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A formerly partially frozen AP Festival Pizza.

I get asked all the time if I would get back into the restaurant business. 

The follow up question is typically along the lines of ‘what would you do different,’ or something like that. 

Hard “NO” on #1, but I think a lot about #2.

Nobody doesn’t know it’s awful out there right now. So much pivoting … 

These people may not be coming back.  Barring an economic shift (which will come at some point). A topic for another post.

What would I do if was to open another pizza shop? Start with the pizza itself. There is nothing new under the sun, but you can innovate with existing products and procedures. (And tech. Could this be a business blog entry/ linkedin-thing if I didn’t mention tech?)

** Remember, we are simplifying and automating crap procedures. Nobody wants these jobs right now.

  1. Use a raw frozen dough skin. You cannot know how many unwanted employee hours are deleted here—and potential order problems solved. Austin’s Pizza of the past did this: we used them at ACL. Guess what? Pizza was sometimes better there than at the stores. 
  2. Use an automatic sauce machine/ robot. They exist. They probably work. It seems like a small thing but it’s not. 
  3. Get a dairy to develop a pizza-sized cheese sheet. Trust me on this. I have been to cheese plants (oh the smells). They can make a 14” log and slice it with deli paper in the middle. 

We have cut out a huge amount of non-staff-able, poop-y labor, we have avoided most problems that can occur before the restaurant opens, and we have reduced costs with perfect measurements. If all of this can be done from frozen even better. 

All the (only one) person has to do is set this pizza in the oven. That’s it. A HUGE amount of pizzas are just cheese.

Part 2 coming soon; probably Fridays. 

-jd

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Please read this article!

There is a lot of blind, exuberant love for Elon and Tesla in this town right now. A lot of smart people are starting to feel more than a little unsettled about it.

Ask yourself: Why is your Uber driver dishing out investment advice right now? I remember this kind of things happening twice before (2000 + 2008).

Don’t be afraid, but be skeptical. The best kind of optimists are a bit grumpy because they are born skeptics.

Article High Points:

It sums up why we, as Austinites, should be really weary of Elon Musk.
“Elon has parlayed an almost religious movement of true believers to fund losses. This is a business that’s never really made accounting profits, let alone actual cash flow. Amazon did all of that, generating internal positive cash flow. Tesla has just burned cash. “

More on the dangers of religion and $$ is always good.
“…you have entire asset classes and investment theses and ETFs and portfolios that are built on nothing more than narratives about disruption and innovation and belief. It is, by definition, faith and religion, and I find that to be extremely effective and extremely dangerous.”

It identifies why there is no one to make your hamburger.
“I’m more concerned about the people who have dependents or mortgages, and everything has been working. In some cases, they might have had a job that maybe wasn’t so great. And they decided to quit it because they’re making more money speculating in crypto or speculating in the stock market and maybe even levering or buying on margin to do that.” 

And it talks about why last mile/ home delivery companies are absolute s*#t.
“It’s amazing today watching and benefiting as a consumer, from Jokr and Gorillas and these under 15-minute delivery services, because I lived during the Kozmo.com and UrbanFetch moments, when you would order something and a dude would bring you your one-dollar drink with a hot chocolate chip cookie and a T shirt and a CD with a wrap on it, and you could order something again seven minutes later, they would do the same thing. Those companies went bust. That idea is back, and it’s being funded again. As a consumer, I think it’s brilliant. As an investor, I think these things are going to crash and burn again.”

https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kbx9b/the-to-the-moon-crash-is-coming

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Ask yourself Y THO

I’ve been trying to bang out more songs faster.

Here’s some of what’s helped so far:

Learn and map out a bunch of basic song structures. Drag your favorite song into your DAW and mark the sections.

Then, when writing, pick a structure and write to this. You can always get fancy later.

If the above feels too restrictive consider the alternative is the hard way. (Maybe you do not know your structures enough. I didn’t but thought I did.)

100% of the time it’s easier to break the rules when you know them in the first place.

Even if you just have 4-bars, stretch out the song idea over a whole structure immediately, no mater how pitifully thin some parts seem. If the spark is real and you actually have something, your seed/ idea will more than survive. In fact, there will more than likely be more to it than you initially thought.

Remember, it’s easier to take away then to add after your initial burst of inspiration.

The dark magic may be in your initial writing, but the money is in the re-writing. Anyone can come up with an idea, but hardly anyone produces finished work.

Set a time of day to re-write. An appointment.

When at a this writing appointment give yourself 2 options: write or do nothing; not internet nothing. Absolutely nothing; just sit there. (This is advice is from Neil Gaiman, and he knows.)

Always better to have too many words and verses.

Then, the more medieval you are about chopping words the better.

Keep it simple. Play to about 50% of your top-end ability.

-jd

the current mothership

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Beautiful sunset @ Lost Creek Country Club

Had a fantastic Saturday night, pool-side set. Beautiful vibes all around. I am at my level best @ this kind of gig.

Actually hanging up the solo electronic/ acoustic spurs for a bit to concentrate on these DJ sets.

Gives me a greater opportunity to share music I love, keeps me so current — searching for new cuts, and I can mix in my own electronic stuff (that fits).
-jd

Playlist

Walking on the Moon – The Police
A classic, ushering in the right feel.

All I Want to Do – UB40
Deep cut from my favorite album of theirs. Such a great groove. Amazing drum machine and bass (machine) too.

Natty Dread – Bob Marley
All time favorite Bob track. So chill.

T’aint What You Do – Fun Boy 3
So weird and great.

Non Stop – Kraftwerk
One of the greats. This is a newer remix. Absolutely love the mood here.

Verona – Lastlings
Nice, close song. I think I heard it in passing on Apple Music.

Rat in Mi Kitchen – UB40
Couldn’t help myself. Had to go back to the well.

Fems Pay Douces – Raphael Toiné
Heard this via Paris’ Le Mellotron. Shows up in a lot of folks sets. How could you not love this guy?

I Fell it Coming – The Weekend/ Daft Punk 
Such a jam. Chorus is repeated a lot. Not sure the kids know what he’s talking about, luckily.

Sentimental Street – Night Ranger
Again, I can not help myself sometimes with the 80’s.

Paradise (live) – Sade
Thee deepest of grooves. Love this whole record too.

Wouldn’t it Be Good – Danny Hutton Hitters
A classic. Good break-the-sounds-up song. A bit cheesy, version-wise.

A Message to You Rudy – The Specials
Perfect pool-side music. Drunken horns on a Saturday after noon are perfection.

Down Under – Men at Work
Always sounds great loud. You wouldn’t think, but it’s true.

Brother’s Cup – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Wasn’t sure about this one. Kept waiting for an errant blue word. Never came!

Matadjem Yinmixan – Tinarwian
I love this song so much. Perfect chill afternoon vibe.

Cruel Summer – Bananarama
Ditto. Love this too. Sounds so wooly and perfectly of its time.

Where Angels Fear to Tread – Disclosure 
Amazing. The whole thing; every facet. Made me a fan of these guys.

Meditate – INXS
Weird, but it worked. Forget how it even got on the playlist.

Oguo – Lakou Mizik & Joseph Ray
I almost misted-up when this started. Such amazing work here combining the rural, very real island life with the modern. Breathtaking. Watch the video. Reminds you what an amazing world we live in.

Secrets – The Weekend
The most modern way to cover songs ever. Genius.

Adventure of a Lifetime – Coldplay
No apologies for loving theses guys. This record changed the course of my life.

Crazy – Gnarls Barkley 
Classic. Everybody loves it. Period.

Bad Dream – Cannons
How cool is this? Love these guys.

Love is Not Enough – Above & Beyond ft. Zoë Johnson
Beautiful remix. And that voice. Wow.

Chameleon – Panu
Happiest song ever? I could listen to it over-and-over-and-over.

Warning Signs – Alan Fitzpatrick & Lawrence Hart
This has been playing in the car a lot. Like a lot.

One More Time – Daft Punk
I can still remember the first time I heard this. Fell right in love.

Sailing – Chicane
Cool idea and execution. Prefect for the Country Club afternoon set. Tailor made.

Beyond Beliefs – Ben Böhmer
The summer song of 2021. For sure.

+[encore]

The Telephone Call – Kraftwerk
Yes! Current favorite Kraftwerk song.

SuperJumper – MadMixMustang
So ridiculous.