[Sunspots] The astronomy edition

[Sunspots] The astronomy edition 37signals May 02

9 comments Latest by leoyoyo

Never have a limit on your income: “if you make a living only providing an in-person (hands-on) service, you are limiting your income. If you were in a ‘while you sleep’ business, there is no limit to how much you can make.”
Business vs. academia: “In business you learn at a faster rate, and there’s a lack of bureaucracy and better pay. I tell associates you don’t really know bureaucracy until you experience academic institutions.”
Architecture astronauts take over: “Between Microsoft and Google the starting salary for a smart CS grad is inching dangerously close to six figures and these smart kids, the cream of our universities, are working on hopeless and useless architecture astronomy because these companies are like cancers, driven to grow at all cost, even though they can’t think of a single useful thing to build for us, but they need another 3000-4000 comp sci grads next week. And dammit foosball doesn’t play itself.”
Gel 2008 recap: Notes, photos, blog posts, etc. Sample: “All in all I highly recommend Gel for anyone looking to expand your understanding and awareness of what makes a great user experience. Whether it’s visiting a website, making your own food, building a catapult or attending a conference it will open your eyes in a lot of new ways.”
After three decades, Tom Petty reassembles his old band: “At an age when most stars are content to cruise, he seemed thrilled to have a new challenge. ‘Really it makes no sense,’ said Warren Zanes, a musician and educator who edited the oral history companion to ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream.’ ‘It’s completely at odds with the self-mythologizing tendency you see in a lot of rock stars. But Tom Petty is a guy who likes to have fun playing music, and he continues to explore different ways to do that.’...Diarmuid Quinn, chief operating officer of Warner Brothers Records, compared Mr. Petty to unconventional musicians (and label mates) like Neil Young and Jack White. ‘With this kind of artist, you go with their instincts,’ Mr. Quinn said, ‘because they’re usually right.’”
National Small Business of the Year: SnagAJob.com: “A lawyer-turned-entrepreneur was the recipient of the title National Small Business of the Year…Shawn Boyer, the award recipient, started SnagAJob.com in 2000 after a friend asked for help finding a summer internship online. When Boyer noticed the absence of websites geared toward internships or hourly jobs, he researched the business, left his job as a lawyer, found venture capital and started the company. Eight years later, Boyer’s business has grown from just two employees to 110 full-time employees. The company grossed sales of $11 million in 2007.”
Soda can synchronization

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9 comments so far

Hegarty 02 May 08

Love the video on the Metranome.

The same phenomenon (but in Humans) was the reason they had to shut the award winning Millenium Bridge in London because it was wobbling too much.

Short explanation on it here: http://heg.tumblr.com/post/33474557 Long video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQK21572oSU

Paul Souders 02 May 08

Hegarty beat me to it, but this is reason that soldiers fall out of formation when crossing bridges.

John 02 May 08

Good stuff, thanks for the links. Especially like the ideas for musicians to make more money. Some of those are easier said then done, but still good stuff.

GeeIWonder 02 May 08

In fact, the camera (person?) is shaking in time as well.

PG 02 May 08

I was a web designer at SnagAJob while it was around 10 people or so. I pretty loudly championed the idea of hiring 37s to consult on a redesign, back when they were still doing that. I also tried to get people interested in using Basecamp, but that failed as well. Weird seeing them mentioned here.

Chris 03 May 08

The business vs academia argument really depends upon what level you’re at.

In academia, in many ways the lower you are in the pecking order the more freedom you have. Those with more advanced degrees and responsibility tend to be sucked into the bureaucracy.

In business, the closer you are to the top of an organization, the more freedom you have. The lower you are in the pecking order the more likely you are to be bound by rules and corporate policy.

GeeIWonder 03 May 08

@Chris:

Having done both, I could not disagree more with either of your business vs. academia statements. YMMVT .

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