rands

10 Things I Love & Why

AirPods Pro. First, I told myself I’d only include one Apple product on this list, and this is it. Here’s how to sell this product to your friends. First, show them how to properly insert them in their ears (many folks do this incorrectly) and then have them turn on noise cancellation. Boom. Rapha Merino… more

November 25, 2022

The Quest for Interesting X

The almost immediate challenge with the introduction of the Internet presented was, “How do I find X?” Now, the actual first challenge was, “I wonder if X exists in this new world,” but that’s still “How do I find X?” This quest made search services the killer app of the Internet. AltaVista was a thing… more

November 22, 2022 2 Comments

The Goldberg

The Rands “R” started many years ago as this: I’ve been toying with branding, design, color, and other marketing elements for the site for years. I remember spending a couple of weekends trying to get a good picture of the weave of my favorite beanie as background for the site. That’d didn’t go well. I… more

November 19, 2022

The Seven Levels of Busy

Level 1: NOT BUSY My schedule is wide open. I can choose infinite paths. Zero commitments. The weekend. I sleep like a baby. Life is good, but am I living my best life? Level 2: STUFF TO DO I have a few commitments wandering around my brain. They are reasonable, knowable, and not deadline-based. I… more

November 9, 2022 21 Comments

Better, Faster, and More

I’m rewriting The Business for the next book. This piece is almost 15 years old, much has changed in negotiating an offer letter, and I have more advice on how to analyze those offers. So much advice that I am idea paralyzed™ trying to rewrite this piece. So, this is just a section of the… more

October 30, 2022 2 Comments

The One About Privacy

Our 61st episode discusses privacy on the Internet: why we need more education, how much your data is worth, and what parts of privacy need to change.  Enjoy it now or download for later. Here’s a handy feed or subscribe via Overcast or iTunes. https://traffic.libsyn.com/rands/theimportantthing0061.mp3

October 15, 2022

The One About Jury Duty

In our 60th episode, we talk about the ins and outs of jury duty. Enjoy it now or download for later. Here’s a handy feed or subscribe via Overcast or iTunes. https://traffic.libsyn.com/rands/theimportantthing0060.mp3

October 9, 2022

The One About Mice

In our 59th episode, we discuss why when you need to use the mice, there is a good chance you are failing. Enjoy it now or download for later. Here’s a handy feed or subscribe via Overcast or iTunes. https://traffic.libsyn.com/rands/theimportantthing0059.mp3

October 1, 2022

The Coach and the Fixer

For this piece, I am going to simplify management a bit. Let us assume there are three different hats you wear as a manager. They are: the Leader, the Fixer, and the Coach. I will briefly explain each role and then explain how I’ve screwed up each. I’m going in reverse order because I’m building… more

September 26, 2022 4 Comments