eekim.com: EEK Speaks

Wed, Apr 23, 2008

Amateur Hour Over At TechCrunch? #

MichaelArrington's recent trashing of BlaineCook is one of the most egregious pieces of crap I've ever read. Here's a guy who wouldn't know code from Sanskrit passing technical judgement on one of the most stellar technical people I know based on the following "arguments": (MXY)

Twitter had scaling problems. Blaine was the Chief Architect there. Hence, Blaine doesn't know how to deal with scaling. (MXZ)
Twitter hired some new people to work on scaling. Hence, Blaine didn't know what he was doing. (MY0)
Blaine made a tongue-in-cheek comment on scaling being easy at a technical workshop a year ago. Hence, Blaine is arrogant. (MY1)

Twitter had scaling problems because it was successful beyond anyone's imagination. Twitter hired additional people because, well, that's what you do when you're dealing with success. If you're going to criticize someone's technical skill, do it based on facts, not on irresponsible musings. And there's never any excuse to trash a person's character like that. (MY2)

I would be thanking my lucky stars to have Blaine as my Chief Architect, my Chief Technical Officer, or just on my team period. He's a great talent and an even better human being, and companies will be lining up to get him now that he's moving on. (MY3)

/personal | Posted at 10:04am

Wed, Nov 28, 2007

A Mommy Blog Worth Following #

My friends, Greg and Elizabeth, had their first child last month, a baby girl. It was a good thing, too, as Greg has been insufferable about Boston sports recently, and I was seriously considering downgrading him on my friends list. In addition to saving our friendship, their new daughter was responsible for another very good thing: Elizabeth started blogging. Now the rest of the world can see what her friends already knew: She's an amazing writer. I don't typically count mommy blogs among my regular reading material, but I'm constantly amused and touched by Elizabeth's stories. Plus, she occasionally pokes fun at Greg, a quality I've always heartily approved of and hope to see much more of. Take a look; it's appropriately named 4 AM Feeding. (MSA)

/personal | Posted at 3:19am

Fri, Nov 23, 2007

Uncle Eric Comes to Cincinnati #

Last month, I visited my two sisters, my brother-in-law, and of course, my nephew Elliott in Cincinnati. Once again, Elliott asked if he could guest blog, and I happily complied. --EEK (MPJ)

A few weeks ago, I was happily conked out in the car on the way to Musikgarten (a musical play on kindergarten). When we arrived, I groggily opened my eyes and saw Uncle Eric sitting next to me. (MPK)

(MPL)

It seems like every time he visits, he magically appears in the car while I'm taking a nap. Even though I'm already three years old, I still have a ways to go before I'm a bitter, cynical adolescent, so I was thrilled to see him, and I gave him a big hug. (MPM)

(MPN)

Uncle was wearing his Dodgers hat, so I broke out my own hat as well, and showed him that the L.A. blood still runs strong in this Midwestern boy. He also brought me a toy forklift and one of his Transformers, which he had kept stashed away in his closet for years. I don't know what a grown man was doing with a box of childhood toys in his closet. He kept mumbling something about them being worth something on eBay someday, but I wasn't buying it. In any case, he said he was even more happy to let me have them, and I can't say I disagree. (MPO)

(MPP)

Uncle Eric is always teaching me critical skills necessary for surviving in this world. This time, he showed me how to psych people out when they're about to give you a five and how to express satisfaction after a tasty meal ("Mmm, mmm, mmm!"). In return, I taught him how to express emotion on command. (MPQ)

(MPR)

In addition to these life lessons, we also spent a lot of time playing at home and in the park. (MPS)

(MPT)

I had fun playing with Uncle, but he seemed to sleep a lot on this trip. I told Mommy that Uncle is getting old. [True story! --EEK] She claimed that he was working a lot, which might have been true, but he is getting old. (MPU)

While we were at the park playing, Uncle had to take a call. He spent almost an hour on the phone, and he looked frustrated and haggard afterwards. So I asked him if he would carry me, and I gave him a big hug, and he had a big smile on his face afterwards. Adults are so easy. (MPV)

As always, food played a major role on our trip. Aunt Jessica made delicious muffins and cupcakes in cones, and I ate a few dozens of those. Daddy and Uncle Eric snuck out one evening for wings and beer. I wanted to go too, but Mommy somehow didn't think it appropriate for me to drink beer with them. Uncle agreed, saying I'd have to wait until I was at least five. To make up for this, Uncle made us Polish hunter's stew out of the myriad of pork products he had acquired from Chicago. Mmm, mmm, mmm! (MPW)

/personal | Posted at 12:56pm

Tue, Oct 23, 2007

Walking and Learning in Chicago #

The first time I met HowardRheingold, he suggested we go on a walk. A few weeks later, I met Howard at his house, which lies at the foot of MountTamalpais in MillValley, and we walked and talked. It was wonderful. (MND)

Ever since I moved to SanFrancisco a few years ago, I've suggested to many a colleague that we go on a walk. I live a few blocks away from LandsEnd, a beautiful trail along the ocean on the northwest side of SanFrancisco, with gorgeous views of the coast, the Presidio, and the GoldenGateBridge. I still do the coffee thing, but when opportunity knocks, I tell people to meet me at my apartment, and we walk and talk. (MNE)

There's something about the act of walking that stimulates the brain. It brings a natural rhythm to conversation, giving you space both to talk and to listen. The Peripatetics knew this. So did MartinHeidegger. Heidegger's magnum opus was entitled, Sein und Dasein. Dasein loosely translates to "existence," or "being alive." Heidegger likened it to walking in the forest and suddenly coming to a clearing, an OpenSpace, a place to breathe. It's in these places, at the end of a journey, where we become most aware of ourselves and our surroundings. (MNF)

I'm in the Midwest this week -- SouthBend, Indiana visiting my younger sister, then [Cincinnati]? to visit my older sister, my brother-in-law, and my three year old nephew. It's not vacation. Things are crazy at work (in a good way), and so I'm still chugging along, with breaks here and there to spend time with my family. (MNG)

My original plan was to work from my sister's place in SouthBend. Then I decided that it would be wrong to be this close to Chicago and not visit some of my colleagues and friends in the area, and that it would be just as easy to work in Chicago as it would be in SouthBend. So I made some last minute calls and spent yesterday in Chicago. (MNH)

After spending the morning working, I had the pleasure of meeting EricSinclair in the flesh for the first time. He asked me where I wanted to eat lunch. I responded, "Somewhere distinctly Chicago." He delivered. (MNI)

Afterwards, I hopped on the El and headed north to visit MichaelHerman. Michael's still doing lots of OpenSpace, but he's also got a new project that's been keeping him very busy: Restoring an 80 year old home, which he and his wife, Jill, recently purchased. After assessing the state of the house and seeing the most magnificent radiator I've ever seen, Michael suggested that we go for a walk. (MNJ)

And so we walked. We walked through his neighborhood and along the Chicago River. In between catching up on life and work, Michael talked about the city's architecture and history. We discovered new streets and old bungalows. We saw kids playing in parks with their parents, and houses decorated for Halloween. (MNK)

We walked, and we talked, and we ended up at the local elementary school, which also serves as the home for a community garden, "community" in every sense of the word. Only the students have plots; the rest of the space is community owned. Anyone in the community is free to garden any spot, weed any plot, pick vegetables and herbs from any plant. In the middle of this beautiful, old, urban neighborhood, amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, was this clearing, this beautiful, Wiki-like, community garden where the city seemed to disappear. Dasein. (MNL)

I began the day with my nose to the grindstone, working on my various projects. I ended it walking, breathing, talking, learning. As I rode the train back to SouthBend, reflecting on the day's events and conversations, I couldn't help but feel thankful. (MNM)

My life and my work is ultimately about people, about maximizing our collective potential. As I've pursued this passion, I've found myself surrounded by incredible people with similar values and passions. I take great pride in the number of groups I've helped, the movements I've helped catalyze, and the knowledge I've shared, but all of this pales in comparison to what I've learned from others. What motivates me is the opportunity to share these same experiences and learnings with as many people as possible. (MNN)

I've got a clear vision for how to do this more effectively, and while the mechanisms that make it work are complex, the actual actions required are relatively straightforward. Walking and talking are excellent ways to start. (MNO)

/personal | Posted at 12:01pm

Tue, Aug 21, 2007

Little Dodger Fan Fishing #

My nephew, Elliott, is a Cincinnati boy, but he's clearly a Southern Californian at heart. According to my sister, he immediately gravitated towards the Dodgers hat among his collection of caps. (MJ9)

(MJA)

This picture brought a tear of joy to my eye. It will also bring a dent to my wallet, as I stock up on Dodger paraphernalia for when I see him in the fall. (MJB)

/personal | Posted at 9:16am

Sat, Aug 04, 2007

Eight Random Facts #

I'm breaking my longest blog silence in a while (over a month!), thanks to prodding from MarkOehlert, who tagged me with the "Eight Random Facts" blog meme. I actually enjoy these memes; you learn a lot about folks that they might never otherwise reveal. Plus, it's a good way to get people to post something. In Mark's case, not only were all eight of his facts interesting, I was surprised to learn that he knows how to count to eight in Korean. How many non-Koreans know how to do that?! (MFV)

Here are the rules: (MFW)

Post these rules first, then give the facts. (MFX)
List eight random facts about yourself. (MFY)
Tag eight people, listing their names and linking to them, and letting them know they were tagged. (MFZ)

I'm actually using Mark's modified rules, tagging seven people and leaving the eighth open to any and all of you. (MG0)

Here are my eight random facts: (MG1)

I sang in a Korean children's choir when I was ten. My singing career included a "music video" of me singing a Korean folk song at the beach, which played on the local Korean television station every night for a week. Unbelievably, no agents ever contacted me, and my singing career ended soon thereafter. (MG2)
My body is on the March 1997 cover of DrDobbsJournal. They replaced my head with a computer monitor, leaving me with head-image problems that persist to this day. My boss at the time promised to serve as my agent, but once again, no one ever contacted me. I tried to fire him, but he claimed that I couldn't fire someone I wasn't paying. (That, of course, was libel. I was paying him on commission.) Thus ended my last foray into what we from LosAngeles call The Business. (MG3)
I discovered a bug in the very first computer program, AdaLovelace's code for computing BernoulliNumbers, which she published in 1843. I briefly mentioned my findings in the sidebar of an article I coauthored with BettyAlexandraToole on AdaLovelace in the May 1999 issue of ScientificAmerican. Frankly, this alone should qualify me for my own Wikipedia page. Take into account my glorious accomplishments in the entertainment industry, and the fact that I don't already have a page is even more mystifying. What's up, Wikipedia community?! (MG4)
I am the proud owner of three bobblehead dolls: SteveGarvey (my favorite baseball player growing up), TommyLasorda (my favorite overweight Italian baseball manager), and MrT (everybody's favorite mohawked, bejeweled tough guy). I'm looking to add JamesWorthy (my favorite basketball player growing up) and BruceLee (everybody's favorite butt-kicker) to my collection, but I'm not sure they even exist. (MG5)
I have two non-family portraits hanging in my office: DougEngelbart and ThomasKuhn. (MG6)
My favorite book is RobertPennWarren's All the King's Men, which I read at least once a year. All of my computers are named after characters in the book. (MG7)
My secret passion: Watching cooking shows. I'm a bit of a cooking show snob. I think the shows on KQED are much better overall than the ones on Food Network. My favorites are LidaBastianich, RickBayless, BobbyFlay, JacquesPepin, and of course, IronChef. I was also a big fan of JuliaChilds, the most famous alumnus of my junior high and high school. (MG8)
My two sisters (one older, one younger) are my favorite people in the world. My nephew, Elliott, is my favorite person under three feet tall, although he's growing like a weed. (MG9)

As for folks I'm tagging, it was hard limiting myself to seven people. Please participate even if you weren't tagged! Those I chose in the end are all great people doing brilliant work and writing interesting, insightful pieces. They all also have lower Technorati rankings than me. In some cases, it's because they don't blog that often, although each of them has posted at least once in the last two months. In other cases, it's because they're not as well known as they should be. If you're not already following them, you should be. It will be well worth your while. (MGA)

/personal | Posted at 8:40pm