Nick Zadrozny

"Let people choose change. I don’t think people are afraid of change, as a concept. They’re afraid of..."

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:04:45 -0800

“Let people choose change. I don’t think people are afraid of change, as a concept. They’re afraid of change that’s forced upon them. That isn’t change, it’s violence.”

- Jason Fried

"If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55..."

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:19:53 -0800

“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”

- Albert Einstein

"Without great solitude, no serious work is possible."

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:14:31 -0800

“Without great solitude, no serious work is possible.”

- Pablo Picasso

It’s true: a few weeks of programming really can save you hours of building a spreadsheet.

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:54:00 -0800

It’s true: a few weeks of programming really can save you hours of building a spreadsheet.

"The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own..."

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:45:57 -0800

“The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.”

- Henry Ford

"If the main topic of conversation you have with your friends is not how you can better yourself, you..."

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:30:21 -0700

“If the main topic of conversation you have with your friends is not how you can better yourself, you need to get new friends.”

- Buford Taylor

"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make..."

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:38:25 -0700

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

- Steve Jobs

Bravo, xkcd. Another point well-made on a concept that scales...

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:56:28 -0700

Bravo, xkcd. Another point well-made on a concept that scales really well.

Consider: If you were to bill yourself for the time spent researching and making purchases, how would the final cost influence your purchasing decisions?

Would it change how you spend your time? Would it change how your spent your money? These questions hinge on two deeper, more revealing questions: how do you value your time, and where are you most willing to spend it?

The comic above makes an excellent point: you probably aren’t willing to work for less than minimum-wage just to save a few dollars on gas.

Conversely, there is an interesting question implicit in this point: What do you value enough that you would work for less than minimum wage? Odds are that you’re already doing just that.

"The problem with the Internet startup craze isn’t that too many people are starting companies;..."

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 23:34:53 -0700

“The problem with the Internet startup craze isn’t that too many people are starting companies; it’s that too many people aren’t sticking with it.”

- Steve Jobs

Elektricity Will Keep Me Warm - London Elektricity Acoustic...

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:20:23 -0700

Elektricity Will Keep Me Warm - London Elektricity Acoustic Session (by HospitalRecords)

Guitar Oscillations Captured with iPhone 4

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:29:59 -0700

Guitar Oscillations Captured with iPhone 4

Coffee: The Greatest Addiction Ever

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 09:56:31 -0700

Coffee: The Greatest Addiction Ever

"The manual is a catalog of the product’s flaws."

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:33:49 -0700

“The manual is a catalog of the product’s flaws.”

- Bill Budge

Chicago from above. Way above. (via The Atlantic)

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:33:36 -0700

Chicago from above. Way above. (via The Atlantic)

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 23:52:00 -0700

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

- Mark Twain

"Helping people save face is more useful than jockeying for nerd dominance."

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:57:40 -0700

“Helping people save face is more useful than jockeying for nerd dominance.”

- Aaron Blohowiak

Yeah, time to get my sous vide on. What’s sous vide all...

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:54:00 -0700

Yeah, time to get my sous vide on. What’s sous vide all about, you ask? Check out the Sous-Vide 101: Prime Steak Primer on Serious Eats, where the wonderful attached photo comes from.

Upgrading RubyGems search to Solr

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 11:19:29 -0800

Upgrading RubyGems search to Solr:

In which I thoroughly break down some recent work on upgrading RubyGems.org from slow SQL-based search to a fast and flexible Solr-based approach.

Mothers- and Fathers-to-Be: The Next Generation of Planning and Career-Family Conflict

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:57:00 -0800

Mothers- and Fathers-to-Be: The Next Generation of Planning and Career-Family Conflict:

Congrats to my awesome friend Danielle Grisaffi for getting an article published in the NASPA Journal About Women in Higher Education!

"The nerd sees the world as a system which, given enough time and effort, is completely knowable."

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 11:36:22 -0800

“The nerd sees the world as a system which, given enough time and effort, is completely knowable.”

- Rands in Repose