sci-fi author, beatmaker

Month: December 2012

End of the World(View), and a New Conservatism

Conservatism has seen better days.

Conservatism has seen better days.

As far as I can tell, the world isn’t ending today. The Mayan calendar rolls over to a new stone, or a longer ring cycle.

So what is ending? Certain worldviews are on the decline, and I say good riddance.

On their way out:

How To Complete Difficult Tasks

What’s the secret to completing difficult tasks? If we can learn how to consistently overcome challenging obstacles, we can reduce our reliance on others, feel more capable and powerful, and take on bigger and more rewarding projects. If we give up too soon, we sell ourselves short, abort promising career directions, and become too reliant on other people’s expertise.

I think there is a secret to consistently getting the hard stuff done. But first a story …

We’d been having some trouble with our telephone and internet service. Dropped calls in the middle of important conference calls, internet outages in the middle of gigantic uploads, calls getting dropped after one ring, and so on. Incredibly frustrating, and bad for business.

After seven different support calls and one site visit from sonic.net (all fruitless), and one site visit from Bay Alarm (sonic.net thought the problem was related to our alarm system), I realized the best remaining option was the fix it myself.

Loöq Records End-of-Year Compilation, and Contest

Top 12 of 2012 (on 12-12-12)

Top 12 of 2012 (on 12-12-12)

A quick post to let you know about what I’ve been up to over at Loöq Records. Every year we listen to every single track we’ve released and come up with a “best-of-the-best” compilation. It’s available exclusively on Beatport at the moment, and if you buy it (or even just buy one track) you’re eligible to enter the Loöq Records contest.

If you have no interest in electronic music, then read no further. But if that 808 kick gives you that special feeling, I promise you’ll find something you like on this collection. Some of my own work is on it (Jondi & Spesh, Momu, Yellowcake) but my favorite tracks this year are from RND().

Contest rules and prize details are right here. I’ll say this much — everyone is a winner!

When To Give Up and When to Double Down

All in.

All in.

The common sentiment that a strong person should “never give up, never surrender” quickly falls apart when subjected to some critical thinking.

For example, any experienced poker player will tell you that knowing “when to fold ’em” is one of the most important parts of the game. A player who never folds (gives up) will quickly lose all their money.

The issue is opportunity cost. We all have limited time, money, and energy. When you’re young, with few responsibilities, you might *feel* like you have unlimited time and energy, but it’s not true. Time you spend doing one thing is less time you have for other things. Money you invest in one project is less money you have to invest in other projects.

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