So You Wanna Blog, Do You?
Posted on June 15, 2008
Filed Under Misc | Leave a Comment
Ah, I remember the good ol’ days of blogging. Well, actually the days when the contraction ‘blog’ hadn’t yet been widely used. Blogs were just ‘weblogs’ back then (for me, circa 2000) and I took quite a big of loving (at least to my face) ridicule as I tried to spread the word about the coming phenom. I knew that blogging (or weblogging) would change the face of journalism and the way we communicate forever.
No, that’s a lie. I never thought that. I thought blogging was a kind of fun thing I did on the web, primarily of interest to computer nerds like myself. When it entered the mainstream, I was less surprised than my formerly ridiculing friends, but not by a huge margin.
The interesting thing about those days, is the traffic you’d generate with a mostly uninteresting collection of your thoughts. Sure, my blog was occasionally interesting and I’d get the occasional bit of flow (traffic via links) from the A-list, but for the most part, it was of little interest to readers who didn’t know me.
Didn’t stop me from getting hundreds of visitors a day, however. But, sadly (or maybe happily), those days are over. To get a lot of traffic blogging today, you have to both write really compelling content and publicize it well with an assortment of tools, good design and SEO. And for me, that’s revitalized the industry and makes it even more interesting.
If your object is to make money with your blog(s), <a href=”http://www.doshdosh.com/how-to-make-money-blogging-seven-strategies/” target=”_blank”>here’s a great post from DoshDosh about how to do that</a>.
4 Things I Learned From House
Posted on June 1, 2008
Filed Under Misc, Television | Leave a Comment
The Fox television show House is the one show I was pining for during the writer’s strike. I’ve got the whole series on DVD/iTunes Download and am really looking forward to new episodes. I realized early on that the reason for my love of the show isn’t that it’s a medical drama - I’m not a fan of those, but rather that it’s a re-imagining of my favorite fictional hero, Sherlock Holmes.
They’re not shy about this, either. Holmes’ famous address is, of course, 221b Baker Street. House’s address is “221″ and his apartment is unit “B.” Like Holmes, House (see the naming similarity, too? “House,” “Holmes” - a house is, after all a home) is a lonely bachelor with a lost love, his sidekick is Dr. WILSON (Holmes’ is Dr. WATSON). Of course they’re both addicted to Opiates, as well - Holmes the straight Opium which was a real problem in turn of the century England while House has his Vicodin, an opiate based analgesic. I could go on. But I won’t. Even the creators of the show admit House is Holmes.
Growing up in the 70s, I couldn’t have cared less for Marcus Welby or Dr. Gannon of Medical Center. House/Holmes though? It makes medicine interesting, even if the show plays fast and loose with the facts. Like House, I don’t really want to get involved in the human stories of medical treatment. I like the puzzles.
So, given all that, and the fact that given the natural process of aging in myself and my parents, medical treatment is becoming a bigger and bigger part of my life, I realized this morning that I’ve learned 4 basic things from House.
1. Opiates can be really, really bad.
2. Doctors make mistakes.
3. Everyone lies.
4 Opiates can be really, really good.
Oh, and by the way, I took this quiz, and “stuck that primo! How rad am I?”
True fans will get the reference. 
Using the Macbook Air to meet 50ish women
Posted on February 20, 2008
Filed Under Apple | Leave a Comment
Well, I guess Guy Kawasaki’s found the ticket.
Into Thin Air: How I spent $5,000 on Air and Made 50-year Old Women Swoon.
Good to know.
Interesting, that through all the computer replacing and swapping, an Apple guy like Kawasaki ended up with a consumer iMac “base computer” and a light-on-the-features MBA as his traveling machine. The pro machines (Mac Pro desktop and MacBook Pro laptop) now gone from his arsenal.
Interesting. Completely understandable, but interesting.
Technorati Tags:
Apple, MacBook Air, Guy Kawasaki
Brando’s Son Dead
Posted on January 26, 2008
Filed Under Current Affairs | Leave a Comment
What a sad, sad tale. Several of them, actually. Marlon Brando’s son Christian now dead at age 49.
Served 6 years for manslaughter when he gunned down his sister’s abusive boyfriend. Then, she commits suicide. Now, this guy who’s had a tough life is gone. Just goes to show you that just ’cause you’re famous and rich, doesn’t mean you can successfully raise kids.
Sure, I know. Even normal people with average incomes raise screwed up people and ruin their own lives. Maybe our idolization of them makes it harder to be functional and “normal,” but there are plenty of celebs who are able to pull it off. Gotta take a lot of work, though. Shielding kids from the realities of life is part of what being a parent is all about, but the trick is knowing when and how to let bits of reality in so they come to understand how the world works. Some can take a whole lot of reality in big, huge chunks, others need it gradually introduced. Imagine now that you’re famous, and are that much farther removed from the real world. Imagine how tough it would be to teach your kids about it when you don’t even live in it.
Morning Listening
Posted on January 24, 2008
Filed Under Life Worth Living | Leave a Comment
Haven’t done this in a couple years. I guess, because I figure who the hell cares what I’m listening to?
Well, anyway…
Johnathon Coulton - Code Monkey
John Mayer - Dreaming With a Broken Heart
Cat Stevens - Father and Son (If you’re a son or father or both, I defy you to listen to this without tears).
We MacBook Air fans can laugh at ourselves…
Posted on January 24, 2008
Filed Under Apple, Life Worth Living | Leave a Comment
Sure we can.
As someone who pre-ordered a MacBook Air, I don’t think I’m supposed to laugh at this, but I did (and still am).
Actually, when I saw this, I flushed with fond remembrance of the Commodore SX-64. In 1983, my boss had one of these, and I was so freaking jealous. I had a 1981 Commodore PET with 32K memory (a 16K upgrade) but only the 40 character screen. This luggable was a sexy object of my desire.
Damn.
New Eagles Song
Posted on January 23, 2008
Filed Under Life Worth Living | Leave a Comment
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