Curious Pursuit

Great post from Andy Liu about this whole issue of AIG bonuses.  I don’t know exactly how I feel about the bonuses.  I know I would be upset if I had made my contractual performance numbers at work and was denied my contractually bound bonus.  I also understand the frustration being expressed … but the sheer size of AIG complicates the issue away from simple generalizations.

To me, it just feels like everything is “off”.  The government is in a constant state of mis-step, seemingly making wrong decisions … always at the wrong time and rarely for the “right” reasons.   There seems to be far more concern with the sound bite and “one upsmanship” than real progress and right headed leadership.

While I’m not an Obama hater by any means … it seems like we’ve elected a “Partier in Chief” as opposed to a “Commander in Chief”.  I half expect PeeWee Herman to soon be named as ambassador to the UN.  It just doesn’t seem that anybody in the current government cares to get down to the real work that will have to happen sooner or later.  Where’s the seriousness of purpose?  Where’s the change?  If “audacious” hope is defined by late night TV appearances, march madness brackets and idiotic, offensive comments about disabled athletes … sign me up for another flavor please.

Then there’s the media and all of our (all of us … the “little” people) responsibility for making our culture into a media obsessed cesspool.  I think that is what has enabled the ridiculous state of our current situation.  Of course our leaders aren’t serious … we’re all too busy watching the E! Channel to care.

I read The E-Myth for the first time while I was in college.  At the time it was merely a fascinating read that I tossed aside shortly after finishing.  I recently have come across a few articles, videos and other media that have reminded me of the book and so I’ve picked it up again to take a look.  This time I have the feeling that it can truly help me take my business to the next level … not mere intellectual massage.

If you haven’t read it … you really should.  It actually has application across life, not just in business.

A couple of video hits today … again.

The first is a YouTube capture of Merlin Mann at Macworld.  Talking about creativity … what it is and how to “develop” it.  Really interesting and I think vaguely important.

So … maybe one day … if I can do what is advised above … I could create something cool and original like below …

To me, life is the ultimate “curious pursuit”.  Curious in two ways … First, the activity and realities of life seem so ill suited the enjoyment of life at times.  So it seems to me like a curious (or odd) puzzle where not all of the pieces seem to fit.  Second, curiosity (or intense intellectual interest) has been to me the one way “through it”. Trying to build understanding so that I can move on and do better, be better.

I have to admit that the last few months have been difficult ones, I have felt the shock of the economy in my business and I’m still not exactly sure the way out.  So how grateful was I for Tim Ferriss’s latest post where he linked to the video below.  He calls it the Prescription for Self-Doubt … I would add “Self Pity” as well.

Brian Auer from the Epic Edits blog is putting on a pretty cool contest/project/collaboration expirement.  He’s encouraging us to share our actions and presets as a group so that …  as he puts it …

our collective creativity will be pooled into a large Styler Package and be distributed freely

As for prizes, Neil from MakeLightReal has offered up some pretty good ones.  I am excited about the prospect of a prize (however remote it might be for me), but I’m really hoping the resulting action and preset library will be a great resource to help push my photographic abilities a bit higher.

So, one of the actions I’ve created and use a ton is a little “color pop” action I made after reading a blog post somewhere (sorry, I can’t remember the source) about using the LAB space to pop your color without artifacting.

So here it is … LAB Color Fix

Using it is very simple.  Open an image and run the action.  You’ll be left with a really ugly visible image layer on top of your original.  Simply slide the opacity down until you like the look.  Usually a value between 20% and 30% gives the best results.  Flatten … save … done.

Anyway, hopefully somebody finds this useful.  I know this one isn’t rocket science … but I sure have found it useful and a timesaver.

Here’s an example of the difference …

This post is a placeholder for a good piece of content for personal reference.  This is a link to 50 marketing blogs to watch.  I already follow quite a few of them, but many are new to me and look pretty interesting … need to keep tabs.

I’m very excited for Pubcon this year.  I’m not really a Vegas kind of guy … but I actually have some business problems this year that I think I can get answered there.  This will be my 3rd Pubcon and I feel much more eductated generally about SEO, SEM and online marketing.  This year I’m excited to go in understanding more fully some of the subtext of the panelists comments and hopefully being able to reconnect with some familiar faces.

In the middle of business challenges, it’s nice to step away from the day to day and think about some big picture items and learn some new tricks.  That’s exactly what the doctor ordered for me right now and I hope Pubcon can deliver for me this year.

The election is over … hallelujah!  Of course, the politicos are already back to campaigning?!

Do they ever take any time to think about how they could actually make things a little better?  Or is it all just about the next election and potential power grab?

Solutions seem like a long way away when all you do is try make the other guys bad.

I stumbled across this video today and thought it would make a good post in light of the current economic situation.

My business is having A LOT of trouble right now.  We tend to see our fortune on any given day fall and rise with the sentiment on Wall Street.  I had no idea the two would be so closely tied … but seemingly they are.

Anyway, I found the video below and had one thought after watching THE ENTIRE THING (you have to watch it all, no matter how badly you want to stop) … GATHER STRENGTH AND FIGHT!

As part of my ThinkTank experience I was given the opportunity to stay at the Surfer Beach Hotel for a couple of nights … gratis.  All I had to do in exchange was give an honest and fair review of my experience there.  This post is my effort to be both “fair and balanced” about the “Surfer”.  That said, this is a “paid review” to a certain degree and so it requires the disclosure as such.

First off, it’s pretty clear as you drive up to the hotel that it isn’t exactly the “spring chicken” of Pacific Beach.  It does have an amazing location though as it is right on the beach and boardwalk.  The second thing I noticed was how overwhelmingly nice the staff was … including April the general manager.  They checked me in quickly and the experience just got better and better after that.

While the outside of the place is a bit outdated, they have done a fantastic refurb on the interior.  The room contains a nice little “bar” area with a sink, mini-fridge, coffee maker, and a microwave … all very nice and extremely useful for a nice little beach get away.

Then comes the view … 

Above is the view from my room out to the hotel pool and then the boardwalk and beach beyond … very nice!

Another view of the pool …

The fact is that the best part of this hotel is the location … right on Pacific Beach!  It makes it very easy to head out at anytime for a nice stroll or some wave watching … 

or sunset gazing …

In terms of a grade, I would give the Surfer a B+ on accommodations and an A+ on location for an overall grade of an A for the value.  The rooms don’t have A/C (I’m a bit of an A/C freak), but the ocean breeze cools the room down nicely for sleeping.  The TVs aren’t exactly state of the art … but you’re on the beach … get out of the room and enjoy the ocean!

And, I will definitely stay there again … next time with my wife!