I just finished reading John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” book today. I think it is probably in the top ten list of books I have ever read. The story is a richly poignant cycle of life based on the Biblical story of Cain and Able… essentially the thought that rejection is one of the great motivators for evil or good in the world.… read more “John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden””
Month: September 2012
Jimmy and I at Venice Beach
Happy Birthday Justin!
Rock Climbing
Over the last month, I have taken up the sport of rock climbing. Three times a week I drive over to Santa Monica to go to my rock climbing gym, Rockreation.
Rock climbing is a great sport for me and I really enjoy it for the following reasons:
- Excellent physical workout – tones and strengthens your whole body especially your core and forearms
- Challenging mental workout – it’s like playing chess or solving a riddle each time you approach a new climb
- Enjoy the outdoors – you visit obscure places and climb up interesting rock formations.
Business Imitators and Copycats
Over the last year, my business has spawned three imitators. Each is a friend who saw my success and said, “If Joel can do it, I can do it.”
One started an SEO company a year ago, another started a web design company then an SEO company, and the third just started a copy of our services fairly directly.… read more “Business Imitators and Copycats”
Clean Code: Book Review
I just finished reading “Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftmanship” – an excellent book by Robert Martin. The book discusses a number of techniques and strategies for ensuring that your code base is written well and can be upgraded easily. He talks about writing your code in such a way that it doesn’t need comments, keeping your functions as small as possible, and using a standard styling to keep it readable.… read more “Clean Code: Book Review”
The Incompetence of Regence Blue Shield
Guest opinion blog post by Jordan.
This post is a recounting of my experience with Regence Blue Shield of Washington (www.regence.com). A horribly unpleasant experience. At the moment we’re still working through this experience. But it contains some information worth sharing, some cautionary tales, and some personal opinions on healthcare in the US today.
… read more “The Incompetence of Regence Blue Shield” Life is Very Short and Unpredictable
Enjoy it while you can. Live, laugh, love.
Focused Planning Of Fun Activities and Free Time
We plan our work time carefully, creating task lists and projects and calendars and goals. Why don’t we do the same thing with our free time and fun time? What happens if you actually do so?
Most of my life my free time has been very unstructured. I wouldn’t think about what I was going to do next and when the time came I’d do whatever was easiest – read a book, watch a movie, go to the gym.… read more “Focused Planning Of Fun Activities and Free Time”
Huntington’s Disease Society Fundraiser
On Friday I attended the funeral for Nilesh Patel, a young man who’s life was taken by Huntington’s Disease.
Huntington’s Disease is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that causes involuntary movements, cognitive and psychiatric problems. The disease is caused by a genetic mutation in which an individual has two copies of a specific gene. When the disease occurs in young people, as it did to Nilesh, it progresses rapidly and very harmfully.… read more “Huntington’s Disease Society Fundraiser”