abject learning

Canada is a richer, more vibrant country today. And no, I’m not referring to yesterday’s election which, while it easily could have been worse, sure as hell could have been a whole lot better.

In between meetings downtown this morning it was my pleasure to watch our good friend Rocio’s oath of citizenship ceremony. I’m hardly a flag-waving patriot, and I sometimes find the concept of ‘citizenship’ problematic (especially when paired with terms such as ‘global’), so colour me impressed with how moved I was by it all. Seeing the simple, genuine pride and excitement of the new Canadians and their families, not to mention Rocio herself, was itself memorable. The presiding judge invited the spectators who were citizens to repeat the oath as well, which I did, probably for the first time (unless I did it as a schoolkid). The first half of the oath was in French, and given my mangled skills with our other official language I may well have pledged undying allegiance to the Dark Lord Zoltar… By the time we sang our national anthem to close I was sincerely emotional, so much so that I resisted the urge to yell “now drop the puck!” when it ended.

We’ve known Rocio since she befriended us while we were living in Mexico. We’ve watched her triumph over the challenges of language, culture and career in a new country. We’ve shared some rocky times and a whole lot of good ones — oh yes, and some epic Mexican meals. At this point, she’s family. Just to bring things full circle, very soon she will be bringing her ample gifts here to UBC, where she’s just been hired. Today clearly meant a lot to her, and sharing this moment was a privilege. It was also a provocative learning experience for me — funny how those can pop up unexpectedly.

The presiding judge was crusty, warm, witty and wise. He began and ended his remarks with the same command to all in attendance: “have a real good party tonight.” You bet your robes we will, Your Honour.

There are a lot of people here at UBC who are interested in gathering the disparate voices playing with podcasts and putting together a coordinated campus strategy. I’m hoping to be reporting on a couple of these developments over the coming weeks and months. In the course of many discussions here and elsewhere, the Stanford iTunes initiative is frequently held up as what we might aspire to… There’s some wonderful content there, and being an Apple user it works pretty well for me. But a closer look under the hood reveals some familiar disturbing elements. Jon Udell sums ups:

This question of control versus use is not, by the way, merely a DRM issue. Another audio program I listened to over the weekend, on a long hike, was a talk by Marsh McCall, a classics professor at Stanford. It’s at itunes.stanford.edu, an Apple/Stanford joint project that’s making selected talks available for download.

I’d like to link you directly to that freely-available talk, and also provide a link-addressable soundbite, but I can’t. These audio programs aren’t part of the web, they belong to a parallel mini-universe in which the only acceptable client is iTunes and the only acceptable player device is the iPod.

I recalled Tim Bray’s foray into that universe, and I took a crack at navigating XML-over-ITMS (i.e., the iTunes Music Store HTTP-based protocol) as though it were XML-over-HTTP, but no joy. It seems that all paths lead even more inexorably into the closed world of iTunes than was true when Tim Bray ran his experiment almost two years ago.

The closure doesn’t stop there. You’re also expected to listen to these talks on an iPod. Well I’ve got one of those, but I also use a non-Apple gizmo. It plays MP3s (and WMAs) but not M4As. There are M4A-to-MP3 converters, of course, but finding and using them isn’t something that most people will be able or willing to do.

(A follow-up post on how Udell liberated a few feeds in the name of the Lightnet is also worth a look.)

When I was at a megaconference last fall Apple was a very prominent presence, sponsoring multiple events that shared an “openness” theme (such as receptions for Sakai). The message was, “we’re on your side, we’re fighting the good fight too.” The Stanford iTunes project benefits from goodwill generated by the growth of open source and social software communities, even as it tacitly undermines them. And most of us who never miss the chance to slag Microsoft or BlackWeb for the malodorous implications of their applications simply let it all slide.

From Apple’s perspective it makes sense. It’s just business, securing marketshare and all that. And Stanford is thinking in terms of enhancing its brand, which it has every right to do. And some valuable content is easier for many (but not all) of us to get at than it was a year ago. But I wish they weren’t wrapped in an impenetrable cloak of virtue. And it’s dangerous that this practice is uncritically perceived as what we should all be working to emulate.

I showed up for work after holidays and I was already behind. Past two days I’ve worked like a fiend and it’s gotten worse.

This can’t go on. Either I learn how to navigate my life choices or I start making new choices. Full stop.

For the first time in my life, I’m casting about and exploring various time management strategies, and am getting dangerously close to giving one of the systems an honest try. It goes against every sensibility, long-held value, and temperamental tendency I have, but I simply have no choice unless I want to start my life over.

It ain’t going to be easy. Reading one of the very great many weblogs dedicated to the subject, I came across the following quiz — my responses interspersed in italics:

To find the very best solution, the problem you have must first be clear in your mind, and in the mind of anyone trying to help you.

A problem that is clearly defined, is 50% solved.

Ask yourself questions. For example, let’s say your office is cluttered. You might ask yourself . . .

1. How did my office get so cluttered?

Because I never put anything away.

2. Is anyone else, besides me, contributing to the clutter?

Nobody, except the people who send me stuff.

3. What are my systems for completing projects or going through the mail?

I sometimes exhibit a delayed reaction to panic attacks…

4. How much time do I currently invest in keeping the clutter out of my office?

Every six to twelve months I go nuts and throw everything out.

Once you come up with some answers to your questions, the solution should begin appearing. Keep this in mind when it comes to your organizing projects, and any other projects that you may have. If you do, you’re well on your way to being organized.

Whew! That’s a relief! Don’t see that solution just yet, but good to know it’s ‘50% solved’…

The new, improved, organized Brian Lamb. Watch for it, anywhere chupacabra and the Jersey Devil is found. Ask for it by name.