Great by Choice
Another book I’m looking to get. Good to Great was, well, great, so I’m hoping for a magical repeat with Great by Choice.
Buy this along with Steve Jobs’ autobiography and get free shipping from Amazon.
Tasha Kobashigawa Is Still Flying
A chance encounter. Standing in line at the Honolulu International Airport, waiting to depart to LAX. I turn around and see a face, a familiar face. Same but different. Then it hits me:
It’s none other than former-KITV-news-anchor-turned-pilot Tasha Kobashigawa. Although she wasn’t piloting this United flight, it appeared she was on her way to meet up with another flight. Yes, Tasha Kobashigawa is still flying.
Free Trip to Japan Anyone?
How about this use of social media to win back travelers to Japan? Japan’s Tourism Agency is asking for a billion yen to pay for the airfare of bloggers and social media influencers to visit the land of the rising sun beset by problem after problem.
To qualify, you have to outline your travel plans and what you hope to get out of your (free) trip. You still have to pay for lodging and food, and of course, you need to document your experiences online.
This, indeed, is an interesting proposition, but the Yahoo article doesn’t make it very appealing saying this:
The number of foreign visitors to Japan has dropped drastically, since a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Power plant in March. Nearly 20,000 people have been confirmed dead, while more than 80,000 remain displaced because of radiation concerns.
Umm, yeah, that’s definitely a killjoy. You going?
New on My Playlist
What’s playing on your iPod? Here’s a list of my most recent musical additions.
- Whirring – The Joy Formidable. Â Identified this song on the radio using SoundTracking. Â What can I say? This song sounds happy.
- It Will Rain – Bruno Mars. Â More music from the Twilight saga.
- Physical – Olivia Newton-John. Â It was her birthday, the iTunes Genius recommended this song, I had a buck to spare, and I wanted to hear my body talk.
- Paradise – Coldplay. Â These guys keep cranking out the hits.
- We Saw – Bobby. Â Once in awhile, the freebies from iTunes are gems. Â This is one of them.
- In the Dark – Dev. Â You can’t deny the hook is catchy, “I got a sex drive that’s push to start.”
- Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People. Â Is it only me that envisions this when I hear the song title?
Steve Jobs. The Book.
In this digital age of the iPhone, iPad, iBooks, and even the Kindle, owning a printed copy of the authorized Steve Jobs autobiography seems like the best way of holding on to this icon.
Even at 656 pages, it’s all about Steve. Read the description:
Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, and when societies around the world are trying to build digital-age economies, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering.
Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control over what was written nor even the right to read it before it was published. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against. His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted.
Driven by demons, Jobs could drive those around him to fury and despair. But his personality and products were interrelated, just as Apple’s hardware and software tended to be, as if part of an integrated system. His tale is instructive and cautionary, filled with lessons about innovation, character, leadership, and values.
Pre-order your copy
This Is Sewius – iPhone 4S and Siri Assistant
Whoa, now this is sewius! The new iPhone 4S integrated with Siri’s Assistant.
Goodies at Costco
Spotted these goodies at Costco recently.
Hansgrohe Talis E Faucet
The kitchen Allegro E faucet is still available, and now you can have the Talis E in the bathroom.
Street Tacos
It’s now official. Food truck fare is mainstream with Costco offering Korean street tacos in bulk.
Id, Ego, and Super-ego Unchecked and Unbalanced
I’m not talking about the Id, Ego, and Super-ego of social media, but the psychological model widely adopted. Being tired and fatigued over for the past few days, I’ve been finding it harder and harder to keep my id, ego, and super-ego impulses in check.
This imbalance makes for some interesting situations at work.
Get Schweddy Balls in Hawaii!
The search for Ben & Jerry’s Schweddy Balls in Hawaii is joyfully over. Go to the Ben & Jerry’s location in Windward Mall and sample yourself some Schweddy Balls. Are malt balls loaded with fudge really that delicious? Find out for yourself at the mall that cares.
As a missionary for Schweddy Balls, I’m sure @abaggy will soon enough sample the Schweddy and provide a lick-by-lick review for the pulpy fans. Until then, I am told that this ice cream is “surprisingly good” by an actual taster of Schweddy Balls.
I Have a Weak Mind and a Buck to Spare
First it was Bertolli’s frozen pasta dinners then it was getting Fergilicious, and my mind grows weaker still.
This time with a buck to spare, I succumbed to the iTunes Genius musical recommendation of Olivia Newton-John’s Physical. Yes, I now own the song that wants to hear my body talk.
Happy Birthday, Oliva Newton-John!
Bruno Mars in Twilight’s Breaking Dawn
…the soundtrack that is. MTV revealed the complete soundtrack from the upcoming Breaking Dawn installment, and Hawaii’s own Bruno Mars sings for the Twilight saga.
On November 8, you can listen to the soundtrack that includes:
- The Joy Formidable, “Endtapes”
- Angus & Julia Stone, “Love Will Take You”
- Bruno Mars, “It Will Rain”
- Sleeping at Last, “Turning Page”
- The Features, “From Now On”
- Christina Perri, “A Thousand Years”
- Theophilus London, “Neighbors”
- The Belle Brigade, “I Didn’t Mean It”
- Noisettes, “Sister Rosetta (2011 version)”
- Cider Sky, “Northern Lights”
- Iron & Wine, “Flightless Bird, American Mouth (Wedding Version)”
- Imperial Mammoth “Requiem On Water”
- Aqualung & Lucy Schwartz, “Cold”
- Mia Maestro, “Llovera”
- Carter Burwell, “Love Death Birth”