Random thoughts

At the giants game

Definitely not my thing. But at least the view is beautiful.

“The Woman Thing” Part I: Don’t Just Beg Men To Give Us A Chance

On the first point, I don’t want someone to cut me some slack or “give me a chance” just because I’m a woman. I don’t want a hand-out, I don’t want to be patronized. I want to be recognized and respected because of what I’m capable of doing and achieving. If someone wants me on their team strictly because I’m a woman, then there’s probably something amiss in that intention. So don’t patronize me, please.

via catalyses.wordpress.com

I couldn't agree more with this.

Magic number for engaging users in social media = 5. That's down from 9 in IM days.

He noted that at FriendFeed they found that the key to getting users to stick around and keep them using the site was that they had to connect with five friends. Unfortunately, when you’re a startup with not very many users, that’s extremely hard to do (yes, even just five). So FriendFeed implemented all types of logins and email contact lookups to try and help users find friends. The key to FriendFeed’s growth was Facebook Connect, as users were four times more likely to become engaged users if they signed up through that service, he said. In fact, if FriendFeed has continued on as an independent service, “we would have removed all those other signup buttons,” Taylor said. Yes, that includes Twitter and Google.

via techcrunch.com

Shoes!

What's better than being greated by a big Zappos box at the door step when coming home from swimming under the rain?

It's 80 degrees in SF and we are here...

Advance planning doesn't always yield the best weather/activities match.

Learning that Tahoe weather is truly unpredictable

Forecast for today was partly cloudy with 0% chance of precipitation. Instead we get this...now let's hope they're wrong for tomorrow: wouldn't mind skiing on fresh powder and sunny skies.

Ev Williams on entrepreneurship: passion, focus, trial ... and you don't have to be in the valley

I came across a great quote from Ev's keynote at SXSW. It's meant to be his big lesson to other entrepreneurs, but really it works for anyone.

Create something you want to exist in the world. Another is focus. Many people are trying to do a lot of things when they should be doing one thing. You may be wrong with whatever you’re trying out, but you’ll try other things.

A lot of the great companies are now coming from outside Silicon Valley. You don’t have to be there.

Brad Garlinghouse on Aggregating the Inboxes

via techcrunch.com

Interesting to hear Brad's point of view on the future of email, in particular about the need to aggregate the many inboxes in our lives.

You know you're really in Marseille when you see this

The pizza truck. With a real wood burning oven. Best pizza in the world.

Fresh Ricotta in Five Minutes or Less

I'm usually not a fan of extreme "make it yourself" foods such as roasting your own coffee, but this Ricotta recipe looks really dead simple, and it's using ingredients that I always have at home. So this one is a must try.

via www.seriouseats.com

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar or lemon juice

Procedure

1. Line colander with four layers of cheesecloth or 2 layers of food-safe paper towels and set over large bowl. Combine milk, salt, and vinegar or lemon juice in microwave-safe glass 1-quart liquid measure. Microwave on high heat until lightly bubbling around edges, 2 to 4 minutes (milk should register about 165°F on an instant-read thermometer). Remove from microwave, and stir gently for 5 seconds. Milk should separate into solid white curds and translucent liquid whey. If not, microwave for 30 seconds longer. Repeat until fully separated.

2. Using slotted spoon or wire skimmer, transfer curds to prepared colander, cover exposed top with plastic wrap, and allow to drain until desired texture is reached. Store in covered container in refrigerator for up to 5 days.