I Want to Know as Much about Google as it Knows about Me.

Not to be too dramatic...but have ya thought recently about how many pieces of you that Google currently owns...?

If you have a Blogger blog... ....yes that is owned by Google as of 2003.

If you have Google Home" as the home control system in your home.......you have basically given the keys to your entire home life to Google.

If you store your photos in Google Photos.....snap on.

If you do all your daily searches online using Google's search engine.... search on. ( who searches better than Google?) Btw.....do you remember when we DIDN'T get requests to "sign-in" to do a search in a Google search engine? It wasn't that long ago.

If you write and store your documents in Google Docs.......write on.

If you plan to buy a Google Pixel camera phone....again....snap on and chat on.

If you use Google maps....they know where you want to go and how and when you got there.

How many of my electronics use Google's Android Mobile Operating System ? Even if my phone is not a Google Pixel phone...it can still be "controlled and/or monitored" by Google if it has an Android operating system within it. ( some Samsung, Sony and LG phones do)

Google's expansion into our lives is not limited greatly by the general population because most of us simply do not have the knowledge or desire to stop it. We aren't plotting to  "De-Google" our lives. We aren't trying to prevent Google from gathering unlimited data about every single aspect of our lives. We aren't really afraid of Google.....yet. We haven't started forming "Google recovery support groups".

Do we care? Hmmm..... sometimes. Should we care....Hmmm...I still don't know.

Remember that phrase about "Absolute power corrupts.....absolutely"? If Google has as much social and technological power as I feel they do.....what are they doing with that power? Is that power going to be used to bless humanity or simply to profit from it? Will the folks who control Google's corporate future be able to resist the temptation to manipulate humanity?

Maybe Google itself has not yet come into a full "self consciousness"  about the "absolute" power it holds in it's smart little hands. Perhaps Google is an "accidental" power drone? May I still please stay naive? I prefer the peace of ignorance. I really do.

Maybe once we review and add a few more "Googlified platforms" to the list from the beginning of this post...maybe we will start to feel a little woozy..... a little weak in the knees perhaps.

I am little bit more pragmatic. I simply seek equality. 

I want to know as much about Google as it knows about me.

End point.

I know that certain levels of privacy (thanks in part to common courtesy) that we once took for granted, are gone forever ....never to return.

But are there some ways that we just really SHOULD be a wee bit more proactive in keeping some of "who we are and what we do" away from Google's all seeing EYE?

Would it make sense for me to simply start blogging in a non-Google blog hosting service?
Hmmm....maybe I could start using the same blogging site that Seth Godin uses...Typepad.

Would it make sense for me to limit the photos I store in Google Photos ? Maybe.

Should I stop using Google Chrome as my web browser? Am I willing to use a slower browser?

Am I willing to give up my searches in Google to start using Bing ( oh the horror)

Time will tell. But I would encourage you to join me....in my quest to at least attempt to
 balance the data imbalance.....Try to find out a little more about Google. Find out where she hides. Find out what she/he is doing with your data....and where and how it is storing it and selling it.
Find out more about the decision makers at Google forming the strategies for "playing" with all that masterful data we have "sent"or permitted them to freely glean from us and our devices for decades. I want to know. I need to know.... and maybe you do too..


Still peaceful,

Carla.





Tweet

I'm Not Lazy...I'm Managing My Cognitive Load

It is a wonderfully descriptive concept I have gleaned from the lovely Seth Godin. .....
"Cognitive Load".

"Cognitive Load" entails whatever your brain is required to do to complete a certain task.

My late brother was the creator of several "made for cable tv" tv shows in Canada. After each episode, he was physically, mentally and especially emotionally drained. He didn't always know how to put that experience into words, but I think he would have identified deeply with the idea of managing his cognitive load. Guys are not always that proficient at expressing their feelings...lol
But a solid phrase like "Cognitive load" is perhaps more tangible for some dudes to help them manage the struggle.

Tim Ferriss has also been helpful for "maledom" in putting into words the struggles of the modern male. Figuring out what tea is best served to "waking him up enough to get some work done and stay focused... along with "hacking" what sources of protein help him operate at peak functionality....like spinach, sardines...and boiled eggs ( manly yes, but I like it too")

Creative people are often misunderstood because the work they do is invisible and the majority of the burden or "work" is done within the brain and heart of the artist. Nobody sees their muses, nobody seems to be able to measure what great hidden effort it takes to create a thing of beauty. ( or at least something beautiful enough to pay the bills) Seth Godin and the frank dude/podcaster/human guinea pig Tim Ferriss have done their due diligence in bringing attention to this concept.

Mike Murdock teaches about limiting the number of daily decisions we make in order to preserve our mental and emotional energy. For example, if we choose the same hair dresser every time we get a hair cut, we have just "managed" our cognitive load and reduced the number of decisions we need to make on a regular basis. Limit the number of decisions you make in a day for personal care and Voila! you have granted yourself more free creative mental energy.
 ( btw... if you do happen to check out Mike Murdock's ministry you have to overcome the cringy hyper sales pitch...but if you can overcome that...there are some real gems to be discovered in his writings)

Putting some decisions on "repeat" will free up valuable energy to focus and complete more of your goals, whether in business or in your personal life.


Peace on,
Carla.



Tweet

Life Hack on Reading Boring Non Fiction

Have you ever purchased or borrowed a very valuable non fiction book and got it home in your hot little hands, only to realize that it's going to take MAMMOTH will power to force yourself to read it?

Well, a little LIFE HACK, that works for me sometimes is simply this tool:

I go to one page of text in said book and determine which page is most personally valuable for me to input into my brain, and then I simply record myself reading it aloud into the "easy self recording"
microphone on my Samsung Galaxy cell phone. This particular method allows me to process the information orally instead of simply visually and overcomes my instinctive objections to forcing my "monkey brain" to read something that it doesn't "feel like" reading.

I then hang onto that recording for however long it takes for me to absorb the material by listening to it over and over and over until I feel  it is "done". Monkey brain conquered!

How do you overcome your natural inclination NOT to read the things you know you need to?

Peacefully productive,
Carla.


Tweet

Hating those Recipe Cards

I am not known for domestic uber organizational glee. But I found I resent little things that used to be a "standby" for most moms and their family homes..... such as REcipe cards kept in some kind of hard plastic file box. Also there are the Knitting or Sewing Patterns ladies keep in a dishevelled folded mess....where? There must be a better way..... no more dust collectors for me.

I have often struggled with keeping things organized partly because I hate being forced to put
random items in a really rigid space....(think Church Lady mixed with nervous librarian mixed with overbearing grandma combined...lol)

But there comes a point, when if you really want to move forward in your home crafts that you need to be able to find your "strategies" or "crafting formulas" in an organized space....for safe keeping and easy retrieval at a later date.

Enter....The CLoud! Such an AHA moment...perhaps I am a tad late on this revelation.
But I really DON"T have to keep folded copies of my old fave recipes in little boxes in my cupboard anymore.

I can simply scan then into my google docs or photos and babammmm! Saved forever :)

Or I can keep it a little bit more ole school and simply make files in my free hotmail account that can hold copies of these scanned items.

So, I really do hope that Google honors it's statement to provide "unlimited" free photo storage in it's Google photos offer. I also hope that Hotmail email accounts remain forever free . I don't mind if they put reasonable limits on the size of the files stored there....because at the end of the day, I am not a data hoarder.

So that's all for now. Mama Carla has arrived in the Cloud. Make room.

C.



Tweet

Can You Google Google?

I am alarmed. I am alarmed because of a couple of reasons.
The Trump administration has broken down "Net Neutrality"....so the internet will not be compelled to be fair or spooned out equally world wide.  The internet is just another commercial entity now, with it's own mission statement and profit margin. It's just that there is no limit to it's market place.
We are the product, and the consumer...AND we also do the work. We provide the data,through our every click and Facebook post..... from our lives and emails and blogs and skype calls and youtube videos. We don't just consume the net....we ARE the net and the NET has become us. We no longer know where we begin and where the net begins. We just know we want to be in it.

Is this the singularity?


Google offers Camera Phones called Google Pixel XL. They "offer" unlimited photo storage why? Because they are simply loading your photos to your google account in the sky....and adding your personal photo and phone data to their Big Brother files. Except here's the catch ......here's the meme. You pay them almost $1300 for the privilege of sending Google your personal files....all you do on your phone belongs to Google....if you buy their phone.You pay Google to spy on you. You pay Google to know everything about you.

It's like  the points cards that the cashiers keep asking me for when I checkout at the local pharmacy. They want me to use my "points card" as often as possible? Why? Because the data provided is valuable and important. Sure they may offer me a couple of freebies once a year in exchange for this powerful data, but the data gathering is prevalent and persistent....seemingly more important than the cash they exchange for the toothpaste I just bought there.

Don't just blindly chat on..... Think about the movers and the shakers. Think about Google.

Google Google, and learn something about this larger than life virtual giant. He isn't that "virtual" anymore.


Tweet

You Can Tell a Mastercraftsman by What?

The question I have been playing with lately....is how does one identify someone who is at the top of their game? 

You can tell a Mastercraftsman by what? By how he/she treats their tools.

Today, I just want to talk about our tools of MASTERY....yours and mine.

How to focus 101.
  Isolate your tools.

A writer knows which format they prefer to write it...which keyboard clicks more smoothly and which room they prefer to be in when they write. Tim Ferriss (  ya ya.... I know I quote him so very often)  likes to be very specific about how he orders his writing posture, his beverages, his background visuals, his audio background, and his computer system set up. He knows that his mind is prone to wander, just like the rest of us....but he has "mastered" his "monkey brain" to a certain degree to know how to get himself into the "zone" that is optimal for his writings to flow most freely.

As a teen, I recall visiting an artist in her residence. She had carved out a lifestyle that was quickening and pioneering in the small community in which I grew up. Being a somewhat abstract painter in a conservation dutch community is no task for the faint of heart. But not only was this classy lady rising, she was doing so in what appeared to be a most peaceful and gracious flow.

Anyway, back to her tools. I recall how she showed us her paintbrushes.....which ones were made from horse hair etc. These tools were handled gently and with great respect. If my memory serves, her home was designed in such a way as to allow her ample lighted space pouring into her studio from which she produced her masterpieces. She and her family members revered her work space and yes....her tools.

I have never seen a Master at work who was careless with his or her tools. A shirtmaker I once worked for kept his tools stored with precision. He guarded his tools like a bulldog defends a raw steak, fiercely and without question. Anyone brave enough to borrow a tool from this particular Master knew that he/she had to put it precisely back into the exact same space and position it was in when he/she first touched it. He was known internationally for his skill and precision. A MASTER must always know exactly WHERE his tools are.

So, instead of rambling on about a plethora of Masters I have studied and try to learn from.. I want to challenge you today with the following three very blunt questions:

Number 1: What are you aiming to MASTER? Write it here: .......................

Number 2: What are your top five tools required for mastery? What could those tools be or what are they now?1....................
                2 ...................
                3...................
                4...................
                5 ..................

Number 3. Where do you keep those top 5 tools? Are they secure? Consistently in the same spot?
.............................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................
The answers to those questions will help you understand your own path to Mastery a wee bit better.
If your "tools" of choice, are scattered all over your home, in hard to find or dusty places.... how focused are you really on becoming a Master?

Or perhaps, in thinking through your list of fave tools ...you begin to remember how you loaned your favorite tool to your cousin or an old friend. Maybe it's time to get it back where it belongs. Maybe it's time to re-build your MASTERY tool chest.

Your tool of choice, may be a laptop that has a virus plaguing it....and is, therefore, lying dormant under your bed. It's time to get that laptop de-bugged. Your tool of choice may be a set of knitting needles ...one of a pair which has gone M.I.A. Time to visit yur fave knitting needle shop....or shop online to replace one.

Maybe the weights you use to carve out those athlete level muscles have rolled under the couch....roll them back out. They are your tools.
Your path to Mastery has  a path and on that path are quality tools.

A Chest of tools. Respect the tools, Respect the chest, the place to rest and protect your tools. Maybe your chest of tools needs a new lock to "seal the deal"  to your revitalized commitment to Mastery.

The path to Mastery is not a static line..... It ebbs and flows. There will be times when you need to remind yourself of what you are aiming for.....and aim again.Aim Again today and empower yourself with quality tools that you keep close and secure.

May God bless you as you move towards your goals.

In peaceful productivity,
Carla.




Tweet

Thought Life....book life

One can not talk anything meaningful about one's thought life without discussing their
book life.

What is a book life? Well, the books you surround yourself with have lives of their own.

I am not even speaking about the book that you are currently immersed in . I am speaking even of the books that sit idly on your night stand or dusty piano, or atop on ole book shelf. I am talking about the text books from the college you dropped out of, that you keep in storage in the attic. Their words still speak. The fact that you haven't disposed of these books, is a testament in and of itself.
Your recycling bin has been seeking to recycle your books, but you have resisted. You have hung onto certain books because they were markers in shifts in your thinking, in your thought life, in your formal education or in your  self led self taught "home" school.

Your books have been markers of your paths of discovery. They reflect that journey to maturity...or painfully show us how far we still have to go....

I think it was Napoleon Hill, who stated that "thoughts are things".

Therefore when we surround ourselves with certain books, we are surrounding ourselves with many millions of "things" belonging to the authors of those books. Their words fill our minds, our space, our ideals. We argue with their thoughts, we discuss and dismiss or else contradict completely what we read. But we always respond to whatever we read. It is merely human nature.

 I have always resented it when someone tried to tell me what I should and shouldn't read....It felt so controlling and intrusive. I have also resented it when electronic book readers try to shove their way into my consciousness. Blogs I have embraced. Twitter too.....but reading the books I am passionate about, I want to hold in my grubby hands myself....in paper format. They may be printed on the cheapest newsprint, or the crispest leather bound hard cover, or they may be pages I've printed off and stapled together in an attempt to produce a "real" book. But it must be old school. It is a book.

 I want to bend the corners back on the pages I visit often. I want to scribble in the margins. I want to Tweet some of their quotable quotes. I continue to become delighted to uncover how great an ocean of knowledge is awaiting me in the land of books. This land beckons me still.

What mankind writes about is a reflection of what it finds important or profitable to repeat.

Soon it will be spring time in this beautiful land of Canada....and with it will come the inevitable urge to purge. Muted books will stumble into my hands and leap toward the recycling bin with reckless abandon. But I must resist. I will attempt to keep at least one book from each of my fave influential authors. Many of their thoughts I have already committed to memory. But I must keep a momento of their position of power in my life. The authors have earned a trophy. That trophy is a space on my book case.

in peace,

Carla.

Tweet