Category: learning

I’ve joined the Soroptimist International of Gippsland group this year. This week we had a film at The VRI called ‘The Breaker Upperers‘ and the director/writer/actor Jackie Van Beek (who is the daughter of one our members) was available to speak to us about the film. It was hilarious and hearing from Jackie enriched the experience. It was a great night. We also got a sneak preview of our project this year Gippsland Woman which will be a website that lists all the women’s organisations and activities in Gippsland.

I went to Bond Street in Sale for a workshop on community capital. The space is so beautiful. I met David Willington who has the space and is running the social enterprise. He’s bringing opportunities for local artists and performers to have a space.

I listened to a couple of the What if series from The Wheeler Centre. This one was the most powerful to me – https://www.wheelercentre.com/broadcasts/podcasts/the-wheeler-centre/so-what-if-we-didn-t-have-prisons. I am grateful to the women who spoke for their honesty and sound logic. The action they spoke about at the end is something we can do. It costs nothing. Know your neighbours and community. We can solve problems when we get to know each other.

I read this from Adult Learning Australia – https://ala.asn.au/stories/bringing-indigenous-knowledge-to-indigenous-education/. In light of the What if we don’t have prisons podcast, this work is overdue for educators.

https://99u.adobe.com/videos/63706/dr-vivienne-ming-share-your-vision-with-the-world# I loved this talk. The transcript is available also. See below for my favourite paragraph. I’ve highlighted some key parts that I liked.

“I was giving a talk recently to a room about a little less smaller than this, but a similar crowd, and they were chief innovation officers and chief technology officers. Near the end of this talk, these are big industry. These are people that notoriously spend trillions of dollars a year, supposedly, on innovation, and yet, do you feel like you have $1.5 trillion worth of innovation in your life? Not really for me. He said really bluntly and frankly, “I’m in this giant company. I don’t understand, how can I get my team to innovate?” I just said something in the moment, which probably came across as very harsh, and I was surprised at how well taken it was, which is, “If the cost of losing your job is greater than doing what’s right, then you can’t innovate.” If you can’t walk away from whatever you’re doing, then you can’t truly do something worthwhile. If you can’t tell someone a truth because you’re afraid that they won’t hire you again on freelance or they won’t keep you on staff, or the audience won’t get your sense of humor, you’re not being creative. Creativity is not simply exploring the unknown. It is that. And let me tell you, as much as I love building AI and machine learning systems, that’s what they can’t do. They cannot explore the unknown. Maybe someday, some jerk like me is going to build that, and we even have ideas about where we’re going in this space. But right now, artificial intelligence is fundamentally a tool, and you’re the artists.”

I finished listening to The Diamond Cutter by by Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christie McNally this week. It’s a good book and I intend to read and highlight some of it in the future. I continued reading some more of Your Daughters of Freedom by Clare Wright, the past – who’d go back there? really!

I had the best massage this week on my day off. I had been pretty bent out of shape this week until I got an appointment with Annabel. I didn’t think it was possible to get it all handled in one massage, but I should have known.

I also got to spend some time with my son today, which is always a pleasure.

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April 16, 2017

johblogs

learning reading reflection No Comments

Easter Sunday is as good a day as any to bring this back from the dead.

I’ve had a week long staycation with a couple of family visits and friend catchups and conversations. I read and listened to podcasts. I watched ‘Wild’ which led to listening to the Tim Ferris(TF) podcast with Cheryl Strayed. She was talking about her writing process and having to book into a motel and do it in chunks. I started listening to Design Matters with Debbie Millman since Christmas and have a stack to catch up on. I listened to Debbie Millman’s second podcast with TF. I loved the part about her morning routine, even though I don’t have a dog.

I read this article that was fascinating – The Web Wide World by Mark Pesce. There is a lot to think about and remember in that article. I’ve read it over three days because my concentration span isn’t what it used to be.

Venus went direct yesterday. One less thing to be retro about, I’m still examining the effects. There have been shifts.

Easter is my favourite holiday of the year. I like that it’s a different date each year. Autumn weather is my favourite – the light is just right.

Plastic and other conversations

July 1, 2016

johblogs

learning reflection work No Comments

Plastic free July starts today. I’m impressed with the efforts by those around me to take up the challenge. We had Tammy from Gippsland Unwrapped come to speak to us at The VRI Sunday Talk last month. She told us about her first time challenge and her ongoing quest to reduce plastic in her life. Her approach and the consistent way she has worked towards making a difference in her personal life was motivating. She has some great resources on her blog if you are considering it.

It’s an empowering feeling to act on an issue you have with the world. We all have things we feel strongly about. When I scroll through my Facebook feed I read the many ways people want change. I respect the efforts others go to, such as Tammy and those joining her in reducing waste, to be the change. I have switched to a bamboo toothbrush (compliments of my wonderful daughter) and will take my own bags to our 50 Mile Farmers Market tomorrow. I still have a long way to go though.

50 Mile Farmers Market @The VRI

I was at the VicHealth Latrobe Community Challenge workshop today with a group of people – all passionate about projects to make a difference. At lunch we had a conversation about cling wrap and it’s overuse, when my friend chose a serviette over a plastic bowl for her lunch because she is taking up the challenge. I looked at my plastic bowl and thought oops. I’ll make a better choice next time. It is actions that make change and surrounding yourself with good role models :).

The VicHealth Community Challenge led by Spark Strategy has been interesting and we have grown our ideas much faster than we could have without it. They have shared this great toolkit – DIY – Development, Impact & You. So many great tools ! I’ve been reflecting on my practices in the last couple of months and getting lots of new tools. I attended Telstra Imaginarium facilitated by Thick nearly a month ago and whilst I missed some sessions due to a cold that swept through The VRI taking it’s turn with each of us, I gained some great resources there. I met people from non-profits across Victoria who are working with new tools to solve problems.

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