Craig's Fire

Sure, yeah, those brilliant engineers at google are about to take advice from me…..yeah, right! After all, what does a middle aged high school dropout know know about technology and marketing?
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Just finished reading:
The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Four Visionaries Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America.
This is the inside story of Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert, Andrew Weil and others who kicked off much of the 60′s with their interests in mind-bending drugs, self-introspection and holistic health. These stories are unfamiliar to most who didn’t live through that era. I’m not even sure that those who did not directly experience some of these times would be able to graph many of the changes which these folks spearheaded.
I’ll leave it at this – it’s a great book for anyone with interest in the 60′s. As the author notes, many of the concepts put forward by these pioneers are now part of everyday life – from the mind-body connection to the meditative spirit – from the idea that we are spiritual creatures to the importance of community and from the idea of Earth Day and Environmentalism to the ideas of sustainability….most of it hit the greater culture in the crucible of those times.

Podcasts: I really enjoy listening to certain episodes of NPR’s Fresh Air. Even then the particular subject is not something which seems of interest, listening through can be very educational. One recent episode detailed how one of the leaders of the Skinhead movement become “converted” back to a normal and sane member of society – fascinating!

Another interest of my is innovation and entrepreneurship, especially in the fields of technology (google, etc.) and energy (anything from clean water to clean energy).
I highly recommend a podcast series put out by Stanford University called Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders. This series features some of the top minds in the world giving talks to Stanford students. Listening to these audio programs will immediately increase both your IQ and your optimism!

Yes, the word debate is in quotes…..because, honestly, there is no debate. We have been screwed by unbridled capitalism…the so-called “free market” which allows our Corporate Health Care System to become something that the entire civilized world laughs at……while we allow our own citizens to suffer and declare bankruptcy by the millions. Read More…

Mechanic’s Mind - a term I have not heard before – and yet one that would seem to be obvious. I have never read “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, yet the title brings to mind a definition possibly close to Mechanics Mind.

For the uninitiated, the closest thing might be the 1963 Movie Classic “The Man with the X-Ray Eyes“. This is the story of a normal man who started to see through things. At first, he only saw through the first layer…such as clothes or a wall. But as his powers increased, he started to see the breakdown of EVERYTHING to the extent that it all eventually became molecular! Read More…

Here is an interesting article on a man who made it in life – and then came to an understanding of what he had and what he didn’t.

Here is a paragraph which expresses well the way I feel when I’ve been on vacation in certain places:
“The tipping point came while he was on a three-week holiday with his wife to islands of Hawaii.
“It was the biggest shock in my life, when I realised how horrible, soulless and without feeling the five star lifestyle is,” he said. “In those three weeks, we spent all the money you could possibly spend. But in all that time, we had the feeling we hadn’t met a single real person – that we were all just actors. The staff played the role of being friendly and the guests played the role of being important and nobody was real.”

As mentioned, I often feel the same. In fact, Martha and I were sent to Jamaica on a FREE trip by one of our vendors way back in 1986…..and I was unable to enjoy myself due to the wide and obvious gulf between the residents and the tourists. That has held relatively true to this day…not that I don’t enjoy luxury (I very much do!), but I don’t like going places where I am the center of attention as opposed to just visiting. An example might be that I would prefer touring Montreal or London rather than being enclosed in a fenced “all inclusive” places which was secured from the locals “for my protection”.

I’m not judging those , obviously numerous, who can feel comfortable in those situations. I am admittedly over sensitive in many ways, and this is one of them!

They know nothing!
I’m talking about the business media in general…and specifically, all those pundits always waxing poetic about facebook being the biggest competitor to google, twitter being a competitor to both, etc. Read More…

Sure, those new Smart Phones from Apple, Google, Palm and others are very cool….but will they give up the ghost the first time you drop ‘em?
This amazing video shows that they may be tougher than we think! Read More…

Take it from me—the original type “A” personality. It pays to keep yourself rested and healthy. I worked 60 to 70 hours a week for many years while I started and ran my businesses. Yes, I enjoyed it, but this stress took it’s toll. Read More…

I did an audio interview with the folks from an internet forum called NorthEast PA Crossroads – among their interests are hard coal (anthracite) for home heating, the local community and history and much more….

My interview centered on my history in the stove and alt energy business, as well as a lot of material on the internet and marketing. The audio program can be found at:

http://nepacrossroads.com/about14804.html