Month: February 2008

Weekly round-up

Here is a weekend round-up of stuff I’ve been meaning to blog about for a while. Hope you find it interesting.

  • Ever wanted to buy or at least ride a Segway? If you don’t want to ride one across the United States like these guys, maybe you should consider building one yourself. Some UMich engineering students built one for $1750 in two months. Check out the video here (complete with cheesy music):
  • http://www.youtube.com/v/0dq-xXRnVqo&rel=1
  • Another cool YouTube video here. Someone takes apart a common “Intelligent Design” argument by showing that in fact, it’s quite reasonable to expect a theoretical box of clock parts to assemble into a clock. It’s fairly straightforward math-wise, using genetic algorithms. I learned and used the same technique back as an undergraduate to calculate optimal satellite orbits in order to conduct “fly-bys” of particular planets within particular windows. Good stuff.
  • http://www.youtube.com/v/mcAq9bmCeR0&rel=1
  • Great quote here.
  • “I suddenly understood with great clarity that nothing in life — except death itself — was ever going to kill me. No meeting could ever go that badly. No client would ever be that angry. No business error would ever bring me as close to the brink as I had already been.”
  • If you have to use Outlook, first of all, I’m sorry for you. But to help ease your pain, try out Xobni. (Inbox spelled backward.) It will revolutionize the way you work in Outlook.
  • These are great rules to live by: (from Scott Berkun)

Good quote

I found this great quote today from an ancient New York Times Magazine piece on Bill Parcels.

Don’t confuse routine with commitment.

I think I’m going to have to remember that in my rowing training. Just showing up because I’ve always shown up isn’t enough; I have to always push myself.

Random notes and weekly round-up

Here are a few notes and links from this week…

  • I think I’m an 80%’er. From Simple Bits:
  • […] I mentioned a fantastic book: Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard. Yvon founded the expensive-but-awesome clothing company, Patagonia. 
    […] The book covers the history of the company, Yvon’s philosophy on design, and being a reluctant business owner. It’s a great read, with a lot of insightful head-nodding.
  • One part stood out in particular, when Chouinard talks about how he sees himself as an “80 percenter”:
  • I’ve always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach 80 percent proficiency level. To go beyond that requires an obsession and degree of specialization that doesn’t appeal to me.
  • Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman are dating, but perhaps not much longer! 🙂 (From the Elapsed Time blog.)
  • http://www.youtube.com/v/wnVJZkDuVBM&rel=1
  • And Matt Damon’s done this kind of thing before… here’s a clip from the film Eurotrip:
  • http://www.youtube.com/v/RxJ6uFzMx5Q&rel=1
  • This is not something I would want to run into, even if it has been extinct for ~390 million years.