December 2011
1 post
Ferran Adria – speaking at Google and his new book →
In late September I was lucky enough to be able to hear Ferran Adria speak at Google, and also get a copy of his new cookbook. Ferran is one of the most famous chefs in the world; though lesser…
October 2011
5 posts
The Important Field →
When I think of what it takes to succeed, I think... →
When I think of what it takes to succeed, I think of this image.
via yvynyl
Goodbye, Steve. →
You lived. You really, really lived.
Caught →
The following is one of two stories we gathered during the Pitch a WTF panel at Penguicon. As I’m sure you’ll come to understand, the submitter wanted both them and their company to remain…
What to do next →
This is the most important decision in your career (or even your day). It didn’t used to be. What next used to be a question answered by your boss or your clients. With so many opportunities and…
September 2011
1 post
Ten years on… →
Ten years ago, I was Engineering Duty Officer on the USS Hartford (SSN-768), in port in Groton, Connecticut. We were due to leave on a six-month deployment, and were doing last-minute maintenance…
July 2011
1 post
Google+ →
If you haven’t heard, Google+ has launched. It’s the start of Google’s social projects, and it looks like it’s already the start of something big. (>10million users in <2 weeks!)
If you’re…
June 2011
3 posts
Startup accelerators in 2011 →
I’ve long been interested in the seed accelerator model, as started by Y Combinator. I wrote my master’s thesis on it, and wrote a follow-up post this spring. Recently, two things have…
Productize Yourself →
There are so many risks you can’t account for in a startup—and in the first year especially, the entrepreneur is just trying to make sure the company doesn’t blow up above all else. “Don’t die” is…
SvN Flashback: Product roadmaps are dangerous →
Jason 30 Jan 2006 — An email from a reader: At every company I work at, I keep seeing product roadmaps with qtr by qtr delivery of different features – they typically go out 1-2 years. Of…
May 2011
4 posts
Self directed effort is the best kind →
How much are you paying for a drill sergeant? Perhaps you can burn 500 calories on the treadmill before you give up for the day. With a personal coach, though, you could do 700. The trainer gets…
The Go programming language is coming to Google... →
By David Symonds, Nigel Tao, and Andrew Gerrand of the Go Team
The growing ranks of Go programmers will soon have another platform: Go will be the third language, after Python and Java, in which…
Marie Curie →
Shared by Jed
This should be a required comic for all women under the age of 35, IMHO. And men, for that matter…
65 Years →
April 2011
3 posts
Just have to share this… →
I just have to share this short (50 sec) video… I find it completely hilarious.
Introducing Quantum →
The University of Michigan Solar Car Team is proud to present its 11th car, Quantum. UMsolar is the number one team in the U.S. and has won the last 3 American Solar Challenge races. With our newest…
Rogers St. →
March 2011
2 posts
I'll take "Sticking it to United" for $49. cc... →
I have to move my flight back to NYC on Sunday, so I called them today to cancel and try to recoup the fare, at least as credit. The fare cost $199 one way. First thing I have to deal with is the…
#startupvisa →
Some huge percentage of startup companies in this country are founded by immigrants. Not surprising. It has always been that way in America. But in the wake of 9/11, we’ve shut our borders and…
February 2011
5 posts
QUOTE: Anything that is in the world when... →
Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is…
Looking back – 1.5 years since “Copying Y... →
It’s been nearly one and a half years since I originally wrote my paper on seed accelerators: “Copying Y Combinator: Why and How”, which focused on how other people or organizations could…
Risk and Reward Are Not Obvious →
I went to business school in the mid 80s. Investment banking was hot. The leveraged buyout craze was on. Junk bonds were hot. Everyone wanted to work on wall street.
I was obsessed with venture…
Fun new video from the Rural Alberta Advantage →
So I’ve become a huge fan of the Rural Alberta Advantage. (You can check out my post about their London concert here.) They’ve got a new album coming out on Tuesday, March 1st: “Departed.”
They…
What I struggle with every day… →
Seth Godin truly nailed it on the head today with a short blog post titled “In and out“.
That’s one of the most important decisions you’ll make today.
How much time and effort should be…
January 2011
1 post
Union Square Cafe – Finally! →
A week ago, LondonAnnie and I finally got a chance to eat at Union Square Cafe in New York City.
I’ve wanted to eat there for over three years, ever since I read Danny Meyer’s book “
December 2010
1 post
Where's your platform? →
That needs to be the goal when you seek out a job. Bob Dylan earned the right to make records, and instead of using it to create ever more commercial versions of his old stuff, he used it as a…
October 2010
1 post
Do you need a permit? →
Where, precisely, do you go in order to get permission to make a dent in the universe?
The accepted state is to be a cog. The preferred career is to follow the well-worn path, to read the…
September 2010
1 post
Orbiter →
Shared by Jed
Be sure to mouse-over the image to get the additional text…
August 2010
5 posts
Don't forget about color →
The airport in Minneapolis is expensive and reasonably thoughtful in its design. But the signs are monochromatic. As a result, the tired traveler wanders in circles, looking for her…
The secret of the Roush effect →
When Gerald Roush died in late May, he left behind the Ferrari Market Letter. This newsletter, which he started and ran, had nearly 5,000 subscribers, paying him $130 a year for a subscription. Do…
Your Platform Is Not In My Space →
In 2009, the word that finally got on my nerves was “space”, as in “our product is in the X space” or “the space we are going after is X.” It seems like the word “space” managed to find its way into…
Visiting White Bear Yard in London; Timetric and... →
White Bear Yard is a great little entrepreneurial home in North London, just off Clerkenwell Road in Camden. (It’s close to Farringdon and Chancery Lane Tube stations.) There are about…
Ahead Stop →
June 2010
15 posts
Eight Presidents, One Goal →
Shared by Jed
Wow… just, wow…
This is hilarious and heart-breaking at the same time:
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
An Energy-Independent Future
Google Voice for everyone →
(Cross-posted with the Google Voice Blog) A little over a year ago, we released an early preview of Google Voice, our web-based platform for managing your communications. We introduced one…
Michigan Wins First Stage →
Shortly after charging began at 6pm, the race officials gathered all of the teams for an end of stage award ceremony. We were presented a plaque for winning the first stage, in addition to hats…
Michigan Wins FSGP! →
Michigan wins the 2010 Formula Sun Grand Prix and clinches pole position for the American Solar Challenge!
Today at 4pm Michigan and Bochum (1st and 2nd place) agreed to pull off the track 1…
Blogging to resume soon… →
So I clearly haven’t been blogging much recently. Between my job and rowing, I haven’t had time for anything else.
But I’m into the last two weeks of the rowing season now as the biggest event of…
For Information Purposes Only →
It’s interesting to compare the World Cup odds generated by the Soccer Power Index against those offered by handicappers, like the consensus odds at the website oddsportal.com. There are some…
Slick →
For a long time, the best way to tell if something was professional, high grade and worth a premium was by judging the slickness of the production values.
The Bourne Identity cost more to make than…
World Cup Odds Update →
Shared by Jed
I love posts like this from fivethirtyeight.com …
With all 32 sides now having played at least one match, we’re due an overview of the World Cup circuit. The results you see…
Don't Be Like Seinfeld - Break the Chain →
Shared by Jed
Nate’s been killing it with great posts on the Inkling blog for the last several months. This is a another great one…
“Don’t break the chain,” - Seinfeld There was a popular meme…
Cheating the clock →
One way to do indispensable work is to show up more hours than everyone else. Excessive face time and candle-burning effort is sort of rare, and it’s possible to leverage it into a kind of success.
But if you’re winning by cheating the clock, you’re still cheating.
Fear of shipping →
Shipping is fraught with risk and danger.
Every time you raise your hand, send an email, launch a product or make a suggestion, you’re exposing yourself to criticism. Not just criticism, but the…
Get Up Earlier and Do More Work →
Shared by Jed
Sensible advice. I’ve seen the same thing, particularly on the way to London City Airport for 7am flights…
“One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that if you drive into London…
Security Clearance Denied →
“Hi, I’m Chris Hansen. Why don’t you have a seat over here” – John Cote (via Facebook)
Spending money to (make/lose) money →
When I was a struggling freelancer, I hated to spend money. I hired myself to do everything possible, because money I spent was money I didn’t get to keep.
When I was hiring researchers to find…
Falcon 9 Development = Cost of Ares I Mobile... →
SpaceX Achieves Orbital Bullseye With Inaugural Flight of Falcon 9 Rocket, SpaceX “The NASA COTS program has demonstrated the power of what can be accomplished when you combine private…
March 2010
6 posts
Switching from the iPhone 3G to the Nexus One and... →
I was lucky enough to have joined Google in enough time to receive a Nexus One as the company’s holiday gift to employees. Though it has been written about extensively, I wanted to share my…