It’s the ubiquitous cry of the frustrated Customer Service Rep.; “The system is down”. Uttered whenever the usual clicks of the mouse and taps on the keyboard don’t give the expected results.

It has become so frequent that when a person hears it they become numb because they know that this brick wall will stop any further progress with their particular issue. The problem here is that it seems people have forgotten exactly what a system is. It’s not just the computer sitting on the desk or the server in the back room. It’s the people, resources and processes which come together to give a required result. Each entity taking something in, contributing in its own way, and passing it on until the final outcome is achieved. The proliferation of technology has led people astray. They have forgotten what comprises the fundamental elements of a system and have instead resigned to the idea that technology is the be all and end all.

A system may depend on your computer to get a particular task done, however when the computer is down the system itself should continue to function. When a customer is on the line who needs to get his business done, he shouldn’t be left without options simply because a server isn’t responding. The system needs to mitigate downtime by providing alternative routes for information flow and transaction processing.

How else can a CSR get the information that this customer needs? Can data be captured via more low tech means and then batch processed when the computers are back online? These are questions that should always be asked from the initial design phases of any system. The possibilities are dictated by your particular situation, but alternative processes should always be hard coded into any system and persons proactive with their use.

We need to have a clear separation between the system and the technology that sits below it. Technology should be an enabler for efficient delivery of your service, but it cannot be the show stopper. We have to move away from the chain design concept where a broken link renders everything else inoperable. We have to employ a methodology of ensuring communication flow regardless of the lack of availability of any single resource. That is the core of an efficient system; fault tolerance. Being able to reroute information the moment a resource is unavailable and remain operational. Before there were computers this was the norm. No one person had the combination to the safe. There was always a backup for the backup for the backup.
We have to, while still ensuring a measure of control, enable fault tolerance in our online systems the way we used to when they were driven by pen and paper. A full appreciation needs to be had by everyone involved that regardless of the circumstances the show must go on, and it has to be reflected in the polices and procedures that guide your business processes. When that happens, we’ll be that much closer to dumping the “system is down” cliche and moving on productively with our lives.

“Today’s victim of change is yesterday’s cause”

-Karl Morris

Why yes, I did quote myself. Thanks for noticing. I hope to have one such quote etched above the entrance to my tomb some day.

–

Growing up in the time that I did I had certain experiences that persons, sans those with social anxiety issues, would not find terribly unique. I played sports in the yard daily, I made kites, slingshots and paper airplanes whenever the feeling took me and I could always be found among my friends whenever I wasn’t eating, sleeping or being grounded. My peers and those before me can all relate to the above and tell tales of love, loss, disobedience and revelry as only someone who has lived it could.

The “time” of which I speak is BI (Before Internet). A now nostalgic time long before instant gratification became the order of the day. I was becoming of age on the cusp of the information age. Passing through my awkward teenage years while the [mainstream] internet was in its infancy. As such I had long before developed my views and prejudices on human interactions. I had predefined mechanisms of evaluating friendships, gathering information and simply getting by in life. This, like everything else that makes us who we are, came to be because of the surrounding influences as well as the mechanisms for those interactions that existed at the time. So as the internet came along, it served only to augment [and in many ways improve] my already inbred sense of “social”.

However, while it only augmented my development, the generation that came of age at the same time as the internet has had their earthly perceptions defined by it. To them the world is a completely different place and the rules that they play by have been given a Life 2.0 upgrade.

The virtual revolution in which we all live today has been on the horizon for a very long time, certainly predating this author and many who would care to read this. My personal exposure came in the form of Video Games. This enabled me to, for the first time, take on an avatar and for a fleeting moment leave this earthly realm and live a life of fantasy. It gave me an oh so sweet taste of Virtual Life and how much I could “accomplish” without really doing much.

This escape was short lived however as there were almost always mechanisms of control in place, aka Parents. In the beginning it was pretty hard to make a case that video games were good for anything except their entertainment value and as with anything that was purely fun and nothing else, parents would limit your exposure less you take to it like a narcotic. It was something in which you could indulge when there was nothing else to do and even then you could only do it for so long before the [seemingly unreasonable] request/order came to “turn off that damn game and go outside and play”. Notwithstanding the limitations on capabilities, function and general purpose, video games served as a very useful training exercise for what was to come. However, even with its introduction into the line-of-sight of childhood distractions, the need to be amongst friends was still paramount; so whether it was football, idle sidewalk chat or a Street Fighter tournament, you could be sure that it was a [fairly large] group activity. Virtual Life only augmented what was already in place.

Compare this to the life that kids today are privy to. Advancements in technology now allow persons to interact without having to be in the same room, building or country. Indeed, they don’t even have to be on the same planet. And while all generations make use of this, members of mine and those before me use it mainly as an outlet to expand our scope and means of communicating. Those that followed have taken it to be not just the preferred method of interacting, but many times the only acceptable one.

Meet J. On the outside J looks like any normal kid. At a glance you can probably think of someone that you grew up with that fits his general profile. 12 years old, curly hair, likes video games a little more than he should and hates homework a lot more than he should. Again, J wouldn’t strike you as outside the ordinary, and indeed he isn’t. That is, of course, if you’re comparing him to his modern day peers. Try and compare J to that kid that you grew up with and it’s going to be night and day.

When J gets home from school he immediately heads for the TV and/or video game. No great surprise there. Kids love their afternoon cartoons and the only thing they love more is trying to beat the high score that they set yesterday on the game mom just dropped $50 on. This will probably go on until a parent gets home and tells him to wrap it up. If you think back, you’ll remember that once you were told as a kid to turn the television off there really was no reason to hang around the house keeping your parents company. Your interactions were fueled by your innate need to be social and the apparent lack of virtual modes of achieving this. However that is not J’s world. When J is asked to turn off the television or video game he simply retreats to the warm, ambient glow of the family’s iMac. As you observe J you start to realise that this is his true escape, everything else including video games and seemingly every activity throughout the day, were simply distractions. Something to take up the time until all the necessary components of his Virtual Life are in place. In other words, everything else is simply to burn off the time until his friends get online. Upon his entry to this land of 1’s and 0’s J is greeted by a multitude of “friends” who in some cases form fairly complex relationship metrics with each other, and in other cases are completely oblivious to the others’ existence. This depicts one of the biggest contrasts with Real Life relationships. J is able to interact with multiple circles of friends, each with varying areas of interests, purpose and goals, simultaneously. Try to envisage this feat in a conventional social setting, say a party or a local bar. It’s practically impossible if not tiring and prohibitively expensive to do so [you'll have to buy a round or drinks for each set]. J manages to accomplish this however, without even giving a thought to the fact that this was not humanly possible only a few short years ago.

One particular group of friends that J seems to interact with more than others all belong to a group that trades “merchandise” with each other to bolster their “inventory” in an effort to have a complete set of…stuff. They then go off on some mythical quest in a multi-player video game of the sort. This scenario seems to vaguely resemble the actions of trading and card games that predated this multicolor display that J has been drawn into. I couldn’t help but wonder if the experience is as fulfilling when you don’t have to go buy gum at the corner store and cross your fingers as you peel back the wrapper or hunt down the kid that has that one card that you’re missing and try to barter on amicable terms (whatever “amicable” is to a tween) and the occasional fisticuffs when a deal goes sour.

Soon after however, you start to realise that J’s actions are just as if not more fulfilling than those that I myself embarked on once upon a time. You’re reminded that he doesn’t belong to a world that has short changed his social interactions, but rather belongs to one that has redefined how those interactions are experienced. Sure, he may never get a humbling ass kicking while defending a cause, but having received a few of those myself I’m not completely sold on that being a bad thing.

One point I should make before you even ask the question: These groups of friends that J holds so close to him are made up, for the most part, of persons he has never actually met. Yes, there are a couple schoolmates as well as the neighbour’s kids, but by and large, his social group have been defined and build virtually. Schoolmates are nothing more than that, kids he will see at school. His Real World time is spent mainly playing cricket with his father and brother in the back yard and outside of that…lets just say that this isn’t the most creative kid you’ll ever meet (not necessarily a statement on his lack of ability as much as it is on the lack of inspiration and motivation). For J, the world, or the one were he prefers to “live”, is a playgroud where be can’t feel the dirt between his toes, can’t hi-five his mate and verbal utterances are preferably expressed with LOL’s and BRB’s sprinkled throughout a text based conversation. It’s a whole new paradigm, one that you can only distinguish if you belong to another. J certainly can’t. This is his world. He came and saw it waiting for him, as if it had always been. He doesn’t, and in fact does not care to know any other way of doing things. He has developed his own mechanisms and prejudices and awaits the next evolutionary step in technology that will augment what he has come to accept as the way things are. When that time comes he will lament about how the generation being born into that new age will redefine “social”.

For the last…I can’t remember how many years, I’ve been faced with the proposition of leaving this island I love and migrating to the land of milk and honey. This all thanks to family who have toiled and slaved to get me what all had agreed would be a better life. However, with all that has been done and all that’s being said, I have for the last…I can’t remember how many years, refused to pack up my little bundle and head up north. I’m at the point in my life where I have carved a comfortable lifestyle with very modest means. I don’t doubt for a moment that riches and fame await me if I were to ever make the move, but it seems that over time my priorities in life have changed. My comfort is no longer defined by accumulated wealth and my happiness not measured by the power I’ve accrued. In some sense, I’ve reached a level of contentment with things as they are, and have acknowledged that this is a function of my mind, not of my environment.

How different would my life have been were I given this choice back in my Disney years. Back when foreign travel was, at best, something I did vicariously through my well off friends. Back then I would have given my left testicle (or right, I’m not partial) for the chance to come back from my holidays with stories from far away lands, but my humble upbringings didn’t allow it. I don’t know if it’s those lost opportunities that have made me cold and uncaring, or if I have just grown to accept and appreciate the beauty of what surrounds me. Perhaps it’s a little of both. Standing in the middle of Times Square, my mind goes back 20 years. I think about how profoundly the sights and sounds would impact me then, whereas now thy are nothing more than a distraction and mild irritant.

Many still await my inevitable move. In their heads no one of sound mind would pass on the opportunities that I’ve been presented. The truth is, they’re probably right. I’d love to say that my patriotic stance is a lifelong blood oath that will see my corpse buried in Portland without knowing the feel of foreign soil between my toes. Unfortunately I can’t make that pledge. The here and now is all that I control and while I don’t see my mind being changed any time soon, nothing is etched in stone. I travel like clockwork every six months to ensure I keep my paperwork in tact. That alone is an indication that I’m not willing to close any doors. I do like the fact that I can get size 12 slip on Allstars from every other store, whereas here i just can’t seem to find them. I also like the fact that there are, as many have said and proven, opportunities abound. Where else can you make a living as a Fortune Cookie Writer?

Notwithstanding, I’m in love with this land of mine. With crime running rampant, societal morals and ethics at an all time low and corruption permeating all facets of life, I still can’t think of another place I’d want to live. I’ll hold firm for as long as I can and then some.

Closing remark: Doctoral studies will actually have me in the US for the next half a decade. I’ll still be here in spirit though.

Mr. Single Dance guy
Hey Guy, how you been. Y’know, if you take a look around you’ll probably notice that the people around have been doing your dance…and others…many others. In fact, no one did your dance for more than a couple minutes and it was only because the song was playing that mentioned it’s name. Pre tell then why you have been doing the same hand, leg and hip movements for the last half an hour and why you, even for a moment, thought that you looked “kinda cool”? You’re not cool my friend, you’re sad. An just because the dance is fairly new doesn’t excuse it. You can’t fake this one, you’re either a dancer or you’re not, and you sir, clearly, are not.

Mr. Drunk Way Too Soon guy
Wow, that was quick. And to think you only stumbled in here a minute ago. You may have missed the memo because you were too busy dancing up a storm but you don’t win free drinks for being the first one on the dance floor, drink in hand, singing at the top of your lungs and only getting every other word right. You actually come off as more of a tool and while you do serve as some early entertainment, the embarrassment you (should) feel afterwards far outweighs the temporary levity that you provide. Given that, we will gladly forego the spectacle in order to maintain your dignity. We’re giving you a get-out-of-looking-like-a-fool card, use it for Pete’s sake.

Ms. Drunk Way Too Soon girl
Same as above, and everyone thinks you’re easy.

Mr./Ms. Overly Flamboyant dresser
Nice threads. Your tailored jacket, Armani top and designer jeans definitely accentuate your taste and show the time you took in putting together that masterpiece of which your body is the canvas. Be careful not to rub against those guys with the puke stained, $5, I Love NY t-shirts, ’cause that would just ruin your night.

Mr. Too Cool for School
Your machismo is seeping through your pores. Leaning against the bar making sure not to dance, eying all the hotter than average girls (but not for too long though, that’s not cool), and touting a look of being at this club only to grace the lower species with your presence. Oh yes sir, you definitely are who we all aspire to be. When I grow up I’m wanna rub moose in my hair, dress with popped collars and sip gin and tonic when everyone else is having beer. You sir, are my hero.

Mr./Ms. Foreigner
No one gives a shit.

Mr. Buy All the Rounds
Everyone thanks you, but you’re still not getting laid. What you will get is another invitation when we go clubbing again.

Ms. Skirt Way Too Short girl
Nice.

Lets start at the beginning, I am not a prodigal son. I have always had issues in relation to managing money and will most likely have them for some time to come. That’s what makes these words so valuable, it’s coming from a man who is himself in the trenches. You may think that a reformed spendthrift who has changed his ways for the better would be the preferred source of such life changing affirmations, but take my word; only someone who lives with the pitfalls each day can really speak to them.

If I could be granted one wish from the gods of financing it would not be for more money, but rather for keener skills in money management. I long ago ceased to gripe about salary and it has indeed been many years since I’ve last uttered any word about a raise of pay. I don’t live within my means by any stretch of the term but I’ve at least recognized that as the key to being wealthy.

The number one truth when is comes to building wealth is this: Wealth comes from the proper management of money, not the excess of it.

The facts are these: I make significantly more than I used to at my last job, and many times my salary of just a few years ago. In my attainment of what some would consider “decent” compensation, I have only managed to plunge myself further and further into debt. I’m not about to file for bankruptcy anytime soon, but the point is only to show that the increase in monetary intake doesn’t equate to a proportional increase in wealth and can in fact have the opposite effect.

Over the years I’ve made great strides in my quest to achieve financial freedom and then some. My aim is to live a life that grants me all the time in the world to sleep and eat Ox Tail (my absolute favorite dish next to ripe bananas). Again, due to my frivolous lifestyle and uninspiring work ethic, I’ve not been able to quite get there. Notwithstanding, I was clear on where and what I was trying to accomplish. Something I call Perpetual Income. In essence it is income that, from it’s mere existence, generates more income. This is something that most of us enjoy through the passive investments made in commercial banks and the like, however the generated income tends to come from a fluctuating rate which almost never goes beyond single digits percentiles. While this is the essence of the principle, for persons with less than stellar investments it may prove to be an insignificant endeavour; certainly not one that could solely maintain a lifestyle of eating and sleeping without an exchange of sweat equity. Given this, more proactive investments mechanisms are needed of which there are many. This isn’t an investment tutorial so I wont go on any elaborate analysis of the pros and cons of the different scheme. You need only understand that the right combination of investments, leveraged with a frugal, budgeted lifestyle can give you the sleepy eyed, meat devouring days and nights that I so long for.

I say again that the (somewhat obvious) advice given above is not followed by yours truly. This is a “do as I say, not as I do” moment. Had I the willpower to dispel this penchant for impulse buying and fine liquor I could very well be talking to you from the other side of the fence, but I wont let my dire situation prevent me from spreading the good word.

I’ll probably revisit this topic in the future. There’s much more to tell and I just wont sleep well at night unless I know that someone out there is doing the right thing even though I can’t. I’m off to find some Ox Tail.

Being hated is a wonderful thing. You might not understand this until you give it some serious thought, so let me save you some time. Simply put, being hated is a good indicator of you doing something and going places with your life.

When people take time out of their own lives to form such strong opinions of you it’s one of two things: you’re either doing something very wrong or doing something very right. If it’s the former, it takes nothing at all for people to simply ignore you and move on. If you’re living a less than stellar lifestyle people will react according to whether they want your kind of influence around them and often times they wont. This simply means that the vast majority of times when someone makes their dislike of you known, something is going well for you.

Borrowing from the insightful Kat Williams, Haters are gonna hate. That’s just what they do. It’s a very peculiar human trait, some persons just don’t like to see others doing better than they are. Whether you’re ahead of them or stepping on their coattails, people like being the fastest mover and, if they can, will apply the required pressure on you to slow your roll. On it’s own this can simply be entertaining, but it can at times affect you personally, professionally and monetarily if the person with this character flaw is put in a position to derail you. Whether it be directly via authority, indirectly via associations, or passively by the misuse of information, a person who feels strongly enough can interfere with your game plan. This means you always have to be on the lookout. As you tally up your list of haters make sure you keep them in check and avoid any influence they may have on you. If you can accomplish that then it’s smooth sailing.

Once you’re at the point where you can observe these individuals for the pure entertainment that they provide, then you’ll fully realise; being hated is a wonderful thing.

I’m getting old. I know I’m getting old because whenever I hear a ball being kicked outside my house I look out the window just waiting to yell at the kids to get off my lawn (they’re never actually on my lawn, but that doesn’t quell the urge). For the last 20 years or so I’ve been trying to come to grips with it and to age gracefully; I’m still trying. While it doesn’t depress me I can’t help but think about how much time I’m losing and not doing anything with it. Every second you waste is (as best we know) gone forever and I’ve frankly wasted more than average.

Exactly how old am I? My age can be summed up in 2 words: Circle Square. For those too young to know or too old to remember what the heck I’m talking about, just liken it to the Barney of today (is that still on the air?). This was one of the ways my generation learned sharing, caring and talking about our feelings. It was Canadian so probably not very popular to the other 50 states or the rest of the world, but in Jamaica it was probably the only thing that our lone television station could afford to syndicate. It wasn’t all bad, I mean I even got the song book with Super Hymnal Action. HIYAH!!!

At this stage I can’t help but think that I should be making some life changing affirmation about grabbing life by the horns and making the best of each day, but I’ll be honest: I’m in bed right now and will probably be taking a nap as soon as I finish typing this. I say nap because I will most certainly be wide awake again by 12 when the munchies kick in. A Carpe Diem moment this is not.

I’ve been without a television for the better part of a month now. I can’t remember how long exactly as the first few days were a blur. It got water logged (don’t ask) and I decided not to spend money fixing it or buying a new one as there are plans afoot that would prevent me from realizing a return on my investment.

Being without television, which has been a steady companion my entire life, has been difficult to say the least. It has however forced me to seek out other methods of entertainment and expand my thus far limited horizon in terms media consumption.

Top of the list is of course Internet media. I’m a long time YouTuber (and a fan of many non-social streaming services before it) and have always been pleased with what it provides. A reactive source of moving pictures. Reactive in the sense that I have to tell it what i want, unlike a television that pushes content at me in a more proactive way. Sure I can view what others are viewing, see related media and some services will even give recommendations based on what I’ve watched in the past, all great stuff, but it’s not what I’ve gotten used to from years spent in front of the idiot box.

I’m not inclined to say that one paradigm is superior to the other, I will simply say that I’ve grown accustomed to one thing and while I can appreciate this new way of doing things,  it hasn’t managed to completely sway me into changing the way I expect to get my media.

Online media providers have failed to appease this crucial aspect of television watching habits. Sometimes people just want to get lost in what’s coming at them. Empowering me to control all aspects of what I absorb doesn’t really help me when I’m just in the frame of mind to watch whatever is on. In the same breath, people are varied in what they may choose to watch. My recommendations can’t be based solely on what I’ve watched and/or what my peers are watching. In the old way of doing things many times discoveries are stumbled upon from simple channel surfing, not complex algorithms. People need to have a choice and media companies need to not assume that new automatically equates to improved. At times it may simply be different.

P.S.

Television studios need to completely embrace the Internet as an avenue to distribute their content. I wanted to watch the Grammys tonight but there were no live streaming sources to be found. The technology is there and so are successful revenue models, so what’s the holdup?

Driving without it gets you a day in court, falling ill without it puts you at the mercy of bottom tier health care and dying without it means you get buried in a cardboard box.

All those reasons make it seem like having it is a swell idea, and to a tiny few it is. For the rest of us however, it’s the biggest scam you’ll ever fall prey to, and the whole thing is government backed.

Who else can legally take your money with the promise to pay you back when shit hits the fan, only to load you with half cocked lines about not being able to pay up when said fecal matter goes skyward? They remind me of a damn coke fiend. The only difference being one of the two can get busted to pound-me-in-the-ass prison. While being a coke fiend isn’t itself illegal, there are quite a few illegal steps involved in getting there. The insurance company, on the other hand, probably gets a tax break.

If they have your money why can’t they just hand it over when you say so? It’s bad enough that you can’t go back to them unless you’re laid up in a hospital or had your car written off (or both if you have bad karma), but when you do it’s as if they have a random excuse generator for not paying you that doubles as material for their lunch time comedy hour. The alignment of the planets during the last epoch has no bearing on you paying out, for Christ’s sake.

I’m griping because I had a situation recently play out, and I’m sure you can guess that I wasn’t pleased with the outcome. All I can do about it at this point is take my business elsewhere. That’s it. Not one refund or credit note in sight.

I’ve always been a well insured guy and with my particular flavour of luck will probably always be, but damn it if I haven’t had it up to here (hand below chin) with these damn, dirty apes…I mean insurance companies.

This is the obligatory fist post with the sole purpose of familiarizing you with the musings to follow.

Describing this blog will really come down to your point of view. In my mind this is just an avenue to complain about the daily doses of idiocy that I’m faced with, some being my own, while to others it may be a fountain of truth from which flows the meaning of life with a slightly PG-13 edge.

No matter what brought you here and what you may think…stay for the booze. There will be plenty.