adamyntium

Category: society

  • Baseball and the unfairness of the American way

    $29 for nosebleed seats at a recent baseball game.  You’ve got to be kidding me.

    Okay, first let me admit a few things.  Baseball itself bores the hell out of me; I attended only for the social atmosphere and the opportunity to hang with some friends.  And yes, I do pay (less grudgingly) $40-$70 for an evening of live theatre.

    But I got to thinking… $29 for this activity is just ridiculous, and not because it’s not worth $29 of fun for some people.  No, it’s because I’m being inundated with bazillions of blaring, garish ads all around me, I can barely see what’s going on on the field without binoculars, and these overpaid oft-steroid’ed babies down there are raking in millions of bucks per year.  Frankly, if all was right with the world, I thought, these folks (and their managers and everyone associated with such a non-critical function of society) would make, say, $150,000 a year, tops.

    My dad, the semi-retired award-winning teacher featured on CNN and in People magazine for his life-changing dedication to young people… he certainly never topped six figures in a year.

    Firefighters, paramedics, Peace Corp engineers… how many of them make in a year what some whiny brats make in the stadium in one week or even one day?

    Clearly, there’s absolutely zero correlation in our country (or, sadly, most countries) between intrinsic-worth-to-society and compensation.

    You can argue that sports pulls us together, promotes harmony, makes our lives brighter.  Pshaw.  Maybe in a bygone era.  How many of our current sports “heroes” can rightly be called, well, heroes?  How many of them serve as shining examples to our kids?  Are there ANY highly-paid pro athletes who clearly play for the love of the game, for the love of their fans, for anything other than more bling-bling?  When I walked out of the ballpark the other day, I felt like I had just paid to be witnessing a long, drawn out commercial featuring plastic video effects, plastic runners, and plastic fans who dutifully cheered on cue whenever “Make some noise!” flashed on the ad-covered jumbotron.

    It’s not just the world of sports, though.  If we stopped paying [x] million per movie or per CD, would we really find ourselves without any willing and talented actors and actresses or writers or musicians?  Would NO ONE contribute athletically or artistically without the potential for striking it rich?

    *  *  *

    In my ideal society, people could still easily make a comfortable living as athletes, entertainers, artists.  But the spectacle of a handful of people—and, frankly, often not-very-nice people at that—getting filthy stinking rich while the majority of others have to work two unglamorous jobs to make ends meet… that just really irks me.

    And, hell, I’ll go off on a tangent here… why is America so addicted to Names?  Why do we go see an unflinchingly horribly crappified movie just because it stars a star?  Can’t we just get a poster of the guy or girl and put it up in our bedroom?  Conversely, why do fine films languish simply because they’ve “got no star power”?

    In a larger sense… why are we so addicted to fame, or, more specifically, the famous?  Are our lives that meaningless and empty that we have to hero’ize and throw money at those who already have way too much adulation and moolah?

    Blah.  Unfortunately, I have no answers.  Where people will pay, people will earn.  And, as usual, we’ll continue to be blind to the long-term benefits of truly supporting (okay, subsidizing) careers that truly make the world a better place.

    Until someday, we idealistic geeks and goddamn commie-pinko intellectuals take over the world.  Maybe even in my lifetime… 😉

    *  *  *

    P.S.—If, even after being subjected to this rant, you’d still like to see my photos from the baseball park, you’re welcome to 😀

  • What do you do with thoughtless, clueless acquaintances?

    Earlier this week, I got an e-mail from an acquaintance which basically started off… “Hey man, you know a lot about [x], right?  So would you recommend…”

    That in itself isn’t so offensive.  But when someone routinely takes and takes (advice, help, my time via his rantings, etc.) and never gives (a sincere “How are things?”, a random “Hey, I was thinking of you” without a request for help, etc.)… well, that just gets incredibly annoying.

    Luckily, I don’t know many people like this.  I have much better taste in friends, and I’ve been really pleased to end up with colleagues who are consistently thoughtful and personable.  But still… there are still enough clueless leeches I hear from that I ought to come up with decent ways of addressing this situation.  And I’d love some of your insight and recommendations!

    In my undergraduate days, I learned the hard way that there are always a few people around you that—deliberately or unintentionally—will consistently take advantage of you for as long as you let them.

    I clearly remember one particularly notable example of this back from my undergrad days.  Just as I had in high school, I provided piano accompaniment services free of charge to my fellow students, and dammit, I was actually quite good :-D.  Before college, I had enjoyed thoughtful cards, even gifts from those I accompanied, and so understandably I expected more of the same in college.  But it was not to be; even after helping a woman get selected as a understudy for a lead role in a prominent broadway touring company, I don’t even think I got as much as a thank you.

    So after one too many of such inexplicable snubs, I literally walked back to my dorm room and cried.  A friend (clearly a true friend, though I don’t remember who) promptly gave me some tough love and said something along the lines of this:

    “Look, man, you’re an idiot.  You’re accompanying all these people for FREE.  And then you wonder why you get stepped on?  Charge money for crissake!  People believe they get what they pay for.  You’re free.  You’re not worth anything, so you’re treated as worthless.”

    So, reluctantly at first, I started charging money.  Sure enough, I continued to get gigs, and along with the gigs I also got thank you cards, invitations to parties, even small gifts in addition to the cash.  I must admit to having still slightly resented what I felt was such utter stupidity (I hadn’t gotten any better as a pianist; I wasn’t actually worth more!)  But over time, I realized… hey, that’s just the way the world is sometimes.

    *  *  *

    This isn’t to say that I think there’s no room for kindness, particularly random acts thereof :-D.  But I’ve learned that I have to treat and portray what I have to offer—time and talent—as valuable, or risk losing respect.

    So this brings me to an interesting decision.  When faced (most commonly via IM or e-mail) with another Attack of the Selfish Person, should I:

    1) Simply ignore them.
    2) Actually block them on IMs.
    3) Make excuses why I “can’t” help them.
    4) Give them a clue as to how selfish they are.

    I’ve typically done a variation of #3.  Sometimes helping a bit, other times noting that I’m busy and hoping they’ll get the hint.  They typically don’t.

    I find #1 to be just simply rude (two wrongs don’t make a right), and #2 to be a bit too much on the passive-aggressive side.

    So that leaves #4.  I’m tempted to say something like the following:

    “You know, I’ve avoided saying this because I don’t wish to sound meanspirited, but… for the umpteenth straight time, you’ve asked for something or rambled on about your life or both and NOT ONCE have you asked how I’m doing or suggested a willingness to help me out with anything.  In short, you’ve just come across as REALLY SELFISH.  I thought about just ignoring you, but I figured, hey, maybe you don’t realize how you’re coming across.  And maybe by giving you a bit more self-awareness, I can save from you someone you *really* care about from simply telling you off.”

    Then again, I really despise confrontation, and—given the fact that these folks’ behavior has made me NOT care about them—do I really even owe them the favor of a clue?

    It’s hard to say.  I do wish, as I was growing up, that more of my peers or teachers had given ME a clue.  After all, I’m happy with how my life has turned out, but I could have achieved a sense of peace and self-worth and a robust social circle a lot sooner had more folks kindly but firmly offered me some harsh but helpful feedback.

    And frankly, I don’t really believe that the selfish folks I’ve referenced above are bad much less evil people.  I’m guessing they just don’t understand how they’re coming across or why their one-sided interactions might be so annoying.

    *  *  *

    But enough of my musings.

    1) Do you know selfish people like this?
    2) How do you handle ‘em?
    3) Do you have any interesting or funny stories of successful clueings-in?  Or “interventions” gone horribly or hilariously wrong?

  • I’ve joined Google

    A couple of months ago, I became a Googler.  Since my boss—Matt Cutts—has already so kindly introduced me on his blog, I feel this is probably a good time to say a few words about my new job 😀

    The short version:  I’m honored, humbled, a bit nervous, and yes, very happy.  As a lifelong geek who’s been excited about search and Google in particular for many years, it’s hugely fascinating to be experiencing new adventures from the “inside.”

    Okay, now for the longer version!


    What I’m doing at Google

    My main focus is on broadening communications between Google and Webmasters… learning as much as I can from both Matt and the Webmasters he chats with so amiably and then building upon this rapport.  Or, more colloquially, as it’s been joked around the office, my uber-challenging goal is to become a “MiniMatt.”  Though a colleague did note that a MiniMatt sounds like a scary cross between a convenience store and a diminutive vaccum cleaner.  Hmm.

    You’ll find me hanging out at Webmaster conferences and various geek gatherings, occasional replying to Google-related blog or forum posts, tackling some Webmaster-related e-mails, and undoubtedly popping up in other random places.

    I’ll also be a “Webmaster Advocate” inside the Googleplex.  I’ve seen firsthand that tons of folks here already eagerly read and appreciate Google- and search-related comments throughout the Web; I’ll be doing what I can to expedite concerns, bug reports, and other feedback to the right colleagues.

    I’m coming into this job with a lot of knowledge about search, Google, and communications, but I know I have a lot to learn and also much trust to earn.

    What my new job means for my blog

    I’m not sure yet.  For the time being, I’m going to generally maintain a separation between the personal and work spheres of my life.  This means that you’re likely to be disappointed if you subscribe to BLADAM expecting to read lots of juicy Googly tidbits.

    With that said, though, I do admire Robert, Jeremy, and, of course, my boss Matt and recognize that their work-related blogversations have very often educated, engaged, and entertained thousands.  So perhaps I’ll come up with a middle ground here—occasionally sharing my enthusiasm, useful Google tips, amusing Google observations, and so on—while avoiding topics likely to make my colleagues annoyed or uncomfortable.

    “So I have a question about my site…”

    Please, not here.  I’m enjoying tackling general and specific Webmaster issues every day at work… and my teammates and I are really, truly committed to opening up new channels of communication (like our Sitemaps tools and active Sitemaps GoogleGroup, for instance, plus MUCH more to come!).  But everyone needs a break from work now and then, so please respect my personal space here on the Web.  Thanks!

    With that said, I know that Matt got some outstanding feedback on Google Communications, and so I’d be nuts if I didn’t also invite you to share your Google Communication ideas below.  I’d also love to hear from you about your favorite bloggers who masterfully juggle work and non-work topics on their blogs; I could use some more role models in case I decide to go that route eventually :-D.

    *  *  *

    Anyway… to you faithful BLADAM readers who’ve stuck with me during all my bloggily dry and/or boring spells, thank you.  To you new readers, welcome!  It’s a pleasure to have you here, and—as always—I look forward to your comments.  Now I’m heading offline to go celebrate my birthday weekend! 😀

  • 10 Steps Towards InfoSanity

    I was suitably inspired by this commentary on “keeping up.”

    And so I’ll ask you what I asked myself over the last few weeks:
    How many undealt-with messages do you have in your inbox?
    How many paper magazines or newspapers do you get regularly?
    How many RSS feeds do you subscribe to?
    How many “must see” pages do you have bookmarked in your Web browser?

    How many of these items make you happy, provide you with essential information, truly help you have a better life?

    I’ll tell you where I stood a few weeks ago. 4,000+ e-mails in my inbox.  Over 100 e-mails coming in daily (and no, that doesn’t include mails at work).  Many thousands of unread blog items. Nearly a thousand to-do items.

    Now I’m making progress. My inbox is down to fewer than 100 mails.  I’ve begun trimming my RSS feeds.  I decided not to renew two of my magazine subscriptions.  And I cleaned up my browser bookmarks.

    Here are some of the cleaning techniques I’ve used; perhaps you’ll find some of them helpful.

    1. I shifted over *all* my mail to Gmail.
    If I don’t read an e-newsletter within a day or two, I archive it.  It’s available to be searched for later, but now it doesn’t clutter my inbox and I don’t feel compelled to read it.  Gmail isn’t a perfect e-mail reader, but—among other cool features—its one-click (or one-keystroke) way of archiving is a beauteous thing to behold.
    2. I unsubscribed from a ton of e-newsletters.
    I asked myself—have I found anything hilarious, invaluable, or otherwise important to my well-being in each subscription that I don’t already get elsewhere?  When I answered no (and I did, quite often), that subscription went POOF.
    3. I learned to strategically answer personal mail.
    Wherein the past, I’ve often tried to respond right away… or I’ve found myself replying to friends’ mails literally a year or more later, now I’ve brought a better balance into play.  Is the e-mail a query that can be answered quickly and easily, something involving a time-sensitive issue?  I now try to answer that sort of mail either right away or within a day.  Is it more of just a friendly conversation?  My goal now is 1-2 weeks. Mails that I determine should be replied to at a later time get tagged with a month name, and I check each of those tags towards the end of each month.
    4. I adopted the handle-immediately-and-file habit on “impersonal” mail.
    I either immediately read/skim and file newsletters and receipts and such, or cut and paste the critical portion into my calendar, Evernote database, or MyLifeOrganized to-do list and then archive.
    5. I’m learning to treat RSS feeds as mercilessly as e-mail.
    Not brilliant, critical, hilarious, massively useful, or something from a friend?  I’m unsubscribing (though I have SO many feeds that it’s taking me a while to get through the list).
    I’m now using Rojo, an online reader.  Its overall UI and speed isn’t nearly as nice as my favorite desktop reader, NewzCrawler, but with Rojo I can catch up on work and personal feeds on my home computer (Windows), laptops (Windows), or work computer (Linux) as appropriate without having to worry about sync’ing issues.
    6. Down with tech magazines.  And most other magazines.
    Typically, the same content is available online, and in a more timely manner.  When I want to curl up in bed with something to read, or need something on the bus, I can bring one of those bound things with lots of text and no ads… I think they’re called a… a book or something like that!  And besides, after doing tech stuff all day, do I *really* want or need to be absorbing more tech in my free time?!
    7. I’m prioritizing my guilty pleasures (reading fewer opinion columns, spending less time IM’ing…)
    We can’t and shouldn’t cut out all the “lazy” activities (lolling around in bed with a crossword puzzle, watching The Simpsons), but we should wisely note that we can’t do *everything* we want and still accomplish all that we need to do (including sleep, exercise, and life planning).  Therefore, some stuff’s gotta go, whether that’s time spent playing video games, watching TV, beta testing non-work-related software, etc.
    8. I’m learning to be at peace knowing that I just can’t know everything
    Before I unsubscribed from dozens of e-lists and RSS feeds, I had this clammy fear that, oh God, I’m going to miss some critical posts on [x].  Overlooking the fact that the same info will likely turn up on another blog or journal that I read, there’s the more important retort:  So what?   So what if I’m 0.1 versions behind on my music player?  So what if I never hear that 73 Lightposts has just released a new, ultra-simple oh-so-amazing Web app?  Will my life go on if I never get to try yet another Goowyvibeycrunchy portal? [the answers, by the way, are:  I’ll live, that’s fine, and yes.]
    9. I’m purging without guilt.
    This is certainly related to #8, but… in RSS feeds in particular, I’m now much more ready to occasionally click the “Mark [entire directory of feeds] As Read” link.
    10.  I’m spending less time annotating; if I need it, I’ll search for it.
    Annotating and tagging takes time.  And there’s always the fear of… hmm… should I describe this in a more structured manner?  Use Access?  Excel?  It’s a lot easier—and sometimes just makes more sense—to archive it and forget it.

    *  *  *

    Of course, it’s a bit ironic that I’m patting myself on the back for getting better at infomanagement and yet spending 30 minutes writing a blog post about it.  But hey, if this post can save a collective few hours for other folks, then it’s worth it IMHO.  Besides, getting this stuff out there in writing is further discipline fodder for me (“I already told people I’m not taking a year to answer e-mails… now I have to stick with this…!”)

    Anyway, I hope my own discoveries are helpful for you.  Do chime in with comments about my tips, and please share some of your own!  It’s time well spent, I promise 😀

  • Thinking about going to law or business school? Here are some pointers.

    Are you thinking about going to law school or business school?  Or perhaps—like crazy yours truly—both at the same time?  This blog entry covers the following:

    – Is law school right for me?
    – Is business school right for me?
    – How do I narrow down which school to apply to or attend?
    – Okay, I picked a school and got in!  Now how do I prepare?!

    *  *  *

    Is law school right for me?

    Maybe.  Dont believe the hype in either direction ;-). 

    Signs that point to yes:

    • You like sifting through fine details
    • You are sure you EITHER want to practice law in some way *OR* are a real go-getter trailblazer who is secure forging a non-traditional path.
    • You like learning (I mean genuinely enjoy stuffing new facts into your head regularly, thinking hard about challenging issues).
    • You are comfortable mentally grasping and juggling ambiguities but ultimately comfortable making a hard and fast decision.

    Signs that point to no:

    • You’re very unassertive.
    • You don’t like dressing up.  While you CAN get a law degree and go into a career that doesn’t require you to dress “professionally,” the odds are against you.
    • You are dead-set on making the world a better place.  I add this with some reserve, but in my heart I believe that people who go into law with 100% altruistic motives tend to get jaded and burned out.  Want to really change the world?  Start your own company, join the Peace Corp, do volunteer work every weekend.  While you CAN do this stuff with a law degree, it just doesn’t seem like the most time or cost efficient method, IMHO.

    Is business school (an MBA program) right for me?

    Again, maybe :-D. 

    Signs that point to yes:

    • You love your company and they’ve offered to pay for your MBA to help you advance up the ranks.
    • You’re fascinated by the nitty-gritty underlying details of business… operational issues, financial underpinnings, etc.
    • You have a strong scholastic or employment track record but are looking to move in a different direction (e.g., from Finance to Marketing) and want to leverage new knowledge, new contacts, and a new line on your resume.
    • You’re looking to start a company, have a comfortable buffer of time and money, and can afford a two year thoughtful search for a winning partner or partners.
    • You really like people.  You like learning from them, working with them, challenging them and being challenged by them.

    Signs that point to no:

    • You hate, absolutely loathe buzzwords. 
    • You deplored college, studying, books, etc.
    • You’re not a people person.  The idea of “networking” not only scares but disgusts you.
    • Your company isn’t going to pay for your MBA and you don’t have reliable indications that an MBA will dramatically increase either your pay or your job satisfaction.  Remember the opportunity costs here: not only two years of often-high tuition (+books, etc.), but also two years of lost pay, two years behind in moving up a corporate ladder, etc.
    • You lack the grades / background / ambition to attend a top-tier (at least top-third) business school.  I might sound really snotty here, but IMHO, if you’re betting that the mere presence of “MBA from UnheardOf School U” on your resume is going to impress HR people, you’re sadly mistaken.

    *  *  *

    Okay, you’ve decided you want to go to business school or law school.

    How do I decide which schools to apply to, which school to attend?

    • Classes and clubs:  Look at the list of classes offered.  Ignore the every-school-offers-these classes like Torts and Contracts or Marketing and Accounting and such.  Are the “extra” classes in areas that fascinate you and are relevant to your career aspirations?  In other words, if you’re wanting to go into Entertainment Law—aside from quite possibly focusing on schools around major entertainment markets—you’ll want to be sure that a lot of relevant classes are offered in this context… e.g., Entertainment Law (duh), Intellectual Property, Negotiating, etc.  If you’re interested in starting your own company, you’ll want to see lots of entrepreneurship-related classes on the list!  Similarly, find out what academies and clubs are not only present but active on campus (e.g., Environmental Law Society, Marketing Professionals in Asia…).
    • External ratings:  Thumb through a book of ratings.  Sure, you can’t believe everything you read, but if one of the schools you’re considering has topped the list on the “Most Unpleasant Law School to Attend” or “Most Cutthroat Colleagues” for three years running, there’s a substantive takeaway there, eh?  Additionally, as unfair as it is sometimes (especially with schools resting on their laurels), reputation does count for a lot.  Graduating with a B average at Wharton vs. an A average at a no-name school, well, you can guess what will turn more HR-folks’ heads.
    • Location:  Unless you plan on getting into a top top top school (Wharton, Harvard Law…), know that your best chances for internships and employment right out of school will be in the geographic area of your school.  In other words, don’t go to a Chicago law or business school if you’re not interested in working in the Chicago / Indianapolis area.
    • Gut: VISIT!!!  When you’ve narrowed it down to 2-4 schools, fly out there and visit.  I know, I know, it may be expensive, it may be hard to take time off work, but even a $2,000 investment in this area will pay off in the long-run in terms of not only you making the best choice… but in knowing you made the best choice.

    *  *  *

    You’ve finally decided on THE school for you.  Great!  Now you’re wondering…

    How do I prepare for my first day of classes?

    Well, first I’ll tell you what *NOT* to do.  Don’t stress.  Don’t go out and buy textbooks and try to pre-learn material.  Don’t try to become an expert in trademark law or e-marketing or finance before you show up to school.  Instead, here are a few things you may indeed want to do before you arrive at your new school:

    • Get organized:  Find a system that works for you to help you manage your notetaking, appointments, and to-do list… whether it’s all computer programs, just paper notepads and books, or a combination of the two.  Get into a groove.  Know your system backwards and forwards before you step foot onto campus so you don’t waste time learning tools, figuring out processes; you need to be productive and organized the day you arrive.  Read my more extensive previous entry about organizing your life.
    • Practice being a people person:  If you’re really shy or not yet adept at networking, practice this before you get on campus.  Whether it’s toastmaster nights or exhibit hall’ing or social dances… practice introducing yourself, effectively chit-chatting, and LISTENING.  These skills—both in grad school and beyond—will perhaps be your greatest asset combo… more important than rote knowledge or usually even your grades in school!
    • Be prepared with the right physical stuff:  These include not only a stellar laptop (know it forwards and backwards, with software, BEFORE you arrive on campus!) but also a comfortable knock-‘em-dead interviewing outfit or two, lots of even-more-comfy and not-too-stuffy business casual wear, a snazzy (not too wild) haircut, and so on.  Hey, if you have a few months before you arrive on campus, why not also try for a new-more-fit-you; a deadline when you’re about to meet new colleagues, make new friends, and interview for summer internships is likely a fine motivator to *NOT DIET*, but rather change your lifestyle to be healthier and thinner.

    *  *  *

    And finally… you’ve made it to campus, you’ve started your first week and you’re pondering:

    How do I stay in tip-top shape and excel without losing my mind?

    • Eat right:  Fast, unnatural food is your enemy.  It will make you think sluggishly, get tired more quickly, and possibly make you look like a fat slob.  Not to mention hamper your sex life. 
    • Sleep well:  You know your body.  If you need 8 hours, get 8 hours.  And if you think you “do just fine” on 5 hours, you’re probably kidding yourself.  I know it’s insanely hard, but try to also keep to a somewhat-regular schedule.  Get up around the same time, even on weekends, even if it means taking a short nap.
    • Exercise:  Get some.  Doesn’t matter if it’s walking, biking, kickboxing, canoeing, etc., as long as it includes both aerobic and a strength-building components.  You WILL think better and sleep better and look better when you’re getting regular exercise.  Add workout times to your calendar (even your public one) so this part of your life doesn’t get squeezed out.  Teaming up with a workout-buddy (of either gender) can be very motivating, too, because it’s much more shameful to cancel when you know someone else is counting on you to be there ;-).
    • Destress:  Whether it’s yoga, meditation, praying, or simply sitting under an apple tree for an hour a week, do it.  You need to clear your head of derivatives, legal arguments, and grade point averages.
    • Socialize smartly and regularly:  Even if you’re not a drinker, try to make at least some of the weekly bar nights.  99% of the people will still respect you when you drink apple juice, but you’ll lose the networking, the friending opportunities, and more if you simply fail to show up.  Conversely, if you ARE a drinker, drink less than everyone else.  Going to an Laws of Corporate Taxation class (or trying to study ancient Torts minutae) with a hangover is a fate I’d not wish on anyone.  Drinking issues aside, make sure you allot at least some time every week to hang out with people outside of class, whether that’s the bar, a Christian Outreach club, an intramural rugby team or whatever.  You NEED that time away from your books, and—more importantly—you emotionally need connections that don’t have to do with an 801b wireless LAN or a finance studying group.
    • Don’t dwell unhealthily on the past or the distant:  Don’t harbor regrets.  And don’t spend all your free time calling home (to Mom, to boyfriend, to best friend in Boise, etc.).  Time spent on past and distant connections is time and emotional energy you can’t apply to the present and the local.  This doesn’t mean you should fail to learn from the past or break all ties with your girlfriend or best friend back home; rather, I urge you to balance your life and set appropriate expectations amongst the people you care about.
    • Avoid being an ass, and don’t burn bridges!:  You may hate your Contracts prof.  You may have hilarious and scathing stories to tell about your ex you shacked up with during your MBA section last quarter.  But zip your lips and stay mostly positive.  You don’t know when you’ll need the respect of that Contracts prof to link you up with your most-desired law firm, and you don’t know when you’ll depend upon your ex for a connection to that internship in Prague.  Beyond just future needs, I’ll just note this:  People may laugh at or even with the guy with the perpetually vocal, scathing, bitter wit… but they likely won’t want to work with him, hire him, or even help him.  Yes, this relates to gossip, too.  When in doubt, don’t say it, don’t even e-mail it, and definitely don’t post it on the Web.
    • Take notes, take notes, take notes.  Process them NIGHTLY:  The very act of note taking can help keep you awake during a boring lecture.  But more importantly, writing stuff down (or typing) will help stuff stick in your head more.  Even if things don’t make sense right then (I remember not even being able to spell a lot of the phrases thrown at me during lectures, much less understand some of the complex legal theories), trust me when I reassure you that you’ll have a better chance of understanding stuff later if you take notes from the get go.  And hey, don’t make the same mistake I did by writing notes and then processing/organizing them 2 days before your midterm; that’s the stupid, stressful way of preparing.  Instead, force yourself to organize/outline/clean-up the notes the same night you wrote them, or at the latest the next day (the upcoming weekend is too late, and will you really get to your notes then anyway?).  As suggested in my aforementioned previous article on organizing your life, especially take note on the people you meet:  name, what they looked like, where they’re from, what they’re studying, how you can help them, how they can help you, etc.  This database will be golden for you, honest!

    *  *  *

    Whew!  Okay, that’s enough for now, I think.  I hope this list is helpful, and—as always—please feel free to post suggested changes or additions in the comment box below!

  • Geeks — the perception still hasn’t quite caught up with reality

    As seen by this Australian TV commercial from Super Geek and this admittedly damn funny Fear of Girls video, we learn that…
    – Geeks are all guys, and not particularly attractive fellas, either
    – Geeks are typically sporting taped-up glasses and completely uncool fashion
    – Women AREN’T geeks (and they’re most often confusing/confused AND helpless)

    While the videos above are funny (I’d be a humorless boob to suggest otherwise), in the back of my mind I do worry about the effects of the still-pervasive stereotypes on display.  Specifically, I’m thinking about junior high and high school girls.  After being immersed in a culture that continually reiterates that attractive girls are NOT geeks, how many of them will want to study math or science or computing?  Would you want to work with guys like the ones in the videos above?

    Companies like Google are certainly making a laudable effort to recruit more women engineers, but I’m wishing that there were more positive and diverse portrayals of geeks in the mass media: (intentionally) funny geeks, sexy geeks, communicative geeks, athletic geeks.

    Living here in the Bay Area, I know various geeks that fit all of the above adjectives.  In Silicon Valley, it’s almost chic to be a geek :-D.  But I’m more concerned about girls (and, for that matter, many boys) growing up in the heartland of the U.S. or in other countries where there aren’t such role models. 

    We need more women engineers not to be politically correct, not so that we guys in the office can have more pleasant “scenery,” not so some HR or government bureaucrat can smugly check off another box on some form, but rather because we actually DO need the diversity of thinking and working styles and, quite frankly, the greatest pool of talented “knowledge workers” possible.

    And okay, I’d like some uber-geeks to be worshipped in popular culture so I could go to Britain or Germany and be as popular as a David Beckham and such 😉

    —-

    Hat tip to Alicja and John Paczkowski for the ad and parody video respectively.

  • Two resource recommendations for getting a thoughtful, unbiased understanding of the world around us

    Like many of you, I read a lot of news and opinion pieces on the Internet and am therefore bombarded by a mixture of dry and rabid facts and opinions.  It can be exausting and frustrating!

    That’s why I’m particularly pleased to have found these two useful resources:

    The Week Magazine
    The Week expertly summarizes information and opinions from leading newspapers and journals around the world into a 30-40 page concise and fascinating overview.  From political news to information about current scientific issues to aggregated theatre and art reviews, this magazine offers a superb opportunity to become familiar with key global debates and concerns.

    While you can read many of the articles online, I do recommend that you subscribe to the paper edition.  If you have airline frequent flyer miles, you’ll find that you can get this magazine for just a few hundred milepoints a year—a significant savings over the equivalent monetary subscription charges.  Search for [{your airline} miles magazines].

    FactCheck.org
    This outstanding FactCheck.org Web site—maintained by the Annenberg School of Communication—and its accompanying e-mail newsletter do a fabulous job delving into the truth of political campaign ads.  Beyond just calling specific claims flatly “true” or “false”, FactCheck evaluates the claims in context and leans neither to the right nor left.  Campaign claims by Democrats, Republicans, and Liberatarians are all scrutinized dispassionately and thoroughly.  It’s a wonderful antidote to the frothing right-wing and left-wing blogs out there which’ll seemingly twist anything to fit their particular agenda.

    *  *  *

    Know of any other unbiased and thoughtful resources for understanding world events, politics, and the arts?  I’d love to hear from you!

  • The satisfaction of mentoring

    I recently got an e-mail from a former workmate, asking if I’d be willing to join him for a coffee or a meal to give “some career advice […] and honest opinion[s].”

    I’m very flattered and I like doing this sort of thing for many reasons.

    First of all, this particular guy is someone I have a lot of respect for… smart, driven, and clearly sincere. Helping someone like that is fodder for great karma and just a pleasure overall.

    But the “help” isn’t a one-way street. While I’ve unfortunately gotten very little direct mentoring in my work life so far, I’ve learned a great deal from those I’ve mentored… from interns to colleagues in different departments and so on.

    That may seem cliched — the mentor becoming the mentored — but it’s quite true and much appreciated. In particular, when giving career advice, I’m forced to do some deep thinking and soul searching on my own.

    – How did I get to where I am? How much of it was planned vs. serendipitous?
    – What are some of the mistakes I’ve made? How can I recognize the warning signs in the future and avoid future pitfalls?
    – If I could go back in time, what would I tell a Past Adam careerwise?
    – What do I have to be thankful for in my career?

    And, despite an untraditional and often challenging, aw hell, even oft frustrating set of career experiences… I have an enormous amount to be thankful for. Reflecting upon my blessings in this context not only provides me with guidelines and encouragement to give to others… it also serves to consciously remind me of what makes me happy and motivates me in my career.

  • Secrets to maintaining a full life and not going too crazy

    I just had a very enjoyable and productive job interview, and the interviewer asked me an interesting question that I had not encountered before. He wanted to know how I manage to successfully juggle such a wide variety of disparate personal and professional tasks and responsibilities.

    The answer: It’s a combination of discipline, luck, support and understanding from friends, family and clients, and also really invaluable tools.

    Here are a few tips and tools I’m happy to share. Undoubtedly some you’ll find appropriate for you, others you’ll view as incompatible with the way you want to work or live… but hopefully some of them you’ll find useful 🙂 And as always, remember that there are no absolutes. Absolutely, positively, NEVER any absolutes. Oops. 😛 Anyway, on with the list…

    Document everything!
    I can’t stress this highly enough. Unless you have an absolutely perfect memory, I urge you to write down almost everything you think of. To-do items, notes about people you meet, stuff you’d like to blog about, birthdates of friends, etc. Structure is important, sure, but content is by far more important. Even entering a bunch of stuff freeform into Notepad is far better than keeping it on stickynotes or trying to squeeze it all into your head. And remember, this isn’t just for you to remember important things: it’s also a superb CYA (Cover Your Ass) technique. This way, you *know* and can prove that a client or a business partner or even a roommate promised [x] when they later protest they said [y].

    Handle daily stuff and urgent/disgusting stuff
    Every single morning and, if possible, every single evening, glance over your todo list. Try tackling a combination of urgent and disgusting early in the morning. What do I mean by disgusting? The stuff that, when you see it on your list, makes you go “ewww… I so do *NOT* want to make that call / wash that trash pail / write that rejection letter.” Do it. The rest of the day will only get better :-).

    Make goals for the long term (and I don’t just mean financially!)
    This is far from my original idea, but it’s a great one nonetheless 😛 Don’t ever let the Urgent completely overtake the Important. And by important, I’m referring to things that will give you long term stability and — most critically — happiness. For instance, I have a great amount of admiration for friends who are not only disciplined enough to write a book, but actually specify a set number of pages to finish each week… and then accomplish this goal. Sure, these are shorter-term goals in a way, but they lead to a greater achievement in the long term, and — I’d guess — greater self-satisfaction.

    Make backups!
    Your hard drive will crash or your laptop will be stolen or lost or completely unusable. It’s just a matter of when. Learn more about backing up your stuff.

    Never forget that it’s all about people!!!
    Meet people, even when you’re tired, even when you’re unemployed. Take notes on people. Read peoples’ blogs. Offer to help people. Watch people. Use people.

    Yes, I said “use.” That’s a bit blunt, and admittedly not quite the most complete way of putting it, but seriously… don’t be shy about asking for help, for advice, for leads. Just be willing to *listen* to them and give something back… either now or later.

    For too long I was shy about asking people for help, asking to pick their brains over lunch, etc. Until I realized, damn, I have a lot to offer back… both quantitatively and qualitatively. Aside from geek skills, I’m good at introducing folks to each other and I’m often contagiously cheerful, for instance. That may not sound like a hell of a lot to give, but it come right back to “People” and connections.

    And let me recount a brief story here. A while back, when dancing with an acquaintance, I happened to mention that I was really hoping to get hired by Acme Corp. “Ah ha!” she said, “I know someone there… a fellow dancer! Do you know Sheila?” I didn’t, and this woman introduced me to her.

    I went on to befriend Sheila… and I mean *sincerely* befriend her, after realizing that she not only could get me a foot in the door of Acme, but she was also someone that I enjoyed spending time with. She and I chat frequently now, go out to shows, dance together, and so on. My originaly guilt about “using” someone to get something has faded by realizing that I have a lot to give back AND that business connections can actually be leveraged into true friendships. So the lesson is… worry not about why or how you meet people… just do right by them.

    Focus on a happiness-and-worth quotient
    Before adding something to your todo list or alloting time in your calendar for it, ask yourself two overarching questions:
    1) How important is this?
    Hint: Paying a credit card bill is very important. Blogging, in most circumstances, is not. Fulfilling a promise to help a friend move — gotta do it! Meeting a client deadline — critical. Categorizing your CD collection — not that essential.

    2) What’s the pleasure-to-cost ratio?
    This actually is one of the key questions I ask not only about to-do items and calendar items, but food, too. I almost never turn down a dessert offered to me if it’s something I REALLY LOVE, even if it’s something horrible for me like cheesecake. But if it’s just something that’s yummy-but-really-bad-for-me, I can pass on it. Same with to-dos and appointments. I ask myself: how much pleasure will I get from this now and in the future vs. how much pain or cost will I experience as a result of the choice? I know, I know that sounds so obscenely technical, and like any normal human, I often just go with my gut… act spontaneously… and throw caution to the wind.

    And the pleasure isn’t just pleasure-for-me directly, but pleasure for friends. I’m not fond of ballet, for instance, but the moment a friend of mine is in a ballet, I’ll go see the show… because I know it’ll make her really happy to see me in the audience. In that case, the small inconvenience/cost to me is vastly offset by the happiness my friend experiences.

    Boost your confidence regularly
    I know, I know, this sounds Saturday Night Live Stuart Smalley cheesy, but I swear, it’s helpful! Especially when I’m slogging through a time with a difficult client, depressed about having half the women in my weight lifting class lift more than I do, frustrated about not being invited to a party… it’s so refreshing to have active reminders that I am talented, I am loved.

    I have actually bookmarked, printed out, or taped to the corner of my desk notes of affirmation, both social and professional. I say to myself, damn, if [a person I majorly like and respect] thinks so highly of me, I need to once again boost my confidence to that level. Or, thinking about it another way, oh Lord, help me to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am [stolen from some brilliant but unknown pundit online].

    Even from a purely professional perspective, this can work wonders. At any company I’ve worked at, and from home with my independent clients, I keep an Outlook folder call “Praise.” It’s here that I place all e-mails from my bosses, colleagues, clients, etc… that reflect upon a job well done. Some of those quotes end up on my Testimonials page, and I have no doubt that they’ve helped win me new clients and even new full-time contracts.

    Take care of your body
    If you body is sluggish and crying out, your mind will be like mush. Exercise… ideally by doing something you love (horseback riding, dancing, swimming, etc.). Personally, I’ve found that gym classes are fun enough to make the gym enjoyable rather than a chore for me, because they offer a combination of group pressure (“Hey, Adam, where were you last week?!”), socialness (sort of like a bar, but without cost or calories of beer), and so on.

    A fitness instructor (a both smart and hot one, to boot!) once told me her secret to physical and mental success:

    “Do 25 pushups a day. Maybe twice a day, if you can. Do them well. Do them EVERY day.”

    This exercise works your abs, your back, your arms, your CORE. Keep your head aligned, your form perfect.

    I’ll be frank: I don’t always remember to do this every day. But I should. Along with stretching, I’m convinced that just these two things alone will help keep me feeling more vibrant, toned, and energized. And it’ll probably improve my posture, too :-).

    * * *

    And now for some specific tools I use and love:

    My Life Organized (“MLO”)
    Personal to-dos, professional to-dos, long term goals, short term projects… this program helps you balance all of it in a streamlined, no-nonsense interface. I haven’t fully set up priorities for all my tasks yet, but simply putting them under layered categories has been a great help to me (Financial, Webmaster, Social, etc.). You can try out this program for free, and it costs $46-$60 to buy.

    EverNote
    This long electronic tickertape of sorts allows you to quickly and easily jot down notes of all kind, grab Web snippets, and more… and find stuff ridiculously fast. Perfect for jotting down meeting minutes, client conversations, stuff-to-blog lists, software serial numbers, and so on. Best of all, you can download and use it permanently for free! And, as with MLO, the folks working on this program have maintained a friendly online community to share tips, note bugs, and get help.

    OneNote
    It’s like a spiral notebook on steroids. It’s also the most outstanding outliner I’ve ever used. Already easy-to-use and intuitive, I’ve seen that great things are to come in the next version (OneNote 12). You can learn more about the program here, but I recommend that you buy a legal copy off of ebay… you’ll save a lot of cash with the typical $15 vs. $99 purchase price (make sure you’re getting an original, unregistered CD, though!)

    Outlook with Plaxo
    While other programs do e-mail and tasks better, I’ve not yet found any software that handles contacts and calendaring in a more intuitive and third-party-supporting way than Outlook. When linked with Plaxo, your contacts will also stay up-to-date; you don’t even have to use the controversial “Update my info, please” feature, since you’ll find that many of your contacts already use Plaxo and will be automatically updated in your address book for you. Also, Plaxo seamlessly backs up your calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes to their secure server… invaluable in the case of a hard drive failure, and also enormously useful for keeping your desktop and laptop in sync. DISCLAIMER: I’ve worked for Plaxo in the past (but this has also given me insight into the company’s intense and genuine attention to privacy. Really good people there.)

    * * *

    Whew! I guess that’s quite enough for one blog post. I hope you’ve found some of the insights and suggestions here to be worthwhile, and I’d be delighted to see your feedback in the comments below. Are there other programs you use that help keep your life ordered and on-track? Other life-philosophies that help keep you sane and happy? Speak out 😀

  • Yet another reason why I’m disgusted with our legal system

    So the cops in Louisiana that beat that defenseless guy bloody are pleading not guilty, despite all the video evidence.

    This just makes me sick. I can totally understand issues regarding extenuating circumstances (insane overwork, high stress, etc.)… all of which might reasonably serve to mitigate punishments.

    But to actually claim, in the face of overwhelming evidence, that you’re not guilty? For crying out loud, I want to live in a society in which people freely offer the following:

    “Yep, I’m guilty. I did what I’m charged with doing.” plus one or more of the following:
    – “And I’d like to sincerely offer apologies to the following people…”
    – “And here’s why I respectfully ask for leniency.”
    – “And here’s what I plan on doing to insure this never happens again.”
    – “And here is how I propose to compensate my victim(s) / society…”

    I suppose there are many societal issues that contribute to this lack of responsibility-taking / lack of forthrightedness.

    1) Our legal system’s horrid bias against any person or entity that simply says “I’m sorry.”
    2) Insanely out-of-whack punishments (e.g., admit to smoking an ounce of marijuana, go to jail, especially if you’re black).

    I wonder if the legal systems in countries outside of America lend themselves to less-frequent asinine “not-quilty” pleas or more frequent apologies from offenders. Anyone know?

    * * *

    Related entry:
    When your lawyer won’t let you say “I’m sorry”