mattberan.com

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Today was my first time I’ve ever given blood.  Pretty cool actually, I love needles and all that jazz.  I also like learning things about the biology of the whole deal.  What’s strange to me is how people going in there are scared and talking about the needles and all that; why are you volunteering then?

They feel a duty to contribute but hate the method?

Since I was at work I instantly drew a parallel.  People feel a duty at work to get things done (toward a common goal etc), but hate the way they do it.  My entreupenuer side then freaks out and completely redesigns the way blood is taken and work is accomplished.

More parallels:

1. People want to be comfortable
2. They don’t want to have to work too hard, or be fooled into thinking it’s fun
3. They feel satisfaction when completed (milestones)
4. There better be a cookie at the end.

I work in support (dummy), so I’m always changing the way I work in small ways, increasing flow, reaching new levels of support, learning more of the facets of this business.  Now I want to take it to the next level.  This is where I hit a wall:

The level of my position (peon) leaves me without the power to even really leave my chair which really restricts the amount of change I can bring to supporting this company.  So I look at other methods - webinars, how-to videos etc etc.

So get to the point: Managers; give your employees the credit they deserve, with freedom to explore new things, at least give them a shot - if it doesn’t work or they start shirking their duties, sit them down in front of their workstations and make them grind some more.  Otherwise, I think you might get more blood out of them.

I really want to move to a little hobby farm, just to supplement my income if not to be a better person.

We have several friends who have also expressed an interest in doing so…

What does it take to take such a life-changing jump? Please leave tips in the comments…

I just picked up a bike down the street with the sign that says “free” and then sold it on Craigslist.

Part of me feels guilty, but the entrepreneur in me is proud. $30 for riding a bike down my street, and you can be sure I’ll double take each “free” sign from now on.

The best part of it all was when the buyer said “I was going to try to talk you down, but I’m just not going to anymore”! I would have taken way less, so I’m glad she didn’t.

We got water in our basement while we were camping as a result of our washing machine slowly leaking all our water into our basement and ruining our carpet. Anyone got tips on where to buy/get carpet installed?

We started planning our garden tonight and I’m starting to get pumped! Here are some things I need to do:

1) Start camping Craigslist for a cheap roto-tiller
2) Look for cheap/free block to frame up the garden
3) Look for cheap/free dirt to fill in the garden.
4) Look for cheap/free garden plastic/weed liner…
5) Collect containers for seedling starters

Pan stands for personal area network, and if you’re within cell tower range with data plan on your phone, you can setup your computer to share said network connection. It’s really handy unless the point of being where you are is to not use a computer or network connection.

I’ve found that leaving technology behind while vacationing is very very easy, as long as you have music and books. Anyway we just figured out today (the last day) that it’s possible to pair my computer with someone else’s phone up here and get access. Needless to say, I’m using it for a short time and then it’s being turned off again.

Wish me luck!

I had an amazing software idea today.  A plug-in for photoshop that allows multiple people in multiple locations to colaborate on drawings using existing pen tablet hardware.

Who’s gonna help me?

Seriously, when is the last time you cleaned that thing. Nothing quite as touching all over that thing and eating food.

I have a white mac keyboard that you can actually see through. Imagine how gross that thing gets. I just cleaned it and I’m typing on it right now. The reason I cleaned it? The keys were sticking down. In my defense it was as used keyboard so it’s not entirely my fault, but it is my fault it wasn’t cleaned.

I should have done before and after pictures! Stop reading and at least wipe the top down… gross.

One time Rach and I went to a wedding where didn’t know many people, so we sat at a table all by ourselves. Then more people started showing up and these rowdy people (no names to protect identity) sat down and were instantly friendly.

Rach and I are not ones to turn down people of character so we stuck it out. As any good wedding story goes, we had a couple drinks and they had tons. This is good for socialization. But there was one guy in particular who stood out among them. He was a director of operations for a company in Iowa and he said one thing that I’ll never forget and try my hardest to learn from.

He was at a training convention and the presenter said “Everyone’s always trying to work on their weaknesses, and they will always be weaknesses. However, your weakness is someone else’s strength and if they work on it, they will grow exponentially beyond you. For this reason, you should always nurture your strengths and forget your weaknesses.”

I have found this to be true time and time again.