knife knife knife

paleo update

2012-01-31T00:43:00.001-06:00

So, almost 6 months in, and my weight loss has definitely slowed down. I'm a little more lax on alcohol and gluten-free pastries, so that's to be expected. I still weigh myself every morning to keep track of my progress, and for the past two weeks I've been at a low of 219 and a high of 222. If I slow down on the drinking and the treats and get a little more strict again, I'm sure I can hit my goal of 190 by this summer.

F and I have also recently started running (couch to 5k). We occasionally postpone a run due to inclement weather (like today's rain), but largely run every other day. I'm on week 4, and she's on week 3, but I repeated week 1 so that I could run with her. It's been much easier than I thought it would be, even though I am still smoking.

Overall, we both feel great, and despite my not having a job, and being a bit broke, life is pretty good. We eat tasty meat and local veggies, and watch fun shows and movies most nights. We've even been able to host friends at our house thanks to the $3 dollar wine from Whole Foods. It's surprisingly good, and since we can get 3 bottles for 10 bucks, it's an easy way for us skint folks to have a fun time.

My job search is ongoing, and I hope to be employed by March, if not much sooner. Nothing solid to go on, but that's my hope. I've had a few promising applications/interviews, but no news at this point. I'm still trying to keep my chin up, and enjoy my funemployment/vacation. I also applied for unemployment benefits, but I'm not sure if i'll receive them or not since I "quit" my last job. We'll see.

--
Brook Shelley

Cider time

2012-01-30T19:48:00.001-06:00

Ready

2012-01-25T23:10:00.001-06:00

Sinking

2012-01-25T16:42:00.001-06:00

Waiting by the window

2012-01-24T16:41:00.001-06:00

Grocery shopping

2012-01-21T17:04:00.001-06:00

Comfortable?

2012-01-21T14:14:00.001-06:00

Ice cream and wine

2012-01-14T22:50:00.001-06:00

Sewing

2012-01-12T20:04:00.001-06:00

Oh, do you need that hand?

2012-01-10T13:21:00.001-06:00

Months of bacon. Getting a solid patina

2012-01-09T17:47:00.001-06:00

Sunday sleeps

2012-01-08T16:27:00.001-06:00

Why yes. I sleep like this

2012-01-08T13:59:00.001-06:00

Boxed

2012-01-07T17:44:00.001-06:00

Hanging

2012-01-05T19:09:00.001-06:00

Cut and trimmed for interviews

2012-01-05T14:58:00.001-06:00

Long cat

2012-01-04T15:25:00.001-06:00

Listening to kings of convenience

2012-01-04T14:31:00.001-06:00

comments

2012-01-04T01:28:00.001-06:00

had forgotten that i could even get comments on this site...

but i've officially turned them off. if you want to comment, either hit me up on twitter, shortmail, or email. i'm boydknife on all of them.

on motivation

2012-01-03T16:41:00.001-06:00

Until recently, I hadn't thought about motivation very often. You simply wake up, shower, eat breakfast, and then go to work. Then, you spend 8-10 hours doing your job. If someone had asked me, what is your motivation? My answer likely would have been "money", or "to make cool things", or "learning". But for the most part, I went to work because I had a job. With a job, or school, life is very simple in a way. Everyday, you know what your schedule will largely be comprised of, and you go about your business without having much need for "what should I be doing?"

Unfortunately, I am now unemployed. It's a long story. However, with quite a bit of time on my hands, I am suddenly faced with the question of "how should I spend my day?" It would be simple to say "looking for a job", or "interviewing", but while both of those tasks will take up parts of my week, they are simply not enough to structure a day around. So, while I eat my breakfast, listen to some music, or catch up on a bit of reading, the thought that is racing through my brain is, "what do you do when no one is telling you what to do?" I'd love to say that I'm writing an exciting program, or a book, or making art… but that would be a lie. Honestly, I'm just spending copious amounts of time reading, relaxing, watching British comedy, or chatting with my friends who are at their desks. It's definitely not a life I'd want to be stuck with forever, but for now, it's enough.

My goal during my job search, is to be satisfied with where my life is, not be sullen or frustrated by my search for a great company for me to work for, and genuinely enjoy my time alone. Being completely in charge of your schedule is a frightening prospect (I was surprised by this), but I hope to treat it more like a much needed vacation than a lull.

As the new year starts, I'm excited about the things it will bring.

Great weather

2012-01-03T16:05:00.001-06:00

At man night

2012-01-02T21:12:00.001-06:00

Starting a fire

2011-12-31T21:51:00.001-06:00

Second time. Digging it

2011-12-30T18:33:00.001-06:00

This old house

2011-12-30T16:29:00.001-06:00

Cheese from the mail

2011-12-29T14:33:00.001-06:00

Cheese unboxing

2011-12-29T14:27:00.001-06:00

wrote this a while ago

2011-12-28T19:03:00.001-06:00

Paying for Services

Everyone loves free things, but on the web free is increasingly associated with ads, lost data, and privacy concerns. Most recently, Gowalla, a location-sharing/storytelling app was bought by Facebook after a few years of going it alone and attracting a large number of users. Many people felt a bit betrayed now that their preferred location sharing service is closing down, but when you pay nothing for a service, it's hard to expect it to last.

And, even when services stay free, and continue to grow, an important question to ask yourself is, "who is the customer?" With the popularity of Facebook, Twitter, and even Gmail, users often vocally complain about new directions or changes to the site or app of their favorite web service. For most people, after investing time and effort building a profile, or a large email collection, they feel a sense of ownership over the platform, and hate to see it shift directions or suddenly innundate them with advertisements, but this is an unfortunate part of "free". Google, Facebook, Twitter, an many other companies actually serve Advertisers and other companies, and you, the user, are the product. This may be hard to swallow, but it's true. When you see an ad that's targeteted to you, your information was provided to the advertiser in hopes that you would buy and use their products. These companies pay Facebook and others to reach their users, and without these advertisements, these web services would not have any revenue.

One issue that often arises is that in an effort to build out and attract new users, web services often wait for quite some time to "monetize", and when they do, it comes as a surprise to many users. Twitter showed this to be true with the now famous "dick bar", that showed "promoted tweets" and trends to iOS app users on top of their Twitter timeline. While this "feature" was quickly pulled from the application, the ads and general direction of Twitter was here to stay. And, with the latest iOS app update, Twitter has brought in "Discover" as one of four tabs on the bottom of the app. Discover shows "stories" and the aforementioned promoted tweets, as well as trending topics. As before, there was a large user outcry against this change, but Twitter appears to be sticking with it this time.

When the user isn't the customer, they can't expect to be treated like one. Instead of being frustrated with a service that you have invested time into, try investing money into services that you love. If a service you enjoy doesn't charge money, contact them and ask them to do so. Running web services is expensive, and sooner or later, companies will need to make money. Keep companies focussed on delivering the best user experiences, by making sure they know you are the customer. This may not ensure that all web services survive indefinitely, but it helps. And, if you're starting a web service company, make sure you think about monetization from the beginning. You can learn a lot more from bootstrapping and paying your own bills than you ever will by having money thrown at you and "flipping" the company after a few years. Build value, user trust, and solve a real problem. That's the way to make a lasting business.

Cozy style

2011-12-26T11:32:00.001-06:00

Holiday feast

2011-12-25T14:30:00.001-06:00

Holiday loaf

2011-12-24T14:54:00.001-06:00

Eggnog martini. Awesome

2011-12-24T14:38:00.001-06:00

Taken at Hopdoddy Burger Bar

Choosing the dance

2011-12-23T23:29:00.001-06:00

Holiday reading

2011-12-23T17:07:00.001-06:00

Worth the wait

2011-12-23T15:26:00.001-06:00

It's hard to get out of bed

2011-12-22T14:44:00.001-06:00

Jetlag

2011-12-22T11:29:00.001-06:00

Sadly the gundam had a line

2011-12-18T13:40:00.001-06:00

2011

2011-12-17T11:31:00.003-06:00

Sad to leave

2011-12-17T11:31:00.001-06:00

Last night for us, 2nd for him

2011-12-17T11:30:00.001-06:00

Cousins

2011-12-17T02:45:00.003-06:00

BBQ

2011-12-17T02:45:00.001-06:00

More park

2011-12-17T02:43:00.001-06:00

Gentleman, scholar

2011-12-16T20:51:00.003-06:00

Beware

2011-12-16T20:51:00.001-06:00

Oh, good

2011-12-16T20:50:00.003-06:00

I'll pass on swimming

2011-12-16T20:50:00.001-06:00

Training wheels

2011-12-16T09:43:00.001-06:00

Hiding

2011-12-16T09:42:00.001-06:00

Hello street cat

2011-12-16T07:38:00.001-06:00

Found you

2011-12-16T07:37:00.001-06:00

On long island

2011-12-16T07:36:00.001-06:00

Lunch

2011-12-15T03:20:00.003-06:00

Cover your bases

2011-12-15T03:20:00.001-06:00

Random at a hospital

2011-12-15T03:19:00.001-06:00

Bye shoe hotel

2011-12-14T00:16:00.001-06:00

I miss you already

2011-12-14T00:15:00.003-06:00

Real clothes, not a costume. Insane

2011-12-14T00:15:00.001-06:00

These trees are stunning in person

2011-12-13T07:53:00.001-06:00

Instagram magazine

2011-12-13T07:52:00.001-06:00

Survived on these.

2011-12-13T07:51:00.003-06:00

Tokyo tower. Too lazy to go closer

2011-12-13T07:51:00.001-06:00

Dog located!

2011-12-13T07:50:00.001-06:00

Park near the Imp. Palace

2011-12-12T20:48:00.001-06:00

Sign outside a "honky tonk" bar

2011-12-12T20:46:00.001-06:00

Saw google street view crew in a park

2011-12-12T20:44:00.001-06:00

Don't lay on the seats

2011-12-12T11:12:00.001-06:00

Soba filled mochi

2011-12-12T11:11:00.003-06:00

Shrine

2011-12-12T11:11:00.001-06:00

Scene if my fail

2011-12-12T08:58:00.001-06:00

Drums

2011-12-12T08:57:00.003-06:00

Awesome arcade in Nakano

2011-12-12T08:57:00.001-06:00

Cooking setup

2011-12-11T20:20:00.001-06:00

You know you're in akihabara when...

2011-12-11T20:19:00.001-06:00

His and her breakfast

2011-12-11T20:16:00.001-06:00

Drink time

2011-12-11T07:49:00.001-06:00

Thing on a stick

2011-12-11T07:44:00.001-06:00

Almost there

2011-12-11T07:41:00.001-06:00

Vege up

2011-12-11T07:38:00.001-06:00

Scary...

2011-12-11T06:19:00.001-06:00

1940s Military Harley

2011-12-11T06:18:00.001-06:00

Too much choice

2011-12-11T02:57:00.003-06:00

Now you'll never get your hat. Haha.

2011-12-11T02:57:00.001-06:00

7 story Tokyo opening ceremony

2011-12-11T02:56:00.003-06:00

Beams Mangart

2011-12-11T02:56:00.001-06:00

Beautiful day in the neighborhood

2011-12-10T21:20:00.001-06:00

Hobo style

2011-12-10T21:19:00.003-06:00

Found my store

2011-12-10T21:19:00.001-06:00

Eclipse

2011-12-10T08:17:00.001-06:00

Great shop.

2011-12-10T08:16:00.001-06:00

At a curry place

2011-12-10T05:00:00.001-06:00

Hanging in Koenji

2011-12-10T04:59:00.001-06:00

Happy holidays?

2011-12-09T08:45:00.001-06:00

Dim sum

2011-12-09T08:44:00.001-06:00

MRT photo

2011-12-08T20:37:00.001-06:00

Uncle Raymond and SaiSai

2011-12-08T20:36:00.001-06:00

The spread

2011-12-08T12:33:00.003-06:00

Watch

2011-12-08T12:33:00.001-06:00

With HeHe

2011-12-08T12:32:00.001-06:00