Whimtelligence

Lessons for Survival in Corporate America

2022-02-10T09:35:00.002-08:00

I am not good at Corporate America. But I've created some rules.

A.) They don't like you. They like the idea of you but they don't like you. They like the idea of you because your work makes their dreams come true. But if they could get rid of you and keep your work they would in a heartbeat. Because they don't like you. They like the idea of you doing what they say and making them more powerful and richer. So they don't really want to get to know you or hear what you have to say. They just want you to work, smile, STFU, and collect your check until you part ways. They want you to be a good soldier and a good soldier is a silent soldier that follows orders.

B.) You are not equals. If an executive says something crazy you have to laugh and say that's great. But if you say the exact same thing, it's totally different. In the military they call it different spanks for different ranks. You are not all equal. So don't even think about the idea of equality.

C.) The bosses do not like you being comfortable. If you are a black man, especially you. Corporate events are for showing face but primarily to make the bosses feel better. They are not for fun. People will be treated differently according to their rank, importance, pay, and cultural compatibility, meaning if your bosses do not look like you, you will be held to a higher standard. They do not like you to be comfortable. They like you to be nervous because it feeds their ego. So fake it, if you're confident. Be nervous. And if you can't fake it, say hello, goodbye, and leave. Do not be confident and happy. You do not know the internal life of people. If they are not happy, your happiness as a low-level employee might offend them. If they are not confident, your confidence as a low-level employee might offend them. So say hello, say goodbye, and go somewhere where you can be yourself. But not at work.

Work is not for being yourself. Work is for working and leaving. Cultivate relationships with those who are most like you within your group. And no one else.

Super Powers

2020-11-15T21:22:00.004-08:00

My life right now is very weird, in a good way.

First, my life is weird in a good way because I am getting better at programming. I had plans to build this proxy engine. And today around 8 pm I started building a piece of it. And completely that piece completely. And now it's done. It's almost midnight.

Now I have a couple more to build and that will be done. But what's weird is how easy it was. It was too easy. I literally just whipped it up and it was done. It took almost no real effort at all.

When you write a new joke you have to really work on it and hone it and then write a joke. But writing software is the complete opposite. You can and basically are encouraged to write stuff that you can use over and over. So writing new software becomes easier, ironically, the more you write software. Eventually you build up a library of software but unlike books, you don't have to re-read it. You just plug it in. It's plug and play.

I now basically have a library of software that is pretty much plug and play. And now I almost have a proxy engine as well. I could actually set up another one right now and have two.

It is now 11;56 pm. I'll be right back ... it's 12:02 AM. Six minutes. (Note: Update: This is a lie. :-| I'm still working on this now two days later.) Now granted it was super easy because it was an identical webpage structure for the scrape. But still. Even if things are identical and I'm scraping two sections of the same site with identical structures I shouldn't be able to do it in six minutes. But I did (I'm running it manually now to make sure it works). But it's pretty much done (as long as it doesn't break in testing).

That's ludicrous. In order to work out a new joke or new content you have to continuously test it for weeks and the shelf life on it? Who knows? I built this in six minutes. And I'll build another one tomorrow and it shouldn't take very long either. It's ludicrous how quick this stuff is once you build the basics of a scraper.

The compounding nature of software development is amazing. The more you build the more you can use the less you actually HAVE to build. And then you can move onto other things.

I think this will help me greatly with The TOC. I think I should be able to get very far on my own without hiring anybody. I think I should be able to get there alone.

Furthermore what's crazy is last night I went out b/c it was Saturday. And while I was out my server kept working. It kept gathering more proxies while I was out and this morning my proxy engine kept working. Every hour it keeps working and I do nothing and it keeps working. It's amazing.

I literally have an employee that I don't have to feed and pay very little and it keeps working in perpetuity. And it still can do more work.

This is the most exciting part for me. I'm not trading hours for dollars. I'm trading flops, cycles, hopefully in the future for dollars. But that's incredible to me, that now I have this resource that will continue to work with or without me and all I have to do is occasionally monitor it.

It's amazing. I can develop software faster and now it just works without me having to really bother with it. It's incredible.

It almost feels like magic.

Come to think of it, I've never felt this way about comedy. But I do feel this way about software. It is magical. They say that's how you should feel about your life's work. And that's how I feel.

Corporate Branded Negro

2020-10-26T10:42:00.001-07:00

I've been Black all of my life. And today, I can say without any hesitation, is the most dangerous time to be black I've ever seen.

I would say a dog whistle has been blown but it's actually the sound of a steam whistle and that sound tells me that I'm not safe.

Now this is not some theoretical nonsense about how I don't feel safe. I'm a New Yorker. Feelings are not my part in parcel. I'm not safe. I know I'm not safe. Because I've experienced it.

I live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Yes, that Manhattan. I'm not talking about small town Georgia here or a backward suburb of Florida. I'm talking about New York City where Tom Collichio doesn't just appear on Top Chef but appears in his restaurant fifteen minutes away. I'm talking about the New York where two towers were razed and six more were raised in their place. I'm talking about a city where I've seen a rat will fight a dog. And win.

My city is an urban hydra which doesn't die, it endures and adapts. And curiously enough, it's children, it's citizens, particularly it's native born sons and daughters, are the same. One time I was driving through a small town in North Carolina in the early hours of the morning and I saw a neon sign lit up bright that said "Bagel Land! Boiled Hand Rolled Bagels Made Fresh Every Morning at 5 AM!". It was 4:30. My only thought: Those are my people.

And as a child of the hydra I can tell you for the first time I don't feel safe. In this recent environment I have gone to restaurants, seen people sitting and been told, we're closed. The only difference between me and the patrons, I looked like the coffee, and they the cream. I thought Jim Crow was dead. To my chagrin he simply calls himself James now and spells his last name with an E.

I have been riding in a shared ride, pre-pandemic, and been punched in the face repeatedly for requesting to be left alone. I have been attacked by multiple people and sneered at outside my own door by government officials suspicious, in a society where black is assumed to mean poor, how I could afford to live there? Surely I had traveled there to cause trouble.

And yet, a curious thing happened to me the other day. I was going to work out at my gym, Planet Fitness. Yes, I could afford Equinox but there are many brown people there and a brown staff and I enjoy brown spaces. But PF is in Spanish Harlem so I have to travel there. On this particular day I took an Electric Citibike. As I stopped at a red light I noticed the hard suspicious stare of the NYPD. I could feel it. I've felt it before. It's a predator's stare. Now I refuse to think of myself as prey but I know when something is hunting me. All humans do. It's in the DNA. And I was being observed for signs of fear.

And then just like that it let up. The razor's edge in the air suddenly let up and it became light again. And I became confused. Happy. But confused. Why? Why did this happen? Why did they not continue to silently pressure me until the flow of traffic forced them forward?

It happened again three days later. Silent threat followed by a sudden click and then normalcy, an immediate lifting of menace, and once again all being right with the world.

Then I looked at my clothing and it dawned on me. It wasn't my Fly Knit Nikes or my Addidas Warm Ups. It was my Lululemon Track jacket.

I wish I could tell my fellow Negros that Lululemon will keep you safe. But it won't. But a corporate logo will.

A few years ago my company, flush with profits, gave everyone a choice of gifts: a jacket, a bag, or a wallet. (Who would pick the wallet?) I picked the jacket. It was sleek and sharp and fitting. Think Kenneth Cole meets SpaceX. But I never knew the most important part on it was the little corporate logo.

I was safe, not because I was doing nothing wrong, not because I was a citizen, but because I was a corporately branded Negro.

This brand said "taxpayer". This brand said "this Negro belongs to somebody". Worst yet, this brand said "if you hurt him people will notice, people who matter will notice".

I was thrown into a twilight zone. I was safe. But was I safe because I was 'owned'? Was I safe, and free from harrassment because I was part of a group? No. I was safe because I was part of a protected class.

Like babies in Japan black full time Corporate Americans are rare and necessary. Not only do we provide valuable work product but we are a buffer between the Upper Management and the Politicians. 95% of the time we are left to do our jobs and are held to the same standard as everyone else. But we all understand that 5% of the time we may be called upon to be diversity incarnate. "Hey Curtis, can we use your picture on this website?" I always reply 'Yes". It's part of the game. As Avon says, "It's either play or get played."

We don't live in a perfect world. I'm a Child of the Hydra. I understood that when I was seven. But I never thought that my employers logo would actually keep me safe.

I was always curious. I hear stories all the time about Black people killed in an extra-judicial fashion. And these stories are always followed up with this narrative about the perfect black person. Victim Jenkins was an athlete, entering college, played football, loved staying in shape, didn't drink, didn't do drugs, never had, was cared for by his community, had a girlfriend of years (they were engaged!), attended church, volunteered, and when he shat his fecal matter was speckled in gold leaf.

But I'm not perfect. I drink. I have a sharp tongue. I can be arrogant. I laugh loudly. I post questionable things on social media. I sleep with random women, engaged women, married women. I challenge racism where I see it in real time. I challenge Patriots fans where I see them in real time. I'm a mathematically enabled coder with a flair for conversation and a devil-may-care attitude. I can be contrarian. I can also be charming. Stylistically I'm not Harry Belafonte. I'm substance free Bobby Brown.

I'm not the perfect black person because I'm not perfect. My faults are multitude. I often wondered what would happen if I were killed. Would they find my treasure chest of flaws and blame me? Then I wore my jacket. Thank God I have a corporate logo to protect me. Thank God a corporate citizen in good standing vouches for me. I used to feel like 3/5ths of a man. Thank God my company gave me a 40% raise.

Excuse me now. I'm going to call my little brother. I'm scared for him. He has the same personality as me. He laughs like me. He talks like me. He lives like me. But he works for Wendy's. God, I'm so scared. On second thought, let me call a friend from my company. Maybe we have a couple of extra jackets.

Sunday on Monday

2020-10-26T09:31:00.001-07:00

Sunday on Monday

The quiet whir of a fan

Badly cared for feet on soft hardwood floors

The sound of meetings happening with out me

Bliss

The only pressure on me is my go-go mind saying "Orange Juice"

It's whimsical yet demanding and still carefree

Oh, day off how I've longed for thee

They put me through the wringer last week

I snapped at them

"Stop. I'm at my breaking point. Actually just past it. As you can tell I just broke. Enough."

And that was enough.

My Sunday spilled into Monday

But that's fine. My Fridays have been spilling into my Saturdays as of late.

The quiet demand of Microsofts Products right there on my menu bar

Menu bar

Sounds like something you want to eat

But this you don't

Stop man-child-lover-whimsically intelligent-friend

Enough

Today is Monday topped with Sunday

And it's delicious

Where I'm @ and What I'm going to Do Next

2020-09-08T19:32:00.001-07:00

So, here's where we are.

I could be shooting content right now and building that. But I don't know. I feel like I'm a bit old for that game. Rather I feel like building ECS was a stepping stone. It was a stepping stone to really learning how to build something as opposed to the build itself. To put it frankly the destination was the journey. Now I could start building a name for myself by using that platform to build content around it and I feel like it could be smart but I'm not really interested in entertaining people.

To be honest, I've been thinking about what Peter Thiel said. What he said was that competition was for suckers. I'd be in direct competition with Eventbrite and Ticketmaster and why the hell would I want to do that. Irt seems stupid to me. Especially when I can take the skills that I've learned and start building something really fantastic.

Right now I'm learning about CSS from a production standpoint, including scss and the BEM model, things I didn't even come close to knowing before. Also, I'm learning about responsive design. I should be done learning about those things shortly. Then I'm probably going to take the rest of the year and perfect those skills.

After that I'm torn. I really should be getting into web security in a big way. And implementing web security in a production environment. The only production environment I have is ECS.

Maybe this is all of a piece. Maybe I should be using my time now to actually build content. And then using that to drive traffic. And then redesigning the site and building content around it in order to drive traffic. I don't know. I need to do a Pros/Cons Analysis.

But I think I should do one episode or maybe five of the Curtis Sumpter Half Hour Comedy Hour. And just do it and get it out there and see what happens. At least then I'll be able to maybe drive some traffic and build a test bed for this idea there as opposed to doing it from scratch. But maybe I first learn this CSS stuff. Finish this. Build three projects. And then build the CSHHCH Volume 1. And then do some more CSS. Then Volume 2. Then more CSS and then Volume 3. That should at least drive some platform adoption and allow me to continue to use this as a test bed for experimentation.

I think that's a good idea.

So let's go with that first.

Plan: Finish these videos and two beginner projects on frontendmentor.io. Then put out one volume of the CSHHCH. Then finish three more projects on frontendmentor.io. Then put out one more volume of CSHHCH and continue to list shows from the TTC and Eastville. Then do three more projects. Then release volume 3 of CSHHCH. Then do four more projects on frontendmentor.io. Then release volume 4 of CSHHCH. Then finish frontendmentor.io and redesign ECS. Then release volume 5. Then finish the book on Linux and read the book on Kali Linux hacking.

Marketing Experiments 2: Door Hangers

2020-08-27T18:59:00.002-07:00

Tonight I hung about 400 door hangers in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. Everything up to Seneca is largely Hispanic and everything past Seneca is Eastern European and Chinese. Ridgewood is Eastern European and Chinese. Before Seneca is Hispanic. I think a All Spanish show would do very well there. Maybe Pedro Gonzalez, Melissa Diaz, Aida Rodriguez, and the Owner of the V-Spot (I forget his name), David Estrada. The split was roughly 50/50 (I hung 50% in the Hispanic part of the neighborhood and 50% in the EE/Chinese part).

Expectations: I'd expect the expectations here to be quite low to be honest. This is largely a white show, very Williamsberg-ish and the area isn't that white. Even with no Hits it would be a success because just mapping the area is giving me a solid look into the neighborhood.

Another Thought: There are lots of businesses around there. If you did a All Spanish Show it would sell out but you should definitely do posters.

Bonuses: There's a dope Hispanic Restaurant there that's beautiful and a great Mural that's very picturesque (barbers' clippers).

ECS Marketing Ideas

2020-01-23T12:13:00.001-08:00

1. Curtis Sumpter Comedy Hour - give out cds at music events. Check songkick.com :D :D :D
2. Build Out: youchooze.com
3. Facebook Marketing Once I sell 100 tickets

Thank You's

2019-12-27T01:28:00.001-08:00

1. Equilend - for being loyal
2. StackOverflow - for helping me when I was truly stuck (and fuck those guys who downvoted my questions when I needed help)
3. Mom. - because you're mom. And you moved and married just because it was the best thing for your children and your family. I know the sacrifice you made.

Send Email Address and Cell Phone Workflow

2019-12-24T20:21:00.003-08:00

~~Confirm Email Address (Send):~~

~~1. Send email to API/Lambda file~~
~~2. Turn email address into SHA256 Hash~~
~~3. Pull the email hash and the conf code hash~~
~~4. Turn the email and conf code into a url~~
~~5. Send the email with the url code~~
~~6. Wire into webpage~~

~~Confirm Email Address (Receive):~~

~~1. Get the link (API Parameters)~~
~~2. Mark Promoter Email Confirmation as True~~
~~3. Send email that says, email confirmed.~~
~~-- if the email and the cell phone number were confirmed send "Congrats. Confirmed" email.~~
~~-- otherwise say, email is confirmed. Please confirm cell number.~~
~~4. Add Check for both emailConf and cellConf. If both True send email. If false don't send email. (today - 1/8/2019)~~

~~Cell Phone Workflow:~~

~~1. Build page that allows you to confirm cell number (Website)~~
~~(today - 1/13/2019) - In Progress -- 1/15/2020 Done~~
~~2. Send code to the cell number (Lambda Function 1)~~
~~(today - 1/9/2019) - In Progress~~
~~3. Enter cell phone number and conf. code (Lambda Function 2)~~
~~(today - 1/10/2019) - 1/15/2020 Done~~
~~4. Afterward send confirmation email (tomorrow - 1/10/2019) - 1/15/2020 Done~~
~~5. Build Cell Phone Confirmation Page~~ ~~(tomorrow - 1/10/2019) - 1/15/2020 Done~~
~~6. Wire Cell Phone Confirmation Page~~ ~~(tomorrow - 1/10/2019) - 1/15/2020 Done~~
~~7. Wire Attempt Logging Code -- Attach to Fail (tomorrow - 1/16/2020) - Actual 1/19/2020~~

~~Add Promoter Login Page:~~

~~1. Wire Page - Actual 1/19/2020~~
2. ~~Build Lambda Object~~

~~Confirm password~~
~~Create hashed key (ip address + email address + time stamp)~~
~~Place key into database with entrance time and exit time (Work Done) Done On: 2/4/2020~~

~~Place hash key into a cookie (not done yet and not tested yet) - (Next)~~
~~Done On: 2/4/2020~~

~~Increment Wrong Logins (Work Done)~~
~~Done On: 2/4/2020~~

~~Too Many Wrong Logins - Lock out (Work Done)~~
~~Done On: 2/4/2020~~

~~Send Authentication Code (:D On same page) (Work Done)~~
~~Done On: 2/4/2020~~

3. Build Change Password Framework
4. Wire Change Password Page
5. Build Lambda Change Password Page
6. Add API Page for Email link to click

Add Show Workflow (tomorrow - 1/10/2019)

1. Add Venue + Add Showtime

~~Build HTML Framework~~

~~City (Drop Down)~~

~~Venue Names (Drop Down)~~

~~Show Time~~

~~Hours~~
~~Minutes~~
~~AM/PM~~
~~Timezone~~

~~Date Picker~~

~~Price~~

~~Comedians~~

~~Show Title~~

~~PayPal Payment Address~~

1B. Wire the page with Javascript

~~Wire Venue Drop Down~~

~~Check Show Date~~

~~Check that the Show Date is More than five days away~~

~~Check the price of the show (Regex)~~

~~Check that the price is greater than 15 dollars~~

~~Check that Show Title is there~~

~~If Headliner box is checked then change the place holder~~

~~If the Feature box is checked then change the place holder~~

~~Check that PayPal email address~~

~~Check that PayPal email address is an address~~

~~Check that it's a valid PayPal email address (Can't be done)~~

Debug Javascript

Wire Submit Button

Submit it to the DB.

1C. Write the Backend Piece

~~Write the data to a separate table (or set of tables)~~

~~Send the booker for that venue an email~~

~~I know this Promoter and I approve of this show~~
~~I know this Promoter and I don't approve of this show~~
~~I don't know this Promoter and I approve of this show~~
~~I don't know this Promoter and I don't approve of this show~~
~~I know this Promoter, however, this show needs some changes~~

Send the appropriate email based on the response to the Promoter
Send the appropriate email to me for final approval

Add Show Editing Workflow

1. Add Venue + Add Showtime Changes

~~Build HTML Framework~~

~~Current Shows That Haven't Been Done Yet (Drop Down)~~

~~Venue Names (Text Field - Can't be changed -- the show must be cancelled)~~

~~Show Time~~

~~Hours~~
~~Minutes~~
~~AM/PM~~
~~Timezone~~

~~Date Picker~~

~~Price~~

~~Comedians~~
~~Show Title~~

~~Cancel Button (48 Hours in Advance and Booker Will Be Notified and Must Approve)~~

~~PayPal Payment Address~~
~~2 Factor Code~~
~~ReCaptcha~~

~~2. After all the stuff is entered send a confirmation email to the owner of the venue/booker~~

Tomorrow: 3/9/2020
3. Once Authorized the show is confirmed.
4. Add Email to Me to confirm show again before it appears on the site

Finish The Add Show Python Script

                #Step 1B: send an email to the site owner (me) ...
               #Step 1C: mark the show as booker approved
               #Step 1D: send the promoter an email and tell them the show is booker approved and is now awaiting site owner approval
               #Step 1E: send the booker the info that the show has been approved. (HTML)

               #Step 1F: send an email to the site owner (me) ..
               #Step 1G: mark the show as booker approved AND mark the show as unknown producer
               #Step 1H: send the promoter an email and tell them the show is booker approved. Also tell them they're an unknown
               #producer and to please introduce themselves to the booker and is now awaiting site owner approval
               #Step 1I: write the booker and tell them the show wasn't approved and it's been marked as such and the booker has been
               #notified that they're unknown. (HTML)

               #Step 1J: mark the show as diapproved
               #Step 1K: send the promoter an email and tell them the show is NOT booker approved.
               #Step 1L: send the booker a message that it's been disapproved.

               #Step 1M: mark the show as diapproved AND mark the show as unknown producer
               #Step 1N: send the promoter an email and tell them the show is NOT booker approved AND that the booker doesn't
               #know them and to please introduce themselves to the booker.
               #Step 1O: send the booker a message that it's been disapproved (HTML)

           #Step 2: disable show and send a message that this show has been disabled to the booker and to the promoter. Too old.

               #Step 2A: send promoter email that his show was answered and disabled

               #Step 2B: tell the booker that the show is too old and has been disabled.
               #Contact us if you want us to reinstate it. Email directly. Send email message (HTML).

       #Step 1B: Send the booker a note that this code is in error and to contact the
       #promoter (HTML).

Add Edit Show Page:

Build Page
Build Call Data JS

Add Pay For Tickets Page

1. Design Page
2. Wire Framework
3. Build Lambda Object
4. Talk to PayPal (set up appointment for next week)

Security

Add HTTPS Security Provisions
Lock Down the Lambda Functions
Put all the JS Code into separate files
Add Recaptcha v3 to main page (cut down on scraping)
Encrypt SSL connection to PostgresDB

Test Roll Out

Take out all cors-everywhere references
Take out all raw keys and implement in Lambda Functions and Retest
Take out all references to local host (127.0.0.1:8000)
Add Policies that allow only for ElasticBeanstalk to access Lambda functions
Create test Lambda Functions to allow for local development
Remove all Comments and Console Log
Create Test environment in django local structure

Fixes:

1. Fix the Stand
2. Fix NYCC to account for two locations
3. Write LOL Scraper

Business:

1. Get ticket sales permissions
2. Talk to PayPal
3. Submit Permissions to Google

Businesses I Want to Build

2019-12-21T16:35:00.002-08:00

3. MLV - Major League Volleyball
4. City Racing League

Businesses I Want to Build

2019-12-21T12:11:00.002-08:00

1. Staten Island Brewery - Chocolate Stoudt. --
2. Peaches Beer -- For Girls

ECS: Marketing Ideas

2019-07-26T10:31:00.002-07:00

Marketing Ideas - ECS:

Online (Judgement Day)
Games: How Well Do You Know (JS Based Game with Video) (September)
Games: Have You Ever ... (August)

Sketches:

Thug in the Office
Woke Bouncer (August)
100 First Dates

Themed Shows:

-- Back to School Show (Teachers) ... Halfway There Comedy Show (October)
    -- Phil Vasari & Hong Kong Kid (Teacher)
    -- Send a poster
    -- Send emails
    -- Do outreach to principles at each school
-- Almost Clean ... But Not Really Comedy Show (Sanitation Workers Show)
-- Don't Forget to Tip (Restaurant Workers Comedy Show)
-- Popped Collar (Finance Comedy Show)
-- JavaScript? Am I Right? (Tech Comedy Show)
-- Catcallers Allowed (Construction Comedy Show)
-- Is Laughter the Best Medicine? (Hospital Workers Comedy Show)

Comedy Shows ...

ECS - Branded Tours

2019-07-26T10:20:00.003-07:00

ECS - Branded Tours

-- Vineyard Vines Tour ...
-- Harrison Tweed
-- Mark Normand
-- Mae Planert
-- Curtis Sumpter
-- Hispanic Girl Preferably (???)

ECS - Nice Kicks Tour

-- Collab with Stadium Goods
-- Danny DelColle
-- Petey DeAbreau
-- Curtis Sumpter
-- Chris Hamilton
-- Jax Del'Osso

Idea: Dating App: Date Night

2019-07-15T11:51:00.003-07:00

An app where you know where your first date will be in advance.

We take a cut of the date fee in advance and you can book the date directly through the app.

TheToc Ideas

2019-06-07T17:08:00.002-07:00

Build an AdServer to serve ads on pages
Ask users what types of ads they enjoy
Add Yellow Journalism: Games and offer these games to the papers so they don't have to develop them in-house

Idea: StuffStream

2019-06-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

Social Shopping

Follow people and you can buy what they put on their stream. They get paid for it. The stream gets paid for it. We get paid for it.

Ideas

2019-04-17T06:05:00.003-07:00

EarHustle --

A social network like Instagram but with music. You follow people and you get to listen to their stream. After five plays a song give you an option to buy.

HealthBook --

FB but for Health. You get badges for things you do. Socially network the FitBit or other health awareness data. Connect across social networks to confirm running goals and fitness. Award badges and confirm.

-- A social network without the network. We take data and propagate it across social networks (Instagram, FB, anything) and let people know that you actually really do work out as opposed to talking about it.

Idea: Stuff

2019-04-04T08:47:00.001-07:00

StuffStream -- clothing or items mixed with a social media platform and a monthly charge where the person you follow gets a commission.

Ideas

2019-04-04T08:45:00.001-07:00

Instacut -- haircuts to your house on demand

Big Hit

2019-03-02T19:04:00.002-08:00

So I took a big emotional hit this week. I didn't get passed at the Comic Strip.

It really hurt. It really fucking hurt. And people in comedy hate me. And I don't really care for them either mostly to be honest.

I'm very suceptible to energy. Very. I'm an empath. I feel everything in the extreme whether they be feeling of affection or feelings of hate. Comics by and large hate me. I don't really love them either. But the audience members I do care for. Love? Maybe that's a strong word but when I'm on that stage I care for them.

And to be honest I don't want to let the comedy scene beat me. I feel like I've been given a raw deal. And I don't like it. And I don't want to accept this defeat. So this is what I'm going to do.

I'm going to build thetoc.com.

Thetoc.com or the table of contents will allow you to see every article on every site that you 'follow'.

It will then allow for you to comment on the article on a separate comments section.
It will also allow for you to save articles.
It will allow you to buy articles for which you do not have a subscription so if an article is behind a pay wall you could see it (changepurse -- a micro transaction product).
It will allow you to follow up to 25 publications per month but it will allow students (those with a .edu email address to follow up to 100 publications per month as well as HS students that authenticate using FB)
Otherwise it will cost people 1.00 per month for 100 publications.
It will also allow you to delete articles
It will also allow you to follow specific writers (not just publications) and allow them to publish an article exclusively on thetoc.com if they see fit and their publication does not want it

Publications:

the NY Times
The WSJ
The Daily News
The New York Post
The Washington Post
Breitbart
The Root
The Daily Caller
The Grio
The Hill
National Geographic
CNN
ESPN
Sports Illustrated
Fox News
Bloomberg
Bloomberg Business
Complex
The Fader
The Onion
The Baltimore Sun
The Boston Papers (2)
The New Hampshire Papers
The Philly Paper
The Colombus, Ohio Paper
The Cleveland Paper
The St. Louis Paper

Revenue Goals:

Advertising
changepurse

Brand Extension Goals:

Podcast

A Weekly Online News Show:
-- Me
-- Jocelyn Chia
-- Chris Hamilton
-- Chris Bazemore
-- Freddie G
-- Kevin Hurley
-- Cool Latina -- Last Name: Ouch
-- Phil Valentine

Push Everycomedyshow.com

Article Of the Week and an Interview with a Reporter For Article of the Week

Launch Resolved

Bottom Line:

This should give me a social media following and give me the ability to throw a monthly show here in NYC and a tour eventually.

It should also give me profile as a technologist.

And it should give me the ability to sell merch on the site through advertising. Building an on demand merch platform.

A Bit Depressed and Respect

2018-12-31T11:08:00.001-08:00

These days I am a bit depressed.

I am not respected in the comedy scene. That's not entirely true. But not by people who haven't seen me on stage (which since I'm not getting tons of stage time is alot). But people who've seen me know that I'm good. They actually know that I'm really good.

I'm really concerned about getting respect from people who don't even bother to see me before they disrespect which is crazy.

But I can still feel the disrespect.

I think the worst thing about how I feel right now is that I expected to get into New York Comedy Club. I really expected it. I worked really hard. I did everything I was supposed to. I generally was a good guy. I really was. But there is some ugly rumor out there about me that is kind of crushing my dreams and nobody will let me know what it is. And I know it's hurting me. And I know it stole NYCC's late nights from me. And it hurts. Because it shouldn't have.

I guess this is the most hurtful thing. Because I thought I earned it.

But I don't think that's a great reason to be sad.

Chris Rock and Eddie Murphy both came through the Comic Strip. I think the best thing I can do is work really hard and get passed there. It's a good club and I have friends there. And it's not as clique-y. And I'm friends with people there. And it's got a great pedigree. And it's in my neighborhood. Which is pretty great. And they don't have Roast Battles.

I think I can do well there.

So I'll focus on that.

Also there is some good news! I'm (we're) almost done with our TV pilot. PB&J Comedy. So that's huge. It makes me laugh alot so that's good. (:D !!!!) I think it's really great!

What else? I'm working on this ECS website and I think it's finally really coming together. I really think it is. That just might get me into the Lantern for a couple of nights a week. Which would be good. I'd be happy with 2-3 nights a week. That'd be dope.

Maybe one night a week on Allan's show. That'd be cool too. But we'll see.

So to summarize:

TV Pilot
Everycomedyshow.com (coming soon)
The Comic Strip (hopefully)

All by the end of January/February. Not too shabby. Not at all. Just keep working.

I want that new time about my childhood soon. I have to start working on it. After this site is up.

Comedy and Continuous Learning

2018-12-31T10:44:00.001-08:00

Not a very inspiring title right now. But here's where we are.

As far as comedy goes I have to come up with some new jokes:

Set jokes:

Set up - 40 sec. - 3 too long
Starter - 3 Joke
Disposable Income - 1 Joke
Detroit/Germany ...
-- Detroit Joke -- 1 Joke/ Harmonica Meth Joke - 2 (Test this tonight. Try to combine it)
-- Germany Joke - 3
Sanford and Son - 2 Joke
L. Ron Hubbard - 3 Joke (We'll see - Only a One check joke)

In order to do this correctly I'll have to kick up the Disposable Income Joke and the Detroit Joke. That'll get this set to completion.

Continuous Learning:

This is my real dilemma.

I have this thing I do where I take a long time to do things. For instance, right now I have enough to actually work through some Equilend specific projects but I want to finish this Intro to ML and complete the task. I also want to complete the Coursera course that allows me to learn about the math behind ML. So this is my ideal path of learning.

Finish Intro to ML
Coursera: Math behind ML
FB - PyTorch
Deep Learning (Udacity)

However, to do this it would be the middle of next year (June) before I actually get to do something and create some work product.

Reasonably I could do this:

Finish Intro to ML
Put together Trade Probability Project ($$$)
Put together Rejected Trades Project ($$$)
Put together Tiered Trade Project ($$$)
Coursera: Math behind ML
Deep Learning (Udacity)

Looking at it in this way this seems to be the more sensible path and so this is what I'll do.

Ok. Sounds good.

So today's play is:

Rewrite Jokes
Work through Text Learning

Next Moves

2018-12-31T10:43:00.000-08:00

This post is exploratory. Originally I named it comedy and technology. But even I am not sure where it is going right now.

Here's my current situation.

I now have 13 minutes of tight comedy. I have two more minutes I think are tight and two minutes I have to develop. That basically gives me 17 minutes of jokes. Maybe 18. That's a lot.

To be honest I didn't realize I had that kind of time until the other day when I ran some old jokes I wrote and they worked like hell. :D Now I'm in a place where I've progressed faster than I expected.

So what do I do next?

First, I think it's time to re-audition at Broadway Comedy Club. Doing that will give me two things:

1. Regular spots -- I need some regular spots where I can perfect this material in front of real audiences from all across America.

2. Exposure -- It's time to get out there a bit and just put myself out there and let people see my work.

3. Respect -- I'm always very big on this and this should result in more shows.

Second, mics. Keep doing mics.

Right now it is late March. Let's just say April. By the end of April I should have a solid 17-20 minutes of jokes.

That gives me 7 more months to develop new material.    If I develop a tight five minutes every 3 months (reasonable)

Today

2018-10-15T09:18:00.002-07:00

Today I'm looking to work on the ML course and then go to work on comedy (Sidewalk Cafe and Halyard's.

That's all.

I don't know what else to say today. That stuff. Then I have to start writing my next set next. And work through it.

Business Ideas

2018-06-22T07:53:00.004-07:00

Ideas:

App: Stuff Subscription -- You can buy stuff but it's on a subscription from a bunch of other people.
Social Media: Embargo -- You can post stuff but it has to be approved by other people before it's posted. It protects you from yourself.
Social Media: Gold Star -- an app that you can post what you did but it has to be confirmed by another person who is authorized to say you did that.