bootstrapping.net

FUTURE WORKPLACE MIT

Runtime Revolution. Interesting new simple application development enviroment. Hypercard style, ability to easily do builds for windows, mac and unix from the same codebase.

MIT Sloan Virtual Customer Initiative. Interesting research.

MIT Sloan Management Review

Business Strategy Review from the London Business School

Openness/Weblogs:
I really shouldn’t have to write this, but had a conversation with hartvig about this topic.

What i write here is what i feel and think about - this is who i am for better or for worse. I’ve had second doubts about being open during these tough times, but somehow feel that the spirit of weblogs and the conversations and perspectives people share is a part of the solution of a better society for the future and an example of using technology for something positive.
This is frontmost a tool for myself to process and reflect on what i experience, with the small side effect that friends and relatives and the rest of the world has access to it!
All here is straight from the heart and mind - i’m not trying to show something that doesn’t exist - i’m not doing this for an audience, but for myself.
This is who i am, interpret it anyway you want…

Yesterday:
Tried to work today, but couldn’t keep it going for many minutes at a time. Day-to-day stuff seems irrelevant, experiencing joy/having fun seems hard these days. Tears in my eyes several times today listening to all the human destinies. People missing loved ones and tragic stories about people having last conversations on cell phones with their loved ones trapped in the world trade center.
Life will go on, but the positive open attitudes and hope for the future of a young generation growing up in a world of freedom, safety and openness unheard of in generations is severely challenged.

Still processing all what’s happened - a couple of thoughts…

Where we’re you September 11th, 2001?
This question will be asked for many years to come as it was with the jfk assassination, the challenger explosion, etc.

My own story: First heard notices about a tragedy at the World Trade Center at local danish time 15.03 (9:03 EST) on a car radio. A plane had crashed into the World Trade Center was my first impression. Was at my parents place in preparation for my grandma’s birthday.
Went for a walk on the beach and we’re out of the loop for the next 20-30 minutes. When i got back i instantly turned on the tv and realized what had happened. Didn’t have access to CNN, but all the Danish channels we’re broadcasting live. Watched the transmissions live with parts of my family while simultaneously trying to get more information on the web. Speculation of how many planes we’re hijacked, whitehouse attacks was mentioned - everything was up in the air in those minutes. Horrible pictures of the second plane hitting WTC was shown over and over again.
Suddenly on the live transmission the towers collapse, my family around the tv freezed and stopped talking, i stopped breathing for some seconds and felt a drag in my stomach. Watching the towers collapse was the thing that really made me realize the impact…

Are we at war?
All military commentators stress how this operation could have only been done with a big organisation, lot’s of technology, lot’s of funding, planning, etc.
To me it seems as if it could have been pulled off by a group of 8-12 people with the determination do die for their cause and the willingness to use innocent people as weapons for terrorism of a grade we’ve never seen before.
They didn’t use sophisticated technology to hijack the planes and all experts seems to agree that controlling a boeing jet in mid-air doesn’t require much training (experience with smaller planes and some flight simulator training). They could have decided to do it days or weeks before, looked up the planes to hijack in the flight schedules and gone through security in the morning with their knifes and blades.
I guess this is what really scares me! This is guerrilla warfare in the largest city in the world against the most powerful country in the world, which means it could easily happen anywhere else.

US airport security
My instant reaction was how easy it must have been to get through us airport security. Can’t point to specific issues, but off the head, having travelled a bit in the US, it’s my experience that US national airport security is much lighter than airport security in Europe and on international flights. I guess and hope that this will be strengthened right away.

The Internet
Used my portable with 802.11b simultaneously while watching television. All major sites weren’t accessible for the first couple of hours, Dave did an amazing job covering the story live. Messages from the new york based wwwac mailing list kept coming in with people missing loved one’s, information and rumours, personal stories from people in the neighbourhood, people offering to donate blood, people offering perspectives and insight.

Vulnerability
Travelling through central Copenhagen this morning the impact can be seen everywhere. People’s faces are empty, no joy and laughing in the streets - everybody feels nervous and vulnerable - everybody’s thoughts are somewhere else. The basic beliefs in human values, openness and trust in each other are challenged. Everybody has started questioning their own and their loved one’s safety.
Going through an six mile long train tunnel beneath water this morning gets one to question it’s security - a ride i must have taken 40-50 times before. Anyone could easily put a bomb on the train, a suicide bomber could be on the train, the train could be hijacked, as on all train rides there aren’t any security checks at all, etc.
Getting on a plane will never be the same again, visiting new york will never be the same again - the positive beliefs and human trust of a generation will never be the same again.

Malthe get’s his first box from Aarstiderne. BTW, if you’ve got ideas/feedback about the concept of aarstiderne, product ideas, website feedback, etc. please let me

That’s what weekends are for - working! But hey, i gotta love it!