Janelle Monae - The Archandroid

I'm a fan of Janelle.

ENVISION : Step into the sensory box

Why the Celtics are Winning

The Celtics are not winning in the playoffs this post-season because of talent. They've come to beat LeBron (and most probably Dwight Howard) because of team. The Celtics have been winning as an organization like all championship teams have done in the past.

All great organizations train their people. It's about making everyone better and not just the star players. Making everyone better begins with process. Rondo is an all-star in large part being surrounded by incredible work ethic and excellence brought by Garnett, Piece, and Allen over the years. Same for Perkins and Davis, with good training and coaching, the extra value-add from each player is tremendous.

Similarly, at the Lakers organization, most to all players under Phil Jackson's coaching have significantly improved themselves in comparison to the rest of the league. This has been a recurring theme for many ex-Lakers: Horry, Fisher, Fox, George.

How to get ahead of your competition: your organization itself.

The Black Keys - I Got Mine

Kanye's Pad

Someday somehow...

a Marketing Run

I've been working on my marketing skills lately. With strong recommendations from Amazon, I started off on two Robert Cialdini books:


The word "persuasion" in the book titles make them sound more self-help than anything. But maybe the author was trying to make a point here?

I enjoy consumer behavior marketing. It's evil.

Fed chief tells Graduates

"We all know that getting a better-paying job is one of the main reasons to go to college. ... But if you are ever tempted to go into a field or take a job only because the pay is high and for no other reason, be careful!" Ben Bernanke said in his commencement address.

"Having a larger income is exciting at first, but as you get used to your new standard of living and as you associate with other people in your new income bracket, the thrill quickly wears off," he said.

Studies found that just six months after winning a large lottery prize — even in the million of dollars — people reported being not much happier than they were before winning, Bernanke said.

Other findings: Happy people tend to spend time with friends and family. Happy people tend to do what they love for a living or a hobby. Happy people tend to feel in control of their lives.

- USA Today

Another Chapter

One more month of school left.

Time will get crazy again with another venture. It's looking like I'll be in Boston for the foreseeable future.

I am as prepared as I can be.

Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History

The Acceleration of Information Technology and Paradigm Shift

According to Ray Kurzweil, all industries employed by information technology will continue to grow exponentially.



This is some serious stuff. If we simply looking back at the evolution of computers, internet, and other applications over the past few decades, you can see that technology has progressed more quickly over the past few years than it did 2-3 decades ago.

Supposedly biotech is going to be the next big thing. Too bad I'm not interested.

Babies

Lean Development

Make something that just works

Third Eye Blind

is possibly my favorite band.

Maybe it's because I've been listening to 3eb since I was a kid twelve something years ago, but I'd like to think its more than that. I think it's their sound I've gotten to love -it's so San Francisco.

I saw a 3eb show at Providence last week and they weren't quite what they use to be (new band members). I'll settle for a record I can listen to over and over again.

Social Games

are part ingenious part scam.

Social games and virtual goods are designed to click and whirrrr consumer behavior out of us. My appreciation for them is awe because they are designed right down to its core essence -pushing our behavioral buttons. Those are some lean digital bits being pushed back and forth to make a business out of.

Maybe I'll take back what I said about social games being a scam. Games do provide some value.

Focus

Every so often I find myself a victim of not being focused enough.

I do, however, think I am better at it than some of my peers. I've come to notice lately a few friends having trouble with career focus. One year is this, next year is that. It's like playing in the sand. I say go lead a path you want to live.

Having a long-term perspective of focus is so important.

El Ten Eleven

Dammit I missed them last week at the Middle East.

Ebay

has now officially been milked dry by its executives. With such ridiculous fees, sellers no longer have much or any incentive to sell on their site. Somehow somewhere Ebay executives decided it deserves a bigger cut on each transaction. I think they hired too many MBAs.

The cost of posting something online is near-free, I anticipate Ebay will be upset by a startup in the future. The web has now matured to a point where we now have dinosaurs like Ebay, AOL, and Yahoo on the verge of extinction.

living dreams

The critics despise
I've never wondered out here
But we ride and we ride
Its two safe sides
You don't want to be caught in line
There is something out here
I can touch it some days
My idols tell me its true
Dues to pay, one life to live
Don't hold back don't save

The Airbourne Toxic Event

Be who you want to Be

I think people too often get dragged up with the rest of life and forget to aspire to their dreams. After all, we only live once. The missed opportunity cost of not chasing after our end-goals is too costly.

We're all going to die someday anyways. I would rather die trying.

13wins is in the deadpool

The news ain't all that bad though. The soul of 13wins has been kept alive and is still burning bright. I've taken many lessons from it, and have been working on a new project over the past 2 months.

For a long time, I've always felt "stealth startups" were ridiculous. As founder, you should always be talking about your project and preaching it to everyone you see -its the whole point.

But this time around, I'm going to keep this new project close to me until it's "ready".

Cool

PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Top 25 Social Games April 2010