Nintendo Entertainment System 25th Anniversary - JW's Favorite Games

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America next week, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on my favorite games from that generation of video game consoles.  While there were several NES games I owned, rented, or played at friends' houses, I've selected five that represent where I logged the most hours and generally had the most fun playing.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

My parents got me this game for my seventh birthday.  I'd become familiar with The Legend of Zelda by first playing it at my babysitter's house in early 1988.  After enjoying that game, and then getting sucked into the Zelda II marketing hype from coverage in Nintendo Power Magazine, I knew I had to take the plunge.  The better part of 1989 & 1990 I spent playing this game.  Even after I'd defeated Shadow Link in the final palace, I couldn't get enough of visiting villages and working to increase my attack strength.  

Super Mario Bros 3

Not only was my imagination captured the moment I saw this game portrayed in The Wizard, I don't think I've ever been more excited for a video game to be released than I was for Super Mario Bros 3.  My mother patiently put up with my requests to call every video game retailer in the greater Columbus, GA metro area until we finally tracked down a copy at Wal-Mart about a week after the official release in early 1990.  World 4 with the giant enemies and pipes/blocks still brings a smile to my face.

Marble Madness

I used to play this game in the Diamond Jim's arcade inside Peachtree Mall before it was released on the NES.  My dad actually bought me the Nintendo version as a consolation prize for not being able to find us two tickets to the 1989 Iron Bowl (the first ever played at Auburn for you college football history buffs).  It worked out for the best, though, because I was still able to watch the Iron Bowl on TV, and then had countless hours of fun with Marble Madness.  It's tough to capture in words how happy I was the first time I beat the final level in this game.  To call the level challenging is like saying the Mario franchise is kind of popular.

Super Mario Bros

Ah, the first game we all got to play on the NES.  Finding my console on Christmas morning of 1987 with this game was like Ralphie receiving his Red Ryder BB Gun in A Christmas Story.  Just how ingrained is this game into my psyche from countless hours of gameplay?  To this day, I frequently find myself whistling the Super Mario Bros theme song when I'm walking around the house or office.  Figuring out how to get to level -1 also made me feel like a rockstar for weeks at school.

Bases Loaded

This game definitely contributed more to my understanding of the rules of baseball than my limited stint as a tee-ball player ever could.  I convinced my parents to buy me this game just as Atlanta Braves fever was starting to sweep the southeast in the early 90s.  I always played as Utah on the game, and the player named Auga seemed to always launch home runs when I got him up at bat.  The graphics were poor in this title, but it was definitely my favorite multi-player game ever released for the NES.

JW's Guide To Millennials In The Workplace

A few weeks ago I was approached by one of my managers seeking advice.  The topic was Millennials, commonly referred to as Generation Y.  This manager, roughly 10 years my senior, was having difficulty understanding what made Millennials tick: what mattered to them from an employment perspective, what (if any) were their common values, and why so many chose to job hop.

I fit into the Millennial age range sweet spot, having graduated high school in 2000.  I'm also wildly passionate about technology, a character trait frequently attributed to members of Generation Y.  Since I believed this manager was sincere in his desire to learn more about the demographic to increase his effectiveness as a leader, I agreed to put together a crash course on the generation through a workplace engagement lens.

The training program consisted of daily readings e-mailed to him with a brief introduction about the article.  At the end of each week, I scheduled an hour long meeting to discuss the readings and answer questions.

While you won't confuse this for the curriculum of a university course, I thought others who manage Millennials could benefit from the information.  Below you'll find my e-mails and suggested readings.

Day 1

For the next two weeks, I'm going to send you a daily reading that gives insights as to how Millennials see the world and the workplace.

Although I've gathered much of the material already, I want to expose it to you in daily chunks so you have a chance to reflect on the content.  On Friday afternoon for the next two weeks, I'm scheduling an hour meeting to discuss the readings and what each means to Hewitt and DSS Tech.

If you intend to conduct interviews with members of this generation within the next month, I'm confident you'll be better equipped to market the company and our team after we finish this two week training.

To start us off, we'll use this insightful piece from the New York Times that I ran across this morning.  It's not Millennial-specific, but speaks very much to that world view.

New York Times: A Technology World That Revolves Around Me
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/technology/13future.html

More to come tomorrow.

- JW

Day 2

Today's installment consists of two bite-sized blog posts from digital marketer extraordinaire, Seth Godin.  And while not specific to this Millennial training, I also highly recommend his Purple Cow book if you're interested in new ways to market your company and yourself.

Senior management
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/08/senior-management.html

Why jazz is more interesting than bowling
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/09/why-jazz-is-more-interesting-than-bowling.html

More tomorrow.

- JW

Day 3

Today's selection comes from Hewitt's own Robert Gandossy, Global Practice Leader for Talent, Leadership, & Engagement.

While this article primarily addresses retention, I think it's applicable for employee acquisition, too.  If you've got a dearth of leadership & an uninspirational story, it's tough to sell the organization to either current or future employees.  The secret is identifying key talent and then relentlessly marketing the business's opportunities to that pool.

Stay or Go?
(Link omitted due to inaccessibility outside of corporate LAN)

More tomorrow.

- JW

Day 4

Today's selection addresses the concept of branding.  While this article speaks of brands in the context of products, I want you to look at it through the lens of a product being a company.  You're selling Hewitt.

What's going to resonate with the prospective employee sitting across the interview table from you?  Similar to the lesson from yesterday's reading, the narrative is critical.  Fitting the new hire into that narrative in a meaningful way is critical.  If the story isn't compelling, you lose.

Millennial Values Behind Lifestyle Brands
http://itsjosipnotjoseph.com/2010/08/millennial-values-behind-lifestyle-brands/

I look forward to our conversation tomorrow to discuss the readings from this week.

- JW

Day 5

(No e-mail since the hour long discussion was conducted on this day.  I did, however, suggest this for-purchase longer article from the Harvard Business Review as weekend reading:  http://hbr.org/product/how-to-keep-your-top-talent/an/R1005B-PDF-ENG )

Day 6

Two short readings today:  the first comes from someone who provides consulting services to companies on how to attract, engage, & retain fresh college grads.  The second addresses the belief that Millennials are annoying to manage.

What Millennials (Generation Y) Want Out of Work
http://www.employmentblawg.com/2007/what-millenials-want/

Generation Y Is Annoying to Manage, But That's a Good Thing
http://www.employeeevolution.com/archives/2009/06/02/generation-y-is-annoying-to-manage-but-thats-a-good-thing/

More tomorrow.

- JW

Day 7

Two articles again today.  The first appeared in Forbes a couple of months back, and highlights former health care CEO Bill George's thoughts on leadership traits exhibited by younger workers.

The second article struck me by its simplicity.  Taken in sum, these questions can sometimes be the elephant in the room, but instrumental in developing trust within an organization.

A Massive Generational Change in Leadership
http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/19/bill-george-generations-baby-boom-millennial-leadership-citizenship-ethisphere.html

Love Em Or Lose Em
http://kirkweisler.com/t4d/2010/04/15/love-em-or-lose-em/

More tomorrow.

- JW

Day 8

Today's readings focus specifically on how to effectively manage members of this age group.  As we've discussed before, I draw a distinction between "managing" & "leading".  These articles aren't as strict in their classification, but still provide helpful guidance.  I especially like the approaches outlined in the PricewaterhouseCoopers entry.

Managing the millennials: HR strategies for the next generation of workers
http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/managing-tomorrows-people/future-of-work/managing-millennials.jhtml

Tips for managing the Millennial Generation
http://www.examiner.com/office-politics-in-national/tips-for-managing-the-millennial-generation

More tomorrow.

- JW

Day 9

The final reading I've selected for you is an excerpt from an interview conducted with author Lynne Lancaster, who wrote "The M Factor: How the Millennial Generation Is Rocking The Workplace."

It speaks to some of the inherent friction between Generation X & Y, and how each side can benefit from the other's perspective.  I think this article is an appropriate one to end our series on, given its optimistic tone.

Why the Millennial Generation Is About to Rock the Workplace
http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/05/10/why-twentysomethings-make-better-workers-than-gen-x-or-boomers/

I look forward to our discussion tomorrow.

- JW

Day 10

Today marks the end of our two week research project on Millennials.  For your reference, I wanted to provide you with a link to the full report the Pew Research Center published on Millennials earlier in 2010.  The first link is to an executive summary of the report, while the second link is the actual 150 page document.  You may find these useful if you need hard data points in the future.

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1501/millennials-new-survey-generational-personality-upbeat-open-new-ideas-technology-bound
http://pewsocialtrends.org/assets/pdf/millennials-confident-connected-open-to-change.pdf

Looking forward to our discussion on the readings this afternoon.

- JW

Writing Wednesday: Music + Exercise = Spiritual Experience

I've long been a believer in the power of music as a motivator when working out.  In fact, I bought my first MP3 player back in 2000 (a Diamond Rio 500 64MB model...wow) just so I could use it during running as I moved off for my freshman year of college.  Even before this, though, I recall doing basketball warm ups to Warren G's "Regulate" in junior high school as my team got ready for a game.  There's something about music that disconnects your body from its physical self.  It's very empowering.

A few weeks ago I ran across this article on the New York Times that provided some insight as to whether any scientific evidence exists to show that music does in fact make humans push harder while working out.  Anecdotally, most people agree this is true.  It's why the Nike+ iPod system has a Power Song feature built in.  When you need that extra bit of ooomph, a well-timed song can get you over the hump.

For most of the past decade, I've set my running soundtrack to various John Digweed mixes.  These represent very vivid memories for me.  I recall the day after 9/11, running around Audubon Park in New Orleans with John Digweed's Global Underground Sydney.  My first 10K in 2004 was run to John Digweed's Global Underground Hong Kong.  Most of the training for my first half marathon in 2009 was run to this Essential Mix.  And as I'm training for my next half marathon coming up on Halloween weekend, I've been running to John Digweed's Essential Mix from earlier this year.  You can find an excerpt from that mix here.

What strikes me most about working out to music is how it seemingly overrides your brain's normal way of interpreting limits.  It's almost as if you're patching your mind with upgraded firmware for a limited time.  When the mix I'm listening to hits its crescendo, there's something magical about that moment where your stride and breathing rate all sync up to the beats per minute in the music.  I call it "spiritual" in the title of this post because it's literally that powerful to me.  Regardless of how tired my body may physically be, I can transcend that limit for the amount of time I can match my heart rate, stride, and breathing to that unnaturally precise beat of electronic music.  It's kind of like cheating physics.

As the New York Times article describes, much of the science behind why our bodies react this way is still not understood.  I look forward to the day we can fully leverage the phenomenon, and perhaps apply it to many areas of our lives, beyond just exercise.

Writing Wednesday - My Memory Map of New Orleans

I put this together over three years ago, but thought I would shake the dust off this week.  

Google Maps allows you to add place markers, routes, photos, and commentary to a map and then save the compilation to share with others.  I chose some of the most memorable spots & routes from my time spent living in New Orleans and gave insight as to why each is special to me.

It's tough to imagine there's another chunk of land on the planet that holds as much history about Juston Western as the snapshot shown above.  Eventually I intend to construct one from my time spent in Hawaii, Alabama, & Delaware, too.

The link below will bring you to the customized map.  From there you can click on the individual icons as shown on the map, or click on the location names in the left hand navigation pane.

Think of it as an interactive answer to the inquiry, "Tell me about yourself."

Juston Western New Orleans Memory Map

Writing Wednesday - "Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives" Review

While I don't normally read fiction, I was genuinely excited to check out this book after hearing author David Eagleman speak at TEDxHouston in June of this year.

The book is a collection of 40 short stories, each about 2 - 4 pages long, where a different theory of what the afterlife might be like is described.  In one possibility, we enter an eternity where we relive our entire Earthly lives over again, except all similar events are grouped together.  You might spend 5 straight months sitting in a doctor's waiting room, before you spend the next 37 hours looking for lost keys.  In another story, we find out that humans were actually created as machines by less intelligent beings to find out the meaning of their lives, similar to how we created computers to solve our own complex problems.

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Eagleman as part of the TEDxHouston Book Club.  During this meeting, the members of the group were able to ask him a variety of questions about the inspiration behind the stories.  This led to some interesting takeaways that you might not glean from reading the book alone.  First, the title "Sum" is primarily a reference to the Latin word, which means "to be", although it has a dual-meaning in the context of being the "sum of the parts" of our Earthly lives.  Dr. Eagleman originally had approximately 75 stories to include in the book, but he decided to narrow it down to the highest-impact of the stories, which was in the range of 40.  Once he realized that 40 was such an important number in various religions, he was compelled to include precisely that number of stories in the final version.

I ended up reading the entire 110 page book in a single sitting over Independence Day weekend.  The stories are intentionally sequenced in a diverse order, so I found myself excited by the premise in one story, and then saddened by the fate proposed in the next.  While the book deals with the topic of an afterlife, which is at its core a religious concept, the stories are presented in a non-dogmatic way.  This makes the theories behind the stories approachable, so I didn't find myself turned off by preachiness inherent in other religious writings, be they fiction or non-fiction.

From both an entertainment and spiritual refreshment perspective, this book truly strikes a chord in modern life.

You can purchase a copy of the book via the link below:

Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives

Writing Wednesday - Colorado Travels

Last week Ashley & I drove over to New Orleans to drop off Puggles, Texas Ranger at his grandparents' house, and then catch a flight to Denver.  The reason for our visit was two-fold: to visit some of our Air Force friends now living in Colorado Springs (who used to live with us in Delaware), and to attend the wedding of our friends Brian & Claude in Estes Park.

I'd prepared for our flight by loading up the television miniseries of Stephen King's "The Shining" on my iPad to watch on the plane.  This version of the movie was filmed at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, where we were staying for two nights of our visit.  Watching the movie over a couple of cocktails and chocolate chip cookies on our Frontier Airlines flight made for pleasant travels.

After renting a car at Denver International Airport, we headed south to Colorado Springs to visit our friends, the Tydingcos.  My love of gadgets is surpassed perhaps only by my buddy Anthony, so it was a lot of fun getting to check out his new home theater setup and hard drive collection.  Our evening was somewhat bittersweet, though, as Ashley & I learned that one of my fellow lieutenants from Dover Air Force Base, Tate Baloun, had died in an airplane crash in South Dakota only a few weeks earlier.

The next morning, we awoke to Christine cooking us a giant breakfast to start the day.  The first item on our agenda that day was to visit the United States Air Force Academy.  I'd visited the Academy during the summer of 2001 to participate in the SOAR glider program, but this was Ashley's first visit to the institution.  The cadets were already in classes for the fall, so we got to witness some of the freshmen marching in lines along the Terrazzo in the center of the Academy.

After a beef brisket-filled lunch at Rudy's BBQ in Colorado Springs, we headed to Manitou Springs to catch the Pike's Peak Cog Railway.  This 3.5 hour round trip train took us up to the top of Pikes Peak, at a whopping 14,110 feet in elevation (see picture above).  When we arrived at the top, I went into the gift center to look for their world-famous donuts.  The elevation made me extremely light-headed, though, and I ended up knocking over a shelf of stuffed animals while trying to gain my footing.  Given the lack of oxygen, this just seemed humorous, so I picked up the animals, found my donuts, and giggled for several minutes before venturing back outside to take photographs.

That evening, we grilled out back at the Tydingco's house, and got to catch up with our friends the Falks, too.  Brian was getting ready to deploy to Iraq for six months, so he got to pick Ty's brain about what to expect and what to bring.  Ty did a year-long deployment at Camp Victory in 2008, so we all sat around and listened to modern-day war stories.  Truly captivating stuff.

The next morning, the Falks hosted us at their house for another giant breakfast (yes, food was clearly a theme during this trip).  Ashley & I actually lived with the Falks during our last week in Delaware, and their dog, Sadie, is widely rumored to be the dog that finally convinced me that I should add a dog to the Western household.

After saying our goodbyes to our friends in Colorado Springs, Ashley & I headed north to Denver.  While we only spent 2 hours in the city, we were able to scout out most of downtown, grab some pictures of Coors Field, and even get recommendations for breweries to check out in Boulder from a random bartender.

Based upon that recommendation from our bartender at Rialto Cafe on 16th Street in Denver, we intended to check out the Walnut Brewery in Boulder.  However, after we made the 45 minute drive and parked our car, the most serendipitous of venues turned out to be located right next door:  the Boulder Absinthe House.  This restaurant / electronica club hybrid had only opened a couple of weeks before our arrival, but it was a perfect match for my interests.  As soon as we walked in the door, my eye spotted a bottle of my favorite absinthe behind the bar:  Jade Liqueurs Nouvelle-Orléans.  The only other place in America that I've found this absinthe is in Pirate's Alley in New Orleans, and I chronicled my discovery of that venue last year here.

Once we finished our absinthe & lunch in Boulder, we headed onward to Estes Park.  This would be the site of The Stanley Hotel, and the wedding we were attending.  When we checked into the hotel, the woman at the front desk indicated we would be in room 213.  As it turns out, room 217 (the haunted room from The Shining) was only two doors down, so Ashley was immediately freaked out.  I tweeted this out, and within a few minutes The Stanley Hotel responded, indicating that rooms 215 & 219 (our adjacent rooms) were also haunted.  Kudos to the venue for their social media savvy!

That night we attended the Kelly rehearsal dinner, and got to visit with Brian & Claude's extended family.  Since Brian & I have been friends for a decade, I'd met many of his family & friends previously, but it was enjoyable getting reacquainted in such a festive setting.

The next morning, the gentleman in the wedding party were up early to take a hike on Mills Lake Trail in the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Hiking uphill from 7,000 to 10,000 feet turned out to be challenging, but the 9 of us on the adventure were able to make the 5 mile round-trip in 2.5 hours.

We all got back to the hotel with just enough time to shower & toss on our suits prior to the photographer showing up and then heading to the church.  As an added bonus, the wedding photographer looked almost identical to Richie Hawtin, which I pointed out to him by showing him this photograph.

The wedding itself was in a very small church built atop a giant boulder.  It was both memorable & romantic, so I have to give credit to Brian & Claude for choosing such an appropriate venue.  When the ceremony was complete, we all headed back to The Stanley for the reception to begin.  They'd hired a jazz band for the occasion, and we were treated to a sit-down steak dinner.  A truly classy and memorable affair.

Below I've linked in the various photo sets & videos that Ashley & I shot during our trip.  Hopefully it won't be another nine years before I can visit Colorado again!

Photos

Colorado Trip 2010 (The Entire Photo Collection)
Air Force Academy Visit
Pikes Peak Visit
Denver Visit
Boulder Visit
The Stanley Hotel
Hike In Rocky Mountain National Park
Brian & Claude's Wedding

Videos

Scale Model of United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy "Pursuit of Excellence" Video
View From Atop Pikes Peak Clip 1
View From Atop Pikes Peak Clip 2
Buster & Sadie Falk Around The Breakfast Table
Serving Jade Liqueur Nouvelle-Orleans Absinthe At Boulder Absinthe House
Driving Up To Estes Park
In Front of The Stanley Hotel Clip 1
In Front of The Stanley Hotel Clip 2
In Front of The Stanley Hotel Clip 3
In Front of The Stanley Hotel Clip 4
Rocky Mountain National Park Hike Clip 1
Rocky Mountain National Park Hike Clip 2
Rocky Mountain National Park Hike Clip 3
Wedding Reception at The Stanley Hotel
Matt Morales Gives Best Man Toast At Kelly Wedding
First Dance at the Kelly Wedding

Writing Wednesday - "Rework" Review

In a rather unconventional manner, I first learned about this book by picking up a virtual copy as an item in Gowalla.  After reading some glowing reviews online & watching this lecture from David Heineimeier Hansson at Stanford, I decided $12 was worth the price of admission to hear the authors' ideas fleshed out.

Rework contains some fairly radical concepts by traditional business book standards.  Chapter titles such as "Ignore the real world", "Outside money is Plan Z", "Meetings are toxic", "Good enough is fine", and "Say no by default" are intentionally provocative, which is kind of the book's schtick.  However, that's not to say the premises are any less valid once the authors provide context.

Coming in just shy of 300 pages, you might think the book would take a while to navigate cover to cover.  I found I was able to plow through the entire thing over the course of 3 lunch breaks, though.  There are lots of hand-drawn illustrations to achieve idea impact, and creative use of white space throughout the book to ensure each concept can soak in.

Although I considered most of the book to represent solid business advice, there were five concepts that really resonated with me.

Make A Dent In The Universe:  This is what we all want, right?  Since our professional lives are finite, you need to be driven and passionate if you want to truly leave a legacy.

Ignore The Details Early On: It sounds counter-intuitive, but I think the authors are on to something.  If you become overwhelmed by the gravity of a project early on when trying to digest the details, you're more likely to lose motivation.

Interruption Is The Enemy Of Productivity: Getting into "the zone" is so important when you want to do great work.  The authors suggest cutting yourself off from the possibility of interruptions by not answering calls, IMs, or e-mails during set times of the day, and implementing No Talk periods.

Out-Teach Your Competition: When it comes to promoting your product, try teaching customers about how to use it, or about concepts related to it.  Teaching can prove to be "stickier" than advertising when it comes to customer loyalty.

Hire Great Writers: The book purports that "Writing is today's currency for good ideas."  In other words, if you're writing clearly, you're thinking clearly.  I completely agree with this, and it's one of the reasons I've started writing blog posts on a regular basis.  Writing forces you to add structure to thoughts that are bouncing around in your mind.  Once you have that structure in place, you can communicate your idea, and that's really the most important part.

Upon completing the book, I tweeted out that I thought Rework should be required reading on both the first & last day of business school.  I couldn't recommend this book as a substitute for a formal business education, but would whole-heartedly endorse it as a supplement to the curriculum.  I think it's important to get varying viewpoints of business methodology, and Rework is definitely skewed towards a smaller business.  Most of the case studies in a graduate-level business program deal with giant organizations, like Wal-Mart, FedEx, and Kodak.  If you can understand both view points, you can adopt the best strategies from each.

You can purchase a copy of the book via the link below:

"Rework" on Amazon

Writing Wednesday: Twitter Psychological Insights

Some interesting data-driven findings about Twitter are revealed in this study conducted by British psychologists.

http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/08/twitter-10-psychological-insights.php

I enjoyed the description of "informers vs. meformers" as it relates to tweet content.  I find that my own social graph has a fairly balanced ratio of users who fall into each category.

I'd propose that Twitter as a source of breaking news or emergency response will only continue to grow in importance.  When I want information about something that JUST happened, I always search Twitter first.  Granted, you may end up with content that proves not to be 100% accurate after the dust settles, but no less so than information you'd gather from other sources.  That's just the nature of gathering information quickly.