Ted Miin's Blog

Things That Will Never Be the Same

2009-07-29T21:04:00.009-04:00

Well, I'm not going to talk about all the technological, cultural, political, environmental or other such matters that people have belabored in discussion of this sort of topic. But instead, the more simple and random silly little things:

A great song, after accidentally listening to it on repeat for hours during a specific mood or situation.

The excitement of sneaking fast food, junk food, and candy as a child.

Almost any movie nowadays after seeing its trailer.

Patience when waiting for deliveries. (Can you believe 6-8 weeks used to be the standard for many different products?)

Advertising, with the internet.

Information and time waste, with the internet. (Okay this is a little technological but the time waste part is especially interesting.. or tragic...)

Playing the game for the first time knowing that Aeris dies.

Realizing that your ear muscles exist and that you can move them.

Your opinion of that one guy once you find out he's secretly a professional ballroom dancer.

Your life after you find that awesome shortcut of any sort, keyboard or driving route or in getting to know someone, or to a major life goal or...

Important to Know Both

2009-06-24T21:39:00.003-04:00

People will frequently express things that they consider important, but won't place enough emphasis on the opposite or flip side of the matter. For example:

It's a valuable skill to be able to create conversation, but it's also crucial to know how to end it as well.

It's important to make and follow goals, but it's also critical to know when to drop them.

Be careful not to overcook pasta, but also know when overcooked pasta can fit the sauce perfectly.

You should properly respect family and friends, but also know when they are detrimental to your health or life and should be disconnected.

Work hard and play hard, but also know when it makes sense to work half-assed or not play at all.

And so on.

(Just a couple quick thoughts to wrap up the last post (it really was coincidental that I got around to this exactly a month later). Overall, it was pretty productive to have the realization and make the effort to cut the complaining even without full completion of the goal. Would certainly recommend turning on personal alerts for specific unnecessary behavioral expressions.)

No Complaining for a Month

2009-05-24T19:46:00.004-04:00

I've decided to stop complaining. For one month, about anything. Actually I decided this a week ago and have kept up with it, so I only have three more weeks to go. I mean complete elimination of all forms of complaints, about the job, about traffic, lines at the store, the economy, social culture, the condition of the world, everything. Just to see how it goes. And whether it has any productive effect, or is even a good thing overall.

Feel free to join me, at least for a week, or even a day. And we'll talk about it.

Making Time 2

2009-05-05T20:57:00.002-04:00

So a few weeks of random activity later, here were some of the big but not-so-obvious time wasters that I had noticed riddled throughout my daily schedules:

Not sleeping enough. Tiredness resulted in some 30-40 minutes of random dozing during the early morning hours, and some incalculable reduction in productivity throughout the rest of the day.
Spacing out while in transit. Given the insane amount of time many of us spend getting to and from work, school, practice, random excursions, etc., it would only make sense for some of that time to be applied to meditating or thinking.
Random routines, needless internet browsing, little unproductive habits and patterns that may not even be consciously initiated. Including excessive email/mobile device checks.
Entertaining pointless/useless/lame ideas, fantasies, conversations, etc. either with myself or others.
Excessive cynicism and conceit.
Standing in front of the mirror and re-styling my hair over and over again until the perfect look was achieved.
And most seriously, not having a plan or goal. For how to get somewhere, like a target profession or a desired travel vacation, or a bar across town.
And even more seriously than that, realizing and knowing of these such things, and not acting upon that realization.

Making Time

2009-04-12T23:34:00.002-04:00

How frequently does some form of "I don't have time..." come up in conversation or in your mind? If you're like me and probably billions of other people, all the time.

I'd like to invite you to join me in an experiment. For one day, let's carry around a pen and a small pad of paper or an electronic device and be mindful, jotting down every instance when we are wasting time, or even possibly wasting time, if it's not clear-cut. It may involve time-wasteful habits, actions, thoughts, or anything. Afterwards we can review the list and figure out how to develop or eliminate all the junk.

I hope we come up with something. I'll report back with my results in a bit.

Worrying about Difficult Things

2009-04-05T19:32:00.004-04:00

Think about all of the difficult times, ordeals, and tasks, life-altering and trivial alike, that have riddled your unique history. How did you feel during the period of time building up to the trials? While actively working through it? After it was over?

How do you feel when a new issue arises? Is the concern about failing to overcome the problem, or dealing with it poorly, or suffering through the process, or the effort required, or something else? Even though you've conquered millions of difficult things before, getting you to where you are now, why does each new thing still trigger a similar response?

Perhaps the worry encourages the best series of actions that have the greatest result. But maybe we need to be more confident that we will continue to be resolute and resourceful, and overcome, as always. Whatever happens, something will happen, you will make it so, and thus it will be satisfactory.

I'm Back, Part III

2009-03-28T14:47:00.003-04:00

With so much going on during this phase of life, it's been difficult for me to put together worthwhile blog posts that I'm willing to have eternally branded to my name. However, this is definitely something that I am interested in developing, and will be making a serious effort on the daily or weekly basis to write. I know a couple of my previous comeback attempts had failed for one reason or another (and I'm sure there were very good reasons..) But this time I will succeed. I promise.

Traveling

2008-09-09T04:49:00.002-04:00

After my recent trip to Japan, I've discovered that I actually like traveling a lot. I used to be indifferent to travel because of the complex logistical details, cost, and other unpredictable hassles involved. Now I realize that I learn and grow at an accelerated pace when in a totally new and different country, with interesting cultures, communities, and people. Observing how a city operates, how people relate to each other, how businesses are run, all of those details are incredibly interesting. And then meeting the people, trying to understand their attitudes, ideas, and opinions, it is all a pleasant surprise and exciting change of pace. And then finally trying to live in the new location, learning how to be proper, how to communicate, how to navigate, how to have fun, all involve aspects of living that are usually inactive when at home.

Traveling not only increases knowledge and experience with a new location and culture, but it instills an awareness of the nature of the world, how much activity is happening all over it, how the various parts are connected, and how one may fit into it as an individual. Many times one may feel insignificant, his problems trivial, his attitudes and opinions unfounded, his way of life needing adjustment. It's fascinating.

"You're worth it - if white."

2008-04-08T01:06:00.002-04:00

I read this article a while back: You're worth it - if white. L'Oréal guilty of racism.

To simplify, a division of the cosmetics company in France was selecting primarily white models for their shampoo promotions. When the discrimination issue was uncovered, they were fined 30k euros and one of the senior figures received a 3-month prison sentence.

This incident got me thinking about the concept of company reputation. Nowadays with the improved ease of spreading information, company reputation can and should be the primary and critical public relations device. How will hearing about a case like this affect consumer behavior? How much illegal and/or immoral activity is happening all over, but is going unnoticed? We need more undercover reporters and corporate journalists out there. To take corporate liability to a whole new and appropriate level. We'll also need some system in place that punishes reporting inaccurate information. Complex details aside, it is definitely a direction to strive towards.

Drama-seeking self-made martyrs

2008-03-28T14:48:00.003-04:00

I saw this funny comic a while back.

It was originally drawn in Korean, and someone translated it into English. While it applies the classic "oops!" joke, I found it interesting because we all probably know a few drama-seekers that find those types of special roles and purposes for themselves. Maybe we all slip into those positions every now and then. Or on a daily basis. I blame movies. Or maybe humans are just silly like that.

I'm Back, Part II

2008-03-11T15:32:00.003-04:00

My last return did not yield very many posts, and I'm going to make up for it this time. Upcoming post topics will include, but not be limited by:

Misplaced and poorly allocated money everywhere.
A social networking site where men can anonymously sponsor women seeking breast implants.
"You're worth it, if you're white."
Drama-seeking self-made martyrs.
Extraterrestrials?
Another social networking site.. this time, for babies.

Stay tuned. Metaphorically, of course. Who actually watches live tv anymore?

What is the deal with swearing, and around children?

2008-01-06T17:43:00.000-05:00

I witnessed a very ordinary public scene in Chicago a few months ago: I was sitting on the El train, when a street person began soliciting clothing to the train's riders. Someone spoke up, commenting, "You know, you can get in trouble for that." To which the street person responded, "Fuck trouble, I am trouble." An older woman then added, "Please watch your mouth, there are children here."

I had always assumed that it was impolite or inappropriate to swear in public, especially around children, but that scene led me to consider the reasons for my assumption and the nature of the social rule. And so my theorizing began. Perhaps parents would like their children to grow purely/innocently. Until they're older at least, and know right from wrong, good from bad language, etc. Such a classic and uselessly unrealistic ideal. Swearing is common enough that most children in the U.S. will witness plenty of it randomly throughout their daily lives. For parents that wish to raise their children "properly" (not really sure what that might mean), I would think that the best course of action would be teaching the children the meaning and uses of swear words, and to let their own experiences further support (or contradict) the transferred opinion.

I think that it's generally better to know and understand, rather to not know. Even for, especially for, the subjects that people may consider impure or unpopular.

Fun Areas

2007-12-01T14:32:00.000-05:00

This looks like a really fun area to me:

It really feeds into my interests in playing, exploring, climbing, and just running around and existing. What're some fun areas to you?

Gift Cards are for Chumps

2007-11-24T13:51:00.000-05:00

In 2006, Americans spent $80 billion on gift cards, and $8 billion of that was never used. Any ideas on how to stop the madness? How can we reverse the story that cash is rash and that giving a gift card shows regard?

Related articles:
Seth Godin's take on gift cards
Consumer Reports article (gift cards also give grief)

HD Radio?

2007-10-17T22:17:00.000-04:00

Have you heard about HD Radio? I only know about it because some of the random radio stations that I listen to play ads for HD radio. Apparently it's an advancement in radio technology, allowing stations to broadcast programs digitally. I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem very interesting to me. Radio seemed decent as it was. I'm not even sure how many people listen to the radio these days. Is it something to be excited about?

"You Comment on Everything."

2007-10-07T18:28:00.000-04:00

One day while I was at work, I was taking care of business as usual, and was making smalltalk with coworkers as they passed by. Suddenly one of my more friendly coworkers noted, "You know what? You comment on everything." Not with irritation or aggression, but a casual comment in passing. That kind of took me by surprise. Nobody had ever made that sort of direct statement to me. I immediately recognized it to be accurately descriptive of my workplace behavior.

To me it was an interesting observation, because much of the time I would consider myself an introvert. But when I arrive at the office, suddenly I become talkative, and find ways to create and enter conversations. Perhaps it is a work/personal dichotomy, where I switch different behaviors on and off based on my environment. Or perhaps it could be attributed to my desire to improve the mood and coworker connectedness at the office. Either way, I didn't consciously realize what I was doing.

I wonder whether there are other personal characteristics that I am expressing without realizing. What about you?

Upcoming Topics

2007-10-02T23:03:00.000-04:00

This time it's for real. I've brought this blog "back" a number of times that resulted in single posts that were unaccompanied for weeks or even months. To organize some of my recent random thoughts, here is a list of topics that I wish to address in the near future:

What is the deal with swearing, and around children?
What's makes a good speech? A good speaker?
That feeling of panic and desperation...
The way to escape it all...
Analysis of the office workplace.
Analysis of various social situations.
What makes something interesting?
How to become an all-purpose general optimizer, e.g., for restaurants and shops.
Converting learning into teaching, and teaching without learning.
HD Radio.
"Fixing" children.
"You comment on everything."
How does one decide who to sit next to on the bus? If it will be a 5-20 hour ride?

Stay tuned...

What is the deal with the news?

2007-08-26T17:53:00.000-04:00

This is a random rant, but I haven't made a blog post in so long that I feel like it might reignite my blogging motivation.

I was browsing Google News just a few minutes ago, and I saw this (automatically generated based on web popularity, or however they choose to generate the main page) article: Psycho tries to open jet door in air. Basically, some 20-year-old Asian guy was flipping out, messed with the jet door, and was restrained. The jet door requires "special training" to open, so there was no concern of any catastrophic result.

What? I don't get it. Why is this news-worthy? And for there to be 202 articles written on it? (For scale, popular news topics on Google News list anywhere from 500-2000 articles (e.g., that whole Vick thing)). Nothing happened at all. There must be millions of situations and events and actions that match that level of newsworthiness every day, in the U.S. alone.

Could someone please reply with a clever analysis of humans/the news/the world that might explain this madness?

Searching for an Apartment

2007-07-15T16:20:00.000-04:00

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been searching for a new apartment for when my current sublet ends on July 31st. I've been using primarily Craigslist, and it's been working out decently. Here are several lessons that I've learned about the apartment search process that may be helpful to others: Some are obvious and intuitive, but until now, I didn't think about them or realize how important they were. (Note that my search has been in the city of Chicago, in really popular neighborhoods like Lakeview and Lincoln Park, during the summertime)

Check the listings in the morning. And continually through the afternoon, if really searching. A lot of people, especially management agents, make new Craigslist posts in the morning. From the morning to the afternoon, folks will see the posts, and make appointments to see the apartments during the evening of the same day. If you wait until you get off of work (like I did for a while) to check the listings, you'll have to wait until the next day or later to see the apartment. By that time, it may (and for the locations/prices that I was searching for, definitely will) already be taken.
Always call when possible. It's really easy to spam a bunch of emails out to renters, but there could be delays in when they check their email and when they respond. A caller always takes priority over an emailer. Get that direct contact and set up an appointment immediately.
Don't get discouraged. If you like the location/price/description of an apartment, always go see it and apply for it. I saw a listing for a 2br place in a nice area of Lincoln Park going for $995, and thought it too good to be true. Some 30-40 people (we were all cc'ed in an email informing us of the competition) ended up inquiring for it, and the landlord set up an open house to accommodate the crowd. So many people inquired that the landlord actually updated the listing with more candid "cons" of the place. When I ended up going to see the apartment, only 5-6 people showed up, and only 2 of us ended up applying for it. I'm liking my chances.
Show up early to your appointment. Efficient agents will set up many appointments for the same time. Sometimes they tell you that you have competition, but sometimes they don't. Agents may arrive at the apartment early to open up the place or to make it look neat, and may be able to show it to you a little early. If you're ready, you'll have first dibs. Which leads to the next point-
Bring your checkbook. I arrived at an apartment at exactly the time of my appointment, but someone else showed up 5 minutes earlier. They saw the place and wrote a check immediately. If you really like the location/price/description of a place, definitely be ready to whip out your checkbook once you see it. (It varies from place to place, e.g. some require credit checks and other processes that take time, but I've already been beaten twice by folks who immediately wrote a check before I even arrived)
Make a good impression. If you're looking to rent directly from the landlord, know that every detail matters. Especially if you're competing for the place with many other folks that will all have qualifying incomes and credits. In the end, the landlord will have to make a decision based on how much he likes you, and how well he thinks that you'll take care of the place, etc. A little smooth talk goes a long way. (Not as relevant for renting from agents of larger management groups)
Research many places. This kind of conflicts with #4. In popular neighborhoods, you're on the losing end; the system is well-optimized for the management groups and landlords. You might be able to find a nicer place for the same price, or an equivalent place for cheaper. If you take the time to search. But if you hesitate, someone else may snatch up the apartment before you. Explore and research enough places to be aware of good value, and know when to explore further, or when to rent immediately. I saw two places within several houses of each other that were near identical units, priced $100 apart. Watch out for the greedy folks trying to take advantage of renter urgency and competition.

I hope these tips will prove to be useful.

Interesting Internet Episode

2007-06-21T23:24:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago, the internet access at my apartment was shut down. I was in shock. I've had consistent internet access for so long that I felt such an extreme sudden void. I even tried to load up a FireFox browser to do a Yelp.com search for nearby coffee shops with free wifi. Yes, I really tried to do that.

Of course it wasn't difficult to walk around a bit and find free wifi to leech, but it required just enough extra effort that I felt uncomfortably stranded from internet access. Sitting at my laptop, uselessly disconnected, I wrote up a list of my uses of the internet:

1. Email
2. Research for internet business ideas
3. Tech news, world news, and keeping informed on latest advancements
4. Blogs, forums, random web browsing
5. Online bank maintenance
6. Random research of locations, events, people, movies, music, words, etc.
7. Ordering stuff
8. Gamage

A lot of stuff. It was going to be rough. While at work, I searched for cafés close to my apartment with free wifi. (Sites falling under the categories of email, blogs, forums, games, etc. are blocked at work.) After getting home that day, I walked out a café, which ended up only being about 10 minutes away. I bought a smoothie, and whipped out my laptop for catching up on all of the web stuff that I had missed for days.

It all took about 15 minutes. Maybe 20. I read all of my email, news, blog stuff, made bank transfers, all of that stuff. All so fast. I suddenly began to wonder how I spent so many hours in the past wasting away on the internet. When finally faced with a situation where I only intended to use the internet productively for important things, I could accomplish everything in very little time.

Of course there are lots of random unpredictable uses of internet access, but still. How much time do you waste on the internet?

How Straight is Your Line?

2007-06-05T22:25:00.000-04:00

There are two kinds of imagination: fantasy imagination, and plausible imagination. Fantasy imagination includes anything that the mind could possibly stir up: anything, anywhere, at any time, of any significance, ever. Plausible imagination involves things that could be, but are not: life dreams, future goals, actions that could be taken, words that could be spoken. Some figments are closer to our grasps than others.

Our daily lives are lines in the plane of plausibility. (Some may recall the mathematical representation of real, imaginary, and complex numbers on a 2-dimensional plane). At any point in time, we are in one specific position, and we are headed in one direction, so we are always momentarily stranded in one line, one dimension; we can only look off to our surroundings, at our potential, and at the choices that we could make.

But over the course of time, we may assume a path that could only fit on a 2-dimensional plane, with plausible imaginations of one moment being actual realities of the next.

How straight is your line?

Marketing Fun

2007-05-26T09:50:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of fun thinking about great marketing ideas. Especially when I'm the target of them.

I went out to Timothy O'Toole's Pub the other day after work with some coworkers. Two of my coworkers ordered and shared a bucket of Bud Lights. A bucket, (this was the first time that I had seen it ordered) is an aluminum bucket with five (assumed standard number) bottles of beer, packed in ice. It's pretty showy, and takes up a lot of table space.

Some time into the evening, this guy walks up to our table, and interrupts, "Excuse me. I'm a representative of Anheuser Busch. I noticed you were enjoying a bucket of Bud Lights. Here's a sample of our new aluminum-bottled Bud Light, try it out." After spending a bit of time clearing some space on the table, he set down a new bucket of this new sample, and walked away.

This dude totally hit the jackpot with our group. We started analyzing the new bottles, trying it out, and discussing how it seemed to keep the beer cooler for longer. And how drinking from an aluminum bottle differs from the classic glass bottle. I don't know how frequently this kind of thing happens, but it was the first time that I had experienced it. And it was fun. I tried to track the guy to see how he decided who to approach, but I lost sight of him. I never found out whether he only targeted people that were already drinking Anheuser Busch beers, those having competitor beers, or anyone else. But what he tried with us worked, and I will undoubtedly seriously consider this new aluminum bottle the next time I see it available.

Companies and businesses should give out free stuff more often.

What do you do?

2007-05-21T21:37:00.000-04:00

I have a bachelor's degree in psychology. No engineering degree, business degree, degree in medicine, law, or any other advanced degree. Perhaps that is the problem with me. But I am so incompatible with education systems that I see little other choice than to try to go out and work.

I've tried doing independent consulting work, and I've thought about starting my own business (I haven't come up with any ideas good enough to get started). Neither of those self-starter ideas seem to be able to consistently pay the bills. Neither seem like realistic ways to make a living.

Just 2 weeks ago I started working at the entry level for a small consulting firm (that just got bought out by a larger 2nd-tier consulting firm, but the assimilation is a slow and unsure process). With about 30 total employees, I was excited at the opportunity to have a large direct impact on the company, its clients, and how things are operated. I've only been working for 2 weeks, but I can already feel my goals slowly fading out of sight.

It seems as if positions in companies that call for thinking and innovation require advanced degrees, or years and years of time with the company, learning its processes, specific operations, and other such details that may not be applicable anywhere else. Experience is still more highly valued than ability. That really annoys me.

I would like to ask everyone that reads this post to please respond. Please tell me that I am incorrect, and that I am devoting my energies improperly. That there is something practical and decent out there for those of us that have a measly undergraduate degree and like to think, solve, and innovate. Please tell any story that connects you to great work. I desperately need some ideas.

Getting By in a New City

2007-05-08T22:53:00.000-04:00

Well, maybe not just getting by; that's easy to do. But living comfortably, practically, and even fashionably in a new location can be difficult.

So I finally moved to Chicago 2 days ago. I came by train (which might I add, is a very dramatic way to leave home&family). I fit all of my belongings into 2 suitcases and a backpack, which seemed a little excessive to me. Others didn't agree. Luckily, I was moving into a house with a few roommates, and many household items were accounted for. I didn't have space to bring pans, utensils, a mattress, detergents, toilet paper, and those kinds of things. Some items are easy to buy, but from where? And how do I get to and from the store with that stuff? And how much will all of those little things cost? Lots of little details.

And then more questions and issues. Which bank should I join, and what should I do with my money? Where do I do laundry? Where do I go to get my hair cut? Where should I go to buy clothes and shoes for work? What can I do around here for fun? There are probably 100 bars within comfortable walking distance; which should I go to? So many questions. Asking roommates, coworkers, and other people yielded surprisingly inconclusive and little truly valuable information. The same with web searches. Maybe I'm just bad at extracting information and recommendations from people and the web. Or maybe it's just tough, and I should just adventure, experiment, and deal with it.

But wouldn't it be sweet if there were some reliable source of information for those kinds of things?

Work Attitudes and Age Differences

2007-05-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

This is written from the perspective of a 21-year-old recent college graduate with a lucky middle-class origin. I refer specifically to the office setting. Hopefully that's sufficient background information.

Explicit age ranges aren't crucial to the attitude issues that I'm interested in discussing, but I would like to distinguish between younger and older workers. The younger category is likely to include new college graduates, high school graduates, and people that return to school; people that are seeking a career, and something to do for a living. The older category is likely to include workers that have been in the same position for years, people that have settled for and stayed with last-resort jobs, and more jaded folks in general.

I've noticed differences between the attitudes of younger and older working people. It's kind of odd, and slightly disturbing. You might've also noticed it in some way or another. Younger working people are curious, ambitious, and seek potential. They want to find interesting work, and work that they value. They are quick to try new things, and are willing to implement ideas and innovations if there is potential to improve overall efficiency and benefit. They understand that work is work, but they make genuine efforts to align their careers with their life values. Older working people are apathetic, unenergetic, and stagnant. Regardless of how they got to where they are, they don't see themselves going anywhere. Work is something they just have to do, and they deal with it because it pays the bills. Changes in the workplace are bothersome, and new ideas that require adaptation and implementation are an unwanted hassle.

These are some thoughts that may arise:
1. Work is inherently bad, and will never be fun or stimulating.
2. People may start out as younger workers, but over time, working turns them into older workers.
3. Times are changing, and the potential for (and practicality of) finding work that aligns with personal values is much greater now than ever. People that grow up during this time have corresponding expectations. Also, this alignment reduces the effects of #2.

I'm really hoping for #3.