David Byrne playlist

David Byrne playlist 

Photo: David Byrne at Coachella, 2018

Short version

I created a playlist of David Byrne songs spanning his career and you can jump to the end if you’re not interested in my ramblings. I could talk endlessly about him.

Before 1983

At the beginning of 1983, I was listening to a steady diet of artists like this:

  • Hall and Oates
  • Human League
  • John Cougar
  • Chicago
  • Toto
  • Foreigner
  • The Cars
  • Men at Work
  • Journey
  • REO Speedwagon

Not that these bands are terrible or anything, but they have one thing in common: I haven’t intentionally listened to any of them since then.…

READ MORE

Favoritism in men’s tennis

Favoritism in men’s tennis

For those that follow men’s tennis, you know it’s been dominated by 3 players for more than 15 years. Out of 60 grand slam tournaments that have been player, 85% of them have been won by these three players.

If tennis is not your sport, imagine that a single team or player won 85% of every major event for 15 years.…

READ MORE

My favorite musical artists

My favorite musical artists

When someone asks me this, I can always rattle off a few I’ve always loved, but then everything else is this giant soup and I can’t really rank them. So, I like to take a scientific approach.

I looked at songs I’ve liked in Spotify and found the artists with the most likes and this is the list I came up with for my Top 10:

  • VAST
  • Ludovico Einaudi
  • Enya
  • David Byrne
  • Brett Dennen
  • R.E.M.
…

READ MORE
Dialogue in TV shows and movies

Dialogue in TV shows and movies

So, I’ve analyzed a number of TV shows and movies and found 40 common lines of dialogue that I listed below. If we banned all of them, we could spend more time looking at the pretty pictures and listening to the soundtrack.

  1. Thanks.
  2. For what?
  3. I’m sorry.
  4. There’s nothing to be forgiven.
…

READ MORE
Exam for contractors

Exam for contractors

I’m working on an exam that contractors can take to become licensed. I’m open to suggestions.

To set this up, let’s say the exam is Monday at noon to 2pm. You fail the exam if:

  • You arrive before Tuesday
  • You call and let those running the exam that you will be late
  • You clean up any mess you may have made
  • You take less than 72 hours to complete the exam
  • You kill only one plant walking from your car to the exam
  • You have a vacuum, broom, or level in your car
  • You discard any of your trash into the correct bin when leaving
  • You write down any important things you are told
…

READ MORE
The last time I saw Steve Jobs

The last time I saw Steve Jobs

I wrote this little anecdote shortly after Steve Jobs passed away. Despite it happening more than 7 years ago, it still is imprinted on my brain and does a great job of illustrating the person I felt he was.

I was leaving the main building on the Apple campus. Just ahead of me was Steve.…

READ MORE

New tennis face for 2018

New tennis face for 2018

Not since my 2016 pick of Alexander Zverev (now in the top 10!) have I been this excited by a new player. This year it’s Alex de Minaur. Currently ranked 208 in the world, this is definitely my biggest longshot of a pick ever.

He has a long list of things going for him:

  • He’s got a great attitude.
…

READ MORE