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“When saving a file, you have an option to ‘maximize compatibility’. The thing is, they never tell you what the alternative is. Why would you ever choose to not maximize compatibility? Even worse, the dialog explicitly warns you that turning the option off is a bad idea. Seems like a stupid question then, doesn’t it?”
“When I draw up my daily lists of tasks I refuse to see it as stuff I have to get done. When I did that in the past, I’d feel a sense of dissatisfaction at the end of the day when I didn’t have everything ticked off, despite the fact that I knew when I wrote it, it was highly unlikely I’d get to everything. It’s a tiny shift, but by viewing it as a list of things I could do today, I’m relieving the pressure to get them all done. It feels like there’s more of an element of choice around how I spend my time – I don’t have to do x today, I could leave it till tomorrow and focus more attention on y today instead.” [tx SM]
“One of the most influential business books ever written…The book attracted a coterie of fans, some of them top corporate executives, who dared not speak of its impact except in private. When they read the book, often as college students, they now say, it gave form and substance to their inchoate thoughts, showing there is no conflict between private ambition and public benefit.”
“Every year, China launches thousands of rockets and artillery shells into the sky. They’re not part of a set of war games or preparation for a battle with Taiwan, but rather a battle with the weather. Through its Weather Modification Program, the Chinese government hopes to control the fickle forces behind rain. Run by the Weather Modification Department, a division of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Science, the program employs and trains 32,000 to 35,000 people across China, some of them farmers, who are paid $100 a month to handle anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers.”
Mike Birbiglia’s new comedy album “My Secret Public Journal Live” features this track which discusses how he cut a deal with “Glamazon” to take back a busted tv.
“Who remembers the name of their first stuffed animal? The time you were born, not the year. My third grade teacher had a Japanese last name that I can’t remember how to spell. Too bad it wasn’t my fourth grade teacher who I liked much less, but whose name is simple to spell. Least favorite nickname? Uh… First kiss? Well, she was cute. I remember that much. Maybe this is just a sign that I’m getting too old, but the only question from the list that I felt confident answering is my mother’s maiden name, and maybe I’ll give her a call just to be safe.”
“My opinion for technology startups is totally open space with some large conference rooms, some very small conference rooms which double as phone rooms for personal/private phone calls, and no private offices, and if that’s not possible (no such rental space in a neighborhood, etc.) then make your existing space as open as possible and turn private offices into rooms with 2-3 desks.”
“It makes simple products using plain ingredients like milk, honey, beeswax and almond oil, selling them in cheerful, tongue-in-cheek retro packages. It appeals to a diverse audience using a retail distribution system that includes national chains like CVS and Whole Foods Market, along with college bookstores and village gift stores. And it employs seemingly low-key marketing, like its interactive tent, without preaching a green gospel. This laissez-faire approach inspires word-of-mouth promotion.”
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I have to say I despise open offices… I have to be at least 30% less productive in open offices. Not matter what you do their is always a distraction to get you our of the zone.
Who likes open offices and why? How does it approve your productivity?
Excerpt:
After software, the most important tool to a hacker is probably his office. Big companies think the function of office space is to express rank. But hackers use their offices for more than that: they use their office as a place to think in. And if you’re a technology company, their thoughts are your product. So making hackers work in a noisy, distracting environment is like having a paint factory where the air is full of soot.
Also totally agree on Atlas Shrugged. Easily the most influential book I have ever read.
serge21 Sep 07
China is not the only one trying to modify the weather.
Here’s a documentary on how the US government does it too http://tinyurl.com/yqvww4
Chris21 Sep 07
”...showing there is no conflict between private ambition and public benefit.”
Except that it seems with most executives the idea of public benefit is forgotten in the pursuit of private ambition. Rationalizations rarely reflect reality.
Anonymous Coward21 Sep 07
Except that it seems with most executives the idea of public benefit is forgotten in the pursuit of private ambition. Rationalizations rarely reflect reality.
Cop out. It has nothing to do with executives. They are easy targets. It’s the same for all people. You, your friends, everyone.
ON PASSWORD REMINDERS : I agree. But who said password reminders had to be questions? Why not use something visual? How about a screen (the only example I can think of is the million dollar home page) where in an area of say 400px by 400px you have an assortment of 1000 tiny images. I’d say 1-1000 is pretty good security for starters. Make this a two step processes with one more visual element and you’d be set. Plus, our brain has an uncanny way of remembering visual elements much easier than say, “The name of your first grade teachers T.A.”. ;-)
Atlas Shrugged is an amazing book. Certainly the most influential novel I’ve ever read. If you’re going to read it, buy the hardback cause you’ll want to read it again and loan it out often.
I too find that an open office hurts my productivity. As a designer, I don’t like having incomplete works out in the open for the world to see. Nothing irks me more than a senior management guy cruising by my screen, catching a glimpse and then wanting to see the unfinished work. ugh.
JOE (Just Another Elitist)23 Sep 07
Oh, wow. The RoR community, already an elitist outfit, will now be reading capitalist fiction. Wowee Zowee!
Yeah, I would start with The Old Man and The Sea, then make a smooth transition right into The Waste Land.
& oh, while I hate to be “noisy” up in here —holla!! - - Das Kapital will **really change the way you think.
brad24 Sep 07
OK, I’ll be the token leftist in the group who offers himself up to be picked on (in a manner which Ayn would undoubtedly shun as weak and even evil, perhaps). I can’t believe how much buy in there is into Atlas Shrugged. I find it promotes quite an anti-social frame of mind. I mean, I know people who live like this, and they seem friendly enough, but lack any sort of compassion which might help ‘the weaker’ around them to better their lives. But I guess this is the point. The weak should die off, right?
A little dramatic, perhaps, but this line of thinking really pisses me off, being someone who is perhaps not as intelligent as the average…..
I’m glad someone else called out the stupid maximize compatibility dialog in PS. The only thing worse is the whole concept of approving any transformations you make to an object on a layer. I HATE having to constantly click the little checkmark in the top bar or click ok on the stupid “do you wish to apply changes?” dialog.
carlivar24 Sep 07
brad, your thinking is understandable. Compassion for the weak/downtrodden/unfortunate is an admirable trait. However food for thought: is it right to FORCE the successful to help the unsuccessful? Taxes and really any socialist policy is nothing but application of force: imposing YOUR views on others, backed with a gun. In other words “I’m going to force YOU to live according to MY ideals”.
What I get from Ayn Rand isn’t necessarily Capitalism Above All. It’s that no one should apply force to another.
Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson, Sarah Hatter, Ryan Singer, Sam Stephenson, Jamie Dihiansan, and Michael Berger in Chicago, Matt Linderman in NYC, Mark Imbriaco in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Jeremy Kemper in Pasadena, California, Jeffrey Hardy in Ontario, Canada, Joshua Sierles in Granada, Spain, Jason Zimdars in Oklahoma City, and Mr. Jamis Buck in Caldwell, Idaho.
Over 1 million people use 37signals' simple web-based software to collaborate on projects, track contacts, and organize their business with an intranet.
15 comments so far
Brandon Walsh 21 Sep 07
Gotta love the mustache!
John Kopanas 21 Sep 07
I have to say I despise open offices… I have to be at least 30% less productive in open offices. Not matter what you do their is always a distraction to get you our of the zone.
Who likes open offices and why? How does it approve your productivity?
Paul Thrasher 21 Sep 07
I prefer to call mine an “Opportunity List.”
carlivar 21 Sep 07
I despise open offices as well. Whenever I’m on this subject I have to link to:
Great Hackers
Excerpt: After software, the most important tool to a hacker is probably his office. Big companies think the function of office space is to express rank. But hackers use their offices for more than that: they use their office as a place to think in. And if you’re a technology company, their thoughts are your product. So making hackers work in a noisy, distracting environment is like having a paint factory where the air is full of soot.
Also totally agree on Atlas Shrugged. Easily the most influential book I have ever read.
serge 21 Sep 07
China is not the only one trying to modify the weather.
Here’s a documentary on how the US government does it too http://tinyurl.com/yqvww4
Chris 21 Sep 07
”...showing there is no conflict between private ambition and public benefit.”
Except that it seems with most executives the idea of public benefit is forgotten in the pursuit of private ambition. Rationalizations rarely reflect reality.
Anonymous Coward 21 Sep 07
Except that it seems with most executives the idea of public benefit is forgotten in the pursuit of private ambition. Rationalizations rarely reflect reality.
Cop out. It has nothing to do with executives. They are easy targets. It’s the same for all people. You, your friends, everyone.
Bil Kleb 22 Sep 07
John: Working Together In ‘War Rooms’ Doubles Teams’ Productivity, University Of Michigan Researchers Find
Dave 22 Sep 07
ON PASSWORD REMINDERS : I agree. But who said password reminders had to be questions? Why not use something visual? How about a screen (the only example I can think of is the million dollar home page) where in an area of say 400px by 400px you have an assortment of 1000 tiny images. I’d say 1-1000 is pretty good security for starters. Make this a two step processes with one more visual element and you’d be set. Plus, our brain has an uncanny way of remembering visual elements much easier than say, “The name of your first grade teachers T.A.”. ;-)
Matthew Moore 22 Sep 07
Atlas Shrugged is an amazing book. Certainly the most influential novel I’ve ever read. If you’re going to read it, buy the hardback cause you’ll want to read it again and loan it out often.
I too find that an open office hurts my productivity. As a designer, I don’t like having incomplete works out in the open for the world to see. Nothing irks me more than a senior management guy cruising by my screen, catching a glimpse and then wanting to see the unfinished work. ugh.
JOE (Just Another Elitist) 23 Sep 07
Oh, wow. The RoR community, already an elitist outfit, will now be reading capitalist fiction. Wowee Zowee!
Jess 23 Sep 07
Yeah, I would start with The Old Man and The Sea, then make a smooth transition right into The Waste Land.
& oh, while I hate to be “noisy” up in here —holla!! - - Das Kapital will **really change the way you think.
brad 24 Sep 07
OK, I’ll be the token leftist in the group who offers himself up to be picked on (in a manner which Ayn would undoubtedly shun as weak and even evil, perhaps). I can’t believe how much buy in there is into Atlas Shrugged. I find it promotes quite an anti-social frame of mind. I mean, I know people who live like this, and they seem friendly enough, but lack any sort of compassion which might help ‘the weaker’ around them to better their lives. But I guess this is the point. The weak should die off, right?
A little dramatic, perhaps, but this line of thinking really pisses me off, being someone who is perhaps not as intelligent as the average…..
Mrad 24 Sep 07
I’m glad someone else called out the stupid maximize compatibility dialog in PS. The only thing worse is the whole concept of approving any transformations you make to an object on a layer. I HATE having to constantly click the little checkmark in the top bar or click ok on the stupid “do you wish to apply changes?” dialog.
carlivar 24 Sep 07
brad, your thinking is understandable. Compassion for the weak/downtrodden/unfortunate is an admirable trait. However food for thought: is it right to FORCE the successful to help the unsuccessful? Taxes and really any socialist policy is nothing but application of force: imposing YOUR views on others, backed with a gun. In other words “I’m going to force YOU to live according to MY ideals”.
What I get from Ayn Rand isn’t necessarily Capitalism Above All. It’s that no one should apply force to another.
Comments are closed