My previous plan was to leave San Francisco June 19th and drive out to Colorado via LA. On the first of July I would fly to mexico for a 10 day meditation retreat and then move to New York City. That plan obviously didn’t work out and I’m very happy that’s the case.

I’ve been working with a friend on an early stage startup called Financial Gadget (fingad.com) which is the most fun I’ve had in ages. Working at Google was sort of like playing a video game with the cheat codes on, unlimited money and time made for easy sailing (most of the time). That can be fun for a bit (or until I’m no longer indigent from college) but ultimately I’m more excited about an interesting challenge. FinGad is going gangbusters, we’ve got an absolutely phenomenal team and more users than we know what to do with. Some big things are in the work$ and I’m going to be staying in California until the 10th of July, and yes, that means I’m going to priceless. The evening of the 10th I’m driving out to Colorado and flying from Denver to NYC on the 15th. From there:

Not entirely sure if it’s true but friends run the site and there’s definitely some interesting content on there that’s worth checking out.

Appreciate each mistake,
as a chance to awake,
and all that is to come,
will be much easier to take.

via my friend Doug Fuller who emails out little poems every week.

Jonathan Zittrain was on the Colbert Report a couple weeks back. I worked for JZ at HLS and he’s one of the best professors out there. He’s repping his new book The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It. The interview is funny but really watered down.

The book on the other hand is a brilliant look at how increasingly controlled systems on the internet are preventing generative content from emerging. It’s a hard argument to make in a sentence or two but it’s really worth reading.

analysis by Maplight.org indicating that those Democratic representatives who changed their vote on telecom immunity between March and June received on average 40% more in contributions from telecom interests than those Democrats who held firm. Maplight asks, “Why did these ninety-four House members have a change of heart? Their constituents deserve answers.” Across both parties, representatives who voted for immunity in June had received almost twice a much telecom money as those who voted against. Wired’s coverage includes a quote from Larry Lessig, who is on the Maplight board: “Money corrupts the process of reasoning. [Lawmakers] get a sixth sense of how what they do might affect how they raise money.”

:: Sigh via Wired via Google Reader (thanks AB!) ::

Raconteur (rkn-tûr) n.
One who tells stories and anecdotes with skill and wit.

:: via Eco Geek ::

WrongDiagnosis.com

Tim was telling me about it last night. He used it to discover that he had a parasite that he got while sailing around in New Zealand (or something). You can input your symptoms into wrong diagnosis and their engine will tell you about obscure things you might have instead of what your doctors think. Quite handy, and great for hypochondriacs!

Speaking of travel, Tim, Star and I had a collaborative instructable that made the front page of Instructables.com. Check it out

Handy Tricks: World Traveler Edition

Race, which Harper says has been implicated as a key factor in sentencing criminals to death, was not found to be an important factor when it came to the decision to execute. The most striking factor by far was educational level - the number of years the inmate had spent in high school. This may be crucial because it indicates how well an inmate can manage their appeal process. “This finding confirms that being executed is not about what you’ve done, but more about your ability to defend yourself,” says Simon Shepherd of Death Watch International, a group that campaigns against the death penalty worldwide.

::: Epic Fail via Google Reader (thanks AB!) :::

The White House in December refused to accept the Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusion that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be controlled, telling agency officials that an e-mail message containing the document would not be opened, senior E.P.A. officials said last week.

So you might be sort of astounded by how fucking insane a strategy that is, but wait! there’s more!

This week, more than six months later, the E.P.A. is set to respond to that order by releasing a watered-down version of the original proposal that offers no conclusion. Instead, the document reviews the legal and economic issues presented by declaring greenhouse gases a pollutant.

It worked! Can you fucking believe it? But remember, Impeachment is off the table as unilaterally decided by Nancy Pelosi. Even Mecha-Abe Lincoln is surprised:

This entire article is full of keepers, check it out
:::: White House via NYTimes ::::

I think there are a lot of stupid web 2.0 company names because the vast majority of good internet domains are taken by advertising portals.

if I get less than 3 hours of sleep 2-3 nights in a row I become a total emotional basketcase. I get moody, depressed, afraid of everything(?). 90% of words seem like they’ve been misspelled. Not sleeping: probably worse than getting attacked by robots.

Cool current.tv on the bubble project

:: The Bubble Project website via email {thanks DannyG} ::

::: Words via Gawker :: Graphic via Anti-Advertising Agency :::

I know i promised no blogging but…

I am consistently baffled by highly socially inept people that are rude to other people who can help them with their problems.

critical examples:
People who are jerks to waitstaff (Would you like spit w/ that? I’ll take that as a yes)
People who aren’t extremely friendly with secretaries aka gatekeepers (I’m sorry that’s not available right now vs I think we can make an exception this time)
People who are snappy when asking for help.

This is so straight forward that I’m assuming these people are just trying to sabotage themselves? Like the waiter example I think comes from a need to wield power over other humans. The secretary thing probably comes from an inability to think ahead but the last situation I’m just like wtf? Here’s the take home message: Be Nice to people!!

Here are some cute llamas, anyone would do them a favor

probably not going to blog for the next few days. I probably won’t answer emails either. I’m going to buckle down and try not to get addicted to energy drinks.

I’ve posted a new playlist, if you know where I keep them you should grab it. experts agree that it’s one of the better ones.

:: via JF ::

Pretty mind blowing.

:: After the Fact ::

“yeah, but you know, I didn’t really think it was worth mentioning…”