The Power of Visual/Spatial Thinkers, Temple Grandin's Story

I’ve written a few posts on the importance of Visual/Spatial Thinking.

Do you think Spatially? A neglected skill is becoming a hot talent
Journal Entry by Dave Ohara on October 5, 2013
HBR has a post on Spatial Thinking. The Importance of Spatial Thinking Now by Kirk Goldsberry  |   1:00 PM September 30, 2013 Comments (31)                           …
Problems with adding Supply Chain people, thinking like procurement instead of spatialintelligence
Journal Entry by Dave Ohara on August 4, 2013
How many of you are frustrated with your purchasing department?  I had a short stint at Apple in the Purchasing group.  The purchasing group had a staff of technical project managers who would work with the product development teams on peripherals for Apple products.  During this time is when I got …
Are Spatial Skills one of the under valued skills of a data center engineer?
Journal Entry by Dave Ohara on October 9, 2012
Designing a data center is a skill that you don’t go to school for and learn from a book.  Book learning works for math, science, english and of course reading. So, what kind of skill is needed to design a data center.  One of the challenges is trade-off of getting things just right to reduce or eli …

I”ve watched Temple Grandin’s Ted Video.

But, it took the movie on Temple Grandin to understand Temple Grandin’s story and what she went through to develop her skills.  Here is a behind the scenes movie that gives you some of the feelings behind the movie.

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Woohoo, On a Blacklist for a Data Center Conference I don't go to, Freedom of Speech!

A good friend just joined an organization and said he would be at a data center conference that I don’t go to anymore.  He said he would try to get me a pass to attend.  We chatted yesterday and he said everything looked OK, until he got to an individual in the organization and said I was not on the list as media/analyst who can attend their conference.  “Yes, I am blacklisted for a conference.”  My friend apologized, I told him no it is OK.  Thanks for trying.  I know I have probably wrote things that aren’t popular with the conference people who I don’t know and don’t talk to.

I could name the specific conference, but most of you know which one, and at some point I am sure I’ll get on the blacklist for another conference.  If you aren’t willing to write what you think, and upset someone are you just a slave to the will of the conference people.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech

The Declaration provides for freedom of expression in Article 11, which states that:

"The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law."[5]

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, states that:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."[6]

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One of my friends was nice enough to send this comment when I said I was blacklisted from a data center conference.

WOW!!!
 
Congratulations - you know you've made it when you are getting blacklisted from blogging about industry conferences :-)

 

Apple's Environmental Leader meets with Data Center Team, Learns Being Green starts with Design

Some people out there, well many think being Green in a building means being LEED certified.  Apple’s data center team has some smart folks and they know there is much more to being green than how many LEED points you can get.

GreenBiz has an interview with Apple’s Lisa Jackson and one nice point at the end of the article is on her meeting with the data center design team.

Makower: As you approach your one-year anniversary at Apple on June 10, what’s your biggest surprise?

Jackson: I think it’s how deeply Apple thinks about any given issue. I mean, I knew that it takes a lot of work to make a data center 100 percent renewable, to use our most prominent example as a proof point. What I didn't understand is that to really do it and to be successful at it, you have to start with thinking about the design of the data center. So, getting a chance to meet the team from the very conceptualization of the data center and learn from every data center they've built to the point. Or people who are thinking about energy from the standpoint of efficiency, of course, but also from the deep principles of additionality and displacement and accountability.

Here is some background on Apple’s environmental leadership.

Who leads environmental efforts at Apple?

Apple is committed to addressing climate change, to developing green materials for safer products, and to using materials as efficiently as possible. In June 2013, Apple CEO Tim Cook appointed Lisa Jackson as Vice President of Environmental Initiatives. The Office of Environmental Initiatives works with teams across Apple to set strategy, engage stakeholders, and communicate progress.

Apple’s Board of Directors oversees the CEO and other senior management in the competent and ethical operation of Apple on a day‑to‑day basis and ensures that the long‑term interests of shareholders are being served. The Vice President of Environmental Initiatives reports to the CEO. Our integrated approach means that decisions about environmental issues are reviewed at the highest levels of the company. Executive Team members regularly review each new product during its development, focusing on material and design choices, the supply chain, packaging, and product energy efficiency.

I would Guess Apple Continues Discussing the Green Data Center Topic - 394 articles

I’ve been blogging on Green Data Centers since 2007 and a new milestone is seeing my old employer Apple embrace the Green Data Center as strategic.  

Checking Google News searching for “apple data center” there are 394 articles.

 

Mac Rumors

 

A Rare Look Inside an Apple Data Center

TIME-by Harry McCracken-Apr 21, 2014
Yet more proof that Apple is not quite as secretive as it once was, when it thinks openness is in its own interest: The company showed off one of ...
Ubergizmo
RedOrbit
International Business Times
iDigitalTimes.com
UPI.com
Explore in depth (394 more articles)

The news that hit today is Apple mocks Samsung to copy and help the earth too.

samsung apple green ad

Oh my, Apple strikes back in its ever so entertaining feud with Samsung… This time the occasion is Earth Day. Yes, really.

On April 22, ecologists celebrate Earth Day, a worldwide event dedicated to drawing attention to the problems of our environment. Earth Day also happens to be the perfect opportunity for Apple to take a swipe at Samsung and  show its commitment to all things green.

Apple placed full-page ads in two highly circulated British newspapers, The Guardian andMetro, whose headline reads “There are some ideas we want every company to copy,” a clear hint at archrival Samsung. “There’s one area where we actually encourage others to imitate us,” reads the copy of the app, to really drive the point home.

apple green ad samsung 2

Full page ad. Click to enlarge. Via David McClelland on Twitter