Web Quotes – Adam Pieniazek
Software engineering leader and father — writing about civic life, transit, tech, Boston and the Celtics, on a bicycle between things.
Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:52:21 +0000
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Web Quotes & Counterpoints XII
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Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:07:55 +0000
Lately a ton of great posts and articles were published, setting up a great edition of Web Quotes and Counterpoints. Let’s get right to it!
First up, check out my entrepreneurship coach’s latest post about living fearlessly and without regrets. The crux of the post is that we should act more and spend less time worrying about what our proper actions should be. Once we learn to recognize our fears and anxieties as feelings that we produce internally, we move closer to our core, to our competitive advantage. It’s a great motto and the less time we spend fearing the more time we can spend creating genuine, quality content. Lately, I’ve been in a bit of a funk and Tom’s post reminds me to simply be myself and my readers will appreciate my honesty and will be delivered a better product, whether that’s a blog post here, an article at one of The 42nd Estate’s properties or a paid service (more to come on The 42nd Estate’s upcoming services and new design very soon). Make sure to check out Tom’s post, especially if you’ve found yourself contemplating at the expensive of actual action. My on footnote to Tom’s post would be to be careful. Living fearlessly doesn’t necessarily mean exposing your innermost secrets to the world, which could be dangerous depending on your secrets and current career. To me, living fearlessly means acting without worrying about negative consequences, but you should still plan for all situations and realize that the more you expose yourself the higher the reward but also the higher the risk.
After you’re done reading and commenting on Tom’s post, bounce on over to fellow The 42nd Estate member, Justin Wright’s blog post about the top ten WordPress plugins you can’t miss. It seems like every blogger and his/her mom publishes a top ten WordPress plugins list, but Justin’s list features several very useful plugins I’ve never heard of before, such as Theme Test Drive, which allows you to load a different theme from your blog’s public theme that will show only to logged in administrators. It’s a great plugin that allows you to tweak or test a new theme and ensure it works without submitting your visitors to a work in progress theme. Another great plugin on Justin’s list is the Automated Excerpts plugin, which automatically creates a post excerpt while keeping intact any formating and tagging on the post. A nice time-saver!
Two additionals plugins I’ll recommend that are not on Justin’s list are the Flickr Photo Album plugin and the Whydowork Adsense plugin. I use the Flickr Photo Album plugin to generate the photo album section on my blog here. The Whydowork plugin is great as it inserts adsense code into your theme so you don’t have to go mucking about in the code and even better it has a feature that allows you to rotate different ad types into the post based on how old the post is. It’s a great feature as it allows you to show a small ad when the post is first published, and then automatically switches to a larger, more lucrative ad after a set period of time. Make sure you check out Justin’s post for the full list and let us know if you use a plugin you find particularly useful that’s not mentioned.
Since we just took a look at a post from a 42nd Estate member, we’ll keep the theme on business as we take a look at ten tax deductions freelancers can make. Freelance Switch, a great resource for freelancers such as myself, posts some common tax deductions that we freelancers can take. The list includes deductions for:
unpaid invoices
paypal fees
job hunting fees (such as fees to access Elance or other job boards)
cellphone and skype bills
home office expenses.
Head on over to Freelance Switch to check out the full list. Remember to consult a tax professional before utilizing any of these tips.
Perhaps you’re not quite a freelancer yet and are considering making the move from a full-time job to freelancing. If so, check out Daniel’s latest post at Daily Blog Tips about the asset value factor of working online. In the post, Daniel explains that we cannot simply look at annual gross income in a full-time job versus freelancing and decide which is more lucrative, as freelancing and working online also develops value in your blog, brand, and skill set. If you consider that your blog and other sites are valuable assets that can generate income via a sale then you’ll see that annual gross income is just one part of an online freelancer’s compensation. Be careful, however, not to overvalue your blog’s worth when making this comparison, which could lead to you making the leap to freelancing before you are ready.
One of the reasons I’ve been posting less here the past couple of months is due to the winter weather that forced me off daily bike routine. It may sound odd but riding my bicycle actually gives me energy and helps me generate article ideas (biking around gives you plenty of solitary time to think). Without my daily bike boost, I fell into a slump that I’m now emerging from, thanks to the improved weather and my return to biking the past few weeks. With this in mind, I’d like you to check out the latest post over at Boston Biker, which urges fellow Bostonian bicyclists to smile and say hello to other bikes they see out on the roads. The thought is that we can generate a friendly, happy bicycling community here in Boston and by doing so will encourage more people to leave the confines of their automobiles and hit the streets on two wheels. I like the idea and think it ties in a little bit with Tom Volkar’s post about living fearlessly. Instead of isolating ourselves and acting as if we’re all still in cars, bicyclists should embrace their fellow bikers and create a positive environment for us to travel in.
To a certain extent, I feel this sort of attitude comes naturally to bicycling, as we experience an adrenaline rush while pedaling that improves our mentality and makes us more susceptible to acting friendly. Now if we combine that with a conscious decision to greet other cyclists we can take on step towards getting even more cyclists out on the roads.
That seems like a nice note to end this twelfth edition of Web Quotes and Counterpoints. Let me know any thoughts, comments or ideas you have on the above posts in the comments section below!
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Weekend Web Quotes
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Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:25:26 +0000
Lots of interesting stories out around the web, let’s take a look at a few of the best ones before we hit the weekend.
Mr. Money, my new alter-ego over at My Last Name Means Money.com made an early debut to discuss why any bank bailout is bad.
Simply put it encourages poor business practice rather than punishing. Socialism for the rich and poor, capitalism for the rest of us!
What no one has really mentioned yet, is that since the first bailout we’ve only had more and more bailouts. Do bailouts beget bailouts?
Check with Mr. Money for the answer [hint, it starts with a “Y”].
A bank robber in Monroe, Washington hired decoys on craiglist and made an escape in an inner tube on the Skykomish River with a sack of money.
No, that is not a story from The Onion, nor is it a viral marketing scheme for the Blu-ray release of The Dark Knight. It really happened. Though I in no way condone criminal activities, at least this guy had some creativity and put some thought and effort into his heist. Sure would be nice if he used his powers for good though!
Speaking of stealing, check out this video of Homer Simpson attempting to vote for Barack Obama.
Must admit, The Simpsons have gotten a lot better recently. I heard they hired some new writers this year and if this past Sunday’s episode was any indication it’s already paying off. The clip above seems to be a leak from this year’s Halloween episode so check it out before it gets yanked! Hopefully our real elections don’t go the same way…
Cube captive turns into cross country cyclist.
Before you leave your cube or office or classroom to enjoy the weekend, make sure you check out I Will Not Die, the blog of a former cubicle worker who quit his job to tour the U.S.A. on a bicycle, helping people along the way. You can Dereck was sitting in his cubicle one day when he realized he was tiring of coming into work the doing the same stuff every day. He then had an epiphany, instead of working so hard for himself he’d instead quit his job and travel the country helping others.
Hat tip to Justin for letting me know about this story. It’s a good story and very similar to my own desires to buy a touring bicycle and start traveling this continent and others. I love his recent post giving a shout-out to his non-commenting readers. Let me take the time right here, right now to do the same and thank everyone who subscribes to my feed and reads this site. When bloggers first start out, there is always the hesitation of wondering if anyone will read their posts and find them intriguing enough to keep coming back. My regular readers give me the power to progress and develop my voice each and every day. Most of my posts here are zany and inane, but every now and then we come together and create an amazing discourse that reminds me exactly why I write.
You’re all a diverse group of people and I immensely appreciate each and every one one of you.
Virtual group hug!
Credit to Meffi for the cuddly photo.
OK, that’s a good note to end on. Check back here Monday for some big news about The 42nd Estate. Have a great weekend everyone!
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Saturday Shout-outs: WQAC X
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Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:07:11 +0000
Technically, this post is the tenth edition of Web Quotes and Counterpoints, but we’ll take a slightly different approach for the first double digit version of WQAC. Here’s a quick rundown of blogs I’m giving a shout-out to on this fine, rainy Saturday morning.
Big shout-out to a Paunchiness for giving away an Apple iPod Shuffle.
Paunchiness seem to have stumbled here on the recent wave of Stumbleupon traffic. Welcome to Paunchiness and all the other new visitors to blog. The Paunchiness site is a group of bloggers writing about their fitness regiments and diets as they work to get healthy and fit. Looks like a strong site and I’m glad to see the bicycle being used by at least one of the bloggers. Keep it up!
Next, big shout-out to Justin for quitting his cube farm job.
I’ve known Justin for a while now and have been following his progression through the same stages I went through that led me to quit my full-time job and instead start my own company.
Bounce on over to Justin’s blog and congratulate him on his newfound freedom!
A shout-out and a toast to Bradblogging for his new liquid theme.
What can I say, Brad’s new layout on his blog is fresh, nice, and very, very easy to read. Make sure you head on over to his blog and check it out.
A semi-selfish shout-out to The 42nd Estate.
We’re launching OTIBR.com this Monday and we’ve posted a final preview at The 42nd Estate’s blog. Check it out and let us know what you think! We really appreciate your input and hope to see you on launch day!
Finally, a shout-out to Grant Johnson.
Dude has got some serious yo-yo skills.
Enjoy the weekend everyone!
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Web Quotes and Counterpoints IX – The 42nd Estate Edition
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Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:10:46 +0000
It’s time once again for the latest edition in the greatest (and really only) series on this site, that’s right it’s Web Quotes and Counterpoints IX – The 42nd Estate Edition!
As you’ve surely surmised from the tantalizing title, this time around the web we’ll focus on The 42nd Estate and its vast repertoire of web-sites. The last time we spoke about my company we announced a few sites that we’re working on, one of which is a reviews magazine. Well, over on The 42nd Estate’s blog we’re taking a sneak preview look at OTIBR.com, Only the Internet’s Best Reviews. If you’re curious how the site will look make sure to check out the latest post there for two screen captures of OTIBR. We’ve also chosen a launch date, September 29th 2008, so keep your calendars free that day!
In other news around The 42nd Estate network, yesterday was wicked productive as we took a site from idea to purchase to setup to launch over the course of one day! The site is called We Demand Videos!
As you might’ve guessed, it revolves around videos of all kinds, from comedy to action to politics and beyond. We do not focus on any one niche of videos, but rather comb through youtube for videos we enjoy and nearly guarantee you will too. For anyone wondering what the deal is with the #42 and The 42nd Estate’s obsession with it, check out this video clip from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie, which should better explain it.
To anyone whose checked out my about page here and found it, ahem, lacking, well now is your chance to find out more about yours truly in a much more informative post where I introduced myself to The 42nd Estate’s fans. Check out that super awesome t-shirt I’m sporting!
Oh, and speaking of those wonderful fans of The 42nd Estate, we’ve setup a facebook page so you can show your support, get updates and be our facebook fans. While you’re there RSVP for the otibr.com launch too! Note the wall post announcing the DVD giveaway (more details to come).
Well, that’s quite the whirlwind of activity for this edition. Let me wrap it up by letting everyone know that I’m truly excited for the OTIBR.com launch, the recent addition of We Demand Videos! to our network and the other exciting events on the horizon. Thanks to all the hard working members of The 42nd Estate and our great fans all across the world.
That does it for this edition of Web Quotes and Counterpoints.
We are you are us.
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Web Quotes and Counterpoints VIII – The Summer Cleaning [toblog] Edition
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Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:00:01 +0000
A while back I started a huge digital cleaning session. My e-mail inbox was well into the thousands, so I started archiving older messages. It’s unbelievable how many random web sites, mostly social network betas, I signed up for that I only used once or twice. The worst is ones where they constantly e-mail you asking you to log in since it’s been a few months. It makes the site seem desperate and sad and bugs the heck out of the user. Anyway, now my inbox routinely stays under 100 messages.
My RSS feed reader was also well over a hundred feeds and quickly kept multiplying how many unread posts it contained (well into the thousands). RSS technology is great because it’s so simple, easy, and quick to sign up for site updates but also dangerous because it’s just as simple, easy, and quick to get overloaded with information! My feed reader now sits at 17 feeds (not counting a 404 report for this site and three delicious tag feeds) with only 51 unread posts (all of which are three delicious tag feeds).
Speaking of those tags, a while back I blogged about del.ico.us tags [yes, I know they dropped the dots but I haven’t!] and how they’re useful to setup a system of tasks, such as toread, toblog, tobuy etc.
Well, I realized I’ve rarely blogged about the items in my toblog tag so to solve this issue here’s a nice quick list of six things I was gonna blog about but didn’t for some lame reason(s) but now that I’m motivated we’ll bounce through them quickly and painlessly. I have a total of 54 toblog stories saved, so watch out for a few more quick post n run style articles!
Ron Paul hoped to make an impact in New Hampshire primary
On the surface, New Hampshire seems like the ideal place for Ron Paul’s libertarian platform, the state motto is, after all, “Live Free or Die”. The results show Ron only scored 7.7 % of the state’s votes, which makes me skeptical of something; either New Hampshire does not care about living free anymore or the vote was rigged or voters don’t vote well (methinks it’s a combination of all three).
Cream of Boston
Are you a young sexy Bostonian? If so, Cream of Boston wants you to sign up for their exclusive dating site for hot people only! I’m not sure quite how I feel about this site yet. Perhaps after I apply and get rejected I’ll form a stronger opinion. As for now, it is what it is. Alternatively, if you’re a smart and hot girl living in the Boston area you can join a much more exclusive club by simply dropping me an e-mail for more, ahem, details!
The Gentrification of my neighborhood continues?
When I was younger I really hated the influx of richer, more “sophisticated” people into my neighborhood. All of a sudden BMW’s, cafes, and other signs of the yuppy started showing up in my beloved ghetto fabulous hood. Well, now that I’m older and umm, more “sophisticated”, I welcome the newbies to my hood! Our neighborhood has changed a whole lot over the past ten years, and reflecting back it has certainly changed for the better. There’s a bunch of awesome new restaurants and other businesses (The Avenue Grille, Real Tacos, Astra Salon, Sugar Bowl Cafe), a lot more students from UMASS Boston and a whole ton of renovated triple deckers acting as condominiums.
Well, the trend continues with a proposed new development at the Bayside Expo Center, with a bunch of new shops and office buildings, and I welcome the proposals and new developments. The Bayside Expo Center is quickly turning into an eyesore in an otherwise great area. If you haven’t been to the Dorchester waterfront behind the Bayside Expo Center go soon! It’s now a part of the Boston Harborwalk and is a very nice place to go for a stroll.
Dorchester, the most up and coming neighborhood!
As a Dot rat born and raised, at first I was skeptical of all the praise my grimey neighborhood was getting but now love it! In March of last year Business Week named Dorchester as Boston’s most up and coming neighborhood. It’s always been the biggest and most populated part of Boston but perhaps soon it’ll also be one of the nicest places to live. Even now it’s diversity and sheer size makes it a wicked exciting place to live. Rock on Dot!
Rock The Earth
Honestly not sure why I bookmarked this site but it’s a non-profit that helps the music industry and its fans act more sustain-ably. I find this a bit ironic as the giant worldwide tours big musicians go on create such a large amount of pollution that it’s a bit hypocritical to ask their fans to cut back. It’s a bit like Al Gore preaching the green lifestyle while he jet-sets around the world. PUHLEEEZE!
Massachussets woman commits suicide because of home foreclosure.
So big bad corporations get bailed out when they frack up but honest working class people are criminals who don’t pay their bills?!?!
Here’s a plan, the U.S. government bails out the people with a mortgage instead of the rich corporation. Call it trickle up economics. The poor and middle class people get mortgage only money to pay for their homes, thus keeping their homes and keeping the mortgage companies afloat.
It’s a win-win situation except for the smart and humble Americans who paid for their homes. People like my mom who slowly but surely paid for a house she could (barely) afford.
What a mess. People are dying and becoming homeless while corporations get bailed out by the taxpayers. It’s not government, it’s a racket!
Socialism for the rich, welfare for the poor and capitalism for the rest of us!
OK, now that I’m all outraged and angry let’s end this edition of Webquotes and Counterpoints so I can cool off a bit!
That’s six toblog stories down, 48 more to go.
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Web Quotes and Counterpoints VII
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Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:30:33 +0000
As a thank you to my top commentators of the first half of this year, this edition of Web Quotes and Counterpoints will feature quotes from my readers’ blogs only! June was my best month yet for this blog and I owe it to all of you. Thank you!
We start off with Matt of HookLineSinker fame. He’s been sick lately but is finally starting to feel better. Being sick sucks so let’s all wish him a super quick full recovery. At least Matt’s sickness gave him a chance to see a great movie, Into the Wild, the story of Christopher McCandless‘ journey into the Alaskan wilderness. It’s a fantastic movie and I recommend all my readers check it out. If you like Pearl Jam you’ll love the soundtrack to Into the Wild, as it’s an all acoustic album by Eddie Vedder. Matt also saw the new Angelina Jolie movie, Wanted, this weekend and saw a stark contrast to the simple but sad beauty of Into the Wild:
Wanted is a great example of 100% American Hollywood. They try to get the audience of people who have boring jobs (99.9%?) and make them feel like they could be a world class assassin and be around hot women and fast cars and blah blah blah. I enjoyed it for what it was but the whole time I’m thinking, I’d rather not have to deal with riding the top of a train, getting shot at, being beat down repeatedly, getting stabbed and cut repeatedly, and just get away from that whole mess and live a normal life. The movie ends with the line “What the @#$% have you done lately?” … How um, cheesy? For starters I overpaid for movie tickets to a movie theater that has sub-par seating and projectors.
I love how Matt describes the chase scene and getting shot at as mundane tasks. I’ve yet to see Wanted, I intended to but will hold off based on that review. I’m perfectly content with my life right now and don’t really need to escape from it. Sounds like a movie I’ll eventually rent but for now the four free passes I have to the movies will go towards seeing Wall-E, which sounds absolutely amazing. Also Matt, I’d highly recommend you go ahead with your plan to get rid of one of your cars and highly encourage you at least consider bicycling to work. Buying a bicycle is easily one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and it’s already paid for itself through sheer enjoyment and improved health!
Next up is Ahmad Farid from Unleashing Thoughts. Ahmad witnessed an interaction on a bus between the driver and a passenger that was rude on both parts. Ahmad makes a dark realization that:
Two people who have never seen anything bad from the other are just treating each other as enemies.
Unfortunately it is human nature and history that automatically makes us confront others as enemies. Ahmad wonders:
Why do people like to show anger and hatred? Is it for showing strength? Dignity? Honor?
The answer, I believe, lies with our ancestors. They were forced to analyze everyone as an enemy first in order to protect themselves and their family. Those people who assumed everyone was friendly most likely died quicker due to more evil people taking advantage of them. Eventually humans start grouping themselves into communities and were able to overcome sinister individuals and were forced to act nicely to each other but as my post from six days ago and the passenger and driver on Ahmad’s bus show, our angry and aggressive tendencies have a way of showing themselves. It is why many of us must make a conscious effort to be nice but experience anger without thinking about it.
It’s now my distinct honor to introduce the next President of the United States, Douglas Ragan, from The New Pundit. I’ll let himself explain why he’ll be the next President:
I am not actually running for President of the US for a few reasons. One reason is that I am 33. Another reason is that I have no political experience. And lastly, I am a very reasonable person who does not enjoy lying, therefore no one would ever vote for me.
So, he won’t actually be the next President but by not enjoying lying I already have more faith in him than either of the mainstream candidates! The New Pundit continues to act non-Presidential and gets right to work addressing a huge issue for many Americans, oil and the environment:
There are some economic minded types out there who believe that the green movement may be the next big thing in the economy. Some of the ideas would create many new jobs and there are a number of companies who would greatly benefit by getting their green ideas off the ground.
As one of those “economic minded types”, I’ve got to agree that the green industry will be the next big business in the USA and around the world. It’ll require a shift in consumer and corporate behaviors, from planned obsolesce that requires continual consumption to a sustainable model that focuses on local communities and thus strengthens the nation as a whole by strengthening each of our neighborhoods. If we focused all new development in the US towards green methods we could slowly but surely reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and ensure every citizen would have access to clean and cheap energy. It’s a win-win for everyone except the current behemoths of the economy.
Justin from LifeofJustin brings us some good news and bad news. A few days ago his iPhone stopped working:
So at this point, I am ready to barge in to the Apple store here in Phoenix and see what is up with this thing. I am really hoping to get a replacement of some kind. I just hope they don’t make me wait to get a new phone in the mail.
As a fellow iPhone owner, I feel Justin’s pain as the device becomes almost an extension of yourself, when it’s working right. I’ve had a few issues with my own iPhone so I especially understand the frustration of the expensive phone not working perfectly. My own problems have involved poor service, slow response time, and frequent freezing. I’m past the warranty but I might make a trip to the local Apple store and see if they can help me out too, after all Apple’s customer service is supposed to be phenomenal.
The good news from Justin’s life is that he went to Hawaii for the weekend. I’m a bit jealous that he got to just up and go randomly to Hawaii, especially since one of my good buddies just came back from there and had an amazing time there. It’s made me start thinking of taking a trip somewhere myself, though I’ll for sure be biking there once my injuries are healed and bike is fixed so Hawaii is out of the question for now. I’ll be going to the Saco river at the end of the month but want to go somewhere new too. Any suggestions?
Finally Casey from Volunteer Boston discusses a pretty cool non-profit group that helps Bostonians plant orchards in their urban environment.
EarthWorks is a non-profit that works with community groups to plant and maintain urban orchards in Boston. They concentrate on communities with limited resources where they can have the biggest potential impact. EarthWorks tries to connect the neighborhood residents with nature – something that seems quite far off in the middle of the city.
It sounds like a very cool organization. I’ve been considering planting a pear tree in our backyard lately and Casey’s post might just inspire me to go ahead and do so. We already have a small garden but we have just barely enough land for a few trees too so might as well!
Thanks again to all my readers for making June the best month in this blog’s history.
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Web Quotes and Counterpoints VI
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Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:10:07 +0000
Double post today to make up for my latest unexplained absence from the blog! Sorry for violating my own advice from Web Quotes and Counterpoints V about posting short notes to let everyone know the deal.
So contrary to what I wrote on the last day of May, I had tickets to Game 2 of the NBA Finals, not Game 1. It was a great game and Bill Simmons from ESPN.com made a few great points in his article, C’s and the city: Both looking very good.
First up, Bill offers up some advice to the Celtics owners:
(Here’s an idea before Game 6, should it happen: The Celtics send out a news release that, if they see anyone sitting in a season-ticket seat for Games 6 or 7 wearing a Lakers jersey, a Lakers T-shirt or a Lakers hat, then the person who owns those season tickets will lose them next season. Period. End of story. It’s not technically legal, but then again, a franchise should have the right to control who owns their season tickets, right? I like this idea.)
I like the idea too. As a half season ticket holder I received tickets to half the playoff games, getting games 2 and 7 of the Finals. I couldn’t think of selling my tickets, though I’d certainly entertain offers (from Celtic fans only though). I’m loyal but I’m also successfully unemployed. Still, the point Bill makes and I agree with is you shouldn’t be selling your tickets to Lakers fans if you’re a true fan, and if you’re not a true fan you shouldn’t have season tickets.
Bill goes on to list the huge, huge amount of current and former Boston sports stars at Game 2 which leads into his next point about how the current Big Three sports franchises here (Celtics, Red Sox, Patriots) all share similar traits, starting from smart ownership understanding the power of happy fans. When the times are good, there is no better place for an athlete to live than right here in Boston. We’re a small, tightly knit college-town city with big, big sports teams. Bill noticed the “…lively, joyous crowd that brought back memories of the old Garden and the Bird era.” that’s played a big role in the Celtics success all year long. It really, really gets wicked fracking loud in that building, trust me.
You know, I’m going to make this a Bill Simmons‘ only version of Web Quotes and Counterpoints and finish off with this last quote from Bill’s latest article:
But even Kobe can’t stop the sun from shining in Boston today. Everyone is wandering around a rejuvenated city with hoarse voices, talking about the game and trying to figure out what will happen in Game 3. There is nowhere I would rather be. The Celtics are back.
Truth.
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Web Quotes and Counterpoints V
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Tue, 06 May 2008 16:03:14 +0000
It’s been too long since the last edition of Web Quotes and Counterpoints so here’s the latest quality chatter from around the web.
Justin from LifeofJustin writes about a random adventure on the USC campus in Parking Lot Drinking at USC. Justin is spot on in describing USC as a movie-esque experience,
What I concluded from this experience, is that I should of went to college at USC. The place is amazing and reminds you of all the movies you see that take place on college campuses.
Really makes me wonder why I transferred from USC…something about new experiences and getting out of the grime of downtown Los Angeles?
Long time readers here know of my appreciation for the skills of Jay from Scribbles & Words but for you newbies, check out this great, quick tutorial from Jay about how to highlight text using only CSS.
Rather than a quote, here’s how a grey highlight looks.
Random breaks occur on this blog as I tend to life first but I’ve learned to warn users, or at least put a quick message letting you know I’m still here. Jarko’s tips over at North x East gives a few reasons for taking a break from blogging and how to correctly do so. One of the tips is to save posts for a rainy day, which I already do (perhaps a bit too much with nearly 70 draft-posts). Jarko is right on about why to take a break when he states:
…most importantly, the time away refuels your passion. After a few week’s break you are filled with new energy to pursue your goals with new determination and power.
Each time I’m away from this blog tons of ideas come flowing to me that otherwise I don’t think of. Some of these ideas get implemented and some don’t but letting myself get away from a schedule and allowing my mind to wander certainly makes writing here much more enjoyable.
All of us have a fight or flight instinct that controls many of our basic functions. This instinct derives from our ancestors having to quickly decide whether they could realistically succeed in a fight or if they should flee and fight another day. Marc from MarcandAngel discusses how to flee like a Bushido Samurai warrior.
There’s some great tips in Marc’s list, my favorite among them is:
Trust only those who have earned it. Be wary of those who have not.
Though it seems like common-sense, many of us throw our trust around to anyone and everyone within range. I tell this to people all the time, before you trust someone you should ask why you should trust them. Are they trying to sell you something or persuade you in some way? If so, most likely they should not be immediately trusted.
Finally, Daniel from Daily Blog Tips wrote about Larry Page, one of Google’s founders, and Larry’s advice on how to change the world, a theme here this week. Daniel sums up Larry’s advice quite well:
If you want to succeed on the web, you will need to let your fear of failure go away, and to try new and innovative things.
Though Daniel frames it in terms of a web business, his advice applies to life in general. If you fear life, then sadly you’re already nearly dead. In the end, I’d rather die young but doing something I enjoy rather than dying of old age having successfully run away from anything that might be dangerous.
I’m sure many of you have had similar thoughts but fear is a powerful emotion. Grasping that emotion and facing it head on is a thrill and can be used as energy to pursue any goal you have. Once you conquer your fears, they will go away and you’ll become more free.
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Web Quotes and Counterpoints IV
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Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:05:49 +0000
Let’s go with a twist to this edition of Web Quotes and Counterpoints, it’s organized by good news, bad news, and odd news. You can choose what you want to read first by clicking the links in the prior sentence or just read on (news follows the previous order, so good, bad, and finally odd).
Good News
It’s Friday baby!
-me a few minutes ago…sure this past Sunday night and Monday weren’t the best of times but the weekend got here quick!
I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, in this time of war, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.
-Mitt Romney via Romney suspends campaign
As someone whose lived in a government led by Mitt Romney, the news that he is suspending his 2008 presidential campaign is a huge relief. Though this news does not officially end his campaign, it does limit his already diminishing momentum. I just love it when someone comes into my home state, barely stays here, yet acts as if he’s know a true Bostonian. Hopefully, we are now only left to wonder where Mitt would have ventured off to if he became president.
If he spent his time as a Massachusetts governor campaigning across the country, would he have traveled the world as a U.S. President campaigning to be the first World Leader? Either way, we’re better of with Mitt out of these elections. Even better, the Republican field now narrows to three candidates. Will the mainstream media continue to ignore Ron Paul, now that he represents a third of the Republican candidates left?
Bad News
Even without surgery, the 41-year-old Schilling is not expected to be ready to pitch until at least the All-Star break, according to several sources familiar with his condition.
-Gordon Edes from Boston.com writes that Curt Schilling might be out until after the All-Star break. When it rains, it pours, eh New England? Seems those curses are hovering above us again, Pats lose their only game of the year in the Super Bowl, Kevin Garnett remains injured, and now Curt might be out for half a season. Yeah, this one story is enough bad news…moving on.
Odd News
It looks much fatter than the iPhone, while claiming to be a ‘99% iPhone Clone’.
Sascha over at Live25 found this gem of a device, the HiPhone, which just straight up copies the iPhone. Sure it looks a lot like the iPhone (though being fatter and more oval shaped) and comes with competitive features, but I’d do as Sascha recommends and stay far, far away from this phone. It’s only $130 cheaper than the iPhone so you might us well pony up the extra cash and get the real deal.
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Web Quotes and Counterpoints III
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Tue, 29 Jan 2008 03:36:30 +0000
We haven’t discussed my buddy Ronald Jenkees in a while, so let’s check out what’s happening on his youtubes. From the Ronald Jenkees himself:
My friend accidentally figured out that Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly’s freestyle went perfectly with my beat “Remix to a Remix”. So he helped me cue the video up and it’s actually cool.
Hella cool dude. This mashup of Kelly’s rap and the Jenkees track go perfectly together. Give it a listen and view below.
Big, big thanks to macosxhints.com for finding this great hack for the iPhone and to Kelley over at 50leaves.com for testing its effect on signal strength. Here’s the three basic steps for this hack from macosxhints:
Cut out a 2″ x 3″ piece of aluminum foil.
Fold foil in half horizontally (foil is now 2″ x 1.5″).
Tape foil from the bottom right corner (on the back of the iPhone) up to the middle of the text iPhone using electrical tape.
Sounds silly but it works. I’ve gone three hours now with no interference from my iPhone, and I used to get interference every 15 minutes or so. I’ve had no drop in signal either and have received and made calls as usual. The iPhone looks a bit funny with tinfoil and electrical tape on the back of it but it’s OK.
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