Kung Fu Grippe
kungfugrippe.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2008
Merlin Mann's personal blog, with short posts on productivity, writing, tech, and the internet, including the idea Mann's Assumption.
What HN saysHN commenters cite his posts on tweets used without permission and on small stories online, and note his 'Mann's Assumption' as missing from a list.
21HN people shared it
13linked it in comments
15stories submitted
186story points
3 years agolast shared
2008people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Better3 people · 4 points · first shared 2008 · discussion on HN
- 2Homepage3 people · first shared 2009
- 3The Cringing Point2 people · 4 points · first shared 2009 · discussion on HN
- 4Making the Clackity Noise2 people · 1 points · first shared 2009 · discussion on HN
- 5Merlin Mann on Adobe's products1 people · 67 points · first shared 2009 · 35 comments on HN
- 6Three things about Marco Arment…1 people · 34 points · first shared 2009 · 6 comments on HN
- 7For Immediate Relief: Speaking Like a Human1 people · 28 points · first shared 2009 · 11 comments on HN
- 8Merlin Mann interviews Appsaurus (YC S07) at Macworld1 people · 22 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
- 9In Nomine Jobs, et Woz, et Spiritus Schiller1 people · 14 points · first shared 2009 · 4 comments on HN
- 10Merlin Mann shows off some Steampunk DIY1 people · 4 points · first shared 2008 · discussion on HN
- 11Kung fu grippe : Liking the Fitbit1 people · 3 points · first shared 2009 · discussion on HN
- 12Twitter Profile Page Ideas1 people · 1 points · first shared 2008 · discussion on HN
- 13How to Blog1 people · 1 points · first shared 2008 · discussion on HN
- 14Yet, here we are. Welcome to the Social.1 people · 1 points · first shared 2009 · discussion on HN
- 15Welcome to the Social; Light a Match Already...1 people · 1 points · first shared 2009 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
blasdel · 2010-09-15
Valleywag was blacklisted early on, and Gawker has been too at least as long as Valleywag has been reintegrated into it. Plenty of other domains are blacklisted too: http://infoworld.com has been for some time, http://oppugn.us/ got added fairly recently, http://www.kungfugrippe.com/ got added after a (wholly justified) rant about Scribd (YC S06!).
macrael · 2010-04-13
Merlin Mann is one of the people whose tweets were used without permission. He detailed his perspective in three blog posts:
http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/508615417/regret
http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/511063886/tweets-are-not-nothing
http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/511314674/dollar-sign-painters
This is a mann who gives away most of his life's work. He loves fair use and believes in sharing. However, when doing so, he believes that he has control over what of his work is shared and under what terms. Publishing a book and charging money for other people's work without their permission is emphatically not fair use.
Anyway, he writes well on the subject, I would recommend reading his perspective because he is someone who makes a living giving away most of his work and had thought a lot about what that means.
mattlanger · 2009-11-10
I can't help but be reminded of when Merlin Mann said "little stories are the internet's native and ideal art form... little dumb stories that I never expected."
Read it all--it's worth it. Plus, that this was even written (not to mention well-received) poses a fine counterpoint to any argument stating that storytelling on the internet is dead: http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/169873399/clackity-noise
anthonyrubin · 2009-04-13
Does Merlin take his own message very seriously? Take a look at his personal blog:
http://www.kungfugrippe.com/
zdw · 2023-09-26
I'm very surprised that this list doesn't include Mann's Assumption: https://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/29776928258/manns-assumption
chillaxtian · 2016-05-12
seltzered_ · 2013-09-13
Merlin Mann made his own 'compose email' app using automator: http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/45763194525/compose-gmail-message .
Basically you launch it, it jumps straight to the blank compose window (nothing else), and closes when you hit send. That's it.
I try use it for the times when I don't want to see my email, but need to email something.
minikites · 2013-07-12
Don't worry, there is a single study on literally this that confirms that everything is actually okay. Just blink for 10,000 hours and it will solve all your problems.
I agree with Merlin Mann's thoughts on Gladwell:
http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/205874392/surprise-surprise
billturner · 2010-10-26
Here's some ways to maybe not do it wrong:
* http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/553751319/mustache-at-stake
* http://mashable.com/2008/04/18/bad-pr-pitches/
* http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/pitching_rww.php
But without the text of your pitch, it's hard to say what went wrong.
thiele · 2010-01-18
This bring up a complaint about Scribd that I've heard from a few people.
Most notably Merlin Mann said: "The core of Scribd’s model is the lowest form of leeching; yoinking other people’s shit without permission, then deliberately making it a giant pain in the ass for people to use."
http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/323549005/too-bad-so-i-went-with
Thoughts?
ivankirigin · 2009-11-03
I'm borrowing pg's phrase "hack a real world system" from yc applications.
If you cringe at that, watch this funny bit http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/218485518/merlinlabs
Matti · 2009-10-24
"Makebelieve Help, Old Butchers, and Figuring Out Who You Are (For Now)" is the original title of the video. Unless you are a big fan of Merlin Mann, in which case you'll be watching the video regardless of what I say, I'd say that this is something you can skip. The 40 min video is about... well, the topics Merlin Mann tends to speak about. The content-to-time-it-takes-to-watch-the-video ratio is pretty low, so if you're a 'casual' Mann fan, just (re-)read these posts:
http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/48588149/better
http://www.43folders.com/2008/12/03/real-advice-hurts