Now @jimcarroll.com
I've noticed a few folks on the Web have started a "NOW" page - I've seen one at MacSparky, and a few other places. It just provides an overview of *'now'( - things that are current in someone's life. It seems like a fun idea! It also seems like an alternative to posting regular updates to Facebook and such.So I decided to start my own. I'll just randomly update this on a regular basis with things I'm doing ... well ... now.
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My big book project(s)
Embracing and Escaping Mediocrity!
The big project underway is that my new book Embracing Mediocrity is now out, and I'm working on it's companion twin, Escaping Mediocrity.This has just proven to be a wildly fun project - the former lets me identify the bad behaviours I've seen companies and people undertake that hold them back from the future - and the latter is evolving into all the antidotes to those behaviors!I sure wish more people would buy the book though.
Regular updates
01
Keynotes!
This month - coming up - a keynote on the future of health & wellness for a room full of group benefit managers outside of Atlanta - and a keynote for several hundred very senior insurance executives for another event out in Carlsbad.
02
Ski season continues
It's been a heck of a winter.
I'm a member at a ski resort north of Toronto that produces a ridiculous number of world-class racers.
In fact, one of our young fellows, Jack Crawford, just won the Kitzbuhel downhill, which is the equivalent of winning the Masters in Golf.
I used Claude.AI to write a PHP script that analyzes all the GPS data collected by my Slopes and Skitracks apps. The screen shows the current stats as of Sunday, March 2, 2025. Crazy!
I had to modify the script since it showed some crazy top speeds!
03
Being Unique
This is my other book in progress.
It still needs a lot of work.
There are two basic problems.
First, my wife is working with me on the book - as she has on all 40 others - and is still editing it. She's also the Treasurer and on the Board of a very special charituy we are involved with, and that is taking much of her time.
Also, I keep finding material to add to it. This is not helping!
04
Trips I'm Planning
My keynotes have me going to Atlanta and Carlsbad this month.Fact is, I'm Canadian, and my business takes me to the US. It's a challenging time, as we all know.
My wife goes with me on the trips, so we will do a bit of golf, and catch up with an old high school friend of mine in San Diego.
What else I am up to?
Other stuff
I'm pretty convinced there is going to a recession, so I just built a new Website that outlines the talks I do in this space. It's at volatility.jimcarroll.com
I've returned to the green screen studio to film a few clips for various speaker bureaus. Here's one I did the other day.
I've been using Canva to design some pretty cool video overlays that i use with introductory video calls with potential clients. It blows them away - and is landing me gigs since they quickly learn I put in the effort. They look like full on TV chryons. Cool stuff!
I'm investing a lot of time in the Unread app - it's a tool that let's me quickly access the RSS feed of Websites I want to follow. It's like building my own little social media network - lots of online social networks have become toxic, and I;'m finding this to be a good way tio track ifnormation i want to track and stay up to date
What else I am up to?
Other stuff
I'm waiting for the weather to warm up so I can put the new bumper sticker I ordered for my car. It reads "All I wanted was an electric car. I didn't sign up for the other stuff." I considered selling the car, but decided to hang in for a time. I'm very sad.
I continue to work with my Factiva AI summary project - it's a Node.js app that grabs email from news alerts I get from my paid research services, and summarize the full length articles into digestible formats.
I reminded myself I didn't need to cancel my Washington Post subscription since i cancelled it many months ago.
I finalized moving all my websites out of Vultr into Hetzner
I'm working in implementing a ChangeDetection.io service; this came at the request of my son.
I decided to pay for a full year subscription to Claude.AI - I'm finding it to be really useful in helping me write PHP and Python code for various little projects, or acting as 'tech support' for the ridiculous number of Linux servers I have in my home.
*Books in progress
I'm a skimmer reader. At any one moment in time, I've got multiple books on the go,Here's what's current.
Space stuff!
I've seen two shuttle launches, including one where I was with the family of the Canadian astroinaut Dave Williams. I've read a lot about Challenger and watched the documentaries, but this one is really good.
More Space Stuff!
This is related to the space program - it's the story of Wehner Von Braun and other scientists, who were instrumental in building the US space program.
In the Enemy's House
A spy story related to the infamous American spies, the Rosenbergs. Seems timely.
The Disappearing Spoon
"And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements". A complicted book of science. Not sure I'm into it yet!
Future planning
On my birthday, April 14, I typically have my pool open. I'm in Ontario, Canada, and so this is somewhat weather dependent!This year might be a bit of a challenge - there's a lot of snow on it. March usually warms up pretty quick, though, so I'll have to see how things unfold.I don't quite like March into April - it's in between the end of ski season and before golf starts fully. The result is that i call it "The Season of Gloom."