Author-In-Residence for National Center For Women And Information Technology

I know I haven't been blogging too much lately, but believe me I've been more than busy.

First of all, I've been chosen by the NCWIT to serve as Author-in-Residence, to help them document the process of building their new organization at U of Colorado, Boulder. Check out this link. I'm very excited and honored to be working with this terrific group.

Here's their mission statement. I'll be in Boulder in two weeks to kick things off.

The mission of the National Center for Women and Information Technology is to ensure that women are fully represented in the influential world of information technology. Through a nationally connected effort of programs, networks and research, the Center will work to guarantee that women’s perspectives and skills contribute significantly to the creation and application of information technology.

This will complement my work at Misbehaving.Net where I owe them some new blogging and will be sure to be doing just that soon, as well as my writing at Worthwhile Magazine.

Pal Joi

Hadn't been reading Joi Ito's great blog enough lately but took time to do it yesterday and hit on a post I was particularly intriqued by --- about the Japanese hostage situation and their notions of apology and their social default parameter to put the collective before the individual.

The part that got me going, is this leap from Joi's description of the Japanese's natural self-effacing posture as a society and what this means for them in terms of being entrepreneurs. Joi suggests it's not a good thing. I agree.

"An important psychological element is that even though we are individuals, we often represent the group. I have something like 16 or so generations before me on my gravestone and I often feel like a mere blip in the history of my family. Taking risk or tainting my family name is not something that I can freely do without feeling the guilt and responsibility to my ancestors.

It's also interesting to note that most Japanese children's cartoons have story lines where they are a team. Often one of the members get in trouble or drop out of the group and the whole show is about how the group tries to help the drop out get back in tune with the group. It's usually the group saving the single "problem" member. On the other hand, many American cartoons are super-heros who are independent and save the world through taking risk and being different. I know I'm generalizing here, but people who watch a lot of Japanese TV will understand what I'm saying I think.

...

Although I understand what the NYT article is saying and I don't necessarily agree with the way the hostages are being treated and picked on right now, I think that lack of initial apologies and the feeling of Japanese to heroics in Japan is behind the reaction. Having said that, I think this attitude is what is hampering Japan's entrepreneurism as well as Japan's ability to participate as a leader in global affairs. It's a fairly deeply rooted cultural theme that won't change very easily though."

[BTW, Joi is pronounced Joey, just for the record.]

Insomnia, My Little Lover

I sure talk too much about sleeping here at H's Comment, but being up since 3:15am and it now rolling around to that late hour of nearly 4:00am, I thought I'd weigh in one more time.

To keep myself from getting overly fretful and saying the "I" word -- yes, insomnia --I play little games with myself. I think, for instance, of a hit parade of Times In Other Zones You Can Learn To Love. This can calm me down surprisingly well.

It's a more than reasonable time of nearly 10:00am in London. Tea, please.

It's a party-til-I-drop time of the-night-is-still-young 1:00am in LA. Teeny bikini, tiny martini, please.

It's time to push a stroller around a pretty park on Sunday afternoon in Tokyo. Nori crackers, please, lovely desu ne.

It's next winter and third Tuesday after Boxing Day in Australia or some insane thing. Must have beer.

It's all the way you look at it.

And honestly kids, I go to bed around 9:00pm, so 3:00am is really 6:00am for you guys who go to bed at midnight-ish. Just gotta play with the math a bit.

Anyway, I was rather rudely awakened this morning, as I mentioned around 3:00am, to a loud noise that sounded like an explosion. I just don't have time for terrorist fantasies anymore, so I chalked it up to "One More Noise In The Neighborhood You'll Never Find Out About" -- that odd phenomenon that despite the veritable inondation of news and gossip and bloggery and every piece of data coming at us 24X7, getting the goods on local noises outside your actual bedroom window remains nearly impossible.

My kid and I found a dead squirrel on the road outside our house here yesterday ... what happened? He looked spooky, paws frozen in hanging-from-a-ledge position, like something scary from The Shining, surely it was more than a suburban motorist's poor driving skills afoot. We will never know.

But back to my insomnia. He's like a lover with a hard-on who wants to tell you all about it, poking you awake at 3:00am uninvited. This morning I thought first, "Listen Buster, beat it. Leave me alone." And then got a little more cranky, thinking, "This insomnia might just kill my writing career -- I'm so tired all the time, I can't think straight, much less write."

But "Wait!" thinks I, "Baloney! This insomnia is the only reason I EVER write at all!" So ... I guess It's time to embrace you, my shameless lover and say "You again? Okay, okay. Give me a minute to get in position. Good morning, you sexy brute! I give up. I give in. Roll me over and I'll give you the time of day."

But first, please, somebody tell me ... what happened to that squirrel and what was that loud boom?

Cool Blog

Via Andrew Sullivan, don't miss this blog, Famous and Nonfamous Strangers. They've also launched the Virginia Is For Haters blog, to protest the new laws in the state of Virginia against gays and lesbians.