So it is that I return to this blog I started over 1.5 years ago. Over that period, I think I've learned that I need to tap into the soul of this blog's namesake as the best way of dealing with the loss of Doug, John, and Michael. That is to say, Three Reasons was meant to be a reminder that in the face of workaday life, I should always have three reasons to pursue my passions and curiosity. That is because those three men possessed an indescribable joy and tenacity in pursuing their passions in music and creativity. And they were fueled by the joy that came in unselfishly sharing this powerful force with others.

That said, I'll try to capture moments of inspiration here. An ongoing mental drivel at times, but important documentation of my moments of curiosity.

I've found that my mind opens up most these days when I'm in a liminal state (there's some old anthro terminology for you). That is, when I'm on the way to work on the El or flying for biz. I think it's because these are times when you're among strangers and distraction is limited. Probably also because you're temporarily suspended of your contextual roles and routines: I'm not wearing my home nor my work hats.

So today I was thinking about the following:

• Using visual signature recognition software on waveforms to identify like sound patterns. Implications for everything from audiology to Pandora.com.

• Similarly, using this new type of software for sheet music pattern recognition.

• Russel Davies' blog today featured an article about how monetization of online services isn't necessary when you have a very lean organization. Craigslist (7th most visited site) not accepting advertising and having 22 employees is the poster child. So I really need to pursue social networking for loss/grieving. I don't need to worry about the business model at this point.

• Grant McCracken's blog made me realize something about what happens when hit campaigns, innovations, etc. "boom" (iPod, Dove, etc.). I've heard the Dove case invoked twice this week, once by Grant, the other by Mark Barden of eatbigfish. Having been involved with this campaign, I now realize that post-facto observers have a way of oversimplifying things -- e.g. using Dove as a case study to prove a point about branding processes they espouse. As I once heard a playwright say on Studio 360 (I'm butchering this beyond belief): 'Creativity is messy. Hamlet was a mess.' Getting to great advertising with Dove was not an easy task. But suffice it to say that SUCCESS BREEDS MYTH.