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| Round Bales in the Field |
Lately I've been building a lot of models. As many may know, my role at my company is a mix of Enterprise Architecture and Technology Strategist, with project work to keep me busy. I spend the majority of my days working out how improving various technology systems relate to real business goals. I like to think my work provides information that supports good business decisions.
Sure, there are many different frameworks one can apply, such as TOGAF or Zachmann. But in the real world, few organizations adopt the entire framework. They take a smattering of TOGAF and a little of ITIL, then build out projects based on Waterfall or Agile project management methodologies. Finally, they bundle all that up & call it their "process". In my many roles in this industry I have seen how well this works - or doesn't !
A friend of mine has challenged me to write about how I have been successful using an adapted model, and how to re-apply that model to other Enterprises. I sought his counsel on how to go about doing that and he introduced me to a very simple (hence very elegant) writing method: P.O.W.E.R.
P - Plan: what are you writing about ? Who would the target audience be ? What style of book should it be ?
O - Outline: build out an imaginary table of contents. What should be included ? In what order ?
W - Write: simply go about the business of collecting your ideas on your word-processing application.
E - Edit: word-smith. Play with sentence structure. Play with the order of your ideas. Hack & slash as needed.
R - Release: it'll never be "perfect", so when it is good enough, stop. Publish. Think about the next book !
It's a simple yet powerful (you see what I did there ?) way to begin the process.I think I'm going to take a stab at it, and see what happens. But don't expect to see my name on the NYT Best-Seller list - it'll be a technical/architectural manual, so it might only appeal to a limited audience.
Pat bought some simple sunflowers for the table yesterday. As I was getting out of bed, and fumbling for my first coffee, I couldn't help but notice how beautifully the morning sun was coming in through the dining room window. So, after a quick caffeine break, I grabbed my camera.
The scene could be set in so many ways - I could've arranged the flowers & draped a sheet or towel to create a neutral background, so the flowers were the focal point. But I decided to do what I could in-camera. No tricks, just pure photography.
This is the first image I took. It is dark in all the wrong places, and it almost looks like the vase full of stems was the focal point. But this is how it looked when I noticed the warm vibrancy of the sunlight. And look at the shadows on the apples - I really love the sense of depth.
This is the same image, gently re-touched. I'm not a huge fan of overdoing post-processing. I believe that the best photos happen in the first 2" behind the camera - the photographer's eye.
The image I captured has been cropped to 16X9, because I love the feel of that aspect ratio. I brought the exposure up about 2/3 of a stop, and played a little with the blacks & whites.
Some may feel that the vase now looks blown out, and that is OK. I like how it looks. The apples still have a nice sense of depth, but more of their colours are showing.
I could have messed with the saturation of colours in the flowers & stems. I could have, but I didn't. They have wonderful tonality (really... I did just say that !) that also gives them depth.
Rule of thirds, golden ratio, bah ! A nice, simple capture of something that caught my eye first thing in the morning.
It truly was the "golden hour".
I want to be 100% clear here - I am NOT going to tell you who is better, or who is worse. Or which candidate did what 25 years ago, making them a heinous person. What I AM going to do is ask the we all take this election seriously...
All over Social Media I am seeing memes that go beyond disrespectful - whether it's Justin Trudeau on a tricycle, or Stephen Harper with a penis on his head. Can we just stop ?!? At the end of the day, these are all decent men & women, doing their best as they see it. Whether or not you agree with them is no cause to attack them personally !
Bernie Sanders said it very well last evening - he "... has enormous respect for Hilary Clinton and will NOT be attacking her personally". Her policies and positions, most certainly - but not her person.
I think that is why the citizens of our nations are becoming disgusted with politics - there's no more respect ! Whether or not you agree with him, Stephen Harper has earned the title "The Right Honourable Prime Minister". The correct way to address Barack Obama is "Mr President". Perhaps our elected representatives would also do well to remember that.
This is a disturbing trend. While the piece focuses on the USA, it is also true in Canada and other Nations. It always surprises me just how quickly any violation of personal freedom can be defended as protecting from terrorism.
Whenever the DHS or TSA feels they need more money, they couch the request to Congress in terms of defending against a terrorist threat. To make the assertion that invading a person's freedom is "required" for the greater good is nothing more than hyperbole.
Worse, the same policing agencies (NSA, TSA, etc) who claim they are acting in the greater good have horrible track-records in protecting citizens rights. The countless, documented abuses of the very power they demand should be a warning to us all. Whether they have legal authority or not, these Agencies will continue to violate the rights of its citizens and its visitors.
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