Technology is challenging enough when we really know what is going on. The situation deteriorates rapidly as we progress through only thinking we know what is going on to being completely clueless. My step-mother just started using a computer, the first computer that has been solely hers, the first one where she can do whatever […]
Moving Beyond TV
Thanks to Jeremy Zawodny for drawing my attention to Clay Shirky’s talk on the cognitive surplus. Shirky makes some excellent points. Give it 17 minutes of your time and watch. My comments follow. I agree with Shirky, we like to do more than we like to watch. That’s why it was so funny when Peter […]
Coming Soon: OpenOffice.org 3.0 Support for Microsoft Office 2007 Files
I run my company using OpenOffice.org instead of Microsoft Office. It does everything we need and costs a whopping $0.00; not a bad deal for a small business. To be more specific, OpenOffice.org Gives us word processor and spreadsheet programs that more than handle our documentation needs, Allows us to open Word and Excel documents […]
Why I Don’t Worry About Instant Messaging
I don’t worry about kids these days becoming so involved with social networks (Facebook, MySpace, etc.) and instant messaging (AIM, text messages, etc.) that they become isolated from real human contact. Why not? XKCD says it perfectly: Long distance relationships are hard. IM can turn a friend down the street into a long distance relationship. […]
Mom Says
Do you remember all those pearls of wisdom that your mom uttered when you where a child? Of course not; you weren’t listening. (I’ll admit it: neither was I.) Some of what mom said was good, solid advice, though. Here is your chance to reclaim those lost gems without having to relive your childhood. Just […]
In Bad Company: St. Peters, O’Fallon, and St. Charles
It is almost never good when your locality is mentioned in the same sentence with Detroit. USA Today’s article, City Council pays for lessons in civility, takes an in-depth look at acrimonious squabbling on the Ashland, OR city council and includes, More recently, public fireworks have been reported on city and county panels in Detroit; […]
Do Not Call — Ever!
It’s time to renew your Do Not Call listing and it’s even more important than renewing that library book which you lost but don’t want to pay an overdue fine for. According to Yahoo! News, Do Not Call listings aren’t forever Numbers placed on the registry, begun in June 2003, are valid for five years. […]
A Penny Per Email
Spam disgusts me. It has rendered free email, one of the most heartfelt examples of human cooperation, completely untenable. I have been relying on email, for business and personal connections, since I worked at TRW in 1980. I used to run a medium-sized UUCP hub at FileNet in Orange County, CA on a VAX 750 […]
End of the Wikipedia Debate
Unless you live under a rock or have never used the web for research, you are almost certainly aware of the ongoing debate over the veracity of Wikipedia vs. the traditional encyclopedias such as Britannica and World Book. On the one hand, Wikipedia supporters point to the breadth and currency of its articles and the […]
Internet Omnivore
I seem to be an internet omnivore, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project Omnivores make up 8% of the American public. Members of this group use their extensive suite of technology tools to do an enormous range of things online, on the go, and with their cell phones. Omnivores are highly engaged […]
The Value of Documentation on Quick Decisions
When I say, “Documentation,” how do you react? Probably with one of these: Bleh. A drag. Who reads it? The code is self documenting. Or my favorite: It’s intuitively obvious to the most casual observer. This morning, I ran across Slashdot’s article, Five AJAX Frameworks Reviewed Dr. Dobb’s Journal reviews 5 AJAX frameworks:… [the] reviewers… […]
Ugly Web Site? That May Be OK.
We have all seen them: web sites that have great stuff on them but which look like they were designed by a trash compactor. Mark Daoust of SiteReference delves into them in his posting, The Surprising Truth About Ugly Websites. He makes some good points, in particular that some target audiences will be put-off by […]
Aging Tech-Weenie Morphs into People Person
My friend Alyce wrote, “I’ve recently come to the conclusion that letting people meet me, and feel my energy, is probably a far more effective selling tool than….” I could not agree more. I am a techie and, when Candy and I started our first business, all I wanted to do was the techie stuff. […]
You can borrow books—and a lesbian
I used to be revolted by tattoos and piercings. Quite literally, my stomach felt queasy when I looked at some people. About ten years ago, I found myself staffing a workshop with a man that I’ll call Richard. He was capable and insightful, generally a strong asset to have at the workshop. The only problem […]
MIT Weblog Survey
If you use IM or email or blogs, take a few minutes and take the survey. This is a general social survey of the greater weblog community being conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Our goal is to help understand the way that weblogs are affecting the way we communicate with each other. Specifically […]
Small Business Committee Meeting
Minutes from the Small Business Committee of the St. Peters Chamber of Commerce, May 26, 2005. St. Charles Community College, Executive Dining Room. Presentation by Floyd Bell, Data Access Solutions & Y2Marketing. Introductions including name, company, and unique selling proposition (USP). The USP should be 10 words or less. Million Dollar Marketing Equation: Interrupt + […]
Ease of Self-Publishing
Blogging continues to fascinate me on both the technological and the social levels. I noticed an article in Wired News this morning titled Bands Embrace Social Networking. Apparently lots of musicians, from indies through established bands, are using MySpace’s music section to self-publish, bypassing the radio stations and MTV. Add to this the rise of […]
