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Tag: Bee

Bees are Not Bugs

Created by photographer Frank Jansen, the Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography.

The theme for Frank’s weekly photo challenge is “bugs”. The featured photo for this post is of a bee. Bees are not bugs.

As I mentioned in a comment when Frank published the post with the theme, all bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs. Well, that’s not entirely true. Computer software bugs are not insects but as everyone knows they are just as annoying.

True bugs are listed within the order called Hemiptera. Insects in this order are different from other insect orders, such as Hymenoptera (ants and bees), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), or Diptera (flies and mosquitoes). Ask A Biologist

I think the word bug is shorthand for “I think this thing is a nuisance“ or “I am shit-my-pants scared of this thing“. Some people like my wife see a cockroach and immediately fall apart like a four-year-old who just dropped an ice-cream cone to the floor. I think it’s learned behaviour. That same four-year-old is likely to be fearless when confronted with spiders, grasshoppers and daddy-long-legs. The insect is more at risk from unintentional death-by-curiosity in that scenario.

Some people are annoyed enough to swat every insect they encounter even if that insect is in the middle of the forest. I have a general rule. Unless I’m at threat of physical harm I leave the insect alone and I try my best to remove them (or myself) safely away from the area. My kids know that they are not allowed to kill insects that “re-occupy” our home.

I knew that it would be a challenge to find insects to photograph this weekend. It rained yesterday and this morning and I fully expected I would see nothing. But this morning while I was at the farmer’s market looking at the sunflowers I noticed this bee enjoying breakfast. Since this is a bee, not a bug, I technically failed the challenge. But there a few buyers who were bugging out over the buzzing.

Created by photographer Frank Jansen, the Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography.

There are two types of creators

For the purpose of this exercise lets say there are two types of creators which will follow later with the two types of cognitive functions involved in each: Replication Creators (RC) and Skilled Creators (SC).

If you Google something, go to a conference, or read a book and then create something from the inspiration that comes; it is replication creation (RC). Simply: I learned this from so that I could go and perform . You may have often heard the term “key-takeaways” when at a conference. What it really means is “What pieces can I use on Monday?”.

This is my current work mode. I'm in information security or better out information technology risk management. I spend most of my day thinking up ways to use technology and process to reduce information technology business risk. I think it's mostly a non-creative endeavor.

Skilled creation on the other hand is using the space between your ears like a muscle and producing something new with it without the help of someone else. It doesn't necessarily need to be groundbreaking but the key difference is that you used your brain and came up with a solution. A secondary action would bee to show what you built to the world (for their consumption) but its not necessary for the purpose of this argument.How the Internet, Dopamine and your Brain are Working Together to Screw Your Potential

This was my normal operating mode when I was a web developer. Most of my time was spent exercising my skills to develop creative ( and sometimes innovative ) solutions to my employer or client's business problems. I miss it.

I'm 48 this year. I feel that for me the web development ship has sailed. But I yearn for more creativity in my day to day work. How do I get there? I'll have to do the hard work of finding more creative solutions for my clients. Less research and more deep thinking. It's more risky. But it may ultimate provide more reward.