On one hand we have the one-shots, someone needs a logo, or a brochure, or a static site with a few pages and a contact form. They are the people we get referred to us, or we hear them mention they need something done and we drop a business card on them. It is generally mediocre work (the actual work, since it is the thing we do all the time), and after it is said and done, everyone moves on.

There is are our ongoing clients, where we seem less like a consulting firm, and more like, well, a department. We are integrated in many of the procedures of how things work, either hatching up creative solutions for difficult problems, or even just commenting on a particular workflow. This is how I operate with Oakland Local and SVBC.

I like it. Besides just being more meaningful, I think that I have a nice niche where I can have that creative input without any of the real responsibility for implementation except where I shine, the technical. That is a large part of where the appeal comes in. I get the guilt-free association with the community-based crowd, which cares more about what I can do under their restraints than say, how I dress, or who I associate with. Basically, the things that bar me from certain corporate and/or political work are generally non-existent with these folks.

I begin to wonder what it is that creates this kind of work relationship. I am sure it is somewhat dependant on my personality. I set boundaries well, generally communicate clearly, and I find that most people get along with me, at least professionally. I also notice trends among the people I work with (in the client organizations), but that is for a different post. I am seeing these patterns, and I think I am close to figuring it out.

I think that to make cog motive sustainable we will a few more clients like this. I am not sure how one goes about finding them, that is the hard part, of course. It is about who you know, but not in the way that always made me feel sick to my stomach when I thought about how one advances their career. It is about who you know, and how you know them, and how your beliefs and vision align. Just like, you know, everyone else in your life.

One thing that I do know, the more clients we can get that share similar technical challenges (of which there are many common challenges out there), the more value we provide to all of them. The offsetting of cost for development is pretty substantial, and I am working to develop easy-to-use design patterns that we can share, in hopes that they will be improved upon as well as helpful for other developer/community-based organization communities out there.

After all, legacy is greater than currency.

In the last week I have had three other lists, all associated with my work, either disappear, cause me to auto-renew dead domains, or just randomly start bouncing messages from specific users. What the hell?

I like mailing lists, I really do. Well, I like mine. Most other lists end up being bogged down by messages from people I don’t know, and sent to my mailbox for processing and end up being deleted in bulk. I am highly irritated that this last week of work has been sprinkled with error messages and panicky e-mail from folks who won’t even visit the website to figure out what is going on.

Okay, I think my rant is over after… ARRRRRGH!

There. ^_^

Before we get into it, here is the video (embedded below), and here is the videographer’s weblog set up around this event:

http://caltrain-arrest.blogspot.com/

It is a little over 7:00 minutes. I’ll wait.

Okay, did ya get all that? Groovy.

It is pretty obvious what happened: Caltrain conductor makes a call as to the bicycle capacity, passenger disagrees, conductor calls cops (and sheriff?), and iPhone-wielding witness shares with the rest of us.

When I first heard about this at the Peninsula Committee meeting last week I was pretty shocked. I had to quickly reign in my opinion, though, because of course I needed to examine what the deal was with the video. Nothing too shocking, actually. The police were, um, immature about the video being taken, I think. That the officer took the time to speak with the passenger on the train for a few moments, but was adversarial with video person, well, good game officer.

From reading around and digesting some of what people are talking about, here is what I think:

1. This is getting ridiculous. I hear the word escalating being used, but I don’t really know if that is an issue. Are cyclists hassling conductors, or vice-versa? If so, well, that is not a proper channel for policy change.
2. The guy was wearing clip-in shoes. I have never worn them, but from the way he is walking, I doubt I would relax, especially if someone rushed me and twisted my arm. Could he not just say, “Hey, listen, I am putting you under arrest for delaying the train, it is a misdemeanor.” No offense to Scott Wildy, but it didn’t look like he was going to do much surrounded by three officers, in those shoes, being recorded.
3. One last point, and this is a biggie: At what point are we, as individuals, supposed to just act like lemmings and go along for the ride (or get passed up, in this case)?

I would like to know how much of the situation was explained to Scott prior to the recording. Scott is not the authority in this scene, and yet every person he talks to refuses to explain to him the decision. This is not conflict resolution, it is forced obedience.

Caltrain, and seemingly the officers involved, would benefit from studying community policing standards, because that is what this is, a community of riders. Folks don’t ride the Caltrain for the train experience, they ride it because it reaches to where they need to go. It is an integral part of the way of life for Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. This community should be treated with dignity and respect, not like a child who is misbehaving.

I went into work to go for a meeting with a database specialist who is implementing a CRM type thing for our org. Inspired! It is going well, we are on track, and it is going to change how we do almost everything. What I wasn’t counting on was speaking to the Board of Directors tonight. I was second to last on the agenda, so I got to hang out and hear all the nifty details. It wasn’t boring, per se. Just, a lot of info.

I make this commute with some frequency, about once a month. Basically anytime I have a meeting on the Peninsula. I like listening to music from Ghost in the Shell during this trip. Will folks in the future use multi-modal public transportation to travel hundreds of miles in their daily commutes? Or for leisure?

The Board seems excited for the work I am doing, and are seeing what I see in where we can go with it. This makes me excited, I have their support, and the opportunity to create something elegant and meaningful as an advocacy tool.

I am exhausted.