January 2009
2 posts
June 2008
1 post
Give them what they want!
I think it is sometimes easy to confuse what consumers want vs. what they will put up with.
A funny example of this occurred on a panel that I participated on the other day. One of the panelists was arguing that consumers want shorter and shorter snippets of video to watch. To support the argument he pointed to broadcast television and noted that 30 minute shows used to have 27 minutes of...
May 2008
4 posts
Get happy
I’m really surprised by people who seem chronically unhappy with their work or other situations for that matter. I have distilled my advice down to two choices. 1) Get happy or 2) Get out I realize that not everyone is in a situation where quitting is a reasonable option and the work/situation really does suck. But most people I encounter who are vocal in their complaints do have a...
“A situation is what you make of it. Not what it makes of you.”
– John Challis, 18. Suffering from terminal cancer but making the most of the time he has left. He’s a courageous young man.
Yes We Can
In fact we must. Barack really sounded like he was ready for the general election last night. I’m so ready for him to be President. I think the whole world is.
You can't blame your work
I was running this weekend, and crossed paths with a *really* large dude riding his bike in the other direction. As he rode past, he sort of shrugged and said “I wish I could blame it on my job”… It was a funny, out of the blue thing to say, but I took it to mean that the guy realized at some point that being healthy is a choice that isn’t mutually exclusive from having a...
April 2008
11 posts
Tri* Crash Course: Day 2**
Biked 7 miles - 18.75MPH Ran 2 miles - 6.5 MPH *Sprint Tri is nothing like the Iron Man. It is .5 mile swim + 12 mile bike ride + 3 mile run… **So far, all training has been in gym with no incline. actual real world results will vary ;-)
Yesterday's Training
Biked 6 miles at 18MPH pace Ran 1.5 Miles at 6.5MPH pace Gotta pick it up.
How to lose weight fast!
1) Over time, gain 15 lbs of unwanted weight. Cheer your spouse on as she trains for and competes in a sprint triathlon. 2) In August, go to a dinner party (eat and drink a lot) and in front of several friends and spouse, casually agree to do a sprint triathlon. It’s not until July, big deal. 3) Spend 7 months gaining a little more weight and exercising only very occasionally. 4a) Go to a...
bijan: Wonderwall - Cat Power There is something...
Coffee, pancakes, laughter, NYT. Good Sunday morning!
What is an idea worth?
This is a question that I’ve been pondering lately, mostly because a few ideas have sprung into my mind recently that I think might actually be good. Without good execution, even great ideas are at best abstract (which is sometimes all they need to be), and at the worst poorly realized. Also, it seems that very few ideas are unique, and given how quickly the world is shrinking, good ideas...
Getting Away is Good
A short break to someplace where the focus easily shifts away from technology and hyper-communication to the natural environment and spending quality time with people you care the most about is a wonderful tonic. I’m ready to go again.
March 2008
10 posts
Joost makes a great hire... →
Jason is a very smart guy and will bring a lot to the table at Joost. At this point, they need a lot…
uh oh. →
Hmm. I’m vaguely worried about this link, but I can’t really remember why…
make a family tree! →
Man, is Colin Powell a great speaker. I was lucky enough to see him in person and he has the kind of wisdom, gravitas and personal warmth that makes me sad that our current administration pushed him out. What a loss.
My boycott of the NBA is now official. David Stern just told Seattle that even with a $300M improvement to their arena, it is “unfit for an NBA franchise”. The league has officially jumped the shark, largely because the “product” isn’t good basketball anymore. It’s luxury boxes, fancy restaurants and other revenue generators that have created a chasm between the...
“Do, or do not. There is no try.”
– Yoda via One More Thought on Getting A VC’s Attention One of the reasons I like brad so much. He quotes Yoda in his blog posts. killer. (via bijan)
i like it when you tell me what to do
I think that Netflix was right. Recommendations should be much, much better than they are. First of all they shouldn’t feel like recommendations. They should feel like fluid programming. Second they should be informed by social graph, behavior and a deep contextualization of content.
map + photo feed = cool! →
I love the added context of geographic location. Doesn’t always match with where photo was taken, but adds to the story in some way.
(dis)connected
I need to come up with a better technique for participating in conference calls. Sitting on a call is such a painful reminder of how important non-verbal cues can be. I feel myself wondering whether people are nodding their heads or rolling their eyes when anyone including me makes a comment. It’s especially tough if every other participant is together in person. I’m beginning to...