Author: Ken Del Piero

. Resources . . . and using time to create or convert them . . .   Britain’s Prime Minister before and at the beginning of World War II was Neville Chamberlain.  He was Prime Minister for three years, from May 1937 to May 1940.  For anyone who knows a little about the history of… Continue reading Resources:  When you don’t have them . . .   stall for time! 

.. . Carl Sagan was an astronomer, an astrophysicist, and a scientist, in the best sense of the word.  He had a passion for knowledge, the truth, and science and became famous as a communicator, working to bring the concepts and methods of science to a wider audience.    “Not explaining science seems to me… Continue reading Carl Sagan on Science:  Knowledge versus Belief

The Global Greens Charter lists six guiding principles — ecological wisdom, social justice, participatory democracy, nonviolence, sustainability, and respect for diversity.   Examining these green principles, a case can be made that, by its extant values, Canada already aspires to be a “green” country.  Imperfect, slow, with miss-steps, we have evolved as a diverse country,… Continue reading Why the Green Party might choose to support some very “un-green” things,     . . . like defence 

                 *                                                *                                             … Continue reading Follow the Money . . . or the art of “Forensic Strategy Analysis” 

Sun Tzu is, perhaps, recognized as the earliest “Master of Strategy.”  2,500 years ago, he famously wrote that the highest achievement in war is to win without fighting.   Pacifists might rejoice . . .   but perhaps they shouldn’t — Sun Tzu still intends to “steal your lunch.” How did he intend to achieve… Continue reading Sun Tzu at the Keyboard:  What would the “Master of Strategy” do with the internet?  

“Choosing” — deciding how to allocate finite, limited resources is a central, recurring theme in these explorations.   To recap some previous thoughts, there are perhaps three components to making good decisions:   Information — we need data and facts. Critical thinking — we need to be able to discern which facts are important and… Continue reading Critical Thinking and Allocating Resources:  Heat-Recovery Drains – A Case Study

. In the summer of 2010, driving our family on a cross-country trip to the west coast, we were working our way through the seemingly endless stretch of northern Ontario on the two-lane highway that passes for the “Trans-Canada.”  As just a “road,” it’s not terrible.  It’s maintained, well-paved, and has passing lanes every 10… Continue reading Allocating Resources: The Trans-Canada Highway

. . . . There has been a sizeable gap in my postings.  While I have continued exploring and jotting down ideas, I just haven’t posted them.  I have also disabled the comments function.   It seems this little blog has been subject to a small, almost trivial, “denial of resources.”  The facts: Before February… Continue reading Strategy – Experienced?

. Vicious circle – A sequence of reciprocal cause and effect in which two or more elements intensify and aggravate each other, leading inexorably to a worsening of the situation. Virtuous circle – A recurring cycle of events with each one having a beneficial effect on the next. Fifteen years after the end of the… Continue reading Resources – Virtuous versus Vicious Circles:  A Case Study

. James Clavell, author of a number of elaborate novels set in the Orient including Shogun, Tai-Pan, Gai-jin, and Noble House, edited a modern translation of Sun Tzu’s book, The Art of War.  In the foreword he refers to it as “this extraordinary book” and a “work of genius.”  He writes:   “Like Machiavelli’s The… Continue reading Precedents – Masters of Strategy:  Sun Tzu and The Art of War