21st Century Thoughts

Let me preface by saying this: not all gambling is the same. We associate gambling with risks and negativity, failure, addiction, etc. But at its core, its simply a risk against return way of thinking. Everything you do is a gamble. No, this is not an exaggeration. Driving a car, eating certain foods, drinking alcohol, sleeping a certain amount of hours, spending money on new clothes are all gambles. They all involve a risk/return analysis followed up by putting some capital on the line. That capital can be cash, your body, your friend's health, or your life. Extreme, but needed to be said to understand how many risks (aka "gambles") we take every single day. Yet, not all trigger the same feeling of risk and thrill. Driving a car seems normal, yet there are 36k deaths/year in the United States.¹ That number can seem scary yet its 1 death for every 1,000,000 miles traveled per year. Should you drive to work everyday still? I would say yes, carry on as usual. How about eati...

Designing your own website has been one of the best exercises of my "academic" or "learning" career. For the first time, I am not being forced by someone to use my brain and I get to make what I am envisioning. If only all my school projects were like this... Each part matters. Color, texture, shape, placement; there is not one part that can be thrown aside "just because." You can see the product come to life while also balancing the functionality of what you want users to do. This balance of these two factors are what is constantly pulling at me during the design process.  Is it unethical to place buttons in certain spots with certain colors knowing it will exploit the user's actions? Or how about using certain naming phrases and wording to attract different responses? At what point does the user become "exploited?" After all, no one makes you click buttons or user the website. It is your money so thus your choice to use it as you wish.   Fa...

 I thought today was appropriate for a shorter, but powerful post. With everything going on in life, we constantly hear to "fight on" or "keep pushing through." Its a valuable saying, no doubt, and perseverance is a great trait. Who doesn't love someone who never gives up or quits? But at what point are you hopelessly fighting? At what point are you begging even for things to be how you want? Is that really a trait people want? It comes off as weak and fragile. Find a balance with yourself. Push yourself to achieve want you want. Be a fighter. But never, ever beg. It makes you look smaller than you could even imagine. 

One of the easiest skills is also the most neglected. I remember in college constantly changing my schedule due to last minute practice changes, office hours adjustments, or trying to accommodate friends or my ex-girlfriend. My life was constantly changing, yet I strangely loved it. It kept me engaged and focused on what needed to be done. I knew I couldn't waste time since I was always one text away from changing my schedule. When I started working, the opposite happened. My company and boss have been organized, my days are 8 hours (unless we have to put in a little OT which is rare). There is a set schedule everyday. The issue I had was falling somewhat complacent. For most people, this isn't an issue at all. They enjoy the standard 9-5, and weekends getting to relax. There is nothing wrong with this! People work hard during the week; they deserve the time off. But what if you want more? What if you have other goals? The best thing you can do is plan and schedule. Seems easy,...

 I have been pretty open about where my life has been the past few weeks (the good and bad) but I wanted to focus in on one specific point. I have serious dreams of starting a business (a couple at this point) and am in the process of figuring out the framework with things like design, programming, marketing, team structure, and the most important, the name. The name has given me headaches and my close friend/business partner is much better at rattling off names off the cuff. Maybe overthinking means no results, but you just want it to be perfect. You want it to click, to be an instant hit. No redo's, business and time are both unforgiving.  Consumers love simple. Long names mean longer website URL's, more chances to forget it, and opportunities for better names to take the spotlight. This part can be hard, and I am fighting hard to keep it simple. That battle is harder than it looks. There is one movie scene that has stood out to me for 11+ years. For preface, I am massive mo...

 I can't always think of something to write about. During the day, I try to think about any ideas, thoughts, or even day-dreaming scenarios that came up and I wanted to write and explore on later. Yesterday was dull, and physical therapy was more pain than any positive thinking. The only thing I could think of was the idea behind confidence and taking risk. Maybe its because I have so many self-improvement and business ventures on the mind, but its an idea that has popped into my head a lot recently. Taking risks are challenging. The better a situation is, the less risk you want to take. I get the underlying concept where most humans will trade possible better returns for more stability since it is a stress reliever. Uncertainty drives us into dark places, forcing us to act in ways that rules of rationality may disagree with. A well thought out and executed plan is what everyone wants, and people will go through great lengths to make sure it is achieved.  This is where those w...

 I remember being a little kid who loved technology. Jailbreaking iPhones, flashing custom Android roms, iOS updates, new products seemingly bringing the future to us instantly all felt awesome for a 12 year old kid. I even tried programming a little bit (C++), but that went nowhere and I settled for the jailbreaking using others' exploits instead. One important detail here is the timeline: jailbreaking wasn't a thing until iPhone, modern Android design didn't exist until iPhones did (that is a controversial comment...), and the cell phone market was settling for Razr phones and keyboards to text. But what seemed like overnight, everyone had a smartphone and it was either "iPhone or Android." What was so funny about this language was that Apple had one model phone while Android was the software operating on countless phones from Samsung to LG to Google's very own phone. The war had started, but Apple was creating something big. The former company that was fail...

 Not to brag, but I am starting to workout again and running has become part of my routine. I now run at least 3-4 miles in about 25-30 minutes every 2 out of 3 days, along with a core workout. It's not a ton, and certainly lacking my old training days while playing college baseball, but its a start for someone who has a shoulder that currently couldn't lift a feather.  While running, I historically have never listened to music, just let my thoughts carry me along. Me against the run against time against wanting to quit. Music can be distracting and take away from the main focus of what goals you want to achieve. Well, given the last 3 weeks of my life, I needed to start listening to music as my thoughts are starting to cloud my head. I have been overthinking a lot and running should be an escape, not a torture sentence. So, I downloaded my playlist of all Italian songs (trying to multitask here) and started on my runs. What I noticed is that after my heart rate increased, the...

 When you think of sports, numbers, and analytics, baseball dominates the conversation. It is a stat driven game, from the time the lineup card is made to the Hall of Fame selection voting. I absolutely love this article from Penn University with an accompanying podcast that takes a deeper dive into what impact analytics have had on America's pastime (link at bottom)¹. It's the numbers, stupid. But what about other sports? The NBA impact is easy; its how a 6'3", Davidson College guard by the name of Steph Curry has become the 2x MVP and the greatest shooter in NBA history. His ability to stretch the floor has every team in the NBA chucking three's, and why wouldn't you? Why take a 15 foot jump shot when you could move back 7 additional feet and get another point? Hell, you can even shoot for a worse percentage AND score more points. Compare these stats: in 2013, the Rockets led the league in 3pt attempts per game at 26.4, while the Grizzlies were last at 13.9. ...

 Couple quick thoughts on creativity and what triggers it. I have watched so many YouTube videos over the past year from all different areas, including LEGO reviews, movies, languages, politics, sports, tech launches... you name it, I have at least seen a preview or quick video on it. Part of this is since YouTube is highly addicting as it learns preferences as you scroll, but it is more than that. There are so many factors at play that you do not even think about, but they are there. So many filters that get you content that is personalized for you and no other user in the world. Truly incredible AI technology that is way beyond my capabilities of understanding.  The past few weeks has changed my mindset on how I look at the world, specifically creativity and invention. Everything you have is an invention, whether physical or mental. So why those over others? What made you choose that or allow idea that to convince you?  I absolutely have fallen in love with mental image...

 First, this will be used to whatever pops up in my mind. The last 2 weeks have completely turned my life upside down, and I feel an incredible urge to just start doing a million different projects. This is probably a good thing, but I feel like my mind is going a million miles per hour thinking about everything. So let's write it down. Daily content will be random. I am not here to please anyone reading (sorry) but rather express my thoughts on business, politics, sports, religions, relationships, languages, etc. You get the picture. I always wanted to start a blog but never wanted to put in the work (the required part). But now with way more time free, I want to actually do something or at least fail trying. My motivation for this is simple: ensure I do something meaningful with my life. I am a firm believer in being famous simply means impacting one life until the end of time. Sure, being Julius Caesar, Martin Luther King Jr., or Abe Lincoln would be awesome as your name is neve...