Filed under //
theeconomist
Jun 1
Aircon is awesome!
Feeling pretty smart about ordering a cheap AC-unit a few weeks ago now that the summer is heating up. Its a bit loud and ugly but keeps my main room nice and cool. Still available at Verkkokauppa.com, highly recommended!
Filed under //
home
May 25
Summer mornings
Summer mornings in Finland make me so happy. Even waking up at 5am doesn't ruin the beauty and calm!
Apr 14
Death toll in Tokyo could increase if power isn't restored before summer
If TEPCO can't get some of those 15 reactors back on stream by June, and if Tokyo experiences a heat wave this summer (as happens every few of years), then going by previous incidents (like the heat emergency in Paris in 2003 that killed 3000 people) the deaths from heat stroke, among the other-75s may rival the direct fatalities from the earthquake and tsunami combined.
via antipope.org
This is a big problem that I haven't seen discussed elsewhere. Because Japan's electricity system isn't interconnected like in most other countries, Tokyo could be left without air conditioning in the summer.
Apr 14
British engineering
The salient feature of British engineering is its Byzantine nature. It will have every knob, gear and dealiebopper invented. It will have them in most inaccessible places. While some British engineers may be detail oriented anal-retentive types who go over their designs with vernier calipers to make sure everything is perfect, I suspect all of those engineers are unemployed Scotsmen. The English ones running things are almost certainly all Thomas Dolby looking eccentric boffins; alternately brilliant and forgetful. British designs will require constant intervention and maintenance by highly skilled and trained technicians on a regular basis, yet they will be designed in such a way as to make these interventions as difficult and labor intensive as possible.
Funny (and insightful) writing about british engineering.
Mar 3
[1] http://www.henryhagnas.com/seth-godins-linchpin
Poke the Box by Seth Godin
Seth Godin is a brilliant thinker, good speaker and decent writer. I liked parts of his last book, Linchpin[1], a lot and others a little less. It seems to me that in his quest to ship reliably and being very productive (which he is) he ignores crafting his books as much as other writers do. This is a shame because what he writes is worth reading and thinking about.
“Poke the Box” is a short book, a manifesto he calls it, about initiating. Basically starting and shipping new ideas, new things, and not bothering to ask for permission or waiting for an order before doing it. This isn’t, Seth argues, not just the domain of innovators, entrepreneurs and managers - but of everyone. I agree with this thesis but also hold it rather self-evident in many ways. Like “Linchpin”, this book seems to be written for Seth Godin fans to give away to people who they think needs a metaphorical kick in the behind to start doing and not just following. As such its great marketing for the Seth Godin-brand but unlike Linchpin, “Poke the Box” doesn’t have the nuggets of pure gold for the fans.[1] http://www.henryhagnas.com/seth-godins-linchpin
Filed under //
bookreview
Mar 3
* Regardless of your previous answer, do you think I have improved during the last month?
* Why? The statistics on the two first answers he'd post publicly so anyone could follow the trend and see when it started to be time to for him to leave or change. The answers to "Why?" he'd keep secret but read himself. That is just such a bone-chillingly scary idea, yet extremely good feedback for him and great honesty towards his employees. Can you imagine how much balls it takes to do that and how few CEO's would be capable of it? You can watch the whole interview here (the part I'm talking about is within the last 5-minutes or so):
CEO Performance Index
I just watched Kevin Rose interview the former CEO of Linden Labs (creator of Second Life), Philip Rosedale. The whole interview was excellent but one of the most interesting and bone-chilling ideas he had as a CEO was the most memorable:
Every month he'd send out an anonymous survey to all employees and just ask three simple questions:
* Do you want to keep me as a CEO?* Regardless of your previous answer, do you think I have improved during the last month?
* Why? The statistics on the two first answers he'd post publicly so anyone could follow the trend and see when it started to be time to for him to leave or change. The answers to "Why?" he'd keep secret but read himself. That is just such a bone-chillingly scary idea, yet extremely good feedback for him and great honesty towards his employees. Can you imagine how much balls it takes to do that and how few CEO's would be capable of it? You can watch the whole interview here (the part I'm talking about is within the last 5-minutes or so):
