From the monthly archives:

May 2007

Worth Taking the Risk

05.30.2007

Life’s risky. But breathing isn’t enough for most people, so we add to the risk. We drive cars, we go on dates, we try a new restaurant. Risk makes life more exciting, more enjoyable, more worthwhile. Risk can also lead to amazing discoveries. Orville Wright points out that “If we all worked on the assumption [...]

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Popularity's High Price

05.29.2007

What happens when you become all things to all people, or at least attempt to? You end up with all sorts of headaches. For example, I like Google, but right now, I’m super frustrated with Google. I hadn’t even recognized it until I read danah boyd’s post on poor Google searches, and a second post [...]

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If You Can Keep Your Head

05.28.2007

I finally got through one of my many stacks, and I came across a Runner’s World article honoring John J. Kelley. Winner of the 1957 Boston Marathon, he’s a proven competitor who has inspired many distance runners with his grace and humility. For me, one event in particular from the article stands out. During Kelley’s [...]

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Pushing Through the Dip

05.25.2007

Quitting can look very attractive. I should know. I quit my official 9-5 job almost two months ago. Once in awhile, I wonder if I made the best decision—not out of any particular love for the previous job, but due to my distaste for quitting. Many of us are raised with the adage that “winners [...]

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Thinking Differently About Silicon

05.23.2007

History is littered with people who are different, people with bold ideas who balked at the majority mindset. Even more intriguing, these individuals may start by appealing to a niche audience, but ultimately end up in the mainstream. The steam engine, the automotive, the computer—all initially appealed to a niche audience before gaining mainstream acceptance.
The [...]

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Tripping Over Predictions

05.22.2007

It’s May 22. It’s 37 degrees. And it’s snowing. Go figure. My weatherman rightly predicted snow in May. Snow in May isn’t that unusual. We’ve even gotten snow in June and July. What’s unusual is that my weatherman got his prediction right.
The local station I watch recently hired a new weatherman to replace the outgoing [...]

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Explorations that Last a Lifetime

05.21.2007

Explorers are bold by nature. They believe that something new always lies beyond the horizon. This belief pushes them past any fear of the unknown, making them the authors of their destinies. Henry Hudson, who set out to find the Northeast Passage to China declared, “you cannot fly like an eagle with the wings of [...]

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A Necessary Separation

05.18.2007

History offers up all sorts of lessons. And with every new biography about one of the original finders, we learn something new—both good and bad—about the individuals who built America’s foundation. In spite of their human frailty, I still find myself amazed by their foresight.
These gentlemen took obvious missteps (The Great Compromise, anyone?), but [...]

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You've Been Disconnected

05.17.2007

I normally don’t follow-up with related posts so close together. But after the Engadget/Apple debacle yesterday, I can’t resist. Coupled with the recent launch of Guy Kawasaki’s Truemors, the net seems to be swirling with even more rumors than usual. Why do we have this obsession with innuendo? Just look at the original language of [...]

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Creative Organization

05.16.2007

I love books. That’s not hard to guess given the subject of this blog. But here’s the thing, I really, really love books. Given the choice between buying new clothes or buying new books, I’ll pick books every time. Since I buy so many books, I sometimes end up with duplicates.
Now this is where I [...]

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