David ex Machina

I've come to realize a thematic principle that repeatedly gets tested throughout one's life. Breadth vs. Depth . The choice between devoting a lot of resources to succeed at a specific thing or spreading out your success across many things. It's a tradeoff that has enormous impact. Whether we realize it or not, everyday is a struggle between these two forces; at every granularity, the principle is tested. Although the principle is simple in retrospect, its analysis and understanding can provide more meaning and direction in life. To clarify the problem, every person has a finite amount of resources to use for an infinite amount of things to do. The goal is to strike the right balance between the number of things to devote yourself to, while maintaining a level of success that keeps you happy. It's still up in the air which approach to life is better. There are many views and examples that can be made for either side, so I will try to provide the pros and cons of both w...

It's hard to imagine how a multi-million dollar advertising campaign can invest so much into a meaningless, disengaging, and uncreative ideas. Yet it happens. The alcoholic beverage industry, in particular, is highly dependent on marketing success since the product is essentially a commodity (for light beer especially). A recent article shows how Dos Equis recently increased sales by 17%, due to its highly popular Most Interesting Man in the World campaign. Every Super Bowl's top rated commercials have been dominated by at least one beer commercial per season. However, I don't recall Miller Lite ever being of the same caliber as Budweiser commercials. The epitome of Miller's ineptitude to create semi-engaging content are the latest set of television ads to come from its company doors. The series of the What Does Greatness Taste Like commercials incite mind-numbing insignificance more than anything else. The concept (if you want to call it that), is someone walking i...

The lessons we should learn. I recently saw the documentary about the Enron scandal, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room . Why? In part, curiosity, just to get a better understanding of what had actually happened. But mainly to see how it stacked up against current events. I was struck by the glaring similarities between then and now, so much so, that I am a little outraged. Here's a quick Enron scandal recap. Enron was an energy company whose executives schemed a system to generate false profits and growth until the company's ultimate downfall in 2001. At the time, it was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. History, somewhere around $63 Billion in assets. It is especially notorious due to many executives cashing out and letting the rest of the company hold the bag. The most responsible executives involved were Kenneth Lay , Founder, former Chairman and CEO and Jeffrey Skilling , former President, CEO and COO. The key thing about Enron's scandal was that the company could no...

“Conquered Data” - Data that is optimally organized and managed according to an overall strategic plan. Caveats: This is not the perfect solution. In fact a perfect solution probably doesn't exist, technology changes so quickly, that a data conquering system must evolve overtime. This is a solution I have come up with to fit my data needs; it might not satisfy yours. Don't think by using this strategy you will have solved all of your data management problems. Part of conquering data requires personal discipline in following the strategy you set forth. I have done my best to make my solution operating system agnostic. I have only tried to solve the problem of managing data, not applications (as these differ widely across operating systems). The system is not meant to be setup in a day. It should take serious thought, effort, and time on your part to get one up and running. Hopefully, I've cleared some of the bigger hurdles. All of the topics I have written about, I have alre...

“Data Conquest” - The act or process of conquering data within an overall strategy or plan. The many reasons and advantages to conquering your data: Data Organization Reduces Digital Disturbances There are myriads of file management activities performed daily that alone are short seconds of inefficiency, but combined together over time cause stress, reduce performance, and hinder proper data management. Here are some examples: Storing and Retrieving a File - Where should I save this downloaded file? The Downloads folder? It's a document so maybe in My Documents? Or how about the Desktop, so I don't have to look for it later? Not only are you wasting time answering these questions for each file you encounter, an inconsistent strategy for organizing your files leads to longer lookup times when searching for one. Cluttered Desktop - Most people solve the problems of an inconsistent organizational strategy from above by picking the most straightforward solution, the desktop. The d...

“Conquering Data” - the path(s) leading to optimally organizing and managing data in a secure and reliable manner Digital organization is a subliminal topic that everyone is aware of but usually never gets attention. As trivial and boring as it may seem, it turns out that the task is not simple and can really impact your life in the digital age. In this three part series I will describe the revelations, reasons, and methods to conquer your data. My Revelation: For years I ignored the safety and organization of my data. Sure I saved a snapshot of my data to an external hard drive every odd number of months ( i.e. whenever I sensed danger). I also stored my documents under the Windows organizational paradigm. But I never really felt at ease when deciding where a downloaded item should be placed. I could never easily find that random file I needed. And I definitely was not confident in my ability to restore my data if I experienced a system failure. The funny thing is that everyone...

I feel like I deserve an award. I've done what is claimed to be impossible by Southwest Airlines, find a hidden fee within their most recent “No Hidden Fees” campaign. I'm usually a big fan of Southwest as they provide a consistent level of service, but the following has made me think twice. Incident: The plan was to take a 1 hour flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco. I got to the airport about an 1 hour and 20 minutes before my scheduled flight time of 8:40pm. I noticed that another Southwest flight left at 8pm, so I figured I would try to get on it. I ask a Southwest service agent if there is room on that flight? Yes. Can I get on that flight? Let me see here...yes but there's a $35 fee. What? I thought Southwest didn't have any hidden fees? The agent gives a smirk that combines the look of come on, do you really believe that? and I don't make the rules around here, then says if your flight is delayed there would be no fee. I grumble back to a chair and s...

I have made a couple of improvements to the blog for your reading pleasure: Improved Commenting System ( Disqus ) Suggestions Tab ( Skribit ) The commenting system is a great enhancement over the standard Blogger framework, and will allow you to use a Facebook  account. Feel free to use the suggestions tab for posts you want written or any other blog inquiries you may have. Take the new features for a test drive as this is the first post fully utilizing them.

If you have been to a movie in the U.S. within the last couple of years, you will probably recognize the following advertisement: The Army, Navy, and Air force, have all had successful advertising campaigns with large budgets. For the U.S. National Guard to broadcast its first commercial (in my recollection) as part of a large campaign is a big step, and you can tell they put a great deal of effort into it. Not only did they get a mainstream band, 3 Doors Down , to write a song, but they even created a mini movie along side it which spans the times of the American Revolutionary War to the present. The large scope of the commercial is the first misstep of the campaign's undertaking, probably from the lack of previous advertising on the National Guard's part, in trying to build up a public image. The thing that bothers me about the commercial is the embellishment and misrepresentation of history for pure recruiting purposes. First of all, the U.S. National Guard was not establi...

If there was ever a god one should pray to, it should be the omnipotent and omniscient god of the economy, universally recognized by the symbol $$$$, referred to by the more colloquial name “Mula” (Moo-La), and head of the religion known as Economism.  Unlike other gods, that primarily care about people's morals and social behavior, Mula solely cares about money. Rather than sit back and passively watch your acts, tallying them up for checkpoints every once in a while, Mula acts in a tangible manner, generating swings in the markets to reflect his feelings. If you have a lot of money, you will most likely be rewarded with more money, if you are greedy, Mula might reward you with opportunities to take advantage of the system. Mula uses the power of inflation and deflation to crush infidels and keep followers in check. When your portfolio is down or your house has been foreclosed, you know you have displeased Mula. And although most gods tolerate other faiths, Mula is not merciful. W...

The current financial crisis has emphasized the deep impact of the economy. Which got me thinking, why do we live in a world where the avarice of a few can have destructive consequences for so many? Our world is controlled and driven by wealth. We have no choice in the matter, since the day we were brought into this world, we were actually bought into it. Everything we do revolves around money, from our first ice cream cone to our education; it is the currency for survival. No matter how we choose to live our lives, we are forced to play by the rules: earning, saving, and spending money so that we still have some left over for tomorrow. As capitalism has spread, there is no place left to go. We simply cannot escape. Don't believe me? For any other aspect in life we have choices. If I don't like oranges, I don't have to eat them. If I don't like my job, I can quit. If I want to leave the neighborhood I can move. If I don't like my country I can emigrate to a differen...

After reading Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat , I felt a sense of wonder and duty. Wonder, in the sense that the world is truly an amazingly connected place with endless possibility. Realizing that we are only at the beginning of this age, wow, I was eagerly awaiting the next technological breakthrough. I started thinking about how our privileged lives have such quick and easy access to information, that I felt a sense of duty to make good use of it. More than just responsibility, however, it is now imperative to take advantage of information in order to succeed. The world is in a much more competitive landscape, where the people who can adapt to and understand information the fastest will be the most successful. Essentially, a meritocratic society where the best idea, innovation, or what-have-you wins. The book gave a realistic, but positive message. What is not in the book, and what I think the world is realizing, is the forces of globalization can be both beneficial and...

I do not believe in "jet lag." I do not buy that "jet lag" can last many days, and that in order to recover you need at least 1 day per time zone traveled. It's another scheme brought to you by the sleep industry. I'm not saying that flying for 18 hours is not going to make you tired, I just think that any effect of a flight can be cured by a good night's sleep, following the landing. I do not agree with the proponents of jet lag, who think a 10 hour flight from Europe to South Africa is shielded from jet lag because no time zone is crossed. I think any 10 hour flight would cause sluggishness wouldn't you? But most importantly, the science of sleep, and circadian rhythms for that matter, is still highly unknown. More things that bother me about the term, is that the wikipedia entry for "jet lag" is suspiciously small, maybe because it is a farce and there isn't enough proof! I think many people experience "jet lag" because t...

There has been some confusion surrounding the name of my blog? The purpose of this post is to settle all current and future rumors regarding the title "David ex Machina" once and for all.  Let me start by explaining the difficulty in choosing the name for a blog, or any website for that matter. It's hard. Ever heard the quote: "There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt." -Audre Lorde Well for the most part, it's true, and the best practical example of this is trying to register a domain on the web. I mean there's an entire business behind " domaining ," the business of buying and selling names on the internet, most easily appreciated by the sale of "sex.com" for $14 Million ( article )! There are a couple of ways around this however: actually come up with a new idea, be clever at rearranging words for your needs that still get the same message across (i.e. Digg ), or just take an ego hit and buy one.  I tri...

One of the things that bothers me the most about the holiday season is the advertising blitz that engulfs you the minute Thanksgiving rolls around the corner. Right after we spend a day being "thankful," we immediately get pestered into going on a spending spree, gleefully awaiting reciprocal presents from our friends and family. Like clockwork, the same old holiday songs takeover the airwaves, festive lights are dangerously hung , and your favorite TV shows are on hold. This holiday commercialization rant is not new, and I think The Simpsons "Trash of the Titans" episode sums it up the best. However, just because it's the holidays doesn't mean you can get away with annoying, meaningless commercials. The one that got to me this holiday season was Walmart's "Carol of the Bells" advertisement (embedded from whereschristmas ), take a look:  Now this seemingly innocuous video might seem harmless at first, but after watching it a few times I reali...

I've decided to have a "column" of posts under the tag of " ad nauseam ." The motivation behind the column is to analyze and/or criticize the modern world of marketing. Advertisements are becoming the most ubiquitous things on the planet , hence the label. It is essentially impossible to go through a full day without encountering some form of branding or advertisement (if you have please let me know). Email alone is over 90% spam . Google would not be in business without ad revenue ( 98.91% of all its revenue in 2007), and that goes for any other web businesses that rely on AdSense -like programs. Whether we like it or not advertising has an enormous impact on our lives.  With so much money riding on the marketing industry, I started wondering why there could be so many awful advertisements out there. I mean, people are being paid to make commercials that are purposely difficult to unstick from your head. It's amazing that such a large industry can exist ...