Digging the new desktop

<http://www.230publicity.com/images/sasquatchphotos/ModestMouse_creditChrisAnthony.jpg>

Posted via email from things that i remember

Tarkio – Keeping Me Awake

Posted via web from things that i remember

(uncertain optimism) > (certain pessimism)

Recruiting is in full swing. There are tons of info sessions on campus and people are going crazy. I’m going crazy too, but to a lesser extent.

I decided not to apply to any investment banking jobs. I surely didn’t have the fortitude to do this in the spring when I applied to every banking job, but this time is different. I tried really hard to like banking during college. I took a lot of finance courses and majored in finance, which I think is great (maybe not as great as computer science), but I found that as hard as I tried, I could never really get excited about banking. It took me a while, but I’m glad I discovered this, because I have a feeling that many people at Penn never do, or do much later.

Mentors over the years have said that you have to try something to like it, but they rarely mention the risk of tricking yourself into liking something. This summer I was really fortunate to do something that I really enjoyed. If I could go back in time, I would have worked at more startups and worked more with technology. I think that when students apply to undergraduate business schools, their interest is derived from lemonade stand dreams. They’re thinking about the high that you get when you build something you believe in and run it. I doubt that you’d find many high school students mentioning the high they get when they pocket advisory fees on an acquisition; at least I hope not.

When I explain this approach to my friends, I get variations of the response, “that’s really dumb, you’re screwed.” I think that’s true, but only when defined in a very narrow way. If my baramoter of success is getting a job during the narrow span of of campus-recruiting (September-October), choosing to ignore 90% of the opportunities is certainly a horrible strategy. But if I define success as finding something that I can really enjoy, then it’s the best strategy.

My biggest fear is that I’d become complacent if I were given the option to do banking. If I don’t want to do something, why apply? Applying changes your mindset. You’re now thinking about sunk costs. I know that you’re not supposed to think about them, but you just spent days getting this job that you don’t want. There will be this circular reasoning that goes like this.

Why did I apply to something that I would never want to do? It doesn’t look too bad now. There must be a reason that I applied in the first place.

This is because just by applying I’m baking in the possibility (however low or undesirable), that I might be doing whatever I don’t want to do.

One thing that is important is my confidence and appetite for risk. If I leave campus-recruiting without a job, what is the probability that I’ll get something that I like? This will depend mostly on how persistent I am with seeking interesting opportunities. I know that there are a ton of things outside campus-recruiting that I’d love to do, but I’ll have to target them and sell myself  to have a chance. This is a legitimate fear and is a big deal for a lot of students. Leaving the structure of campus-recruiting and fending for yourself is scary, because anything can happen.

Posted via web from things that i remember

Untitled

Posted via web from things that i remember

Hollywood and the Valley

I got to this article from an Arrington Techcrunch post (first link). Arrington then refers to an article written by a professional screenwriter (second link). Did I mention that he is a professional screenwriter? Don’t forget that he’s a professional; he might get angry.

• http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/13/lets-not-let-silicon-valley-become-just-like-hollywood/
• http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/09/i_will_not_read.php

Arrington makes a comparison between amateur writers in Hollywood who ask professional writers to review their scripts, and amateur entrepreneurs who ask experienced entrepreneurs and investors to review business plans.

Olson’s hypocrisy is so rampant that it’s uncomfortable to even think about. How did he get anyone to read his scripts? Olson’s pompous writing shows a complete lack of respect for the people who were willing to take a chance on him and make him a success. He should be thanking those that helped him, and then wonder why he’s so different.

I’m willing to concede that Olson’s view is acceptable for him if he has “no interest whatsoever” in reading amateur scripts. If this is truly the case, his incentives are different than investors in the valley. If you’re actually passionate about finding the good, you have to sift through the bad. In that sense, investors are optimists and of course they’re chasing returns, but if they weren’t optimists they wouldn’t be in this business.

The difference is that Olson isn’t looking for anything good; he just doesn’t want to be a jerk. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs and investors are willing to listen because the possibility of being a jerk is one cost of finding the next big thing, which is more important than being everyone’s friend.

These are my favorite reader comments from the TC post:

Tostada-man – September 13th, 2009 at 2:11 am CDT

Mr. Writer-of-this-TechCrunch-article:

Who are you, and what have you done to Michael Arrington?

Or, it that you in there, Mike? Are you OK? Can’t get out? Too much Jamba Juice?

Please let me know. I really miss the old TC articles, the “this stuff is so new and so good, I pee my pants just thinking about it” feeling I use to get when reading TC while riding CalTrain…

Man, what a memory. Anyway, ping me once you’re back…all this philosophical-hemorroid-cream stuff you’re writting lately just doesn’t do it to me anymore.

Peace, most excellent dude…Peace!

Liz (@Lizzyville) – September 13th, 2009 at 5:01 am CDT

I agree. The painter analogy doesn’t make any sense. You’re not asking a screenwriter to write you a screenplay. You’re asking a painter to give you advice and possibly some tips on where to get the best equipment. I understand there are annoying people in the startup world but I think you’re perpetuating negativity in a trying era that could really use more of the articles that used to be written on this site. Show entrepreneurs how to be better, don’t tell them, or you risk losing them. They’re your readers.

Posted via web from things that i remember

Lintwalk – The Blakes

There are a ton of amazing fan-generated music videos on youtube

Posted via web from things that i remember

Life’s tough when you’re low on coffee and have a double shot of macspiration

Posted via email from things that i remember

I wish I had read this earlier…

http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html

But is Graham’s message any different than other messages that we have heard growing up throughout school? I’m sure that you’ve seen tons of college guidebooks that talk about encouraging students to explore their interests. The problem is that 9 times out of 10 the delivery is coated in glossy BS.

Prestige is especially dangerous to the ambitious. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, the way to do it is to bait the hook with prestige. That’s the recipe for getting people to give talks, write forewords, serve on committees, be department heads, and so on. It might be a good rule simply to avoid any prestigious task. If it didn’t suck, they wouldn’t have had to make it prestigious

“There’s So Much Beauty It Could Make You Cry”

Last few chances to think about summer while it’s still summer

Posted via web from things that i remember

Profit Maximization at Taco Bell

I went to Taco Bell for the first time today since May. Here was the conversation I had with the employee.

• Employee: Can I help you?
• Me: One second… I’ll have a spicy chicken crunchwrap supreme.
• Employee: Don’t have that anymore. Look here we taped over it on the menu.
• Me: Oh… wow things change fast. Hmmmm (I’m now staring at a bad scotch-tape job on the menu)
• Employee: Yeah they discontinue this at corporate.
• Me: Okay, then can I get a crunchwrap with your regular chicken?
• Employee: Yeah. Okay $4.60.
• Me: What? Really? $4.60? How much was this in the spring?
• Employee: $3.60
• Me: Wow a dollar extra? Interesting.
• Employee: Hahaha (sinister smile). Yeah students coming back to school and owner want money. Hahaha.
• Me: Hahaha (I burst out laughing here). Ok, give me a 7 layer burrito.

Posted via web from things that i remember