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Who Is John Galt?
I have a deeply held belief that the primary reason that most people go to the ballet is so that they can say that they went to the ballet.
Until recently, I thought the same thing about reading “Atlas Shrugged” – a beast of a book that is admittedly good, important, etc. – but amazingly redundant and philosophically somewhat glib. Lots of people read the book and then like to talk about how they’ve read the book, blah blah blah…in which case I usually roll my eyes and admit that I have read it too.
(Yes – I recognize the irony of a post about how I read “Atlas Shrugged”.)
Turns out, the book was an eerie harbinger of the mismanagement, bailouts, intervention, etc. we’ve seen over the past month. The Wall Street Journal paints a scary portrait.
FYI – John Galt is the mysterious hero from “Atlas Shrugged”…which I read, by the way.
Filed under: Biz | 5 Comments
2008’s Greatest Hits
Last year, I posted the songs that made up the soundtrack for my 2007. Here is my soundtrack for 2008.
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3 Dimes Down – Drive-by Truckers
My favorite track from the latest DBT album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. The sloppy guitars and slick vocal phrasing really do it for me. Plus, the lyrics are pure genius – “Totally screwed while the chicken wing puke eats the candy apple red off his Corvette”.
I look forward to seeing the Truckers blow out Asheville in a couple weeks.
I had never listened to the Avett’s before I saw them at Memorial Hall this Fall. The show was amazing and I haven’t stopped listening to them since.
Minglewood Blues – Old Crow Medicine Show
An old song that OCMS does up just fine. Really wish I could blow a harmonica like this.
Death Goes To The Winner – Harvey Milk
Start Your Digging – Big Business
I listened to these records a lot while working this Fall. Aggressive music often helps me concentrate – can’t really explain it…
I would be remiss if I did not mention that my friend Ben turned me on to these bands and, as per usual, he nailed it. Hopefully he’ll leave his own equally smug Top 10 list as a comment, just like last year. I’m sure that the new records from Shellac and AstroVan PickUp left a lasting impact on him…
Lords – The Sword
Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians – The Sword
Sweet Jesus – The Sword’s new record “Gods of the Earth” is sooo good. Couldn’t believe how tight they were live.
Mutha’uckas – Flight of the Conchords
The Conchords are brilliant. I sang the chorus of this song endlessly for at least a month this summer. Just ask my wife.
Bulldozers and Dirt – Drive-by Truckers
I include this one not only because it is one of my favorite songs to pick and sing at home, but also because my friend Charlie and I wrote up some great spoof lyrics for the song and performed it – along with many others – for a packed house (of our classmates) at The Local 506.
I actually hate this song. But, because Kelly loves it and because she drives me to school every day and because we have a rule stipulating that the driver gets to pick the music, I’ve heard it just about every day for the past month or two. Thus, it makes the list.
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door – Guns ‘N Roses
This one is on the list for a few reasons:
- I distinctly remember Roberta playing this on the jukebox on an exceptionally fun night at Bub O’Malley’s.
- Axl finally released Chinese Democracy this year.
- Evan and I have a halfway completed, halfway ridiculous recording of this song from the Fall that we’ll probably finish at some point.
I couldn’t get this one out of my head last week, so it is a fitting closer.
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Happy 2009.
Eric
Filed under: Music | 4 Comments
Rock Show! Dec 9!
If you’re reading this, you’re invited to see a redongo rock show at Local 506 in Chapel Hill on December 9. Details forthcoming.
My friend Charlie and I (band name TBA) are “opening” for L Phrenic – a KFBS classmate with some serious rap skillz.
I can’t really promise “good” music, but I can absolutely promise an amazing time.
Hope to see you there.
Eric
Filed under: Kenan-Flagler, Music | 1 Comment
Count me among the many Americans that voted for Barack Obama and that found relief/hope/inspiration with his election.
However, despite all of the good things that I believe Obama represents and all of the good things I believe he will do for our country, I’ve got to admit that I’m a little worried about his impact on “The Daily Show”.
I say the program’s golden era is over. Can Jon Stewart be consistenly funny without George W. Bush? Without Dick Cheney? Will the studio audience full of leftward leaning nerds laugh at Barack Obama jokes the same way that they laughed at George W. Bush jokes? I say no to all three.
I suspect that the show will go the way of the The Simpons and South Park – it will still be marginally funny…just not nearly as as it once was. Hope I’m wrong…
My prediction? Stephen Colbert becomes the new Comedy Central golden boy…that is if he hasn’t already.
Filed under: Silly | 6 Comments
Happy Halloween!
Good times at the Kenan-Flagler Halloween Blowout.
More good times to come tonight with my 10 year HS Reunion.
Filed under: Family | Leave a Comment
Axl Rose Killed My Quip
One of the first lessons I learned as a product manager for a start-up software company was that you can’t please everyone. Different stakeholders – sales, marketing, support, customers, executives – have varying priorities and often divergent opinions regarding where the product needs to go next.
This is why product management is hard and product managers are ballers.
One of the first mistakes I made as a product manager for a start-up software company was ignoring the first lesson. I was the world’s worst at telling everyone what they wanted to hear and making sure that their feature was “in the pipeline” and “coming soon”.
Boy howdy – have I learned to never make that mistake again.
Many moons ago, there was one feature in particular that “triggered” a strong reaction within our organization. Some wanted it yesterday, others could not care less because they believed that other projects should take precedence.
My co-worker and I found the entire episode fairly entertaining. Those begging for the feature didn’t really “know” what they were asking for – they just knew it was a box that we needed to check in sales conversations. My co-worker and I also knew that the application had a long ways to go before we could implement the feature in a way that would fully satisfy customer needs. Plus, we agreed that other issues should take priority, thus we had no plans to move on the feature any time soon. Moreover, there were a number of organizational factors precluding me/us from exerting any significant effort to advance the project.
Yet, despite all of this, the feature remained on the product roadmap as a “near term” priority.
My bad.
The borderline absurdity of the situation led my colleague and I to begin referring to the feature as Chinese Democracy – which is the title for the way-over-hyped Guns ‘N Roses album that has been 14 years in the making, leaked and “unleaked” several times, unanimously thought to not actually exist, and mercilessly ridiculed in the mass media:
In 2005,The New York Times called it “the most expensive album never made” and the “music industry’s most notorious white elephant”.
Dr Pepper supposedly offered a free can of Dr. Pepper to everyone in America — excluding former Guns N’ Roses guitarists Buckethead and Slash — if Axl would man up and finally release the record in 2008.
Spin reviewed the album in 2006 as an April Fool’s joke.
Yet, Axl never shut up promoting the record and the music media never stopped publishing his stupid interviews.
As you might imagine, I reaped endless amounts of smug satisfaction from my little inside joke.
So, given the story I just told, try to visualize my shock/disappointment/laughter when I hear this and read that Chinese Democracy supposedly drops November 23.
Amazing.
So it is goodbye to such a thoughtful, flexible, and beloved wisecrack.
I guess nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain.
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Note from the author: My former employer released the beginnings of the “Chinese Democracy” feature a couple months ago. All we need is just a little patience.
Filed under: Music, The Internets | 3 Comments
The show ended ~2 hours ago and all of her staff is gone, yet Kelly is patiently waiting with Sally – the elderly woman in the wheelchair who’s ride home still hasn’t arrived.
Filed under: Kelly, Personal | 2 Comments
God Endorses Obama
I can’t believe how Coach Smith’s endorsement stopped me in my tracks this morning. Like so many North Carolina sons, Dean Smith and Tar Heel basketball are as much a part of my identity as my last name.
I can’t really explain it – I feel proud, hopeful, excited…and wish that I could somehow volunteer to run suicides and 3 man weave drills for Coach Smith to show my support for the Obama campaign.
Kelly and I are enthusiastically voting for Barack Obama and we strongly encourage you to do the same. North Carolina is without a doubt in play. Our nation needs a new direction.
Full text of the email:
There is a point in every contest when sitting on the sidelines is not an option. That is why Linnea and I are writing to urge you to join Barack Obama’s campaign for President. There are pivotal moments in history when the right decision by a nation can change its course for the better — opening up new paths before us and providing future generations with opportunities that we had not thought possible. This coming election provides one of those moments. Linnea and I believe Barack Obama is the right leader at this critical juncture. I have written that when coaching a team, you must be prepared to make changes to meet new challenges and obstacles. We must be prepared to do the same as a nation. Now, it is the United States that needs a change in direction… and a change in leadership. Join Barack Obama today by volunteering in your corner of North Carolina:
http://nc.barackobama.com/jointhesmiths
Linnea and I respect all that Senator McCain has done for our country. However, we feel strongly that it is Barack Obama who offers the real leadership our nation needs to tap its potential as a land of opportunity — even as we face difficult times at home and abroad. Senator Obama is a patriotic American, a committed Christian, a good family man, and a man who shares the bedrock values that most North Carolinians have in common: fairness, hard work, respect for others, and personal responsibility. And he has the vision and judgment to help us push through this period of uncertainty to a time of greater economic stability and greater security from threats abroad. If you believe America needs to set a new course, then the time to join us is now. If you are already an Obama supporter, please step up to help our campaign. There are only about three weeks left before Election Day, and if we are going to move away from the failed policies of the past, then we need your help now. So we encourage you to get out there and get involved — talk to your neighbors and sign up to volunteer today.
Get involved now: http://nc.barackobama.com/jointhesmiths
And pass this email along to those you think might be interested. This election is too important to stand on the sidelines and watch history pass us by. Thank you,
Coach Dean Smith and Linnea Smith
Chapel Hill, NC
Filed under: Carolina Basketball, Politics | 14 Comments
Take a Bite. Take a Step.
I’ve eaten (almost) an entire bag of delicious candy corn over the past few days.
Each bite has reminded me of a game that my father played with his sisters when they were children and thus taught my brother, sister, and me to play.
The rules are pretty simple:
- Start standing side by side with your siblings.
- Each sibling gets one candy corn kernel.
- Everyone takes a bite…and then takes a step.
- The person that advances the farthest wins.
So the object of the game is to take the smallest bites possible…or just cheat and pretend to take a bite and then take an unearned step.
This one is a sure winner at your Halloween party.
Filed under: Family, Silly | 2 Comments
Time To Buy…I Think?
After getting Kelly’s permission via IM, I just bought GOOG at 393 and AAPL at 104. Yes – I ignored my own advice and used more of my student loan to finance the (laughably small) transactions. Why?
GOOG
- Advertising budgets will shrink during a recession, but direct marketing budgets should remain strong. Companies still have to acquire customers – even if they’re treading water – right? (I think I read that somewhere…or maybe I just made it up.) PPC advertising is much closer to direct marketing than advertising and should remain relatively strong (compared to other advertising categories) during a downturn. The ROI is a cinch to calculate and – more importantly – the service works, thus the case for AdWords should remain a no-brainer.
- My recent liberation from MS Office to Google Docs has been a complete success. I’ve opened Excel only a few times over the past month – and each time was to work in a very complex financial model. Otherwise, I’ve worked exclusively with Docs. The formatting isn’t as slick as it could be and I can’t do page numbers – both of which are fixable problems for Google, by the way - but the content is exactly the same and my work-flow is much cleaner. The way I see it – businesses are going to look for ways to cut corners, MS Office is expensive, Google Docs is free/cheap, most people don’t build buyout models every day, and I’ll turn a profit with my piddly Google investment.
AAPL
- This one isn’t as clear cut for me – instead it is more a depedent argument based on my Google hypothesis. As companies/individuals move to Google (or the web in general) for their productivity applications, platform becomes much less of an issue, thus more people will be comfortable switching to Macs.
- Unlike iPods, iPhones aren’t a luxury purchase. They offer true productivity advantages and stand to change computing game going forward…that is if they haven’t already. They might not sell like hotcakes this Christmas, but they’re still going to a hot ticket item and should find their way into the enterprise sooner rather than later.
- The Jerry Seinfeld and “I’m a PC” commercials are horrible.
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2 posts in one day. Wondering why I haven’t been doing this more often of late…
Filed under: Biz, Technology, The Internets | Leave a Comment
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