Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Disclaimer: I do not follow crowds

I picked up my first Macbook pro recently.

The iPhone is an experience I often suggest my friends to try. I tell them if they don't like it, they don't need to buy it again. At the very least, they can claim that they've tried it... not a big deal for most of them who have owned a multitude of cell phones in their life time.

I got my Macbook following the same advice. I'd be a pretty stubborn person if I were to go around hating on Macs when I haven't even owned one in the past. I really wasn't exactly go-go about it in the first place, but the facts are on the wall: the Mac can do everything I want plus more.

I'm having a pretty sweet time with it so far. I'm slightly skeptical of all the apps I have running in the background, but they're awesome and I have no current complaints.

Recent Hike



Saturday, June 27, 2009

Hobnox: Audiotool

The Hobnox: Audiotool is my newest online time-waster. It is a flash-based music production playground: simulated rhythm composers, tone matrix, mixers, and plenty of effects. It is a dream come true for the music geek.

Check it out at http://www.hobnox.com/audiotool

Thursday, June 25, 2009

What to do when life throws you a curve ball?

I'm usually tempted to give it my best shot (yes, I'm optimistic)
But there are times when we ought to pass
I mean, curve balls are rightly called so because they're sneaky
The key is to probably decide early and up front whether you are in or out
So what am I going to do?


I think I just answered my dilemma.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Hiring and building a team

is possibly the most important thing a startup will do.


The first 10 employees will determine company DNA and pretty much its success or failure. The problem is that recruiting those first "proper" few employees is so so incredibly steep for an unfounded startup. The occurence of believers whom also have the right skills and personality is simply improbable.

Okay, I should stop complaining. Do something about it.

Startup Metrics for Pirates

Dave Mcclure is my idol. He seemed like any typical Silicon Valley geek when I met him at Startonomics last week, but his presentation is all gravy.



I have nothing but awe and belief in the methodology he describes.

Oh, and he's also a Hopkins alum.

Exams and Work


My summer is starting at the end of this week. This means I need to haul myself together and make progress. I've barely studied for my exams and am already tired from mentally beating myself up over plans for the next few months.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

HTC Magic

Oh why the hell not. Chances are mobile apps will play a role in my future career. I probably ought to spend the time to get a perspective for the various platforms out there.

I know what the iPhone experience is like. I've decided to go with the HTC Magic (running the Google Android OS) for my next handset.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Monday, June 08, 2009

Internet Business Q & A for beginners

In no particular order, these are common answers I've given:

Q: Where do I register a domain?
A: Use Godaddy.com. It might not be the best deal, but it really doesn't matter. You can use instantdomainsearch.com to check for domain availability. If your desired domain is available, and you are semi-serious. Register for it asap.

Q: How much should I pay for developers?
A: It's simple. Assuming you go to credible developers for their service; you pay for what you get. Don't think you can expect good code at $8/hr.

Q: How much does it cost to build an online store?
A: It depends completely on what features you want. An online store is a very vague definition to people who actually build this stuff. Every extra feature will cost more (and it adds up!).

Q: How much does it cost to build Ebay.com? or Amazon.com?
A: Tonnes. They don't hire an army of developers for nothing. Chances are that you don't understand how complicated their systems are.

Q: My designer doesn't know/understand what I want.
A: Always always always use references. Practically everything you want is out there in some shape or form. Don't expect to do something nobody has done, leave that to real developers (if you are one, you would have already skipped this blog entry).

Q: Any other advice?
A: Focus on the business. How do you plan to market your site? This is incredibly difficult thing to do these days. Don't say word of mouth and tell me people will just show up because your product/service is so great.

A2: Find a tech-guy you can trust and persuade him to partner up. Otherwise, you need to realize your core competency isn't technology (thus, you don't want to be competing in that space).
I lost my iPhone last week (got stolen). It's a shame because I actually use it to keep myself organized and to take pictures when I'm inspired.


The picture above is one of the last few pictures I took. It's a fossil of Hello Kitty.

Saturday, June 06, 2009


Blocked blogger.com in China has been a barrier for me. bleh.

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Sunday, May 24, 2009


Venture Capitalist (Union Square Ventures) and blogger Fred Wilson gave a talk a few days ago at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View. The key point of his talk was about disruption — what companies are doing out there to change the technology space. Nothing Earth-shatteringly new, but interesting insights from a smart guy.

The talk includes his six words to live by on the Internet: global, social, open, mobile, playful, intelligent — and a bonus seventh one: instantaneous (yes, that's Twitter).

- via techcrunch

Friday, May 22, 2009

Seed Bombs


Blogger blocked in China is a major barrier to blogging.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Ratatat Beijing

Ratatat is rocking Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong this week. They
did a fine job at mao live house today. It was well worth the madness.

Monday, May 18, 2009

13wins: focus

My facebook project, 13wins, is here to stay. I can't say where it will go and how it will look in a year's time, but it will be alive and it will continue to evolve for the better.

Maybe it doesn't sound like I'm saying anything, but this project will test my theory that one of few principles is to have utmost focus. Opportunities are noise, we don't have enough time for that. Focus is how you build a moat and castle.


This is the internet. Focus and evolution can make a great pair.

Shanghai is a mistress



Great. Even blogger is blocked in China now...

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Crush

I think people often misunderstand me. I give them the impression I am indifferent to their concerns. They don't understand it's because I choose not to.


There are too many things I ought to care about. If I spend my mind on everything people believe "I should care about", then I would get nowhere. I decided a while ago I only have the time and mind to care about things which dearly matter to me.
It's like learning, I can't expect to learn everything out there. I can only choose a specific subject to be great at.

Sexy Bass Lines

Air - La Femme D'argent
Cake - I will survive
Daft Punk - Voyager
Jet - Are you gonna be my girl

What other bass lines should I be practicing on my Squier?

"INFINITY" CITIZEN x WOW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO3-3USoG0k

Wednesday, May 13, 2009