01.30.08
Posted in Work at 4:56 pm by JohnB
I posted an article a little while ago about innovation and what it is, where it comes from and how even little things can suddenly make a difference.
I watched this video by Scott Kurtz today and it brought my attention immediatly back to this subject. Now I’m no artist, I follow the process with interest but it’s the same interest as I’d have for someone desinging a rocket engine – an external one. I’m never going to do it, but I like to see how it’s done.. I hope that makes sense.
Scott is innovating in his methods of producing his comic strip, deviating from the normal patterns for no other reason than… ‘you know what this seems good!’
Sometime a fresh approach is all that is needed as an outcome, because the results of that fresh approach will be different, they cannot be otherwise. I also remember having a conversation at the Innovation session I attended where one ofthe guys there said something along the lines of:
“Well, we’re very structured and procedural in our working practices so I’m not sure innovation is really something I can do.”
All well and good, but ultimately not true, and I told him so! Regardless of your circumstance, there are MANY things which you have a direct control over, if you only examine 10% of those and make 1 change, just because it might make this a bit easier for you, or the person coming next.. that’s good innovative thinking.
Everyone can do it and practice it too. Watch the video.
Thanks Scott! Today just became a good day!
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Posted in Home at 11:53 am by JohnB
I lived with the Americanised version of English which it seems all mac come pre-configured with for a good while now. Principally because I’m so used to dealing with our friends in ‘the colonies’ 
that I almost don’t notice the use of ‘z’ instead of ‘s’ ‘..or’ instead of ‘..our’ etc.. etc.. but today I was typing out an email, in what I’ll call for now “real English”, and the plethora of red wiggly lines got on my nerves.
I changed the language settings in the systems prefs but that had no effect at all, however after digging around I found that you can change the pronunciation (!!) in the dictionary settings so that, even though it’s using the American dictionary (I couldn’t find a British one anywhere to install) the red lines go away…. Hoorah!!
After a quick logout/in everything is sweet and I feel jolly English all over again.
I hope this helps others who’ve suffered as I have 
- J.
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01.22.08
Posted in Home at 10:11 am by JohnB
I read quite a bit… in fact the majority of my life is spent reading one thing or another. I spend my working time in front of a screen, I read technology magazines and white-papers etc. In my downtime I read books, motorcycle magazines and papers and webcomics.
The webcomics I read are over there on the side bar and on the whole I read them for fun and as a mild form of escapism. However – and this brings me to the topic of my post today – I do form some sort of bond with the people behind the comics. I’ve emailed them (I have actually got replies too which is nice), I follow their blog posts and listen with great interest to the podcasts they make too. Scott Kurtz over at PVP has a sharp mind and keen eye and hear for the comic moment, his wife Angela is one of the most supportive people I’ve heard of and obviously deeply cares for Scott and what he does. Mike and Jerry (Gabe and Tycho) at Penny Arcade are simply the best professional partnership I’ve come across, the combination of Mike’s artistic talents and Jerry’s razor sharp whit and blinding intellect make for not only a truly awesome comic, but also some of the best laugh-out-loud entertainment I’ve ever heard via their during-creation podcasts. But the prompt for this missive is Mr Kris Straub, the man behind Starslip Crisis.
Kris took a risk and suffered a knockback and when I read his post explaining what had been going on I felt a genuine empathy, so much so that I made a decision to lend some support, I ordered a Jinxlet. This made me think… I don’t know Kris, he’s never heard of me (and is unlikely too, let’s be honest) yet I feel this level of familiarity with him. This is nothing more than an assumption on my part due to nothing more than my reading of his strip, listening to his podcasts and reading his posts… part of me says I should back away from this, and part of me says that any support is good and that’s where I am. (There is also another part of me which asks ‘do others see me in this way?’ but that’s just my ego! )
So… Kris, keep up the work – it’s good stuff! Keep making big plans, a percentage of them will always land. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be here too and finally… you have a strong set of colleagues who have become friends, cherish that and remember no-one judges your worthiness except you.. so stop it!
- J.
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