October 8, 2019
Interplanetary Travel - Coming Soon
Awesome presentation on Interplanetary Travel by Charlie Kuehmann, VP Materials Engineering at SpaceX and Tesla.
Interplanetary travel and colonization is one of the most exciting possibilities for mankind.
It's all just beginning (we've only been in orbit for about 50 years).
One of the keys Charlie mentioned at SpaceX and Telsa is how quickly we learn.
It's okay to fail, as long as we learn quickly and progress from it.
The progress with reusable rockets at SpaceX is impressive.
Can't wait for more to come soon. ;-)
(Credit Video: Andy Blumenthal)
May 13, 2018
Ship+ In A Bottle
Someone needs very dexterous hands and a lot of patience to put the pieces through the opening of the bottle and assemble the ship inside.
But this second grader, Dylan Yasseri, upped the game on this whole concept and imagined a whole beach in the bottle.
The sand, ocean, sky, birds, crabs, fish, umbrella, and even the shack (snack?) bar!
This is one reason that kids are so awesome--their purity of heart and their endless imaginations make almost anything possible.
The fantasy becomes the reality.
The colors are magical too here.
If adults could maintain even half the heart and creativity of our children--oh what a world it could be. ;-)
(Source: Andy Blumenthal Photo of Dylan's beautiful painting).
Ship+ In A Bottle
December 13, 2017
Anything Is Possible
- Cost
- Schedule
- Scope
I remember learning the adage that if you change any one of these then there is an impact on the others.
For example, if you "crash" the timeline on a project to finish more quickly, then you either need more money or you need to reduce the scope.
Similarly, if you want to cut costs on the project then you may have to extend the timeline or scale back on the requirements.
Recently, I heard someone says the following:
"We can do anything with enough time and resources."
And when I thought about this, it's true enough.
If you provide more money and time for a project then, of course, you can do more in terms of the scope of the project.
Pour enough bucks and time into something and conceptually, we really can do anything.
Technically, we can do the proverbial "anything," but that's only if the politics and infighting don't get in the way of progress. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Anything Is Possible
November 16, 2016
To MARS and Beyond
To MARS and Beyond
August 1, 2016
Technology Hope For The Future
Technology Hope For The Future
November 4, 2015
Fearless = Reckless
It says, "Be Fearless."
Why?
No, it doesn't pay to be wholly fearful--and paralyzed by anxiety or indecision.
But it is stupid to be fearless--because being fearless is being reckless.
It's good to think about possibilities and consequences--not everything that can go right will and more often then not, as Murphy's Law teaches, whatever can go wrong often does.
Better to think about what can happen--both good and bad--how to manage the risks and how to maximize the rewards.
Have fear of heaven and of bad things--and try to make them better, where you can.
Fearless is for those who want to be stupid, act reckless, and end up mortally wounded or prematurely dead.
Fearsome is for those who want to confront their fears head on, manage them wisely, and make the most of the opportunities in a risk-reward managed way. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Fearless = Reckless
September 11, 2012
Radiate Possibilities
It features Ben Zander, an Orchestra Conductor who is not just a leader of making music, but of driving people to excellence.
Zander's passion and energy bring out the best in people--and you can literally see them transformed as their playing comes alive, their faces shine, and they glow under coaching of this conductor extraordinaire.
His leadership principles are:
- Speak possibility--create a shift in being (transformation) by seeing the possibility in everyone, and lead people by empowering, not commanding; help people get in touch with their inner passion, so they remember why they love what they do and why it is ultimately important.
- Quiet the inner voices--communicate that everyone can get an A and everyone has value; assume the best of everyone, eliminate the fear of judgement, barriers, and mindset of "I can't do it," so people can genuinely perform.
- Enroll every voice in the vision--make every person feel and realize that they can contribute and make a difference on our journey together; shift from a mindset of pure individuals to that of living in a connected world; like in a symphony-- we create a "sounding together."
- Look for shining eyes and radiating faces--you know you are positively reaching people and impacting them when their eyes and face light up; and you need to ask yourself what you are missing, when you aren't getting this guttural reaction.
- Rule #6 ("the only rule")--Don't take yourself so %@&$! seriously; mistakes happen and life goes on; really feel the joy, relief, ease, spontaneity, and community around what we do.
The art of possibility is a paradigm shift where we move from having an external standard to live up to, and instead move to fulfilling the possibility we can live into.
In essence, Zander's leadership philosophy is about removing the barriers that inhibit us and releasing our deep inner talents, so we can achieve our marvelous potentials--and self-actualize.
As Zander states: the conductor actually does not make a sound, yet by empowering people, he leads them to make the most beautiful music together.
If you get a chance to watch this video, I believe it is extremely valuable because the passion, love, and energy that Zander demonstrates turns every face into a presence radiating their own joy and excellence--it is truly leadership unleashed.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Radiate Possibilities
December 4, 2011
The Art of The Fearless
This was my introduction to Wingsuit Flying.
It's an extension of death-defying BASE jumping off of Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges), and Earth (cliffs) with the added feature of soaring like a bird over the most beautiful terrains.
The wingsuits are bat-like jumpsuits with material stretching between the legs and under the arms enabling a user to glide through the sky, rather than free-falling straight down to the ground.
Essentially the wingsuit gives the human body the extra surface area to get the lift to fly through the sky without any mechanical devices at all or with the addition of small jet engines strapped to the feet for added thrust.
I am amazed at the fearlessness of these wingsuit fliers who jump virtually head first from unbelievable heights, fly close to the ground over extremely dangerous terrain, and only then release their parachutes toward the very end, near landing.
The other thing that impresses me about this is the beauty of this sport--the stunning places they jump from in Norway, Greenland, France and so on, the amazing, intricate colorful fly suits, the choreography of the stunts--alone and in groups--the spectacular filming of the events, and even the great heart-pounding accompanying music.
The talent, beauty, and courage of these sports enthusiasts combine to inspire me and hopefully you to go out and do great things (although hopefully not anything near as dangerous) with our lives--because these guys make it seem like almost anything is possible.
(Source Photo: here)
The Art of The Fearless
November 24, 2011
Playing For The Good Of The Team
Good Morning America"s Play of the Day is called "Man Plays Baseball With Himself."
In this incredible video a Japanese Astronaut on the International Space Station throws a ball, runs and picks up a bat and hits the ball he just threw, and then jumps up and catches the ball he just hit.
An impossibility in Earth environment, but a possibility in the low gravity of space.
One lesson then is that nothing is really impossible--given the right circumstances, the impossible becomes possible, so have faith in your abilities and understand that your limitations are not insurmountable.
A second lesson is that while this astronaut shows what's it's like to be literally a one-man team and to succeed; in the real world, there are no one man teams--we depend on each other, whether to play a game of ball or to accomplish things from major projects to minor tasks.
On Thanksgiving, a favorite pastime is watching football and the NFL has been playing on Thanksgiving since at least 1920. In general, there is a huge appreciation of team sports in America, whether football, basketball, soccer, and more.
Pedople on sports teams and in organizational settings who get ahead understand the importance of team and that collaboration and strategy is the key to success and to "winning." Those who don't get alone, end up on the sidelines of the game and of life.
Playing alone, especially in space, may make a great video, but working through a difficult problem with others is even a bigger challenge and feat accomplished.
Getting alone is something we try to instill in people in our society from the earliest of ages, but it does not come easy for everyone. That why we describe people in the organization who don't get alone with others as "not playing nice in the sandbox."
Perhaps, this Thanksgiving, we can appreciate the ability of those who are team players as well as those who may be more individualist, as long as everyone is playing for the good of team.
Playing For The Good Of The Team
October 1, 2011
I Want To Be Possible
And is it really what we want to be, when we, proverbially, grow up?
I Want To Be Possible
August 1, 2009
Faith or Fear?
I love stories of hope and possibility.
I read in the Washington Post, 1 August 2009, about cars that actually enable blind people to drive. This was one of those stories.
In 2004, a challenge was issued from a blindness advocacy group “to build a vehicle that the blind could drive with the same freedom as the sighted.”
Around the same time, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)—the same government agency that brought us the Internet—“ran a series of contests to inspire a driverless car that could navigate complex terrain.”
However, at Virginia Tech’s Robot’s & Mechanism Laboratory the challenge of “an autonomous vehicle wasn’t enough. We want the blind person to be the driver, not to be driven.”
To meet this once unthinkable goal, the design team developed a prototype vehicle that blind students this summer are actually testing.
Here’s how the vehicle works: An all-terrain vehicle with a front-mounted laser sensor sweeps the terrain ahead, and a computer in the back processes the information into a two-dimensional map. A computer voice tells the driver through headphones what number of clicks to turn the wheel to steer around obstacles and a vest vibrates to indicate whether the driver should slow down or stop.
By challenging ourselves, bringing innovation to the table, thinking positively, and working through the challenges, we are able to bring opportunities to people that many thought were impossible.
Yet even today, I heard people reacting to this story and saying “Oh, I wouldn’t want a blind person driving behind me.”
But why not? There are reasons to believe that this can work.
First of all, in the vehicle tests, the blind drivers actually did better than the engineers because they followed the directions coming from the computer more precisely.
Second, when it comes to other modes of transportation such as flying, people no longer seriously question the use of technology to aid our ability to see, navigate and fly through all sorts of weather and turbulent conditions. Now a days, a large commercial airplane flying at hundreds of miles an hour over densely populated cities on autopilot is an accepted fact.
I believe there are really two issues here:
On one hand, is the technology itself. How far can technology take us—are there limits?
And the second issue is can people overcome their mindset of fear, doubt, hesitation, and negativity to really stretch the bounds of the imagination to the what’s truly possible?
I think both the issues of technology and mindset are strongly related.
Obviously there are laws of nature and physics that place real limits on even how far technology can take us. Yet, as we press against the boundaries and test the seemingly impossible, we are able do things that practically defy those very laws. For example, who would’ve thought that man could fly like the birds, walk on the moon, communicate thousands of miles in a split second, or cure the incurable? Perhaps, what we perceive as physical limitations are only there until we can figure out how to overcome them with innovation and technology—and of course, the wisdom bestowed from the almighty.
By realizing that the boundaries are not so hard and fast—that they are elastic—we can have hope in going further and doing the seemingly impossible.
Certainly, I recognize the very real legitimacy of the concerns that people might have over the thought of blind people in the driver’s seat. However we must ask ourselves how much of this concern is based on rational, logical factors and how much on a misperception or mistrust of what technology—and blind people themselves—can actually do. To me, it really comes down to one’s mindset.
Through faith, courage, conviction, we can overcome our doubts and fears. We can and must continue to explore, to test the bounds, and to innovate some more.
Faith or Fear?