Randy Weber

I’m a big fan of simplicity. While checking out the On Simplicity blog for the first time, I came across The One Pencil Philosophy. A very simple, but powerful idea:

Imagine a pencil cup (or tray, or what have you) that always has your favorite pen in it. You know–the one that feels wonderful in your hand, lets you write smoothly, and is the most stylish. No more crappy pens with embarrasing pharmeceutical ads on them…

The first benefit is that you surround yourself with best and get rid of the junk [bold by the author]…

The second benefit is that this system can train you to value things of quality.

The third major benefit of the one pencil philosophy is that you’ll spend less time searching and more time doing.

This is a great way to get started simplifying your life. It’s contagious. How many shoes do you really need? How many pairs of jeans? Do you really need every freebie t-shirt that you’ve ever picked up at a trade show or conference? You get the idea. Give it a try.

First it was my friend Jason and his wife Randi. Jeb and I got Jason online. He did the rest. They were married a few years back after meeting on Match.com. Now it was my friend Lisa and her new husband Jeff. They also met on Match.com. The wedding was today. It was a nice wedding. Though I didn’t go to their wedding, my ex-girlfriend Bing also met her husband on Match.com. The product definitely works. I don’t know anyone that’s met their spouse on any other service.

Lifehack.org had a great post on how much stuff you really need to get by - Productivity & Organizing Myth #9 – We need a lot of stuff!

I’ve recently gone through a similar transformation having gotten rid a lot of my things. I started with things that I hadn’t used in years. Clothes that I didn’t really like or that I seldom wore also went. How many pairs of tennis shoes does one person really need? I decided the number is 2, though I didn’t dump the stuff I actually work out in.

I highly recommend going through this exercise. It actually feels good to get rid of stuff.

I’ve been a Match.com user for years. I really enjoy the service and am a big believer in it (and the whole matchmaking segment in general). I’ve gone from being an evangelist for Match.com to an employee. I’ve resigned from my business development position at Verizon SuperPages.com and accepted a position at Match.com as Director of Business Development. I’m very excited. The matchmaking business is fascinating with a lot of exciting things going on.

PVR Wire wrote an interesting post on Who will buy TiVo? Google, Yahoo or Microsoft?

Let me start this with the fact that I LOVE TiVo. However, the lack of a viable HD product has led me to use the PVR in the set-top box from Time Warner. I hate it, but I have no choice. None-the-less, I still have my TiVo which I use as a music server to get my tunes from my PC to my entertainment system. It’s slicker than anything else out there, trust me, I’ve tried them.

Now, on with my point. I want TiVo to survive. I think it has major opportunities that it has not been able to capitalize on:

1. The set-top box that integrates audio, video, PCs, and the Internet in the living room.
2. It could change the way that audio and video is monetized by content owners and distributors.
3. It could change they way that audio and video is distributed by content owners - pay-per-view, video on demand, stored content that can be moved to various devices, etc.

I want this device BAD. PVR Wire has their arguments on who is most likely to buy TiVo - they believe it will be Yahoo or Google. I want it to be Yahoo or Apple. Yahoo seems to be able to integrate a variety of Internet content and could really use TiVo rather than screwing around with their own vaporware product. Apple would be great because they’d be able to avoid screwing up TiVo’s incredible UI (they might even be able to improve it) and they have done very well with integrating various types of content on various devices.

Whether it’s Yahoo or Apple, please let it happen.

After getting a haircut in Fort Worth, I was hungry for some pizza. Sandy pointed me to Mellow Mushroom by TCU. So I headed out to to Bluebonnet Circle.

She said it would be crowded and she was right. But it was worth it. The pizza was great. The service was good. Somewhat pricey for a pizza, but it was so good I’m not complaining. I had the Kosmic Karma. The crust was kind of thick. It was chewy. The sauce was pesto. I loved it.

Their pizza choices are pretty eclectic. I’m adding Mellow Mushroom to my list of good, unique pizzas.

Lifehacker had a thought provoking post about websites that changed your world. This took me on a trip down memory lane. Here’s what I came up with:

• AOL’s walled garden in the early 90’s (I know it’s not a web site, but it is where I got the online bug in the first place. I had some huge access bills, some topping $100!)
• MS Outlook Web Access (now I don’t have to bring my work PC home everyday, this has been huge for me, it was the best thing since sliced bread)
• back in the day it was MetaCrawler, now it’s Google (I’m still waiting for the next big thing)
• Yahoo Mail (I love it, warts and all)
• Wells Fargo online banking (I’ve written/mailed fewer than 20 checks since the late 90’s, this kicks ass!)
• amazon.com (I don’t always buy from them, but it’s a great place to research products)
• match.com and Yahoo Personals

I’ve been going to Amore’s for years. It’s not unusual for me to go multiple times per week. The service is good, as is the food. The prices are very reasonable. I generally get a slice of cheese pizza and a salad with house dressing, but the other things on the menu are also worthy of your consideration. It’s BYOB so bring some nice wine.

tom

Originally uploaded by landotter.

I decided to see what other Tom Jones pics might be bouncing around on Flickr. This is what I found. It’s funny enough by itself, but when you look at the tags used to describe the pic it gets even funnier. Make sure to click through to see the tags.

I had breakfast at Savor in San Francisco today. It was a great experiece. We talked about the Internet biz and enjoyed some yummy food.