About

About me

Hey, I’m Eric Thiessen (no sense trying to disguise my identity when my domain name is basically my real name) and this is my blog.

I’m a Canadian guy living in Houston, an engg grad of the UofC, and a mild-mannered enterprise software developer (at least by day). My interests include webcomics and poetry, both of which are inadequately highlighted by this blog, which I rather neglect in favour of more important real-world priorities (sorry blog).

About my blog

So this is where I post my thoughts about various topics – music and movies, software and sports, poetry and persiflage… you know, rambling rants, random reflections, and stuff of that sort. Mostly rather introspective, but I try to keep it interesting. It’s sort of a work in progress. To skip to the good part, ride the tag clouds to your destination.

If you’re my friend, you have a blog, and you’re on a roll – but you’re not in my friends blogroll – maybe I don’t realize you’re a fellow blogger, in which case gimme a shout and I’ll check it out.

Oh, and I only really check my own site with Firefox, so if my site looks ugly in your browser, I’m sorry… but not really.

And if you really want to, you can always check out my old blog, in all its stale dustiness.

  1. Mauricio’s avatar

    Mauricio on December 11, 2007 at 8:05 am

    ” Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. ”

    Not sure who wrote this, but sounds good to me!!

  2. Eric’s avatar

    Eric on December 11, 2007 at 11:26 pm

    Good quote man. Apparently it’s by William Jennings Bryan, an American politician about a century back.

  3. Mauricio’s avatar

    Mauricio on December 21, 2007 at 10:42 am

    A few days ago I was cleaning my email inboxes to keep my System’s Administrator from sending me an overcapacity message again. As a result, I came across an email from a good friend, Geoff Bridge, who some time ago recommended some books. Having a need to enhance my general insight into “things” I did what I usually do when investigating the idea of buying a book. I Google’d the books with the hopes of getting a sample read to better determine whether I will make a purchase.

    I find when I print off a sample of any book one can often deconstruct the main premise and still gain much insight into what the author is communicating. Nevertheless, I don’t recommend this as a way to fully understanding an entire book, but rather a means of planting the seed for greater reflection and investigation on the subject. Also, I good book should always have shelve space in one’s home.

    One of the books I’m currently sampling is Wikinomics and I must admit I’m finding the content quite fascinating. The idea that mass collaboration through “open source” will break old modus operandi and lead to greater creativity and innovation, and new ways of doing business and wealth creation exciting. Mass collaboration gives the common layman unprecedented new ways of discovering a niche for positive exploitation.

    A great example is Mark Zuckerberg redefinition of online social communities. Facebook a simple concept and through ‘open source’ has turned into a multi-billion dollar business. I guess an obscure concept can turn into a multi-billion dollar venture, where business formats are more easily apt to break away from the status quo for greater profits in our current technological and commercial climate.

    To this end, reading Wikinomics inspired me to ‘blog’ my thoughts on my friend’s website. I love the feeling of when new ideas stir in my head. I love the feeling of new found possibilities even if they already exist. All I guess it takes is the initiative and willingness to believe all is possible until proven otherwise. Also, this reminds me of how the Whole Earth Catalog inspired Steve Job to “Stay Hungry and Foolish.” I guess time will tell how much of an influence this book has had on my life and whether I achieve the thoughts that are currently just a possibility.

  4. Eric’s avatar

    Eric on December 21, 2007 at 9:21 pm

    Haha, blog hijack! Really though, thanks for the insights. Always appreciate your thoughts.

    One of my New Year’s resolutions is to “read more books” – I’ll either get a library card in Houston or buy a bookshelf… either way, I’ll put “Wikinomics” on my to-read list.