January 2010
December 2009
2009 in review.
2008 was insane - moved from Seattle to Brooklyn (Amazon.com -> Etsy.com), started my Tumblr, broke up a 3 year relationship after she cheated on me the day Obama got elected, quit Etsy, parents going through marital trouble, and decided to do a startup. What happened in 2009?
January - As New Years resolutions usually go, I started a “food photo once a day” habit that lasted for...
Why it's smart to publish Realtime RSS now
realtimerss:
This is a very simple idea but it may not have occurred to people.
It’s a secret I’m sharing with 27K-plus people who follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
If you look at my tweetstream, you’ll see I push a lot of links. I don’t have millions of people following me, but the people who do follow me are the kinds of people who do three things: They click on links, they tend to read,...
What are your favorite waffle toppings / recipes?
Waffles are being made at tonight’s NYE party, and I want to be prepared.
How to Make a Living Playing Music →
alexismichelle:
Wow. So many life lessons in this essay, I couldn’t pick out a single part to quote.
This is phenomenal. Every entrepreneur should read this, musician or not.
carinasparkle:
caterpillarcowboy:
gluttonyisabliss:
Scallops with pasta (via paige_eliz)
This was my lunch today, minus scallops, plus spicy sausage + basil + mushrooms.
This sounds delicious.
It’s super easy to make.
Heat up olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add minced garlic and shallots, saute until fragrant.
Add chopped sausage and sliced mushrooms.
Add...
Hey Everybody!
section9:
My brother just joined tumblr!
Here is his link:
http://dabigmp.tumblr.com/
So, if y’all could, please follow him.
I promise he’s really nice and waaay cooler than I am.
Paul Brothers Unite!
Oh boy.
Cue the obligatory “And I remember when he was a little 6 year old boy…”
“A book that begins with Governor Palin visiting the Alaska Right to Life booth...”
– Sarah and Her Tribe - The New York Review of Books
This review is incredible.
“Alaska, the particular reality from which Palin hails, is so little known by...”
– Jonathan Raban’s review of Going Rogue in the new issue of the New York Review of Books is nothing short of devastating. (via cajunboy)
BOOM ROASTED.
(via rillawafers)
Better reading than the book itself.
“As a rule of thumb, I would say a successful Series A is one where good VCs...”
– What’s the right amount of seed money to raise? cdixon.org – chris dixon’s blog
“I think the choice between free trial and free version (or both) depends...”
– Andrew Holt, in a comment left on Thoughts on Free Powered Business Models and Why Time Beats Features | Charles Hudson’s Weblog
The Inside Round
bijan:
I would say that most venture backed startups require additional capital after the seed or Series A round. That isn’t a bad thing and typically part of the plan. And everyone knows that going in from the founders, to the early employees as well as the earliest investors.
At some point the company then needs to raise additional capital. (I’ve already written about how to focus your...
“I want a dating show — Snookin’ For Love. I want to find my prince. I’d have 27...”
– Snooki
Don’t even lie. You would watch the hell out of that.
(via sade)
A Less Than Honest Policy →
jayparkinsonmd:
I fully support this policy. The concept of “free” healthcare has been one of the major reasons why the business model of healthcare is what it is— sick care that profits off volume. When people spend $5 on a doctor visit or a medication or a test, they have no skin in the game. People don’t value “free.” And when it’s free, they simply don’t care how much is done. They become at...
“It is very difficult to properly segment users and features such that you...”
– Thoughts on Free Powered Business Models and Why Time Beats Features | Charles Hudson’s Weblog (via hiten)
We’ve done a lot of experimentation (enter credit card then 30 day free trial, 30 day free trial then credit card, now free for single accounts and paid for multiple users + brands) and...
UXpert Needed @ AnyClip
innonate:
As I just posted on my blog, we’re looking for a freelancer who fits the following:
NY-based UX expert to help bake UX into our development process
Help us define the next iteration of AnyClip.com
Strong emphasis on identifying scenarios
Start working with us by January 5th
Work half- or full-time for 3 weeks, potentially longer
“When people have made up their minds about something, it’s almost impossible to...”
– Robert Samuelson (Washington Post), discussing the limitations of reportage’s capacity to persuade, during a panel: Has The Financial Crisis Changed the Nature of Economic News? (via boutofcontext)
Wow. Who applies for a job and uses the word...
section9:
mrbeard:
livinglikeigiveadamn:
111 111 111 x 111 111 111 = 12345678987654321
I think my brain just inverted
What?!?
Actually, it works out systematically.
11 x 11 = 121 111 x 111 = 12321 1111 x 1111 = 1234321
So the (# of ones)^2 = 1…n…1
Some data about Facebook at Cornell from 2005 →
Back in 2005, two friends of mine and I got our hands on Cornell’s Facebook social graph directly from Facebook. Someone over there sent us the graph data, with the IDs “obscured”. Being clever students, we realized they had applied a simple linear transformation to the connectivity matrix, so we applied the inverse and were able to directly connect who was friends with whom.
...
Can hot chocolate be too thick?
I just made some hot chocolate and it’s THICK.
Recipe:
In medium saucepan, pour in milk. I don’t know how much, a couple inches worth.
Add sugar and a little salt.
Whisk over medium heat. Get it nice and frothy.
Once it’s hot (but not boiling), add in a big bar of semi-sweet chocolate. 60% cocoa will do.
Mix it all up. Keep adding sugar until it’s sweet enough for...
“I am at our local hardware store on Vermont Avenue in L.A. where I’ve recently...”
– Mike Bonifer: Pat on the Back
Great article that made me laugh and also think about how outrageous some of the rules around the workplace have become. I’m a hugger by nature, which clearly wouldn’t go over well with many HR specialists.
(via noreaster)
Ha, true! I’m a hugger as well. Too...
3 tags
2010 Predictions
Here are my predictions for 2010:
Badges and game mechanics - Driven by the success of foursquare and Farmville, everyone is going to want badges and game mechanics embedded in their apps. Hell, we might do it, too. Not only do well-tuned game mechanics increase engagement, it also increases user exploration and education. Of course, it’s easy to do it badly, and the results are not...
I want to make waffles but ran out of Canola oil....
Recipe calls for 1 Tbsp canola oil. Options are: olive oil, butter, coconut oil.
“Most user-generated content is created as communication in small groups, but...”
– Clay Shirky (via azspot) (via notational) (via infoneernet)
Alcohol substitute that avoids drunkenness and... →
j0e:
wooliebear:
The new substance could have the added bonus of being “switched off” instantaneously with a pill, to allow drinkers to drive home or return to work.
The synthetic alcohol, being developed from chemicals related to Valium, works like alcohol on nerves in the brain that provide a feeling of wellbeing and relaxation.
But unlike alcohol its does not affect other...
“TMZ is owned by Warner Brothers, and The Smoking Gun is owned by Turner. Both...”
– The New York Times (via goldenfiddle)
Are they sitting back and counting all of the fake duckets made from internet views and clicks?
(via rillawafers)
J regularly gets posts she writes for thefrisky.com reposted onto cnn.com (linking back to thefrisky.com). Her group is part of the Turner New...
Allegedly, I can see 3D movies, so Avatar 3D IMAX...
I have strabismus, the result of being born cross-eyed and having (successful) corrective surgery at the age of 4 months and glasses since 6 months. Red/blue 3D movies never worked for me, because I either see out of my left eye or my right, but never both at the same time.
The new 3D movies use something called circular polarization, so the frames are full color frames. The polarization means...
