About ginsudo

ginsudo means “the way of Ginsu” – like jeet kune do means “the way of the intercepting fist” and Tang Soo Do means “the way of the empty hand” – Do is the same word as Tao, which might be more familiar to some. Ah, but what is my way, you ask? I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain.

Sounds mystical and martial and oriental, doesn’t it? And although I may be all of those things, the truth is, ginsu.com was taken (at the time, not by the knife guys, but they own it now), so I had to think of something else.

Speaking of the knife guys, “Ginsu” is my actual name, though it’s just a coincidence that an annoyingly keen discernment, a sharpness if you will, is a family trait. It’s a not-terribly-uncommon Korean name, and I was born before the legendary late-night infomercial ever aired. The “G” in my name is a soft “g” as in gin-and-tonic, not a hard “g” as in gimlet. So I don’t ever want to hear from the knife guys, unless it’s for the sort of accommodating letter they wrote to Miss Ginsu (no relation).

About this blog: There isn’t much of a consistent theme to this blog, though I suppose you could say it’s all philosophical musings, whatever else it appears to be about. I’m never arguing here that I’m right, I’m just kind of thinking out loud on the page and in public for some nutty reason, in this day & age. Many posts select a single page in sequence from The Great Gatsby, noting my favorite phrase or sentence on that page, never more than one sentence. If the page is especially chock full o’ goodness, I may discuss alternatives, but I’ll still pick a favorite. I can’t say I have good reasons for doing this, but I do have some reasons.

Other basics about me: Born in Jersey, ran to NYC, followed by two decades in the SF Bay Area, then moved to Lake County and ran for State Senate in a quixotic desire to not do nothing about it all … now back at it in SF. Worked at VLG, Storm Ventures and Airespace, Linden Lab, Bynamite, Google, Honeycomb, and my current work, Gaida Corporation. Random: Tried making a podcast about technology and policy, because hey we were at peak podcast – it was fun but mass media is not for me. After a long and arduous search, in 2006 I identified my favorite bourbon, way before it became rare & precious. (I don’t drink much anymore, don’t send it to me if you find it.) In 2013, I finally went to Burning Man. These events are somehow all related in my mind. “Gene” is a nickname for “Ginsu” – people call me both or either, I don’t have a preference, it’s not any weirder than “Tom” for “Thomas.”

Me elsewhere: I don’t use social networks much anymore, but you can connect with me on LinkedIn.

Last updated: 30 Oct 2023