Tech in the Trenches

Carl T. Holscher fights for the customers.

Why I’m not renewing my Washington Post Sunday-Only Subscription

By

On March 19, 2014

In Observations

I was really enjoying the paper for a while. It had a lot of good coupons and the paper itself helped when making paper logs and camp fires.

I saved money. I started fires. I covered the floor when working on painting or projects that would get messy. It was a perfect typeset drop cloth. The newspaper served its purpose and served it well. I even read it periodically to see what the Internet hadn’t talked about days earlier.

But eventually, I realized no one reads the newspaper anymore. It’s not hip. My friends aren’t posting shout-outs in the classifieds section. It’s all news and events in DC. I can get that elsewhere, including the online version of the same paper. I don’t need it in print.

After Jeff Bezos bought the paper last year, I don’t know if I know where the paper’s priorities are anymore. I don’t know if it’s the same thing I bought into when I originally subscribed.

I don’t use the paper for anything anymore. And I have plenty of access to the archives in a pile in a closet so I’m more than ready for camping season.

I hope it continues to do well. I’ll check in on it from time to time. They still have an old Linotype machine in front of the building.

Hero Worship

By

On March 3, 2014

In Introspection

I don’t understand the draw of celebrity. I have never wanted to meet someone famous because they’re famous. They’re just people like me who happen to have public jobs.

The closest thing I would have to a celebrity hero is Trent Reznor. His music has been the soundtrack to my life for two decades. I have seen Nine Inch Nails play live six times and How to Destroy Angela once.

But if I were to meet Trent in a cafe what would I say to him? Would I even interrupt his day? I may go up to him very briefly and say thank you. Perhaps as he was leaving.

But he doesn’t need me to bother him. He’s a guy who makes music. He writes songs. He plays concerts. He writes soundtracks. He’s a guy who writes music a lot of people listen to and enjoy.

What right does that give me to interrupt his life? I don’t care about him as a person. I don’t need to talk to him. I don’t have a connection with him. We are not friends.

He’s a guy. Doing a job. That a lot of people get to watch him do.

This extends to professional athletes, actors, authors and musicians. They do great work. But I don’t need to meet them or be in their life at all.

www.madebyvadim.com from Unsplash.com

Embrace your tools

By

On February 28, 2014

In Observations

It’s exciting to work with people who see technology as a tool to do great work. It’s exciting to see them embrace a new tool for what it can do. For what they can do that before was impossible. It’s exhilarating to be a part of that excitement.

So often I see people nitpicking software for what it can’t do. You didn’t use the right tool. That’s a bad solution. This and this and these are all better.

You know what? Having a tool for the job and using that tool to do a great job is all you need. Use the tools you have. Stop pining for a slightly better version of what you have.

Stop criticizing the tool for what it can’t do. Do great work with the tools you have. They can be bent and molded in surprising ways.

Your meeting platform can be turned u to a video teleconference system. A previously inaccessible event can be made available to the public. No longer would it require air travel and interrupting your life.

We can bring the events of an auditorium in Washington DC to people around the country. And that is magical.

It is so easy to get caught up in the debate about tools. But that’s a losing play. It doesn’t matter what tools you have. It matters what you do with the tools you have. And if you can make something great then do it!

Dude Walkin by Alejandro Escamilla from Unsplash.com

Smile and a Hello

By

On February 27, 2014

In Introspection

I say hello to people and give them a smile as I pass them on the street. I try to bring a little friendliness to everyone around me. If I’m having a bad day, it can help lift my spirits. My hope is that if they’re having a bad day I can lift their spirits.

I may be the only smile they see all day.

When I lived alone, I would take Metro to work, work all day and take Metro home. Besides the people I had to talk to at work I may not speak to another living soul all day. It alternated between lovely and lonely. So I did something small.

I started smiling and saying hello. Some people I saw needed a friendly face. Others needed a smile. Many days it was Me who needed a friendly face. And when you smile at someone, they often smile back.

I got my smiles by giving them away.

Smiles are free and the worst response I ever got was no getting a smile in return. It hasn’t cost me anything to say Hello. Smiles are priceless. Give more of them away and what you get back is more precious.

Coffee by Justin Leibow

Opinions

By

On February 26, 2014

In Observations

There are tons of things going on in the world. There are uprisings in the Ukraine. There are human rights violations in Russia and North Korea. There are celebrities screaming for attention to their latest hi-jinx. There are sports teams playing well and doing poorly. There are movies. There is music. There is art. There are books and magazines, blogs and forums. There are millions of things to care about.

Often, people ask what is your opinion about…? But rarely is it worth having an opinion on everything. It’s perfectly OK to just not care about things. You can’t have an opinion. You can say I Don’t Care.

I have opinions on things I care about. I have opinions on things I know enough about to understand. I have opinions on things I’ve taken the time to think about. If I haven’t, then it’s not my opinion.

It’s my parent’s opinion. It’s my friend’s opinion. It’s my news channel’s opinion. It’s everyone’s opinion but mine.

So next time someone asks you for your opinion on something. It’s fine to tell them, “I don’t have one.”

Page 106 of 153

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén