Blahgorrhea

Please forgive me for appearing snide, but this is just a fair observation about my life. I don’t consider myself rich, but I earn enough to be comfortable. I don’t think about when my next paycheck will arrive and how that money will be split up between rent and food, and I don’t wonder if I will have any left for entertainment. This style of living is in sharp contrast with a lot of Americans; according to AC Neilsen, 28% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Two of my good friends who own a house in San Rafael and just bought a Subaru Outback are definitely on the edge, as they put strong consideration into each purchase they make, trading off one purchasing decision for another. But I lead a different style of life, a style I call “living purchase to purchase.” [Continue reading…]

I don’t need the money. It’s not my thing. Don’t get me wrong - I do like money. But I don’t know that it’s ecologically appropriate to hoard millions and millions of dollars. We don’t need to have so much wealth concentrated in so few hands. Our culture needs to recognize that having $20 million in the bank is not an absolute requirement for being happy. We have got to be more attuned to the idea that the life experience has its own value.

Bill Strickland explaining his philosophy on salary.

This philosophy is amazing, because it truly addresses a problem in our culture and gives a solution as well. Bill Strickland is an incredibly successful social entrepreneur who could make a ton more money, but he takes a salary that gives him a comfortable life and leaves the rest of the money in his business doing good.

I have a 4-year-old cell phone. It still works (my theory on why it still works is that it does not have non-cell-phone features that get in the way of the quality of the phone itself, but that is a post for another time), but it is loosing steam, having more and more problems keeping a signal. So I figured I would look into getting a new phone. [Continue reading…]

They may not be elegant, but they are simple and cheap. Oh, and they are pretty damn durable, too.

“What am I talking about,” you may be asking. I’m talking about accessories like wallets, notebook holders, and whatnot made out of only duct tape. The original inspiration for this comes straight from the source, but I was intrigued by the design for the Ducster, a wallet to hold a Hipster PDA. I modified the design quite a bit to suit my own tastes, and I had a great time playing around with it. I wonder if more people would want more accessories like this? I’m considering playing around with a wallet that fits my needs and maybe even using that clear packaging tape instead of duct tape. I bet that would look sweet!

I have always fancied myself to be fiercly independent, thinking I can get along without anyone else’s help or even influence. I have always liked to think that I didn’t care what others thought about me or how I ran my life as long as I felt good about it. But as I have been thinking about my decision of what to do with my life, I have noticed that I rely more and more on the reactions and opinion of my friends and family. It is important for me to get “buy-in” on a decision regarding my life. As I describe my business idea to friends, my confidence in my idea is deeply influenced by their reaction. [Continue reading…]

I have a decision to make. I have to decide for myself whether or not I want a job or don’t want a job. I don’t want a job. I already know that, but I will need a job at some point, or at least a source of income. But what I really mean is that I have to decide what I want to do with myself immediately after I finish up working at Edusoft at the end of October.

On the one had, I should take some real time off; time I will spend doing actually nothing. I will ask myself, “What is it I want to do with my free time?” and whatever it may be, I can do. That sounds great, but I fear that I will just waste my time, watching TV, writing in my blog, or doing other pointless excersises that do not contribute to my self worth. [Continue reading…]

I received in the mail today a letter from Delta letting me know that they are combining their two different rewards programs, both of which I have been a member of for a number of years. The letter assured me that I would still be provided with the same excellent service I have come to expect (which isn’t saying all that much), but my concern really is whether or not those frequent flier miles are really worth anything anymore.

Over the last 10 years or so, I have accumulated over 200,000 miles that I can redeem for free travel, for stupid office gifts or for magazine subscriptions. I learned tonight that I can also donate the points to charities. I have been flying Delta most of my life, as they are based out of Atlanta, and I have had an American Express card that offers me 1 SkyMile for every dollar I spend. I am religious about using my credit card in order to amass rewards points, but I never actually redeem the points, so why do I keep up with this ritual, when I could instead use a credit card that offers me cash back? [Continue reading…]

My friend Seiken has a band called Foxtail Somersault. It is wall of sound, shoe-gazing music. Lots of layers. Lots of electronics that Seiken plays with as he cranks on his guitar. They really quite good. They play at the Make-Out Room tonight, so if you live in San Francisco, you should go.

Haven’t heard of a hipster PDA yet? It is just like an electronic PDA, except better:

1. It fits in your pocket
2. It is easy to use
3. It doesn’t break when you sit on it

The only real drawback is that you have to remember to carry around a pen.

Sean’s last day was yesterday, and so in classic Sean style, we went out to karaoke at San Francisco’s most fabulous karoake bar: The Mint (with arguably the worst website ever). We’ve had a lot of people leave the company as it has gone through its different stages of life, but this one hurt just a little more, as Sean was half of the dynamic duo that I relied on to keep me up to speed on pop culture and local events. Plus, he always has such wonderful rants to share with us. I’ll just have to make sure he updates those more often.