On Writing

I have an interesting relationship with writing. I actually frequently feel unqualified, unsuited, or presumptuous in writing anything. In my head, every sentence I write starts with “I think,” or “I believe,” or “It appears to be the case that.” My fingers edit those parts out, for two reasons. One is that you, reader, canRead… Read more »

TSP Investment Timing and the Retiree’s Dilemma

The stock market is up and the DOW stock market index has recovered from its low of 6629 in March of 2009 to over 15,000 recently. Interest rates and yields on CDs, treasuries, and savings have remained historically low. The government has artificially maintaining interest rates well below norm to stimulate the economy and toRead… Read more »

IRS Scandal

Ever since this scandal broke, on or about the 14th of May, I have struggled to see what the beef is, other than some effort by some to gain political traction for their agenda. The first problem I have: I don’t believe that any organization which engages in political activity should be granted tax exemptRead… Read more »

What The Walking Dead can teach us about Economic Development

Today’s economy is a challenging environment for economic development, but it’s no zombie apocalypse. With The Walking Dead setting ratings records, it’s safe to say plenty of economic development professionals watch every episode. But does this nerve-wracking saga of desperate survivors battling flesh-eating zombies offer anything worth pondering from an economic development standpoint? Of courseRead… Read more »

An Episode in Civic Hacking: Florida Bill Tracker

This post is penned by Rob Davis, a former Code for America intern and civic hacker in South Florida, and is cross-posted from rob.d. Participating in my first civic hackathon in Florida was more than amazing, and to my surprise, my fellow Floridians were actually embracing the idea. “Hacker is a loaded word,” Richard BookmanRead… Read more »

Government 2.0 is dead, long live Government

Yesterday I gave a presentation to the Victorian Government’s Communicators’ Group, discussing how effective government had been at meeting the challenge of rapid change throughout the last thirty years. As part of my presentation I revisited the area of government 2.0 – giving my view that there’s no longer such a thing – it’s nowRead… Read more »

Big Data Calls for Big Jobs

Last year, the Harvard Business Review named data science the “sexiest job of the 21st century.” There’s substantial evidence to back up this bold claim as the excitement surrounding big data across sectors and industries continues to grow, calling on the right professionals to mine, analyze and interpret society’s vast data supply. Below are threeRead… Read more »