Doing business differently—and succeeding

Mission in a Bottleby Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff, co-founders of Honest Tea. This is another in a series of very interesting books I learned about by listening to Dan Pink’s interviews in his podcast “Office Hours” series. Dan puts it well: “Seth and Barry have crafted a rich and compelling story and told it with the perfect blend of inspiration and humility. For anybody who has started a business—especially those considering an entrepreneurial path Mission in a Bottle is a must read.”

One of the many cool things about the book is it is written in comic book form.

Signs of the Times

I was in CVS Pharmacy picking up my meds and saw these two signs. I couldn’t shake them from my memory and had to go back another day to snap pictures. The way the exit sign is labelled makes me wonder, is it an exit, or not an exit?

What interested me most, though, was whether I could really get my money back if I buy a beauty product and it doesn’t actually make me beautiful.

Has anyone ever tried to get their money back? If you've done it, please let me know how it turned out.

How to boost your wifi signal for a few pennies

I was just about to succumb to one-click purchasing an antenna upgrade for my wifi router to boost reception to the far end of the my house, when I came across a simple DIY project to build parabolic reflectors instead. It took about 15 minutes to do, was fun, saved about $40, and ended up working pretty well. Check out the template and video with Patrick Norton where he explains what to do.

Throw Down Your Heart

Just watched Bela Fleck’s DVD, “Throw Down Your Heart“. Lots of good music. Q: How do you I know when it’s good music? A: When it gets my mind bubbling and wanting to create something lovely. Some concerts, especially with loads of subwoofers and repetitive thumping bass are depressing for me, they make my brain slow down. On the other hand, music (especially live performances) from Bela, Bobby McFerrin, Pat Metheny, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Conlon Nancarrow, and others makes me want to make something, or give my wife a hug. Good news: Bela, Zakir Hussain, and Edgar Meyer are coming to my neighborhood next week to give a masterclass. What a lovely treat!

Pianos for Left Handers

João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim

I found a video of Tom Jobim that evidently had the video reverse somehow, so that his left hand was playing the melody in the upper register. I commented on it on YouTube and got a reply, that there is a company in Germany (Gezo Losa) that makes pianos for left handers.

Check out the interviews with the company, and the teenagers who are learning to play reversed pianos: Pianos for left-handers. Could someone please explain to me why this is not crazy?

I think I may make a movie where I demonstrate a new piano that I pretend to have developed, supposedly updating a design from which a few instruments were built in the 1940′s. Show Erroll Garner playing it (it was easier for him to switch because he was ambi-dextrose). The footage would just be reversed, no need to actually construct an instrument.

Hermeto Pascoal, musical genius

Hermeto is a Brazilian albino multi-instrumentalist wizard. Trying to find a source to purchase his DVD “Chimarrao Com Rapadura” which he made in 2006 with Aline Morena. In the meantime, check out the clip on YouTube. Be sure to stay until the end to the bits with battery-powered animals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwRPP2KM7RQ

Learn to play Brazilian Piano

Brazilian Piano: Choro, Samba, and Bossa Nova. A method book and play along CD helping keyboard players and other musicians improve their feel in playing Brazilian music.

For more information, visit http://brazilianpiano.com

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