You could think of Field Notes as my “blog” of observations. Periodically peek into my sketchbook, eavesdrop on my conversations, get a glimpse of my projects — and lens on life in Silicon Valley.
Filter by: Projects, Actually in Silicon Valley or Interviews
My TEDx Talk on “The Joys of Otherhood” (2017)
Actually, in Silicon Valley, some people check the "other" box on standardized forms. Maybe the category on those dreaded forms that confounds you is ethnicity or gender or even age (you might feel like a different age than you technically are.) For me, that category is "occupation" or "profession". I just don't fit into any of the standard options. Pretty much ever. My 2017 TEDx talk on the The “Joys of Otherhood” is about just that.
Are You Somebody?
Actually, in Silicon Valley. "Are you somebody? That's what someone asked my father when he and my mom were at the Apollo 11 space launch at Cape Kennedy in Florida on July 16, 1969.
Transparency + Overcombing
My first political act of the 2016 election season was to create a drawing for an “Election Collection” featured at the big box stores nationwide. Back in February, when the notion of Trump as a serious candidate was still far-fetched, I drew a picture of Trump’s hair. My ace greeting card maker/marketer friend, Lynn Felter of Across the Line submitted our card for consideration with the caption, “We Shall Overcomb” and it was actually selected for distribution as part of an Election Collection. I suggested that they change the background from red to blue when I reviewed the artists’ proof. They did.
Seeing the Beauty in Broken Things
Actually, in Silicon Valley, some engineers do still work with their hands, some people appreciate the beauty in broken things and some people help each other for free for the fun and good will of it. Here's a story of how that happened all at once for me.
One of my guiding beliefs was best articulated by our son, Ben, at age 10: "Not perfect is perfect. Perfect is not perfect." I was hanging a bulletin board in Ben's room and doing that thing where you keep tilting it back and forth slightly - skewing a little too much to one side and then the next, never quite getting it level. Finally, Ben calmly uttered those words. I took a medium deep breath, as if to mostly acknowledge that he was totally right and just how ridiculous my pursuit of the perfect had been in a situation without much import. My Virgoian tendencies were overplaying. We were done. I felt better and Ben's bit of 10-year-old wisdom stuck with me.