The @ijohnpederson Curling Expo

Wanna curl?

March 16, 2013.  10:00am.  Poynette Curling Club.  216 E. Hudson Street, Poynette, Wisconsin 53955.

Julia Fallon (@juliafallon), Jena Sherry (@jena_sherry), Scott Anderson (@iscottanderson), Jessica Pederson (@ijesspederson) and I, with others (?) Stuart Ciske (@sjciske), will be there.  Seriously.  No experience necessary.  It’s all fun.  We’ll pretty much be screwing around.

RSVP:  Tweet  me.  Or email me.  ijohnpederson@gmail.com.

Connection and Vulnerability

I learned very early on that it’s less about the “resources” and more about the people connections. I “curate” people that are interesting to me and my learning.  Personal connection.  This is (Pederson, 2005) sort of stuff.

In recent months, I’ve been watching for vulnerability.  Not the creepy kind of vulnerability that comes to mind for most when trying to understand online relationships.  It’s a Brene Brown flavor of vulnerability.

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of joy, belonging, creativity, authenticity, and love.”

Twitter has been very, very good to me. It’s taken me 6+ years and 20,000+ to put my finger on what makes it work.  Why am I more attracted to some folks on not others?

If Step #1 is “Make personal connection. (Pederson, 2005)”, Step #2 is “Make yourself vulnerable. (Pederson, 2013).”  Vulnerability where the joy, belonging, creativity, authenticity, and love is born in this online, connected word.

Related:  Amanda Palmer, “The Art of Asking” TED Talk.

The Answers

stand

…best part…towards the end…

The answers are getting harder and harder
And there ain’t no way to bargain or barter
But if you’ve got the angst or the ardor
You might faint from the fight but you’re gonna find it
For every challenge could have paradise behind it
And if you accept what you have lost and you stand tall
You might just get it back and you can get it all
So now you know why it’s a long way to fall
Yeah cause it’s a long way to fall

My new professional growth plan is to be more like me.

h/t to David Jakes @djakes for my takeaway from Educon 2.5 this year.  The meme actually began a week earlier when he visited this side of the cheddar curtain.  We’d get to talking about people who have our attention, and Jakes would say, “_____’s professional growth plan is to be more like _____.”

Among Educon’s Friday evening panelists was Jeff Pulver.  He made a bold statement along the lines of, “My focus right now is on me.  I’ve recently lost 57 pounds and have another 57 to go.”  I was amazed, throughout the panel, at the degree to which Jeff is simply an authentic person.  What does Jeff do?  ”Jeff Pulver’s professional growth plan is to be more like Jeff Pulver.”  :)

Crossed paths again with Christian Long a bit later, pants and all.  Many of us know Christian as a blogger, teacher, “papa”, designer.  But what does he do? “Christian Long’s professional growth plan is to be more like Christian Long.”  Soon after that, along came Gary Stager.  ”Stager’s professional growth plan is definitely to be more like Stager.”

I’m fortunate to have met many characters along the way.  The interesting peoples’ professional growth plans can be summed up by being more like themselves.

Maggie’s Farm

I was thinking about Wisconsin’s past, present, and upcoming political situation this morning in the car as Rage Against the Machine’s mix of “Maggie’s Farm” came across the speakers.

Maggie’s Farm [Link]

I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more.
No, I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more
Well, I wake up in the morning
Fold my hands and pray for rain.
I got a head full of ideas
That are drivin’ me insane
It’s a shame
the way she makes me
scrub the floor
I ain’t gonna work on, nah
I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more.

I ain’t gonna work for Maggie’s brother no more
nah, I ain’t gonna work for Maggie’s brother no more
Well, he hands you a nickel
And he hands you a dime
And he asks you with a grin
If you’re havin’ a good time
Then he fines you every time you slam the door
I ain’t gonna work for, nah
I ain’t gonna work for Maggie’s brother no more

I ain’t gonna work for Maggie’s pa no more
No, I ain’t gonna work for Maggie’s pa no more
Well, he puts his cigar
Out in your face just for kicks
His bedroom window
It is made out of bricks
The National Guard stands around his door
I ain’t gonna work, nah
I ain’t gonna work for Maggie’s pa no more

I ain’t gonna work for Maggie’s ma no more
No, I ain’t gonna work for Maggie’s ma no more
Well, she talks to all the servants
About man and God and law
And everybody says
Shes the brains behind pa
Shes sixty-eight, but she says shes twenty-four
I ain’t gonna work for, nah
I ain’t gonna work for Maggie’s ma no more

I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more
No, I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more
Well I try my best
To be just like I am
But everybody wants you
To be just like them
They sing while they slave and just get bored
I ain’t gonna work on, nah
I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more

Educon 2013

This weekend, January 25-27 2013, I’ll be headed to Philadelphia, PA to attend the Educon 2.5 at the Science Leadership Academy this weekend.  I’m kicking around the idea of using this to chronicle my experience.  2013 will by my 4th time visiting SLA for Educon. I attended in 2008 (first!), 2009, and 2011.  Here’s a stream of “educon” mentions on Twitter.  If all is working as it should, the most recent posts should float to the top.