I often rant express poor customer service experiences in this blog, so thought it was only fair to put on record a very positive customer service experience. I hold two domains with two separate providers (in case one provider is down), and one of those domains is hosted by Servers Australia. One of their support staff, Jared Hirst, takes most of my support calls and he is consistently courteous, polite and helpful – and an asset to his company.

Teachers who are passionate, enthusiastic and inspire others not just to learn, but to want to learn have always garnered my highest respect. The late Randy Pausch, pioneer of virtual reality technologies, was a Professor at Carnegie Mellon university. Upon being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer he decided to use his remaining time to foster a message of hope and to influence others to live well – and in doing so not only follow their dreams, but to facilitate the dreams of others – the mark of a true teacher.

His famous ‘Last Lecture‘ is a treatise on how positive thinking and positive action will lead to success. Many of the key elements of his message resonated with me.

• Pausch used the concept of a brick wall as something that you have to get over in order to demonstrate just how badly you want something – those things that are hardest to attain are those that are worth fighting for the most
• That what goes around comes around – loyalty is a two way street, and believing in others, supporting them and nurturing them is in itself a reward
• That collaboration is fostered and facilitated by environments that support inter-disciplinary approaches – that bend rules and blur boundaries so that those with interests and passions – albeit in different fields can come together to create something positive.

His lecture on Time Management, also delivered after a terminal diagnosis is equally inspiring.

In a way it’s almost paradoxical that in losing Randy Pausch the world has lost someone so inspirational, so intelligent and so passionate, however without having a terminal illness his message of continually aspiring to achieve your goals would have reached a far smaller audience.

The topic of Niccolo Machiavelli came up in random conversation today, along the lines of political dominance and power games. Machiavelli’s works, such as The Prince, have survived in popular culture for hundreds of years. One wonders whether their longevity is due to their extreme viewpoints, or enduring validity?