Category Archives: News

News and updates on sneaker.org

Thank you…

I haven’t been updating sneaker.org in a while… as I’d mentioned feedback is fuel and in the absence of feedback, I don’t feel compelled to keep writing. I love people who challenge what I say and what I think. Give me an argument. Give me a spirited discussion so that there is some fun in writing things. If everyone agrees with me then it’s no fun is it! 🙂

Anyhow, in the past couple of days several people… everyone from random people, to net-friends, to highschool friend and even my Mom have told me to go update my site! And you know, it actually feels good to know that someone actually reads this shit I keep posting on here! Anyhow, thank you all for your input and please keep it coming. Again… feedback is fuel… I love to hear from you either via email or IM.

Here is some new stuff….

New in Thought — caught in the act!* on Thursday, March 7, 2002

  • Raising the bar… – What Victor Frankl said is basically that the reason why we raise the bar is because we need something to look forward too. It is part of our search for meaning.
  • Transactional Integrity – I think I took transactional integrity a step too far. At the time I thought this is cool… I can apply this to everyday stuff. And so I became anal. Very anal.

    New in Rants and Raves* on Thursday, March 7, 2002

  • Make a Left on Route 66 – …and that’s when it hit… the guy changed the rules on us!! The rules for tonight were – one person, one straw Gulp! (literally!).

    New in Eavesdropped!* on Thursday, March 7, 2002

  • Journal entries are to accounting as hacking is to software development– My comment to Jake since I hate making journal entries when doing accounts 🙂
  • Amazing how you can try everything in your power to prevent users from doing something stupid and they will *still* find a way. – sneaker
  • When an founder is booted out of the company, they say the company has been foundersized.

    This is also known as The Mushroom Effect for Entrepreneurs —

    – first they keep you in the dark

    – then they throw shit on you

    – then they can you.


    – Nolan Bushnell at the Stanford GSB Conference on Entrepreneurship 2002

  • Leadership is the ability to build consensus in the face of adversity – Jerry Kaplan at the Stanford GSB Conference on Entrepreneurship 2002
  • Venture capitalists have deep pockets, but very short arms. – Kamran Elahian at the Stanford GSB Conference on Entrepreneurship 2002
  • Attitude is the mother of luck – Kirk Perron, Founder, Jamba Juice, at the Stanford GSB Conference on Entrepreneurship 2002
  • I am the Market. – Chip Conley, Joi de Vivre @ the Stanford GSB Conference on Entrepreneurship 2002
  • There is a reason they are called Kamikazes dammit! – sneaker
  • “I’m not looking for Mr. Right. I’m just looking for Mr. Right-place-at-the-right-time” – Rachel (umm.. okay she was a little tipsy)
  • Never a dull moment, always a fire to fight. – sneaker
  • When it comes to taking your money, people are flexible – My response to Q, when he asked if his checks he dated as 02/29/2002 will get cashed.
  • “The biggest tragedy is not death. It’s what dies inside you while you are still alive.” – as quoted to me by a friend during an IM conversation.
  • sneaker: you running a peepshow or something on your cam Q!

    lovicks_30: yup

    lovicks_30: it’s kitty porn







    – Q’s webcam showing kitty porn! 🙂

  • Technically, we’re all dying. – an astute observation.
  • What if a chameleon was color-blind? – topic of discussion over lunch @ Charlie’s

    Post to Twitter

  • Still waiting and waiting sucks…

    Ahh… I realized that I’d been tardy in updating the front page even there was some new content in the blogs. Haven’t been doing much writing these days or much of anything other than a few work related items for that matter. Actually been busy attending lectures at Carnegie Mellon on Psychology and Human Computer Interaction and giving a few lectures on Entrepreneurship and running companies. Plus I’m also taking a Piano course lately since I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the keyboards properly, but never got around to it. Of course, that just gives me one more toy to go window shopping for and I haven’t had much luck getting any of the toys I want — because they’re either out of stock, not yet released or missing that one key feature that I really want. Oh well. Here’s some new stuff…

    New in Thought — caught in the act!* on Monday, February 11, 2002

  • Thinking *about* the box – I have a fundamental problem with how cognitive scientists and psychologists for that matter are trying to understand the working of the human mind and understand human behavior.
  • Top 10 Reasons Why Girls Are Like VCs – …at dinner earlier today with two of my apparently single friends when we were talking about asking people out I made the analogy that asking a girl out is like raising money from VCs (and yes, I have had a little bit of experience with both in order to qualify me to make this analogy, fortunately or unfortunately, my track record with VCs is a little better!)

    New in Rants and Raves* on Saturday, February 2, 2002

  • Richard P. Feynman – All I can say is for anyone who likes to think, you owe it to your mind to read Feynman. And to Richard Feynman – Thank you.

    New in Eavesdropped!* on Saturday, February 2, 2002

  • The Essence of Academia

    You write a paper, and it contributes epsilon to a field. You write another paper on the same exact topic, and it contributes epsilon/2. The next one (on the same exact topic) epsilon/4, etc.

    On the one hand, you can add up the total contribution you make, and it’s 2 epsilon.

    On the other hand, you can generate an infinite number of papers. . .


    – as discussed by Michael Gibson, myself and one of Gibson’s friends @ Stanford.

  • The fundamental goal of human-centric computing is to allow us to do more by doing less – Michael Dertouzos, Diector of the MIT Media Lab in The Unfinished Revolution.

    Post to Twitter

  • 32 down and a lot of new stuff…

    That’s 32 days folks, not yards. Anyhow, there’s actually a fair amount of new crap on sneaker.org, except I’ve been remiss in not updating the what’s new blog (this one) as often…. sorry. In fact there is so much new stuff in Eavesdropped that it doesn’t even fit on the index page and you’ll have to dig into the archives to find it all.

    New in Thought — caught in the act!* on Saturday, February 2, 2002

  • The next big thing: Technolgy Advances in Medicine? – Sometimes in order for something new to be accepted, those with the old ideas need to get out of the way first. The dinosaurs died for a reason.
  • Simpler than it sounds – …what really matters is the ability to get your point across – in a simple way. Sometimes it’s good to treat it kind of like a game. The academic lingo and jargon and big fancy words are all part of a code and if you can succeed in deciphering that code, you have conquered the secret to actually understanding what you need to know!
  • The Fan Syndrome – …my point here is about drawing the subtle line between respecting someone for who they are and what they are done as opposed to idolizing someone to make them something they’re not.

    New in Rants and Raves* on Saturday, February 2, 2002

  • Richard P. Feynman – All I can say is for anyone who likes to think, you owe it to your mind to read Feynman. And to Richard Feynman – Thank you.

    New in Eavesdropped!* on Saturday, February 2, 2002

  • There are so many new quotes that you’re just going to have to dig in to see them all… can’t put them all on here.
  • Doggie Dictionary

    Author: Fido Dalmatian, Professor of Doglish, Dog University

    LEASH: A strap which attaches to your collar, enabling

    you to lead your person where you want him/her to go.

    DOG BED: any soft, clean surface, such as the white

    bedspread in the guest room or the newly upholstered

    couch in the living room.

    DROOL: Is what you do when your persons have food and

    you don’t. To do this properly you must sit as close as you

    can and look sad and let the drool fall to the floor, or

    better yet, on their laps.

    SNIFF: A social custom to use when you greet other dogs.

    Place your nose as close as you can to the other dog’s rear

    end and inhale deeply, repeat several times, or until your

    person makes you stop.

    GARBAGE CAN: A container which your neighbors put

    out once a week to test your ingenuity. You must stand on

    your hind legs and try to push the lid off with your nose. If

    you do it right you are rewarded with margarine wrappers

    to shred, beef bones to consume and moldy crusts of

    bread.

    BICYCLES: Two-wheeled exercise machines, invented for

    dogs to control body fat. To get maximum aerobic benefit,

    you must hide behind a bush and dash out, bark loudly

    and run alongside for a few yards; the person then

    swerves and falls into the bushes, and you prance away.

    DEAFNESS: This is a malady which affects dogs when

    their person want them in and they want to stay out.

    Symptoms include staring blankly at the person, then

    running in the opposite direction, or lying down.

    THUNDER: This is a signal that the world is coming to

    an end. Humans remain amazingly calm during

    thunderstorms, so it is necessary to warn them of the

    danger by trembling uncontrollably, panting, rolling your

    eyes wildly, and following at their heels.

    WASTEBASKET: This is a dog toy filled with paper,

    envelopes, and old candy wrapper. When you get bored,

    turn over the basket and strew the papers all over the

    house until your person comes home

    SOFAS: Are to dogs like napkins are to people. After

    eating it is polite to run up and down the front of the sofa

    and wipe your whiskers clean.

    BATH: This is a process by which the humans drench the

    floor, walls and themselves. You can help by shaking

    vigorously and frequently.

    LEAN: Every good dogs’s response to the command “sit !”,

    especially if your person is dressed for an evening out.

    Incredibly effective before black-tie events.

    BUMP: The best way to get your human’s attention when

    they are drinking a fresh cup of coffee or tea.

    GOOSE BUMP: A maneuver to use as a last resort when

    the Regular Bump doesn’t get the attention you

    require…..especially effective when combined with The

    Sniff. See above.

    LOVE: Is a feeling of intense affection, given freely and

    without restriction. The best way you can show your love

    is to wag your tail. If you’re lucky, a human will love you

    in return.

    – Sent to me by my mom 🙂

    Post to Twitter

  • Waiting.

    So will 2002 be any different (better?) than 2001? Don’t know yet. Still waiting to see how it shapes up and how the chips fall. Unfortunately for some of the things there isn’t much I can do other than wait. Not a comfortable position for a control-freak such as myself, but like everything else, it’s another experience. In the mean while, here is some new stuff for you.

    New in Thought — caught in the act!* on Thursday, January 17, 2002

  • Rigor ante-mortis and the onion – I coined the term rigor ante-mortis to mean the rigidity of character that develops before death — as we age and mature, we become more and more rigid in our views and opinions. The naivety atrophies and it replaces by a cynicism and a skepticism — and a new layer of the onion takes form.

    New in Rants and Raves* on Wednesday, January 2, 2002

  • Kiwis! – I’ve discovered a new favorite fruit. Fresh Kiwis!

    New in Eavesdropped!* on Thursday, January 17, 2002

  • I can’t imagine going to work without drugs – NRN
  • Live, love, learn and leave a legacy. – good advice from a friend (K.P.)
  • go west

    paradise is there

    you’ll have all that you can eat

    of milk and honey over there

    you’ll be the brightest star

    the world has ever seen

    the dizzy height of a jet-set life

    you could never dream


    – Lyrics from Natalie Merchant’s San Andreas Fault (TigerLily)

    Post to Twitter

  • Happy New Year!

    Happy new year to everyone. I for one am glad it’s time to change the calendars and as a friend of mine said recently… another trip around the Sun… especially for me, another trip around the sun, to the day.

    New in Thought — caught in the act!* on Sunday, January 6, 2002

  • Small Talk – The worst question which hardly ever gets a candid answer in the English language is How are you?.
  • The fine line between what’s real and what’s not – Needless to say I’ve developed a new found respect for those who suffer from such illnesses and an even deeper respect for those who while suffering from such an illness can overcome the cacophony in their own minds to lead meaningful lives.
  • When you want something *too* much… – But is it possible to want something so much that you just screw it up for yourself?
  • Putting the final nail in 2001… – 2001 started off as a bad year. It continued as a bad year. It became an even worse year in September and it ended as a bad year. Notice a trend?

    New in Rants and Raves* on Wednesday, January 2, 2002

  • Kiwis! – I’ve discovered a new favorite fruit. Fresh Kiwis!

    New in Eavesdropped!* on Sunday, January 6, 2002



  • – from allcrazyt-shirts.com — they have very cool T-shirts!

  • dtunkelang: working through the weekend?

    reachmanu: blogging actually…

    reachmanu: nearly done.

    reachmanu: and then headed out for Kiwis 🙂

    dtunkelang: blogging = exhibitionist diary publication?

    reachmanu: correct

    reachmanu: that’s gonna make the quotes file btw 🙂


    – dtunkelang’s definition of blogging!

  • “To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven, the same key opens the gates of hell” – A Buddhist saying quoted by Richard Feynman in his lecture on the Value of Science in The Pleasure of Finding Things Out.
  • Manu, we are talking about A FEMALE, none of them are our types. They are like silly putty, they hard to figure out, fun to play with, and revile everything we do. – Sane(?) advice from a friend. Comments welcome 🙂

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