Shark Strong

August 13, 2025

Everyone knows sharks have to keep moving or they'll die.

It's one of those "facts" that sounds profound until you realize it's mostly wrong. Most sharks can actually stop swimming just fine. But the myth persists because it feels true about something else entirely.

Like what society expects from people over 50.

Next week, I turn 55. Back in the day, that was retirement age. Had I begun my career at a safe government job, I'd be preparing to cash out with a nice pension by now. But no, I won't be retiring next week.

In fact, the past four months have been among the most productive of my entire career. Using AI coding tools, I've enhanced my QR Cards system with an entire range of new capabilities, including dynamic templates, adaptive experiences, context intelligence, and rich analytics. That's opened up infinite possibilities.

The resulting solution will help solve a paradox: We live in an age of infinite information but finite attention.

I came up with the idea for QR Cards working at Seattle Convention Center as an Admission Attendant. Someone asks for suggestions for lunch, and the next thing you know, both of you have your phones out looking up places on Google Maps. It works fine, but that's a full 30 to 60 seconds in which you're not having a real conversation or paying full attention to your surroundings. That's two people, two phones, two attention spans diverted from human connection.

There's a much better way: If you already know what someone's likely to ask, why not prepare the answers in advance?

QR Cards make it simple for anyone to share curated information with a single scan of a QR Code. Share from a pre-printed card or a digital card, and your guest receives quality information in milliseconds, no login required. You can share a card that instantly delivers your curated picks along with the context your guest actually needs. Your attention stays on the conversation, the relationship, the moment -- while the information gets delivered more effectively than any search could manage.

I envisioned QR Cards for a year, rebuilt the entire thing in four months, and now I'm feeling like an apex predator with an appetite.

Real sharks don't swim constantly. They swim efficiently, conserving energy for the moments that matter. They position themselves in currents that do most of the work. They strike when conditions are optimal.

Shark week?

No way.

SHARK STRONG