Cities

Have you thought about 19 20 21? A fascinating project to try to redefine the way we live on this planet. Some startling facts, some concerning observations, some startling reality. What is the world were governed by cities not countries? Makes you wonder … what happens to the non-super cities, is Washington DC the Clark Kent of super cities? Where might this leave little old New Zealand?

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Tags: USA, NZ

Filed under: NZ, NZ vs USA, USA

The GRAND RELAUNCH!

Well, it has been a while since I wrote anything here (quick Google blog search on this term showed up ~107M posts to this effect!). So a new resolution to post on a much more frequent basis is in order. Part of the reason for the lapse in posts (and as some have noted quality of the posts) is explained by the following …
I have been struggling with a career-quake of (religious tome of your choice) proportions. I have drifted into a career trajectory that was aligning me and my career with the US Federal Government. The catalyst was that I was offered a senior government position (probably half a step from CTO of a government agency). This caused me to look long and hard at where was I going, career wise, where was my family going, was I happy, what was going to make me happy in the long run, you know, the usual stuff.

My wife reminded me of something we had talked about at length prior to getting married: we will be an international family. I am from NZ, my wife grew up in China, we both live in America, we want our kids to grow up exposed to different cultures. Not just visiting them, but LIVING them. We can think of no better preparation for living in the 21st and 22nd century than global exposure.

After much sole searching and working out what I want to do next, I have decided to return to commercial consulting. Working with commercial clients, building new dynamic web2.0 web presences,  creating innovative capabilities that will take client further, and generally solving much more interesting problems much quicker than I have been in the fedgov.

I will chronicle my move from Federal consulting to commercial over the next few months and spend a little time diving into why I made the choice I made. My ultimate goal is international experience and taking myself and my family somewhere new … where that is remains to be seen. Please read along, follow the journey! It promises to be quite a ride!

Filed under: NZ, NZ vs USA, USA, consulting, government, personal improvement

Coffee Culture

One of the things that those who know me, know altogether too well is that I love coffee. Not that processed bland, McCoffee you get at Starbucks, but real coffee. One of the big differences between NZ and the US is each’s implementation of the espresso or coffee culture. I think this is another example of the classic differences between the two countries.

In NZ, coffee culture is the new bar culture. People go to interact with other people, they write, listen, drink, eat, hang out and generally look for high dollar or premium brands: boutique coffee brands, great atmosphere, exotic shapes built out of espresso foam and milk …

In the US, coffee culture is about drive through Starbucks coffee joints with $5 lattes that might as well have come out of a machine. There is no art, there are no real baristas, there is very much a franchise, a commodity, and a huge market.

Now personnally, I like the NZ approach. The only few places I’ve found like that in Washington, DC are Murky Coffee and Mayorga.  Both of these joints have free wireless (I’m in Murky Coffee right now!), great atmospheres, fantastic coffee, and great music. But even at those joints in the US, people aren’t really interacting, sure they are working … many of them on their cute Apple laptops, but unlike NZ they are sitting alone, working!

Now most Americans sure are obsessed with work, the constant struggle to work hard, to get ahead, to become independently wealthy, to get a bigger, better car than the Joneses. I think the NZ ethic of working hard to play hard, leads to a much more interactive coffee culture, what do you think?

Filed under: NZ, NZ vs USA, USA, ample sufficiency, diet