Corpus Christi from Above

Pretty water everywhere.

A quick update

I’ve been swamped lately, and outside of the bare essentials (family, work, exercise, sleep), I’ve let my life fall to shambles.

I’m going to try to get back on top of things starting this weekend.  So wanted to update the blog briefly.

1. A completely rebuilt Swivel Business launched last week.  I’m proud of the work the team has put into it.  It has not been easy, and there is still a long way to go, but I believe this product is a solid stake in the ground.
2. I’ve been training for a triathlon.  I’m not sure which one, but I have been swimming, biking and running 6 days a week.
3. I’m running The Relay in early May.
4. I was recently at P-Camp ‘09, and unconference for Product Managers.
5. Visnu, Brent, Huned and I participated in Rails Rumble in October.  We built Gentrifire, which came in 29th, but got good press.
6. I’ve consolidated the best blog posts from Attemptry into this blog.  It was too hard to maintain two blogs.

As part of the blog consolidation, I reviewed a number of old posts.  It’s amazing how much reading and thinking I was doing last year.  Especially in relation to how little I am doing right now.  I just haven’t seemed to have had time.

Hopefully, I can get my life to balance a bit better and begin to write more interesting posts again.

How to Launch Web Software

I keep coming back to Aaron Swartz’s thought piece about how to launch Web software.

The dialog in the comments below the post contains as much valid insight as the post itself.

The general, logical, consensus from the discussion is:

1. Invitation only soft launches are good from an engineering perspective. They let you test your product in a friendly environment and help you ensure that it’s stable and ready for the big time.
2. When your product is ready for the big time, then you can do a Hollywood style launch that builds up a bunch of buzz and gets people excited.

The Freewheel Bike Shop

The Freewheel Bike Shop in Hayes Valley was recommended to me as a place to get my bike fixed.  Ask for Travis.  Also recommended, Roaring Mouse.

1522 Clay

Saw 1522 Clay St today.  This is the view from the roof. Owner gets the rights to add a private deck.

P-Camp ‘09

Headed to P-Camp ‘09 tomorrow.  Let me know if you’re going to be there too.

Lake view

Wish I could wrap this up and bring it home with me.

Smart Skiing

Not sure if this is right or wrong.

Snow!

Yay!

Fell off my bicycle

I had a little accident on my way to a triathlon training ride yesterday morning.

I lost traction while trying to slow down going down a steep, wet hill.  I hit the guardrail next to the road, was thrown off my bike, and over the rail.

A number of nice nearby onlookers saw the spectacle, rushed over, and called the paramedics.  The fall obviously looked more impressive than it ended up being: after the paramedics arrived I was able to get up and walk around.  The paramedics were impressed how much worse it could have been.

I was lucky that my helmet and backpack (with running shoes in it) provided padding for much of my body.  Also, I credit years of wakeboarding and snowboarding for teaching me how to fall.  Tuck and roll, don’t stick out arms or catch wrists.

While I wasn’t in extraordinary pain after the fall, I thought a trip to the ER was probably a good idea.

At the ER, I got my wounds cleaned and a tetanus shot.  The doctor x-rayed my hand and found I had fractured my finger.  So my finger was splinted and I now need to see a specialist to rehabilitate it properly.

I got to keep a digital copy of the x-rays, so I thought I’d share them here.

Hand X-Ray 1

Hand X-Ray 2

Hand X-Ray 3