Below Belief

On account of having to travel to the US for a week, The building project is in the more-than capable hands of an increasingly stressed-out S. Not that she isn’t normally in charge. What I really miss is being able to keep in touch with progress and watch every stage of the process with fascination. The project is going extremely well (as far as is possible to ascertain from the physical product and with an untrained eye) but it’s pushing both of us to the edge in terms of the toll it takes on our spare time and the stressing over the details, decisions and orders which have to be made in almost constant sequence. The other thing is that although the builders are generally willing to do as we ask, they’re forgetful and they don’t take notes. Time and again we emphasise something – this door needs to open like this, please install the spotlights we’ve purchased, please use this type of door handle – only to find that a few days later the opposite (or worse) is being implemented and S (who is normally the one on site during the working day) has to correct the decision.

Big brother/surveillance nation? Today I have had my irises scanned in London to enrol (voluntarily) in the “fast-track” iris recognition immigration system. Also, in passing through US immigration I have had the fingerprints on each finger of both hands recorded on the US visit programme. It used to be index fingers only – but I can only assume there were too many foreign criminals, using their third finger to pull their triggers and they’ve had to crack down.
US immigation always makes me nervous. A few months ago I washed my passport. It was one of the more clumsy things I’ve done and somehow indicative of my current state of mind. Because I have a US Visa (which is a pain to replace) I’ve decided to stick with my soiled document – in the face of stronger and stronger suggestions by the authorities that I replace it. My US Visa is actually the worst damaged – the photo of my face looks like a giant white balloon with two dark blobs for eyes – that they let me in at all is incredible. I don’t have much going for me at immigration. In addition to the damaged passport, the visa I have is a “highly skilled migrant programme” H1B which technically is only issued to people who end up living in the US. I never did this – so it always arouses underdue attention. It is also granted to the old name of our company (it changed about 18 months ago). So I basically end up lying about the company I work for, joking about the washing machine damage and hope they don’t ask too many questions about my residential status. I’m sure I’m not breaking any laws but I never like messing with any man carrying a pistol…

Having lived in Shepherd’s Bush for over three years and not managed to visit either (a) what is claimed to be the best (undiscovered) vegetarian restaurant in London which was at the bottom of my street nor (b) the Shepherd’s Bush Empire (famed musical venue, also just round the corner), I thought I’d better put things right and so did both in the same evening. Actually it was a Christmas present from S and we went to see Amy MacDonald. It is a shame I didn’t go before because the venue is great – an old converted music hall theatre, rather too ornate for a rock-venue but perfect nonetheless and the music was great. Inspiring. Must do again.

I’m in Austin. It’s nice to be back. But my head is in turmoil so I’ve been a little distracted and far too introspective.

Happily, my visit to central Texas co-incided with the presidential campaigning in Texas (voting ends here 4th March for the democratic campaign) and I was lucky enough to be able to experience Politics American style up close last night. We went to the Obama rally in Austin.
They do things differently over here. The event was a big-budget, slickly-marketed, smooth talking, preaching-to-the-converted rally whipping up the crowd into a Patriotic, fevered state.
. I was in this crowd, a few hundred yards from the man himself and genuinely impressed.
Although the campaign has a glossy, fake feel in general, this is openly acknowledged – so in fact it is more genuine. Obama is focussing heavily on the “Change” agenda and spoke confidently and unprompted for a good hour on the details of the policies he intends to put in place. They sound pretty far reaching and costly promises he’s making – education, healthcare, stopping the war in Iraq and bringing the troops home, a lot of “dollars back in your pocket” good honest messages. If he can actually make half those things really happen within a four-year-term it will be impressive – but i presume they are not just empty promises.
Patriotism works like a dream for politicians here – they just say things like “proud to be an American again” or “I love Austin, Texas” and the crowd goes wild.
Anyway, it seems likely that Obama might just pull off the trick and become the Democratic candidate – it was fascinating to see some of the political machinery in action up close.

Resonance from Seth Godin:

Soggy
New organizations and new projects are so crisp.
Things happen with alacrity. Decisions get made. Stuff gets done.
Then, over time, things get soggy. They slow down. Decisions aren’t so black and white any more.
Why?
Here are some things that happen:
1. Every initiative, post launch, still has a tail of activity associated with it. Launch enough things and over time, that tail gets bigger and bigger.
2. Most projects either succeed or fail. Successful projects raise the stakes, because the team doesn’t want to blow it. There are more people watching, more dollars at stake, things matter more. So things inevitably get more review, more analysis and slow down. Projects that fail sap the confidence of the group. They want to be extra sure that they’re right this time, so, ironically, they slow down and end up sabotaging the new work.
3. The paper isn’t blank any more. Which means that new decisions often mean overturning old decisions, which means you need to acknowledge that it didn’t used to be as good as it was.
4. And the biggest thing is that there is a status quo. Something to compare everything to.
I’m not sure you can eliminate any of these issues. But, you can realize that they’re there. And you can be really strict about priorities and deadlines… it’s so easy to let things slip, rather than confronting the fact that you’re stuck and probably afraid. Speak up, call it out… and ship!

Ben Rowe found this piece of street art in Amsterdam – making people think?