Oh, the irony: http://bit.ly/a9BtU :)

3 simple pictures. You *will* get them wrong. http://bit.ly/mGJKv Chief Culture Officer :)

#WolframAlpha may not be Orwell's 1984, but expect non-alpha to be. Atom-splitting power for Computational Knowledge. www.WolframAlpha.com

'Wirearchy', Can Non-Profits work more like clouds? - http://bit.ly/9liTx (RT: @kanter)

Remember when you were a kid...? http://bit.ly/z6WAg (H/T @loic @zee) #iFriday (i=inspiration)

Did you know? http://bit.ly/9Lo5r Perspective. (Watched it again. Refreshing.) Enjoy!

Had 'chemistry' conversation w/ blockbuster non-profit. Mutually excellent 'chemistry'. So it's 'when' not 'if'. Made the A-Team waitlist :)

"It's always about them" - http://bit.ly/10sy6i - Audience=them. Not me. Along with 100's of others, I got the Jeep thing totally wrong.

And...it's jog o'clock once again! 87F/30C, warm. Ciao!

"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less." General Eric Shineski, Retired Chief of Staff, U.S. Army

"Social is like sex." - CEO, Forrester Research - http://bit.ly/vdROO - The Counterintuitive CEO

Mother's Day - dates around the world - http://bit.ly/10L6lo

Prediction: 10-May-2009, Mother's Day in many countries, will be the lowest traffic day of the year for both Facebook and Twitter. True :)

'Survival at all costs' the new mantra at media companies?http://bit.ly/GTHbp -And I posit this is *not* limited 2 only 'media' companies.

A-n-d... it's that special time of day: jog o'clock! Ciao.

Take #2/d�j� vu: 1st conversation with social service blockbuster non-profit, re-scheduled for this afternoon.

And...it's jog o'clock. Ciao for now.

Innovation drives the sacred P's - productivity and profit. - http://bit.ly/qrCfd

Story enhancer: "It is Spring, and I am blind." - http://bit.ly/5R140

Garmin says! 7.3m/11.75km, 85F/29C - Another great jog along the Bayou!

First conversation with a social service blockbuster Non-Profit collides with org's first confirmed H1N1 case. Conversation re-scheduled :)

Looking forward to a first conversation with a social service blockbuster Non-Profit.

"The game isn't everything; it's the only thing."
http://bit.ly/abxL3

"The only people who like change are wet babies." [True? http://bit.ly/PAh4W]

The Business Secrets of Trappist Monks - Enjoy! Read. Do. Succeed!

Turbulence is inescapable. 'Swim with the current'. - [ I love the "agitated and 'busy'" phrase. Great visual.]

Annual physical, done. 'nuf said.

http://www.howtonailaninterview.com/ - really people, c'mon - common sense. Short clips. Funny...or... sad. 22 tips, spot on!

"...bottle ocean waves." One of today's inspirations. Enjoy!!!

Whoa! Once again jog o'clock strikes - plus modest strength training. Ciao!

Garmin says! 7.25m/11.7k, 80F/26C - awesome Bayou trek!

Looking forward to full sun and a l-o-n-g walk along the Bayou -- especially after yesterday's non-stop torrential downpours.

Part 2 of 2: See the glass as already broken (and everything else too). - WTx? - Part 1 of 2 here: http://bit.ly/y2S8m

Daily Calendar Inspirations...

17-April-2009, "Everything has a beginning, and everything has an end. A glass is created and will eventually break."

Twitter on Oprah - ABC at 4pm in NYC! ( @ev and @aplusk)

Whoa! It's jog o'clock. Ciao.

Eye exam today. No glaucoma, great news! Small, tiny, miniscule (Dr.'s words) CATARACT developing. Less than great news. :(

It ain't easy when you fall, Ian Hunter, [got news. It ain't easy when you're pushed either. ;)

A Tom Asacker post

Amazing video and metaphors aplenty. It ain't over @ 1:30. Keep watching.

182 Linkedin members invited; a ~10% automatic match of the original 1860 contacts imported. Not bad, says I. :)

Just imported 1860 gmail contacts into Linkedin. Now to prioritize and connect!

Garmin says: "10k/6.21mi" -Sunday stroll along the White Oak Bayou Trail. Perfect temperature, breezes, and Texas wildflowers in full bloom!

Lovely long walk along the Bayou. Texas Wildflowers. Nice breezes. Perfect temperature. April 2nd, a day to remember.

10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la meme chose.

"Sunshine of Your Love" - live - The. Eric. Clapton.

Total. Puppy. Cuteness! (video)

"A Vision of your Children's Future" OK, but how long do the batteries last? ;)

"Is Customer Service the new PR?" Plus, Twitter is 'Social CRM' @jowyang

Houston, we've got slightly less sucky gadget sales (Yeah!)

"Be honest, especially with yourself." - Tom Asacker. [Spot on!!]

"Body of Lies" for ORD->IAH viewing later today.

Expense Reduction meeting this morning. Have many serious democratic suggestions. No "AIG-like" tolerated.

5 frogs are sitting on a log. 4 decide to jump off. How many are left? Enjoy! ;)

"Inch by inch, life's a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard." - this loses something in conversion to metric ;)

Happy Birthday Web! 20 years old today!

Digital Ethnography: (Kansas State University - video preview) Enjoy!

1984. My first Cell Phone. Car mounted *and* mobile. Mobile? ;) Served clients all over San Diego County at the time.

Wolfram Alpha: Computational Knowledge Engine. Incredibly smart guy. Maybe KM will benefit from this. Hoping.

Twitter - Wall Street Journal, front page!

Reincarnation - by Memo Atken Whoa! Hugely talented artist.

Non-profit, charity auctions. Found this link. Anyone have any recommendations?

Hello Daylight Savings Time!! I love the long days and sunlight well into the evening. Favorite time of year.

Just called DishNetwork TV to cancel. Avg $68/mo. reduced to $30/mo!! Same channels! I save $38/mo. Dish gets $30, better than $0 :)

Just finished putting Ubuntu on an old P3 with only 256M RAM; the thing flies! Unlike Windoze ;)

Over 1,000,000 Job Postings!! http://www.indeed.com/jobtrends/industry

$124.17 - cool! Just got reimbursed for my 4 nights' hotel stay following Hurricane Ike. W00t! (Yes, that's right - 4 nights - $124.17! :)

Slacker. Music. Where have I been? Sometimes, just when I think I understand this stuff and am on top of it all…NOT! Slacker, not me ;)

10 Must-have Apps for Your BlackBerry - http://bit.ly/bMyeL

Facebook Backs Away From Policy Change - http://bit.ly/C9nxy

My Dear Olive Tree...

Dammit! Reading this. Re-watching this.

www.charitywater.org - Twestival '09

I'm famous(er) ;) http://bit.ly/qwIz9 Thanks to Twitter Social Media super stars @philcampbell @documentally @magiprint @barnstormed -- for a great cause!! www.charitywater.org

"Are you making history?" - Tom Asacker

Group lunch meeting; group dinner meeting (different group)... and this is "work". ;)

CharityWater - this is HUGE! http://www.charitywater.org/twestival/index.html 1.1Billion people don't have access to safe drinking water.

Twitter: How to Get Started Guide for Business People [from CIO.com]

At this morning's monthly breakfast with the CEO, he asked, "Just what is Twitter anyway?" Ah... the $64k question. ;)

WordPress site ready @ Dreamhoster. Thinking of fronting this whole Blog thing with Joomla. Need a home for barrage of Mashups - soon!

Opt Out. Yellow Pages / White Pages, phone books. (Huge environmental impact!) http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/

2 weeks since I returned from 28days in the Middle East. Exactly 14 days before Gaza; 14 days during Gaza. Never the same. Not adjusting.

"What leaders and organizations must provide today is perceptible progress." - Tom Asacker [Amen!]

Non-profits: 5 types of content for YouTube Success!

18-Jan-2009, 1st day of 2 unilateral "ceasefires"

These unilateral "ceasefires" won't last. No chance.

These memories are only one small part of "why".

(click to enlarge)

Gaza: Time for Peace (please share) http://ping.fm/ek7UO

The moral & military meltdown... One perspective: http://bit.ly/tfctQ

Gaza Photo. Warning! Graphic - http://bit.ly/wgcM

Gaza: Warning! Graphic

I cannot get this visual out of my mind. Devastating.

Golan Heights...

And now news from Aljazeera indicates Israeli forces are receiving weapon fire in the Golan Heights -- allegedly from Syria. And this keeps growing.

10-Jan-2009, Surreal

After 28 days in the Middle East, 20hrs of air travel, I'm back in Houston. Surreal. Re-adjusting to GMT-6 after 28days of GMT+2. What time is it? :)

Last day of my 28-day NGO volunteer mission here in the Middle East,Palestine.Lots accomplished. Lots still to do. Sad to leave.Will return.

Day #28 of 28: 9-Jan-2007

28 days ago, there was just the end of my visit as an endpoint. Now there is the Gaza conflict; that's the real endpoint -- that everyone is looking forward to. Sooner better than later. Amen.

Day #27 of 28: 8-Jan-2009

**Candles for the Gaza Children**
Attended a 4pm joint advocacy event in support for the children of Gaza. It was a moving event. The pictures were brutal.
**Lebanon Border**
Rocket fire confirmed now from the *NORTHERN* border of Israel with Lebanon. Predicted. I'm 100% so far, unfortunately. :(
**Picture of the Day**

**Ramallah**
Today, I return to Ramallah.
Yesterday great meeting with Software company principal; will advise to move forward with this process. Another meeting with Management Consulting team "Idara" -- big supporters of this NGO, designers of their current strategic plan, the CEO a Fulbright scholar, lead consultant University Professor at age 22. Deep intelligence.
**Weather**
Rainy evening last night (light rain; greatly needed) and rain-like clouds trying to form this morning.

Great evening with Haytham and his wife Malak. Light meal, drinks, and the traditional Narghilè -- for them. :) Great conversation!

Day #26 of 28: 7-Jan-2009

**Gaza Update**
Our staff in Gaza report all staff are alive, no injuries. Every day we call. Every day is unknown. They are under tremendous mental, psychological, and physical pressures of everyday life is an unfolding of the unknown, moment to moment.

**ICT update**
Yesterday Jericho (awesome ICT team meeting!) and today Ramallah to meet with and discuss the possibility of the software company Bisan helping this NGO by tailoring an application specifically for Micro-Financing. (The NGO won a huge award in Nov.'08 in micro-financing in the Middle East.)

What I will *not* miss about my current 28-day stay in Jerusalem: multiple daily "tests" of the Hotel fire alarm system. Really. Daily? WTH?

Day #25 of 28: 6-Jan-2009

**Prediction**
As the string of tensions is drawn tighter & tighter on the Gaza bow, something/someone in the world, not limited to the immediate Gaza area, is going to break. Watch...watch.

**NGO Volunteering**
4 days left; 24 days completed. Lots accomplished; lots left to do. Ultimately this is about "capacity building" so that this NGO can continue to develop their own ICT capacity with no/limited involvement from outside going forward. Time will tell.
**Software Presentation**
Yesterday we prepared for and participated in a 60-minute demonstration of hosted software that will help them here manage their constituents. They were very pleased with what they saw. (*note: even though I've told them, they have no idea how difficult it will be during implementation; it's a reality that everyone must experience on their own.)

Day #24 of 28: 5-Jan-2009

**Prognostication**
Gaza: The weapons, fuel, food, supplies that the Israeli Army brings with them in their ground offensive will be confiscated in massive, unprecendented and unanticipated military tactics by their opposition. This simply following: "Necessity is the Mother of Invention".

**Financing the War**
Putting together some interesting economic tidbits from one of the local papers: Haaretz

1. Tourism = 6% of Israel GDP
2. Budget for War: NIS 2.4 billion ($634m USD)
3. 1st week of Gaza conflict: 700m NIS ($184m USD trading @ 0.264)

(and the 1st week was mostly aerial attacks w/ light support from Navy - but no ground troop activities other than initial "staging")

Prediction: Total=25 days of conflict before budget is depleted - starting at 27-Dec-2008. (Note: this will not make an immediate difference. Just amassing war debt over the long haul that will at some point take its toll on the local economy. And don't forget the 6% of GDP that tourism represents. That's going to take a direct hit -- prediction 50% minimum decline for 2009.

**ICT Sector**
Lots to do today. All leading toward 5pm conference call with constituent management company providing a web conference demo of their solutions as a potential fit for the multi-site NGO I'm volunteering with here.

**Italians in Jerusalem**
Lively Italian tourist group at the breakfast buffet today. I just love the Mediterranean spirit, and the people who embody it! (In stark contrast to the previous German-based group at the Hotel. Nothing against Germans, just different, that's all. :)

School's back in session today. Great to see all the kids with their backpacks walking along to school and all the chitter-chatter; again in stark contrast to all the broadcast "news" in the local Jerusalem area.

Day #23 of 28: 4-Jan-2009

Gaza/Israel Conflict
Most of the "official" spokespersons regardless of their name, title, and gender all sound like this:

a real throw-back to the 80's: limited vocabulary, limited phrases, completely random but repetitive.

Jerusalem: From my hotel window this morning, watched children with bookpacks on going to school. Yes, it's Sunday, but this is Jerusalem, afterall. Watching them reminded me that for them this is just another day in their lives here. Where just 100km away, it's truly a warzone. Active. Bloodied. Bombarded. Shrouded in death. The contrast couldn't be greater.

Gaza: ground incursion started sunset last night.

Day #22 of 28: 3-Jan-2009

Gaza Updates:
"Black Destiny" - that's today's theme from Gaza. Those words coming from Meshaal from Damascus.

Dead: 434
Injured: 2240

Sunrise Over Jerusalem

6:30am
Listening to Stevie Wonder's 1973 "Innervisions" - so peaceful, timeless. Calm. Tranquil. Soothing.

Day #21 of 28: 2-Jan-2009

local time (GMT+2):

5pm
Dead: 428
Injured: 2000+

Blimp gone.

3:30pm
Spotted first "blimp" hovering over Jerusalem.

2pm
Watching Aljazeera news on TV reporting East Jerusalem protests. Nothing within earshots of my hotel here in East Jerusalem.

7am:
Week #3 ends in a completely different and unpredicted way from the previous two weeks: death.

On a more positive note, the NGO I'm working for received another official recognition of their Arab Thought Foundation award in "Micro-Financing" -- see page 57 of the January 2009 issue of "This Week in Palestine".