There is something magical about reading to a child. My mom read to me often and I cherish those memories. One of my favorite books was a manuscript my mom had written, “Herbie Hic-upâ€. I’ve always dreamed of getting mom’s book published. She had sketched illustrations, but wanted an illustrator to bring the visuals to… Continue reading My Mommy Reads to Me
Category: inspire
Leslie Jensen-Inman is my Ada Lovelace 2010
Today is Ada Lovelace Day, an international day of blogging (videologging, podcasting, comic drawing etc.) to draw attention to the achievements of women in technology and science.
I am surrounded by women in technology that inspire me. When I paused to consider who to recognize as my Ada for 2010, I knew without a doubt, it was Leslie Jensen-Inman. Leslie’s developing a model web education program at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. Her students, steeped in web standards and best practices, are already producing professional level work before they graduate. I’ve met and worked side-by-side with a number of her students and can testify that Leslie’s passion for creating beautiful and usable web sites has been ignited in each of them.
Strength Courage Hope
On Sunday, October 18, 2009, I was drawn to the site of the WTC. My hotel was just a few blocks away and I felt it was important to visit the site and honor all the people who died that tragic day.
It was a somber experience. The site was so much larger than I had imagined. I felt grief, loss and emptiness. I’m not sure what I was searching for, but I just knew I hadn’t found it yet…so I kept walking…one more block….one more block.
And then I came to St. Paul’s Chapel and I knew I had found what my heart and soul were seeking. As I walked through the gate, I experienced the feeling of quiet strength, courage and hope in the midst of the greatest loss.
My Adas – Sharron Rush & Steph Troeth
Yesterday was Ada Lovelace Day. What is Ada Lovelace Day? A day to honor inspirational female role models in the field of technology.
Who is my Ada? I’m incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by brilliant geek women, so selecting my Ada is delightfully difficult. Today, as I look back over my 20+ years in technology and pose the question, “What woman has helped me the most in my career as a digital alchemist?” I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the answer is Sharron Rush and Steph Troeth. That is right, I’ve got two Adas!
Focus on What is Really Important
When life is difficult and seems incredibly unfair, it is so easy to slip into a funk. But moping about doesn’t do a damn bit of good. I’d rather use my energy in positive ways. I want to see barriers as opportunities and challenges. Thank goodness I have friends who hug me, feed me dark… Continue reading Focus on What is Really Important
10 Years of “Think Different”
Do you remember 1998?
- The Bronco’s won the Super Bowl.
- The first XML spec was released.
- Titantic won 11 Oscars.
- Viagra was approved by the FDA.
- Google, Inc. was founded.
- Apple unveiled the iMac and reminded us to Think Different.
Today, as I was rearranging some books on a shelf, I ran across the limited edition publication to commemorate the first year of the Apple Think Different Series, “1998: The Year of Thinking Different”.
10 years later, this ad campaign still strikes a chord in my soul. I can’t resist sharing this quote from Apple with you.
SXSWi2008 is Paradise
How can I possibly explain the magic of SXSWi? Imagine you are high in the sky with Willy Wonka in the great glass elevator. Anything is possible. Magic is probable. (Sigh) That is how SX feels. What moments took my breath away in 2008? Let me share a few.
Making Art Accessible through Visual Storytelling
Have you ever stood in front of a work of art and thought, “What is that? I don’t get it.” Then you wander about looking for the label only to discover that it says “Untitled”. Looking at art I sometimes feel as though I’m standing outside an invitation only party and I can’t find my invite. To be fair, my chance to personally connect with the art can often be quite obvious, if only (sigh) if only, I would remember to drop my “don’t make me think” attitude in the trash can.
In my dreams, all the vast amounts of valuable information about each work of art would be easily accessible and (gasp) open to tagging and comments from you. Many museums and artists are already exploring how to make this fantasy a reality.