So, now’s about the time I need to determine what my main goals for the year are. I actually made one, and only one, New Year’s resolution for 2010, and so far I’ve been keeping it fairly well.. at least I’m doing a bit better two months into the year, and that resolution was to take life a bit easier. In reflection, the past few years of my life were quite transitional and stressful.
2007 was very busy, and also the year I finished college (and started having panic attacks). 2008 was the year I spent writing software for and learning about the family business, and sort of figuring out a lot of personal things like what directions I sort of wanted to go in life. I became pesci-vegetarian (two years ago tomorrow), which was sort of a change. This was also the year I realized I was unabashedly gay and became addicted to the charms of competitive ballet. Nothing is more fabulous than a French Neoclassical. Ha just kidding, I’m not gay. I just wanted to startle family in case they’re quickly skimming this. Not that there’s anything wrong with being gay, I just prefer to monopolize body hair in a relationship. All in all though, 2008 was a fairly miserable and stressful year for me, not one I have the best memories of.
2009 was defined by work, and materialized into being the absolute hardest I’ve ever worked. I holed up for a lot of the year to develop my programming skills, and endured 8 months of misery with Java virtual machine quirks. So much so, that I told my friends I’d wished I’d done anything but. Hell, I told one friend I wish I thought Java was coffee and had spent all year learning Japanese instead. It’s also (unfortunately) harder to justify self-study than academic study despite the obvious reduced cost and, in my honest opinion, increased effectiveness. My degree, after all, was in economics and philosophy, not computer science, so I’ve been getting into territory I wasn’t *trained* for. Alas, I’m a bit skeptical of “higher education”, so Mark “I never let my schooling interfere with my education” Twain would probably be proud. Ultimately though, 2009 consisted mostly of efforts I’m not sure I’ll ever directly benefit from, although I did get damn lucky on an investment, which perhaps made a bit of indirect luck worth some of the year’s stress.
By the way, Sun (or Oracle? Or whoever owns what/where at this point), you’ve really got to fix some shit, and vastly improve documentation. Also wtf is with JavaSound? I’ve always wanted to say this in meaningful context, well, here I can: “KILL it with FIRE.” Yes, Java maintainers, you must kill the code with fire. Here’s how: print all JavaSound code out, drill 0 gauge holes through the hard drives that held it, and burn the printed code in a ritualistic ceremony. Then let’s all pretend JavaSound never existed and play with large parachutes, while holding hands in hippie-esque circles. I’ll bring the parachutes, and we can burn them too, just because.
Now it’s 2010. I realize I know myself now, what I want, and the avenues I can take to get there. I’ve also reluctantly accepted that my hopes for successful entrepreneurship will take another year, which, *sigh*, means I’ll be asking my family for support for one more year. So, two major immediate goals now: greatly reduce living expenses, and move towards a modern nomadic lifestyle. On the pertinent agenda now is to get rid of as much as I can. This means going through everything I own, and hopefully intelligently organizing it and reducing it to a small volume I can store conveniently. This also means preparing my home for rent, and you know this if you have a home, especially one not recently built, this can be kind of daunting. I still wish to hold on to the place for the long term, I just need to monetize it in the meantime. My first steps towards becoming nomadic have been carefully picking out a flashlight and pocketknife, and getting a Choice Hotels Visa card. I just need a portable laptop and a few other things. With a car, flashlight, pocketknife, and portable laptop, I’ll be a force to be reckoned with. From there, I can begin assembling the death star with my real father who likes to hang out at dockside bars. And, if you can make any sense of the preceding references, you’re my new best friend. Or my father, and I need to learn to play baseball.
So anyway, what I’ll be doing when I get everything in order is the next question. I’ve actually figured out a handful of viable ways to make money on the road, which has taken me two years, and will take another to implement because a: I have limited intelligence and b: internet business models are generally abstract and often guarded. It’s a lot easier to just get a regular job than it is to generate minimum wage off the internet. But, for me, the perks make it worth it, and yes, I’ve been thinking about this for two years, because I knew it was ultimately what I wanted. I’m getting sleepy now will finish when I awake. zzz. aaa. Okay, I’m back again. well sorta. Tuesday’s coming, did you bring your coat? I have a few options for making money online. I know I could build up to $20/day with adsense by the end of the year if I stayed dedicated to a certain website I haven’t launched yet. I’m certain I could get higher than that with paid writers because I’m bad about sticking with one task at a time. Those are “safe” ways to make money while mobile, but honestly not exactly fun. Churning out content mills is about as fun as managing insurance contracts. The most fun, or appealing, way to make money online is to run an infrastructure that generates its own content, either generatively/dynamically or through user input. But these are incredibly difficult to get going. The most surefire way to attract visitors is pure, ordinary, quality content.
The game I created, Space Danger, was designed to be run on an arcade machine. Everything in it is designed likewise. It’s fail-safe on Linux and automatic muting is built-in along with coin acknowledgement. The game can be started directly from a motherboard, and you’ll never know or see the operating system it’s being run off. Just like old arcades, it was designed to feel hardware-integrated. I also pseudo-designed a more sophisticated follow-up game which would feel like an odd remake of Robotron 2084, but never started on it. I had planned to start building arcade machines to house this pair of games, but even though the hardest part is done (the first game), the act of finishing the project into actual machines still feels daunting and without guarantee.
The prospect that seems most appealing to me at this point is, actually, and this again is a bit out there, visualization of audio content. This would involve taking Java2D or OpenGL and pairing it with OpenAL to create custom, mathematical visualizations of sound bites or music (think specially customized WinAmp visualizations). I’m inclined to think performing bands would at least be mildly interested in having visualizations of their music projected during play. This is something I could get going with a few months of dedication. I’ll admit the idea appeals to me. Of course, any visual DJ’ing would have to be done for free at first, but if it generated interest, I don’t see why it couldn’t be lucrative. Before I started college, I wanted to be an electronic musician building songs like Squarepusher, Venetian Snares, or the notorious Aphex. I’m too out of touch to go back into that, though. My ear is no longer trained to keys or chords, scores of meticulous drum patterns are long forgotten, I have hearing damage in one ear, I don’t even know where my bass guitar is, and tweaking synthesizers doesn’t have the appeal it once did. I still wish I put off college at the time to explore this avenue, but I don’t wish to revisit it at this point. Gotta move on. I will admit Reason is badass software if you like this sort of thing.
Main thing is that I need to minimize my living expenses so I can explore these options without as much stress burden. If I learned anything last year, it’s that stress doesn’t yield output, work yields output. Stress is only useful to the point it encourages output. I also haven’t been experiencing panic attacks like I did a couple years ago which freaking suck and are quite counterproductive, and I want to avoid them at all costs. And, I want to move towards a nomadic lifestyle as much as possible. This urge has been heavily compounded by the most miserable winter I’ve ever witnessed in DFW. Yesterday feels like the first time I’ve seen the sun in months. Now I just want to be able to pick up and go wherever if the weather is shit or I just want a change in scenery. So, first priority before I get into exploring mobile money-generation options is to just get prepared. Like a Boy Scout. This means seriously getting organized, getting minimalized, and understanding my mobile tools. From there, I’m hoping I’ll have some mental peace, and consequently the leverage to make my next move. Agility will be key.
Right now if you’re reading this, you live in a reality where infinity exists. How do I know this? Read this post for an explanation of a never ending infinite in 3d. Even if you aren’t convinced your tangible reality exists on an infinite plane (itself a difficult argument to make), you can still simulate genuine infinity on a computer with ease. That simulation exists in the world of ideas, and the world of ideas is as real as your own senses. Yes, an idea is as tangible as the world you touch! The world you physically interact with can only be perceived through your senses, each of which is easily overridden. What you see on television are only visuals, not true reality manifesting in front of you (probably 
), but these visuals affect you through the same sense pathways “tangible” events do. In fact, it’s arguably impossible to make the case you’re not in a simulation or dream right now. Since your reality is defined by your senses which are permeable by an infinite realm of ideas, your reality is in fact infinite!!
Now that that’s out of the way, I don’t think it’s too difficult to argue we like to experience new things. What if every song on the radio were the same? Even worse, what if every measure was a repeat of the measure before it? Artistic repetition is along the lines of the concept an immortal astronaut stuck infinitely in space with only his own thoughts, a probably hellish experience. It’s creation, either scientific or artistic, which pushes life (and the economy) forward, providing new opportunities and ideas. Scientific pursuits are often fairly linear and involve the acquisition of knowledge through dedicated data accumulation and experimentation. Artistic creation, however, is less straightforward. I tried to craft a definition of art years ago, and while I don’t remember precisely, I know it was something along the lines of a creation which either resembles the perfection of a concept or deliberately enhances, distorts, or engulfs an observer’s reality.
Since the outpouring of the infinite trove of ideas is mere noise, the scientist must attempt to make sense of this data, and an artist must organize ideas in a fashion that creates an artistic construct. Science moves forward in a state of logic, blazing truths and falsehoods in its path, while art moves beyond logic and pushes easily beyond an observer’s capacity. The possible constructs of organized noise are endless, and by definition all their possibilities already exist. It’s only a matter of organizing these endless opportunities and promoting them into reality.
If you focus your energies on becoming a successful creator (or noise organizer?), boundaries neglect to exist, and the world acquires additional value with the gains of novel art or craft. If you focus your energy on rehashing existing creations without adding new technology or experiences, you may feed off the interest of that which you’re emulating, but it’s ultimately a very limiting strategy. Instead, drive for perfection, or artistic complexity, in your own unique pursuits. You’re rarely going to beat someone at their own game, and there is rarely a need to. Besides, nobody is playing the same game or even has the same goals. The thirst for fresh experiences is insatiable, and the creative vacancies waiting to be filled are limitless. Instead of competing, add to the world and fill in these vacancies!
Eclectic art magazines are flooded with new ideas on every page. Every new artistic exploration of a juxtaposition or manufactured reality is inherently interesting as long as it’s not self-contradicting, which can be a feat in itself. If you keep exploring and creating, fascinating results are virtually guaranteed, and the world becomes a more interesting and enjoyable place.
In the midst of writing a fairly serious blog post, the coffee shop I was at was closing, so I figured I’d simply close my laptop lid and finish it in the car. Unfortunately, the most recent Ubuntu OS has a known bug related to its suspend function, and when I went to open it: everything gone. It wasn’t a lot- three carefully edited paragraphs at best, but more importantly, my state of mind was shaken. I wasn’t mad, because well, you can’t be mad at a machine which follows imperfect instruction sets, you just have to surrender to its quirks. However, my focus on the topic as well as my emotional and memory associations have been thrown for a loop to the degree that I don’t wish to revisit the subject now. Unfortunately that blog post will have to wait.
Now what’s unavoidably on my mind is the unshakable relationship between flow and output. Output is easy if you’re in a state of flow. If someone cannot output, s/he cannot provide value because there is no product for a consumer to derive value from. Quality output -> value -> consumer interest -> financial capital. In short, the value of an unhindered flow should not be underestimated. So, what are some of these phenomena, or horizontal hindrances, which impede the vertical output we need so much, and how do we curtail some of them before they materialize into real distractions?
Piccola Necrofilaia by Gabriels
The most obvious disturbances are the minor stimuli in our immediate environment which most readily call for our attention. This could be something as simple as a drop of coffee spilled on a desk, a car’s headlights on a street, or crickets creating their own cricket reality right outside of a window. If your concentration and short-term memory are good, these stimuli should hardly phase you. If a telemarketer makes a call, it’s a bit more distracting, but it does not necessitate conscious attention. But, oh no, now a friend is calling! You probably wish to talk to him/her, there’s probably an interesting conversation awaiting, and you both want to talk and make the interaction the main focus. One option is to not answer, and return the phone call as soon as you’ve organized your most pressing thoughts. You can finish writing the paragraph you have floating around in broken mental pieces, or if you’re a programmer, you can first finish figuring out the repercussions of passing a public variable through a function you’re trying to incorporate before returning the call. The hopeful result is the call will feel like a refreshing break instead of a distraction that demands attention. We’re designed to feel in tune with our environment, and distractions are healthy when they don’t distract.
Other thought disturbances are less apparent, particularly those of a public or social nature which are more difficult to control. I believe Google did a substantial amount of research for the Googleplex and its offices focused on creating ideal work environments to maximize output and minimize distractions. Some of the results were recommendations to carefully manage colors in the environment, promote work space personalization and social relations, and avoid having foot traffic move behind anyone as they worked. This resulted in a colorfully creative and stimulating environment and an office setting which encouraged employees to face towards gathering spaces instead of the common trend of facing into walls. The focus on an efficient work space was well worth its research sticker, as Google’s top engineers provide millions of dollars of value to the company each year. If these human capital assets lose 5% of their focus, the output stream that has created the Google machine faces a real setback. It’s only logical to optimize as many objective environment details as possible before the law of diminishing returns sets in, which, in Google’s case is very, very high.
The most obvious distraction of all is that we’re biological creatures. We need food, sleep, and cellular metabolism to function, let alone exist. These are are greatest limitations of all. I have limited mental capacity, as my brain is biologically limited, and physical requirements simply take priority. If I didn’t have to eat, sleep, or even move and never lost mental clarity, I would be able constantly process input and output streams non-stop. That could be a state of mental nirvana, but it doesn’t manifest in our biological realm. Since our thinking operates off our brain and blood, it makes sense to keep that cardiovascular system healthy. I personally think a lot of this is tied to the human insulin system, and good insulin regulation is not only key to avoiding diabetes, but also to mental clarity. So, if you want to think effectively, take disciplined action to keep your insulin response healthy. Avoid any known risk of diabetes, such as high intake of sugary, high-glycemic foods, poor sleep, and inactivity. Two dietary sources known to prevent insulin resistance, and therefore support healthy insulin responses are actually coffee and alcohol. Try consuming coffee in upon waking and moderate alcohol later in that waking cycle.
For concentration, is your environment healthy, and does it prevent worry and induce creativity? Is the weather miserable or are you indoors all day? This is an aspect of where I live, North Texas, which I don’t like. Summers days here exceed 100 F frequently, and winters can be brutal. Homes here are large, often don’t have a gas line, and are built for Texas heat and often status. 40F on winter day is often less tolerable than 20F in areas further north which aren’t immersed in the humidity off the Gulf of Mexico. The low teens are painful, and for December and January of every year, the weather is unavoidably miserable. Some days have non-stop downpours of seemingly spiteful rain, and summers can span months on a few rain drops. Air often blurs like ripples through a pond on days which can be so hot and dry. A gem I stumbled upon in Wikipedia while reading about rainforests, was that the central region of the US experiences seasonal temperature shifts like no other region in the world. Unfortunately, this isn’t the most conducive environment for creativity, so I hope to travel more to offset some of what I perceive as geographical impediments.
External criticism and a need for self-reassurance are some of the most common impediments to a healthy output. I attach this to personal ego. Males often value themselves by their work and females are often sensitive and concerned with social approval. A failed entrepreneurial attempt can hurt anyone’s ego to the extent they avoid taking risks despite when smart management of these risks and perseverance can pave the road to substantial success. It’s hard to detach from the approval/disapproval system that’s been deeply ingrained in a social species throughout its evolution. Our drive for social approval feedback dates to the days we lived in tribes and had to be very careful about not upsetting a natural order. Consequently, fear of a negative feedback loop alters decisions which would have otherwise been made on clear judgment too often. On the other hand, a need for acceptance can induce financial impulsiveness.
Entrepreneurship author Seth Godin reflected in his blog yesterday that people are astounded when “someone shows up and acts without contradiction … When an athlete just does the sport, or when a writer just writes the words, we can’t help but watch, astonished at the purity of their actions. Why is it so difficult to do what we say we’re going to do.” When I read this, one of the first things that came to mind was actually Li’l Wayne. His output is substantial and he seems to have no self-doubt, stays dedicated, and shirks distraction. Now he’s in half the songs on the radio and has an enormous interlinking of other artists he artistically and financially collaborates with. He’s an example of someone who’s created an empire that was available to anyone with the capacity to take on. But, then again, Li’l Wayne might not be the best example of avoiding distraction; a few felony charges probably don’t make the best productivity enhancement.