SNASK from Mike Crozier.

Croz is also an illustrator and graphic designer whose work is reminiscent of Barry McGee and the rest of that mid-2000′s illustration revolution that’s still in effect in design circles – lots of hand-drawn patterns and wrinkly, burly cartoon men. I’m a fan of his pizza box work, like this one:

See the rest of this series at http://cargocollective.com/croz#87965/Cut-It-Out-Salvage.

Thanks to Andy “The Sauce” Fisher for sending me to Vimeo’s homepage.

1. 5 characteristics of a successful OpenSky seller, part 1
2. 5 characteristics of a successful OpenSky seller, part 2

Thanks to Matt Bijur from KickApps (where I worked before OpenSky, insert shareholder disclaimer here) for talking to me about how to identify successful behavior in online social situations. Matt is a true master at creating roadmaps to building online communities around brands and organizations.

Thanks also to Shan for proofreading the heck out of my shoddy first draft, quietly correcting all of my typos while pretending to listen to the manifold reasons I wasn’t going to make all the larger changes she suggested, and then not calling me on it when I quietly went back and wrote exactly what she suggested.

Enter the Web Product Manager Resources page, my list of useful stuff to read if you’re a prodman.

If you have any recommendations for additions to this list, please let me know. I’d like for it to be comprehensive but not crufty.

When asked for his best interview question, Tony offered this:

What would you say is the biggest misperception that people have of you?

Really good one. I usually ask “if I called someone who reported to you at your last gig, how would they describe you?” I used to explicitly require 3 good things and 1 criticism, but once or twice I forgot to set that criteria and quickly learned hear how many people start with something critical when left to their own devices.

Tony’s question is likely to elicit even more information, as he explains:

It’s a combination of how self-aware people are and how honest they are. I think if someone is self-aware, then they can always continue to grow. If they’re not self-aware, I think it’s harder for them to evolve or adapt beyond who they already are.

As some of you may know, I’ve recently joined OpenSky, a startup that’s changing the way people shop online. I wanted to share with you what we’re creating and ask you to get involved (yes, there’s a payout at the bottom).

OpenSky is simple idea: connect customers to independent, expert Shopkeepers and special curated goods, with a mission to build a Modern Main Street. We’re trying to get people out of the big boxes and create a place where commerce is powered by passion, authenticity, and a sense of community.

So far, it seems like other people believe in this idea too. We currently have a team and over 100 Shopkeepers (and growing) in parenting, gardening, cooking, action sports, and other areas. They’re helping us connect with manufacturers and vendors of unique, high-quality goods. Every day, more people show up at OpenSky to find expert-recommended products.

Now, we’re trying to take it to the next level. Here’s what you can do:

Become a member of our Friends and Family community; share your feedback, suggestions and ideas with us. Be vocal. Share OpenSky with your friends and neighbors, introduce us to outstanding Shopkeepers (experts in any field or niche), and tell us about manufacturers and vendors of your favorite unique goods and those seeking powerful distribution. Most of all, become a part of the future of retail.

It’s simple to get started:

1. Go here: http://friends.theopenskyproject.com.
2. Sign up in 10 seconds.
3. I’ll make sure you receive an amazing discount on any purchase you make.
4. If you think this is a good way to shop, please tell your friends and family. (Tell ‘em to mention my name for better deals!)

If you’re wondering why this is the only thing you’ve heard from me in ages, it’s because these OpenSky people are, like, crazy ambitious. We’re bucking a long trend of big brands using big stores to push mediocre products at the lowest prices, regardless of the effects on the consumer, the producer, or the world. It’s not an easy task, but I think we can change all of that over the coming months.

I’ll make sure that I keep sharing OpenSky with you (unless you ask me to leave you alone – I won’t be offended). We add new expert shopkeepers and new uncommon goods almost every day, and soon we’ll be launching new features and user experience designs to recreate a place where human interaction has a real place in our shopping experience. I’m also happy to discuss all of this with anyone who has questions about what we’re up to.

Thanks and Happy Holidays
c

Get your coupon here: http://friends.theopenskyproject.com

After you shop, please send me an email and tell me what you think. You can also:

• Comment on our blog: http://bit.ly/2lTgSB
• Follow us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/59uY0C
• Read more about us: http://bit.ly/8VD0QE and http://bit.ly/BY8vW

Via BNet. I love Tim. Seriously.

1. Elimination, not organization, is key
2. Single task – focus on start-to-finish completion of a few critical tasks
3. Pareto principle (80/20) – you’ll get 80% of results from best 20% actions
4. Divorce effort from results – performance instead of presence – focus on results and clearly defined milestones – “Crutch” activities e.g. checking email are really procrastination
5. Optimize your environment that forces you to do the proper things instead of relying on self discipline (e.g. Paul Graham’s 2 desks) – Parkinson’s law
6. Culitvate selective ignorance – catch up when need be, instead of keeping up – let things wait

• Nonprofit? Deductable donations? Email me and we’ll talk free.
• Buy in bulk and get a discount!

Hacker’s PC, peripherals, and software – $170 or free

Charities, please contact me – I’d rather donate this computer than sell it, but I couldn’t find anyone to give it to.

I built this computer myself, from parts purchased at TigerDirect.com for a total of about $500 but I’ve recently become a Mac so it’s time to make room. This is a good box for tinkers: I designed it for easy upgrading, so it has lots of unused space, including an optional 2nd hard drive, 2 more RAM slots (supports up to 3GB RAM if you swap out the existing stick), and space for additional peripherals. Although I’ve never attempted it, I think some of the hardware also lends itself to overclocking.

The full package includes:

• Motherboard: Asus A7N8X Socket A
• Processor: AMD Athlon XP2500+
• Hard drive: Maxtor 80GB
• RAM: Ultra 512MB DDR
• Graphics card: Nvidia XFX GeForce MX4000 128MB DDR AGP w/ TV out
• CDR/W drive: Artec 52x32x52x Internal IDE CDRW
• Disk drive: some old thing I pulled from an old Dell, works great
• HIRO 56K Data Fax Modem (though I always just plugged it into my high speed internet)
• Power Supply: Ultra 500W ATX
• Huge-ass case with clear side, so you can see it’s guts!: Chieftec Dragon Silver Aluminum Clear Side, this one is silver and includes a locking front (no idea why), built-in front-side USB ports, side fan. There is a skater/cartoony sticker on top of it.
• Dusty old mouse and keyboard – enough to get you started, but you’ll probably want to replace them.

The machine currently has Ubuntu linux installed on it, but I’ll give you the following CDs along with the machine:

• Flash MX Professional – this is the real deal, and I don’t have it installed elsewhere, so you should be able to activate it. Not sure how much you’d have to pay to upgrade to CS4.
• Nero Express
• Modem drivers
• XFX drivers
• Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business
• Nvidia nForce2 graphics drivers (for the GeForce card)
• Flash 5 Studio tutorial files

And I also have some CDs that people have given me – no warrantees on these ones, but they work:

• Microsoft Office 2000 Pro
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
• Ubuntu installer
• Adobe Illustrator 9.0
• Macromedia Studio MX (Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Homesite, Flash, ColdFusion) that someone gave me.
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000
• After Effects 4.1
• Photoshop 7

Laser printer: Brother HL-2040 – $70

• Retails for $130 on Amazon.com.
• Includes power cable and USB cable.

I got this little guy at Staples a few years ago and it has served us well – we just recently replaced the ink cartridge for the first time (so you get a nearly-new ink cartridge in the deal – about $40 value). Printouts are crisp, clear, and pretty fast. We’re only getting rid of it because I got a free Canon scanner/color printer combo, but having compared the output I actually think the Brother outputs better text prints. Works with our PCs and Macs.

Here’s more information from the Brother website, and here’s a pretty positive CNET review and video.

Scanner: Canon Canoscan D1250U2 Flatbed – $40

• Retails for $130 on Amazon.com.
• Includes power cable and USB cable.
• I’ve only used it with my PC, not sure if it plays with Mac (pretty sure it doesn’t)

This is an “entry-level” scanner but it worked really well for scanning my drawings as well as text documents for years. The scanning surface is about the size of legal paper, a little wider. I just used it last weekend but I’m finally selling it because I switched to Mac and got a free scanner/color printer combo in the deal.

Here’s more information and drivers from the Canon website.

Pulse Smartpen Kit – Good for students – $55

• Retails for $145 on Amazon.com.
• Fully boxed, opened but unused.
• Requires PC

I got this for Christmas last year and put it on a shelf until now. The box is opened but it is 100% unused. I’m not entirely sure what a smartpen is, but according to the people who make it, it’s an electronic pen that “records audio and links it to what you write,” then plays it back when you tap it on your notes. It seems like a good choice for people who take a lot of notes and don’t want to lug a computer around with them.

The 1GB of memory can hold over 100 hours of recording and the full kit includes:

1. The Pulse 1 GB smartpen (1.3 ounces, anodized aluminum housing)
2. Livescribe Desktop software (download)
3. 3-D Recording Headset
4. 100 sheet dot paper college-ruled notebook
5. USB mobile charging cradle
6. Smartpen case
7. 3 black fine point ink cartridges
8. 1 stylus cartridge
9. Demo card and interactive stickers
10. Interactive Getting Started Guide

More information on the Livescribe website.

Kodak Easyshare M820 digital picture frame with home decor kit – $30

• Retails for $70 on Amazon.com.
• Fully boxed, opened but unused.

I got this last Christmas, never used it, and am finally getting around to clearing out my desk. The frame is an 8″ LCD with 4:3 aspect ratio. 128MB memory holds ~300 photos plus 2 SD digital camera card slots. The frame has speakers for MP3 playback and multiple colors of digital frames and 2 decorative mattes.

Here’s more information on the Kodak website.

6 Cherry wood salad bowls – $50

• Retails for ~$30 each on Williams-Sonoma (the 8″ bowls).
• Unused.

We registered for 8 cherry wood bowls for our wedding and accidentally ended up with 14, so we’re selling the spares after 5 years. We use our own bowls pretty often – they have a good feel, are very durable if you treat them with mineral oil and don’t soak them in water, and they clean easily. We also have the large salad bowl, which we’d recommend as well.

George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine – $20

Single serving size. This was my wife’s before we got married – it’s old and used, but clean and functional. Good for heating up fast meals like veggie burgers. We both have fond memories of this little guy, but we’ve outgrown it.

Stainless steel 3-tier chocolate fondue fountain – $20

• Retails for $40.
• No box, but manual included.
• Unused.
• Not diet-friendly.

We had a chocolate fountain instead of a cake at our wedding. It was such a hit that we’ve received 2 chocolate fountains as gifts since then.This fountain is maybe 18-24″ tall and melts chocolate chips into a delicious curtain of chocolaty goodness. But we already have one, so I guess it is possible to have too much of a good thing…

Splenda – free!

• Retails for $5 – price tag is still on the box!
• Unopened

We somehow ended up with a box of Splenda (just a box of the powder, not in packets). It’s yours free if you purchase any of the other items I’m selling.

Red Shirt Diaries

Nowadays, when I don Red Shirt, my thoughts tend towards pre-nostalgia, a familiar comfort mixed with the knowledge that soon the shirt will be too threadbare to wear. But on that first day in 1999, after I’d cut the tags from the shirt, I remember feeling some trepidation as I pulled on the strange tee. It was so… red. Not brick or cherry red, but the undiluted shade of a fresh crayon whose label simply reads “red”. When I took to the city sidewalks, the early fall breeze chasing me, I tried to maintain my composure but I couldn’t help thinking “EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT MY RED SHIRT.” A red shirt in New York? Was I crazy? Only a lunatic would deviate from the utilitarian winter palette of whites, blues, blacks, and grey that were handed down to us from the designers at Gap, Inc. (With exceptions made, of course, for the pink-shirted Wall Street assholes.) A red shirt was a deviation, a frivolous act of defiance. Yes, it was neato perhaps, but it was also, subtly, wrong. I nearly went home to find the receipt and return the shirt, but the thought of returning a bright red shirt, knowing the clerk would recognize that I’d chickened out, was even more embarrassing than wearing it around town.

It was only after several outings that the feeling of otherness wore off and Red Shirt passed into it’s middle phase of existence as My Only Long Sleeve Tee. This was before hoodies were popular, so it saw a lot of use and I stopped thinking about the rare color altogether. Through all of those years – nearly 10 now – it only drew 2 comments: one from a suit on a plane who suggested that with a shirt like that, I wouldn’t mind sitting in the middle seat, and another from a 6 foot tall blonde real estate agent who asked if it meant I surfed too. In the former case, I was happy to answer that no, it was just a shirt I liked, while in the latter case the same answer carried the unspoken consequence that I would score neither the East Village courtyard apartment nor her mobile number. Net positive, had I bothered to take a surfing lesson or 2 along the way.

Legacy of a fashion don’t

Red Shirt helped me gain the kind of axiomatic wisdom that is easily spoken but rarely taken to heart: most people are so caught up in their own world that they’ll rarely notice your own narcissistic neuroses, particularly when it comes to the cut of your cloth. I had been hearing that kind of caring advice since 7th grade, and now it finally made sense. The realization opened up a whole world of fashion experiments, most of which have ended well (excepting the too-tight pants debuted to a board of directors presentation – eyes on the slides gentlemen, eyes on the slides). Nowadays, my wardrobe is a mix of 70% I’m-a-het-guy-who-can’t-be-bothered collection of crappy tees and jeans and 30% hey-this-is-the-real-me shirts, jackets, and shoes. The 30% is the real me, and it’s all unusual. It’s not bigger because it’s so hard to find personally relevant clothing without becoming a professional shopper, but I still enjoy the occasional effort. When Shannon and I first began dating, I made one request: neither you nor anyone in your family may buy clothes for me. I’ve made a similar rule with my own family. (Only my mother-in-law routinely breaks the rule, but she gets a buy after telling me to marry her daughter.)

Nowadays, I may not look like much, but I know what I like and it’s my own peculiar fingerprint. And as for that 70% fashion slackness? Well at least that was my choice too, and it feels a lot better than walking around in a blue collared shirt and the relaxed fit jeans that I saw on a mannequin.

All of which leads up to my handlebar mustache, or more correctly, the facial hair constellation that I affectionately call my FuManMuttonPatch. Because frankly, if you’re going for the James Hetfield look, you gotta go all the way and do the chops and chin soul, even if it starts with a grizzly Chuck Norris phase and ends up looking like Jason Lee instead. And here’s the fruit of my labor.

The mustache is like a Red Shirt turned up to 11. Initially, the reactions were great. When I first walked out of the bathroom, having sculpted 2 months of unkempt beard into this new thing of facial hair beauty, Shannon stopped in her tracks, stared, and then laughed. And laughed. A lot. When she finally stopped convulsing she asked “so when are you going to shave the rest of it?”

In fairness, I had promised to “finally shave my beard” that weekend, and I hadn’t fully delivered, but it was Saturday so I still had a day to fulfill my contract. I stalled and said I wanted to enjoy it just for a few hours. By Sunday, Shannon had decided that she kind of liked the new Wyatt Earp look and said I could keep it. The new look had passed muster.

On Monday morning, I was greeted with whoops of joy from my exhausted coworkers who had been up all night launching our latest software release. Photos were taken, laughs were had, comparisons to Australian cricketers were made by people who know cricket. It was a damn good time, topped of by my friend Mike’s bid to pay me a dollar for every day I didn’t shave the new ‘stache. 3 dollars in, I think he’s regretting his decision. Mike, a fashion rebel in his own right, realizes too late that I’ve worn the Red Shirt of Courage – it might be weird, but once it’s on, it starts to feel comfortable real fast.

But those were reactions from friends, most of whom knew the plan was in the works. The best part has been the strangers’ sidelong glances on the street or in the subway, occasionally from hot hipster chicks but more often from people like me, underfit, balding, 30-something white collar dudes who are thinking, I suspect, the unkind thoughts that have often plagued my mind: “Man, that guy looks like ass!”

These thoughts aren’t particularly inaccurate, but the aesthetic outrage is a symptom, really. I think it’s motivated by a bit of sadness and envy. Not envy of the stupid facial hair per se, but of the fact that some people are willing to have stupid facial hair for fun and most people aren’t. At the very least, that’s the kind of envy that has motivated my own quisling critiques as I’ve found myself lost in Williamsburg or some other hipstery environs. “What gives that guy the right to look like that in broad daylight and still enjoy himself? Shouldn’t he be worried, embarrassed, and ashamed?” The answer is no, he should be psyched and so should you and I. Don’t believe me? Ask the hipster chicks.

Unlike Red Shirt, I still get lots of comments about the mustache even after I’ve become accustomed to it. Questions of how long I’ll keep it, more comparisons to famous facial harriers, offers of chaw, quotes from Westerns. But, the comments don’t sound like the voices that haunted me when I first punched my red shirt v card. Instead, perhaps because they come from friends and family, the comments all feel like we’re enjoying a joke together, a joke told in follicles around a psychic campfire. And I know that if I had a chance to speak with the strangers, they’d have the same reaction.

A big part of what this new year (now not so new) means to me is living life the way we want to live it. It’s that whole Obama thing: sure, we may not all agree on the right political answer or the right clothing style, but we all agree to care. We agree to give a damn. To take a shot. We agree to do something because it’s interesting or fun or good, not just because it’s fast, cheap, or easy. Is this ‘stache a thing of beauty? Probably not, and soup consumption has become a tremendous pain in the ass and it’s slight asymmetry is driving me a little crazy, but it sure is fun to wake up every morning and think “I have a handlebar mustache!” It’s also fun to stroke it while I’m thinking or reading. Oh yeah, it’s also fun to imagine gunning down the man who had the gall to cheat me in a game of Texas Hold’em while I walk to work.

Where to now, Wyatt?

So, abruptly, here are the lessons:

1. As with most ad-driven consumer behavior, contemporary fashion is based on fear: it’s more important not to look wrong than to experiment and enjoy the fulfillment of self-expression, and possibly looking really good. What if your color is lime green? Will you ever know?
2. As an extension, contemporary fashion is not only based on conformance, it’s also an indicator of one’s tribe and role. Occupation and income, mostly. But it doesn’t have to be, and it’s a lot more fun when it’s an indicator of your quirks, your soul.
3. Having a style, any style, is more appealing than looking good. Just ask Mick Jagger. Most people seem to enjoy someone who gives the finger to a fear-based establishment and says “I am me (and you can too)!”
4. When you live life on your own terms it becomes very easy to laugh at yourself. I know this mustache looks silly; other people’s observations of this fact become grounds for connection rather than an indication failure.
5. Hungary (yes, the country) is currently sponsoring a mustache contest, but I failed to take a “before” picture on February 1 so I won’t win the trip to Budapest. But that’s okay, I’m already a winner, right?

I’ve been meaning to follow Shannon’s first birthday letter to Winnie with one of my own, but somehow all of the words of pride and joy seemed stilted and inappropriate. So this is it, from your father who watches you dream and laugh at dogs and wave at buses and gravely pick dust bunnies out from under the couch: your father has a goofy mustache and your mother laughs a lot. This is your legacy. Keep dancing your own goofy, staggering one-armed dance until you’re one hundred and thirteen, your face simultaneously ecstatic and serious.

Go out and get those weird Doc Martins or that piercing or tattoo that you’ve always sort of dreamt of. Do it now, especially the tattoo, for precisely the reason you’ve avoided it: because it will permanently mark you as someone different. As yourself. Because if you’re scared of taking the plunge then you probably need something to push you off and hold you under. The water isn’t cold and shark-infested as they’ve told you, it’s warm and embryonic and breathable like in The Abyss. Sure, it’s unprofitable for them but there are so many treasures to find here, buried in the murk. Actually, the sharks are real, but they’re hammerheads, tiger sharks, great whites – all the sharks you could name when you still new how cool a shark really is. And you’ll discover, if you’ve forgotten, the words your mother spoke on the day you were born:

Thank you for having all of the things that you need, and none of the things that you don’t.

It’s sometimes scary, sometimes hard, but it will always be true.

Brenda Bradley, a Cambridge University zoologist doing research on primate evolution [...] explained a theory about what drove the evolution of human intelligence: It was the need to monitor and maintain complex social networks—the most successful primates were the ones who understood the dynamic social relationships around them. Developing these skills was the precursor to, for example, being able to hunt cooperatively, not vice versa.

Compare to the anecdotal argument from Richard Hamming in his essay on doing great work:

I notice that if you have the door to your office closed, you get more work done today and tomorrow, and you are more productive than most. But 10 years later somehow you don’t know quite know what problems are worth working on; all the hard work you do is sort of tangential in importance. He who works with the door open gets all kinds of interruptions, but he also occasionally gets clues as to what the world is and what might be important. Now I cannot prove the cause and effect sequence because you might say, “The closed door is symbolic of a closed mind.” I don’t know. But I can say there is a pretty good correlation between those who work with the doors open and those who ultimately do important things, although people who work with doors closed often work harder. Somehow they seem to work on slightly the wrong thing – not much, but enough that they miss fame.

(This guy was coming from Bell Labs and when he’s talking about “fame” he’s talking Nobel Prizes.)

Interesting to compare this to articles on the importance of enabling “flow” states in a work environment. I guess this means it’s important to have lunch with your peers?

Another hiccup showed up in the form of weird domain behavior. I now have the updated blog living on cycloneranger.com while the old Drupal site persists at chriskeane.net (they used to be mirrors) until I’m ready to finally pull the plug.

So next comes the process of pruning weak posts, moving pages back into pages, possibly adding timestamps, figuring out the missing images, and general cleanup. After that it’s 100% WordPress joy – themes, plugins, and more posts.

I chose to migrate off of Drupal in part because I realized that I’d never achieve my dream of building a blog-plus-pages-plus-gallery personal site, so a full CMS was overkill. Drupal releases frequent code updates which, in my n00bish experience, often jeopardize my content data during the update process. The developer community and plugins are also a bit more DIY than WP, which is cool in theory but a timesuck if you aren’t interested in refining your PHP skills beyond script kidding. WordPress, on the other hand, is delightfully elegant, is still only at v2.7, and has Akismet baked in. What’s not to like?

Drupal will live on though, as I work on setting up a back-end for non-KickApps functionality on Dub & Reggae and create a Drigg site for dub enthusiasts at dubmusiconline.com.

As for those draft posts, I have a lot of writing ahead of me…