Attended Charles Townes 99th birthday event

I attended a celebration of the 99th birthday of Charles Townes, held on his birthday, July 28, 2014, at the University of California, Berkeley.

Charlie and I talked briefly, after the formal part of the event. (Photo below, by Taran Singh) I gave him a copy of “Physics Math Reset.” (Previously, we met via Caltech-related events, I provided him some computer advice, and he and I served on the advisory board for Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public policy.)

It was good to learn more about Charlie’s many accomplishments and interests.

At that event, I met Taran Singh, who is producing a film, Unturned Stones (and link), about Charles Townes. Taran and I plan to stay in touch, regarding the film and perhaps other matters.

It was also good to talk with various people who have had long-term relationships with Berkeley’s Physics Department.

Charles Townes and Thomas J. Buckholtz (photo by Taran Singh)

Interviews posted for TCP/IP 40 event

Interviews, including one of me, have been posted for an event commemorating the 40th anniversary of Vint Cerf’s and Bob Kahn’s drafting of specifications for TCP/IP.

While I was not involved in the effort 40 years ago, I tried to provide perspective about thinking and action – especially within the U.S. federal government – about networking and telecommunications standards during the period 1989 to 1993 (when I served as a General Services Administration commissioner, with roles including that of co-CIO [chief information officer] for the Executive Branch of the federal government.)

Many people contributed much to make the event and interview possible. Some of these people include Greg Berkin (who interviewed me), Vint Cerf, Tammy Chan, Bill Daul, Mei Lin Fung, Kennan Kellaris Salinero, and Shannon McElyea.

Interviewed Brian Christian

Earlier during 2012, I interviewed Brian Christian (author of The Most Human Human), following a speech he presented for TEDxConstitutionDrive 2012.  Recently, LectureMaker posted this interview.

The theme for the event was “identity.”  Brian’s talk was entitled “The Imitation Game: What Anonymity Teaches Us About Identity.”  The interview picks up on points regarding the extent to which humans can determine whether they are talking with a computer or with a human.  I was pleased to be able to involve another event-attendee in the discussion.

Attended TiE event featuring Aneesh Chopra

On September, 19, 2009, I attended a  TiE Silicon Valley event featuring remarks by Aneesh Chopra (federal Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director for Technology, Office of Science & Technology Policy, U.S. federal Executive Branch), Dow Wilson (Corporate Executive Vice President and President, Oncology Systems, Varian Medical Systems), Dave Anderson (President and CEO, Headsprout), Scott Lang (Chairman, president and CEO, Silver Spring Networks, Zia Yusuf (Global Ecosystem and Partner Group, SAP), and Steve Wozniak (co-founder, Apple).

Mr. Chopra’s remarks focused on three areas of initiatives – building blocks of innovation (including secure infrastructure, research-and-development collaboration, and 21st-century workforce), innovation for national priorities (including healthcare information-technology, smart grid, and education technology), and open-government culture (including initiatives and platforms).  I was also intrigued by education-oriented remarks from Mr. Anderson and Mr. Wozniak.

After the formal program, I was pleased to have opportunities to …

• Talk briefly with Mr. Chopra.  During the formal program, I had submitted a written question regarding initiatives to foster the development of information systems that help people understand the appropriateness and risks of making decisions based on the information the people are using.
• Talk briefly with each of Mr. Anderson and Mr. Wozniak and offer to send each some thoughts about making better matches between learners and sources of learning. (See “Guide Your Learning Initiatives,” via this link.)
• Talk briefly with Mr. Lang about ‘smart metering’ and related services from energy utilities, based in part on my being cognizant of such an effort (regarding agricultural refrigeration facilities) when I led a company-wide innovation program for Pacific Gas and Electric Company during the 1980s.
• Be introduced to Kiran Kini Malhotra, Executive Director, TiE Silicon Valley .

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Co-produced video “From Outrage to Outcomes – Let’s produce pivotal progress!”

On August 27, 2009, LectureMaker posted a video featuring my presenting From Outrage to Outcomes: “Let’s produce pivotal progress!”.

There is much that society, businesses, and individuals need and want to achieve.

I hope many people will learn from, use, benefit from, and teach the presentation’s recipe for producing pivotal progress.  The presentation indicates needs for new progress (in education, healthcare, transportation, and politics and governance; throughout society; and specific to individuals), discusses why progress seems so hard to achieve now, provides the recipe, illustrates uses of the recipe, encourages people to act, and notes means for obtaining help.

From Outrage to Outcomes - "Let's produce pivotal progress!"

I will be happy to help foster communities that form to take positive action.

Also, perhaps people will consider sponsoring follow-on videos regarding specific challenges, opportunities, and means to improve how society and individuals try to achieve results.

Ron Fredericks (of LectureMaker) added considerable value by making suggestions about the presentation’s content and my delivery of that content, by adding effects to the video, by tuning the technical quality of the images and sounds, and providing a web-presence home for the video and related comments.  I recommend people contact him to explore producing high-quality videos.

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Interviewed for TV members of the Virtual Worlds vSIG

On August 13, 2009, Frank Jewett and I interviewed, for two half-hour Issues Today TV shows, four members of the Virtual Worlds vSIG, an organization affiliated with the Venture Capital ~ Private Equity Rountable.  The interviewees were Stewart Guenther (co-leader of the vSIG and of the Roundtable), Jeffrey Pope (co-leader of the vSIG), Michael Gialis (Sun Microsystems), and Victoria Coleman (Samsung Electronics).

The wide-ranging discussion touched on topics such as definitions of ‘virtual worlds’ and ‘mirror worlds,’ major areas served by virtual-world technologies (such as education and various aspects of business), economic impact, venture investment, possibilities for using cellular phones to access virtual-world services, and the extent to which people are studying how behavior in virtual worlds may be influencing behavior in ‘the real world.’

The programs are scheduled to be shown worldwide at 8:30 PM (Pacific Daylight Time) on Tuesday August 25 and Tuesday September 1, respectively, via CreaTV San Jose and in San Jose and Campbell (two cities in Silicon Valley, California) via cable channel 15.  I would like to thank Gloria Guenther and the guests, without whom these shows would not have been possible.  I enjoyed learning from ‘everyone,’ both at a lunch before the shows were recorded and during the recording of the shows.

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Spoke regarding Secrets of Successful Startups

On June 24, 2009, I provided a talk entitled “Seldom-Stated Secrets of Successful Startups” for the inaugural meeting of The Business & Technology Forum – Mastering the Business of Entrepreneurship.  Forum sponsors include WBT Television, the VC ~ Private Equity Roundtable, and PATCA (Professional and Technical Consultants Association).  My talk featured applications of the Direct Outcomes thinking tool Achieve Progress to marketing, working with potential and actual customers, gaining help from constituencies, developing service-lines and product-lines (not just products) and development tools, and staffing.

Along with presenting hopefully useful advice via my talk, I enjoyed listening to and serving on a panel with Naeem Zafar (Concordia Ventures) and Barbara Lang (LiveGlass International).  For example, Naeem discussed the value of a startup’s having an advisory board and noted 5 key types of or foci for advisors – marketplace, technology, mentor/coach, connector, and celebrity.  Barbara, whose company has been featured on the TV show Issues Today (which I co-host), provided an insightful and enthusiastic look at her startup and possible future innovation regarding the use of glass in buildings.

I would like to acknowledge Farrukh Shah Khan (of WBT) for inviting me and the other people who helped put on this forum event.

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UC Santa Cruz announces Sales and Marketing course

The University of California, Santa Cruz, announced that it plans to offer my Sales and Marketing for Technologists and Engineers course via its Knowledge Services and Enterprise Management (KSEM) program and concurrently as a Baskin School of Engineering Seminar course.  The course is scheduled for late March through early June, 2009, at UCSC’s Silicon Valley Campus (at Moffett Field).  People can attend either at Moffett field or via telecommunications from a classroom on the main UCSC campus.

USCS developed for the course the following flyer .

I look forward to the prospects for teaching this course (number 22176; also ISM 280M) and contributing to the success of participants.  It was a privilege to teach a Leadership and Innovation course via UCSC during each of 2007 and 2008.  I believe the students demonstrated that they gained from perspective provided (including by themselves), discussion, Direct Outcomes achievement tools, and using the tools as part of homework and a project.

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Attended Venture Capital ~ Private Equity Roundtable meeting

On December 12, 2008, I attended a meeting of the Venture Capital ~ Private Equity Roundtable.  Permit me to note some of the people and organizations that provided useful perspective about various goings-on in society.

• Google and Google.org – Jennifer Haroon (Investment Manager) provided perspective on and results from health-related initiatives.
• San Francisco Global Trade Council – Barbara Pivnicka (Honorary Consul, Slovakia) discussed roles of this organization.
• Bay Area consular corps – Richard Pivnicka (Honorary Consul General, The Czech Republic) discussed roles and experiences of honorary consuls.
• Dubai – Kurt Wiggins (Director Business Development USA, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Government of Dubai) provided an overview of developments in and doing business in Dubai.
• The Harker School – Mike Bassoni (Facilities Manger) showed pictures of and discussed a new LEED-certified science building.

I would like to thank Gloria Guenther for inviting me to this event.

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Discussed information-technology opportunities and challenges, for visitors from Wuhan, China

On December 9, 2008, I participated, as a panelist, in a program for information-technology corporate leaders and government officials from Wuhan, China, plus people from Silicon Valley.  The panel discussed opportunities and challenges related to information technology.  This “2008 China-US IT Forum” Silicon Valley event was held in Santa Clara, California, and sponsored by the Wuhan Service Outsourcing Association and the East Lake (Wuhan) High Technology Development Zone.

 Henry Chen moderated the panel discussion.  Other panelists included Mark Cummings (Managing Partner, EnVia Technology Partners, Inc), Yun-Ping Hsu (Vice President, Engineering, SugarCRM), Ned Isokawa (Attorney at Law, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP), and Fudong Zhang (Deputy Director, Investment Promotion Bureau, Administrative Committee of Wuhan East Lake Hi-tech Development Zone).

 As part of my remarks, I presented a hierarchy of work needed to advance societal, individual, enterprise, or government success; indicated to what extent today’s information technology and knowledge services provide support; and suggested opportunities and challenges   For example, for levels in the hierarchy for which technology provides significant support, suppliers tend to emphasize increasing capabilities and speeds; customers tend to emphasize needs for “more well integrated, easier to use, and more secure services and procucts;” and, when there is a significant gap between the two emphases, discussion tends overly to focus on price.  Or, developers and suppliers have significant opportunities to provide technologies supporting more-“what we really need to accomplish” activities, which lie closer in the hierarchy to “societal, individual, …, and governmental outcomes” and for which there is little technological support today.  (The hierarchy is an application of my Direct Outcomes systems-thinking tools.)

 People discussed the current economy.  I remarked that, to the extent truly useful new technology is brought to market, enterprises, governments, and individuals will acquire it.  Yun-Ping Hsu echoed this concept.

 Mark Cummings mentioned that he observed a change in Wuhan information-technology.  Enterprises now develop products and services to meet local needs.  I followed by noting that, to the extent enterprises recognize that an essence of information-technology is “repetition” and to the extent they rebuild such products to be first instances of applications of more-general platforms, there should be great opportunity to take various instances into many marketplaces.

 I would like to thank Henry Chen for organizing the event and for inviting me to participate.  Also, Henry invited and took time to meet with my colleague Patrick Berbon (SSV Network and Due Diligence Group).  And, it was great to reconnect with and talk with keynote speaker Pat Dando (President & CEO, San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce).

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