Category: Uncategorized

Before I post again, I thought I should add a little separator post, to note that this blog went away for about three years.  Yes, I was working at a startup, and was kinda busy for part of that time, but that's not why - I was just bored with blogging and had nothing to… Continue reading 3-year hiatus →

For the last couple of years, sometime around New Year's Day, I have written down goals for the coming year. I'm calling them goals, not resolutions, because I think that there's a difference, and that goals work better, at least for me. Here's an example of what I don't like in a resolution. Let's say… Continue reading Goals vs. resolutions →

OK 2006, see ya later. I can't say that I'm sorry, or that I'll miss you too much. Professionally it was actually challenging, fun, and (at the end) tumultuous in not a bad way, and 2006 sends me out somewhat crisply, with me wrapping up my former job in December and starting a new one… Continue reading Goodbye 2006 →

In her interview with me, Sugarrae said "He is definitely a witty guy, but has a stern way of saying things sometimes that leaves you wondering if he was being serious or simply having fun with you. ;-)". She's right - although I make jokes _all_ the time, I never smile when I do, for… Continue reading Smiley on a stick →

I've been mulling this one for a while, but finally had to pull the trigger. I'll be leaving Yahoo! Search at the end of the month, and going to a small startup. The decision was hard, because there is absolutely nothing wrong with my Yahoo! job. The people in Engineering, Research and Applied Research (the… Continue reading Leaving Yahoo! →

"Are you here for the convention, sir?", the taxi driver says brightly as we pull away from the Las Vegas airport. I love the "the" in that question. 🙂 I wonder how many visitors to the thousands of of tradeshows that Vegas hosts every year are momentarily cheered to realize that their yearly meeting is… Continue reading The convention →

There's a pop-psychotherapeutic idea floating around out there to the effect that confidence is a good thing. Confident people are to be emulated; less confident people are to be encouraged to be more confident. I've felt for a while that this idea is wrong and dangerous - that confidence (in yourself) is like trust (in… Continue reading A concise counter-argument to the idea of confidence as a desirable personality trait →

Here's a cool article on rocketbelts in Slate. Clearly the next big thing after we all get our flying cars. The big problem (and, no doubt, the main barrier to serious consumer adoption) seems to be maintaining stability. (Check the quote about a bad flight: "I felt like I was a balloon someone blew up… Continue reading Rocketbelts →

A couple of weeks ago I took a four-day weekend to visit my long-time friend Jeff in Denver. Back in the day, this was a drinking-buddy friendship, with much time spent fruitfully in the taverns and pool halls of Chicago. Lately, though, we spend more time fine-dining (Jeff's a serious foodie), doing stuff outdoors, and… Continue reading On a horse right now. ttyl. →

Due to a fateful domestic-adoption decision several months back, a black cat now crosses my path about 20 times a day (and maybe hundred times a day on the weekend). I guess if it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all (and if it wasn't for disappointments I wouldn't have any… Continue reading So how bad is my luck going to be _now_? →