Author: jonathan

“You know Jonathan, they invented the word ‘stop.'”

Billy Hearst knew how to live!

Looking at this view (Russian Hill, San Francisco), I have been thinking about what makes things beautiful and how great achievements are built.

By definition, anything that is built monolithically top-down must be built by one man. He can use technology to build something bigger than what any individual has built before, and that itself can be called great. His work can be such a pure form of profound self-expression that it resonates with people, and that can be called beauty.

However, as soon as a project requires more than one person, it inherently becomes a bottoms-up collaboration, even if there is a clearly defined leader. Every human being is a rationale actor, even a slave can ultimately choose punishment over servitude. A leader can co-opt others by aligning their interests with his, through coercion, incentive, or reason, to create the appearance of top-down. But each individual contributor is constantly deciding whether or not to follow orders and their abilities and willingness to execute those orders are unique. When a collaboration produces something great, it is a testament to the leader’s ability to choose and motivate the contributors. When it produces beauty, it is because the self-expression of the contributors has shown through.

So, what I guess I am trying to say is that you can’t have your cake and eat it too: there is an inherent trade-off between the scope of a project and a leader’s ability to control it.

The Sunset Junction street fair is pretty sweet (if a bit warm) and has some solid live music and a great vibe. I’m not really sure what to call the kind of rock that  Something For Rockets (shown) plays (there are so many new-fangled adjectives for rock music nowadays, it’s hard to keep track), but they’re pretty good and  they have some cute 16 year old groupies ;-). I also liked Weapon of Choice, who had much more of a new-wave funk thing going (think Prince and the Revolution without the looks). Ian recommended Gravy Train!!!, which was an awesomely energetic show, only enhanced by the random guy in the hula skirt dancing on the roof of a nearby building. Gravy Train!!!’s music is definitely an acquired taste and I’m kinda glad that it was an outdoor show, because I’m not too sure I would want to be stuck in a confined space with some of their fans (I’m just sayin’…), but I had a good time. The last band I watched was The Walkmen, which was by far the best known of the day. They were definitely energetic, but I did find their set to be a bit anti-climatic (maybe it was just the beer wearing off and the dehydration kicking in).

One thing that struck me was the number of teenagers braving the heat to check out these no-name bands and really getting into the shows, which gives me hope for our American Idol/Top 40 entertainment culture (of course, then I see The Bravery doing a Saturn commercial on the VMA pre-show).  Anyway, it was a great day…and it reminded me that I don’t see nearly enough live music. So, if you know of any good unknown bands (I much prefer small shows) playing in LA or the Bay Area, lmk.

Toby, eat your heart out.

I kinda regret not finishing my minor in photography.

I can finally talk about my job, since the cat is now out of the bag on my boss.

I first posted about my new job cryptically back in May. That was the day that I officially accepted the offer. At first, there was a certain amount of (painful) discretion required even inside Yahoo!. And, it was a great relief when I could finally share my excitement with my co-workers. Now, I am similarly excited that I can finally share some details of my new job with my firends outside of Yahoo!.

I am working for Marco Boerries, SVP of Connected Life Services, who has responsibility for Yahoo!’s efforts in mobile, broadband, PC clients, and the digital home. Before starting his last company, Marco was an executive at Sun Microsystems, where they have a position called “Executive Assistant.” It is basically an apprenticeship concept, where senior executives pick a more junior employee to be a personal aide for a finite period. When he took his new job at Yahoo!, Marco asked me to be his EA for a year. Since that job doesn’t really exist at Yahoo!, the title thing has been a bit annoying to explain. My official title is currently “Manager of Business Operations,” but I’m sometimes referred to as “Marco’s Bitch” and my personal title on Backyard  (Yahoo!’s intranet) is  currently “Special Deputy Special Assistant” (formerly “Free Safety, Team Connected Life”).

But, I don’t really care what I’m called, because my job is pretty f’ing cool.

Impromptu pub crawls are kids’ stuff compared to impromptu Vegas trips. And, great friends more than make up for being a bad gambler. Thanks Mr. & Mrs. Franks!

Next up: Impromptu East Coast Tour!

The Corp Dev team prepares for a due diligence trip on a potential lunar acquisition.

More here.

But seriously folks, these are some hard-working Yahoos. Thanks guys for allowing me to crash your well-deserved day of fun.

Thomas Smith, Paranormal Investigator.