Welcome to my Online Home!

I love Amy Faulring.

We met in college through a circle of wonderful socially radical folks (many of which have gotten radicaler. Which is a rockin' word) and dated for some time. I remember the first email she sent about her exciting and proud arrest as part of GreenPeace. Now I got this one. Check the links for some Really cool photos of the Washington phallic monument.

And "graffiti" isn't really the right word. Strategically and creatively liberate. lol.

PS Check out the billboard liberation front for more creative uses of existing structure for social justice pro-community messaging idears. http://www.billboardliberation.com/

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Hi folks,
Just wanted to share with you a little project I was involved with on the
national mall last night.  About 60 GP activists successfully blocked the
massive flood lights and projected an image on the national monument calling
out the US inaction on global warming.  Luckily, no arrests (and I was not
in an arrestable position as I'm on probation until november).

It was hella fun & we have some great images!

In between giving our truck a few citations, the police pulled out their
personal cell phones and snapped some photos.   :-) 

Enjoy!
Amy


Photos are available
at:http://usaphoto.greenpeace.org/wash_monument_01_29_08/

For Immediate Release                    January 29, 2008

GREENPEACE TURNS NATION¹S MOST ICONIC LANDMARK INTO MEMORIAL TO
FAILED BUSH LEGACY ON CLIMATE
Bush Plan Portrayed as a Disaster on Eve of U.S-Led Climate Change
Meeting

WASHINGTON­ Responding to the Bush administration¹s continued
obstruction of international efforts to address global warming,
Greenpeace activists turned one of the nation¹s most iconic symbols
into a memorial to Bush¹s failed legacy on climate change.
Greenpeace projected on the Washington Monument the message: U.S.
Global Warming Plan: Hell and High Water accompanied by an image
depicting rising sea levels at the base, a predicted consequence of
global warming.

"President Bush¹s policies on global warming are a disaster,² said
John Coequyt, energy policy analyst at Greenpeace USA. ³His
international meeting on climate change in Hawaii slated to begin
tomorrow is a rogue process to deflect attention from the
administration¹s insistence to maintain America¹s dependence on
dirty and dangerous energy sources while failing to address the
growing climate crisis. As the Washington monument has long outlived
the president it was built to honor, so too will Bush¹s legacy on
climate change stand as a memorial to his neglect, obstruction and
destruction.²

Greenpeace¹s projection served to call attention to Bush¹s global
warming policies a day after his State of the Union address and on
the eve of Bush¹s international meeting of the world¹s largest
emitters of global warming pollution, called the ³Major Economies
Meeting,² which takes place in Hawaii on Wednesday and Thursday.

After being roundly rebuked in December in Bali at the UN¹s
International Conference on Climate Change, the Bush administration
continues to push its alternative Major Economies process that seeks
to replace the Kyoto Protocol¹s legally binding emissions reduction
targets with a completely inadequate voluntary approach.  ³If the
President were serious about leading on climate change, he would
stop obstructing the U.N.¹s process and endorse a cap on U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions,² Coequyt said. The United States stands
completely isolated as the only industrialized country on the planet
not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

³The Bush administration continues to push a climate-destroying
agenda and to obstruct all meaningful efforts to address global
warming by the international community,² said Daniel Mittler of
Greenpeace International. ³Its role was so negative at the global
negotiations on climate change in Bali last month that the U.S.
delegates were literally booed by other participants. It was a
stunning and well-deserved rebuke. This meeting is a charade and has
no legitimacy at all.²

Greenpeace is calling on the countries attending the meeting to
maintain their commitments to substantive action under the Kyoto
Protocol. Participating countries include: Japan, France, Germany,
Italy, the United Kingdom, China, Canada, India, Brazil, South
Korea, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Indonesia, and South Africa, as
well as the United Nations, the EU Presidency and the EU Commission.

CONTACT: Jane Kochersperger, Media Officer Greenpeace USA, +1 202
680 3798 cell
John Coequyt, Greenpeace USA energy campaign, +1 202 669 7060
Daniel Mittler,Greenpeace International Policy Advisor, +1 49 171
876 53 45
Photos are available
at:http://usaphoto.greenpeace.org/wash_monument_01_29_08/
Notes: A major emitters briefing memo is available upon request. For
further information on the outcome of the Bali negotiations, go to:
www.greenpeace.org/bali-meeting

Labels: environment

Cool. Last Friday in my macro social work class (organizations and groups - basically a community organizing type class) our intro activity was to tell the prof our name and one or two aspects of our ideal job. I went first and realized I cared much more about what other folks were going to say than saying my piece - which is a great place to be. I quickly whipped out a pen and took notes.

So, this list is provided as is. It's a powerful checklist not just for getting a new job... but advocating for changes for whatever you're already doing to make it more sustainable as an activity. Some of these things seem to contradict and some are duplicates, but again: as is.

I've seen lists like this in the past...but as a list created entirely by helping professionals, I thought it might be interesting. For me, as someone that wants to do program management (really, I want the executive director position of a PA site, preferrably PANC... very specific!), this would be a great checklist to measure how a job is doing at providing culture for staff.

Without further ado, the list.

• The work is values driven, everything from projects to menial tasks. Everything done connects clearly (or can be connected) with the answer to the question : how is this an important action that fit my values and the organization's values?
• It's local and bikable/walkable... it's almost neighborhood work.
• (1) There's little bureaucracy and (2) measurement of outcomes to improve meaningful services is joyfully participated in vs. used as impossible to meet expectations to measuring how lacking everyone is.
• Flexible work schedule to allow for necessary personal life commitments
• Comfortable pay - not too high (unethically so, money begins to complicate life), not too low (basics to life comfortably with a balance of occasional fun purchase).
• Dynamic job with a great deal of self-determination in both what gets done and how to do it within the team context - individual values are valued.
• (1) No random hours, like working 9-10, then 6-8, then...etc. If you're "working 8 hours", it's an efficient 8 hours - no huge and repetitious commutes or transition times that make working 8 hours have a 14 hour toll on your personal life (2) Working directly with folks served.
• (1) Be challenged and (2) to reach someone and make a meaningful benefit
• (1) Goals for job are actually achievable or "winnable. (2) Everyone in the organization, from clients/consumers to staff to community members has a voice, a say in what's being done and how it's being done.
• Variety! Working independently and as a team.
• (1) Have a personal voice in the organization. (2) Make a visible difference in the eyes of consumers and staff.
• (1) Flexible and challenging. (2) Client's issues come first, billing comes second.
• (1) Collaboration with a team. (2) Keeping the client/consumer at the core.
• (1) There's time for reading and reflection, and that time isn't frowned on but given value. (2) Listening is appreciated as well.
• Opportunities to learn from colleagues, make a difference and advance in the job.
• More dialog with decision makers so up and down are connected.
• (1) Make a difference and (2) Personal life and job are balanced.
• Co-workers and self have a passion to do the job.
• Flexible schedule and flexible in how to get things done (self-determination).
• You can SEE the impact you're making.
• Flexible in what you do during the day, not just non-stop routine and schedule.
• Be one's own boss - make what you want to happen happen.
• (1) Strong leadership and (2) agency security.
• (1) New ideas are respected and (2) You know you're making a difference
• You've got time w/ family... you can work from home or at a distance sometimes.
• It doesn't overwhelm you.
• Your supervisor's available (but not micromanaging).
• Leadership has clear communication.
• You can advocate for yourself AND your clients/consumers.
• There' s a line between work and life... work does not EQUAL life. (other folks felt otherwise.)
  

Labels: social workers

Continuing with the GTD theme, here's how I organize. Though I think I covered "organize" somewhat in the previous process post, here's a recap: I've got a buncha lists. :-) Besides lists, I've the requisite files (one sheet of paper = one file), online and offline... but once it's all procesed into the system I use an organized way of seeing what I've able to do. Here's where my views come in.

Outlook: Customized Views

I love how easy it is to customize outlook's views (or I wouldn't be using it anymore. Well, there's syncin', too). Calendar-wise, I like to have a quick view of whether I'm gettting a balance in my areas of responsibility, so I color code them based on category. Some quick hotkeys get them set up, so it's pretty painless. Here's what I use for my calendar:



And here's what I use for my tasks:



This nabs me some really nice views when I'm at my computer, which is where I do my processing thanks to some rockin' autohotkey help. Basically, I don't want to have to touch my mouse for processing... MAYBE if I'm scheduling a meeting, but even then, as little as possible.

That brings me to my PDA, a used Dell Axim x30 gotten through the wonders of eBay. I've assigned the message key to Agenda Fusion (SUCH a great program)'s task view... one of the few views I really benefit from in that program since it's a touch slower than the native handling of tasks.



And home is also tricked out a touch using TasksPlus. Free and worth every penny.



Think that's about it! This system's great for me, since I'm a happy tech user, but fast enough that it gets the heck out of the way when I want to get things done.

Labels: GTD

A quickie post while I get my next GTD post together...

For the bulk of my mom's bday present in Dec, my brother and I installed a new closet organizer in the very messy laundry room. While I was cleaning it out, I took stock of what was in there. That's because I follow a pretty straightforward cleaning scheme. See, I like to clean once, and know I won't really have to do it again. To get that feeling of satisfaction, my process uses a few motivating questions to create lists of things and spaces.

First: what does the space look like right now? what is being put where and why?
This means taking stock of, for instance, the flat spaces and what's being put there. What's on the floor? Here you'd create the initial lists of things that are currently being put in the space and the various subspaces. In this laundry room's case, I've got the list at the end.

Next: Take everything out of the spaces and put similar things together.
This gets me to a principle I believe is very important. I don't think people make bad decisions about stuff or other things; I think people (including myself) make the best decisions they can given their perspective. So if you see a few shoes here and there, not knowing you have 30 or 40 pairs of shoes in various spots, you won't make a decision about buying another pair of shoes with the real deep truth of the experience of owning another pair. And that goes for seeing deeply into what you see: seeing the origin of the object, its maintenance costs, and its disposal costs - for you and for others. Seeing the full lifespan costs (physically, emotionally, etc.) of the thing is essential for good decision making.

Last: match spaces and collections by creating intelligent systems that would keep the previous mess from occurring because the system would be easier than not doing it.
It's like the 1 minute filing rule (30 seconds, to me) in GTD. It should be easier to file the thing than not. With very little forward thinking, by comparing the small, systematized/ritualized action to the haphazard tossing of something you should come up with the system each time.

Really, Really Last: See it from all altitudes.
This isn't really about cleaning a space, per se, but more about an attitude to bring to than and other things. Let's say you're making decisions about systems for your shoes... or rubber bands or something. At some point, your OCD warning flag should go off if you're spending too much of your life energy trying to maintain something of little importance. Perhaps it's better to simplify. That doesn't mean, to me, shirk responsibility for the things you have (everything from paper clips to family and friends, seriously); it means acknowledging the cost of the thing and asking deeply whether it's worth it. Hopefully, everything you are willing to touch should be worth it. But no body wants the poetic "life measured in coffee spoons." Donate the coffee spoons, my god. I DO have a place for rubber bands, for instance. But I just toss them in particular corner of my office supply drawer - precisely, but not too precisely. I'm not going to realistically unroll some ziplock bag and put them in. If I get too many of them for my system, I should evaluate why the hell I'm having to deal with this many things. There's a balance between caring too little and not taking responsibility and caring too much and being tunnel visioned. If you were maintaining a zen garden, you might rake your stone walk carefully and lovingly...but you'd probably not get down on your hands and knees and place pebbles with your hands. You've got trees to trim, leaves to rake, food to prepare! Get a life! But not much of a life that you don't care for the thing. The way you care for anything, to me, is the way you care for everything. This would apply to thinking deeply about the green origins of your owned things, your social justice commitments, whether you buy locally or not... the whole system and your place in it. As manifested by your laundry room.

Rambling aside, without further ado, the list. Here's what I found seemed "unsystemed" in the laundry room. For you, some questions: how do you know when you have too many of these things? Can you tell, visually, when that happens? Do you know what to do with the excess when it happens... and do you know how to adjust your system so that, gradually, the excess (which you have to then deal with) doesn't even happen in the first place? Ultimately, how can you take responsibility for what you have, your relationships, and your boundaries so that your life takes a balanced amount of maintenance energy allowing you to actually LIVE?

coats
shoes
vacuums
tools
appliances
dog toys, leashes, etc.
small kitchen appliances
clothes (clean/dirty)
detergent products
hangers (extra, in use)
coupons
extra bulk food
gloves
hats

So? How'd you do on your mental walk through? If it wasn't 100%, it'll happen again in your head. Is it worth tasting the trust in a system for these things so that there's no excess, no lack, and the balance sits strongly? How might that taste? Not perfection, but dynamic, relaxed balance.

Labels: GTD, social justice, zen

Happy new year, everyone!

It's 7:30 and I've had a wonderful morning so far - an exciting way to start the new year for me. I woke up from a dream/nightmare about worries I have with MLK day events at NCSSM I'm helping to plan - wonderful! Very exciting to me to start my year off with worries about diversity education being done well. Then I did some zazen and did one of the morning chants I really enjoy:
Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to awaken with them.
Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to end them.
Dharma gates are boundless; I vow to enter them.
Buddha's Way is unsurpassable; I vow to become it.

Did a bit of brainstorming on MLK to get those worries out of my head into actionables... something I might not have been able to as clearly do last year. I've made progress in being "cleaner" with my GTD implementation, which is really progress toward, to me, directly facing myself and my worries, interests, capabilities, etc. Also, got up to get my two hakamas and Sarah's hakama out of the washer for hanging. We wash them about once a year (kinda like belts - I was told not to wash mine because of damage to certain parts), and they must be hung dry - so got to hanging them in my room with the space heater on high.

Social justice, GTD, Aikido, Zen all on my mind before 7:30 in the new year. Who knows what this year will bring, but a very pleasant start!

Also - Crapzola, my comments settings were all askew! Til now, only folks with blogger accounts could comment. LAME. Fixed that yesterday, so folks can comment away on my ramblings. :-)

peace & justice in the new year! Ring it in with all you've got!

mike

Labels: aikido, dreams, GTD, social justice, zen