The Time For This Change Has Come

Dear Variable Interest readers – or those who happened to stumble upon this today…

I have started a new, eco-friendly, earth-loving blog at http://bustedresource.wordpress.com. Please update your readers and/or bookmark that new site.

It has been with absolute pleasure that I have started this new blog and AM CURRENTLY recruiting authors and contributors to help with upkeep. Contact me if you would like to join, or would at some point like to contribute; blogging alone, continually, while working and part-time schooling (and yes, having a life beyond the internet) is terribly difficult.

The decision to start a new blog – and phase out Variable Interest – was easy and strong. I asked myself ;
1) Do I want to quit writing? = No. Then, 2) ‘Would I put Variable Interest on a resume?’. The answer was probably not, as it had become – and always had been – very personal. Busted Resource is to remain personal, but hold a stronger focus on my work and interests; that being land and resource management, and ecological restoration. Also, 3) would I have have linked to V.I. at a professional level? Again, probably not.

The name was one I secured months ago when it popped into my head. It reflects the eco. restoration and environmentalist’s mindset, and the connotation is correct.

Lastly, I needed my currently strong internet (that being Google) presence to point in that direction. It’ll take more page views, comments and whatnot to materialize, but that is my goal.

It has been an excellent learning experience and I hope you follow and contribute to the continuation of my work and passion.

All hail the honourable BustedResource.

A Job In This Sector Is Still About The Human Element

I highly recommend a career the environmental/ forest sector. If you think there’s no money or excitement in it you’d be dead wrong – if you’re good with people and have a strong business sense, you can literally consult in any direction.

Kissinger Lake - and cutblock on distant hill

As I looked out over Lake Kissinger – camping recently – I again realized how lucky I am to work in a sector (and region) that allows me to look around and see my job in everything. And I don’t mean that in a “prisoner of work” sense. I live in an area where I can drive twenty minutes from the city and be in the boonies, so why would I want to fetch a career in anything but the environmental sector? The more I travel, the more I see that I live and work in the environmental sector: I can look beyond the lake and see opportunity for solutions.

To consider whether you’re happy working in (or pursuing) something, try to find your ‘place at work’ surrounding you. For example:

**Do you see billboards in Times Square and think, ” They’ve got that wrong, I know how I could sell that better.”

**Do you look up to Steve Jobs and think, “I could take over from here, let me in old man”.

**Do you look around and see an uncomfortable, traffic-ridden and poorly planned business district?

**And, (not an ad for medication) does unprecedented urban sprawl sadden you?

When your passion has direction, whether you’re right or wrong is not the point. Ask yourself; did you make your way into your career (or will you) because of a series of problems you thought you could solve? Those who seek problems will come out ahead of their competition.

Then, once you’ve started, it takes time and experience to know where you “should be headed” in the career sense – which is often as frustrating as needing experience to gain experience (that resume debacle). Sometimes you’ll need a series of mistakes before you find your happy place. And then it’s not always a happy place. So when you’re in a position, take time to consider when and whether you should dive deeper. You should probably dive deeper when:

1) You seek change and improvement in observing what others do.
2) You see challenges, and want to face those challenges; and
3) You see opportunity to stand out, and offer a personal touch to your niche.

Working in forestry consulting was the first place I tried and – luckily – is a place I’m happy exploring challenging niches. It all started when I worked at the base of the industry (silviculture/treeplanting) while pursuing a degree in Poli-Sci and English and would get frustrated (and curious) when I saw the dinosaur that (still) is the forest industry headed right down the drain. I saw opportunity in a downturn – and things had to get better. There’s everything to explore from development planning, land management, and sustainability in the energy sector. Within the larger field I see forest operations planning, and community and stakeholder consulting. It is packed with constant change and opportunity – all opening before me as I dive deeper into my ecological restoration niche. Basically, if there’s something missing or changing – there’s a need for consulting.

In the end, there’s no doubt that your surroundings define you. So if you seek to define (or defend!) your surroundings, environmental work just might be your calling. Then, you can define it.

**If you’re curious about the current environment and opportunities in this sector around your home base, contact me and I’ll do some basic research to help you find resources to help you on your way.

For The Love Of Biking

I took a roundabout route to work yesterday morning for the sake of this video. You guessed it; I’ve bought myself a new Canon digicam with a time-lapse video option. Shall we see how long that excitement lasts!!?

Long enough.

Enjoy the short vid:

(music is ‘New way new life’ by Asian Dub Foundation)

For The Love Of Blog

V.I. started as a blog at work, literally. When I was an intern, back in Novemba oh-six I was doing all the things that (apparently) I was supposed to be doing at work: I was reading Penelope Trunk, I was researching specialities, and I was even job searching on the side. I was only an intern, after all.

Now, work and being there is not exciting in the same way. In fact it’s exciting in a whole new way. I don’t need as much self-improvement reading, and I know how to create change and handle myself. What I’m trying to get at, I think, is that I need to blog for the right reasons; that I think it’s fun and I have lots to share. So here, look, listen:

Number one is being myself all over again. Creativity and comfort keeps people interested, not workplace improvement tips over and over again.

I need to understand that though people will listen to me when I think I know how to be good to the world – people will still decide for themselves what’s best for them, and what’s around them. I’m not fucking holier-than-thou, I promise.

Number two is blogging to keep myself interested, and to do this by blogging by doing what I love. Creating what I enjoy. Like more artsy things.

What am I even doing here if I’m just trying to please the masses? That’s where I fell off the cliff (and perhaps I’m being mellow dramatic). I got really into the whole Brazen thing, and trying to assert myself to a crowd that wasn’t mine. In fact I unsubscribed to Brazen a month or so ago – I was just so tired of hitting “mark all as read”.

The environment is still where I’m at, as it just won’t go away. But I’m also here to keep myself happy. Like being happy at work – be there for the work, and be there for yourself.

I remember reading a post by Monica a few months ago (or maybe it’s in her ‘about’ page?) where she mentioned that she’s been writing since the ‘Dear diary,” blog days. Gosh, those were the pure blog days. Not that I would know – I teased about blogging until I started one. I still do. It’s funny.

So get back to where you’re comfortable. Get back to embracing your train of thought. Stop pretending you’re always out to help people, or tell them you know what’s right. Finally, stick to your blog title, because it’s most likely why you started it.

Stay variable, dammit!

Post at Living the Start-Up Life: From Services to Product

Thanks in part to my near-obsessive idea of eventually starting and running my own consulting group, I have been reading Jun’s Living the Start Up Life blog for the past few months. Recently, I asked him if I could guest post with him. Not only did he agree (probably because creating and writing a blog on your own is challenging), but he’s added me to his network, and asked that I try to contribute regularly.

Read my first post with JunLoayza.com here.

[...Beyond mere potential though, are the elements that make businesses successful; two of which are marketing and product creation. Last month I wrote about the differences between product-based businesses and service-based businesses in my given industry - forestry. At the risk of creating an “easier said than done” situation, in this post we’ll explore some tips and steps for taking a service-oriented business, and marketing it as (or making it) a product...]

Three Business Tips To Take From Ecology

There are relevant sources for business tactics and growth everywhere you look, most of which is classic and important blog material. But nothing can act as an analogy to anything, better than nature itself. As my courses have begun, and I am en route to restoration certification (I like to call it ‘Impact Solutions’ ), my blog-fodder nursery has grown substantially.

The latest business/ecology analogies that I am finding (and running back to my computer throughout my study hours to take note of) are as follows:

Products vs. Services – While products rake in the revenue through resource harvest, services offer long-term solutions.

Businesses that deal in products and commodities will probably rake in more revenue than businesses that provide services, but that’s not to say that the services aren’t important. The services are what protect the business and allow them long-term profitability, and much like nature’s services (hydrology and systems), though they cannot offer direct profit – they provide the land with what it needs to be productive.

*Note to industry: keep natures services active.

Stress Factors - Removing the stress factors is merely passive, while adding stabilizing factors is active.

When stress is encountered, one might want to initially only remove those stress factors, so that eventually your life and work can return to normal. But that is the passive approach – and if you don’t take an active approach to mitigating problems, that stress factor will never really go away.

In restoration management the first thing one would do is identify the stress factors which are meddling with a system, and assess the possibility of removing them. Secondly, you need to assess what active management you can take, that is – what other factors you can introduce to fix a damaged system.

Overall, the idea is to see what element you can introduce to an environment to allow for growth, instead of cutting out what may be damaging. Or, both cut and introduce.

Acceptance of Dynamic Systems - That there are always several answers and routes to a solution, and solutions shouldn’t be set in stone.

And finally – whether you react by adding an element to a system or deal in products or services – you should know and be willing to accept that solutions and processes are dynamic. Both restoration and business solutions are dynamic processes – so it’s always good to allow for input and change as projects mature.

I could quote ol’ Don Rumsfeld’s ‘unknown unknowns’ spiels, because the point is similar – but it’s all quite simple: get out there and ecologize, the answers are everywhere!

The Best Trip to Work: Adding Value to Your Commute

Part I – Green space, Commutes, and moving them below ground.

First, imagine that you had to walk or bike to work – or downtown – everyday. Imagine that it wasn’t particularly because you felt like it, it was because there were no public roads to downtown – only paths through forested greenspace. This would be my impossible city planning ideal: if downtown, one’s common Central Business District (CBD) – would be the centre of a donut-shaped Green Barrier separating the residential space from the work and social space. A barrier that not only works for the environment, but keeps chaos out of a pedestrian haven by having you park outside its perimiter.

Sadly, I’m not building a city from the ground up, and neither are you (I assume), so the best I can do is provide you with tips to make your commute useful, healthy, or productive.

Before I go on, you should know about projects like this, which are always going to suffer for lack of funding. The gist of it is that several cities are interested in “capping” their highways. The idea is to purchase land in the airspace above freeways (yep, you’ve got to purchase that), and build green space so that it “caps” the highway and keeps it in a tunnel for a portion. It allows for new parks (<–visualization) where space to build them just isn’t available. In certatin parts of LA, up to 66 percent of children do not have access to parks or open space at a walking distance. Compare that to NY where only nine percent don’t have that access. Central Park must be partly to blame for that number – and a damn fine park it is. *endnote

Part II – Value-added Commutes

…But, highways won’t be underground and embedded beneath parks for a while. Furthermore, my donut-shaped traffic-cutting green space is only a half-reality in its more minor form where it does exist. So, thinking in more realist terms, if you do have a commute here are some ways to add value to it:

1) Taking it to a train and working during that time could add hours to your at-home life. Instead of staring at the rear of the car in front of you, leave work early and bill those hours you work during your commute.

My sister – who lives in Dublin, Ireland – commutes by train or bus for up to an hour and a half in the mornings, and sometimes two hours in the evenings. In which case she’s purchasing a laptop to take the work to her commute where possible. This greatly adds value to an otherwise crap commute.

Seek out if your city offers a ‘park-and-ride‘ service. This allows people commuting in from the ‘burbs to park away from the CBD, and ride the train or other public transport for the final portion. No more parking or traffic hassles!

2) Straight-up bike. This is a more difficult option for many, but if it’s there as an option I highly suggest you take it. Just do it. Do it twice a week to start, and move on up from there. Also, try that park-and-ride service by stuffing your bike in your car and pedalling that last bit to town. When your city has a capped highway (finally), take a route through that space knowing that you’re benefiting while the drivers below wish they were biking.

Taking this active approach allows you bonus exercise when you otherwise woulnd’t be able to get it. You don’t have to search far to read about the benefits of exercise to your workday efficiency.

3) Meddling with a car habit and finding alternatives such as the above is a great way to save some time and money. Time is money. Once you are finding ways to save money on commuting you are adding value to a commute. Explore your options!

I don’t commute (in its most proper form) and have never needed to. I bike about 10 minutes, or bus when I have to. I can’t really imagine having to properly commute, but if I did I sure would look for ways to maximize that time spent, or cut it out completely. The only value I’ve been able to add to my ‘commute’ is (besides my cheap alternative of biking) 10 minutes of iPod time, or reviewing class material when I was busing to my night class at the university.

How do you add value to your commute? Any ideas to add for other readers?

**(Giant hat-tip to my Los Angeles urban connection Reid Keller for help in my last posts on L.A…Reid works in the field of urban planning and has added unequivocal value to these two posts.)

Buck the Trend and Go Analog: Three Reasons to Use Paper to Track Your Tasks

Michael was kind enough to accept a post of mine at his Paperweight blog, a post which discusses the simplicities of paper use, and the distractions of technology.

Michael Henreckson blogs on productivity and technology here at his super concise blog.

Enjoy!

An Environment of Growth

Like a seedling growing in a new environment, there are factors above and below your space that can limit or excel one’s future growth.

1. The Canopy Above
2. The Administration Below

1. If the canopy above you (think upper management) overshadows your every move, your light resource will be limited. Without this energy (in the workers case freedom), growth opportunities will be limited. Like being stuck in an overcrowded room, one may fail to be noticed.

Adjust: Some plants thrive in a dark environment, shadowed by canopy. These plants have broader leaves, and take in what they can. As a worker, broaden out – allowing your freedom to come in as work through several sources. Refuse to have your receptor cells under-stimulated by reaching out to those around you.

Fight it: Grow taller by developing your credentials. Taking in more work by specializing should be a positive experience. Finding a niche uncrowded will open up that darkened canopy allowing you to assert yourself.

2. When the administration below you is unstable or unwelcoming, growth will be limited. Like nutrients or water, if they flow beneath you too quickly (or not at all), how will you stand your ground? Your growth relies on the foundation already in place, something you can’t always meddle with.

For a broken administration there are coping mechanisms. Digging your roots in further can help. USE that administration. Often, a broken admin is an unused admin. Your work, like organic matter, will have a positive effect on the administration around you. Using it lets it know where you stand, and a balance can develop with your input and output.

The lifespan of a seedling can be unfortunately short if the conditions are not right; but it’s not luck, finding the right growing conditions is up to you. Plants and trees are seeded in masses, most are meant to die. You know you’re not. Some say that it should be common to try 8-10 environments before you attempt to ’settle’. I disagree. I would say that if you’ve switched jobs 8-10 times before you’re 30, the problem is yours – you need to re-assess what kind of plant you really are as the environments existed before you did.

Or start up your own environment, control it all.

Somewhere Between Working and Caring

As far as my work is concerned, I am known to float somewhere between working and caring. I think that those who work in the environmental sector, and many in the forest management sector, feel this the most. Truly, no matter where you work, you’ll be battling how much you work for work, and how much you work to support a lifestyle.

It shouldn’t necessarily be a trade-off (i.e. sacrificing care for money, or money for care), but it’s definitely a thinking point.

I do care for my work, and I do care for ecology. Everyday I think resources. Whether it be my interest in investing, the future of BC’s imports and exports, the timber industry and the reasons for its troubles, the state of forests anywhere, or even checking out trees and thinking of biodiversity in the city as I bike to or from work. Ask my girlfriend; she finds it so amusing (annoying) when I stop to identify or inspect a tree (or even soil) as we’re walking through our neighbourhood, or trying to get to a movie downtown we’re already late for. “Whoa, come check out this sweet Cedar”.

Then there’s the troubles with caring while at work. Like when I spend 6 hours stuffing and labelling envelopes for some document review mail-out. Or when I’m trudging through the bush flagging off trees to be removed for wildfire fuel management. OK, I do care about the community it would protect, but I don’t ‘care’ for flagging trees necessarily. In fact, that’s going to far, because I do enjoy the occasional bush work I get to do.

But on with life…you can’t FORCE care in the environment, just like you can’t force it at work. Just ask climate change researchers – everyone gets a critic.

For you and myself, I can suggest the following:

*Service With a Smile. You probably got into what you do because it was your area of interest. Perhaps try to make a difference in the workplace. Remember that things can and will change, and swing with those changes to your advantage.

*Suck it up. Exactly what I said to myself as I worked that mail-out like a seasoned pro.

*Telling yourself you do it for the money will rarely make you happier. In fact, it’s known to make me sadder, “I do this for money?”…ha!!

*Stay happy enough, and you’ll start to care about work. I never thought I’d get into ‘trees and things’. I got into treeplanting (2003) for the challenge and money, and ended up liking (and hating) the industry. I got into consulting for the business experience, but soon started to notice ecosystems.

So…*Stay open to change.

Will the caring start to disappear soon? The work sure won’t, so I may as well work to keep them as one.

I have three plants on my desk. Surprisingly enough, during those times when I’m sick of computer work and deliverables preparation, it reminds me what I come here to do. The plants assist in maintaining my oxygen resource – I must manage them.