On mushrooms and climbing out of the box

I love mushrooms. And it looks like Dan Cederholm is a big fan of them as well.

This might not seem like earth-shattering news, but there was one sentence in Dan’s post that really struck a chord:

It’s funny how we box ourselves in.

I’ll admit it: I am often extremely rash in making decisions that pertain to my tastes and interests. Unlike Dan, I’ve always known that I love mushrooms, but I’ve been guilty of boxing myself in in the past. A few examples…

“I don’t wear jeans.” It’s true, I was one of those snobby kids in high school that thought men should only wear khakis and chinos (and dress pants, of course) so that they always look professional. That was, of course, until I slipped into a fresh pair of Hugo Boss jeans in college and never looked back. Now, I own more pairs of jeans than there are days of the week.

“I don’t eat eggplant.” These days, I find that statement absolutely ridiculous. Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables. There was a time, however, when I could barely look at an aubergine without feeling sick. Now I actually use eggplant in my cooking more than any other vegetable.

“I don’t watch hockey.” A real sports fan in Canada (especially Toronto) can get frustrated easily. Even when big things are happening in other major sports, every sports broadcast will lead with hockey news. There was a time when the World Series was on at the same time as pre-season NHL, and almost every bar in the city was showing hockey. That’s just ridiculous. So you can understand why I grew up hating hockey. While it is still not my favorite sport, these days I’m always glad to watch some NHL playoffs and some Memorial Cup highlights.

“I don’t eat onions.” Yeah, so that hasn’t changed. I can’t stand onions.

All that being said, I just wanted to share these examples to get you all thinking about how easy it is to say the word “no” or “never.” Next time you box yourself in, think about Dan and his mushrooms.

Have you changed your mind — and climbed out of the box — on something you felt strongly about recently?

Questions for a Friday evening

Because I’m too tired to throw together a long essay on either of these issues, and because sunny Friday afternoons were meant to be spent eating ice cream outside instead of writing, here are a few question running through my head as I sit and watch the sun set this evening.

Who stays for the credits?

Every time I go to the movie theater (which is quite often, I’ll admit), I see the same phenomenon: a mass exodus as soon as the film is done and the credits start rolling. Nobody, it seems, stays for the credits. (I do, but that’s because I’m a nerd and love learning about random cinema trivia like who was the gaffer for a particular film.)

Which makes me wonder why the studio doesn’t just use the web for posting credits. After showing the main cast and crew, get the rest up on a website.

That way, the gaffer can not only get his name up on the site, but a photo, list of previous films, and more information. Better than just one line on a screen that no one reads, right?

If we can start by first getting studios to list film credits on a website, then maybe we can eventually get them to embrace digital media and start creating a financial model based on the web as well. Someday.

How does Apple hire booth staff?

In the past two months, I’ve been to three enterprise-related conferences where Apple has been a sponsor. Every time I have stopped by the Apple booth at these conferences, however, I have noticed that the Apple representative not only knew nothing about the Mac platform, but was often a PC user hired by Apple to staff the booth.

Example: at this past week’s event, not only had the booth staff never heard of Quicksilver or knew how to create a smart folder in iTunes, but every time they wanted to demonstrate any function, they’d launch Parallels to open an application (including web browsers) in Windows because they were more comfortable in that environment.

Why? Apple does such a fantastic job hiring evangelists on college campuses and geek events. How does it mess up so badly when it comes to enterprise? I’m sure there are a lot of Mac enthusiasts that would jump at the chance to represent Apple. Why not hire them?

When did hockey become so exciting?

I’ve always resented the coverage that hockey gets here in Canada (pre-season hockey often trumps playoff baseball in this country) and I’ve resented the fact that the hockey post-season runs into the summer even more.

This year, however, things are different. The hockey playoffs this year have been more than just interesting, they’ve been thrilling. Case in point: Don Cherry on ESPN, Sean Avery dancing in front of the net, a four-overtime game, throwback uniforms, Sidney Crosby shining like the star he is, and a Wings-Penguins final.

When did hockey decide to actually become exciting? Or more importantly, relevant? Sure the NBA playoffs have been pretty enthralling as well, but if you’re stuck watching sports coverage in Canada, hockey is a nice substitute to settle for these days.

As long as it doesn’t interfere with the World Series or my NFL season, I think I may just become a closet hockey fan after all. Just don’t tell my football buddies.

Why don’t I get a day off on Monday?

Yes, I know our long weekend happened a week early, but it just doesn’t seem fair that our neighbors down south get to celebrate Memorial Day while I’m at work. Couldn’t they have shifted Victoria Day a week later?

Enjoy your weekend, Memorial Day or not.

What’s on your mind this Friday evening? (Drawing by Rob Ullman.)