Disqus - Latest Comments for tmarman

Re: URDB - Most 2465 Pounds Leg Press Repetitions

tmarman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:13:33 -0000

I don't know how to classify this, but I think it's pretty clear that these are not "leg press repetitions". I used to put a bench under a squat rack and lift 800+ lbs several times to get my joints used to heavier weights... but to say that me lifting the weight several inches was the equivalent of a "bench press repetition" would be very silly.

And, to be honest, it doesn't look like many of the reps even move 12"... not that I would consider that a rep anyway.

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

tmarman — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:12:56 -0000

Well, we do live longer. http://nymag.com/news/features/35815/

Re: bijansabet.com | a tumblelog by Bijan Sabet | We are spending a few days in NYC and having a...

bijan — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:25:26 -0000

It is. We are in love with the west side here.

-bijan

---
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bijan

Re: bijansabet.com | a tumblelog by Bijan Sabet | We are spending a few days in NYC and having a...

tmarman — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 05:40:48 -0000

Hudson River Park is awesome... I used to live down in Battery Park City which was really a nice undiscovered gem prior to 9/11 (after which it became very crowded as hordes of tourists walked up from the Statue of Liberty).

Pretty amazing for NYC eh? :)

Re: One word resolution

andyswan — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:34:49 -0000

Cool!

Re: One word resolution

tmarman — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:30:56 -0000

I've been doing this every year for the last few years - setting "themes" for the year instead of specific goals. E.g., "flexibility", "discipline". In those cases, flexibility meant not just improving physical flexibility but also in my work and willingness to, say, try a different kind of food.

It works :)

Re: We Live in Public

tmarman — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:42:01 -0000

Oooh... 9 chars? That's short. I have one that's 11 chars counting the @ and dot. I am pretty proud of that one :)

Re: We Live in Public

tmarman — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:41:20 -0000

It's very generous to say that Scott "tackled" him :)

Re: Founder Dilution - How Much Is "Normal"?

fredwilson — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 08:38:09 -0000

Tim that is pretty normal, but again, there is no "standard" on this one.
It's negotiated a lot.

Re: Founder Dilution - How Much Is "Normal"?

tmarman — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:11:17 -0000

Chris, I think what Fred was saying is that the purpose of these provisions is to protect "dead equity" from a founder who walked vs. punishing a founder for a quick exit.

Our stock purchase agreement says that basically with any "Change of Control" (merger or dissolution) the Repurchase Right goes away (i.e., we are fully vested). I think it's fairly customary to accelerate all vesting .

Re: Truth

fredwilson — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:07:12 -0000

Great comment tim

Re: Truth

tmarman — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 06:55:19 -0000

I attended an intimate presentation by Dave Thomas (of Pragmatic Programmers fame) awhile back called "Herding Racehorses, Racing Sheep". It was a high-level talk on software development, psychology, expertise and generally how to move (yourself and/or others) along the expertise curve.

I've personally never been a big fan of rules and best practices and I thought his discussion really captured why. As I wrote then (http://bit.ly/IC2L):

"Dave asserts that expertise cannot be boiled down to rules because we lose the original context for the rule in the process. This is one of the biggest challenge in artificial intelligence, of course, and a similar problem with best practices. Truth, he says, is contextual - and it's often very difficult to capture the context in these situations. Rather, there are two dials - rules and intuition. As we move along the five stages, we increasingly rely less on rules and more on intuition. The expert rarely uses a recipe.

It should come as no surprise, having attended a liberal arts college, that I agree with and have been preaching most of the points that Dave raised. The whole point of a liberal arts education is learning how to learn and trying to understand something in the greater context."

Like you, I am a firm believer that there is no singular truth. I believe there are absolutely shades of truth, and the only way I can arrive at a conclusion I am happy with is to read as many sides of the story I can and apply my general intuition. I think this applies in both "objective" contexts like a news story and clearly "subjective truths" like best movie, best phone, etc.

I think this is why Boxee, Facebook, blogging and other "social" tools are so interesting - because it's a democratization of opinion. Instead of, as you said, points of authority expressing these opinions, it is everyone. With more opinions out there (whether it's music, points of view on a story, etc), it's easier to build your own view of that subjective truth appropriate for you.

This is also the cornerstone of what started us building Notches (http://notches.org). Blogging may have been the printing press in the context allowing those without technical knowledge to write if so inclined, but there's still a barrier to entry in having, say, my mother write reviews. We want to let a thousand interfaces bloom (including things like voice) to further democratize these opinions. Ultimately, this is the best way to get to a "subjective truth", and make recommendations based on your personal values and beliefs. The question isn't what's "best", but "best for me".

Re: BlueBlog:

tmarman — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:01:57 -0000

Oooooh I want one! XL... or if you happen to have any hats......

On a related note, I like the Blue, works well... not sure I like the yellow and I feel like the blue has a branding effect too...

Re: Your own body: An entrepreneur's most valuable asset

tmarman — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:04:18 -0000

Ha... I can go to Bay Ridge any time, but the problem has been when I'm not working from home and want to go during the day.

I'm not ready to Bic it just yet... I'm going to start with a shave on a 6 or something and work down from there.

Re: Your own body: An entrepreneur's most valuable asset

tmarman — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:58:10 -0000

I find the same thing. A consistent workout routine always makes me feel better and makes me more productive. Unfortunately I didn't sign up for the NYSC Passport, so I can only go to the SoHo gym on off-peak hours, which means I usually miss more than I would like to.

Re: Your own body: An entrepreneur's most valuable asset

ceonyc — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:04:26 -0000

Shave your head and you can borrow my pass to Bay Ridge... see... more
benefits to head shaving!

Re: Viacom to Time Warner: We’ll take Dora, and online episodes too

tmarman — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:25:05 -0000

And I should note: this undoubtedly means my TWC bill is going up again soon, which is ridiculous. My bill is up over 15% for the same exact service in the past 15 months.

Re: Top 10 Records Of 2008

thambone — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:42:15 -0000

Fred, been reading the blog for years -- "first time, long time"

You have to include Black Keys, Attack & Release. great record. also, I would move Consolers of the Lonely up the chart. "How you going to Top Yourself".

Re: Top 10 Records Of 2008

tmarman — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:33:24 -0000

Good list. A few on there are definitely in my top albums, though there are a few I still need to get to.

One album that I've really been enjoying lately is The '59 Sound by Gaslight Anthem (came out in Aug). Have you listened to this at all? Wondering if it made your top 25... I think they sound a lot like Kings of Leon (particularly their latest), but for whatever reason I find myself enjoying this more than KOL.

The one other one I would definitely have to put in my top 10 is Beck - Modern Guilt. I liked TVOTR a lot too, but not sure if that would make the cut.

Re: What Pownce Could Have Been

tmarman — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:49:53 -0000

Not all that surprising considering one of the founders (Kevin Rose) was one of the biggest users of Twitter, and never once mentioned people going to his Pownce page.

Just saying :)

Re: The Universal Record Database The definitive site for human achievement, regardless of discipline or category

tmarman — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:29:25 -0000

My sister's feet are bigger.

Re: The other side of Paul Graham's Coin: Ideas on the kind of VC we'd like to get funded by

JPD — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:28:23 -0000

"While I don't know that the ruthless VCs are necessarily going to go out of business, it's short-sighted for them to be ruthless and "screw over" their entrepreneurs."

You have got to be kidding. I overestimated on 30?
Try googling around. Each of the majors have dealt with multiple lawsuits for exactly that behavior.

"It's simple game theory."

You are correct that it's simple game theory, but it's not yielding the result you'd like.

Look, there is an infinite supply of entrepreneurs with good ideas looking for money. You are ridiculously replaceable. There is a new crop of 20 somethings every year that haven't talked to the last crop. So the VCs would just as soon slit your fucking throat with a smile on their face as long as it turns a profit.

I can't put it any plainer: These guys are NOT your friends. They do NOT want to be "fun" with you (#5 LOL). They DO want you to earn them a big pile of cash and stay the FUCK out of their way. And when they're done with you, you'll be lucky if you have a couple of bucks to your name, you'll even thank 'em for it.

Get it now?

Re: The other side of Paul Graham's Coin: Ideas on the kind of VC we'd like to get funded by

tmarman — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:28:44 -0000

The VC business is a relationship business, much like investment banking. There's a reason that places like GS are always near the top of the league tables - reputation is of the utmost importance there. Mark Davis (an associate at DFJ Gotham who writes a great guide at Get Venture) mentioned this as well. (http://www.markpeterdavis.com/getventure/2008/0...)

There are plenty of VCs out there and many sources of money. While I don't know that the ruthless VCs are necessarily going to go out of business, it's short-sighted for them to be ruthless and "screw over" their entrepreneurs. It's simple game theory. They may win in the short term with bigger gains, but they can be punished on repeated plays. Successful entrepreneurs who had a bad experience with a particular VC will probably go elsewhere for their next company, and with things like TheFunded (and maybe eventually a Notches vertical), word will get around.

The point is that the good companies - and thus the good investments - will have their choice on where to go. So, while they build a reputation through successful investments, their reputation as far as principles, etc is important because it will in part dictate whether they get those deals.

Re: The other side of Paul Graham's Coin: Ideas on the kind of VC we'd like to get funded by

tmarman — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:28:20 -0000

Re: Is there anybody out there? The results of last week's engagement and influence experiment.

ceonyc — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:52:05 -0000

It's all about the marketing. :)