February 2012
1 post
“Having worked for & with a # of celebrities, I am left with this: Being...”
December 2011
2 posts
Kind of amazing.
I took my first swim lesson a year and a half ago.
This week, my swim coach asked me if I wanted to sign on as an assistant swim coach for the high school team he coaches.
I’ll have to pass an interview and a background check and ultimately be selected, but…how cool to be invited! Wow.
October 2011
2 posts
“Her daily routine is unswerving. From 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. she swims. Afterward,...”
– US Masters Swimming 2002 profile of Laura Val. She was 50 then. Earlier this year she broke 6 Masters records for the age 60-64 age group. Damn.
great headline for iPhone 4S / nice fully-animated takeover for Yahoo! Mail gaddafi hitting the bong chicks being freaky
September 2011
3 posts
DIY Sprint Tri, 10/1
I’m hosting a sprint triathlon on Saturday, Oct 1. Want to join?
Overview:
Distance: 0.8 mile swim, 3.7 mile bike, 1.4 mile run
Start point: Aquatic Park, San Francisco
End point: Golden Gateway Tennis & Swim, San Francisco
Estimated cost of participation: $8
Rules:
The event is self-timed and on the honor system. Transitions do not count against your time. There is no official...
Funemployment Wish List: Deep Clean Edition
I rarely have time to deep clean my house, because I’m too busy. If I had all the time in the world, this is what I’d do for a week.
apply wd-40 to door and cabinet hinges
arrange, organize
clean counter tops
clean doors, doorknobs
clean exterior cabinets
clean exterior refrigerator
clean floor behind refrigerator, stove
clean glass and mirrors
clean interior closets
clean...
August 2011
4 posts
The Unofficial 140 Proof Core Principles
Make everyone look good.
Take risks, and support people when they stick their necks out.
Be solutions-focused or be ignored.
“The match was won on two goals by Lionel Messi of Barcelona. Lionel Messi is...”
– “There Are Only Two Types of Athletes”
“A highly complex and largely discrete set of laws and exemptions from laws has...”
– An Investment Manager’s View on the Top 1%
This SQL query mystifies and awes me.
SELECT SUM(num_imp), fsc.name FROM (SELECT count(*) AS num_imp, i.ad_id FROM impressions_month i WHERE i.verified = true AND i.created_date >= ‘2011-08-02’ AND i.created_date < ‘2011-08-03’ GROUP BY i.ad_id) ad_imp, (SELECT campaigns.id, campaigns.name FROM advertisers, campaigns WHERE advertisers.kind =...
June 2011
3 posts
“Uncontrolled search and seizure is one of the first and most effective weapons...”
– Justice Robert H. Jackson, recently quoted in “Free to Search and Seize”
May 2011
5 posts
Suggestions for counting laps in the pool (Rhyming...
Twenty-five. Rev up for the drive!
Done with fifty, pretty nifty.
Seventy-five, now back to the hive. [back to the first wall to claim the full 100 yards]
Done one hun, but you’ve just begun.
Two-fifty, keep the breaths thrifty.
Three hun — y’all, don’t poke fun.
Three-seventy-five and you’re still alive.
That was four hundred! Showin’ up those who wondered.
Arr, five hundred! This pool be...
Teach me the ways of good works
What do you think are the best causes to support, and why are they important?
There are many good works to choose from. Do you help people far away, people who are close, future people, little people, suffering people…?
I have been dipping a toe into the sea of good works (by giving small amounts to organizations or friends’ pledge drives) and now wonder where to devote more time or...
Swim Report, 1 Year
Above: the start of the Lake Berryessa 1-mile open water race, where I’ll be swimming in 3 weeks.
Let’s face it: the first time you get excited about something is possibly the most excited you’ll ever feel about it. The rush of the new is a peak that’s hard to match. So I’d like to take this moment to capture my feelings about today marking 1 year since I started...
April 2011
4 posts
“This is a patio table that the glass broke, so if you have a piece of glass and...”
– Craigslist, because I keep spare crap around in case someone can’t take care of their own shit
“The transition was going to be arduous and complicated. This was particularly...”
– Eric Snider, “Leaving in a Huff”
March 2011
4 posts
“The problem with the argument that Manning is being kept in long-term solitary...”
– Terry A. Kupers, “Cruel and unusual treatment of WikiLeaks suspect”
How to Deactivate Your Twitter Account, the Nice...
So you’ve decided to leave Twitter. It’s OK. It happens. What’s the best way to delete your Twitter account?
Here’s a way to do it that prevents future issues for you and helps other people at the same time. For most people it’ll take about 5 extra minutes to do it right.
Fortunately, Twitter makes deactivating accounts really easy. There’s a “Deactivate my account” link at...
February 2011
5 posts
“Justifying the leader’s behavior is the sole prism through which the...”
– Glenn Greenwald, “Partisan Bliss”
“I know it seems unfair that you have to work around a man’s fear and...”
– Tracy McMillan, “Why You’re Not Married”
“That’s because the U.S. Government has invented — and federal courts...”
– “US Justice v. the world,” Salon
Freestyle Racing: Lesson Notes
pushing off
Speed is highest at the beginning, so maintaining momentum is a priority. Push off well with a fast, shimmery dolphin kick and a tight streamline. Don’t turn to breathe for the first few strokes.
stroke
On the pull, finish the whole stroke. The power is at the end of the pull.
Recovery: keep arms higher so hands enter later (general technique note for me)
Drive arms long...
January 2011
4 posts
“You are also reminded that any inappropriate remarks or jokes about security...”
– Houston International Airport
Whenever anyone asks about the right way to do...
Q. How do I know what I should major in? A. Take Apple. They have this down to a science and innovate continuously.
Q. We’re expecting. How do we become the best parents we can be? A. Let me draw a comparison for you. Apple is a great example of this.The fact is that Apple’s minimalist philosophy toward design has rippled throughout the world and permeated every aspect of our lives.
Q. I lost...
I want to decorate my wall with a word. I’d love it to be smart or thoughtful. Initially I chose FREE, but that later felt a litle cheesy. Here’s an example of how it might look. It’s a set of framed letters hanging in my little bathroom.
I have four frames, so it has to be a four-letter word. Suggestions so far (some dirtier words have been omitted): FRAG TOOT FOOD HEYO STUD...
December 2010
5 posts
“And then he looked up at me and just stared at me with the stare that only Steve...”
– - John Sculley, President, Apple Computer, 1983-93
PBS, “Triumph of the Nerds”
Greetings, friends. I was just thinking of you and read your recent posts. I’ve missed so many. Went to see my dad for Christmas. More on that later.
Breaststroke: Lesson notes
Here’s what I learned from my breaststroke lesson today. If you have something to add, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
pushing off
pull to sides, bringing hands all the way down to hips
then whip-kick with legs while sneaking arms up to front again
then surface and whip-kick/pull normally
whip-kicking
keep knees relaxed and not tightly held together
ankles splayed outward,...
“Why should a financial engineer be paid four times to a hundred times as much as...”
– Andrew Sheng, chief adviser, China Banking Regulatory Commission, in Inside Job.
November 2010
1 post
“Instead of making this Wednesday National Opt-Out Day in which a bunch of...”
– Ex-DHS Secretary of Policy Stewart Baker
TSA workers face verbal abuse from travelers
October 2010
1 post
1 tag
Swim report, 23 weeks
San Francisco Aquatic Park, the spot for this morning’s bay swim. We got just outside the round pier in the center and turned back because the current was strong.
I think swimming is my thing. I can tell I’ve learned a lot, due to consistent practice and continuing to take swim lessons. My coach is still infinitely more helpful than any blog, video, or book I’ve found. I...
September 2010
1 post
““A Mosque at Ground Zero Spits on the Graves of 9/11,” one placard...”
– “On This Ground, Zero Tolerance” from NorthJersey.com. Link via Brett Lider.
August 2010
5 posts
““Solution”:
This word has come to mean everything from the...”
– 17 Awful Business Expressions, Forbes
Three Travel Tips
Try these the next time you fly.
Bring an empty Sigg and fill it at the water fountain after security, so you avoid paying $4 for water or waiting for the flight attendant to come by.
When you go through the security checkpoint, stack your bins on top of your carryon til it’s time to put them through the scanner. This saves room on the table for other people’s crap.
If...
1 tag
Swim report, 12 weeks
Someday I would love to swim here, at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. (photo by Thomas Hawk)
Progress:
Began learning butterfly and breaststroke. Tried sprinting (freestyle) for the first time & swam a pool length in under 20 seconds. Can press out of the pool easily now.
Can’t do flip turns right yet. Can’t keep up with people at my swim practice. Don’t have...
“Now you listen to me, I’m an advertising man, not a red herring. I’ve got a job,...”
– Roger Thornhill, North by Northwest
“I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be...”
– Anne Rice