The Waiting Game

They say that patience is a virtue. It is definitely a virtue that I struggle with – my patience is about as good as a 5 year old standing in line at Disney World. Recently I have been forced to exude patience with a lot of things in my life, clearly something that is difficult. Believe it or not, in the last year or so, I have luckily surrounded myself with people and things that help me with my patience. But…I still have miles to go before I could be considered a patient person.

I am one of those people whose patient is so short that when I have an appointment or am meeting people, I’m usually early. Being early is good for me because then I’m not waiting around somewhere testing my patience. There is of course a rub here – I end up being early which means my patience is tested again because I have to wait – then I am anxious. Anxiety is a killer. Trust me I know. So, I am going to try and be more patient. Hopefully it will help me achieve my goals in life. Here goes nothing! Stop and Smell the Roses!

Bikers and Bars

Happy Monday! I’ve accepted a new job and will be giving notice today to my current employer. I don’t think they see it coming and the next 2 weeks could be like a bad break-up. But it is about the opportunity for me – not for them.

One of my best friends from home purchased a new Harley this weekend. He still has his Sportster but now he also has a gorgeous Yellow Softail Fat Boy. He has owned a bike since he was 19 years old and I, of course have always envied him. I have always had the desire to have a bike especially when I moved to Washington, DC from Cleveland. The weather here is much more conducive to riding. Alas, I have never had the nerve to get one because my Father is a clinical neuro-psychologist. Basically, his specialties are stroke and head injury rehab. Given what he sees on a daily basis, I have been told that if I ever got one I wouldn’t be allowed to come home.

Well, now my friend will be selling his Black 883 Sportster, which incidentally would be the perfect beginners bike for Washington, DC. I have the boots and I have the motorcycle jacket. Now all I need is the money, the t-shirt and to some how convince my parents not to ex-communicate me from the family if I get one.

Finally Friday

After a very hectic, exciting and tiring week, I am ready for the weekend even if it supposed to rain. This week has been very interesting and I have had some very interesting conversations with a really great friend of mine. We were talking this week about the things that people do to get ready for when people are coming over for a visit, whether friend, stranger, family or love interest.

We talked about the little things that we do like clean, clean the bathroom, leave certain things out for people see, light candles etc. We even talked about what we do when we’re waiting – that is, what do we want these guests to see us doing as they arrive. Maybe we’ll be reading or watching TV, maybe we’ll be listening to music and perhaps we’ll be outside playing fetch with the dog. Our conclusion is that we create an environment based upon what we think these guests would want to see us participating in when they arrive. Funny part is – at least for the two of us – these are things we do on an every day basis anyway. I read books, watch TV, listen to the radio and I consider myself pretty clean. Now granted if it is a “special” guest – I might vacuum 3 or 4 times out of nervousness or I might leave out a “special” book or be playing “special” music and I most definitely have the candles lit. Regardless I still do all of these things regularly, so what part of all of this makes us feel that 1) we have to do this and 2) it creates such a different feeling than when you do it everyday.

The best part of all of this, is that I ended up watching Play it Again, Sam with a friend on Tuesday night. It is a great film with Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. Woody Allen plays this neurotic film critic who is obsessed with Humphrey Bogart and is trying to get back into the dating game. There is a fantastic scene where a date is arriving at his house and his character frantically runs around his apartment playing music, setting out certain records and books and puts on too much Canoe aftershave. So what types of things do you do – when you’re getting ready for a guest to arrive?

Tenere Terra (Save the Earth)

Celebrate Earth Day!

Food crop diversity is key to sustainability

http://www.scidev.net/en/opinions/food-crop-diversity-is-key-to-sustainability.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_opinions

TED Talks Al Gore: New thinking on the climate

crisis

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/243

Friend Overkill (sorry I was listening to Colin Hay when I wrote this)?

I was recently reading a really cool blog post on New Scientist Technology regarding the human limit of friends our brain can handle. According to the post and British Anthropologist Robin Dunbar (1992), our social groups based on brain capacity are usually around 150 people, although people can actually remember more. The question that was posed – do social networking sites and new technology allow us to expand the number of people we can have in our social groups. In the blog – the founder of Facebook is cited as saying that a Facebook user averages from 120 to 130 contacts. This suggests to me that social networking and technology have no influence on the number of people in our social groups. But I think there is a much bigger question – in this group of social acquaintances, how many of these 150 people are actual quality friends? Do social networking sites and technology force us to have friends of no substance for the sake of having friends?

Personally, I pride myself on that fact that the people who are in my social circle are amazing, caring and fantastic friends and people. I may not have 150 people in my social circle but I have 20 to 30 people whom I will always want as a part of my life. That is incredibly important to me. My friends are my family, I would do anything for them – after all I am Italian. Whether it is a midnight call asking for a ride from the airport, help with a move, help getting a job or a call saying – “hey do you have time to talk” – I will be there to the best of my ability. My friends have always been there for me and I only hope that I am there for them.

So, what makes having 500 friends on Facebook more important that having 50 real friends? Shouldn’t it be quality not quantity? To my friends – you are my friends because you’re amazing special people!

Movies

After a beautiful Saturday, Sunday was dark and stormy. There is not much better to do on a dark and stormy weekend day than to go to the movies! I was able to convince a few friends to go and see In Bruges with me on Sunday afternoon. It starred Colin Ferrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. I thought it was a great film. It is a very dark comedy with a bit of a gory ending. Anyway, I recommend it.

My dad is a huge moviegoer and I have always loved to go to the movies. I tend to prefer going to see movies that are on the Oscar list or that are independent rather than going to see a commercial blockbuster. Some of my favorites include Coffee and Cigarettes, The Royal Tennebaums, American Beauty and so on. I have not been to a lot of movies lately because I think I have grown out of the “I go alone to the movies” stage. I actually now like to go with another person because it is nice to have someone to laugh and cry with and to maybe grab a drink or a coffee afterwards to discuss the movie. Regardless of whether I am alone or with someone – one of the best parts of going to the movies are the “Coming Attractions.”

Previews are great. They give you a quick glimpse of what is coming to “a theater near you.” One of the previews this weekend was for Batman: The Dark Knight. I am a huge Batman fan and I am definitely a comic book fan. I grew up with my brothers collecting comics, comic book cards and my brother still has a shelf full of his action figures – some still in the packaging. To me the first and second Batman movies were great. Tim Burton did a fantastic job capturing the true dark side of what Batman was supposed to represent. Batman, Bruce Wayne, is the son of a very wealthy family in Gotham city who witnesses his parents murder. Gotham is a dark city where vagrants and crime rule the streets. I think everyone knows the rest of the story.

I am really looking forward to The Dark Knight not only because I feel like the most recent Batman movies have gone back to correct interpretation of the darkness that consumes Bruce Wayne and Batman but also because the film gives new light into the character of The Joker. The role was made famous by none other than Jack Nicholson and is now taken to a new level with Heath Ledger (may he rest in peace). Batman and the characters that he faced that I remember are not the same as made famous by Adam West. The stories that I know are dark, sadistic and truly psychological. From the previews that I have scene – this “new” Joker looks amazing. Not only is he dark, insane and colorful at the same time – he truly looks demented and I only hope that you can see why the Joker character is so famous for making Batman’s life so miserable.

Although I don’t like crowds there is a good chance that I may be one of the first in line to see this movie. Rumor has it that Heath Ledger could be up for an Oscar posthumously and I am looking forward to getting back to my imaginative youth.

Finally Friday

It is finally Friday! It has been a very interesting week. The Pope came to Washington, the weather is officially making its way towards summer and I have hopefully made the right decision about some things. Today could be a very interesting day for me with some big news which I am sure I will talk about in the near future.

With all of that said – here comes the weekend. I really enjoy my weekends. Not just because I do not have to work but because it seems like sometimes the weekend is the only time that I can have for myself. When I say for myself I do not mean that I shutter myself inside and act like a loner, rather it is a time where I can run my errands (but not going Target), clean my place, make plans with friends, ride my bike and just generally relax. I have a bit of a routine that typically remains the same each weekend.

My routine consists of mainly picking up my dry cleaning, stopping off at my favorite liquor store to see what wines they have on sale, drinking too much coffee and then finally going for a bike ride. Even better after all of this is brunch with friends. Surprisingly enough I have most of this done by noon. Sunday I get up, make coffee, watch the Sunday morning shows (including the McLaughlin Group) and make breakfast. Sometimes I grab the paper or just read my book.

My friends joke around with me because I’m an early bird on the weekends and they may not even be awake by the time I do all of these things. My feeling – it is the weekend, it is the only time in a 7 day week that you have all day to do whatever it is that you want. I think that I get this trait from my dad who has about the same type of routine. We are definitely very similar in this way.

So what is your routine? Maybe you do not have one or you are more of a person who spontaneously decides what to do on the weekends. Maybe you are nursing your hangover from Friday happy hour or Saturday night out. Whatever it may be, I say enjoy the weekends. They are like mini vacations.

Love or Intellectual Property

As I’ve mentioned before, I am a huge proponent of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). I was recently listening to Larry Lessig speak at TED regarding creative freedom and the shortcomings of pre-digital intellectual property laws. I do agree with Larry in the sense that IPRs do not properly address the innovative aspects of the digital age and how that affects copyright law and fair use laws. But when do we draw the line – I would argue that if you using your IPRs correctly – you are using them to foster continued innovation. Now, as the owner of a patent or copyright you are entitled to what is referred to as an exclusive license to that IP. If utilized correctly it can entitle that owner to some compensation for its use. However, there is the argument that we have created a culture where people utilize these rights for money rather than for the love of the inventive and creative process.

I do agree with Lessig that something needs to be done to create an environment where we encourage the inventive and creative process for innovation, for expression of ideas and for creativity. Something should be done so that there is a clear definition of how copyrights can be used for amateur uses vs. commercial uses. Thus, enabling inventive, innovative and creative processes in addition to protecting the copyright owner’s rights to fair compensation for commercial uses. The question remains, How?

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/187

Mondays

If you have ever seen Office Space, you will clearly understand me when I say I have a “Case of the Mondays.” For some reason I can’t shake the fog of today out of my head. And to top it off – we have an office “outing” tonight at the bowling alley. So not only am I down because it is Monday, I am also trying to gear up for a competitive night of bowling and drinking with people from work.

With all of that said, I had a pretty good weekend. Two of my friends and I had a “guys night” out on Friday which was a great time. Saturday was spent nursing my body back to normal to meet an old boss from an internship that I once had and Sunday was spent bike riding, enjoying the Masters and having dinner with friends. All in all a good time. There is something to be said for quality time spent doing the things that a person just wants to do with the people he or she wants to do them with.

I have a big week ahead of me this week and hopefully I will able to remain insightful and post some good information. I’m hoping for some good news and good things to happen. Patience is truly a virtue and I really envy those who have it.

Great Ideas!

As some as you may know – I’m a bit of geek when it comes to reading blogs about intellectual property, technology, inventions, science and watching the TED videos. I actually wrote my graduate degree thesis at Georgetown about intellectual property rights and the “global” economy.

I was reading the WSJ Business Technology blog yesterday and came across a post regarding a company called FaceTime Communications. FaceTime has created a software package that actually monitors and limits the use of sites like Facebook while at work. As you probably read about a week ago – I blocked Facebook in our office because I noticed people playing scrabulicious for extended periods of time. This technology is great and I am of course saying to myself – Why didn’t I think of that?

Have you ever had a great idea but didn’t act upon it because you just didn’t know how? Have you ever been watching TV and seen the guy who has the “question marks” all over his clothes telling you how to take advantage of government money for your idea? Well I say next time you think you have a great idea – act on it. Do some research and see if it may be a viable opportunity. You might be pleasantly surprised when 5 years from now you are securing your several million dollar series B round of Venture money.