Tools ... progress ...

"Long Islanders are gloomy and how they feel about their future is sobering. Clearly without active participation by Long Islanders, the regional economy can’t be expected to grow."

... and without a dynamic system which allows the participation of Long Islanders, from all walks of life, we can not expect the region to grow ....

This is the main thrust of the "One Long Island" series of concepts.

We can't expect a "spontaneous organizational" event to occur. We must give our citizens the tools and a framework within which to utilize these tools.

Then we will see progress.

Another barrier falls ..

"Seven of the world’s top 10 supercomputers use standard chips from A.M.D. and Intel, as do about 90 percent of the 500 fastest machines. “I think this says that supercomputing technology is affordable,” said Margaret Lewis, an A.M.D. director. “We are kind of getting away from this ivory tower.”

Yet another barrier falls in the effort to create a "meta-planning" project on Long Island ....

Citizen Alert Network redux ...

"The Nassau County Legislature unanimously approved a bill Monday creating a Silver Alert system for reporting elderly people who wander away, similar to an Amber Alert system in place for missing children.

"It was an idea that had been percolating in my mind since last year, when an old and dear friend of mine, Hal Doliner, got the car keys and drove off and ended up killing himself in a one-car accident," Legis. Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn) said after the vote.

"We have had too many cases of older people wandering off and winding up in hospitals before they are reunited with their families," Wink said.

The bill requires Nassau County police to establish a registry into which families can put the names of adults with Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Police would send out immediate alerts to the media, hospitals and other police departments if they are reported missing."

Here is another worthwhile program disconnected from other similar (Amber Alert etc) ideas.

If the county (and government in general, Long Island in particular) could establish a "set of flexible standards" as proposed here with the "Citizen Alert Network" along with other One Long Island collaborative ideas, it would be a simple matter for the police department to have this program up immediately upon passage.

Life Imitates Mathematics

I viewed this program last evening on the Mandelbrot set and was struck by the "common sense" implications a mathematical theorem has on life, social organization, and in general, how all things are created and are "self-organized" from simple beginnings.

Which led me to think that if we on Long Island can create the right set of circumstances for positive change, positive change will not only occur but remain "self organized" and "self renewing."

Not that we are remotely in the same league as Benoit Mandelbrot but what we are proposing with Long Island 3.o, the Long Island Congress, the Long Island Constitution and Long Island Meta-democracy is similar to this concept.

"A body in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted on by an outside force"

If we can construct a set of circumstances on Long Island for positive change, then the positive change should continue unless interrupted by something highly unusual since, if done properly, Long Island 3.o should be pretty well protected from the run-of-the-mill "outside forces."

Long Island 3.0 Problem Solving: Part One

The above chart (click for larger image) is an initial conceptual diagram of how Long Island 3.0 might be used to arrive at a rational decision on a particular issue.

"Knowledge, the object of knowledge and the knower are the three factors which motivate action; the senses, the work and the doer comprise the threefold basis of action." - Bhagavad Gita (400BC) Sanskrit Poem incorporated into the Mahabharata

Good work on Long Island

Some good thinking at the United Way of Long Island. 

Yes, we should learn how to be more efficient within our own sphere of expertise. But we need more. We need a multi-disciplinary approach for Long Island as proposed in Long Island Congress and Long Island 3.0. 

It is good that the United Way is getting the process started in their field, but it will only be a part of the solution unless coordinated with other elements of Long Island society. The same can be said for other efforts underway aimed at "consolidation." 

As we have stated before, one may "consolidate" in different ways. Consolidating functions and organizations may be a part of the solution if it makes sense after an unbiased empirical analysis. But "consolidating" how one approaches problems and arrives at solutions into a "unified theory of regional coordination" will have a longer and more positive effect on Long Island. 

No form of consolidation will eliminate the desire for people and organizations to express their ideas and try to do a better job, nor should it. Consolidation, in any form, should not stifle creativity and original thought.

The consolidation we are speaking about in our "unified theory"  is a process. We are giving people and organizations the tools they need to cooperative voluntarily, while enabling original thought and growth. "Give a man a fish, and you've given him a meal. Teach him to fish, and he'll have food for a lifetime."

Some other good work being done here at  Long Island biz2biz.com  and 411 Karma.com (in fact I would encourage the United Way to look into this concept as a part of its mission).

I believe both sites, and the United Way, would benefit from the Long Island Common API(s) idea we offered some time ago (among many other ideas available on this blog and elsewhere we can use to form a common Long Island language).

We need to speak the same language (or at least have competent interpreters!) if we are going to communicate in a positive and productive manner.

Static Thinking versus Dynamic Thinking

A few more examples of "static" thinking here, here and here. Not bad ideas, just limited.

As we explored in 1993 and more recently here and here among many other posts, the key to change is cooperation and "dynamic interaction."

Change is a continuous process and public officials as well as others need the tools and the correct approach to problem solving to create good, comprehensive public policy.

Reports and commissions are helpful. But if the information is not dynamic, it still may have some result, but it will never be a long term building block for sustainable growth and change.

The LI Regional Planning Board has an interesting proposal here on affordable housing.

Unfortunately we do not yet have a comprehensive method for analyzing all these potentially good ideas as a unified concept. Long Island 3.0 is one possible solution.

Common API: Part Two

Common or shared or open API are part of the process for producing usable data for productive analysis. "Recycling" analysis and policy determinations back into the mix are essential for maintaining the validity of current policies.

The above graphic is a preliminary look at the process. Click on it for a larger view.

Common Formulae: Part Two

I saw this company featured on PBS last night in a program on renewable energy. I'm sure there are similar companies, but this one was singled out as being effective.

It got me thinking whether there is a formula that would fit this aspect of Long Island's health into the Long Island 2.0 concept (among other concepts we've explored).

Maybe in part the formula can be constructed as follows:

If there are x number of government-education-other public buildings and there is y square feet of available space for solar panels then Long Island public facilities can generate z amount of power at bb rate minus cost of installation/cost of power and or federal or state subsidies (if any).

Of course the PBS program focused on how Sun Edison worked with local business to lessen the impact of peak power needs, so this partial formula could be applied there as well.

Here is LIPA's current solar energy program. I don't know how they determine the upside of solar or if a program like Sun Edison's is permissible in New York State.

All information is welcome.

Also look at MathML an XML based application which may be useful in constructing and implementing common formulae.