All the Alex Bain you can handle!

Curing RSS addiction and continuous partial attention

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:01:46 -0400

Curing RSS addiction and continuous partial attention:

Halfway through this post, I had already decided that I’d link to it. Imagine my surprise when I got to the bottom and saw my own name staring at me. This is the first time I’ve ever stumbled across a reference to myself on the internet.

The author is behind both Instapaper and Tumblr, two of the best things about the internet these days.

In addition to being great at coding in PHP, he’s a talented writer with interesting opinions. I recommend checking out his blog and his tumbelog.

Seems like a bunch of people have discovered...

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:53:34 -0400

Seems like a bunch of people have discovered YearbookYourself.com today. Here are some of my best efforts (I think the site works better if you don’t have my pasty white complexion).

juliaallison: HOW AWESOME ARE HIS PANTS?? That would be Andy,...

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:22:29 -0400

juliaallison:

HOW AWESOME ARE HIS PANTS??

That would be Andy, the founder of Bonobos. I’m a big fan of men who have the balls to wear outfits like that.

At Ricky Van Veen’s flatmate Stephanie’s birthday party in Watermill last night.

I’m jealous of the fact that Andy runs a business where he can attend a fun party on a Saturday night and be marketing his pants at the same time. I’m not sure it’ll be the same if I’m carrying around stuffed animals :-)

The bet Steve Jobs didn’t decline

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:31:13 -0400

The bet Steve Jobs didn’t decline: Clever explanation of why it’s so impressive that Apple has succeed with the iPhone.

Lisa enjoying the last few moments of her bridal shower in our...

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:36:00 -0400

Lisa enjoying the last few moments of her bridal shower in our backyard on the Cape.

The perfect dessert: Chocolate cookies, coffee ice cream and...

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:16:34 -0400

The perfect dessert: Chocolate cookies, coffee ice cream and port Samantha was given ~20 years ago on her 1st b-day (it’s an ‘82)!!!

Corn hole & cocktails while my dad grills

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:53:38 -0400

Corn hole & cocktails while my dad grills

Traffic on the way to the Cape. Lisa & Furio are passed out...

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:28:04 -0400

Traffic on the way to the Cape. Lisa & Furio are passed out in the passenger seat. One of them worked all night last night. The other has stinky breath. My iPod is catching me up on the Carolla show, so I’m in no hurry.

Great article on Bonobos in the New York Post.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:28:45 -0400

Great article on Bonobos in the New York Post.

"Since I’m in the middle of moving, steps like creating a system of reference files seem..."

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:40:17 -0400

“Since I’m in the middle of moving, steps like creating a system of reference files seem impossible when I’m still surrounded by boxes. And as someone with more than 7,000 e-mails in her in-box, the concept of an empty one feels so preposterous I decide not to even bother.”

- Highly skeptical article in BusinessWeek about Getting Things Done. I understand this thinking, and it’s one of those things that will never work as long as you think you’re destined to fail.

His book is well written, and leaves the reader feeling optimistic about their chances of sticking to the system. This makes me wonder if the article’s writer had fully read the book.

Three great blog posts I read today about Twitter today

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:08:00 -0400

Here’s one from my old HBS prof, Andrew McAfee
And here’s another from someone I just follow on Twitter
And here’s from CNN

Great facts about the show 24

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:58:10 -0400

If Jack Bauer had been a Spartan the movie would have been called “1”
On a high school math test, Jack Bauer put down “Violence” as every one of the answers. He got an A+ on the test because Jack Bauer solves all his problems with Violence.
Jack Bauer doesn’t have a refresh button on his web browser. All events take place in real time.
On Jack Bauer’s Tax Returns, he has to claim the entire world as his dependents.

Found this list on Heg’s blog.

I don’t know how much you know about one-on-one Uno, but...

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:49:34 -0400

I don’t know how much you know about one-on-one Uno, but when a player has this many cards, they’re certainly not winning. Lisa’s ruthless. She’s without ruth.

Lisa & I are dining tonight at very dark P. F....

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:20:04 -0400

Lisa & I are dining tonight at very dark P. F. Chang’s.

Hofstadter's law

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:46:36 -0400

Hofstadter's law: Just learned about this clever concept from a great post on 43 folders. That site had been quiet for the last few months as the primary author, Merlin Mann, is a new father and was really excited about spending time with his baby. He’s easing back into writing though, and his stuff is better than ever. If you like geeky humor, check out his hilarious, prolific Twitter feed.

YouTube’s recommendation engine thought I’d like...

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:08:56 -0400

YouTube’s recommendation engine thought I’d like David Robertson’s pen trick. They were right, but half of why I enjoyed it was the fantastic Scottish accent.

“Nay pen… pen!”

Tom First came in and spoke at Highland Capital’s Summer...

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:53:07 -0400

Tom First came in and spoke at Highland Capital’s Summer Program for Entrepreneurs yesterday. Tom is one of the original founders of Nantucket Nectars, and he sold the company in 2002 to Cadbury.

He has recently started a new beverage company, O Water, and he told us about his experiences in marketing at startups.

He had a few other speakers before him, and they made liberal use of slides and traditional presentation tactics (quizzing the audience, personalizing their examples, etc.), and then in strolled Tom, and he began by announcing that he had no slides, and hadn’t prepared anything. The first two speakers had worn suits; Tom was in jeans and a Nike jacket.

Seated at the front of the room, he started telling us about how they’d started Nantucket Nectars, and he included all these incredible details that made the story come to life. He made presenting seem so easy. He told us about how spending money on marketing at a startup is terrifying, because you have no idea what the return will be, and how he had gone in to record the first Nantucket Nectars radio commercials without any script. He said that they focused on telling the truth (including that one of their delivery trucks had just crashed on Storrow Drive, spilling Juice everywhere), and just recording themselves chit-chatting, and they’d won a $100K award for the best radio ads of the year.

He’s doing interesting things all over again with his new product. Checks out the radio ads for O Water on their site. He’s pictured above recording a radio ad with Jacoby Ellsbury, from the Red Sox.

He had some great specific advice for FanZanimal, Inc. that he shared after his talk, and he said we should email him to follow up. He also happened to go to Brown, and the other Nantucket Nectar founder had been in my fraternity there, so he knew a lot about it’s history, and had some hilarious stories. He’s an incredibly nice guy, and I after trying his product yesterday for the first time, I can tell you that it’s really good. It has all the benefits of Gatorade, without the overwhelming taste of sugar.

"Collaboration is great for wikis and car washes; in business (as in design), I’ll take a..."

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:17:22 -0400

“Collaboration is great for wikis and car washes; in business (as in design), I’ll take a gifted fascist every time.”

- Merlin Mann via Twitter

Burgers & dogs on the Cape. So pumped.

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:09:33 -0400

Burgers & dogs on the Cape. So pumped.

Billy unveils the painting he did from a favorite photo of Ann...

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:34:34 -0400

Billy unveils the painting he did from a favorite photo of Ann as we were wrapping up a game of rook.