This is my last blog!

Of 2017.  

That was tricky, right? “Wow, Tom’s blogs are always amazing -
why would he stop blogging???”

Made you look. Made you click. Made you read this far. If this was “fake news”
it’s too late. Let’s come back to this later.

Standing is good for you. Sitting at a desk all day long is bad for you.
They say that just standing - getting up from your desk - once every
twenty minutes will make an AMAZING difference in your health.

Just stand up. Once every twenty minutes.

Cool!  What a perfect New Year’s resolution! Take your smartphone,
and set the timer to ring once every twenty minutes. Stand up.
Take a few steps away from your desk. OK, you can go sit down again.
Boom! Done!

Google “Standing for Health”

You will see many articles that talk about standing desks, standing at work,

and how doing something as simple as STANDING UP will change your life.

It’s better than going to the gym!

On the circle of health hype, what was bad becomes good, then it becomes
overrated, then it becomes bad again. That’s what happened to barefoot
running and multivitamins, and it’s where the purported dangers of
“too much sitting” seem to be headed.

But, like all hype cycles, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle rather
than on the peaks or in the valleys.

It’s worth looking at an interesting study published in the American Journal of
Epidemiology that finds jobs that require a lot of standing to be much worse for
your health than jobs that require mostly sitting. The new study is a surprising
opposite of the “sitting is the new smoking” message.

Standing all day long is no good for you.

Sitting all day long is no good for you.

But if you stand up and take a few steps away from your desk every
twenty minutes during your day, you are on your way to perfect health!

Unless you take a few steps away from you desk to go outside and smoke.
Or go eat junk food.

Where are you going with this Tom?

Having New Year’s resolutions are good for you.

Unless of course, having New Year’s resolutions are bad for you.

If you cannot stand up and take a few steps away from your desk every
twenty minutes, what chance do you have of going to the gym, or quitting
smoking, or getting more sleep, or keeping any of your other noble
New Year’s resolutions?

OK, if you are not going to stand up and take a few steps away from your desk
every twenty minutes for your own physical health, how about doing something
for your own mental health?

Do not click on fake news in 2018.
Do not read fake news in 2018.
Do not spread or share or promote fake news in 2018.

How can you possibly know if something is fake news you ask?

Well, you can click on everything.
Or you can click on nothing.

Or you can take the time to read, research, validate what you read before you
share it or promote it on social media. Alternative facts are by definition,
not facts at all.

Just like standing all day long - or not standing at all - the best most healthy
answer is always going to be somewhere in the middle.

OK, that’s it.

My last blog!

Of 2017.

[ Insert standing ovation here. Go ahead, standing is good for you. I think. ]

Nerdy:

In physics, a quantum is the minimum amount of any physical entity
involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a physical property
may be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization".

Quantum Computing studies computation systems (quantum computers)
that make direct use of quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as
superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data.

Quantum computers are different from binary
digital electronic computers based on transistors.

Non-Nerdy:

Shit is about to get real.

This past Friday, the NYDLA.org co-sponsored an event with
IE.edu and SAP on Quantum Computing. The event was held at SAP
on the 48th floor at 10 Hudson Yards.

The view from the 48th floor was amazing.

I need to keep this blog post short, so let me say it this way:

Encryption is what allows things like Bitcoin to exist. Encryption
is what allows us to do online banking. Encryption is what allows Nuclear
Power Plants to operate. If there was no such thing as “encryption”
the Internet would shut down almost overnight.

Without encryption, there is no more Amazon, no Netflix, no Uber,
no cloud.

If someone tried to break the encryption of Bitcoin, or break the encryption of a Nuclear Reactor, or break into the NSA, or break into ANY financial institution (using today's technology) it would take around 2,700 years.

If you had access to a Quantum Computer, it would take
around 400 minutes to break the encryption.

If a "bad actor" had access to a Quantum Computer, the value of
every Bitcoin in the world would to go $0 in less than 400 minutes.

This is why schools like IE.edu and companies like SAP, Microsoft,
Google, Amazon are betting all of their chips on Quantum Computing.

Quantum Computing is the new “space race” and we need to make sure
that the bad guys don’t win.

Quantum Computing will be here before you know it.

There are “countries” that are storing everything - every email,
every document, truly storing everything digital.

Why?

Because storage is cheap. And because they know that (one day)
there will be a Quantum Computer that can read, analyze and
BREAK into anything digital and encrypted. In minutes.

The first country with mastery of Quantum Computing will be
the next superpower.

Forget about nuclear weapons.

One fully functional Quantum Computer is more dangerous than 1000 nuclear bombs.

“The view” from the 48th floor was amazing.
Thrilling. Mesmerizing. It was also terrifying.

https://www.wired.com/story/quantum-computing-is-the-next-big-security-risk/?

^^^ A great article on Quantum Computing

View from the 48th Floor - SAP - 10 Hudson Yards

Tell 'em about the food

This past week the NYDLA.org was invited to attend the AVIT Summit in New York City. It was very well done. Very well done indeed.

The Stewart Hotel was an amazing venue for such an event, right across the street from Madison Square Garden. I don’t think there is a venue anywhere in the world that competes with “The Big Apple” for meetings or live events.

The AV/IT Leadership Summit is a must-attend for stakeholders making AV and IT technology decisions and those needing to know how these decisions can affect a company or institution. Not knowing can put the health of an institution or facility at risk.

The stakeholder table expanded to include AV/IT technology directors, managers, CIOs, CTOs, VPs, technology engineers, media directors, educational technology directors, and facilities managers tasked with moving an organization forward and shaping the bottom line through technology.

The Summit covered today’s most important AV/IT topics through panel discussions, AV/IT Talks, idea exchanges, and networking opportunities. Once disparate systems now ride on the enterprise network, with some moving to the cloud. We discussed solutions and methods for analyzing data and creating efficiencies. We explored the pitfalls to avoid with networked AV. From control systems to displays to managed services, attendees met with key vendors about the products in the pipeline that could make a real and immediate difference in how we all live, learn, work and play - in the clouds.

Enough “geek speak” for today. Here was my epiphany - the NYDLA.org just attended “A Summit” to discuss how to NOT attend - Summits.

The technology that allows us to NOT travel - technology solutions that allow us to NOT physically attend meetings, or not physically attend a class, or learning of ways to collaborate around the world without the need to travel - required an in-person live summit.

We attended a LIVE Summit - to learn how to NOT attend LIVE Summits.

I love working from home. And I also love going into New York City for the day - and then sleeping in my own bed at night. I LOVE hosting meetings on Zoom with a distributed global workforce. But I also love hosting dinner meetings with staff and clients at Brother Jimmy’s BBQ across the street from Madison Square Garden. Or the Beer Authority, across the street from Microsoft at 11 Times Square. I have a list. Email me for a list of “go to” NYC meeting venues with SUPER fast WiFi and extra wet naps: CEO@NYDLA.org

We need both. We need live, and we need virtual events. Humans need both real and virtual realities.

Technology enables us to live, learn, work and play in the clouds. But we are people. We are humans and we need human interaction. You can do some amazing things with global collaboration technology. But you cannot buy a round of drinks for the table.

When we advertised and launched marketing the AV/IT Summit we stated WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

• AV and IT Managers

• Technology Directors

• CIOs, CTOs, VPs of Technology

• Technology Coordinators

• AV Media Engineers

• Classroom Technology Specialists

• Conferencing and Media Services Directors

• AV and Studio Service Directors

• Multimedia Managers

• Collaborative Infrastructure and Audiovisual Strategy Director

• Facilities Directors

• Other staff involved in AV/IT technology decisions

We should have added Brother Jimmy’s BBQ as “a draw” for the event. It would have sold out twice as fast.

On the 27th of this month, we have another NYDLA.org event, just a few hours south of The Big Apple. It will be an amazing gathering of thought leaders, subject matter experts and amazing vendors from the world of telecom and technology - at The Logan Hotel in Philadelphia. “The Logan” is one of the best venues in the City of Brotherly Love. Oh yes, on the 27th of this month there will be Philly Cheesesteaks at our event.  

We need to remember to tell ‘em about the Philly Cheesesteaks, and the amazing view from the rooftop bar of The Logan. The outdoor heaters will be cranking on the rooftop, of this I am certain.

When hosting live events, always remember to tell ‘em about the food. After all, we are only human.

Video Killed the Radio Star

This weekend the NYDLA.org helped to sponsor an amazing event at Madison Square Garden - New York City.

“THE GARDEN!” Just saying it can give you a chill. Walking into the building, you cannot help but think about all of the historic events and concerts since February 11th, 1968.

20,789 seating capacity. “The World’s Most Famous Arena” and “Unforgettable Starts Here” are clearly seen on the largest banners hanging from the rafters.

I am not so sure that massive stadiums and arenas are in our the future.

Don’t get me wrong - this past weekend’s event was AMAZING. The speakers were AMAZING.

But…….

Even those with $3000+ tickets had to wait in line for over an hour to get inside.

The speakers timelines were…..well…...off.

Some speakers complained about “the lights” or the sound or the microphones.

Was it a great day? YES. Did people have a great time?  Absolutely.

But just as we have Airbnb and Uber and Amazon and Netflix…….

I think we shall see more and more “virtual” events, from the comfort of your home or office conference room. I think that events with total seating capacity of 20,789 shall be replaced by unlimited global capacity.

Classrooms are being flipped into virtual classrooms. The need for skyscrapers in big cities seems to be slowing. Self-driving cars and buses will make living (and working) in the suburbs more and more attractive. Collaboration tools like Zoom and the explosion of podcasting are changing the way that we live and work in the clouds.

I am not sure if Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality will kill the skyscraper or the arenas. Or if modern arenas and future auditoriums will take this technology and become experience centers.

THOUSANDS of people attend TED.com events, but these events are seen by tens of millions of people on a global basis.

I grew up “Wanting My MTV!” Today, I'm a podcast addict - less video and more audio.

At 12:01am on August 1, 1981, history was made when MTV, the first 24-hour video music channel, launched onto our television sets and literally changed our lives with the birth of the music video. The first video ever played on the network was quite ironic — “Video Killed The Radio Star” by The Buggles.

I wonder if "The Cloud" will kill the Skyscraper?

Make America Gooder Again

Greatness is over-rated.

Remember the clip from HBO above? This was the opening scene of HBO's "The Newsroom".

America is not the greatest country in the world…….. anymore.

Please give me the timelines (the exact date range) of when the USA was THE GREATEST country in the world.

We all remember Muhammad Ali, the silver-tongued boxer and civil rights champion who famously proclaimed himself "The Greatest of all time" and then spent a lifetime living up to the billing, is now dead. How do you (today) feel about this man?  Was he a hero? Was he a criminal? I was born in 1960 and I grew up HATING this man, because my father hated him. Draft dodger. So, hate him we must!

Today I have very different feelings about Muhammad Ali.

We were the first country to land a man on the moon, and return him safely to earth. Was THAT when we were the greatest country in the world?

If I remember my history, we were beating people with clubs and blasting them with fire hoses at the exact same time we were shuttling men back and forth to the moon.

That does not feel too great.

A More Perfect Union may refer to the Preamble to the United States Constitution. You can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preamble_to_the_United_States_Constitution

Is it not amusing that many historians feel that “more perfect” is bad grammar?

The United States of America was never the greatest country in the world, just as it was (and never will be) perfect. The USA has had its share of villains and heroes in the Oval Office, sometimes in the same person.

Was Lincoln our greatest President? Many say yes. Others say that he was a very troubled man, suffering from depression and anxiety most of his life. Was the Civil War about slavery, or about economics? I am not smart enough to comment, and I was not there. And even if I were alive at the time, we all know that eyewitness testimony is bunk.

I love my country. I never fought in a war. I fully recognize that every good thing that I have in my life, I owe to others, especially our veterans. I grew up never wanting anything. I had two loving parents who both died way too young. From the day I was born, I enjoyed every benefit that living in the USA can possibly deliver.

The USA was never “The Greatest” country in the world. But from our birth as a nation, we have tried to form a more perfect union. It was this pursuit of perfection that made us amazing. Look at all we have accomplished in less than 300 years. As a nation, we are just a baby.

And it is the ONGOING, never-ending pursuit of greatness, the constant attempts to be better, to do better, to learn from our past - that is our destiny.

Make America Great….Today.

Learn from our past to make tomorrow better.

But let’s not go backwards.

"Made in the USA"

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