Interesting point of view. Dindit, there’s more to this world than iPhone and Android.
Source: j0ejack
First time I’ve met Russ it was at this coffee shop in Ratu Plaza, I think he had an office setup in the high-rise next door at the time. I was introduced to his wife a few weeks before the occasion, and she was extremely kind to bring me along when he asked her to meet. First impressions? White guy about my height, and not very talkative.
I ended up working with Wahyu, Russ’s wife, on various endeavors spanning a couple of years, and continue running into him from time to time. The one thing that impresses me the most is how he sticks to his habits and principles. He sleeps and wakes at the same time, works out for 1-2 hours at about 2 PM, have a round of beers at 6 PM, every single day. I drank 90% of my share of beers in my lifetime, up until this writing, with him. He absorbed books like a black hole. He gets up at 3 am to fish. He was honest to a fault. He said no to most job or project offers, yet managed to accomplish far more during the 2 years we’ve known each other than myself, who says yes all the time. He even admonished me to disregard Wahyu’s orders if they go against the law or my principles. I got a real big chuckle out of that one.
After my work with Wahyu down-geared, I had the good fortune to work on a few projects with Russ. Whenever we had a chance to sit together and work in front of our respective computers, whenever we finish I was always traumatized by how much more work he has accomplished, because he focuses on one thing the whole time, while I lack the self-regulation necessary to overlook impulses and distractions.
I am in the process of structuring my life the way Russ does his, namely instilling habits such as learning Japanese kanji characters, being grateful, doing push-ups and other calisthenics, write down ideas, reviewing and updating my to-do list, DAILY. All things that I’ve long known are good, but have not until I met him been inspired to do them daily. And work on my focus and self-control skills.
Those are his greatest gifts to me. I am immensely grateful that I have a chance to know this wonderful yet humble man. I treasure every interaction I’ve had with him.
Somebody pepper sprayed like 20 people—including a ton of kids. There’s something to be said for unmasking the violence inherent in the system. As Americans, we have access to cheap stuff secured through the occasionally-violent exploitation of other people’s labor. But it’s not quite cheap enough. So we’ve made a virtual holiday of trying to get things we don’t need for a few bucks cheaper than the person next to us.
Thanksgiving is a one of our better ideas. We, theoretically, reflect on how fortunate we are to have what we have. The day after Thanksgiving would be a great day to start thinking how we might start addressing wrongs perpetuated on anybody trampled in the process of putting together the comfort and security we are so thankful for. Instead, we’ve turned it into a symbolic date for acquiring shinier objects in anticipation of how we can best miss the point of our next major holiday. Perhaps worse, it infects Thanksgiving itself, turning the holiday into, effectively, a paean to culinary gluttony in preparation for commercial gluttony.
Gross? Gross doesn’t go nearly far enough. Look. I understand people have their things. I’d rather not get too judgmental about other peoples hobbies, fetishes, or extreme sports. But … I find Black Friday acutely depressing. I can’t even summon the energy to give a wit about about that reactionary-protest-of-dubious-usefulness, Buy Nothing Day.
(via squashed)
