Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Hiking the kalualua trail
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Reblog: The Free Internet Act
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AVc/~3/AHGgr2xVLQo/the-free-internet-act.html
"When an important piece of legislation is drafted in secrecy, such that Senators and their staff members don't even know what is going to be in it, and then is put out for voting on a very fast track, people are going to be suspicious. And suspicious citizens don't make for a healthy democracy."
Basketball net will rate the force of dunks during Slam Dunk Contest
Sometimes power dunks don't get much credit, because it's hard to see on television how hard the ball was thrown down. The MIT Media Lab created a net to fix that, and we'll get to see it in action this Saturday during the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.
MIT Media Lab used conductive thread to generate a reading for the force of every slam thrown down. The fabric, as flexible as the nylon in conventional basketball nets, has long been valued for its ability to transmit electrical signals in products ranging from winter gloves to high-tech carpets. By spinning the thread through a regular basketball net and connecting it to a computer chip, mounted behind the backboard, that renders the force in a graphical output, MIT and Turner have at long last found a way to instantaneously transmit the force of a dunk from the rim to your television screen.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Facebook = Clutter
God bless them for running so many advertisements - they have a business to run after all. And I'm a huge fan. It's still my main place for catching up with friends and it's been invaluable for spreading the word, and generating donations for Ben's Friends. I think it accounts for something like 25% of our new visitors now...But I think we are approaching the Yahoo/Lycos portal ad overreach of the early 2000's now. Just take a second to soak in that page for a second. Facebook is making tons of money so I doubt there will be any changes, but I think the service is starting to degrade.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
'Mad Men' Unzips Christina Hendricks' Season 5 Promo (Exclusive Video) - Hollywood Reporter
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/mad-men-season-5-christina-hendricks-joan-is-back-293228
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
I tried to watch Game of Thrones and this is what happened - The Oatmeal
Monday, February 20, 2012
9 Businesses on Vimeo
9 Businesses on Vimeo:
9 Businesses from 4exit4 on Vimeo.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday Brunch - February 19, 2012
- Music Lessons by Seth Godin - long, expansive post about the lessons we can all learn from the demise of the music business. The passage on cannibalization really resonates with me. Since I've grown up professionally in the tech world, where you pretty much have to cannibalize your own services, so much of this feels like common sense, but it's not for the rest of the world.
- How Companies Learn Your Secrets - Marketers are getting more and more open about what they know about you. The anecdote about how Target knew a teen girl was pregnant before her father did is mind blowing.
- An Open Letter to AJ Burnett by Mark Lisanti - every sports fan has wanted to write an angry goodbye letter to the free agent that didn't work out. Mark does it here in his own beautiful style.
- Jon Stewart's Innocuous Groin Hugging Joke - more Lisanti. Great find on a quick clip.
- Metro Theater will Work Out - pretty excited that an Equinox is going into the abandoned theater down the block. San Francisco has a lot these neighborhood theaters. Since I've lived here, they have all pretty much gone bust. It's nice to see the neighborhood will get another infusion of energy...and a clean place to work out!
- Too Good For Your Customers - good advice on communication with your customers. Include your email address. It's better than any market research could ever be.
- Reasons Why I Don't Let My Girlfriend Play With My XBox - funny and sadly true for many gamers. :)
- Henry Miller's Writing Commandments - more good advice.
- Removing Something Before Deadline - Most people rush to finish things before deadline. We should be doing the opposite.
- Diamond Foods -What the Press Release Doesn't Say - sadly I was duped in one of my personal investments, Diamond Foods. Turns out the CEO had been shifting supply payments to land just outside a quarter, which artificially inflates earnings.
- World Press Photos of the Year - fantastic pictures from 2011. One of the best collections I've seen.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Costner on Whitney Houston
Friday, February 17, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Correlated
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Meg Donohue's How to Eat a Cupcake: A Novel
Anyways, check out Meg's book. It's a guaranteed winner.
Monday, February 13, 2012
NBA Draft Preview 2010: Jeremy Lin, G Harvard | Hoops Analyst
"After John Wall there are no sure things. Jeremy Lin might be the #2 PG available in this draft. He looks to me like a sleeper in the mold of George Hill. He appears to have the skills to become at least a usable combo guard. If he can get the passing thing down and handle the point, Jeremy Lin is a good enough player to start in the NBA and possibly star."
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sunday Brunch - February 12, 2012
- Peanuts - great, short post showing how much crap (i.e. corn starch) finds it's way into something as simple as Peanuts. I've been trying really hard to avoid corn starch and I feel better.
- The Lesson of Steve Jobs - An entrepreneur leaves his very successful startup because it's ruining his personal life. Great perspective.
- A Softer World - great advice. In photo format.
- Boney Money Brown - loved this guide to your "Blues Name." Mine is Blind Killer King. :)
- Bags to Riches - the story of a terrific young entrepreneur (18 years old) who is recycling conference bags to give to the less fortunate. Akbar is an incredible young man.
- The Rise of the iPad - mobile traffic is exploding. Every site needs a mobile strategy these days.
- The Allegory of the Hike to LA - Why Development Estimates are Always Off - fantastic post on software development and why it (or really any complicated task) always takes a much longer than expected.
- Stinky Farts - great poll from Correlated. :)
- Life Lessons for Jake - great post by my buddy Scott for his son.
- State's With the Highest Voter Turnout... - linked through my buddy Alex Bain. Great idea on re-arranging primary schedules.
- The Artificiality of Time - Seth Godin is
writeright, determining your time horizon on any project is a key to success. With Ben's Friends, we're not in a hurry, and it makes the little bumps a lot easier to get through.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
B.S. Report: Larry Bird - The Triangle Blog - Grantland
Friday, February 10, 2012
Friday Chill Music - February 10, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Kenny Powers of 'Eastbound & Down' sends an open letter to Tim Tebow - Grantland
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Your not-so-secret iPhone address book
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Revolutions: Because it's Friday: Star Wars, remixed
Revolutions: Because it's Friday: Star Wars, remixed:
Monday, February 6, 2012
Give me spark - (37signals)
"Some of the best decisions and designs at 37signals have emerged from intensely contested debates. Not just between Jason and me, but from anyone in the company. When sparks fly, some truly great ideas come to light.
The catch is that the heat must arise around the decision itself. Debates go off track when personal biases or old grudges come into play. So long as each party sticks to the merits, adding some fire will only unearth new angles and concerns."
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Sunday Brunch - February 5, 2012
- Will Energy Consumption Stay Private - Thought provoking article on energy use and transparency on energy usage by Seth Godin. Everything else is becoming public, and I think this will too. That's a good thing.
- In Search of the Elusive Pitching Prospect - Major League Baseball pitchers are like startups. It's almost impossible to project their success, until they start succeeding.
- People Who Use Pinterest - this really funny. In case you don't know, Pinterest is one of the hottest web services in the world and it skews dramatically female.
- Red State Socialism - it turns out that most of the states that skew Republican, get more in Federal benefits than they put in via taxes. That would be fine if they weren't so worried about Socialism. :)
- Does My Butt Look Fat in This? - great investing article on Lululemon and the perils of betting against the fashion tastes of women.
- How Carbs Make You Fat - great infographic.
- Novita Knows - my good friend Lauren is now blogging. She has great fashion sense and is worth the read.
- Watching Apple Win the World - interesting perspective from a group that supported Apple in the early 2000's because they made the best computers. They still make the best computers but it's weird for this group to now be in the majority. Kind of like your favorite Indie Band making it big. Then what do you do?
- How Netflix is Helping Hollywood Ruin DVD's - so true, and smart by Netflix. They have 20M digital subscribers. Hollywood can't ignore a customer base that big.
- Morton Kamien's Obituary - I was saddened this week when a Kellogg classmate passed on the obituary of Professor Mort Kamien. He lived an incredible life including escaping Hitler's troops by running through underground tunnels at the age of 4 in his native Poland. He grew up in NYC and made his way to Chicago to help start Kellogg's Decision Sciences & Macro Econ programs. That's where I met him when I took his Macro Econ class. I believe it was the last class he ever taught, retiring in 2007. We weren't especially close, but I loved going to his class. He liked handling off the cuff questions from students and I gladly fired away. I remember one day he was complaining about something and saying he should already be retired. So I raised my hand and asked why he hadn't retired yet. We both knew the answer and he smiled at me. Professor Kamien loved teaching and I'm proud to have had him as a teacher.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Jill & Andrew's Rehearsal Dinner
Btw- Did I mention I was second in the EBAL in free throw shooting in 1995?
Thursday, February 2, 2012
PaperWheel's Groundhog Day Card
Thanks Elizabeth. You make beautiful Letterpress! Check out Elizabeth's Paperwheel store if you get a few seconds.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Letters of Note: To My Old Master
"In August of 1865, a Colonel P.H. Anderson of Big Spring, Tennessee, wrote to his former slave, Jourdan Anderson, and requested that he come back to work on his farm. Jourdan — who, since being emancipated, had moved to Ohio, found paid work, and was now supporting his family — responded spectacularly by way of the letter seen below (a letter which, according to newspapers at the time, he dictated)."