Running Around in Squares

Here are a couple animated videos that poke fun at the arguments we all have for switching to a Mac or Linux.

Switch to mac animation

Switch to Linux animation


And being a Mac guy myself, I had to include an anti-mac video to show I have at least a slight sense of humor on the topic. :)

What artists do with photoshop is amazing Link

Anyone remember Zork? Link

Funny tech remake of a great classic... Link

So many times we get "laser focussed" on the immediate goals and benefits of projects and acquisitions that we forget to step back and look at the big picture. Always remember that true value must also be measured at the macro view, and not just the immediate gratification micro view.  In an effort to help remind people that stepping back and looking at the big picture can be extremely useful I give you the following.

Look at the picture below. It seems slightly interesting, as if something is going on but not exactly sure what it could be. Now step back 6 feet and look at it again. That put a slightly different perspective on it huh?..



Make sure you don't miss the forest while looking at the trees...

You know your a true science geek when you get one of these Tattoos :) Link

I don't spend much time on facebook, but I got a friend request notification this morning from someone I haven't spoken to in years and lives 1000 miles away. This my friends is one of the true values of social networks. So while I was on I checked out a few groups that I had joined the day I signed up. One of the groups was Web 2.0 entrepeneurs. One of the most recent posts in the group was by Mark Fletcher. I've done a few startups and these commandments are so true that I had to repost them for all to see. Here you go.


15 Startup Commandments

1. Your idea isn't new. Pick an idea; at least 50 other people have thought of it. Get over your stunning brilliance and realize that execution matters more.

2. Stealth startups suck. You're not working on the Manhattan Project, Einstein. Get something out as quickly as possible and promote the hell out of it.

3. If you don't have scaling problems, you're not growing fast enough.

4. If you're successful, people will try to take advantage of you. Hope that you're in that position, and hope that you're smart enough to not fall for it.

5. People will tell you they know more than you do. If that's really the case, you shouldn't be doing your startup.

6. Your competition will inflate their numbers. Take any startup traffic number and slash it in half. At least.

7. Perfection is the enemy of good enough. Leonardo could paint the Mona Lisa only once. You, Bob Ross, can push a bug release every 5 minutes because you were at least smart enough to do a web app.

8. The size of your startup is not a reflection of your manhood. More employees does not make you more of a man (or woman as the case may be).

9. You don't need business development people. If you're successful, companies will come to you. The deals will still be distractions and not worth doing, but at least you're not spending any effort trying to get them.

10. You have to be wrong in the head to start a company. But we have all the fun.

11. Starting a company will teach you what it's like to be a manic depressive. They, at least, can take medication.

12. Your startup isn't succeeding? You have two options: go home with your tail between your legs or do something about it. What's it going to be?

13. If you don't pay attention to your competition, they will turn out to be geniuses and will crush you. If you do pay attention to them, they will turn out to be idiots and you will have wasted your time. Which would you prefer?

14. Startups are not a democracy. Want a democracy? Go run for class president, Bueller.

15. You're doing a web app, right? This isn't the 1980s. Your crummy, half-assed web app will still be more successful than your competitor's most polished software application.



10 More Startup Commandments

1. You will have at least one catastrophe every three months.

2. Outsource effectively, or be effectively outsourced.

3. Do you thrive on stress and ambiguity? You'd better.

4. The best way to get outside funding is to be successful already. Stupid but true. But you, cheapskate, don't need money, right?

5. People will think your idea sucks. They're even probably right. The only way to prove them wrong is to succeed.

6. A startup will require your complete attention and devotion. Thought your first love in High School was clingy? You can't take out a restraining order on your startup.

7. Being an entrepreneur requires a healthy amount of ignorance. Note I did not say stupidity.

8. Your software sucks. So what. Everyone else's does also, and re-architecting is the kiss of death for a startup. Startups are no place for architecture astronauts.

9. You do have a public API, right?

10. Abject Terror. Overwhelming Joy. Monstrous Greed. Embrace and harness these emotions you must.


- Mark Fletcher ( http://www.startupping.com/ )
~Founder of Bloglines.com

Giving presentation on Amazons Elastic Computing Cloud at the Nashville Java Users Group next week. Link

met a google recruiter last week. she said they get 15k resumes a week.wow...

It is absolutely amazing what can be done with a piece of paper. Link

I am feeling very inspired today!!!

• LiveMocha(tm) : Lesson Plan
  (tags: language, french)

On a daily basis, many of us find ourselves being pulled in multiple directions. Be it competing priorities or just too many tasks with not enough time to adequately complete any one of them. The more directions we get pulled in, the more we stretch ourselves thin. Just like pulling at silly putty.....

This life lesson is compliments of my 9 year old daughter Cierra.

startup camp is coming to NYC! Link

distinct or extinct!!!

I have come to the conclusion that I am a happy person. It didn't take much work to come to that conclusion, after I spent some time determining a definition for happy so I could do an appropriate evaluation. Each one of us will have a different definition of the word happy, so I won't bore you with the details of mine.

That being said, what I do what to share are some of the things that I believe helped me achieve happiness. Of course this is not an exhaustive list, but it should at least give you a understanding of how to get pointed in the right direction.

My Top 10 Tips for a Happy Life

1. Learn to play a musical instrument.
2. Acquire a taste for warm soda and black coffee. This simplifies life on many different levels.
3. Combine all of your email addresses into just one.
4. Call or email someone once a week just to say hello.
5. Feel free to just let pieces of your past go.
6. Find the one person who makes you happy most of the time and smile because they are "the one".
7. Change is unavoidable. Embrace it on every level.
8. Sleep on really comfortable sheets. (At least 900 thread count)
9. Always be ready to alter your original plan. (See item 7 for justification)
10. Wear comfortable socks!