Reading Time: < 1 min In the book Overcoming Bias, authors Tiffany Jana and Matthew Freeman make an interesting observation that I tend to agree with: The world certainly has bad guys who come along now and then, but most of the time there are only protagonists – and everyone is fighting for what they think is right. Particularly in […]
Argue like the Wright brothers
Reading Time: < 1 min Wilbur and Orville Wright were famous for their arguments, but they did it in a great way. Rather than ever attacking each other personally, they attacked the viewpoints of one another, freeing them to dig in deep. As much as they respected one another, they were open to new ideas which sometimes led to comical […]
Joe Rogan doesn’t have a podcast
Reading Time: < 1 min Joe Rogan used to have one of the most popular podcasts on the internet, but in mid-2020 he signed an exclusive deal with Spotify, reportedly for $100M. Therein lies the problem. I don’t fault Joe for taking the deal. If Spotify offered me $100M for almost anything, I’d do it. However, I love the open […]
Get all of the best apps, or just use a spork?
Reading Time: 2 min There’s a cycle that I constantly go through with the apps that I use. For a while I’ll find new apps that do a great job at a specific purpose, realize I have too many, and then combine them by using one mediocre “do everything” app. It’s like the choice between using a fork and […]
Making RSS about people
Reading Time: 2 min I’ve been talking about RSS feeds for about 13 years now, and have been using them much longer than that. I recently suggested that most everyone should be using them, and you can see how they fit into my larger system here. That said, I’m constantly adjusting how I use them, which is part of […]
Don’t wait for inspiration to strike
Reading Time: < 1 min There are times when I find it difficult to come up with a subject to write about on here, but the solution isn’t too difficult — just dive in. In the book The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, he shares a great example: Someone once asked Somerset Maugham if he wrote on a schedule […]
Beat Saber is a fun workout
Reading Time: < 1 min I heard about Beat Saber a few years ago — think “Guitar Hero” but you swing virtual light sabers at notes instead of playing them on a plastic guitar. My wife got me an Oculus Quest 2 for my birthday a few weeks ago, which is a VR headset with a few controllers, and it’s […]
Who do you trust?
Reading Time: < 1 min I was at a business event last year (pre-COVID) and an interesting thing happened. A few of us were chatting, when a woman came up to us with a great idea: “Let’s pass our business cards around, take photos of them, and share them on our social media accounts!“ While I’m happy to recommend businesses […]
The best design is invisible
Reading Time: < 1 min There’s a running joke with I.T. folks that they’re seen as expendable, because people often only see them one of two ways: All systems are running great, so why do we have I.T.? Things are broken, so why do we have I.T.? Similar are sound techs at a concert. They’re completely invisible, and often underappreciated, […]
Thomas Edison was bad at math
Reading Time: 2 min Thomas Edison was famously bad at math (he said he had a “distaste” for it), but math was essential to much of the work he did. Rather than force himself to learn it better, he focused where he excelled, and hired mathematicians to assist with his work. Who built your mouse? Related, Matt Ridley has […]