Kindle for you. Kindle for me by Tony Green

Image of Kindle Library

I learned to read by reading a book with a front and back cover with words printed on paper pages.

Flash forward 40 + years and with the onset of E-Book technology I am hard pressed to consume a book if I can’t read use a Kindle. 

The Decline of Hard Cover Books?

What happened? Did the quality of hardcover books degrade to where they were no longer worth reading? The content in books other than trending topics had not changed. A novel which started out slow will still not be read to completion while a book which tell a captivating story will still be read cover to cover.  As I have reached Middle Age I need to use my reading glasses regardless if I sat down in bookstore or if I read an EBook while relaxing on my couch on a Sunday afternoon.

Why EBooks

What gives? Well, the difference is the portability and convenience using electronic reader brings.  No need to do spring cleaning on the piles of old books in your closet. There is now no need to make the trek to a conventional book store to wait in line when you can purchase and begin reading within seconds after finding the desired content via an Amazon search. No need to consume the good trees required to make the paper on which to print the words and no wasting shelf space storing these book assuming someone will buy them at all.

Fun and Easy

I enjoy reading in any fashion is provided I am reading something of interest while reading with a Kindle is fun AND easy. Why shouldn’t I take the easiest path to any desired destination including reading? 

My View of America - A county in transition by Tony Green

America then and now

I was raised in Philadelphia, as like many of the larger cities on the East Coast, was ethnically divided.  The various races, which included African-Americans, Latinos, Whites and Asians, who resided in close proximity, worked and attended school together but existed separately within their own communities.  After I joined the Navy after college many of my shipmates came from all over the country.  I discovered as Americans we had a lot more in common than I thought. Upon reflection, the America I grew up in before my enlistment and the America I returned to when I began my professional career was changing drastically.

Map of the United States of America

People are people

I realized several of the problems people had co-existing in peace resulted from an absence of culture sensitivity due to lack of exposure to people from different backgrounds than yourself.  People are people if they come together and get familiar with each other on a personal level. With that said, I am observing as a country we are moving toward being a more multi-cultural society.

Transition in Progress

The proof times are changing is clear, the year 2000 census provided choices for the first time for people to identify themselves as being a member of more than once race. The state of Hawaii’s minority population is greater than its non-minority and in California the Latino populace has matched the number of white residents and in a few years, will be like Hawaii, where the non-minority citizens will soon be the majority of inhabitants living in the state.

Conclusion

Our children will need to able to function in a more cultural and diverse world. How we prepare our children to navigate this changing landscape is in our hands. The challenge should be embraced.

Image courtesy of fotolia.us

Heterosexism in our workplace by Tony Green

Image of a lesbian wedding

I attended a workshop in the City of San Francisco earlier this week. As with most workshops the facilitator directed the participants introduce themselves before the meeting. One of the attendees happened to be an accountant who also admitted to being a lesbian.  Since the San Francisco Bay Area is famous for its large number of its residents who are either gay, lesbian or transgender this was not surprising.

The workshop involved addressing the challenges the participants expected to encounter while seeking employment.  The facilitator asked the accountant about her challenges and when she reported her primary challenge to be homophobia and/or hetero-sexism after overhearing anti-lesbian rhetoric after working hours from the HR team at her firm. I found this surprising and alarming.

The backlash has two separate versions. The first one version, homophobia involves an unjust fear of gay/lesbians while hetero-sexism can be described as those who are dogmatic about the superiority of the traditional male/female relationship.

Our facilitator mentioned this blatant case of discrimination violated employment laws and inquired why the incident failed to be disclosed to her manager or any one else. She did not want to bother with the stigma being a whistle blower. Even more alarming was, in her view, no action could be taken against the employer due the perceived superiority of management in the legal system.

The thought which stuck in my mind was, if I am in the San Francisco Bay Area which is well-known for its tolerance and these statements are coming from HR people what is being said in other “less opened- minded” parts of our country? What does this say about how tolerant we (or aren’t depending on your perspective) toward those who are different from us.

I am not lesbian but as a minority, an African-American this makes me nervous. Does this make you uncomfortable?

Image courtesy of fototalia.us

Maintaining a blog by Tony Green

Blog Key on QWERTY Keyboard

A blog can be a challenge to maintain on a regular basis. I try to keep up writing three separate blogs in my spare time. Blogs maintained for business purposes are easier to justify taking time to create, draft, edit, and polish while you are at work especially if blogging is a key part of your social media strategy.

A personal blog is another matter.  These are typically maintained as a hobby or an interest the author wants to share with the blogosphere. Here are some of the reasons people often stop maintaining personal blogs on a consistent basis.

A full-time job, which is a requirement, if you are not fortunate enough to be able to make a living writing is most likely the biggest reason. If you work in an office a daily commute will be expected, on occasions will be overtime requires in addition to possible travel requirements. More ever, the mental bandwidth which is consumed in many professional position makes pushing blogs forward in your spare time a challenge.

Another reason is, which I will describe as: “life”. Emergencies arise in any family which need to be addressed from time to time, non-emergencies which require energy, in addition to cleaning and maintaining the house.

There are instances where Illness can take a huge role. The flu season is active time during the winter months which results in lost time from either getting over flu or taking care of loved ones while they get over their illnesses. We all have gone into the office to work on key deliverables while being under the weather, as this is sometimes necessary, however, is a little more difficult when using energy on tasks which are not required to be completed.

An overlooked factor is sleep. The medical profession states seven hours are needed to allow your body and mind to get the proper rest.  When dealing with multiple activities a consistent night sleep can be crucial to avoid burning yourself out.

Another reality is we all need downtime. Any schedule should include time to relax.

Neither of these are valid excuses for not working on things which you believe is worthwhile, however, in many circumstances “it is what it is”.

Some of things I will try to do moving forward to post with greater frequency include utilizing technology as much as I can. Since I am on the go often my IPad with its cloud storage capabilities are wonderful tools to write when you get a few minutes.

Focusing on the benefits of what I get out of my writing this will help to keep working. I always enjoy receiving comments to by blog postings, Hint. Also, I would like to try plan effectively, for example, taking advantage of available time example time in airport in between flights. In the end, I should focus on simply getting it done.

In conclusion, many of the blogs and books from established authors who write for a living and many express being a part a community of writers. In many cases, writers, even those who write on a part time basis, are part of their community. It is, after all what we do. 

Why my goal as a parent is not to produce more minority engineers by Tony Green

I recently received a letter inviting my daughter to participate in Alameda County’s STEM program. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. STEM programs, if you are not aware, are designed to identify minorities who show aptitude in the math and sciences and provide them the resources needed to transition to successful careers in these fields.  Traditionally, minorities have been under represented in these fields and if the United States is going to remain competitive globally it will need ALL segments of its populace to be proficient in the technical skills needed to stay at the forefront of technology.

I recalled my participation in the Philadelphia Regional Introduction to Minorities in Engineer (PRIME) program while I was in high school and, later, in the University of Delaware’s Resources to Insure Successful Engineers (RISE) program.  The programs were designed to ensure prospective engineering students are provided resources to maximize their chances of success with success being defined as graduating from an undergraduate engineering program. 

I would be proud if my daughter chose to study engineering but only if she is interested. I recall during my time as an undergraduate I recalled many of my classmates who started off in engineering who did not enjoy their coursework and changed their majors to disciplines which interested them and lived happily ever after.

The part of me that used to work as an engineer for over 10 years has seen the lack of diversity in many engineering fields first hand. Particularly alarming are the scarcity of those of color and of women.

There is another part of me realizes the overall purpose of being a parent is to set your children up for success in things they are interested in and not what you are fascinated with since when I am long longer alive it will be their lives.

I am grateful her teachers believe she can study engineering or any hard science but if she is not interested in studying these subjects with the goal of making a living then what is the point? So I declined the gracious invitation from Alameda County. As much as I believe in the group’s mission and the benefits of the program.  Is this the right decision?

Image Courtesy of Minority Engineer Magazine @ www.eop.com