Getting all jiggy with college

When I ran an employment mission at my church, we told young people they would have seven careers, not just seven jobs, in a lifetime.

We got this from the government. Yes, ours.

Over the decades, I have seen higher education change--it may not even be needed for the jobs being offered to the new middle class, or what's left of it.

I see people getting a job, being trained or certificated, doing the job, moving to another at some point, training, etc.

Another creative innovation has been MOOC's--Massive Open Online Courses.

You can "go" to Harvard free in the privacy of your home. How about "Introduction to Computer Science?" Harvard, Duke, Stanford, AZ State, University of Virginia, Univ of Edinburgh, Wesleyan Univ, Columbia, and the Univ of Illinois are just a few of the universities offering online courses free. Some educators say this may be a game changer as college gets more expensive.

Also--the University of Wisconsin is now going to allow people to take a battery of tests on their knowledge--without taking courses. This could lead to a BA.

Things are morphing! Stand back! Change can splatter.

Thimk--for more efficient government

Referencing the David Kelley interview (below, scroll down), Steve Ressler of Government Technology magazine, Jan 24, 2013, says even 'crats can use "design thinking" to zip up government services.

In design thinking, teams observe human behavior--how people use a product or service--to see how it could be improved. Example: People leave ATM cards in the slot--so why not eject it before the transaction?

To improve government services, there are 10 questions one could ask.

1. Where are people getting stuck in the process?

2. What is the experience like filling out your forms?

3. What hours do you need to be open to meet needs?

4. Does the language and documentation make sense to people?

5. How can design thinking reinforce good employee behaviors?

7. How do people learn about your agency--and how can this be improved?

8. Where do citizens normally interact with you? From home, the library, in person, with family, alone?

9. What are the biggest frustrations? How can you increase delight?

10. What assumptions are you making? That people still call from home? That everyone who calls does not know there is a website?

Yes, the term efficient government is an oxymoron--but maybe we can make it little more oxygenated and a little less moronic.

Ah, the joys of risk

I rented a documentary called OFFICIAL REJECTION that rocketed me back to the past faster than a Madeleine frosted with steroids.

This dandy little doc recounts the trials of indie filmmakers Paul Osborne and Scott Storm (mostly Scott--that's him in the pix) in getting their film TEN TIL NOON into various film festivals over a year's time.

Rent it at Netflix--it's a winner, despite the title.

I wrote a short called OMNIFAX that I coproduced with Ross Stansfield and which won a Telly. Every year, we had taken Amtrak from DC to NY to the Independent Film Market and watched films. Then it was our turn--OMNIFAX, the story of a hard-bitten lawyer who started receiving mysterious faxes, showed one Saturday morning.

Heady!

I remember the shoot in downtown DC--the police directing traffic all day for us--100 extras---we even provided craft services, meaning food--and t-shirts!

Ross has made many films since--and so has his son Brian, who entered the family business big time.

My point is--creativity is all around you...People are slaving to express themselves--slaving, crying, going into debt, and exulting.

Go to film festivals! Go to book signings. Read, view, appreciate, praise. Creatives would be nowhere without you. What the heck--here's the Telly (yes, it lost a wing over time).

Building robots

The First Lego League (FLL) is a touchstone for 2,500 smart youngsters in Arizona alone--it puts on robot-building competitions.
We had debate club, which still exists, of course, but now a new set of competitions has claimed the stage. 

Go to http://firstlegoleague.org for more info on how to get started, how parents can help, and a raft of other information.

Like debate, there is an assigned "topic" for the competition, such as a recent one--caring for the elderly.

The teams--300 in Arizona--compete in three parts--building miniature robots that can perform prescribed tasks (the Robot Game), developing a solution to a problem (Project) and achievement of Core Values of teamwork, graciousness, and helpfulness.

This is not some science fair deal, which often was dominated by parental input. Adults cannot even touch the robots or a team is thrown out.

One team in Arizona--all girls--met every Saturday for months and interviewed a 100-year-old woman to learn her needs, which led to inventing a chair for her. Their robots could turn on a mini-television among other tasks.

They had to learn and use calculus.

Big companies also assist and talk with the kids. What do you want to bet they are also looking for ideas?

The Lost Studebaker

Article this morning in the Arizona Republic (paywalled, so I can't send you the url) on a display of model cars put on by the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild. This was a contest for teenagers in the 1950s and 60s.

Many of the car-minded teens went on to work for the big car companies.

Legendary car design Harley Earl was a key player in this contest.

Harley Earl figures in a screenplay I cowrote with filmmaker Ross Stansfield.

So does famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy--who worked on many popular designs in the last century--including Studebakers.

Log line of our script: Three offbeat teens build the the car of the future with a little help from the masters of the past.

For more info on this story and on us...go to http://raymondloewyandtheloststudebaker.blogspot.com/

The guy across the street from me has a shade tree business upholstering cars and often has fabbie vehicles parked in front.

Know anyone who loves cars and wants to make a movie? Someone rich?

He had an Ideo

As depicted on 60 Minutes, http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50138327n, David Kelley is a chatty fellow brimming with offbeat ideas about good design.

But the iconic news show also went a little fanboy over his friendship with the late Steve Jobs, who apparently groused at Kelley sometimes, urging him to do better. Kelley also had cancer--as did Jobs--but I was not sure where that fit in. I am sure Jobs did not mean that.

Kelley is the inventor of "design thinking." This means one person gets an idea and another adds or subtracts or hares off into something different. Sort of intellectual Zenga, but it sounded to me like brainstorming.

In Kelley's company, Ideo, though, this resulted in the basic shape of the computer mouse and many other housewhold items. I wish 60 Minutes had done more on that--but I didn't get the memo.

I have a mouse question. If it had been wireless all along, would it be called a lozenge? I mean--no tail, no mousiness.

Secret patterns of the universe--or a ditch

I got some of those new Earthscape stamps issued last October. These are pix taken from a couple of hundred feet above earth--or from space.

The scenes are natural, agricultural and urban.

The glacial one--pictured--is ice calving off Alaska's Bear Glacier.

There is also a subdivision pictured in another, little boxes.

I live in a little box--and believe me it looks better from space. I guess I could use a weed whacker.

The cliched idea is that there is unseen beauty all around us. Or at least pleasing sights. Can't really argue with that--and at least they did not doll up the slums of Rio or anything.

Oh--you can get these stamps if you want. Call (800) 782-6724. They are good forever. By the way, is this a creative idea--this forever thing--meaning your costs may go up, but you don't charge more?