How to Write White Papers #3

For me, the most important part of White Papers for Dummies is where you need to have a vision where there was none. Your product or company needs to differentiate itself by providing a new solution, or a new approach to a problem.

Traditional solutions do this wrong. Your offering does this instead. Clearly say what your company (or client) is doing and why your company does it best. You can prove through statistics and research. Sum up the problem, show how the competing offering doesn’t work, and then show your new and improved solution.

In a problem-solution paper, don’t mention your solution until the very last minute. This may sound counterintuitive, but the reason is to promote you as a trusted advisor and expert on your area.

Taking Meds as Prescribed!

I was just thinking about what happened to me that caused me to become med compliant. There was quite a bit of time from when I became ill to finally taking my medications as prescribed.

I had some tumultuous times at first. I had some violent mood swings, many very up periods and very little down moods. One doctor told me I was acting like Superman.

I said, “No I’m not.”

“OK then Batman.”

Funny now. But it was a warning that my mood swings would get worse over time if I didn’t stay compliant. I remembered in that moment that I feared getting to a place where, they told me, the medications would not help any longer. That fear thank God, set me right.

I now use 9 PM as the time to remember. I usually do.

If you have had any similar experiences or wisdom to apply here, please leave a note at bottom!

Take ’em.

How to Write White Papers #2

Just creating my white paper with the following pages:

1. Cover page

2. Content index and copyright notice

3. Executive summary, which I mentioned

4. Introduction to the industry-wide problem

5. Traditional solutions and how they don’t work (or work optimally)

6. Our new solution

7. Product buying guide

8. Case study (optional)

9. Conclusion and call to action

10. About the company (1/2 page)

11. End notes and bibliography

Again, these are adapted from White Papers for Dummies

I Have Hope for the Concern Over Olympics Mental Health

I have hope that all this mental health talk at the Olympics turns into some thing genuine, not just some virtue signaling or worse, a pure fad.

But I must repeat what has enabled me to get as far as I have: you must press through to a better life. Don’t let the waves tumble over you, situations to be too much for you. You can talk with others, you can live a good life. But step out and be aware that you are loved.

Please read my 7 things that I have learned over the past 23 years of mental illness and please talk to someone if you are having a rough time–or just leave comment here and I will reply.

Peace and grace.

Microsoft Warns Against Another Sophisticated Attack

Remember that threat actors can use sophisticated means to trick you into exposing your data and computer as a whole. https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-warns-these-attackers-can-go-from-first-contact-to-launching-ransomware-in-just-48-hours/

Microsoft has warned about this bogus call center that gets you to install an app that leads to ransomware attack 48 hours later. Keep in mind that the bad guys have teams of people working for them and they look legit.

More Bad Signs That China is Testing Our Infrastructure

This article is alarming:
“US says 23 pipeline operators were targeted, of which 13 were successfully compromised.” I am going to do a synopsis-style argument about the average U.S. citizen who does not realize the depth of the cyber attack issue.
US says Chinese hackers breached 13 pipeline operators between 2011 and 2013 – The Record by Recorded Future

There are also Russia, Ukrainian, and Iranian groups mentioned in this article.

How to Write White Papers #1

In learning how to write white papers with White Papers for Dummies and other sources, I got the idea for this post.

To make a company stand out, you must present a next gen solution to a problem. In a paper I am writing right now, the client has a product that is not just an iteration, but something that is going to change the game.

I have already written an executive summary. This is geared to physicians and hospitals, and I need to come up with a great title. The book says that it should mirror the issue being discussed. I don’t know the client’s wishes yet or reactions to this initial summary, but I do know that a problem being presented needs a solution that only you can offer. I am trying to figure out a metaphor or just start with a question.

This seems really technical though in the prior white papers of theirs. Marketing has a better set of ideas than what they appeared to have done previously. It’s all about getting them into the top of the sales funnel (or perhaps later).

I don’t know if they will like a problem/solution white paper that is a hard sell–but that’s what I gave them. Hoping for some guidance.

Simone Bile’s Exit

Blessings to Simone as she exits the Olympics. CNN had a brief press conference. I don’t know the condition of her mental health, but I can imagine the stress of interviews and the spotlight. She was also magnanimous in passing the torch for this year to her teammates.

Also, noticed this piece about stigma of mental illness in churches. Mental health stigmas can be distinctly unbiblical. This is why | Voice | The Christian Post. Olympian tennis star Naomi Osaka is quoted in the article saying “it’s O.K. to not be O.K.”

Stigma is an interesting word, derived from the Greek word stizein,meaning to tattoo. In the Graeco-Roman world, an owner would brand (stigma) their cattle. It was also a practice to brand or tattoo criminals, prisoners of war and slaves. The stigma or brand said it all, told the story and circumscribed the person stigmatized. If you had the criminal tattoo in Greece, you were a criminal, enough said, no further information was needed. 

The Christian Post

Going Meta – the Higher Calling

The higher calling is to abstract one’s self from strife and to the meta.

Saying positive things about your opponents is hard today. Though the gap between left and right is now a chasm, I think seeing the opposition through another lens is necessary. It could be framed broadly as the Left being concerned with liberty and Right concerned with standards and stability. Why can’t we have a bit of both?

Continue reading “Going Meta – the Higher Calling”

Gadgets 07/21/2021: Wireless chargers, Bluebox Co-pilot, neck fan

My new tech days are comprised of today’s deals and then upcoming tech that I think kewl.

Nomad Base Station wireless charger Base Station Mini | NOMAD® (nomadgoods.com) (on the Wired best chargers guide https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-wireless-chargers/)
You can charge three devices at the same time and no alignment issues when you lay it down with the Pro version here Base Station Pro | NOMAD® (nomadgoods.com)

Nomad passport holder with Tile tracker Traditional Passport Wallet | NOMAD® (nomadgoods.com)

Bluebox Co-pilot has four modules:
Dashcam – two cameras recording live video as you drive, collision detection, privacy switch turns off recording
Mile saver – automatically calculates miles and tax savings
Blue mechanic – find out what’s up with your engine, vehicle maintenance alerts
SecurityCam – Guards 24/7; real-time break-in and hit-and-run alerts
More under way…
Bluebox Co-pilot – All-in-one smart driving assistant by Bluebox Labs — Kickstarter

These are cool (8^) for these hot times: Amazon.com: Portable Neck Fan Rechargeable, 4000mAh Motor Bladeless Mini Personal Fan(Eachside 2000mAh), Portable Neck AC Fans Ideal for Room, Office, Gym, Camping: Kitchen & Dining

Israeli Company NSO Group Spyware Used on Non-criminal Users

Pegasus is this spyware technology by Israeli company NSO Group that can be used against people who should never be targeted. Data harvested from smartphone? Location, emails, videos, social media, photos, mic, camera granular access–which has been used against targets like Jamal Khashoggi. NSO denies their software was used by bad actors and never to access U.S. phone numbers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2021/nso-spyware-pegasus-cellphones

Hat tip to Josie Browne-Peters on this subject.

Getting Back to College!

OK stop playing with your PS5 and get up. School is back in session and you have a few options to go back now. While you can go to a trade school or get an internship without attending college, many people choose college because a degree looks better on your resume.

But I’m going to advocate for attending a community college first as the best way to get back to school. While some new and prospective students may be thinking of going straight to a four-year college, I think there are a few good reasons to go to community college before. Number one is saving money. We all know that the price of college is getting exorbitant and that the schools make most of their money on on-campus living.

So finishing your general education requirements at a community college is a great investment—as long as you remember a few things:

Continue reading “Getting Back to College!”

Some More Prager on Genesis – Man’s Creation

I liked this rereading this part again, Gen. 1:26-27.

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

In v. 26, man is made (from pre-existing matter) without a soul, but in “our likeness,” which some Christians think refers to the Trinity. Prager actually addresses challenges to the Jewish concept where the plural is no problem for them. The word uses the single verb with a plural noun. He says that the plural means the word encompasses all gods. Also, man is a creature in this verse. Interesting stuff. I actually just finished his commentary the other day. 

In v. 27, “the man” is created (from scratch) with a soul in “the image of God.” (Also, note that male and female are only in this verse.)

I do like reading the Jewish teaching, since it is the foundation on which our faith stands. For my part, I have read another commentator who suggested a “second or special creation.” Regular non-spiritual man was already in existence before the garden. Hence, my post on the Hebrew conception of the universe, where I point out the scriptural references and allusions to that conception which to me solve some issues, like Cain’s wife and age of the Earth.

Disrespect Parents, Despise Country

I read the first volume of the Rational Bible by Dennis Prager and was struck by the beautifully simple exposition, especially of the Ten Commandments. I was thinking on the commandment to honor your father and mother. Prager writes that we obey the president and police, so why can’t we honor our parents? We don’t obey them as adults, though we don’t treat them as peers either. He also suggests that our kids and other adults will see and emulate our actions toward our parents.

But the part I wished to write about is his realization that culture, religion and ethics are transmitted on to the next generation, if we honor our parents. Included here is the respect for the elder generations. If kids and young adults today don’t learn about the sacrifices that those generations have made, they will more likely also not appreciate our country.

Unfortunately I think, our Millennial and Gen-Z generations have been taught this very thing. Walking on the beach boardwalk, I have been bumped by kids walking past me and some don’t even apologize.

I remember being taught in junior high and high school that “I have rights” to disrespect my parents and protest any punishments. Disrespect for our flag and country are concurrent with that for our parents. But the Left are promoting hatred of America and “white racism.” If we or ours kids forget our country’s greatness, we disrespect those elders who fought for it.

Gadgets 07/05/2021: Simple, beautiful glasses; strong water-saving shower; slick pizza oven; beach bonfire; MS ear buds

My new tech days are comprised of today’s deals and then upcoming tech that I think kewl.

These glasses are slick. Simple and eco-friendly.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/foreverwires/forever-wires-modular-eyewear-designed-to-last-a-lifetime

Beautiful water-saving shower. I might have to spring for this.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nebia/nebia-by-moen-quattro-4-powerful-shower-modes-50-savings

On the other hand, I wish I could afford this one.
https://www.wired.com/review/ooni-karu-16/

I could see this useful at the beach. Seen a few similar there.
https://www.solostove.com/solo-stove-bonfire

I admit I don’t know why all the hype over these bud earphones. The Apple ones are expensive. These are some $100 alternatives.
Buy Samsung Galaxy Buds+ – Microsoft Store

Thoughts on 100th Anniversary of the CCP

So this just happened: Xi Jinping Casts Communist Party as China’s Savior on Centenary of Founding – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
The hundredth anniversary of the CCP on July 1 saw the finest bluster from Xi Jinping, e.g. China will not be oppressed, China will not be sanctimoniously preached to, China will not be bullied.

Continue reading “Thoughts on 100th Anniversary of the CCP”