digitalMoto.net

Intersting… I have not gotten through the entire article/interview. I am not sure if I could ever work in a place like that…

Life at Google – The Microsoftie Perspective

Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.

Demosthenes

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As I rolled the DL out of the garage this morning, I notice my odometer: 12345. Humph. 15 minutes later, I’m in front of my keyboard, checking my email, ignoring my voicemail, wondering if my cell phone will make it through another day. It has been crapping out on me, so each day is an adventure. “Will it work?” “Do I just think it is working, when it really isn’t?” This whole issue has caused a lot of frustration for everyone. I can’t call out. I answer a call and don’t hear anyone on the other end. I call and they don’t hear me. My email doesn’t work. Then it downloads everything within a 10 minute window. Text messages work, then don’t work. It is all intermittent and very unpredictable. Honestly, I rather be wrapped in leather, eyes focused on the apex, twisting the throttle, with WASP humming through my Shures. I’d rather be without a cell phone, lost in my own thoughts and ideas, going “that way” without design or worry. I need a road trip. I need to turn off the systems and disappear into a series of mountain passes with high lean angles.

Soon…

Speaking of which, I need to buy another pair of headphones. I noticed cracks in the housing of my Shure e2 headphones. (link) The e2s are relatively cheap and work great on a bike. They slide into my ear canal allowing my helmet for slide over my ears without snagging. They do block a huge amount of ambient noise. The headphones work so well, I can keep the volumes fairly low. I can and have used them for ear plugs when my batteries have died or I just want quiet. And finally they sound great. I usually strip down my encoding to 96Kbps. Why should I push more data than I can hear or load up my mp3 players with extra data? The end result is that I get more music on my mp3 players. The quality is good. I’m happy.

This week has been interesting. I was pulled into an Internet development meeting on Tuesday. The department head asked me to join him in this meeting. I had 5 minutes notice. I walk in, sit down, crack open a Red Bull and start listening. Within 10 minutes, everyone was turned, facing me as I rattled off solutions to the various challenges the team leader was facing. A 30 minute meeting took 90. I am now the IT point-man for this project. Our new corporate Internet site is being designed by an outside firm, but implementation will be governed by IT. I am pushing to have our entire ‘net presence considered. I would like to see an overview of all projected web development for the next 5 years. Micro site, corporate Internet, extranets, Intranet, etc. If we have such a plan, then the order of precedence will be much easier to determine. I could ramble on, but I won’t.

Now, how can I pawn off my other development projects so that I can focus on Internet work full-time? Hmm…

You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.

Indira Gandhi

The most effective way to do it, is to do it.

Amelia Earhart

The way to succeed is to double your error rate.

Thomas J. Watson

Thomas John Watson, Sr. was the president of International Business Machines (IBM), who oversaw that company’s growth into an international force from the 1920s to the 1950s. (Link)

Yesterday was the summer solstice, which usually requires some outdoor activity, since I live in front of a monitor all day, every day. This self-imposed requirement is a good thing. I rode the FJR out to Bald Peak, through Laurelwood and up to Forrest Grove. Basically, I returned to some of my old haunts.

I am starting to be concerned about my right leg. When I crashed on my mountain bike I rotated my foot in the wrong direction when I ejected from my pedals. Read more…

It is well that war is so terrible. We should grow too fond of it.

Robert E. Lee

The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.

Carl Sagan

My computer beat me at checkers, but I sure beat it at kickboxing.

Emo Philips

The study by TÜV Rheinland looked at inkjet efficiency across multiple brands, including Epson (who commissioned the study), Lexmark, Canon, HP, Kodak, and Brother. They studied the efficiency of both single and multi-ink cartridges. Espon’s printers were among the highest rated, at more than 80 percent efficiency using single-ink cartridges. Kodak’s Easyhare 5300 was panned as the worst printer tested, wasting 64 percent of its ink in tests. TÜV Rheinland measured cartridge weights before and after use, stopping use when printers reported that they were out of ink.

Link

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Arthur C. Clarke

Mine is the Dark Art of our age. Do you understand pixel dynamics, electron flow, binary math, or null as a meaningful value? I do. I read books on logic for ‘fun’ and I love to write code. Seeing my code run on hundreds of machines, without users even realizing it’s there is a thrill for me. I want technology to be transparent for my users. You don’t want or need to know how my code runs. You should only care that it runs, does its job, and doesn’t restrict your ability to function. It is the same way for me in other arenas of my life. I don’t really care about how the carbon fibre was laid-up to create my mountain bike. I only care that it works, every time, without fail.

The general insanity continues…

A couple of weeks ago, I went down to see my Mom. We had talked through email and she had said she wanted to make me dinner. I arrived around 18:30 after a grueling rush hour drive across the southern part of the Portland metro. (By comparison it only takes my about an hour to get home and my apartment is about 15 miles farther away.) I walk in and she is sitting in her chair. I say hello. She says hello. “Do you have your list?” My mom always keeps a list of chores for me to do when I come down. “I don’t know.” “Ok. I’ll take care of the dogs first.” I take care of the dogs. When I come back in my mom hasn’t moved from her chair. This isn’t normal. Normally, she gets up as soon as I arrive and she starts getting dinner ready. Not today. “What do you want to do about dinner?” “I don’t know.” “Are you feeling OK?” “I don’t know.” “How long have you been feeling this way?” “I don’t know.” “Have you taken your meds today?” “I don’t know.” And that was one too many of those for me. “We’re going to the ER.” It took me a few minutes to get her up and into her car. I zoomed over to the hospital, at over 85 on the freeway. Read more…

From Stefan Sagmeister @ TED

• Complaining is silly. Either act or forget.
• Thinking life will be better in the future is stupid. I have to live now.
• Being not truthful works against me.
• Organizing a charity group is surprisingly easy.
• Drugs feel great is the beginning and become a drag later on.
• Over time, I get used to everything and start taking it for granted.
• Money does not make me happy.
• Traveling alone is helpful for a new perspective on life.
• Assuming is stifling.
• Keeping a diary supports my personal development.
• Trying to look good limits my life.
• Worrying solves nothing.
• Material luxuries are best enjoyed in small doses.
• Having guts always works out for me.