My Ninja, Please! 6.9.11 : Pool Ethics

Posted: June 9th, 2011
at 1:08pm by mnp
Categories: myninjaplease,crime,ninjas are everyehere,ethics
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Job Myths
Myth: 9 to 5 jobs are Stable
Reality: Somewhere along the way you got convinced that a 9 to 5 job is stable. From experience I can tell you it’s only stable until a company decides to go through a layoff. When somebody else is in control of your income is that really stable? Sure there’s short term risk in an entrepreneurial venture. But isn’t the risk worth it considering the long term risk is letting somebody else control your financial future? It’s something that I encourage the skeptics on the sideline to consider.
Types of Photographers
Posted: June 9th, 2011
at 8:32am by mnp
Categories: too good to be true,photo,lists
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What Makes Software Great (And What Doesn’t)
Posted: June 8th, 2011
at 2:36pm by mnp
Categories: computers,development,#twitterisfothebirds
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Working with Ice Coffee
This is reason #1 why working for a startup is kind of like iced coffee: it’s not for everyone. Working in a true entrepreneurial environment takes someone who’s willing to steer a little bit off the beaten path. The tried and true taste you get with a regular cup of coffee is, in this analogy, the "taste" you get from a bigger, corporate environment. And that’s the thing - there’s lots of people who want to think that they’d really like iced coffee or like the idea of trying a change of pace. But to really enjoy working for a startup, it takes a commitment to the craft. It’s very certainly not a one-time or "try it out" sort of thing. Two sips into your first iced coffee and you may find yourself wishing you’d stuck with the ordinary.
That’s where we get to reason #2: with iced coffee, the ice melts. Even if you’re bought in up front, over time, the ice melts, and the drink you think you ordered just isn’t the same. Now I suppose you could say that traditional java has a corresponding fate - that of losing its warmth - we’ve all grown accustomed to topping off our cups with a little fresh coffee to get it back to normal taste. In a startup, you constantly have to gauge whether there’s optimal "ice" in the drink or whether you need to go back and reconfigure things. I think of this in terms of startups that are struggling to find their legs and finding that the initial thesis of their iced coffee vision is not exactly working. The pining for the old cup of joe is a real danger. (Source)
Startups Need to Solve Problems Not Boredom
This may seem obvious, but for some reason, when I survey the list of recent startups I see in the Valley I can’t help but wonder what the hell they are thinking. What I’m talking about is beyond the old adage, a solution in search of a problem, this is more serious. This is an enormous number of startups focusing on one infinite black hole of a single ‘problem’: boredom. This is a shame for two reasons: 1) boredom is not a problem - it is a motivator and 2) since boredom is not a problem, it cannot be solved for - only procrastinated. This makes boredom an incredibly tempting target for entrepreneurs because we can all procrastinate. And on top of that, boredom seems to be solvable, according to the Valley, with only one tired tactic - endless communication.
Posted: June 7th, 2011
at 10:20pm by mnp
Categories: philosophy,entrepreneurship
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Quote of the Day
For the past 4 years or so, I’ve worked without ever having a clock in sight. I don’t wear a watch, I removed the clock from the menu bar of my computer, and I cover up any clocks I can’t remove. I realized that watching the clock, even subconsciously, is stressful. You’re always aware of the time ticking by, wondering if you’re getting enough done or if it’s time to eat lunch yet. But you can’t fully focus if part of your mind is keeping track of the time, so I decided to experiment by going clockless. Four years later, and there is no going back. Sure, sometimes I accidentally forget to eat lunch, or stay up until 3am when I meant to go to bed at 10pm, but I think of that as a feature, not a bug. If I was able to skip those things without noticing, I was probably in the zone, and 3 hours of zone time is equivalent to about 8 hours of fractured time, so it’s well worth the trade. via
Is There a New Geek Anti-intellectualism?
Posted: June 7th, 2011
at 6:17pm by mnp
Categories: hood status,myninjaplease,life,weaponry,fo' real?,real life news,9th dan,science,boredom killer,"ninja",internets,philosophy
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