All posts by Mark Watkins

Books

The Travelers, by Chris Pavone

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For a long time, I’ve wondered about how to characterize the difference between a spy novel and and a spy thriller. After reading a review copy of Chris Pavone’s The Travelers, I think I can now express it precisely. Both have secret agents, intelligence agencies, dead drops, tradecraft, double-crosses and other staples of the genre.

It’s all about the plausibility of the events. In a Le Carré novel, everything is completely plausible. No James Bond unrealistic derring-do. No jumping out of airplanes without a parachute. No complete civilians discovering crazy secrets and getting pursued by mysterious strangers. Just real people betraying something or someone, or trying not to.

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The Hawaii Project – personalized book recommendations

Which puts Chris Pavone’s thoroughly enjoyable The Travelers squarely in the Spy Thriller camp. It has many elements you’d find in Le Carre – skepticism about the nature and motives of Intelligence agencies, a morally grey world view where most everyone is a bad guy of some sort. But most of the book is an adventure, a fun but not very plausible one.

The Travelers’ is Pavone’s third novel, after The Expats and The Accident. He specializes in “normal” people (who often turn out to be not that normal), getting caught up in intrigues. Will Rhodes is a not-very-sympathetic character – a newly married travel writer with a wandering eye and questionable morals. He’s married to Chloe and working for Travelers magazine, with operations around the world and activities that might be more than just writing articles….and Chloe might not be who she seems either…before long Will’s made some bad choices, and events hurtle him from New York to Paris to cabins in the forest of Iceland to Ireland to Yachts in the Mediterranean to …well the book is so peripatetic that the section headers are location names.

If you’re looking for a great thriller, The Travelers will keep you entertained for hours. If you’re looking for deep insights into the human condition, you might want to head for Le Carré or Graham Greene.

I received a free copy of The Travelers through LibraryThing’s wonderful Early Reviewers program.

Books

The Last days of Magic by Mark Tompkins

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The Last Days of Magic is a quasi-historical fantasy set in Ireland. Drawn from the legends of Ireland and from (believe it or not!) the Dead Sea Scrolls, The Last Days of Magic tells the story of the Nephilim, the hybrid offspring of angels and humans, and the Sidhe (“shee”), the Irish faeries of whom much has been written.

The Last Days of Magic

“Fantastic . . . an honest, beautifully detailed book and an entertaining read.” -DIANA GABALDON, THE WASHINGTON POST”A fantastical treat.” -PEOPLE”Simultaneously sweeping and intricate . . . Tompkins’s amazing debut novel conjures an epic battle for the soul of Ireland.

I wanted to like this book. No, I wanted to love it. As someone with a lifelong interest in Druids, Faeries, and books like The King of Elfland’s Daughter, The Mabinogion and Thomas the Rhymer, I was looking forward to a magical tale of otherworldly beings. And this book tries so hard. The erudition of Mark Tompkins is beyond question, and his passion and love of this subject matter is evident on every page. Faeries, Nephilim, Sidhe, Gnomes, Brownies, Sluaghs, Pixies, Fire Sprites, Leprechauns, Dryads, Woodwoses, and other creatures drip from the pages.

That’s kind of the problem. Every time the story works up a bit of momentum, we stop for a diversion into another creature, another king, another tribe, another history, and by the time that’s done, you’ve forgotten what was happening. I’m surprised an editor didn’t rein this in.

If you are deeply interested in the history and lore of faeries, you will find this book interesting and informative. If you’re just looking for a good historical fantasy with Druids and Faeries, there are easier ways to get it.

(I received a free Advance Reader Copy from Edelweiss in return for an honest review).

Hiking, Travel

Your first Oahu hike

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Your first Oahu hike

So, you finally made to Hawaii. Magic. And you want to go hiking on Oahu. There’s a surprising number of options. As someone who’s been hiking the island for decades, here’s my guide to deciding on your first hike, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned mountain climber. It (somewhat) assumes you are a tourist or visitor, and you’re staying in Honolulu. And I’ve left out a lot of details, you can Google the details of any of these trails for directions and the like.

Easy/Kids: Lanikai Pillbox Trail, Diamond Head, or Makapu’u Lighthouse.
Intermediate: Lulumahu Falls, Aiea Loop Trail, or
Advanced: Kuli’ou’ou or Olomana.

Easy Trails

Are you a relative beginner as a hiker? Want some great views without too much work?

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Get yourself to the Lanikai Pillbox Trail. A short, 30 minute climb to some WWII pillboxes, concrete bunkers used for lookouts.

If you’re not staying on the windward side (few do), then make a day of it, combine it with a trip to Kailua Beach and a meal in downtown Kailua.

Pros: Short (30 min), Views (out of this world), Safe (wear real shoes though, don’t hike in your flip-flops (or “slippas”, as the locals would say — a friend broke an ankle as the trail is very eroded in spots).
Cons: You will be on this trail with a hundred new friends. Seriously. About 1000 people a day hit this. Don’t go on a weekend.

2. Hit Diamond Head. Another short (but steep) climb. Much of the “trail” is really concrete stairs leading to the lookout. But the views of downtown Honolulu are hard to beat.

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Pros: Easy access from Honolulu, Awesome views. Doesn’t take long.
Cons: Crowded. Lots of concrete and stairs.

3. Makapuu Lighthouse trail

The Makapu’u area is awesome. Makapu’u beach is one of our favorite beaches on the island. Mostly a locals beach, great waves for bodysurfing, and not too crowded. The Lighthouse hike is an easy stroll with amazing views. It’s easily accessible from Honolulu (30 minutes from downtown), or from the Windward side. The trail is mostly paved, and you’ll get a amazing views of the famous Lighthouse as well as the entire windward shore. Do yourself a favor and combine this with a stop at Makapu’u beach and lunch at Keneke’s, a local plate lunch shop.

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Pros: Quick & easy, awesome views, only “moderately” crowded.
Cons: Mostly paved. Somewhat crowded.

Intermediate

  1. Lulumahu Falls

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Lulumahu falls are also easily accessed from both downtown Honolulu and and the Windward side.

Head up the Pali Highway, near the top you will see a bunch of cars parked in a dirt area, right where Nuuanu Pali Drive runs into the Pali Highway. There’s an entrance there to the trail. Just follow the people :). The trail to the falls will take you maybe 45 minutes (assuming no wrong turns — the trail is not extremely well marked). The trail is ok for smaller kids who like to hike. If you have a bit of extra time the bamboo forest and the ruins of Kamehameha III make for an Indiana Jones style experience. To find the path to the ruins, stay to the right as you come into the bamboo forest. There will be a side trail (looks a foot or two wide) that starts a gap in the bamboo. Just follow it west through the bamboo and you’ll find it eventually :)).

Pros: Indiana Jones. Waterfalls. Nuff Said.

Cons: Can be crowded. Not hard to get off the trail. Not a sanctioned state trail, but tons of people on it.

2. Aiea Loop Trail.

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Pros: An ancient Hawaiian heiau (religious temple built from rocks). Gorgeous hawaiian Ohia flowers. A commanding view of the H3 highway and Halawa valley. A lost WWII bomber (I’ve not found it —  yet — but it’s there). Relatively flat, 5m round trip hike.
Cons: It’s not much of a workout, pretty flat. But fun

Advanced

  1. Kuli’ou-’ou Ridge Trail

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This trail is a workout. You start in a Honolulu neighborhood and end at the top of the Koolau mountain range, looking down into Waimanalo, with commanding views in all directions. Along the way you’ll go through a number of different “zones” of differing vegetation.

Pros: Great workout, amazing views, high quality trail.
Cons: A stairmaster section at the end. But it’s worth it.

2. Olomana

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Probably the best known Windward side hike. It’s not for the faint hearted. You’ll climb 1600 feet up a knife edge ridge, climbing with the assistance of ropes for 10–15′ in a few places. There are three peaks. The first is a workout but doable. The 2nd peak is not too much further, but you don’t get that much extra out of it, so I’d skip it. Don’t go to the 3rd peak. People die there. About once a year. Including experienced hikers. Just don’t.

Pros: Great workout, Amazing views, easily accessible.
Cons: Ropes. Mild danger. Extreme danger on 3rd peak. Just don’t.

Notes:

  1. You will have heard of Stairway to Heaven, aka Haiku Stairs. I don’t advise it. The stairs have been heavily damaged by recent storms, and you’ll expose yourself to tresspassing charges and a fine. Not fun.
  2. The definitive guide to Oahu hiking is David Ball’s book, highly recommended.

The Hikers Guide to Oahu

Experienced and novice hikers alike will benefit from the information in this updated and expanded edition of the best-selling The Hikers Guide to O’ahu. The author describes in detail 52 trails that will take you to O’ahu’s lush valleys, cascading waterfalls, windswept ridges, and remote seacoasts.

3. If you are a deeply experienced hiker and into extreme hiking, check out this site for (dangerous) adventures. http://www.unrealhawaii.com/hikes/ (what I call “advanced” here, they call “easy” or “intermediate”. You have been warned.)

Enjoy!

Favorites, Startups

Your competition is the back button

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backI’ve talked to so many early stage startups who are worried about the competition or people “stealing” their ideas, or even (god help us) want VCs to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

Rule #1. Nobody gives a crap about your stupid idea. Even if it’s not a stupid idea.

Y0u should be so lucky that somebody cares enough about your idea to try to steal it. They can steal your idea, but they can’t steal your brain. Ideas are worthless. Execution and commitment are everything. They can’t steal your execution, and they will undoubtedly lack your commitment — after all, it’s not their idea — it’s yours.

Here’s the truth.

Rule #2. Your competition is the “back” button. The total indifference of the world to what you are doing. When I hit that page, or start that app, and have the slightest doubts about the quality of what I’m seeing, I’m outta here and not coming back. I’m busy and I have too many choices.

If you’re doing something new, other players in your space help you, not hurt you when you’re young — because they’re helping socialize the idea that something like this might be something somebody wants. And people might use both products. Goodreads and LibraryThing are book review and cataloging services. I use them both, I like them both. Even though I’m building a semi-competitive book recommendation engine called The Hawaii Project. As you get bigger, and your category more established, thencompetition becomes more of an issue. In the early days, just stop worrying about.

Get over the cleverness of your idea, get out there and tell people about it.

And build it so well people don’t hit the back button.

Career, Favorites, Startups

Everything is practice

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peleEverything is training.

In the early days of a startup, everything is training. You’re alway practicing. Talk to anyone who will listen. Think of yourself as an athlete, always training, practicing.

That party where you’re answering questions from some random person at your startup — 2 months later you’re going to get that question from a rock star reporter when you least expect it, and you’ll be ready with the answer on autopilot. Keep building. Keep doing stuff even when the payoff isn’t 100% clear. Invest yourself. Get paid later.

That random student who wanted to chat, you thought about blowing off? Turns out his mom is a VC. That candidate who you knew wasn’t right, but still wanted to chat? Turns out he knows the perfect person and introduces you after you do him the courtesy of a conversation. Invest. Share. It will come back to you in ways you never expect.

You don’t make your money now off your success now (mostly). You make your money in the next “life”. Because what you do in this “life” (your current gig) is what gets to that next, bigger gig, your next “life”, that’s an even bigger opportunity. You’ll have to earn it there, too, but you’ll never get the chance if you don’t invest.

Most of the money I’ve made, I’ve made via Endeca, when they/we were acquired by Oracle. And I worked my ass off for it. But I’d never have gotten the chance, if I hadn’t invested 5 “dog years” (seemed like 35 years) at PTC. It was a meat grinder, a hell of place to learn but an unrelenting grind. But because of the work I did there, and the reputation I built, I got a chance to take the next step up at Endeca. Invest.

I constantly speak to managers or leaders who are aggravated that someone who works for them makes more than they do. “Get over it”, I tell them. I’ve been everything from a manager of a few people to a VP running hundreds of people to a CEO. In almost every circumstance I’ve had someone reporting to me who made more than I did. They say you should hire people smarter than you. I agree. And that probably means they’re sometimes going to get paid more. And you know what — that’s ok, because they’re going to make me money, in this life or the next.