alternative futures: my first migration – decade two (part 2)

note: this is part 2 of a draft for a piece i’ll eventually submit to the alternative futures project. part 1 is over here.

getting outside of my conference bubble

a few days ago, i wrote about wanting to integrate an idea my buddy, ross, had about taking a month each year to live and/or work in a different place. a few days before that i had my own idea about a practice i wanted to try and incorporate via my professional development workplan. i want to try to go to at least one conference each year (or maybe every other year) that’s outside of my subject matter or area(s) of expertise.

what happens when you drop your credit card terminal

a couple of weeks ago i was in vancouver hanging out in a neighborhood coffeeshop (the wilder snail) when the credit card machine went down. and by “went down,” i mean one of the two dudes in the couple dropped the portable terminal. (sidenote: in canada, everyone’s credit card terminals are these little mobile, wireless devices… fascinating. makes the wired american credit card system seem archaic).

migration: living somewhere else for a month each year

capitalism is theft

Externality is a term that is used in economics to designate unintended side effects on third parties or costs that are not accounted for in prices. Externalities can be positive (benefits) or negative (costs). For example, I may enjoy driving my car, but, unlike the cyclist behind me, I rarely notice the negative externality—air pollution—that I cause.