desperate for change

Did anybody watch Google World on CBC?

If you follow the online grapevines and feeds, there would be nothing in this documentary that would be particularly shocking or new. In fact I would say that quite a lot of it is just old news. However, I did find the part about the beginnings of the company interesting. Upon discovering that they had the magic formula for determining search relevance using a system cobbled together with spare computers and cheap parts, it was a matter of going all out and taking the idea to the end.

For the true academic, he or she might have been satisfied with publishing a paper and getting a PhD. Fortunately for Larry and Sergey (and fortunately for users of Google today), they set out to see how far the rabbit hole goes.

“I think to build a great company you need to have a well defined hypothesis based on a theory for a market’s evolved future. And I think the most effective way to enter that market is to build a company like a scientist testing the theory. As an experiment.”
-Dustin Curtis on The Science of Entrepreneurship

At the heart of all entrepreneurial efforts are experiments to test out different kinds of theories: Can I provide something of value? Can I build it with a minimal defect rate? Are there people interested in what I am offering? Can I make money out of this (which in Google’s case wasn’t even an issue at the beginning!)?

I have followed some rabbit holes in my days – going to grad school, starting new hobbies, online dating, starting a blog. Some have turned out to be more interesting than others. If I give some advice to a younger Alfred – go down rabbit holes, and don’t be afraid to go all the way to the end; who knows maybe a Wonderland of some kind is at the bottom.

(PS – I originally came across Dustin Curtis’s blog and essays through Hacker News. There is a Seth Godin-ness about the writing, if you enjoy that kind of thing.)

A lot of my techie friends and co-workers are disappointed with the iPad. They were hoping for a MacBook with the keyboard trimmed off; not a giant sized iPhone.

In case you haven’t seen it, here is a more passionate response: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQnT0zp8Ya4

Mark Cuban has a very different point of view of the device than anyone I’ve seen. Rather than whining about the shortcomings, he is able to see all kinds of possibilities. Okay question – for those of you who have young children, are you giving your kid your iPhone to play with while you are busy pushing the grocery cart at Safeway? I have seen this before not just at the store but also in restaurants – as something to keep the kid occupied. Parents are willing to spend spend spend when it comes to improving the lives of their kids. Perhaps there is something here.

Let us step back for a second: the techies see this as a disappointment, yet Mister Cuban is able to look at the possibilities. Is this the difference between the average person versus someone who is a successful businessman?

As a nerdy geeky techie, we (and I specifically) are more naturally comfortable with factual things. We are most comfortable with one point of view of the world – our view. In order to go beyond, we need to be able to see things from more than one point of view. Specifically, it is precisely when you are feeling negative about something, that is when it is the best time to try on the “Yellow Hat“.

I was in the UBC BizzComm Club back when I was doing my masters and there was a seminar offered where the Thinking Hats system was introduced to us. We actually tried out the different “Hats” and tried to see something from the different point of views. It was interesting how some people’s opinions were so strong and entrenched that they were not giving all the hats a fair chance – in particular the “Yellow Hat” of positive points, when they have already decided on the opposite point of view.

Being objective is easy – because you are dealing with facts. But being able to force yourself to try out different points of view just for the sake of seeing things differently – it is truly a challenging exercise. If you weren’t thrilled about the iPad, can you think of something positive about the product in ways that it can make your life better? What ideas do you have about the iPad when you have the Yellow Hat on?

I was on Derek Siver’s website the other day and came across his free e-book on how to market yourself as a musician. I filled out the form – and guess what? I got an email from Derek asking for more information about myself and how he can help me out, presumably to further my music career. I emailed back and told him how I am beginning to get started with GTD; he replied back to tell me about the follow up book Ready for Anything – and reminded me to get going on my outstanding projects.

So what just happened here? I have just made contact with the founder of CD Baby. Holy smokes, Internets! And it was him that was proactive about making contact with me. Almost wished that I got some business or marketing questions ready to ask him.

By the way, his e-book is excellent, even if you are not in the music industry. The lessons in there apply to anyone wanting to get ahead in any industry. Highly recommended.

I don’t own a car. Okay I lied – I own a fleet of over 200 cars. Okay I lied again – I am a part-owner of a fleet of over 200 cars. Yes, I joined the Co-operative Auto Network back in October (CAN for short). It was a sensible decision – my brother needed a car but didn’t have one; I had a car but didn’t really need it, except for social outings. So, Alfredmobile was passed on to him.

(For your refernece, Alfredmobile is (was, haha) a ‘99 Honda Civic Special Edition. Air-conditioning and keyless entry. Not too many kilometres but its been in a few random bing-bongs.)

As of today, I’ve had more than a month of CAN experience. Here is my take of it so far. You very likely have different driving needs, so your mileage will vary (figuratively and literally).

What are my transportation needs? I walk to work. During the week, I have my salsa classes. And of course, there is the going out on the weekend with friends and such. I should also note that my company will reimburse up to $70 for my transit pass purchase if I do not drive to work.

So how often do I need a vehicle? Two or three times a week; once during the week for a salsa class and once on the weekend for a late night out.

How much does it cost? You can check out the website for the exact pricing details. November cost me about $270 (for 8 bookings of various lengths, one cancelled booking, administration fee, and taxes). Note that I get reinbursed when I fill up the car so the actual statement I got last month is less the cost of the fillups.

How do I pick up the vehicles? The cars are scattered through out the city in “secret” locations. When you are finished, you have to return the car to the original location. Whenever I pick up a car, I imagine James Bond music playing while Q explains the features of the vehicle I am about to pick up. My only real complaint is that I am a good 15 minute walk away from the closest car; Burnaby is not as well covered as Vancouver.

Are there really Mini Coopers in the fleet? Yes, but I am actually starting to take fancy to a Hyundai Sonata. Note that there are quite a variety of cars in the fleet from old to new; from big to small. Usually you would want to go for the one closest to where you live, but sometimes I go the extra mile to pick up a particular car (say a certain red Mini).

How does this compare to when I still owned Alfredmobile? One year’s car insurance was $1611 for leisure use only. I remember gas ended up being $50 a month or so, but then again that was when gas was still more than $1 a litre.  Also, having a car meant that I deliberately drove more. Besides this, there is the 3 to 4 times a year of car maintenance, which I would estimate at $1500 for the year. (I got new tires for Alfredmobile this summer). So operating Alfredmobile for a year cost $3711 at these estimates. This is conservative as I do not consider depreciation, which is not so much for this older vehicle. A year in the Car Co-Op cost $3240 a year based on my November usage. This is not really a scientific comparison, as my car usage pattern is different in the two cases. Also, there is actually quite a lot of variance in both of these estimates, but overall I would consider the pure dollar costs to be in the same ballpark.

What is my transportation profile like, now that I don’t have a regular car? I do a mix of public transit and co-op car during the week, depending on my destination and what time of night I plan to get home from whatever party I am at. Again, work and grocery shopping is just walking distance from my home.

How do I like it? I am loving it. I have to be honest -  Alfredmobile is starting to show its age and I’ve been lusting for a newer vehicle for the last while. I like that I don’t have to worry about oil-changes and other things like that.  I like the mental lightness of not owning a vehicle.

Are you sure you like it? Well, there was this one time I got a car that was in a secluded location. It was probably not a good idea to be returning it in the middle of the night. Did I mention that it was in the heart of crow territory? I have never seen such a dense concentration of crows in my entire life. I kept imagining my bloodied body being pecked at by a zillion crows.  By the way, this would explain why this car was covered in bird-poo. Crow-poo if you want to get technical. Other than that one particular occasion, it has been pretty peachy.

Am I going to keep it up? Cost-wise, this is about what I am expecting. As long as I am having fun with this, I will keep my membership. (Or more precisely, when I get fed up with not having a car when I need it, that’s when I’ll get one.) I do enjoy the occasional bus & skytrain ride so this is pretty good for me.

Joining the car co-op isn’t for everyone; I recognize this so I am not making as strong of a sales pitch here. On the whole, I am pleased that this has worked out for me.