Wasting time and being inefficient are the way to discovery. The Web is being run by 20-year-olds because they can afford to waste the 50 hours it takes to become proficient in exploring the Web. While 40-year-old boomers can’t take a vacation without thinking how they’ll justify the trip as being productive in some sense, the young can follow hunches and create seemingly mindless novelties on the Web without worrying about whether they are being efficient. Out of these inefficient tinkerings will come the future.

Everything we know about productivity and what it is to be productive seems wrong. Ideas are the currency of the future. Measuring them by the metrics of the past is only holding us back.

I spotted this bird nest on the ground in one of our planters in the front yard last week. The birds appear to be some variety of sandpiper that is common out where we live. They lay these cool blue/grey spotted eggs in nests on the ground.

A few days later I noticed that two of the three eggs had hatched revealing these tiny little birds. In the pictures you can see how well they blend in with the surrounding cypress mulch and pine bark.

Much to my surprise, when I went to check on the birds the next day the third egg was gone and so were the babies. It turns out they were already capable of walking, as I spotted 3 miniature versions of the parents skimming along the ground behind them. I’ll try to get pictures, but they are quick and weary of people. In fact, it is interesting that to protect the nest, the parents will get really loud flop around on the ground as if wounded in order to attract attention away from the nest.

Interesting stuff.

This statement strikes me as the sort of thing that we will look back on in hilarity in few short years. I’m posting it just for that occasion.

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Four jobs I’ve had

1. Retail sales floor at Target Store #841
2. Bank Teller for Bank of America
3. Graphic Designer
4. Creative Director for ElementFusion

Four movies I can watch over and over

1. Dazed & Confused
2. Hero
3. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
4. Spirited Away

Four places I’ve lived

1. Milwaukee, WI
2. Tucson, AZ
3. Portland, OR
4. Edmond, OK

Four TV shows I love

1. The Office
2. 24
3. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
4. X-Play

Four places I’ve vacationed

1. Branson, MO
2. Yellowstone National Park
3. Disneyland
4. Green Bay, WI

Four of my favorite dishes

1. Lamb Curry at Taj India Cuisine
2. Box Lunch at Tokyo Japanese Restaurant
3. Grandma Tony’s Pizza
4. Sanchez Burrito Company

Four sites I visit daily

1. Engadget
2. My Yahoo
3. Dooce
4. Digg

Four places I would rather be right now

1. On the couch playing xbox.
2. In bed with a book.
3. Playing with the kids.
4. Somewhere I’ve never been before.

Four bloggers I am tagging

1. Radical Wacko
2. Solargarlic
3. Fiftymillimeter
4. Petrorabbit

]]> http://www.jasonzimdars.com/blog/2006/01/25/four-things/feed/ 0 http://www.jasonzimdars.com/blog/2005/03/09/solargarlic/ http://www.jasonzimdars.com/blog/2005/03/09/solargarlic/#comments Wed, 09 Mar 2005 13:11:43 +0000 JZ http://www.thinkcage.com/blog/?p=23 Dave over at solargarlic.com has finally launched his blog. For those interested, he promises to share some of his upcoming work on a standards redesign of his company’s website and some new work in the podcasting arena. Yay solar!

I also found this blog post interesting: Why I didn’t buy a hybrid car

The socially responsible green part of me is completely intrigued by the new gas-electric hybrid vehicles, particularly those by Toyota and Honda. By combining a gas and electric motor, these cars are more efficient, quieter, produce fewer harmful emissions, and use less gas. The engineering is particularly fascinating as the car’s gas engine and physical forces such as braking are channelled into the charging system for the electric motor’s batteries.

But claims of unreal gas mileage performance have given way to real-world tests. See, the biggest appeal of hybrid cars is the gas savings. Claims of 40, 50, or even 60 miles per gallon have been tossed around in recent months. But even that is not enough as the potential savings doesn’t even justify the premium in price that has cars such as Honda’s Civic Hybrid selling for several thousand dollars more than a comparably-equipped gasoline Civic. What is worse, is Several recent articles have put these cars to real-world tests showing that maybe they make even less financial sense than was previously thought.

I’m as green as the next guy and certainly want to do my part, but gas-electric hybrids aren’t cutting it for me just yet. Not only do they require the buyer to make many trade-offs in terms of option packages (the Prius’ very interesting bluetooth support notwithstanding), power, and overall appeal. They cost more and are in such demand right now that you can’t go see one or test drive one at a local dealership with many dealers reporting multi-month waiting lists to pay MSRP or more for a car sight-unseen that may not be all they claim in the first place.

I am will be truly happy when cars are less harmful and rely less on fossil fuels, but 2004 does not appear to be the year that happens.

I have been test-driving other vehicles like a madman, I hope to update soon.

Yes, I am nearly thirty years old and I still have my first car. I have driven my 1987 Toyota Tercel DX 3 door for 11 years now, every day. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing fancy about it. The clear-coat is peeling, but the interior is in great shape. It has virtually no power, crank windows, no heat, no AC…but it still gets 30 miles to the gallon and never lets me down. My dad bought me this car when I was a senior in high school in 1993. I have had it longer than my wife and kids, longer than my house, longer than my job, and even longer than I’ve lived in Oklahoma. It certainly has its shortcomings in a range of categories but like an old friend, I know it completely. I know every quirk, every sound; the feel, the smell. It burns oil as I leave for work each morning in a puff of smoke and when its cold the speedometer freaks out and buries itself even if I am only going 35MPH.

So, despite the prospect of a new model, it is with mixed emotions that I leave this friend behind. I have a short list of cars that I am interested in. I will most likely buy new as I intend to keep the next car for a similarly matrimonial period of time. The process is in full swing now as I have been poking, researching, and test-driving. I am a little behind on this blog, but I plan to detail my process and progress in this exciting search in the coming weeks (or maybe months). I would love to hear everyone’s car buying tips and experiences.