Not a version, but a VISION

I loved this statement from Frank Underwood on House of Cards! Different situations might call for one or the other. Doing a version of something might make the vision appear.

Happy Friday!!!!

Pride, encouragement and work

Ivan Sutherland – scholar and computer scientist – wrote a wonderful essay entitled, Technology and Courage in 1996. I read it for the first time 3-4 years ago and I read it again from time to time. A great read.

Day 2 – Architecture and New York

A view of St. Patrick's Cathedral

30 Rock

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Atlas

Interior of Radio City

Radio City interior

They were rehearsing for America’s Got Talent when we were there.

View from Top of The Rock

My Architecture walkabout

Day 1. Walking from 9am – 7pm

Today (Sunday) until Tuesday, I will be assisting two professors (James Cooper and Moses Lim) with a walking tour of New York. O M G!! My feet hurt. We were walking from 9am to 7:30pm. I took most of my photos with my camera, just a few with my phone. I am writing this post from my phone (while I rest my feet for tomorrow), so I will use the photos on my phone for this post.

Map and route of walk

This is pretty much the walk and the buildings we would see and talk about. We didn’t do all, but we did most of them. Since I am writing this post from my phone, I am not sure if the captions are showing up. Forgive any repetition if there is any.

One World Trade Center aka Freedom Tower

One World Trade Center aka Freedom Tower

The Woolworth Building

Designed by Cass Gilbert, construction started in 1910 and completed in 1913.

8 Spruce Street

Residential tower designed by Frank Gehry.

A great lunch of meatballs, tomato sauce, burrata, and bread. Delicious!!

Needed!!

I took this pic by accident and liked it.

Flatiron Building

Built in 1902 and designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Dinkelberg. I learned about the phrase, 23 skidoo, where during the early 1900s, “groups of men reportedly gathered to watch women walking by have their skirts blown up, revealing legs, which were seldom seen publicly at that time. Local constables, when sometimes telling such groups of men to leave the area, were said to be “giving them the 23 Skidoo.” [Link]

Met Life Tower aka Clock Tower

Built in 1909.

The Empire State Building

Built in 1931, designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon. I also learned about the Evelyn McHale story (“the most beautiful suicide”), photographed by Robert Wiles, and appropriated by Andy Warhol.

The Chrysler Building

The Chrysler Building is one of my favourite buildings in NY. Built in 1930, and designed by Van Alen, who was never paid by the client (Chrysler) for his work.

Grand Central Station

Grand Central Station

The RCA Victor Building designed in 1931 by John W. Cross.

The Seagram Building

Designed by Mies Van der Rohe and built in 1958.

Another shot

Sculpture in front Seagram Building

Exterior details on Waldorf Astoria

Photos of the interior are on my camera.
It was a great day! Intense, and fantastic.

I am…

This is what I do, what I always try to do, and what I enjoy.
You?

Get Started

This second,
This minute,
This hour,
This day,
This week,
This month,
This year,
This century,
This life.

Ideas or infrastructure?

We (humans) make things happen.

I know people who actually believe that the infrastructure (computers, and cool tools/ gadgets) in their institution is more important than their people. So, they invest in infrastructure instead of ideas.

In academia, without people who have ideas to innovatively use your infrastructure, you have a slowly dying (or dead) institution that looks good on the outside, but that might be decaying on the inside.

People with ideas are the ones who design systems, tools, and technologies. While your infrastructure stays, those people with ideas will go. I worry about any institution that invests in its infrastructure before its ideas.

People with ideas win grants to break rules, they take us to places we never dreamt possible, and develop cures for diseases. I have never once seen a machine win a Nobel Prize. As far as I know, people do. Academia is about knowledge production, and that’s what humans are able to do.

I believe in ideas before infrastructure. With your ideas we can get infrastructure, and do ground-breaking work. With the presence of infrastructure and an absence of people with ideas to run them, you are alone with your toys, and no one to play with.

Defining yourself

Yes, but who are YOU? Tell me more…

Imagine

If you don’t, start.
If you stopped, restart.
If you are, do more.

Impatience

Daily notes and Sketches

All of the above are true. There are times when I have to be patient. I have to wait since some things are beyond my control. It would not be wise for example, for me to be impatient when it comes to teaching myself something new, or teaching another.

Then there are times when I need to be impatient. These moments are wake me up moments because they literally wake me up and push me to just get it done. Sometimes you just have to let that impatience fuel your drive to get things done. Better, faster, smarter, harder.

It’s also good to be aware when someone else’s impatience might be influencing you. This can be a positive influence or a negative influence. You either have to say, “Calm down. I have to proceed the way I am so that I don’t jeopardize it all.” Or, their impatience might be the fuel that pushes you to see the need and the importance for your work.