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Monday, July 17, 2017

Beyond the Information Age

WE LIVE IN the information age, which according to Wikipedia is a period in human history characterized by the shift from industrial production to one based on information and computerization.

Nothing surprising there, except for the idea that this is “a period in human history” — which tends to suggest it will come to an end at some point. The industrial revolution in the late nineteenth century ushered in the industrial age, and the digital revolution in the mid twentieth century spurred the emergence of the information age. So it is not entirely crazy to speculate about what might lie beyond the information age.

Of course, I am not arguing that information will become obsolete. Firms will always need to harness information in effective ways, just as most of them still need industrial techniques to make their products cheaply and efficiently. My point, instead, is that information will become necessary but not sufficient for firms to be successful. All this talk of “big data,” for example, feels like an attempt to strain a few more drops of juice out of an already-squeezed orange, just as Six Sigma was a way of squeezing more value out of the quality revolution. Both are valuable concepts, but their benefits are incremental, not revolutionary.

So just as night follows day, the information age will eventually be superseded by another age; and it behooves those with senior executive responsibility to develop a point of view on what that age might look like.

So here is a specific question that helps us develop this point of view — one that was a topic of debate at our annual Global Leadership Summit at London Business School, focused this year on the rapid advance of technology and its impact on not only business, but society, politics and the economy: What would a world with too much information look like? And what problems would it create? I think there are at least four answers:

1. Paralysis through Analysis. In a world of ubiquitous information, there is always more out there. Information gathering is easy, and often quite enjoyable as well. My students frequently complain that they need more information before coming to a view on a difficult case-study decision. Many corporate decisions are delayed because of the need for further analysis. Whether due to the complexity of the decision in front of them, or because of the fear of not performing sufficient due diligence, the easy option facing any executive is simply to request more information.

2. Easy access to data makes us intellectually lazy. Many firms have invested a lot of money in “big data” and sophisticated data-crunching techniques. But a data-driven approach to analysis has a couple of big flaws. First, the bigger the database, the easier it is to find support for any hypothesis you choose to test. Second, big data makes us lazy – we allow rapid processing power to substitute for thinking and judgment. One example: pharmaceutical companies fell in love with “high throughput screening” techniques in the 1990s, as a way of testing out all possible molecular combinations to match a target. It was a bust. Most have now moved back towards a more rational model based around deep understanding, experience and intuition.

3. Impulsive and Flighty Consumers. Watch how your fellow commuters juggle their smartphone, tablet and Kindle. Or marvel at your teenager doing his homework. With multiple sources of stimulation available at our fingertips, the capacity to focus and concentrate on a specific activity is falling. This has implications for how firms manage their internal processes – with much greater emphasis being placed on holding people’s attention than before. It also has massive consequences for how firms manage their consumer relationships, as the traditional sources of “stickiness” in those relationships are being eroded.

4. A little learning is a dangerous thing. We are quick to access information that helps us, but we often lack the ability to make sense of it, or to use it appropriately. Doctors encounter this problem on a daily basis, as patients show up with (often incorrect) self-diagnoses. Senior executives second-guess their subordinates because their corporate IT system gives them line-of-sight down to detailed plant-level data. We also see this at a societal level: people believe they have the right to information that is in the public interest (think Wikileaks), but they are rarely capable of interpreting and using it in a sensible way. The broader point here is that the democratization of information creates an imbalance between the “top” and “bottom” of society, and most firms are not good at coping with this shift.

Consequences

So what are the consequences of a business world with “too much information”? At an individual level, we face two contrasting risks. One is that we become obsessed with getting to the bottom of a problem, and we keep on digging, desperate to find the truth but taking forever to do so. The other risk is that we become overwhelmed with the amount of information out there and we give up: we realise we cannot actually master the issue at hand, and we end up falling back on a pre-existing belief.

Original article > https://www.wired.com/insights/2014/06/beyond-information-age/

Walt Disney and Disneyland: 17 bizarre true stories, conspiracy theories and rumours

*People are so naive, have you ever noticed that anything that goes against government, banking, certain incidents, etc. are all labeled, "Conspiracy theories"? 😂😅 Let me get this straight, "Anything that knocks the status quo's belief system and attacks the "powers that be are a conspiracy "theory". You still haven't proven Jesus, we still haven't proven "only" 3 dimensions or that we're alone in the universe. So...nevermind.
**My net went down during this post and it wasn't a conspiracy, my ISP sucks. Be practical in your thoughts.

Interactive > http://tinyurl.com/y76rsv4o

On the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney's death, we revisit some strange-but-true (and some strange-but-probably-not-true) tales about the legendary animator, his studios and his famous Anaheim theme park.

1. Disneyland grew out of Walt's obsession with trains

After becoming disillusioned with the financial constraints imposed upon his film studio, and with the difficulties involved in making expensive feature length animations, Disney began pouring all his (considerable) creative energy into his childhood hobby: Pokémontrading cards. (Okay, model trains.)

In 1950, working from his home in California's Holmby Hills, he constructed the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, a scaled down, ride-able miniature railway system, which he would invite friends and family round to test out. He also collected and built smaller engine models, and amassed an impressive collection...some of which can be seen today at the Carolwood Barn Museum (as shown in the video below).

According to his biographer Neal Gabler, however, while the hobby initially offered a way for Disney to retreat from the world, it eventually laid the seeds for his most ambitious project yet.

"At first he hatched the idea of running a train around his studio. Then he elaborated upon it with the idea of providing a turn-of-the-century village where passengers could disembark," Gabler explains.

Disney's schemes soon grew to incorporate a Wild West town...and befor elong, instead of planning a village, he was planning an entire resort...and decided to purchase land in Anaheim.

2. The theme park's opening was a complete disaster

Poor Walt. After dreaming up his inspirational, educational wonderland – or as he described it, a "happy place dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America" – and watching it spend a year under construction, the animation entrepreneur was finally able to open Disneyland on July 17 1955.

He planned a select opening event, with 6000 tickets issued to members of the press, sponsors, and Disney studio and construction workers and their families. A television crew from ABC was on standby to capture the entire event, while the construction of the park itself had also been filmed, as part of an ABC series.

Unfortunately, the tickets in question, as you can see below, weren't exactly counterfeit-proof. Thousands of additional guests (some sources suggest a total figure of 28,000) simply forged their own versions and turned up on the day, leading to traffic jams and overcrowding.

*Apologies, I need to run.

Full article > http://tinyurl.com/y76rsv4o

Some sites kill me saying what can't be done

*Some will know.

You want dynamic animated gifs for your website or blog?

Visit Global Systems Engineering / Sys Nica. Small frames, full page, linked, sectioned, where ever you want it and how you want it.

The Financial Survival Guide: How To Be Prepared If Disaster Strikes

Although I am a Walking Dead junkie, this is not a guide that will prepare you for the inevitable zombie apocalypse (however when zombies do attack, I 100% recommend finding and following Rick Grimes). This guide will help you prepare for the disasters that are all too real, like the loss of a job or a home fire. It's our nature to not want to think about horrible what-ifs because it's too uncomfortable and painful to imagine. Plus, some feel like if they prepare for the worst, they are being paranoid or living in fear. However, it's quite the opposite. You can't control if or when disaster strikes, but you can control how devastating the personal damage is by being prepared. While we doubt our child's school will catch fire, we expect the school to have fire drills, and to be prepared if it does happen. Same rationale here, and same reason we all have insurance. Below are steps to take now to minimize the financial and emotional effects should disaster strike.

Loss of job:

Have a three to six month cash emergency fund.
Maintain a large Rolodex. Preserve relationships with old colleagues, support those in need and celebrate others successes.
Keep an updated LinkedIn profile. Ask colleagues for recommendations and endorsements so future employers can immediately see your amazingness.
Have a short term, easily implementable (legal) plan B for income in a pinch. It probably won't be a dream job or generate loads of cash, but a part-time job will provide some relief.

Market crash:

FYI, bear markets are inevitable.
Have a cash emergency fund.
Work with a financial advisor to create a diversified portfolio. It won't completely protect you in a crash, but will minimize the damage.
Don't panic and immediately sell everything. This is the worst thing you can do, yet people always succumb to the pressure. Sit on your hands, grind your teeth and wait. From 1928 through 2014, the S&P 500's (a standard measure of the market) compound rate of return was 9.8%, proving the resiliency of the market.

Illness (you, parents, spouse, child):

Health insurance - A good policy is single-handedly the most important tool to minimize the financial devastation caused by illness.
Disability and long term care insurance - This is a personal decision, and you must consider multiple factors such as: odds of disability/illness, the type of work you do, your savings and if you have family support. Equally important to consider is the price of the peace of mind these policies provide.
Living will and advance directives - A living will outlines what medical treatments you want or don't want at the end of life. A power of attorney is someone who can make decisions for you if you are unable to do so. The Mayo Clinic is a great source for additional information on advance directives.

Divorce:

None of us are planning for a divorce, but sadly this is a common disaster. The below steps are healthy habits to adopt regardless, and if anything could even strengthen your marriage.
Be an active financial partner; don't completely rely on your spouse to handle the finances. Know your full net worth and where your accounts are held (both debt and equity).
If you are a stay at home parent, keep a toe in the work pool by keeping up with old colleagues or occasionally consulting/volunteering. Have potential employment options if needed.
While it's important to be a team with your spouse, make sure you are still you. Nurture your hobbies, relationships, volunteer work and/or career.

Death of spouse:

Everything listed in divorce applies. Especially the need to understand your finances. I once went to a widowed clients' home to help her sort through years of unopened financial statements because she didn't understand them, and was terrified of what they might say.
Have adequate life insurance, through both work and/or private insurance.
Make sure beneficiaries and wills are updated.

House Fire:

Fire Alarms - A home fire is one of the few that you can take steps to prevent, not just try to minimize damages. The National Fire Protection Association recommends smoke alarms inside each bedroom, on every level of the home, the family room and near stairways. Test these alarms once a month. Visit the NFPA for more valuable fire safety information.
Fire Extinguishers - Inexpensive and easy to buy. Actually, just buy one here before reading the next bullet.
Have a plan - Most important is to get out of the house. We have two little ones, so my husband and I have a fire escape ladder in our room and a plan for who is in charge of getting which kid out and how. You don't want to have to make these decisions when the house is on fire.
Insurance - If the fire cannot be prevented, insurance is paramount. The amount of home insurance coverage needed varies by situation, but it typically covers the following: dwelling, other structures, loss of use, personal property, personal liabilities and medical. Do not skimp on the home insurance deductible! Spend as much as you can afford; your home and it's contents are your most expensive assets.

War:

I use this term loosely, and am including any attack that would cause mass chaos in your area with limited or no access to supplies, information, internet and cell phones. I'm not suggesting you build a bunker in your backyard, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared so you won't be left helpless.
Have a survival kit that includes cash, food, water, batteries, radio, flashlight, matches, infant and medical supplies. FEMA recommends food supplies that will last two weeks.
Identify a meeting spot and a plan if you get separated from your family.
Imagine a world with no internet and no cell service. All of our numbers are stored in our phones. I only know my parents and husband's cell numbers by memory (OK, actually I only know my parents number). Family members should have a physical list of important phone numbers, as well as a physical map. No Waze in an internet blackout.
Have your important documents stored together somewhere safe, including: wills, social security cards and birth certificates.
In Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family, author Arthur T. Bradley recommends additional steps toward developing a disaster plan, without applying the scare tactics that some survival books use. Interesting read if you're looking to learn more!

Visit my website at www.frazierfinancialconsultants.com, or follow me on Twitter (@lfrazierpeck).

Nice piece yet he brought religion into it... "An oh crap moment".

OPEN: The B0TT0M LINE OF WORLD AFFAIRS: An Update. That’s the title of today’s show. Welcome to STAG. I’m Jack. I know you’ve heard bits and pieces of these news items, but I want to show that they are all connected to depopulation of the world. This is just an overview of many different areas. I beg you to follow up on this material. Your life style has been changing for decades and is about to make a major shift that will be the beginning of the end of at least half the world population. The book of Revelation is clear about that. But first….

DISC: The views you hear are mine, and no meant……
UW: The following hour of RCR is……

DEPOPULATION The primary objective of the Illuminati. World government, the New World Order, is only one of the final steps is depopulating the earth to their desired “optimum” of half billion people. All the financial moves they make are down on the third level. More likely the fourth level down. The financial arms of the Illuminati are only tasked with bringing down nations, consolidating them into the New World Order. Another fourth level system is Big Pharma. Again, fourth level. Big Pharma is only the worker bee for the owners of Big Pharma. They would probably be on the third level down in implementing world depopulation. These people would own multiple corporations. They would be the George Soros type. Their scope is broader than one company. And in bed with Big Pharma is big Medicine. Pharma makes those baby-killing, autistic-making drugs for Big Meds to pass out. As unlikely as it may sound at first, the Fed is an integral and important part of depopulating the world. When bread is $40 a loaf, will anyone starve to death? How about the world weather? You’d think that someone was trying their damnedest to cut off this year’s crops, around the world, in case you hadn’t noticed. And what about all that flooding? Snow! Up north in June! Don’t go to the Midwest, unless you want a free ride on some local tornado. Have they stopped counting those things?

Do I have to do more than mention war? That’s a three-way winner for the Illuminati. They beat up their competition, they get control of both sides after the war, and they get enormously rich, with “annuities” coming in for years over the debt they created.

Have you seen the numbers of how many earthquakes are happening every day, all around the world? The Pacific Rim of Fire is doing a virtual dance. Fukushima. One quake over in Indonesia, a couple years back, remember?, depopulated the world by a few hundred thousand in just a few minutes. Well, I know that earthquakes don’t seem to fall into the category of Illuminati moves to depopulate the world. Would you agree that They control the high level science of the nations? The hidden labs at Area 51? Have you ever heard of HAARP? HAARP would be down on at least level five.

If you type in “Georgia Guidestones”, you’ll see what some have called the American Stonehenge. You won’t be able to find out who built the thing. That’s a mystery. How convenient. The big standing slabs are inscribed with a bunch of different languages. Each language lists the things that will make an optimum earth. Utopia. The darn thing reads just like the Communist Manifesto. But, on every stone, the first thing on the list of proper planet management is the optimum population for earth. 500,000,000. Half a billion. We’ve got 340 billion in the US alone. If you killed off half the population of China, you’d still have more than a half billion left.

And with what we see in the world every day now, they are really making their moves. Oh! We should probably mention the TSA; those un-sworn, underpaid, “selectees” who are putting their hands down inside 6 year old girl’s pants. Those morally depraved people who are willing to insert themselves into women’s bodies. All part of the job. “Next!” What’s that got to do with depopulation?

I don’t know whom, exactly to blame for the chem-trails, but they have been the illuminati’s best weapons lately. People think the passenger jets are making them. Add on to that number all those who know that they trails aren’t made by the big jets, but still think the trails are harmless. They’ve been told that the trails are a form of weather modification. That’s true, but only a small portion of what they are used for.

I’m not sure if there will be time to get into detail, but I will mention a very large area of control that the Illuminati have put in place around the world. The Environmental movement, Agenda 21. Remember that all these areas are working on the same plan. Some are working indirectly, like mainly facilitating the collapse of the US economy in order to pull it into the world government. Just the Wildlands Project will take away 48% of our land. Most of that we won’t even have access to. The core Reserves will be off limits for regular people. The World Heritage folks at the UN have taken over jurisdiction of many of our landmarks and national parks. Independence Hall and Statue of Liberty aren’t solely ours any more. The environmental movement is run at the UN by the Illuminati founded and funded NGOs. They have almost four times the votes that the official government Reps do. Rockefeller made Maurice Strong, the “Father of the Environmental Movement” a rich and powerful man by the age 25 and then installed him in the UN. His task? Get control of the world’s resources and impose heavy taxes, rebellion-breaking taxes, on the world population. Do all that to help bring in total world control. When no one has a means of resistance, everyone is easy to kill.

So, we have a hierarchy. But before I go down that list I have to remind you about compartmentalization. It’s their most effective tool. Right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing, and neither realize to ultimate or even intermediate goal. Big Pharma advertising doesn’t know anything about the deadly ingredients in all vaccines. They don’t look at that part. They only figure ways to sell the product. They also don’t realize that the places that they learned their craft are owned or controlled by the same Illuminati. The Ad men have been compartmentalized.

The hierarchy tops at the Illuminati. Rothschild and their buddies. Then we’ve got the foundations and big financiers like Soros, who have been allowed to become fabulously wealthy in order to fund the different projects that aren’t completely Black. Big scale projects like destabilizing a nation’s economy, making an IMF loan possible. Did you know that they have invented a term for the results of an IMF loan? They call it the IMF riot. There’s always a riot. Would you riot if they taxed the water that came out of the well in your back yard? The only countries that do OK are those who refuse the IMF loan. Iceland. Big money, as you know, also takes care of “electing’ the people that will run the country the way the Illuminati want them to run it. Lindsey Williams says that Obama is risking his reelection by pushing all the war he is. But it’s not up to him to put ground troops in Libya in Sept/Oct. They are already gearing up and holding landing drills.

Third level down the hierarchy is the people who run the day-to-day world. That would be Presidents, “friendly” dictators, CEO’s. This level will be aware of the over all plan to take over the whole world. They have been told that they will be part of the take over or be part of the ones who govern after the take over. And like any self-respecting gang member they will have admitted/submitted to a crime big enough to take them down, should the need arise. You know, compromising sex pictures with children. Sending pictures of your private parts around the Internet. We’ll have a lot to say about Mr. Weiner later on. He would be down at least to level four.

Congressmen and Senators. Blackmail and threats are the order of the day in Congress. Lindsey Williams told how on May 15th a bunch of them made a lot of money by voting to open up the Alaskan oil fields. Slipped in quietly by the environmentalists.

Level five, again, would be the agencies of governments that implement the rules. Also the black ops of the Intel groups. Alex Jones and others point out that the police, the CIA operatives; the special teams that stage captures of long dead al Qaeda leaders are also at risk. The result of their actions will affect their own children, if they live that long. So many of the operatives of big ops… die suddenly.

The axis of financial evil would be the banks, the Fed and Wall Street. They continually shuffle paper around while skimming off the money. The Fed prints up as much money as it wants and gives it away to whomever it wants, including McDonald’s. Ford got 29 billion under the table. Wall street suckers people in and puts their money in failing stocks and derivatives, charging exorbitant fees for the transactions. The banks get to trade all the money involved and also gain control of the assets lost when the stocks bubble out. All the while, the Fed creates more debt, making our dollars worth less. We’re the only country that has this privilege. The dollar is still the world currency. Ireland can’t just print up money the way the fed does, no one would use it for business, but a small minority. Everybody uses dollars. But that’s changing rapidly. The trillions that China owns in T-bills is worth much less than when they bought them. They are getting rid of them as fast as they can. And some places around the world won’t let you buy stuff with dollars. You want an idea of how worthless our dollar becomes, watch the price of gold and silver. Every time gold goes up, it means that the dollar has gone down. Same to some extent for the stock market. When the market is up, it usually means that it took more dollars to buy that same stock.

The Elite want the dollar to “be dead” by the end of 2012. it will no longer be the world currency. That’ll happen before December 2012. Lindsey’s source says they want to raise the price of gold and silver 25% this year.

Full article > http://asis.com/users/stag/starchiv/transcriptions/ST334%20Depopulation.html

The Four Fundamentals for a Successful Frame Of Mind

Getting into the right frame of mind can be tricky. Sometimes we think we know how to be successful and we never quite get there. What is the secret that successful people have? It starts with having the right frame of mind.

What is a frame of mind?

It is a mindset with strong willpower, dreams/goals , passion, and knowledge about a particular subject of interest. This mindset consists of several different components that make it work. You can’t just say an affirmation like “I’ll be successful” over and over. It won’t work.

What will work however, is to replicate a frame of mind from someone who is already where you want to be. You need to think similar to them. Act like they do. Have the drive and passion to get to where you want to be. You can’t let excuses or obstacles stop you from achieving your goals and dreams.

The Four Fundamentals of A Successful Frame of Mind

Willpower

The first fundamental for a successful frame of mind is willpower. The ability to break free from influence and control your own destiny and action. Willpower is an act of extreme self-control that enables you do great things even if the rewards and reasons aren’t there up front.

Passion

Your passion or drive needs to be rooted in the right place. You can’t have the right frame of mind without some kind of drive pushing you harder and to become better. You need a reason to do all the things you want to do and something to give you that extra motivation when things seem hard.

Knowledge

Successful people all have 1 thing in common. Knowledge or a willingness to learn. If you don’t want to learn the details, you won’t be able to get the results you want. Knowledge is like a safety net that can keep you from falling. If something gets screwed up then you can always lean from it and move on. Having enough knowledge can keep you from messing things up to begin with.

Dreams/Goals

Paint yourself a clear picture of where you want to be and what your goals are. Dreams are an excellent resource to do this. All you need to do is envision yourself already there and don’t worry about the details. When you get to a point were you’re stuck then remember the dream you have. It will bring you great amounts of motivation.

Also, set some goals. They will help you measure the amount of success along the way. Goals are a great way to keep yourself on track.

Now that you know what fundamental resources you must have in order to be successful, it’s time to get them setup and develop a strong frame of mind. Once you lay out the foundation for your mindset then you can begin on your journey for success. You will never reach your goals if you don’t believe in yourself and keep a solid organized mind. Focus on the fundamentals and keep your head strong. Good Luck!

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