I could tell you what he does, but I’ll let him and his project speak for themselves. Khan Academy.

(On a side note, Vimeo is vastly superior to YouTube in all ways except traffic base. I would absolutely use it more for my own videos if I could draw as much video search traffic to them.)

Sal Khan at Gel 2010 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

So rather than working harder and powering through, I went for a bike ride.

And I felt guilty – for about 10 minutes. After that, I got into a flow while riding, and then physical exertion somehow freed up my mind, and suddenly I wasn’t worried about things anymore. In fact, inspiration suddenly flooded into me and the creative part of my mind started racing and serving up more ideas than I could keep track of.

I came back from my ride refreshed, energized, and cranked out a couple hours worth of solid work.

So yeah, that’s my happy thought for the day.

1. Reading those posts from “important” blogs in your RSS feed. I understand. I do it all the time, and it’s a great way to start my morning. It feels like I’m really assimilating some useful thoughts and information. But if you’re just clicking on article titles that sound interesting, and aren’t reading any sort of targeted information or doing research for your own writing then – sorry to tell you – you’re just killing time.

2. Making Lists. Stop. Ok, really, Just stop. I know it feels good to cross stuff off of a list, but here’s a thought: pick out what is most important to do. What one thing, if you finished it today, or worked on it for 3-4 hours, would give you the most bang for your buck? Do that. And, no, it’s not hard to figure out. It’s what keeps nagging at you. Yeah, that thing. Get it done. Trust me, you’ll feel better for having done it.

3. Twitter. See item #1 above. Useful in small doses or for targeted uses. A great, wonderful service. Yes, you can connect with people. Yes, you can find some great information. Yes, you can get addicted. ‘Nuff said.

4. Keeping up on the news. Alright, I will admit that being up to date with current events is great for bar chat, for cocktail parties, or for sales-type folks who need fresh material for small talk all the time. When I did sales I considered Salon.com, CNN.com, and Google News to be as important for daily prep as my product marketing material. But for everyone else, 99.99% of what you read on the news is not something you can do a thing about. It is filler knowledge, and it makes you feel smart when you can talk about it. But if you can’t use it to make a positive impact on your life or the lives of those around you, then it’s not useful. Stop kidding yourself that it is.

5. Writing yet another post about “top 10″ or “5 ways” or posting anything with a numbered list. There are too many of these already. It’s fun, but just. don’t. do it. T’hat means you, Aaron.

Yesterday I swam 1.2 km in chilly Berkeley waters at 7:30 in the morning. As I emerged and began running barefoot towards my bicycle, I tried to figure out what had happened to my hands and feet. Because I was running on leg stumps. And my hands, though I could see them, weren’t responding.

Yeah, it was cold.

But as I got to my bike, I noticed I was in good company. Everyone else was shivering as they peeled their dripping wetsuits off, grumbling about how difficult the whole thing was with unresponsive fingers and hands. I managed to slither out of my wetsuit and pull a couple layers on before clipping my bike shoes on, and then I slowly rode off, hoping that my feet would get some feeling back in the next 10 minutes.

It took close to two hours.

Riding at 20 miles an hour through chilly morning air, my feet never warmed up through the whole bike ride. It’s amazing what you realize you can get used to though. My feet stopped bothering me at about the same time I discovered I had a slow leak in my back tire. At mile 10, everything just slowed down. My bike seemed enveloped in muck, and as I glanced back and down I noticed my rear tire, almost totally flat.

Shit.

So I hopped off, pulled out my pump, and began furiously pumping air back into my tire. Luckily, after a minute or so it inflated and I hopped back on, thinking that my tire would hold for the next 12 miles to the second transition and the run. No such luck. At mile 20 my tire is so flat I’m riding on my rim.  But with two miles to go, there is no way I am going to spend the time to swap out my tire for a new tube. So I pump away again and manage to limp slowly into the transition area, finally ready to get off my damn bike and stretch my legs out for the 6 mile run.

Now, I’ve done some long runs, and I train in the hills behind my house, so 6 miles of hill running should be no big deal for me. Except my feet are still numb, my legs are cramping, and as soon as I hit the trails what feels like 4 pounds of mud immediately attaches itself to both of my shoes. Oh, and the first half on the run is uphill the entire way.

But you know what? It was great – lush green hills, Briones Reservoir below me, and other people challenging themselves just like me. With my feet pounding the trails they (finally!) got some feeling back after about a mile. And the second half of the run was almost all downhill.

52 minutes later I make my way across the finish line having completed my first Olympic Distance triathlon. It was cold, it beat on me, and I rode most of the way with a busted tire.

Despite all that, I couldn’t really imagine a better experience for my first Tri. Totally awesome. Totally fun. I can’t wait until my next one (which maybe I’ll actually train for.) Now I understand why so many people love doing this.

from www.zeromotorcycles.com

I’m finally putting some effort back into updating MotorcycleNewsGuy (my motorcycle news site) because, despite what seems to be a difficult economy for motorcycles, there really is a lot of innovation going on out there. I especially love what we’re seeing in alternative-fuel motorcycles, which don’t get nearly as much love here in the US as alternative-fuel automobiles do. And that’s a shame, because a 2-wheeled vehicle tends to get even better mileage per whatever than a 4-wheeled vehicle, and they tend to release even less carbon as well.

So today I’m saluting Zero Motorcycles for bringing out a colorful new 2010 product line of all electric motorcycles for both street and off-road riding. I’d love to get a test ride on one of these soon.

Oh, and you can take a look at my (admittedly weird) MotorcycleNewsGuy post on Zero Motorcycles if you like. MCNG has an odd voice, but I definitely enjoy writing as him.

Among the promising clean energy alternatives is an algae photo-bioreactor that grows algae in municipal wastewater to produce biofuel. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the bioreactor consists of large plastic bags made from a permeable “forward osmosis” membrane. The bags hold the algae and waste nutrients in place while allowing cleansed water to pass through. The bags could potentially be deployed in contaminated and “dead zone” coastal areas, removing excess nutrients while growing algae for biofuels. NASA’s Ames Research Center licensed the patent-pending photo-bioreactor to Algae Systems, LCC, which plans to develop and pilot the technology in Tampa Bay, Florida. The company hopes to integrate the technology into biorefineries to produce renewable energy products, including diesel and jet fuel…

for the full story check out bioenergy.checkbiotech.org

And that’s what happened when I found Zero Motorcycles. They’re hiring for their marketing department, and holding a position like that for a company like Zero Motorcycles would be one of those jobs that would be more than a job – it would be something I would wake up every morning looking forward to. Here’s why:

Zero Motorcycles is pretty new company based in Santa Cruz that designs and manufactures electric motorcycles. They’ve got off-road bikes and now a street-legal motorcycle – and the bikes are light, quick, cost almost nothing to power, and are absolutely part of the future of transportation and of motorcycling. And the company embodies much of what I’m passionate about – 1) motorcycles, 2) new technology, 3) a startup with the opportunity to create a premium brand, 4) green technology, and 5) fun! This is a company creating a product for people to love, play with, enjoy, and experience the world in, and they’re doing it in a forward-thinking, environmentally friendly way.

I would rock a job with Zero Motorcycles. There is just so much potential there to be absolutely amazing, and to bring a stunning product to the world.

Check it out-

Movember. Wow, who would have thought growing a mustache would be so frickin hard? About halfway through I was seriously wishing that I was training for a marathon. I mean, I got a lot of grief from women. Maybe they would be been nicer if I was raising money for breast cancer research instead of prostate and testicular cancer research. But hey, cancer is cancer and any time you’re raising money for ANY kind of cancer research, it does have benefits overall for every type. And given that 4 of my grandparents and 1 of my parents all died from different forms of cancer, it’s something that’s pretty important to me.

So a huge thank you to all who supported me or donated money. It was actually a pretty cool experience, topped off by a gala party last Thursday night with a whole lot of other Movember participants (and Mo Sisters.)  I didn’t know what to expect, going to a party in SF with a bunch of dudes sporting staches, but it was actually a blast and hilarious to boot. People were going all out for the costume contests and for the “Man of Movember” grand prize. The crowd was good, everyone was into the whole thing, and for a Thursday evening it kicked ass.

But wow, does it feel nice to be clean shaven again.

It’s easy to get caught up in the momentum of our daily lives, and let the flow of moving swiftly from one thing to another be a strong guiding force. In fact, I think that modern society often demands this – a kind of expectation that things will always be busy, and that things should be busy. But when we are always focused on where to get to next, and what else to do, or what we should be doing, a kind of tunnel vision can envelop us that cuts us off from the interesting, the novel, and the beauty inherent in so much of the world. I can certainly get lost in the momentum of things as well, and I want to make it a priority to give myself the chance to be productive and feel good about what I am accomplishing, but also to be able to just sometimes pause. Stop and know that not only is it ok to slow down for a bit, but that to stop, to experience the world, and to notice is healthy. It’s what we’re here for.

So even though we’re a couple days past Thanksgiving now, I’m thankful for the world, for the people that make it so interesting, for the wind that is blowing the yellow, red, and brown leaves off of the trees on my street. I’m thankful that every day I can, if I choose, find something novel and new to try, to see, or I can find new people to meet.

Alright, enjoy the rest of your weekends.