The Yoko Manifesto

Came across this at readprint.com and thought it also held some meaning for entrepreneurs.

The Dog and the Wolf

A gaunt Wolf was almost dead with hunger when he happened to meet a House-dog who was passing by. “Ah, Cousin,” said the Dog. “I knew how it would be; your irregular life will soon be the ruin of you. Why do you not work steadily as I do, and get your food regularly given to you?”

“I would have no objection,” said the Wolf, “if I could only get a place.”

“I will easily arrange that for you,” said the Dog; “come with me to my master and you shall share my work.”

So the Wolf and the Dog went towards the town together. On the way there the Wolf noticed that the hair on a certain part of the Dog’s neck was very much worn away, so he asked him how that had come about.

“Oh, it is nothing,” said the Dog. “That is only the place where the collar is put on at night to keep me chained up; it chafes a bit, but one soon gets used to it.”

“Is that all?” said the Wolf. “Then good-bye to you, Master Dog.”

Better starve free than be a fat slave.

– Aesop’s Fables

Love ya gramps, hope you’re feeling better up there.

Emileo Tolfa 08/08/1924 – 02/22/2010

I wrote the 2nd part of a 5 part series I’m writing in conjunction with Under 30 CEO. The articles are designed for small and medium sized business owners to make the most of the web if they don’t have the budget to hire professionals.  Today’s article focus on search engine visibility, check it out.

I remember it like it was yesterday.  Just me and Falkor savin’ worlds…

If you have a good day for watching movies, watching Swingers and The Hangover back to back is a good day for movies.

It’s almost like watching a sequel, though I’m not sure what movie you could include that would make it a trilogy. Any suggestions?

So I’ve been “training” (read: not training) for a triathlon some friends and I are going to be competing in. It’s the Nation’s Triathlon – it seems to be a pretty big event, but I’ve never done one before so I don’t really know. Nonetheless, a good friend of mine lent me his bike and some great advice for the upcoming event and I thought it was worth sharing:

• When in doubt, on the bike, ALWAYS choose a lower gear (less resistance) and a higher cadence (more revolutions per minute).  You should NEVER spin at lower than 80 RPM.  90+ is better. The more you “grind” those gears, the less strength you’ll have for the run (and the more you’ll suffer unnecessarily).
  • Spend as much time as you can on the bike – like the swim, technique will probably save you more time than additional strength (given how much time you have between now and the event);
  • You’re looking for a smooth pedal stroke with NO BOUNCE.  Experiment with seat height to get it right.
• Practice the bike to run transition.  NO, I’m not talking about changing shoes, although that’s worth practicing too.  But PRACTICE finishing a long bike ride and STARTING to run – then run long enough until your stride recovers.  Biking saps the bounce/pop out of your stride.  When you start to run, it’ll feel like you’re running with concrete shoes.  DO NOT try it for the first time during a race.  Start easy and smooth, and then build up.
  • Go to any running store and spend 99 cents on a pair of lace locks.  There is NO NEED to waste your time making bows and double knots on tri-day.  And you do NOT wanna stop and bend over to re-tie.  Also, if you wanna make adjustments during your run (because you may be in pain), it’s quicker and easier.
• You cannot drink enough during the bike ride.  You’ll already be dehydrated when you get out of the pool/lake/river (although you won’t realize how badly), and, given the cumulative effect, it’s gonna be worse when you’re running (and your inclination is not to carry a bottle – BAD IDEA).  DRINK early and often.
  • The bike ride is also where you can try to get down a CLIF bar or some energy drinks, but, at very least, DRINK.
• Tire pressure is your friend – keep it up, over 110, and 115 is better.  Reduced rolling resistance means less work, more speed.  YES, it’s a more harsh ride (harder on your butt, hands, and neck), and the bike will be more responsive (or skittish – it’s a double-edged sword) but it’s worth it.
  • figure out how you’re going to carry a spare tube if you have a blowout – guys with bike shirts carry stuff in their back pockets; otherwise, get an under-seat saddle bag.  do you know how to change a tire?  if not, you need to practice, or it’ll take you all day. [I should have asked, but, you do know how a presta tire valve works, right????]
  • don’t worry – the tires on that bike are EXCEPTIONAL, and I would NOT expect you to flat.  IF you do flat, however, those tires are a BEAR to get off the rim and back on – ONLY take ONE side off the rim, that’s all you need to replace the tube - I use a QUIK STIK (although some folks prefer plastic “levers”) – you can buy one when you get a spare tube.
• Periodically oil the chain (either with oil from a bike shop or, if you have it, WD40 is OK) – go light, just a few drops will do….
• On the bike, change your hand position and shift your butt around (particularly up and back) on the seat.  It’ll help keep you loose(r).
• AVOID using the front brake, except gently.  If you clamp on the front break hard enough, you’ll go over the handlebars.  No matter how hard you squeeze the rear brake, the worst thing that can happen is a rear-wheel drift [if you use both brakes - the front wheel will stop faster, and the back wheels will start coming around on one side or the other] - just let go and the bike will straighten itself out.
• Pay attention, look ahead, and, whenever possible
  • gravel is your enemy (as are road grates, car doors, car mirrors, etc.)…. when in doubt stay towards the middle of the road – don’t gravitate too close to the curb…
  • try to avoid bumps and road imperfections…. But you CANNOT avoid them all, so practice lifting your butt an inch off the seat for all bumps and road imperfections – [it saves your butt, your neck, your hands, etc.] - the most efficient way to do so is the drive your pedal stroke hard (for a half rotation) and push yourself up – if you’re tired, just use stop pedaling (for a half-second) and lift your butt….
• Keep your forearms, wrists, hands and fingers LOOSE when you run.  Do NOT waste energy clenching anything.
• Wear (good) sunglasses on both the bike and the run; wear a hat (with a bill) on the run.
• On the run, it’s a lot more fun (and it’s more gratifying) to start slow and steady, pick it up as you go, and finish strong. Blowing up sucks.  Also, you wanna be the guy passing people for the last 10 minutes of your long, painful morning.  Finish happy.
• I’m a lousy swimmer, so I have nothing to add on that score, other than this…. I liked doing a tri, because I was one of the LAST guys out of the water, the shortest event (in terms of time)…. Thus, I spent most of the day passing people – indeed, I almost NEVER got passed.  I didn’t win, nor was I close, but, once I was out of the water, I just chose my next target, caught ‘em, passed ‘em, and then moved on.  Lots of fun.  [Conversely, one of my best buddies from college is an elite swimmer - one of the region's/nation's best in our age group.  For him, a triathalon is about destroying everybody in the water, and then waiting until the field catches up and systematically passes him.  What fun is that?]

Thanks Steve!

VS

Ok, I almost never write anything here that isn’t pulled in from somewhere else, but I haven’t noticed anyone saying anything about the HP Ink ads so I figured I’d throw it out there. The image on the left is taken from the HP Ink ad claiming they offer 65% more than their bargain ink competition.  Is it just me or does 65% look an awful lot like 300% by the graphic comparison they provide?  On the right is a ballpark estimation of what 65% should look like, still impressive, but not nearly as much as 300%.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the idea behind trying to illustrate the difference, but why lie to your customers? Why not show the pages of a book printed out, end to end and show just how much further 65% is, it goes a long way. No need to cut corners to try to tell the story, its insulting to customers, and those who realize it (people like me) are going to be more turned off than excited by the ad.

Ok, so when this got started, I was hoping it would be to hockey what DCRTV is to local media.  Of course, work and a number of other things have gotten in the way, but now it is getting rounded out to the point where we’re just going to forge on ahead.

We already have the list of normal pickup schedules for all the local rinks.  Now we’re going to be implementing some other new features:

A Rink Rat Report – including local happens at each of the rinks.

Rink in Review – Annual review of each of the local rinks.  Ice condition, staff, etc.

Special Update – Any out of the ordinary happenings at the rinks.

And of course there will be other commentary about all things hockey.  If you have anything to say, let me know.  In the meantime, we’ll be shooting emails over to the head of all the local rinks.

Most likely, news and updates for the teams, office, etc.  Pull in articles from other publications, etc?  Guess we’ll see.

Just putting this together as a base… should be wrapped up around the end of the month.