(Coming Unstuck In) TimeTracks

What time is it?

Right now. What time is it?

Right then. What kind of clock did you view to check the time? Your watch? Your phone? A wall clock? Analog? Digital? Sundial?

Did you guess the time before checking for a definite answer? Why, or why not?

What is the date? Which calendar did you reference? Gregorian, Assyrian, Ptolemaic, Zoroastrian? Do you even know? Does it even matter?

How far back into your own past (and the pasts of others) must you (or anyone) reach to find relevance in this moment?

Will that moment we just shared (in an asynchronous author-reader sense, anyway) be relevant in the future? Is relevance relevant to you in this moment?

While it would be great to delve into multiple scales and perspectives of time right now, we just do not have time. There is too much else about time relevant to this concept of TimeTracks, including its own history and future, as well as that of its creator, your friendly author.

Listen: there is just enough time (and space) to give homage to what are typically considered the two primary contrasting viewpoints of time: the arrow of time (entropy, etc.) and the experience of time. Maybe there will be more time further along this collection of words to dig in a bit deeper, depending on how (un)stuck this essay becomes.

Where to begin with TimeTracks? Continue reading (Coming Unstuck In) TimeTracks

Introducing #Elkin2050 – The Urban Core District

Introducing Elkin and #Elkin2050

What is #Elkin2050? It’s the name (and hashtag) I’ve chosen to identify a dynamic “urban core district” development plan (and planning process) for my hometown Elkin as we move closer to the year 2050. Why 2050? That’s when population scientists have projected we’ll hit nearly 10 billion people in the global population.¹

Where is Elkin? Elkin is in North Carolina in the United States of America, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains – just below the escarpment. Continue reading Introducing #Elkin2050 – The Urban Core District

Starting Up 2017 – Digital Technology Startup

As 2016 came to a close, I stepped away from my previous role as CTO of McKinsey Social Initiative, and now it’s time to move forward as one of the founders of Knedia, a digital media technology startup based in my home state of North Carolina.

Knedia is an idea that has been percolating for a couple years, based on some conversations between myself and my co-founder, John Wiles. It’s one of those ideas that goes back and forth between the front and back of your mind, and you never really stop thinking about it. I firmly believe that the best ideas are the ones you can’t forget. Continue reading Starting Up 2017 – Digital Technology Startup

Hybrid Learning: Get Soaked

On Sunday, July 5, we went for a hike in one of my favorite places on this planet (Stone Mountain State Park) on a section of what is becoming one of my favorite trails, the MST. One of the many reasons I love Stone Mountain is that it is such a photogenic rock:

But on this day, we skirted around the rock and headed for the base of the escarpment, just past Widows Creek.

I’ve used Strava for quite some time to track my bicycling efforts, and recently I’ve discovered that it is also pretty good for tracking hikes. So, I thought I’d track my Sunday “stroll” up the escarpment. Results below, and here.

With my father, I had done the hike before in reverse, one way — from the Blue Ridge Parkway down to the Stone Mountain backpackers’ parking lot. On the 5th I wanted to go up and back, hoping to turn around at the ruins of an old mountain shack. Continue reading Hybrid Learning: Get Soaked