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dougw
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01.08.09Keep your worthless predictionsGoogle confirms it, year after year people forget how poorly they can predict the future. I've seen a flurry of 2009 predictions come across my screen, which is not surprising as evidenced by the chart. However it is supremely annoying, nonetheless. Where is the culpability? People who's predictions pan out claim victory. The other side quietly accepts defeat, rarely calling attention to their misguided "foresight." I'm no longer fooled by probability, and neither should you. Consider a game: Start with 64 participants in a single elimination tournament. Each round, participants are paired. Before flipping a coin, paired ...
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11.18.08On overtakingAt what point do you stop following? Even after the distance grows, it is easy to focus on the same target. Continue Reading...
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10.04.08From the last spot to Pepper’sFor anyone that knows this walk near UNC, on Franklin Street, around to Pepper's.
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09.30.08ProstraintsSome people find constraints, well, constraining. However, with a simple change in reference, constraints can actually be liberating. For instance, the keyboard on my BlackBerry is large enough for me to efficiently type. I can quickly write simple texts and it's versitile enough to hammar out longer thought pieces. Brilliant! Admittedly, a full size keyboard makes text entry much faster. But I find that on a full screen, I tend to reform sentences, thoughts, and arguments as my fingers race ahead of my writer's mind. Constrained to a small keyboard, my mind moves ahead allowing me to develop my ...
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09.24.08Human labor as an externalityTraffic's introduction had an interesting bit: In Jakarta, desperate Indonesians work as "car jockeys," hitchhikers of a sort who are paid to help drivers meet the passenger quota for the faster car-pool lanes. A negative externality to a scarce resource (roadway) while concurrently benefiting the economy from the ground up. Pigou would be happy.
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09.22.08Study finds runners more amiable than average*Anyone whom has run with me is either horrified or entertained by my propensity to give other runners high-fives. It's not that I am not in the business of collecting sweat samples nor am I playing cheerleader but that I am in such a good mood during my runs that a high-five for every other runner seems appropriate. What is most interesting about my would-be breaching experiment is the frequency of takers to my offer. In the last week, I have kept track of my success rate. Better than 80% of runners (or 42/51) are willing to high-five me, a total ...
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09.08.08Making your brand stickpromises to find the information you are looking for. promises you everything at the lowest price promises exceptional engineering. promises the best in athletic appeal. promises usable technology. promises a source of timely and accurate information. promises rugged. promises the best coffee experience. promises luxury. promises to help the needy. promises entertainment. promises fun. Great brands are ...
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08.25.08The Dip: In BriefI just finished Seth Godin's The Dip. It resonated with me. I would write more but I don't need to. Tom Felker is cogent in his summary that is hidden in the absurdly interesting documentary Hands on a Hard Body. Fast forward to 15:56 for his explanation, then rewind and watch the whole thing. Trust me.
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08.09.08The One Thing RuleAfter I sat myself down and threw out my plans to change the world in no time flat, I read The Art of Learning which outlines the techniques and strategies Josh Waitzkin uses to be ultra-successful in everything he does. My take away: focus and concentration. I don't know if it was Baader-Meinhof in action but I then stumbled upon this link: A difficult thing to do, and very few minds can do it. St. Paul gives us the shortest definition of concentration on record when he says, "This one thing I do," short, but tremendously significant. Another Bible definition is excellent: " ...
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08.08.08Dumblust [coinage]Dumblust noun To wish for a return to ignorance Example usage Windows down and music up on the ride home, I forgot that I was fired today, that my dog had died last week, and that my health was failing. Pulling into the driveway and seeing my smiling wife, I snapped back to reality and realized I'd have to break the news to her. I immeditaley had dumblust. Also dumblusted verb dumblusting verb dumbluster noun
recent posts
- The Wallstrip Edge [Book Terser]
- How to name your own price
- Keep your worthless predictions
- The Definitive Book of Body Language [Book Terser]
- Terse Reviews
- Flatten; because users are lazy.
- P(recession) = 1, P(American is shopper) = 1
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