Two feet of snow on the way!
Latest forecast for where I live estimates 4”-7” tonight, and an ADDITIONAL 15”-17” tomorrow.
That’s 19”-24” in the next two days!
January 2011
49 posts
Twitter Friends
Whenever I tell someone I’ve met people in real life that I met through Twitter and Tumblr, they usually say, “Why?”
The assumption is people you meet on the Internet are sexual predators or stunted man-boys living in their parents’ basements.
(And we are. But I digress.)
The funny thing about this whole Twitter/Tumblr thing is that it is a funny thing. The community developed around people trying to make each other laugh. And the people I’ve become friends with in our community are people who have made me laugh and (supposedly) I have made them laugh.
And laughter? Laughter is the single best way to determine if you can be friends with someone. If you make me laugh, I want to be around you more. Period.
I like this. I like making awesome friends. So let’s keep making each other laugh.
That is all.
“Juggling is about dropping. The entire magic of witnessing a juggler has to do with the risk of something being dropped. If there is no risk of dropping, juggling is actually sort of boring. Perfection is overrated, particularly if it keeps you from trying things that are interesting. Hence the tricky part—you want to ship in a way that (as much as you can) avoids failure, but when failure comes, moving forward is more effective than panic or blame.”
—Seth Godin
You live in Wisconsin. If you can't handle the snow
DON’T FUCKING DRIVE.
I’m sick of going 5 mph because you can’t get your shit together.
x2.
Roads weren’t that bad this morning but my 40-minute commute took 95 minutes.
“Logic is the art of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.”
—
Products That Don't Need Apologies
Yesterday I took my iPhone in to get serviced for the second time. The first time I went in about a year ago because I cracked the screen while climbing around on ladders at work. It was completely my fault but I went to the genius bar and Apple just handed me a new phone at no cost to me.
So the second time that I took my iPhone in (this time for a faulty vibrate switch), a second time I had a hassle-free experience where they just handed me a new phone and that was that. I was in and out of the store in 10 minutes, and because I showed up a little early, I actually walked out of the store before my service appointment was even supposed to be begin.
I hear on a regular basis from people who don’t like Apple just because they love their notion of the free world of Microsoft Windows and Google’s Android that they live in. There will always be something to be said though for a product that just plain works.
Seth Godin wrote an exceptional article the other day on his site about products that don’t need apologies because they always do exactly what’s expected of them:
A cop with a Surefire flashlight doesn’t have to say to her partner, “I’m sorry my flashlight isn’t so bright.” It’s made without compromise for people who won’t compromise.
There are high margins in the business of high-end flatware, for people who don’t want to apologize for the lack of an asparagus fork when they have fancy company over.
One of the most vibrant segments of the stereo business is the category of products that are ridiculously expensive (and really good).
Where’s the cell phone headset that will appeal to people who don’t want to apologize for the quality of their cell phone connection?
People will go out of their way to buy and recommend products that don’t require an apology.
Say what you want to about Apple, about how Steve Jobs is a stubborn prick, and how their products are expensive and how there’s not a single possible reason someone might want to buy an iPad and how in your opinion it’s a useless product. Understand though that Apple is a very successful company. They turn good ideas into great products and cut no corners to make certain they deliver something excellent into the hands of their customers.
When you buy into an Apple product, you’re not just buying their product and some piece of a warranty — you’re buying into a relationship. Something happens and your experience with their product goes sour because something broke or maybe it’s your fault because you cracked the screen — no worries, they’ll let you take a mulligan because they understand that you’re human. Show up with something that’s their fault, and they’ll stand accountable and take care of it, because they know it’s the right thing to do.
Every few weeks someone will badger me about how I can spend so much on a phone and a plan, which with accessories, apps, and such will cost me roughly $2800 over two years. I tell them that I can stand to pay so much because it’s a truly excellent product.
It just plain works.
On the rare occasion that it doesn’t — Apple’s got me taken care. I use my phone everyday as a camera, a GPS, something to keep me busy when I’m bored, for staying connected to the internet and my email when I’m away from a computer, as a music player, and sometimes I even use it as a phone. As a student, a live event tech, an employee, and just as a human being, it’s really important to me that something so integral to my everyday life not disappoint me even occasionally.
With how important each day is to me, something that disappoints me even once in awhile is something that will create havoc at times when I really need to be focused on my life, my education, and my work.
So when next summer comes around, my cellular contract is up, and Apple will presumably be releasing the iPhone 5, I’ll be one of the first people in line to get one. I won’t be there because it’s something really shiny or because I always need to have the latest, greatest toy; I’ll be there because I know Apple will deliver a product that will fulfill my every expectation for it. They’ll put a product in my hand that I won’t ever have to apologize for or that will get in my way of doing the things that are important to me.
And Yes, that’s worth something to me.
