zutroy.net

So I just read a good post about why Twitter is so much better than Facebook.  And I don’t really want to offend all my FB friends but I’m going to risk it because I hate it so bad. Friends don’t get me wrong, it’s not you I hate, it’s Facebook.  Please just go get setup on Twitter.

When Facebook started getting popular, I knew I needed to get on it and understand the user experience because it is such a huge part of Internet marketing.  So I did, and it was just like MySpace without those horrible page styles.  I hated it from Continue reading

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/02/18/district-spied-students-parents-using-school-issued-laptops/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+foxnews%252Fscitech+%2528Text+-+SciTech%2529

Rarely do I read a news story and feel my blood pressure rise.  But this got it going.  I started to write this post and realized how worked up I was. I saved it as a draft and decided to come back when I had cooled down. I have cooled down now, and it has only been a day. K, mostly calmed down. Continue reading

I have always had a kind of sixth sense of social civility.  I may not follow it that often, and when I don’t I have this feeling that I’m doing something wrong.   For example, I don’t like to walk between two people that are talking, even if they are standing on opposite sides of a hallway and there is no other option.  I think it’s rude to answer my phone when I’m talking with anyone. I use a LOT of napkins but I try not to put them on the table or in a place where everyone can see then.  I feel guilty when I overhear enough of someone else’s conversation for me to know what they are talking about.

I have always admired the way people interacted in Ye olden days.  You know, when gentlemen would bow when meeting a lady, or stand when she entered the room.   And when they needed to argue, they found very civil ways to insult their foes which would always result in the simpler of the two fellows challenging the more gentlemanly to a duel. Continue reading

I read a lot of business columns. Most of the time I find wise people with good advice.  Like this guy.

http://www.tompeters.com/cool_friends/content.php?note=010640.php

I had a boss once (Curt Porrit) that told me that “the reason business exists is to make life better for people.  The question then becomes ‘does it make life better for the few at the expense of the masses or better for the masses, sometimes at the expense of the few?’”  When the company was sold and the buying company decided to fire him because he told them when they were making bad decisions, the remaining employees all began to plan their exit.  All out of loyalty to Curt.  A good manager doesn’t get productivity out of his people from fear, he inspires them to be the best they can be and makes them want to do it because of respect. Continue reading

I have a friend that is taking a class on guitar making and he is making his own custom acoustic guitar.  I have the honor of designing the head for him.  A relatively small task but an important one.  And I was thinking about it, “How would I love to build my own guitar?”  Man, that would be my pride and joy.  But really, I don’t have the time for it.  I have chosen not to.  Am I missing something that is more valuable to me that what I have chosen? I don’t know. I think I’m right but only time will tell.

I also recently launched a photoblog.  How would I love to carry my camera with me everywhere and find one fantastic shot every day. I am also getting all the equipment for my own darkroom donated to my cause.  I just hope that I’ll have the time to develop a handful of photos each month.  There’s nothing like watching your print come to life in the developer.  I always over-expose and carefully watch my developer times.  Then yank and into the stop bath.  Most of the time it turns out with a little bit more contrast.  I love the contrast. Continue reading

Jonathan is 9 years old.  And he reads books.  Lots of books.  And he reads them fast.  I was worried that he skipped over things he didn’t understand because he reads faster than I do.  I wanted to know what kind of books he was reading so I tried to read the books that he brought home.  But he would have them finished in one day and I would only be a few chapters into them.  So I gave up on that.

Then last month he decided he wanted to keep a blog.  So we got him set up with a blog.  His first post was about how to level up your character quickly in an MMORPG called Runescape.  It was every bit as good as many of the tutorials that I have read on many online games.  I was honestly a little bit surprised.

So then about 2 weeks ago, he told me that he had been working on a book at school and he needed a thumb-drive so he could bring it home and work on it here too.  When I first read it, he had written about 3000 Continue reading