Don’t wait to be great. This powerful message is one that 12 year old Jahkil Jackson has as a tagline for his nonprofit organization, Project I Am.  Those word have been a reality for him since he started the organization four years ago, at only eight years old. Since then, he’s been acknowledged by the likes of President Barack Obama, CNN, Marvel, Cartoon Network and more for all of the greatness he puts out into the world. Jahkil knew he didn’t have to wait until he became an adult to make a difference in the world, and he wants other kids to know they don’t have wait either.

Today, my daughter and I attended Project I Am’s fourth anniversary celebration here in Chicago. Project I Am was created to raise awareness about homelessness and help the homeless by providing with key essentials like toiletries, socks and other useful items via blessing bags. Jahkil has given out more than 35,000 bags since he started, and continues to find new ways to give back.

The event attracted nearly 200 kids and teens from all over the Chicagoland area who came out to help stuff blessing bags and enjoy open skating in celebration of Jahkil’s hard work. My daughter was excited to be a part of something that true makes a difference in other people’s lives. She’s been pretty adamant about helping the homeless in small ways like giving them change or food since she was about five years old or so. Now, she’s inspired to do even more.

You can also help Jahkil continue these efforts by visiting his website to make a monetary donation, send items for blessing bags or purchase cool items with inspiring messages like, “Don’t wait to be great.”

I’m getting this posted at my usual time, but minus a few dozen beer events I have yet to populate my calendar with. Y’see, Mrs. ‘Naut broke her wrist last Friday, and had surgery this past Friday to put all the bones back together. So I’ve been sitting with her. I’m continuing to add events for the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day, so I once again ask you to check back often!

Friday, March 13

Saturday, March 14

Sunday, March 15

“Welcome to the moment many of us dread twice a year when the government unintentionally causes mass chaos by fiddling with our clocks.” -David Grasso
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Now I know Adam Duritz is singing “Daylight fading…,” but every year around this time it reminds those of us trudging through the four seasons, bitching about daylight savings, that the time is upon us. We need to turn those clocks ahead.

“Daylight fading, Come and waste another year/All the anger and the eloquence are bleeding into fear
Moonlight creeping around the corners of our lawn/When we see the early signs that daylight’s fading
We leave just before it’s gone…” -Adam Duritz

Your body is fragile, it needs that extra 40 minutes of sleep. Otherwise, you know, you might die. Honestly, when we lose sleep, we die, or so statistics say. Many of them say that a little bit of sleep loss can kill you. Who would’ve thought?

Drowsy driving causes extra traffic accidents, while drowsiness and groginess causes heart attacks, strokes, and a loss of productivity at work. I mean, I’m sure, the next day no one is feeling good. This year it falls on a Sunday. I can’t figure out if that is good or bad?

Daylight Saving Time was originally concocted as a way to save energy and implemented during World War I in Germany. It’s no longer saving anyone power, but crime numbers decrease with more light, supposedly. Also, daylight hours see more people exercising, so, that’s a GREAT thing.

“Springing Forward” seems imminent, but falling behind feels more logical.

Good luck tomorrow, it’s Sunday, so take the time to recharge, because the world needs a fresh you.
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Lira Luis presented “Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology” at the 2019 Chicago Build Conference.

by Lira Luis, FRIBA, AIA, NCARB, CeM, LEED AP BD+C

As the US House of Representatives announced today (March 7th) that they are “preparing to allow staff to telework as concerns grow over the global coronavirus outbreak” I have been amplifying the benefits of teleworking for the architecture industry beyond a “Virtual Practice” into a “Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology“.

Last year at the 2019 Chicago Build conference, I underscored the importance of making your practice relevant to accommodate a Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology. In light of the coronavirus pandemic (within the physical workplace), the virtual workspace — in other words the ability for remote work, is now inevitable. And as public entities such as the US House of Representatives and private entities such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, etc. have asked their staff to work remotely, I have been sharing the benefits of a Virtual Practice to the architecture industry since 2017 at the Chicago Architecture Biennial, in preparation for extraordinary economic events — in our current global situation, a coronavirus-impacted one.

When most public and private sectors switch to remote work, then privacy and trust will become all the more important in a Virtual Practice. In a coronavirus-impacted economy, you’ll be dealing with both biological (coronavirus, for example) and virtual (computer) viruses. This is where the value and difference of a Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology come into play — from simply that of a Virtual Practice.

Last year in June, at my presentation in the 2019 American Institute of Architects Conference on Architecture, I gave this prediction:

Global business analysts and executives alike predict that by 2020 — that’s as soon as next year, more than half of employees will work remotely… Just one more thing: Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology is applicable and replicable regardless of building type or focus… Are you ready when they become mainstream soon?

So today, in the first quarter of 2020, when the US House of Representatives, including major private companies have adopted remote work to stay on top… that prediction I shared last year? It came true.

Here’s how to get your practice started or advanced to a Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology: (Download Cheat Sheet)

My presentation (from 2019 Chicago Build) looked at how blockchain technology can help avoid loss of privacy, data, and accountability including where they add value, in architecture and cities. I bet you’re a bit like me — when I first heard the word “blockchain”, I didn’t know where it could add value to architecture or cities. Most people think the only application of blockchain is through Bitcoin, a kind of cryptocurrency that is difficult to understand. Bitcoin is just a fraction of the by-product of blockchain technology. This presentation discussed how blockchains work and their core limitations — and the systems that now exist on blockchain technology… because most will be integrated into our online interactions sooner than you think. Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym of the person or persons who developed Bitcoin, published a white paper in 2008 that proposed a system for electronic transactions without relying on “trust”. And thus the first blockchain-run database was born for Bitcoin. You can read the white paper in detail at bitcoin.org/

Vladimir Goncharoff, PhD

Vladimir Goncharoff, PhD, a five-time recipient of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Silver Circle Award for Excellence in Teaching at Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said this about my presentation on Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology:

“I’m a lecturer of electrical computer engineering at University of Illinois in Chicago and what I found very interesting at the conference was Lira’s presentation on blockchain and its use in managing an architectural and building project. From a technical point of view I’m very interested in the algorithms and implementation of blockchain, but here I found a practical use I didn’t know yet, existed. So I’m really excited by that — I’m gonna try out all the three apps that she mentioned in her talk.”

Lira Luis is a 2020 Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). She is principal architect at ALLL/Leapfrog Project, delivers presentations at national conferences named in the “Gold 100 Listing of the world’s largest and most successful trade shows” for the past 20 years. She organized and led AIA Practice Management’s (PMKC) A’19 session “Virtual Architectural Practice: Alternate Realities for the Emerging Gig Economy” and “Virtual Practices: The Impact of Technology and Transience on New Histories in Practice” partner program at the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial, subsequently co-authored a resulting white paper with AIA Trust “An Architect’s Guide to Virtual Practice” that reached more than 30,000 AIA members, and moderated the webinar “Virtual Architectural Practice – An Alternate Reality”. At A’16 Conference on Architecture she shared solutions about the gig economy and potential for Virtual Practices in “Rethinking the Workplace: Co-Working Spaces for Architects”. She brings more than 25 years of architecture experience and is emeritus chair of AIA PMKC. After graduating from the Frank Lloyd Wright School of architecture, working in firms in the USA and abroad, earning NCARB certification, she runs a Virtual Practice on Blockchain Technology.

I’m too old.

Like Joe Biden.

I recognize Joe Biden. I know him. I know what it is to struggle for a word, as Biden did when he couldn’t remember, holy smokes, the name of God when he said, “All men and women created by—you know, you know the thing.”

Or when he called Super Tuesday “Super Thursday.” Or when he proclaimed he was a candidate for the “United States Senate,” and he advised everyone that if you don’t vote for him to “vote for the other Biden.”

Huh?

When Biden says, “If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there’s still a 3o percent chance we’re going to get it wrong,” he could be mistaken for Yogi Berra who once  said, “Pair up in threes.” Maybe you know what he meant, but you can’t be sure.

As the New York Times noted, “A day on the campaign trail without a cringe-inducing gaffe is a rare blessing. He has not been too blessed lately.” And that was back in 2008.

Seems that Joe has been working on getting old for a long time.

Remember Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Richard Brinsely Sheridan’s play, “The Rivals,” who butchered the English language? Like her, Biden’s blunders would get him tagged President Malaprop.

His gaffs are too numerous to itemize here. Taken alone, each one might not be troublesome, but altogether, they describe a man who is well past his prime. Dangerously so.

But here’s the kicker: Biden’s opponent is another old guy, Bernie Sanders. What we have here is one old guy (Biden) who is possibly out of his mind running against another old guy who is definitely out of his mind.

Add to that this lament: The only two viable candidates the Democrats have are two, old white guys. (That’s another story that I’ll leave to the professional race baiters.) Of course, whichever gaffer gets the Democratic nomination, he’ll be facing another old white guy, Donald Trump.

Boy oh boy, what a country. Out of more than 300 million Americans, the best we could find to head the executive branch is septuagenarians?

Here I’ll be instructed that age isn’t a factor, that [fill in the name of your favorite geezer] is bright and quick as a man [half or whatever] his age.

That, of course, is horsepucky (a vulgarity probably not familiar to anyone under 70). You’d don’t just lose a step. Or struggle to find the right word. Or can’t remember if you applied deodorant this morning. You no longer think or react as quickly. It’s harder to focus. Taking in new information is a challenge. You doze off.

And consider:  The next president could be an old guy who might have to face an Article 25 removal from office because, as it said, he has “lost his faculties.” And picking who’ll be the vice president to take his place will be chosen, not by us, but in the dark.

The average life expectancy at age 78 for an American man is about 9 years. (It’s a year-and-a-half longer for women, but that’s also another story.) With that in mind, I plan to live life fully in a way that’s pleasing to me and wife Barb. And not pursuing an ego-driven dream that inflicts myself on my family, community or country.

So, here’s the line-up. An old guy whose infirmities are moving from a side show to the main event. Another old guy who is a captive of  the worn-out and discredited ideas that molded him as a hippy dippy youth. And another old guy whose mind tells him that he’s the greatest ever, no doubt about it.

Right now, I’d settle for the latter because what he (Trump) has accomplished is much closer to the mainstream than either what Biden or Sanders would do to America.

Now it’s time for a nap.

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www.dennisbyrne.net 

My historical novel: Madness: The War of 1812

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As a lawyer and journalist, I was troubled and disturbed when I read about the Hachette book publisher cancelling the publication of Woody Allen’s memoir. Hachette had been on the receiving end of a hailstorm of criticism from Mia Farrow’s son, reporter Ronan Farrow, and some of its own staff, who reportedly staged a walkout in protest. The backlash centered on allegations going back several decades that Allen sexually abused his step-daughter, Dylan Farrow.

I don’t hold an opinion one way or the other on whether there is truth to the allegations, so I take no position on the matter. It’s important to note that Allen has never been charged with a crime. I probably wouldn’t have read the memoir, although I enjoy many of Woody Allen’s films. I just rewatched Blue Jasmine starring Cate Blanchett, and I consistently marvel at his ability to showcase the talents of such disparate groups of actors.

But it bothers me that now no one else will be allowed to read it. Maybe there were some fans, and non-fans, who would have liked to hear what Allen had to say. He certainly would not have been the first controversial, or even infamous, person who published a memoir. Director Roman Polanski published an autobiography back in the 1980s, and he had actually been convicted of a similar crime. It’s unlikely it would ever see the light of day now.

Charles Manson published a memoir. Think about that for a minute.

Other convicted criminals have written books, and as long as they’re not allowed to profit from their crimes, no one seems to object.

Bill Clinton and Donald Trump have both put out books and both been accused of sexual misbehavior. Does that mean they can’t put out any more books? Does it mean their existing books should be pulled from circulation?

This smacks of censorship. A powerful and vocal few deciding what the masses get to read, as well as see and hear. This is not the first recent incidence of a company’s employees forcing executive action through various histrionics, and it makes one wonder if the tail is wagging the dog.

It also makes you wonder, where were all these objections when the book was in the planning and negotiating stage? I feel that a publisher should stand behind its authors, no matter how personally unpopular. Let the employees quit if they don’t like it. I’m thinking that Hachette is still probably on the hook for paying Allen a sizable author’s fee.

Has the #MeToo movement gone too far? There is no question it has forced a lot of changes that are for the better, but when it begins to chill speech and free expression and decide for the rest of us what we can and can’t read, I’ve got a problem.

And here’s another thing to mull over: If the litmus test becomes that only wholesome, noncontroversial, squeaky-clean figures will be allowed to publish books, think about how profoundly dull that’s going to be for the reading public.