The Brekfest Machine

…Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.

I have no clue how it happened, but I’ve been SWAMPED. Between getting some contract iOS work, class work, thesis work, trying to find a job, and living in what is arguably one of the most unfulfilling cities in America, I spiraled into some sort of “All Work, No Fun” mentality. Thankfully, Alyssa smacked me back into reality. I mean I hadn’t even taken the time to shave since New Year’s Eve, convincing myself I didn’t have enough time to do it. I was Barney when he found out “the Man Maker” was lying to him. But now, daddy’s back.

If you’ve made it this far, I’m sorry for not getting to the meat of things earlier. Its looking like this job hunt isn’t going to be so hot. I’m looking for stuff, preferably at a startup, but I think I’m going to end up trying to secure some funding for EveryOpenMic or one of my other ideas. I’m going to try and convince a couple people to join up with me to get this stuff started. I’ve started a business plan, but its just the beginning phases. I don’t even know how much I’d need to live. Needless to say, there is a long way to go.

And for those of you who got the Title joke, check out this and many other jems:

(The whole Startup Weekend West Michigan group. I’m almost dead center in the red.)

WOW. Startup Weekend West Michigan delivered everything I wanted and more. It ended with the creation of TWELVE new companies (with one of them headed up by yours truly).

While my idea didn’t get picked, I found myself freed up from my first group on Saturday night at about 7:00pm. After finding a couple people (specifically Paul Kortman, Hardip Singh, and KJ Woo), I was off and running, launching a brand new startup called EveryOpenMic, which connects artists, venues, and fans for more enjoyable open mic night shows. I couldn’t believe how quickly we got everything done. Paul got the server up and running, Hardip launched the marketing campaign, KJ helped setup the website, and I started gathering the data we needed to make things work.

Now that the weekend has ended though, it’s time for the real work to begin. Finish the iOS app, start the Android app, add more and more functionality to the website, and finally start signing venues up. With everyone being in separate locations, it’s going to be tough to coordinate and get things going, but I really believe we’ve got a product that people will want to use. 

I’m super psyched to be going to a Startup Weekend event this weekend in Grand Rapids, MI! Had I known about these things before hand I would have probably attended every one within a 200 mile radius. Its 54 straight hours of pure go. I’m opening the “Reserve” section of the Brekfest Machine (which is what I call the part of my brain where my ideas come from) this weekend and letting out all my best ideas since I’ll have the talent to prototype and the attention of possible investors while I’m there.  

Here is a video (~13 mins FYI) of the Startup Weekend held in Seattle, WA. 

Anyone have any suggestions before I go?

(Unfortunately, for my girlfriend,) I’ve been developing an iOS app for the last two weeks. It seems that every project I work on, I’m learning new parts of the SDK as well as other programs / languages / API’s. This time, I needed to pick up a database language (SQLite, only took a day and a half to read up and get proficient enough to do what I needed) and Illustrator (which was pretty straightforward since I’ve got a pretty good handle on Photoshop).

Without giving too much away, I’m working on a social app for musicians. I’ve got the core functionality working, but I’m going to have to learn some server stuff to get what I really want out of it. For now, I thought I’d post some buttons I made in Photoshop (which I still prefer to Illustrator since I’m more experienced with it). I like them, but I think I’ll mess around with them some more before I actually call them finished.

My first attempt at a personal logo. What do you guys think about it overall (except for the fact that I spelled copyright wrong)? What does this make you think about me? Thanks in advance.  

Oh ya, you read that right.  Last night I noticed my cat, Coco, was really interested in trying to pick up my girlfriend’s hair tie off the ground. She was having a difficult time due to her lack of an opposable thumb, but she seemed to be enjoying trying to do it because once she got it she put it in her mouth and carried it to another spot just to put it down and start all over again. It was the most active I’ve seen her doing a solo activity since we gave her a Fancy Feast Salmon dinner for Christmas.

So to stimulate her mind some more (and hopefully keep her entertained when I’m not home) I came up with the idea of making up a “puzzle tube” that has a ball inside for her to swat at and try to get out. I found the mailing tube from this awesome map Alyssa got me, grabbed a box cutter, some note cards, and some tape and I was able to throw this together in 20 minutes.

The side of the tube has 6 holes cut into it that the ball can’t fall out of but that Coco can reach into and swat the ball from. The holes are placed such that when the tube roles, new areas inside the tube are exposed. The ends have holes partially cut into them for her to push the ball out through, which she was able to do after about only a minute of playing with it. After she got it the first time, I put the ball right back in and she went at it again.

Since she enjoys playing with it so much, I think I might work on it a little more to make it harder. I’m thinking of 

• Making the end holes smaller so the ball is harder to push through it, thereby lengthening the game time.
• Placing something inside that forces her to rotate the tube to keep moving the ball.
• Adding little bits of Sugru to the ball to make it bounce unpredictably when she hits it.
• Lengthening the track.