I’m a Christmas music junkie. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I listen to a steady stream of Christmas music. I’m sure it drives my family crazy, but I can’t help it. It’s the only month of the year where you get to play these songs.
I have a long list of favorites, but here is an attempt to narrow it down to my top 50. The result is a mix of classics, jazz, modern pop, and a couple of offbeats. It wasn’t easy, but here goes.
I’ll admit that I’m a NASCAR fan. I’ve been watching races for over 30 years. People say it’s boring watching cars drive in circles, but there’s something about the technical aspect and competition of the racing that intrigues me. It’s also amazing to watch how the drivers can handle the cars. Those guys have serious skills.
Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of the playoff system that NASCAR used this year to determine its champion. I was never a big fan of the original Chase concept, but I tolerated it. The new playoff system has made it worse. Playoffs are not the way you crown a racing champion.
If you frequent this blog, you will notice a minor change in the look of the individual posts. I’ve changed the way comments are handled.
“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.”
-Mark Twain
I’ve read a number of non-fiction books, and a few have lived up to Twain’s quote. Most notable are Charlie Wilson’s War about the Afghan conflict in the 1980’s and The Money and the Power about the history and emergence of Las Vegas.
My latest non-fiction read, Hatching Twitter by Nick Bilton is another “truth is stranger than fiction” account of the founding and growth of Twitter.
Streaming music has went through some controversy during the first half of this month. It started when Taylor Swift pulled her latest album from Spotify, saying she didn’t want to participate in a “grand experiment” that didn’t properly value her music. She went on to further clarify her position in an interview with Time magazine. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek responded in a blog post saying that artists are being paid fairly by the service. My daughter also chimed in with an interesting college student point of view.
Both sides have valid arguments, but in my opinion, streaming is here to stay. I find it a great way to discover new music and rediscover old favorites. I also use it as a modern day version of the radio, often putting playlists or “stations” on in the background while working or doing things around the house. I have a streaming station on as I write this blog post.
It was always good to do a little reflection as you complete another year of life.
Personally, this past year has been great. The family and I have been healthy. My oldest completed her first year at school away from home successfully. My son graduated high school and went away to school. To be honest, any problems I’ve dealt have been of the “first world” variety. To say I’ve been incredibly blessed is an understatement.
On the business side, it’s been a little bit of a rough one. I was pretty excited coming into 2014. We had generated momentum over 2013 that I wanted to build upon through 2015. It felt like we had finally turned the corner, and I was expecting a big year. It all changed in mid-January.
Our biggest customer decided to move in a different direction without giving notice. I was frustrated. I was disappointed. I was upset. I wasn’t sure the business that I invested eight years building would survive. Out of that tough situation I learned a valuable lesson, the importance of friends.
Two current darlings of the tech industry are Uber and Airbnb. For those unfamiliar with these companies, Uber is a ride-sharing service that provides drivers with an application that allows them to use their personal vehicles to provide rides to passengers who use the Uber app. Airbnb allows people to provide rooms within their house, or entire properties, for rent to individuals who can book these rooms over the internet or through the Airbnb mobile app. In the past year, both companies have raised massive amounts of financing that have valued the companies at well over $10B.
I question whether these companies are really pursuing innovation or whether they are making money by exploiting loopholes in the regulatory system.
Almost one year ago, I read Mark Russinovich’s first novel, Zero Day. Even though it didn’t make my Must Read list, it was a strong enough first effort that I put his second novel, Trojan Horse, on my 2014 reading list. I finally finished it earlier this month.
Trojan Horse features the chief protagonists from Zero Day – Jeff Aiken and Daryl Haugen, so it can be considered a sequel. In the second installment, they are once again called in to identify and fix damage that has been inflicted by a virus of unknown origin. Through his debugging efforts, Aiken begins to trace the virus back to state governments, first in Iran and then China. He calls in his girlfriend Daryl to help, and their involvement ends up putting them in the middle of a state sponsored international espionage plot.
For not being that into TED talks, I saw another one recently that features an interview with Elon Musk. It’s worth the 20 minutes to hear him talk about the big ideas he’s pursuing related to electric cars (Tesla motors), solar energy (Solar City), and space exploration (Space X).
He impresses me, and here’s why.