May 2012
9 posts
Joe Kraus Blog →
Very powerful argument. I am going to experiment with the TechGap day idea he proposes.
The Naive Optimist • I'm tired of the opportunists... →
Interesting. Reminds me I really need to organize and formalize my thoughts on this topic for a blog post, especially around the culture of the “work hard, play hard” mentality.
Against Chairs →
/ht @pat
April 2012
2 posts
When I get a cold sales e-mail from a random...
runningastartup:
And Here's The Secret Reason Apple Is Crushing... →
Could the author have a point? I think so (maybe because I’m also a college dropout, and no, I do NOT compare myself to the product and business genius of Steve Jobs).
March 2012
47 posts
4 tags
What has got your attention?
I am trying to remember the details of a conversation I had with Steve Hopkins about the concept that was introduced to him (Steve, please correct me if I am wrong) on “what has got your attention”. Note that it’s not “what are you paying attention to” but “what has got your attention” and the difference is abysmal.
On the first one is the conscious act...
Conscious Startups: The problem with Google →
consciousstartups:
Long article at Gizmodo entitled “The case against Google”.
What Google seems to have forgotten is that we were only willing to give them all that data in the first place because it gave us great products and seemed trustworthy.
Google has forgotten why we loved it. It has degraded its…
“Again, I’d gladly pay for it. But I have no way to do so, outside of forking...”
– Help! I’m Being Forced To Pirate Game Of Thrones Against My Will! | PandoDaily
I’d gladly pay for it. Just I don’t want to pay for it. Gah. Come on.
Pay or wait. It’s not that hard. Or go to a friend’s house. If you’d gladly pay for it, you would. Your hand is not being forced, you are being...
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Seeing the smallest things
A few moments ago, contained within the walls of our small Bondi apartment, #boy4 found great delight and fun in the fact that we had forgot to empty the bath tub. It reminded Danielle and I about the mindless pursuits that our materialistic society forces upon us. Our son, through his innocence and pristine mind showed us that you don’t need the latest gadget or cool widget to have fun or...
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Yesterday’s and today’s post have been cancelled and replaced by family time. Sorry about the inconvenience. One could spend a while talking about how important time with your loved ones is etc etc. however at the moment, also given the rant nature of my posts, I think they won’t be missed and the time spent with #boy4 and @ladydanika won’t get missed and is irreplaceable....
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As a followup from my earlier post today, I’m watching “The Ride”. Very appropriate.
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Middle age?
I have a nice story about “better to say you’re sorry than to ask for permission” however I will post that one tomorrow, because today I just wanted to say that I just walked nearly 20km around Sydney for the day, from Sydney Uni to Bondi and around 10km around Bondi for the day. Not bad for someone that’s turning 40 this year. BTW in July I am climbing Kilimanjaro as part...
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I had a very inspiring day. I went to visit Tony and Alan at their new offices of The New Agency, I drove there with a friend, Nacho, and we discussed a new mobile app that he’s been working on for a bit. However I am struggling to find inspiration to write something about the day. Maybe the awesomeness of the day took it out of me, or maybe I am just too tired.
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Charm of a 4 year old
I was walking with #boy4 to the beach this afternoon. As we passed the myriad of frangipanis that exist in our neighborhood, he picked up a fallen flower, beautiful, with multiple shades and colours and a very sweet smell. “It’s for our family”
As we walked towards sand, getting near the water, he stopped, looked at total strange, a beautiful woman and wondered over to hand her...
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Music for busy days
Today is a busy day, I have lots of smallish tasks to get done and they all seem to be fighting for my attention. I am taking it calmly. As Steve told me yesterday, there’s a difference between being strained and being stressed.
The music I am playing the background to help me keep the focus:
* John Coltrane with Coltrane Plays The Blues
* Aníbal Troilo with Fueye
* Georges Brassens...
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Happiness is unpredictable?
Today was a happy day. I went for a “swim” (in light of what some amazing people have been swimming lately, the quotes are necessary) at Bronte with a friend, I went to the beach with my son, I enjoyed a beautiful dinner with my partner. What more could I ask? Well, I did ask for something else … actually, I didn’t ask, I just decided, I decided that all my work commitments...
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Rant about procrastination
Initially, I was going to write today about something a little bit more profound and less “lame” :-) than my short post yesterday, however after having a 10 min meditation with the guided help of the iPhone app BrainBaths, I thought that my last post was not “lame”, it represented a state of mind, something simple that I wanted to share with others about my reading list. By not...
Healthy or harmful? It's a piece of cake →
Great article in defense of Cake. I’m in. I ❤ cake!
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My current reading list and what's next
I’m currently re-reading “the lean startup” by Eric Ries and “Hamlet’s Blackberry”. Next is to restart “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Lately my reading list has been very pragmatically focused on work related books. I’m breaking out a bit now.
Posting this from my phone while I wait for a train on the way to a meeting. Magical.
#46 – Why software sucks « Scott Berkun →
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The start of a training plan
As I start getting more serious about my training for the Kilimanjaro 2012 expedition (which, BTW still needs *your* support, yes, YOU), I have become a bit more diligent about my training routine.
So far, my training routine has included long, regular walks. Usually 10 or more kms. I haven’t been as consistent as I initially thought I’d be so now whenever I get a chance, I walk. For...
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Inspiration from friends
What inspires you?
Inspiration for me is usually a fruit of conversation. It can be conversation with family and friends, observation of conversations between other people (aka twitter), conversation with random strangers (I am quite shy so this doesn’t happen very often at all) or conversations with my 4 year old son.
I’ve been inspired to action by sheer anger as well, anger at...
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I crossed the bridge
I mean literally, I did cross the Harbour Bridge for the first time :-) I’ve been in Australia for nearly 8 years, I lived in Sydney for most of that time and I had never, ever, crossed the harbour bridge for the first time on foot.
I have been countless times to North Sydney or to Macquarie Park for work, crossing the bridge on a commuter train, I have also visited friends in North Ryde...
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Working from home
I’ve been working mostly from home since I started my own business back in July 2011. I have, at times, co-worked from the awesome @protein1 studio however lately I have reverted to work from home mostly. The main drivers for this “revert back to home” have been the fact that I wake up quite early to overlap with my team in Argentina and so I don’t need to be going to an...
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“The opposite of poverty is not wealth. … In too many places, the opposite of...”
– Bryan Stevenson
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Join SmugMug and reduce your subscription fee as... →
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RIP Moebius ... a genius of the arts leaves us.
Jean Giraud, aka Moebius, was a genius. I got across one of the books from L’Incal in a book fair in Buenos Aires when I was probably 14 or 15 and I was hooked. This series is a collaboration between two geniuses: Moebius and Jodorowski. Mind blowing story telling with spectacular, futuristic drawings. The aesthetics are sublime and captivating. Would the world look like that in a distant...
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When is it too many numbers?
I am a big fan of understanding certain aspects of myself through numbers. I have measured my sleep patterns, weight and body composition, steps taken, calories burned, km cycled, km travelled, dollars spent, etc. I haven’t got to a stage of getting blood pressure measured consistently, but it’s easily done now thanks to the blood pressure monitor from Withings.
Initially I started...
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Pulling the plug
No, not as in Dethklok’s “pull the plug” :-) however with a sad sense that a big effort didn’t result in adoption and didn’t work.
It’s known that most ventures don’t result in sustainable businesses, it’s also quite well known that most startups will not be able to achieve self-sustainability. It’s still sad when you have to shutdown all the...
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Support me and Amnesty on my Kilimanjaro climb
Last year I signed up to climb Kilimanjaro and support Amnesty. Over the past few years, thanks to the inspiration of @bigyahu I participated in the Oxfam Trailwalker 2010, the WildEndurance 2011 (where I broke my ankle) and the Trek for Timor 2011. In each of these occasions I was fortunate enough to have the support from friends, family and strangers alike. It’s fantastic to participate...
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It's like junkfood for your brain
I just wanted to go over a topic that I’ve mentioned briefly before, focus and “downtime”.
Yesterday, I was talking to a friend and during the course of our conversation the topic of “brain junk food” came up. The definition of “brain junk food” that we came was this over-abundance of distractions, constant attention grabbers, this “20-seconds-to-get-your-attention” on the website type of approach...
