Man, I should get a Roy Orbison CD for my iPod. Maybe my mom has one somewhere.
Only a few today and probably not much more. I have six things that need to be done by the end of this week: two conversions, three Office Actions and one nonprovisional. Today I turned in the first conversion and am working on the second. Shouldn't be too bad if I can keep up the pace and work late.
Last night on Heroes, one of the heroes suggested that the phrase wasn't "save the cheerleader [and] save the world" but rather "save the cheerleader [then] save the world." From previous rants, you might correctly suspect that I think this to be utter bullshit. Last night's episode also clued you in to what or who will cause the city-devastating explosion. I won't spoil it but that alone was cool.
No new Heroes until Jan. 22. This makes Alan sad.
Studio 60 was very nice. I like how they're adding in a Danny-Jordan romance from absolutely nowhere. I hate how they're dragging out the Matt-Harriet romance. Get together already, will you?!?
And today's (brief) assortment:
gapingvoid relayed a Fred Kambo post on networking:
I don't bother "networking" anymore, instead, I try to build relationships with people I find interesting, and who I think are doing interesting things. And I make it my mission to help them in any way I can to achieve their mission. I find this much more satisfying, much more honorable, and much more fun. And this is the cool thing about people....When you help them out in this way, they help you out. Not because it's a tit for tat deal, but because both parties are engaged in a mutually beneficial relationship that extends beyond the next favor.I also like Thom Singer's response:
Yes this is correct, but to me this IS the definition of networking. People who think networking is going to an event and trading business cards are mistaken. Meeting someone does NOT make them part of your network, it makes them someone you met. The real "work" in networking comes after you meet someone you find interesting...and it is just what Fredd says....it is helping them achieve their goals and dreams without concern of "whats in it for me".I'm pretty poor at networking, having found my jobs through dumb luck and self-created or self-discovered opportunities. That being said, one facet of finding "the next thing" (if there is one for you) is to be open, observant and engaging.
For example, a co-worker of mine is working on pitching software he and his brother wrote. It's a truly amazing product and, once it takes off (if it does), it will fly high. I'm very interested and supportive of the enterprise. Why? Some of it is support for my co-worker and his excellent product. Some of it is self-interest in that I would love to work for a company (that as yet barely exists beyond my co-worker and his brother) based on the production of the product. Will the product take off? Will the company take off? Will I find new employment there? The answer to all three is "I hope so" but I'm also banking on my current interest in the project as a springboard for personal involvement in it.
Seems like a good example of the neo-networking discussed above. I call it "neo-networking" because it's not based on large, social nets of six-degrees (as, in my opinion, traditional networking is). Rather, it's not the number of people you know but how well you know one. (Not the number of relationships but the quality of a relationship.) And that is something I truly believe in.
Non-sequitor: Hugh also recommends a Forbes article on Cory Doctorow.
And lastly, an excellent Office:
Customer: Hi, I'm looking for a climbing plant, but I'm not sure what it's called. It sounds like 'clem'-something, or 'clam'-something?And away we go!
Employee: Right... Ah, 'chlamydia'?
Customer: Um... No, that's--
Employee, yelling over the crowd: Hey, Linda*, I have a customer looking for chlamydia. Do we have that?
Linda: That's a venereal disease -- she probably wants 'clematis.'
Employee: Hey, she left!