Archives for April 2016

I am an American by birth, but my husband and I moved away for a few years and then had to reintegrate upon arrival.

The hardest thing to get used to is the abundance of everything, and all of the food with preservatives.

Prior to leaving, like most Americans we would do our grocery shopping once a week or so and stick it in the fridge, stock the pantry with crap, and head to Home Depot or Walmart or the mall when we needed something – anything. We would order things for overnight delivery if we couldn’t find it in stock.

America is an on-demand, at-your-service, wish-granted type of place.

Out of the country, pretty much anywhere we’ve been, we have had to find the “one” guy that “might” sell that thing we need, if he has it, if he’s open, if if if…

We went grocery shopping daily because “dorm fridges” are the norm in most places. And fruit/veg spoil quick.

Overnight shipping? Pfft. Try fortnight, if you are lucky. And be prepared for a heavy customs duty.

Living abroad while American you either get with the program of living “simply” (as we did) or you crack and run back to the land of instant gratification.

So yes, I’d say that is the biggest shock – one I still experienced even though I knew it was coming.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-hardest-thing-to-get-used-to-or-strangest-thing-you-have-encountered-after-moving-specifically-to-America

Originally Posted On: 2015-12-24

I was a Segway owner for roughly 3 years.

For most of that time, I was living in Mexico (not the US), where there were no restrictions on where I was allowed to use it.

Having the Segway was awesome – I lived around 3 1/2 miles outside of the downtown area, around 1 mile from the nearest grocery, and around 1/2 mile from the closest convenience store. Parking was often difficult for my truck, but the weather was gorgeous, so I would generally put on my backpack and take a ride on the Segway to go shopping, have a quick meal, do errands – everything you would do in your car, but faster.

People were always interested in it, and wanted to try it out, so I’d always have to leave some spare time to give a Segway demo or two.

I was really sad when I had to get rid of them after moving back to the states, because they weren’t really allowed to be used anywhere I lived.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/How-does-it-feel-to-own-a-Segway

Originally Posted On: 2015-02-16

There are many ways to tackle this question, but I can tell you how my own company, ROCeteer approached it.

The first thing to do is determine whether or not you want an Incubator or an Accelerator.

What is the difference, you ask?

An Accelerator will group together external teams for a predetermined period of time, giving the teams a core set of resources to help them succeed with their individual goals. Generally, an Accelerator will take some portion of equity in exchange for seed money during the process, but there are many different models.

An Incubator will often (not always) be within a single entity, where all the company/product ideas are related to a single goal. There will be a management team in place to facilitate all the projects and help steer them along.

For ROCeteer, we decided to create an overall infrastructure that would be able to support either an Accelerator or an Incubator. We would then be able to plug-and-play based on the needs of our clients. As our clients are typically entrepreneurial ecosystems, corporations, investment portfolios or governments, creating the system that is most advantageous to the needs of those types of entities was the most important for us.

After determining our market (as above) and our value proposition, its merely a matter of business development to find clients to fill the seats 🙂

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-create-an-incubator

Originally Posted On: 2015-02-01

There are some women who are “hit on” all the time, and some women who are not. From my observation, it has nothing to do with their size, only their confidence level.

Are there are women who fit “society’s norm” for beauty that men will flirt with? Absolutely yes.

Are there women who do not fit that norm that men will flirt with? Absolutely yes.

Something that people don’t take into account often enough is that a large part of “attractiveness” is actually “confidence.” How you feel about yourself is often how other people will feel about you. If you do not like yourself, then other people will not either.

Therefore, if you are comfortable and confident in your own skin, then you’ll attract people. Obviously, as you feel that you are relatively pretty, you’re getting some notice already from the people who are sensing your confidence level.

If you would like to lose weight, you will need to make sure you really care about why you would be doing so. If you do it for a “fantasy” idea, then it won’t likely be permanent (or healthy.) Find a reason that means something for you, if you do it at all.

Or, learn to be comfortable with who you are.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/I-weigh-310-pounds-but-Im-reasonably-pretty-I-am-not-obese-but-am-considered-overweight-Will-I-get-more-attention-from-men-if-I-slim-down-Do-skinny-and-reasonably-pretty-women-get-hit-on-by-guys-all-the-time-or-is-that-just-a-fantasy-of-mine

Originally Posted On: 2015-12-17

There is a psychological model of social interaction called “the Karmpann Drama Triangle” and it looks like this:

The idea is, once you are in the triangle, you just keep moving around and can’t get out until you forcibly break away.

In the scenario presented, someone has offered gifts to someone to be their friend. Regardless of whether or not the offer is accepted, this places the “offer-er” in the Victim state, and the “Offer-ee” in Rescuer state (as it is meant to evoke pity.)

Should the offer be accepted, bluff or not, both places with shift by one almost immediately, as the person who was intending to “save” the friendless offer-er will now find themself mistrusted and persecuted by the very person they set out to help.

This can go on forever.

So…

The only thing I would take from someone offering a bribe to be their friend is a cry for help, and I would offer assistance rather than friendship. When they are psychologically able to handle friendship, it may come on its own (or not.)

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/If-a-person-offered-you-money-and-or-gifts-to-be-your-friend-would-you-accept-their-offer-What-if-they-were-bluffing

Originally Posted On: 2015-05-21

Having to learn to speak with a different vocal pitch in order to be taken seriously.

(Although I think this is a problem for women in any position, really.)

Female voices are naturally higher pitched. Higher pitches are perceived to speak faster (whether or not it is true.)

The higher and faster the pitch, the less seriously people take the content that is being said. Think of it like the Chipmunk Effect – play an Alvin and the Chipmunks record at 78 and it sounds “cute”. Play it at 33 1/3 and it sounds “Deep.”

To be taken seriously in business, especially tech, women need to speak slower, and drop the pitch of their voice.

It’s rarely talked about, but every woman I know that is successful has had someone pull them aside at one point in heir career and give them “the talk” about how to speak properly at work to get people to hear you.

Does that count as “underrated”?

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/Women-in-Technology-What-is-the-most-underrated-problem-in-the-life-of-a-women-in-the-high-tech-industry

Originally Posted On: 2016-01-13

The best way to get a prototype in front of airline executives is via an aerospace accelerator like the Starburst Accelerator.

These executives are busy people, so they “ve apportioned their time to work with accelerators that have pre-vetted ideas and fashioned them into the type of ideas that are best suited for their companies and will have the best chance of success.

If you can successfully navigate the accelerator program, the executives will be spending more than a single meeting with you.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-best-way-to-get-hold-of-airline-executives-and-pitch-my-prototype

Originally Posted On: 2016-07-18

“Betray” is a strong word.

There is a lot of emotion tied up in that.

I personally try not to make any judgements where emotion is involved, and instead will work through to find the facts behind it.

If this other person matters to you even a little, then the effort is worth that for you and your friend.

If the person doesn’t matter, then forget them.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/Should-I-trust-somebody-who-betrayed-my-best-friend

Originally Posted On: 2015-12-24

I once broke up with a guy because he asked me to marry him.

(He TOTALLY didn’t see that one coming.)

Spoiler alert: He snored.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-bizarre-reasons-for-breaking-up-a-relationship

Originally Posted On: 2015-05-12

From my experience there are just as many males as females who are obsessed with the appearance of members of the opposite sex. It seems to be more of an issue for more people when you’re younger, but for a significant subset it definitely matters to members of both genders no matter how old they get.

In fact, once over a certain age it is often the case that men are more affected by appearance than women.

Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/Why-do-girls-get-so-obsessed-about-their-looks-but-most-boys-dont

Originally Posted On: 2016-06-06