest in the field of Economics is increasing as well.

When I was younger the ideals of socialism and even to a small extent communism appealed to me... now, with alot of help from the Teachings of the Baha'i Faith I've come to see that the best economic systems are probably some combination of free market (capitalism) and socialized economics. As in all areas of human endeavor, we have the potential to improve here limitlessly, so the 'best' form of economics is determined only by the effort we put forth to create better systems, and our place in history.

In the last few days, I've learned of the economic theor(ies) of Paul Zane Pilzer, who has coined the term 'Economic Alchemy.' His ideas are as inspiring and visionary as they are unbelievable when you first learn of them. It's an understatement to say that his ideas excite me, especially in light of movements like the ONE Campaign and DATA.com.

An excerpt from Pilzer's writings:

"Whether or not we ever did, today we do not live in a resource-scarce environment. That may seem hard to believe, but the businessperson and the politician- as well as the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker- who continue to behave as if they were operating in the old zero-sum world will soon find themselves eclipsed by those who recognize the new realities and react accordingly.

What are these new realities? To put it simply, we live today in a world effectively unlimited resources- a world of unlimited wealth. In short, we live in what one might call a new Alchemic world.

...We have achieved this ability through the most common, the most powerful, and the most consistently underestimated force in our lives today- technology...

The most successful entrepreneurs of our time- H. Ross Perot, Sam Walton, Steven Jobs- have been playing this new game without necessarily understanding its principles...

The Six Laws of Economic Alchemy--

1. By enabling us to make productive use of particular raw materials, technology determines what constitutes a physical resource

2. Technology determines our supply of existing physical resources by determining both the efficiency with which we use resources and our ability to find, obtain, distribute, and store them.

3. The rate at which a society's technology advances is determined by the relative level of its ability to process information.

4. By providing us with new products and processes that change the way in which we live, technology determines what constitutes a need, and hence the nature of consumer demand.

5. Technology determines the level of consumer demand by determining the price at which goods can be sold

6. The immediate economic potential for an individual, an industry, or a society can be explained by examining the technology gap, the best practices possible with current knowledge, and the practices in actual use.