If the cost associated with complaining is eliminated does that mean that negative reviews become worthless?
If the cost associated with complaining is eliminated does that mean that negative reviews become worthless?
I’ve been through a number of start-ups and friends of mine are still toiling through theirs. And although I have rejoined their ranks as a CTO in a research-oriented startup I don’t miss the turmoil associated with trying to please investors, customers, and employees all before you have a product. Especially when it seems that you don’t get to include yourself in that mix of who has to be pleased. Like most geeky types I’ve been watched the Star Wars series repeatedly. My kids watch the original three at least twice a year, with my son and I’ve come to notice something: Darth Vader is a venture capitalist. Now, you may think me nuts — I’ve been called that before, usually before heading off on another start-up adventure — however, hear me out. When you listen to Darth Vader motivating the troops or attempting to get the upper hand on the competition (i.e., the Rebel Alliance), he speaks like a seasoned venture capitalist. I’ll provide some examples although this may mean you can never watch the Star Wars saga in the same way again. On Deals I am altering the deal, pray I do not alter it any further. When
Here’s something I hope stays for good, Pepsi Throwback. When I saw it at the local Metro the other day I was stupid happy. And though some folks — unrepentant health nuts, mostly — will bitch about Pepsi simply attempting to lure more people into drinking soft drinks, I enjoy Pepsi for oddly medicinal reasons: it helps control my kidney stones. And because I drink one Pepsi a day for said purpose, I would prefer if it was sweetened with real sugar as opposed to HFCS. I’ve even gone so far as to contact Pepsi to see if it would be a product they’d bring out. And here it is! And to be fully honest I did enjoy Pepsi and had for years. However, because of my kidney stone problems I was told by my doctors to abstain from drinking soft drinks. Which I did. But when I stopped my kidney stone problem grew substantially worse. I thought it merely coincidental. I remained off soft drinks for about 3 years. Then last year my wife noticed a medical report claiming certain soft drinks actually help reduce stone formation.She recommended I go back on Pepsi recalling that the stone situation worsened
I’m well aware of my limitations. I know some things that I do well. I know at some things at which I even excel. At others I’m merely passable. Yet more I’m merely bad. And there are those few things at which I know I simply am incapable. I know some people figure I can do a lot. And when the kids were small believed I could do anything. But sometimes you see something and know, deep down, that no matter how hard you desired or tried or wanted you could not come close to replicating. In fact, in the case that follows I couldn’t even become sufficiently practiced to be bad at it. And, yes, the video is inspiring. The guy has serious talent. Incredible balance. If I tried even one of the things he does they’d have to pick my pieces up off the ground. It’s things like this that make me smile. It’s when someone has a joie de vivre that makes me happy to be human. If more of us took this type of attitude towards life — to enjoy it, to love what’s around us, to stand in awe of each other’s abilities we’d all
I’ve been cleaning out the house slowly. Sort of like an extended Spring Cleaning. And as part of this chore I’ve decided to clean up my office and my computers as well. I’ve been storing all kinds of shit thinking it might one day be useful, that I may make some sort of artwork from it, or otherwise have deluded myself into keeping all sorts of useless things: old motherboards old memory (1 meg simms, etc.) newspaper clippings that I at one time found interesting old Dilbert comics snipped from the paper old CDs for software that is ancient and probably wouldn’t run all kinds of dead old mice, keyboards, … But no more! I mean, really. I can’t find useful things in my house anymore. I find stuff and wonder why I kept it. I’ve lost — well, I think I’ve lost — pictures from my past. But I can still find the motherboard from my first Pentium. Why? Out it goes into the recycle bins. Enough already. Similarly on my computer. Junk everywhere. I seem to be a packrat where ever I go. So I’ve started to clean up my computers. Gigs gave already been toasted from my systems,
I’m coding seriously again for the first time in years. And I can’t believe how much I missed it. There’s a certain joy in writing a program seeing it work, and solving a problem. When it’s an entirely new programming language it’s even cooler. But as I start programming again I realized I truly miss something I thought I’d never miss: fan-fold listings. There’s just something much better re: a fan-fold listing than a listing on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper. It just somehow feels like a proper program listing to me. I know some will say “Why print it out, screens are huge today”. Yeah. But you can’t lay down as much code across a screen as you can across a table and scratch it up with a pen. Paper just makes coding easier, in my opinion. It allows you to touch the code, in effect. Move it around freely across a table figuring out exactly what’s wrong or right about it It’s much like with whiteboards/blackboards. Some folks claim you can do everything with a computer, but there’s just something about standing at a blackboard or whiteboard with colleagues that cannot be equaled electronically. At least not
This article is interesting in an ironic way. Why? Mostly because the black-or-white thinker is how I think. Make a decision, go with it. Hemming and hawing is stupid and just delays the inevitable. Pick a way, go that way. If it’s wrong. Admit it, turn around. Duh. Stupid people drive me nuts. And this article just shows that even the author is unable to just come out and say that dithering just leads to problems. Especially the dithering that so many people engage in in trying to make sure everyone is happy or that no one is offended. Bah. No wonder so many people are screwed up today. They’ve never had their feelings hurt. They’ve never been allowed to fail or been told their ideas are stupid or wrong. They’ve never had to deal with reality within the safe confines of the social fabric that is modern Western Civilization. Instead, we get this placation of “every opinion matters/counts”. Which is utter bullshit. Not every opinion matters or counts. If someone tells me the moon is made of cheese his (or her) opinion is bullshit and doesn’t count. If someone tells me that the heart is the seat of intelligence,
As I continue to wade through saved bookmarks and articles on my computer I came across this article that discusses the discovery that men lose their minds speaking to pretty women. And it brings to mind a set of events more than two decades old that forever changed my life. I’ve always been a tad picky when it comes to women. I have no idea why. I tend to believe that everyone has a list of features they want in their significant other, and mine has always been rather short. I tend to like intelligent, determined, passionate women. I also prefer shorter to taller women. I just find them less gangly. My friends find this rather humourous since I stand 6’3″ and my taste in women is for those who tend to be about a foot shorter than me. Had I been given that article say, back in 1984, I’d have pretty much laughed it off. I could talk to any woman, regardless of beauty, with ease. I still can. But there was a time, a brief window, when two particular women made me stupid. So much so that my friends doctored Far Side cartoons to claim I was being