1% for the planet
“There is no business to be done on a dead planet” - David Brower
The 1% for the planet charter, taken directly from their website. Help market these people. If you’re in the position, something to consider?
Whereas, we do not believe our government, or any government, is doing enough to protect and restore the health of our planet, to work toward sustainable commerce, to exercise full cost accounting in our use of non-renewable resources, and to tax them accordingly.
And whereas, we recognize we do not have totally sustainable and harmless businesses, or lifestyles, and we have an obligation to mitigate the damage we cause, regardless of whether or not we make a profit.
Therefore, we have decided not to wait for any government to do the right thing. We are committing our businesses to donate at least 1 percent of our net revenues to efforts that protect and restore our natural environment.
Learn all about 1% for the planet.
The capacity to make constructive use of our inmost feelings…
…and what they call the “Six Basic Principles of Maturity”.
- Accept yourself. “You’re on the road to maturity if you can begin to appreciate yourself without trying to be what you cannot possibly be.” The CEOs who failed at Apple did so because they wanted to be another “Steve Jobs.” They couldn’t accept themselves and their own, different capabilities and shortcomings.
- Accept others. “Your relations with other people are a basic test of your maturity. If you don’t get along well with others, it’s not because you’re not smart enough, or because you’re smart and they’re dumb. It’s because you still need to grow up in some vital centers of your being.” For example, there are companies in Silicon Valley that maintain a “tyranny of PhDs” where only the advanced degreed are held in high esteem and marketing, operations, and others are fodder.
- Keep your sense of humor. “Your humor reflects your attitudes toward people. The mature person uses humor not as a bludgeoning hammer but rather as a plane to shave off rough edges.”
- Accept simple pleasures. “The capacity to get excited over things even when they seem ordinary to others—this is a sign of a healthy personality.” For example, some tech entrepreneurs have yachts that can barely pass under the Golden Gate Bridge. (I’d just be happy if I could skate backwards.)
- Enjoy the present. “Emotional grown-ups don’t live on an expectancy basis. They plan for the future, but they know they must also live in the present. The mature person realizes that the best insurance for tomorrow is the effective use of today.”
- Welcome work. “Appreciation of work is a hallmark of mature people…. Immature people are constantly fighting certain aspects of their work. They resent routine reports, or meetings, or correspondence. They allow these annoyances to grate on their nerves continually. Satisfaction in doing a good job is blocked out by the dust speck in the eye of resentment over trivia.”
Office 2.0
The Office 2.0 Conference goes ahead in October, but what is it all about?
“Imagine a computer that never crashes, or gets infected by a virus. Imagine a computer onto which you never have to install any application.
Imagine a computer that follows you wherever you go, be it at school, at work, abroad, or back home. This computer does not exist today, but it will in the future, and this future might be much closer than you think.”
IT|Redux provides an introduction to the concept of Office 2.0.
An Introduction to Final Cut Pro 5.0
I have just completed a very interesting three day hands-on course on editing professional video. Although the course was a beginners guide to Final Cut, it managed to touch base with everything it has to offer.
The course was taken by Chris Roberts who with real enthusiasm gave me a fresh look into an area I studied many moons ago whilst the process was still analogue! It awaked interest.
Day One
- Working with the interface.
- Marking and Editing
- Drag and drop editing.
- Marking in the timeline, adding cutaways (B-roll material).
- Trimming edit points with dragging, rippling edits and the razor blade.
- Adjusting edit points using Rolling and Slipping.
Day Two
- Editing with Subclips, using markers, Replace edits, storyboard editing and keeping things in sync
- Browser basics and customisation
- Capturing footage
- Applying transitions
- Mixing Audio tracks
Day Three
- Changing motion parameters, inc. clip speed, freeze-framing and variable speed changes
- Applying filters, inc. video, corrective, audio filters and keyframes
- Multicam Editing.
- Adding text and graphics (this was really only touched on with time running out)
- Finishing and outputting (also only touched on with time running out)
The three days I enjoyed. No really. It was peeking through the letter box into a palace I’m sure, with the scope of FCP’s potential but well worth it.
Walter Murch edited ‘Cold Mountain‘ using Final Cut Pro 3.0 and a bunch of Power Macs, so I’m off to watch it.
(After note: Ten minutes in, I’d forgot that Walter Murch edited ‘Cold Mountain’ using Final Cut Pro 3.0 and a bunch of Power Macs)