So here's what I don't get; in this day and age, why does the device wait for me to want to watch a movie before it decides to download the required software? Granted, I could have watched the movie and then downloaded the firmware later, but most likely later would end up being the very next time that I wanted to watch a movie. Haven't we learned anything from auto-updating software over the years? Even Microsoft finally has this down - download in the background - and then ask me if I want to install. Instead, I get to wait - but at least that gives me time to ponder life a bit.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Updating firmware on my Samsung Blu-ray
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Is it better to take a big bite from a small pie, or a small bite from a bigger pie?
In the case of family and friends, the question may be one of whether it's better to spend a lot of time with a few very close friends, deepening the bonds and relationships, while likely just having cursory relationships with other friends, or is it better to spread the wealth and have moderately deep relationships with a lot more friends. In a large company, a decision may be made to double down on an existing business and grow it, or to take a chance and use that same investment (time, energy, PR, money) in the pursuit of four or five other businesses. These questions are answered every day, but there are pros and cons to both approaches.
For the entrepreneur, perhaps more so than in my other examples, there is also the notion of risk/reward that has to play a role. Working at a larger organization, and getting paid a nice salary isn't likely to result in a big payout - but there's something to be said for a measure of stability - and the aforementioned nice salary. Going off an a completely new venture is sure to be more exciting, and can also be more rewarding at the end (with a ton of hard work and a bit of luck), but the most likely result is more experience - and experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.
A more intricate question for the entrepreneur is whether to pursue one new venture wholeheartedly or to divide his time up and pursue a few somewhat related but diversified opportunities at the same time. Pursuing one idea gives you clarity of focus and can make the pie bigger at the end - assuming you've chosen which venture to pursue properly. Pursuing multiple fronts is likely to be more exciting and adventurous as there is always going to be something new, but it removes the focus - and any one success is likely going to result in a smaller piece of the pie as there would likely be more people involved.
No answers yet, but will definitely continue to ponder this for a bit...
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
We're having a girl!
A few weeks back, Thien and I went to the doctor for the usual tests at 18 weeks, and to find out if we were having a girl or a boy. Although the technician doing the ultrasound was very thorough, she couldn't really tell us based on the position of the baby and the fact that we were a bit early in the process. I think she said something like "I think I see a girl part" - but upon further questioning, she relented and said that she just wasn't sure.
Thien and I were ecstatic to "find out" that we were having a girl, but we found that we couldn't communicate that out to our friends and family - we ended up just saying that "we think" that we were having a girl. And this lack of confidence got depressing fast.
Thien set us up for a session at the Ultrasound Experience in San Marcos and we went last week. It truly was an experience - Thien was giddy the entire time seeing our baby in her womb, up on a 100" display. This was dubbed an "Early Peek" and not only were we able to see our baby, but we (or rather the technician) were able to confirm that we are in fact having a baby girl!
Presenting baby girl Benitt for the very first time, in full 4D glory:
Thien and I were ecstatic to "find out" that we were having a girl, but we found that we couldn't communicate that out to our friends and family - we ended up just saying that "we think" that we were having a girl. And this lack of confidence got depressing fast.
Thien set us up for a session at the Ultrasound Experience in San Marcos and we went last week. It truly was an experience - Thien was giddy the entire time seeing our baby in her womb, up on a 100" display. This was dubbed an "Early Peek" and not only were we able to see our baby, but we (or rather the technician) were able to confirm that we are in fact having a baby girl!
Presenting baby girl Benitt for the very first time, in full 4D glory:
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Stuck on week 5
About six months ago, I started using a Robert Ulrey's Podcast based on the Cool Running's Couch to 5K program. The podcast and program are based on a 9 week schedule of continually escalating runs, geared to get couch potatoes (like myself) able to fairly easily run a 5K distance - the equivalent of just over 3 miles.
In reality, I can run 3 miles and have often run in excess of 5 miles - but this effort is a struggle for me - and I took up this approach as a way to get more consistency for myself in an attempt to "easily" run a 3 mile distance without much effort. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, for a while I seem to have gotten stuck on the 5th week. Maybe it was the halfway point and the runs were starting to get more difficult or perhaps it was my move from LA to San Diego. Whatever the reason, I had definitely stopped making progress.
The good news is that I think I'm finally back on track. The big change for me was deciding to do outdoor runs by my house, instead of having to go to the gym. Apparently, the time and hassle involved in actually going to the gym was a major roadblock for me. For the past week or so, I've woken up, put on my shorts, and just started running. I'm now two thirds of the way done with week 7, and I'm confident that I'll get all the way through to week 9 in the next couple of weeks. And I get an added benefit of becoming more familiar with my new neighborhood.
The trick for me will be to maintain the runs once I'm done with this 9 week podcast. Any suggestions for other running podcasts that I can use for coaching and motivation once I'm done?
In reality, I can run 3 miles and have often run in excess of 5 miles - but this effort is a struggle for me - and I took up this approach as a way to get more consistency for myself in an attempt to "easily" run a 3 mile distance without much effort. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, for a while I seem to have gotten stuck on the 5th week. Maybe it was the halfway point and the runs were starting to get more difficult or perhaps it was my move from LA to San Diego. Whatever the reason, I had definitely stopped making progress.
The good news is that I think I'm finally back on track. The big change for me was deciding to do outdoor runs by my house, instead of having to go to the gym. Apparently, the time and hassle involved in actually going to the gym was a major roadblock for me. For the past week or so, I've woken up, put on my shorts, and just started running. I'm now two thirds of the way done with week 7, and I'm confident that I'll get all the way through to week 9 in the next couple of weeks. And I get an added benefit of becoming more familiar with my new neighborhood.
The trick for me will be to maintain the runs once I'm done with this 9 week podcast. Any suggestions for other running podcasts that I can use for coaching and motivation once I'm done?
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
24 Hour - As long as it's not 5:30
For only the second time since I moved to Carlsbad, I finally managed to make it to the gym. Unfortunately, in my haste to actually get to the gym, I didn't think through the logistics of going at 5:30pm. Long story short, if your gym is 24 Hour Fitness, don't go during prime time! Thien and I showed up and there were people already backed up, waiting for cardio equipment. There were a few weight benches available here and there, but overall it was a bit of a mess.
Thien and I managed to hang around for about 20 minutes or so until we decided to give it up. Since I was already in my gym clothes, I decided to jog home - with a hedge. I told Thien to go home, take a shower, and then come back and meet me - just in case I was piled up in a corner somewhere unable to make it all the way home.
This was my first outdoor jog in about six months. It started out rough - right out of the gate there was an uphill slope, which combined with a the still hot sun and my extreme lack of fitness definitely slowed me down. It wasn't until the 2.4 mile point that I finally felt some energy kick in - that's when I hit my stride. All in all, 4.7 miles in 42 minutes before Thien came to my rescue - and I was only 1.5 miles away from home - although most of that up a steep slope.
Anyway, lesson learned. If I want to go for a jog - I should just go outside. And if I want to go to the gym, I've gotta plan a bit better!
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Thien and I managed to hang around for about 20 minutes or so until we decided to give it up. Since I was already in my gym clothes, I decided to jog home - with a hedge. I told Thien to go home, take a shower, and then come back and meet me - just in case I was piled up in a corner somewhere unable to make it all the way home.
This was my first outdoor jog in about six months. It started out rough - right out of the gate there was an uphill slope, which combined with a the still hot sun and my extreme lack of fitness definitely slowed me down. It wasn't until the 2.4 mile point that I finally felt some energy kick in - that's when I hit my stride. All in all, 4.7 miles in 42 minutes before Thien came to my rescue - and I was only 1.5 miles away from home - although most of that up a steep slope.
Anyway, lesson learned. If I want to go for a jog - I should just go outside. And if I want to go to the gym, I've gotta plan a bit better!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
An opportunity missed
Image via Wikipedia
Specifically, I bought the wine from him for a reason. He's a bit of a web celebrity - I hear of him and from him fairly often - and I tend to enjoy his commentary. More to the point, I had purchased 3 cases of various wines without having tried them - because he had recommended them to me through his email newsletter. Each newsletter talked about the wine, letting me know where it came from, how many points it had, etc. and it was punctuated with a quote from Gary V., himself.
For some reason, I had expected to receive a printout data sheet for each type of wine that I had ordered. I had thought it would have the same exact information that was sent to me in the newsletter - no new content. I was planning on keeping this data sheet with my wine, so I could easily reference it and discuss it when sharing the wine with my friends. And I can say that I was left a bit disappointed when all I received was the wine I had ordered... ;(
In thinking about this, my expectation comes from a wine subscription that someone had previously purchased for me from wine.com. It had the data sheets, a folder allowing me to organize all of them, and labels for the bottles so that I could record when I drank the wine, for what occasion, what I thought of it, etc. - and more importantly it allowed me to keep a record so I could easily re-order the wines that I liked. The conversation was continued.
In the end, I'll probably end up going back into my email and printing out the emails on my own, but it sure would have enhanced my experience if I had received this from winelibrary.com directly, with my shipment. Something that I definitely would have appreciated...
Thursday, April 30, 2009
My first grown up desk...
I don't know what it is, but ever since I figured out that I would soon be working from home, I've been fixated on getting a big, beautiful desk for my home office. When Thien and I went out shopping for furniture, I went to the office section first, bypassing the couches, beds and everything in between. I have to say that I was even more excited about getting my desk than I was about getting a brand new, ultra cool, super thin LED TV - for that I just went off of Alex's recommendation without a second thought.
In any case, after much searching, I finally found a desk I could call my own. I sat down behind it, looked around and felt right at home. It was different than the other desks I've owned in my life - it was big, bold and somehow just 'adult'. It probably helped that I was sitting in a store other than Ikea.
So the time came for me to pickup my desk. And anyone that knows how heavy one of these 'adult' desks is, would know that that was my first mistake. In any case, I grabbed Alex, the moving truck that I had used to cart all of my belongings from LA to San Diego and we went to the warehouse. After waiting for close to an hour, my desk was finally brought out. We helped the guys load the first part of the desk into the truck - and found out that it weighed in at a cool two hundred and fifty pounds. As soon as we were done with the struggle of getting the desk into the truck, the guys then brought out the return - except it wasn't in a box, was missing a leg stopper (whatever they call the things on the legs to avoid scratching the floor) and it was scuffed up. Another 20 minutes later, the truck was unloaded, the money was refunded, and I was disappointed...
The next night, Thien and I went back to the same store and found an even better desk. We made sure it was in stock and that it could be delivered the following day, and then we told them that there was no way we were going to be paying for delivery given our previous experience. Fast forward one day later, and I'm sitting behind my first grown up desk, and I'm loving it:
Now it's time to go and do some work and make good use of the desk!
In any case, after much searching, I finally found a desk I could call my own. I sat down behind it, looked around and felt right at home. It was different than the other desks I've owned in my life - it was big, bold and somehow just 'adult'. It probably helped that I was sitting in a store other than Ikea.
So the time came for me to pickup my desk. And anyone that knows how heavy one of these 'adult' desks is, would know that that was my first mistake. In any case, I grabbed Alex, the moving truck that I had used to cart all of my belongings from LA to San Diego and we went to the warehouse. After waiting for close to an hour, my desk was finally brought out. We helped the guys load the first part of the desk into the truck - and found out that it weighed in at a cool two hundred and fifty pounds. As soon as we were done with the struggle of getting the desk into the truck, the guys then brought out the return - except it wasn't in a box, was missing a leg stopper (whatever they call the things on the legs to avoid scratching the floor) and it was scuffed up. Another 20 minutes later, the truck was unloaded, the money was refunded, and I was disappointed...
The next night, Thien and I went back to the same store and found an even better desk. We made sure it was in stock and that it could be delivered the following day, and then we told them that there was no way we were going to be paying for delivery given our previous experience. Fast forward one day later, and I'm sitting behind my first grown up desk, and I'm loving it:
Now it's time to go and do some work and make good use of the desk!
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