November 2011
2 posts
“That’s the thing about delightful details: they’re not just another thing you...”
– Apple and the Kindle (Aaron Swartz’s Raw Thought)
“I hate it when people call themselves ‘entrepreneurs’ when what they’re really...”
– Das Tumblr: Steve Jobs on Startups
October 2011
3 posts
“He was never embarrassed about working hard, even if the results were failures....”
– A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs
“My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him...”
– Norman Maclean, via Best Made Co.
“One of the surest tests [of the superiority or inferiority of a poet] is the way...”
– Great Artists Steal the Future
September 2011
1 post
“Effectiveness is that which you do that gets you closer to the goals you want to...”
– Rick Ellis | Journal | Efficiency Vs. Effectiveness
July 2011
1 post
“Motivation, productivity, efficiency—these things are not constants. In my...”
– Jason Fried, Co-founder of 37signals, on How to Get Creative
June 2011
1 post
“In the process of making the film, we reviewed the material every day. Now this...”
– Getting over embarrassment in order to get things done | | ProtoShare BlogProtoShare Blog
May 2011
1 post
“When you are solving a difficult problem re-ask the problem so that your...”
– You Are Solving The Wrong Problem « Aza on Design
April 2011
6 posts
“So, can you make do with a ZipCar instead of owning a car? A gym membership...”
– Your Shit, My Stuff, Goldilocks, and Making the Bed You Sleep In
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me 4 Years Ago | Amir... →
There’s so much good tucked into this one small post, but I have to at least mention a few things:
The magic moment really happened when I made peace with the fact that I’d just wasted a good deal of time learning things I didn’t really need, believing there was a magic word someone would utter that would launch me into action. Every event, every conference, and every blog post was just...
“The secret of success turns out to be so incredibly simple: Work your ass off....”
– Farming vs. Mining
Wes Baker →
A little heads up here: I have a new blog, one where I’ll be writing in longer form than what you find here. Also, this blog—-my Tumblr blog—-will be more of a gathering point for the longer articles I’m planning on writing. As such, the domain and title will be changing, but the content should remain roughly the same.
Dunning–Kruger effect - Wikipedia, the free... →
If you’ve ever wondered why that beginner thinks they know more than you do, the Dunning-Kruger effect is in play. It comes from the amateur not knowing what they don’t know and the expert knowing that there is a lot they don’t know. Combine those two and you have overconfident beginners and self-deprecating experts.
Hat tip to Nathan.
“Good writing experiences are self-discovery. Each word pulls back the veil a...”
– Tweeting and Writing and Deflating Like a Balloon
This is the reason why I’m writing these days.
March 2011
7 posts
“Listen to your customers, but don’t let them tell you what to do. Let me...”
– Ten Lessons from GitHub’s First Year
“After that fateful first meeting, it didn’t take too long for me to figure out...”
– Contempt and Caring - Cognition: The blog of web design & development firm Happy Cog
“SHAM (the Self-Help and Actualization Movement) takes advantage by cleverly...”
– SHAM Scam: Scientific American
Frank Chimero: Classroom Rules →
viafrank:
This, plus a schedule, forms the totality of my syllabus this term.
Give it your best. Work hard. Be respectful. Show up on time. Be physically & mentally present. Anything less than your best is a waste of your time, mine, and that of your classmates.
Show the work every day. Tight feedback…
“[…] if you asked random people on the street if they’d like to be able to...”
– How to Do What You Love
February 2011
13 posts
“I have come to accept that I’m really not smart. I’m slow, forgetfull, concepts...”
– Hacker News | I’m a cargo cult programmer, help me
This is one of the few comment threads on Hacker News worth reading. We’ve all had these moments in our career—where we feel stupid, slow and like this isn’t the career for us. If you’re feeling this way, read through it....
“the learning curve has value, it is essential for learning, and it needs to be...”
– Vivek Haldar : The Cognitive Style of Unix
“instead of wanting things to be “perfect” (and what is perfect anyway?), we...”
– » going with the flow :focus
“I honestly don’t know what works for others. The act of writing, like any art,...”
– John Gruber (via John Gruber: A Mix of the Technical, the Artful, the Thoughtful, and the Absurd)
Too Well Read?
Seeking advice is addicting and can become a proxy for action. […] Be suspicious of lists, advice, and lists of advice.
That comes from someone I highly respect and is a great suggestion for people who are stuck on self-help books and list posts. I’ve been hearing this pretty loud and clear for the past six months from a couple of people and yet, I’ve ignored it. Book...
Curations for the week of February 6th
Every week I read a bunch of articles that come from a bunch of sources and for the most part it’s inconsequential fluff. But every now and again, something good comes along, something worth saving, something worth sharing. On that note, I’ve selected a few articles that made me stop and think this week.
Your Shit, My Stuff, Goldilocks, and Making the Bed You Sleep In from Frank...
“If you are surrounded by positive cues, deindividuation could lead you to work...”
– Deindividuation
This is why CrossFit works so well.
“I’m learning, rather forcibly I suppose, to be okay with things taking time. I’m...”
– For Non-Startups, Things Just Take Time / Cameron Moll / Designer, Speaker, Author
December 2010
1 post
“It is through you and those like you that I have done the major part of what has...”
– Theodore Roosevelt via Iron Sharpens Iron: The Power of Master Mind Groups | The Art of Manliness
November 2010
1 post
“American culture at large is no stranger to a Puritan work ethic, and that labor...”
– Alex Payne — Staying Healthy and Sane At a Startup
October 2010
6 posts
“Interestingly, these results suggest that although almost everyone has problems...”
– Dan Ariely, from his book “Predictably Irrational” via You Are Not So Smart
Someone Else's Code
I’m reposting this from the NewCity Blog in case folks haven’t seen it.
Head down, fingers tapping and teeth gnashing, that’s how you’d find me if I was working on someone else’s code. I want to rewrite it. I mean, it’s awful just look at it. There are no comments and there are ternary operators where they shouldn’t be and they aren’t used where they should be. And to make it all...
“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony;...”
– Albert Einstein via
“When you understand that ideas often seem crazy at first, that failure is just a...”
– 8 Bad Habits that Crush Your Creativity and Stifle Your Success | Randy Kepple Photographs Blog
“Achieving expertise and doing creative work is all horribly complicated and...”
– “Distraction,” Simplicity, and Running Toward Shitstorms | 43 Folders
I can hear Merlin ranting about posting quotes and tips now, but damn this stuff is top notch and it needs to be read.
“let’s be honest: although most of us have plenty of perfectly serviceable...”
– “Distraction,” Simplicity, and Running Toward Shitstorms | 43 Folders
September 2010
7 posts
“Seeking advice is addicting and can become a proxy for action. Giving it can...”
– What advice would you give to a graphic design student? - Frank Chimero
This whole post is worth reading many times, in fact, this is the fourth or so time I’ve read it.
“Your code will always be a mess. You will have learned a lot. It will never be...”
– Make Games - Finishing a Game
“Stop looking for recipes about how to optimize your workflow. You want it? Get...”
– Frank Chimero - How-To
“If you do only what you know and do it very, very well, chances are that you...”
– Twyla Tharp via
“The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise,...”
– 99 Excuses For NOT Making Ideas Happen