Weekly Download 15.14

Here’s a recap of news and notes from around the Web that caught my attention over the past week or so. There’s a theme: feeling nostalgic for simpler things and simpler times.

Change doesn’t come easy. With Remembering When Driverless Elevators Drew Skepticism, NPR draws on history to make an excellent point. If it took 45 years and a major strike by elevator operators to drive automation, what are all of the hurdles to overcome with autonomous cars?

Many friends and colleagues know I like to doodle, and have frequently used hand-drawn diagrams to make a point rather than spending a lot of time with computer tools to draw the same.  Simple diagrams and infographics intrigue me. Here are a couple of excellent examples:

• Virtually everything posted on Indexed, and a recent favorite card titled Arts & Sciences
• Sketch Guy: Personal Finance on a Napkin

There is a lot of hype, but Myths about millenials provides data that says we might be just creating our own stories from broad generalizations. Good advice here:

“To get the most out of young workers, it may in fact be wiser to put less emphasis on collaboration and corporate do-goodery, and more on rewarding individual performance and providing clear paths to career progress. Companies need to recognise that individual differences are always bigger than generational differences.”

Vacation planning Before Google Maps was quite a time-intensive, manual process. I remember my grandfather using AAA TripTik booklets during their driving trips throughout the lower 48 in his semi-retirement and retirement years. In just a few short months, the 630 mapping strips will no longer be manufactured. RIP, AAA TripTiks.