Personal
Leadership and being a good person
May 01, 2008
I’ve had a little experience leading people now, and it seems to me that despite all the fuss made about it, leadership really comes down to just two things: Know what you’re talking about: widget A, profit margin B. Be...Continue reading...
Commute haiku
March 31, 2008
Some simple poems from the past few commutes on the bus. The earth wakes Flesh-tinted bands stretch over A drop of blue in a clear pool Standing straight Hands in pockets Oakland frame store sentinels Child pacing in cold Trying...Continue reading...
Having it all
March 13, 2008
I spend a lot of my time imagining the ideal state of things in my life—the ideal work schedule, diet, exercise plan, room layout, web browser settings, etc. Most everything in my life goes under this scrutiny on a regular...Continue reading...
For Obama
February 21, 2008
It’s not a terrible surprise, I suppose (especially given my location), but still worth stating. I am for Barack Obama’s presidency. Like most people, I was swept up by his hopeful speeches. McCain recently attacked Barack for offering nothing...Continue reading...
What I learned in 2007
January 27, 2008
Yeah, it’s a few weeks late. But 2007 was quite a year—it took some digesting. Marriage is great 2007 was the first full calendar year I was married. It was great. Every day feels like I’m getting away with something...Continue reading...
$10 or 10 minutes
December 31, 2007
A while back I posited that the best way to save money was to not spend it. As an extension of that, I’ve been considering a rule to “not sweat the small stuff”—namely, not worry about price differences less than...Continue reading...
New brain findings
November 16, 2007
The Medici Effect tipped me off to the benefit of reading magazines from other fields during plane flights. Several things I picked up from an issue of Psychology Today picked up for my plane trip yesterday (not online so I...Continue reading...
Okay
November 01, 2007
Beautiful quote from a film tonight (left unnamed to protect the surprise): I’m not perfect.I can’t see anything that I don’t like about you…But you will…Right now I can’t…You will think of things and I will get bored with you...Continue reading...
Low-stress Freeway Driving
October 03, 2007
I’ve found two ways to drive on the freeway with low stress: be the fastest driver on the road, so I only see slower cars in front of me; or be the slowest, so that I only encounter faster cars...Continue reading...
Job advice
September 25, 2007
A friend related this story his mentor told him on his first day, in an industry famous for its emphasis on face time and work hours: First, figure out when everyone else gets into work, and arrive 5 minutes before...Continue reading...
Only in Berkeley
September 14, 2007
“What’s that?” “Oh, it’s just a mask.” “A mask on a trampoline?” “Yeah, it’s from the tree people.”...Continue reading...
Changing nutritional guidelines
July 17, 2007
On our pilgrimage to the Kwik-E-Mart today, I was enticed into buying and eating a neon pink donut and a neon blue Slushee. I downed those on the skateboard ride back to work (yep, work), and almost immediately regretted it....Continue reading...
Vietnam
July 11, 2007
Just back from Vietnam, wanted to get some thoughts down. Overall, an amazing trip—a bit of adventure, a bit of relaxation, and a lot of food. (You can skip ahead to our travel photos—and my pictures of strange things—if you...Continue reading...
Stuff question
June 14, 2007
After moving our lives to Berkeley last weekend, and then reading the insurance contract I signed with U-Haul where they disavow all responsibility for the stuff I haul in their trucks, I have a new question I ask myself when...Continue reading...
On commuting
May 12, 2007
As I just posted a bunch of links to a fascinating recent New Yorker article on commuting in America, There and Back Again: The soul of the commuter, I thought it might be a good time to chronicle my thoughts...Continue reading...
The fastest way
April 05, 2007
The fastest way to get somewhere is to leave earlier. The power of the head start cannot be overstated. The best way to save money is to not buy things. It takes 100 10-cent savings to equal a $10 abstention....Continue reading...
Cherimoya
March 18, 2007
Banana + pear + apple + funny-looking exterior = my new favorite fruit!...Continue reading...
Traveling man
February 07, 2007
In Lake Tahoe this morning, Mountain View by 1pm, on a plane in Vegas now, and in Philly by morning. My body doesn’t quite know what to do with me…...Continue reading...
Stairways to nowhere
January 10, 2007
In rural China, many homes have stairways leading out of the ceiling to nowhere, built in anticipation of children living in rooms to be built upstairs. Instead, the children have moved to the cities, the second floors were never completed,...Continue reading...
Taking what you're given
January 03, 2007
I was on a plane cross-country recently when the time for the food service came. The flight attendants moved down the aisle, handing out little bags of pretzels to each passenger and pouring half-cups of soda and water. I wasn’t...Continue reading...
Scuba!
March 21, 2006
A new sport for me…but the only one yet where I compete with seals! abWritePlayer(34468, 468, 400, "http://vid.adbrite.com/video/abplayer?");...Continue reading...
Summary of Po Bronson
October 06, 2005
From his article in Fast Company, What Should I Do With My Life?. MONEY Doesn’t Fund Dreams It turns out that having the financial independence to walk away rarely triggers people to do just that. The reality is, making money...Continue reading...
Mail Call
July 09, 2005
Continental Airlines didn’t get the memo; I haven’t been “Bobby” since 5th grade…...Continue reading...
My New Commute
February 09, 2005
My new commute, as of February 28. Awesome....Continue reading...
Focus
January 21, 2005
Focus, and by extension one’s involvement in something, is the key to quality work in a world that is awash in opportunities. Time ran a recent article on “twixters”, college graduates in their mid-20s who live at home, hop from...Continue reading...
Transitioning to Autotelism
August 16, 2004
I haven’t written in a while, for reasons that include a renewed cycling career, spontaneous trips with friends, and busier-than-normal design work, but which really begin and end with an attempt to live my autotelic new year (yes, I realize...Continue reading...
Movie Binge Week
June 14, 2004
Movies I like tend to be released in bunches, a schedule almost certainly determined by the Communists who also make the weather unbearably gorgeous at the same time. Because of the latter, I have yet to see any of this...Continue reading...
My Friends
June 05, 2004
For some reason, I have the most brilliant friends. Let me make this clear. I myself am not brilliant. Lucky, yes. Right place, right time kinda’ guy, you bet. But brilliance has never been my forte. Steven Johnson writes about...Continue reading...
Getting Back on the Horse
May 05, 2004
Despite the best intentions, I have not yet accomplished the things I wanted to do this year. This could be due to one or more of the following four possibilities: I may not be working long enough I have made...Continue reading...
More Bob Avatars
May 04, 2004
Since the South Park guy was so much fun, here’s me as a WeeMee and a Stor Trooper:...Continue reading...
Bob as a South Park Character
May 02, 2004
From South Park’s Character Generator and a bit of Photoshopping. I think this guy might stick around for a while …...Continue reading...
I love sleep
March 28, 2004
I got Epstein-Barr (“mono”) my sophomore year in college and ever since then I’ve been addicted to sleep. Before then, I was a typical Stanford obsessive, working myself into pits of sleep debt that had me falling asleep in class,...Continue reading...
Sky on Fire
March 27, 2004
Sadly, these pictures are barely a glimmer of what had been there minutes before. As I got off the train at 6:21 pm in downtown Mountain View, the sky was ablaze in reds, purples, and yellows, all swirling together...Continue reading...
Futureproofing Myself
January 30, 2004
Love: the ultimate futureproofing. It's ambiguous, general, and utterly impossible to apply to real-world, categorized situations. But it's the only way to truly succeed and be happy, and you can rest assured that if it is applied in every question and decision, it will not fail.
Continue reading...Contrarian Design
January 14, 2004
I do a lot of things differently than most people. Compared to most in my high school, I was different to leave the state for college. In college, I was different to have priorities above just grades. Unlike most who...Continue reading...
I Want to be Your Neighbor
January 04, 2004
Once again, I saw a special on Fred Rogers ("Mr." Rogers to most of us); once again I cried like a baby. Something about this man's actions and mannerisms is so impressive and inspiring that it breaks down my jaded...Continue reading...
An Autotelic New Year
January 03, 2004
Normally this time of year I've put together a short list of things I "resolve" to do in the coming year. I call them my "New Year's resolve-to-do Things". Of course, this lasts all of a week before I lose...Continue reading...
Notes on Self-Reliance
December 26, 2003
Being self-reliant robs others of the chance to demonstrate love through supporting you Self-reliance is thus self-ish...Continue reading...
Googlism: "Say What You Like"
December 13, 2003
This has got to be the funniest Google Search I’ve ever run. I was trying to find a quote from a movie, to comment on this post, and I knew it went “Say what you like about [something], at least...Continue reading...
Quiet Parties and Lasting Love
One of my favorite stories to tell is that of a couple who came into my restaurant when I was a waiter. They sat down across a large table from each other, asked me if I would kindly bring them...Continue reading...
MY kind of "experience economy"
May 22, 2003
An intriguing quote from an upcoming PARC Forum: In an entertainment industry where 10 minutes of pleasure is our product, working artfully towards a new creation is key. A beer seminar addressing E = mc2, child development and Jackson Pollock...Continue reading...
Winner!
March 09, 2003
this morning, for the first time in years, a prize tumbled out of my cereal box and into the bowl. it had been such a long time since that last happened that i actually shouted out loud in excitement. now...Continue reading...
So Very Productive
February 19, 2003
so i'm wondering if all this work i do online is desensitizing me to real, physical needs and work. recently i've found myself working for hours at a time on websites and computer applications, and at the end of that...Continue reading...