Lack of Innovation? What about Graphene?

Have you heard about "graphene"?  It's a single layer of carbon atoms that could replace silicon because it's thin and conducts electricity as well as many other potential uses.

There is a BBC News article that talks about graphene and patents held in the far east but then discusses what has happened to innovation after the cold war finished - that is 30-40 years of decline in innovation.

There have been many other articles about how innovation is happening where the industry or production takes place and how this is far from the stakeholders.  The point here is that off-shore production of many things such as televisions and electronics means innovation has been off-shored as well.  Manufacturing processes are developed and refined off-shore and innovation is not happening to the same level at home any more.

Have a read of the article above - It's interesting because of the possibilities presented by graphene, but also a bit sad when it describes the decline of innovation. I'd say that real innovation, or the lack of it, has had a direct effect on prosperity and employment.

If the innovation has been off-shored and the owners of the production are doing the innovation, has this caused the economic challenges experienced in the USA and EU today?

It's a new year!  Let's hope that everyone can take a good look at innovation and the banks and economy start to help develop the innovation that supports growth and improvement for everyone. 

(Currently, it seems the financial industry and potential financial backers have more of an appetite for "efficiency innovation" that really means less jobs and prosperity for the few. What about real innovation?)

"Live each day as if it were your last!"

Now that I have a few more years, I have a completely different interpretation of the saying "Live each day as if it were your last."

When I was younger, I can remember thinking "Wow, that is profound." But then, I did not really know what I would do to get the most out of my "last day."

When I try to return to that day to understand what was going on in my head realise I can never really do this. My interpretation of those memories must certainly be coloured by years of experience since then.

When it comes to remembering things, I tend to be a "kinetic" sort of person when it comes to memories - I seem to remember how something felt rather than the exact words or actions in those moments. If I can then link the feelings to the events, I feel my memory is quite good, but for me feelings are remembered longer than the events that connected to them.

Even so, I can tell that "Live each day as if it were your last." has a very different meaning for me these days...

I have seen too many things that have been delayed, chances missed, opportunities to enjoy company with others or sharing moments... Now, I understand why we should rush to live fully and experience life!

To cite a few lost moments...

• I have had a few longer term relationships - but my family, living and dead, never met (most of) these more important people in my life.
• So many times, I had either "the time" or "the money" to take those trips that I have dreamt about - But never the time and money at the same time.  I see this has been my own fault because when I am working and loving my work, my dreams are not prioritised and work takes over.
• I love to learn new things - but then for the more difficult or involved things I want to learn, I can always find a reason to postpone things because alternate activities sometimes offer gratification that is seductive and available quickly!

If I were to concentrate on my professional life, I can name a few more:

• When business moves fast, it is easy to excuse rudeness but there are times when politeness needs to be balanced with getting things done quickly. (I'm probably more polite than most, even so!)
• I've seen business plans stall somewhere in the process of finding funding or in the legal wrangling that benefits the lawyers or solicitors. Meanwhile a great idea becomes stale or "yet another <blank>" that the market doesn't really need.
• Something I often see is the use of 'business speak' to hide the fact that work on an important issue has not progressed - either for good reason or bad reason - but time passes and nothing is accomplished.

Today, I sometimes think that procrastination keeps me from living each day as if it were my last. While that is partly true, it is also true that quality of life can come from enjoying the moment even those moments where procrastination wins out!


I have found I need a only few special people in my life and if I feel a day has been lived fully, it will be a day where I had shared time with these people. Beyond that, contributing to the quality of life for others - work colleagues, the community, or the world - ranks highly. 


Do you "live each day fully"? What does this mean to YOU?

My First Post

After a break from blogging, it is time to start again!  Tune in later for more - See you next time.