January 25th, 2008

8 Things you didn’t know about me

by Joshua Porter  |   16 Comments  |  shortlink: http://bokardo.com/p/734

I often visit blogs and wish there was more information about the blogger there. Some blogs don’t even have a picture of the person writing! (hint: you can’t go wrong with a picture of yourself smiling). Even so, I don’t have much about myself here on Bokardo. So in the spirit of making up for that, I’m picking up on a meme sent to me by Leisa. Here are 8 things you didn’t know about me. I’m going to add them to my about page when I’m done.

So here they are:

  1. I’m a twin. I have a twin sister named Jessica. I have a hard time making friends. She makes friends daily.
  2. I designed my first web site in 1997 during a computer science class in college. It had those animated eyeball gifs on it and a wavy blue background. It was, in a word, gross.
  3. My buddy Bill and I formed a start-up company in 2000 doing online wedding albums. We wrote the app in PHP. We completely fell into the “if you build it, they will come” trap. We built it. Nobody came.
  4. I used to study and write a lot of poetry. It was my way of dealing with what I didn’t understand (like failed relationships). Now that I’m in a healthy relationship, I don’t have the urge to write poetry anymore. My favorite poem is Keats’ The Eve of St. Agnes. It is one of the finest sets of words in the English language. Oh, and the name of this site comes from a poem.
  5. I have a relatively bad memory, so writing is important way for me to remember things. My favorite book is the Great Gatsby.
  6. I’m a sucker for brunettes. So much so that I married one.
  7. I can only remember two times that I’ve ever cried. The last time was when my dog Moose died.
  8. The most amazing things I’ve ever seen are Michelangelo’s David and the Na Pali coast in Kauai, Hawaii.

Since this was so fun, I added a few more:

  1. I don’t watch TV.
  2. I’ve never agreed to one of these meme things before. I’m not going to tag specific people…but I will say that if you have a blog and not much personal info on it, then consider doing this.
  3. The best thing about life is my daughter Tessa. Every day she makes me smile many times over. I can’t imagine life without her.
  4. I usually root for the underdog.
  5. There are three quotes that I live by. The first is “If you love what you do, it’s not work”. The 2nd is “There is always room at the top”. The third is the following classic by Teddy Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

Check out my latest project: Make them Care!, a book on designing great sign-up experiences. Get reminded when it's published.

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Comments

1.  Gong Szeto 9:23am, Fri 25th, 2008

joshua,
you are my hero. i have always appreciated your writing and points of view, and now that you’ve revealed more about yourself, i realize that we have many things in common! (brunettes, underdogs, daughters, roosevelt’s quote). thanks for sharing, and i do believe it is risky to reveal things about yourself in the public blogosphere, that is can act as a filter, but no risk, no reward, sir. you are the best. -g

2.  Tony 9:28am, Fri 25th, 2008

Two from me. . .

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather the wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.

Antoine de Saint Exupery

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

Jack London

3.  Matthew Pennell 9:52am, Fri 25th, 2008

My first web page had animated eyeballs on, too. It must be about time for them to make a comeback…

4.  Scott 11:04am, Fri 25th, 2008

damn – I was going to tag you to do this after I got around to writing mine…

Nice post.

5.  Jason Sadler 12:14pm, Fri 25th, 2008

Great post, I am going to do this myself and get a bunch of friends to do it as well.

My first website was dedicated to Dragonball Z, had spinning things everywhere!

6.  Daniel 12:16pm, Fri 25th, 2008

Thanks for the personal insights Josh. It’s soothing to know that you too started out like the rest of us… with not-so-great web design.

The Teddy Roosevelt is wonderful. Here’s one of my favorites:

“Our society is built to breed workers and consumers, not visionaries. Anytime you wish to achieve something truly remarkable and different then you will have to face the discomfort of doing something that is frowned upon by your (former) peers who are really just masking their own discomfort of seeing someone trying something different and wishing to achieve more. Sheep need to constantly validate their decisions to ignore their dreams and live mediocre unsatisfying lives. Before listening to their pleas to return to the flock, take a long hard look at where the path they are on is leading you to.” -Matt Inglot

7.  Josh 2:23pm, Fri 25th, 2008

Thanks for the kind words, Gong. It’s nice to know we have so much in common. :)

Also, when I do read feeds I’ve been reading yours, and really enjoying it as a political info…filter? You provide not just balance, but insight. I’ve recommended it on several occasions. Many thanks!

8.  Josh 2:24pm, Fri 25th, 2008

Tony, love the quotes. I’ve already got the first one in my book! The London quote, I imagine, helped when you were freezing your ass off in various parts of the globe?

9.  Tony 11:16am, Sun 27th, 2008

The first line of the London quote was almost a mantra on the ice. Another I thought might be appropriate for the book:

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”—Charles Darwin

btw, love how Bokardo looks on an iphone. beautiful job.

10.  Mieszkania Poznan 8:27am, Mon 28th, 2008

I’m trying to give as little info about myself as I can. I administer a very big forum and saw few complaints about giving too much information. Someone posted his phone no. and received weird phone calls. I think the less info I give the better is it for me

11.  Michelle Riggen-Ransom 10:14pm, Tue 29th, 2008

Ah, the David! So happy to see this on your list of amazing things, it’s on mine as well. I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut when I first saw that statue: you wait in line forever and everyone is on their phones and laughing and playing with their sunglasses etc. Then you walk down that little hall and everyone goes silent and there he is. Beautiful and unreal.

12.  Troy 10:46am, Sat 2nd, 2008

# I can only remember two times that I’ve ever cried. The last time was when my dog Moose died.
Should I say “You are a pretty lucky one” I hope you will not be in a situation that makes you cry ……..

13.  bilim 1:29pm, Fri 15th, 2008

thank you very nice

14.  Rahul 6:39pm, Sun 17th, 2008

You should watch CNN. It taught me a lot about interaction design, even though you don’t necessarily interact with a TV channel in the traditional sense.