A bit too personal
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Some things should just be assumed
I know you've heard the old saying, "Never assume, for when you assume..."
Horse puckey! Some things SHOULD be assumed. Some things MUST be assumed for us to function as a society.
Tonight, I went to Jack-in-the-Box for my usual late-night refueling. My poison of choice tonight was two $0.99 chicken sandwiches, with swiss cheese and extra pickles added. Easy enough, right?
Well, I started eating the first one. No pickles. I work my around to the other side a bit -- STILL no pickles. I'm thinking, "DAMN! They screwed up and HELD the pickles instead of giving me extra!"
And then...
In the very next bite...
Not one, not two, not three, but FOUR, count 'em, FOUR slices of pickle all in one bite! Fine. I love pickles. A bit of a shock, but no big deal.
On to #2.
Bite.
No pickles.
Another bite.
No pickles!
And then, just as you've predicted by now, WHAM! Four pickles in one bite AGAIN!
I shouldn't have to tell them, "Extra pickles. Oh, and be sure to spread them all around the sandwich -- I don't want them all in one bite."
Some things really should just be assumed.
I know you've heard the old saying, "Never assume, for when you assume..."
Horse puckey! Some things SHOULD be assumed. Some things MUST be assumed for us to function as a society.
Tonight, I went to Jack-in-the-Box for my usual late-night refueling. My poison of choice tonight was two $0.99 chicken sandwiches, with swiss cheese and extra pickles added. Easy enough, right?
Well, I started eating the first one. No pickles. I work my around to the other side a bit -- STILL no pickles. I'm thinking, "DAMN! They screwed up and HELD the pickles instead of giving me extra!"
And then...
In the very next bite...
Not one, not two, not three, but FOUR, count 'em, FOUR slices of pickle all in one bite! Fine. I love pickles. A bit of a shock, but no big deal.
On to #2.
Bite.
No pickles.
Another bite.
No pickles!
And then, just as you've predicted by now, WHAM! Four pickles in one bite AGAIN!
I shouldn't have to tell them, "Extra pickles. Oh, and be sure to spread them all around the sandwich -- I don't want them all in one bite."
Some things really should just be assumed.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Erection Day
I just received a spam that said:
I just received a spam that said:
Patients in the study reported success in achieving erections over a period of 24 to 36 hours after taking a 20-milligram pill of Cialis.Like this is a valuable improvement? Geez — how many erections does one guy need in a 24-hour period?!?
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Apparently, I need a slap in the head
A guy who calls himself "Stavros the Wonderchicken" thinks I need a slap in the head. But he's closed the comments (why?), so I'm blogging my response.
So why do I need a slap in the head?
Apparently, because my other blog is purely about business. Because in it, I talk about the potential business value of keeping a blog, participating in social networks, and otherwise building professional business relationships on the internet. That's a topic that I'm passionate about -- that IS what I find interesting, and I'd do it even if I weren't getting paid for it. Wait a minute, I'm not getting paid for it! Sure -- there's the potential for some down-the-road income, and I'd love to sell a few copies of my book, but I write about it right now because I love it.
Isn't that what a blog's supposed to be about? Just because I get excited about helping people improve their business doesn't mean I deserve a slap in the head.
That's OK, I'm in good company... he also comes down on Dave Winer's view of blogging:
The blog Stavros is bitching about is my office; this blog is my back yard. If someone really wants to get to know me, they can make the connection between the two. But I wouldn't go around my office lamenting the corporatization of the blogosphere and discussing the parallels between early blogging and punk rock. Or talking about Janet Jackson's nipple shield.
Why?
NOT, as Stavros suggests, because I'm "looking over my shoulder", but because I don't want to. I think it's inappropriate.
This is exactly the same issue danah boyd raises about boundaries and professional decorum.
I'm still a little unsure exactly what I did to be singled out... seems kind of inconsistent with his point of view that "even if you are puerile enough to believe that someone else 'selling out' hurts you somehow, well, that's pretty hard to justify, son."
So, Stavros (if you're reading this), if your post was a virtual slap in the head, consider this a virtual, "What the hell was that for?"
A guy who calls himself "Stavros the Wonderchicken" thinks I need a slap in the head. But he's closed the comments (why?), so I'm blogging my response.
So why do I need a slap in the head?
Apparently, because my other blog is purely about business. Because in it, I talk about the potential business value of keeping a blog, participating in social networks, and otherwise building professional business relationships on the internet. That's a topic that I'm passionate about -- that IS what I find interesting, and I'd do it even if I weren't getting paid for it. Wait a minute, I'm not getting paid for it! Sure -- there's the potential for some down-the-road income, and I'd love to sell a few copies of my book, but I write about it right now because I love it.
Isn't that what a blog's supposed to be about? Just because I get excited about helping people improve their business doesn't mean I deserve a slap in the head.
That's OK, I'm in good company... he also comes down on Dave Winer's view of blogging:
More proof blogs aren't parties, they're publications. If you try to make it social, about friends, and parties, you end up with a party where a lot of pre-adolescent males bark at each other, and a few hawkers try to sell penis enlargers, and no emotionally whole adult would be caught dead at. I been down this path. The road leads to Slashdot.Personally, I happen to agree with Dave. It's not that I don't have a sense of humor, or that I don't have an interesting personal side, or that I'm trying to hide it. I just don't mix the two, any more than I would in real life.
The blog Stavros is bitching about is my office; this blog is my back yard. If someone really wants to get to know me, they can make the connection between the two. But I wouldn't go around my office lamenting the corporatization of the blogosphere and discussing the parallels between early blogging and punk rock. Or talking about Janet Jackson's nipple shield.
Why?
NOT, as Stavros suggests, because I'm "looking over my shoulder", but because I don't want to. I think it's inappropriate.
This is exactly the same issue danah boyd raises about boundaries and professional decorum.
I'm still a little unsure exactly what I did to be singled out... seems kind of inconsistent with his point of view that "even if you are puerile enough to believe that someone else 'selling out' hurts you somehow, well, that's pretty hard to justify, son."
So, Stavros (if you're reading this), if your post was a virtual slap in the head, consider this a virtual, "What the hell was that for?"
Friday, February 20, 2004
Spam that actually caught my interest...
Ordinarily, I don't even notice spam messages I delete -- they're just a blur. But this one actually caught my attention and made me smile. Technically, I think it's from some opt-in white list I'm on, but functionally, it's spam. Nevertheless, this is a really well done ad...
Ordinarily, I don't even notice spam messages I delete -- they're just a blur. But this one actually caught my attention and made me smile. Technically, I think it's from some opt-in white list I'm on, but functionally, it's spam. Nevertheless, this is a really well done ad...
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
OK, this is just cool... Google does it again!
This is just plain cool... Google's new location search
Goodbye, yellow pages!
This is just plain cool... Google's new location search
Goodbye, yellow pages!
Monday, February 16, 2004
I pity the new blogger who's expecting visibility just by setting up a blog
Do any of the blog search engines actually add blogs to their database based on weblogs.com updates?
For starters, Blogger's default is that Weblogs.com notification is OFF. Even if someone figures out to turn that on, that's apparently not going to do much. This blog apparently isn't being picked up yet by Feedster, Daypop, Technorati, Bloglines, and many more.
Blogging promises so much by virtue of making web publishing easy -- accessible to low-tech users. But if you're trying to actually use it for business purposes to increase visibility, you're still back to a choice between climbing a big learning curve or hiring an expert. That's too bad.
I'd like to see Blogger add a feature to your Settings called "Blog Promotion", and have it just give you a checklist of the main blog search engines and similar tools, and make it as simple as checking them on the checklist. Of course, Google may not want to help the competition... ;-)
Do any of the blog search engines actually add blogs to their database based on weblogs.com updates?
For starters, Blogger's default is that Weblogs.com notification is OFF. Even if someone figures out to turn that on, that's apparently not going to do much. This blog apparently isn't being picked up yet by Feedster, Daypop, Technorati, Bloglines, and many more.
Blogging promises so much by virtue of making web publishing easy -- accessible to low-tech users. But if you're trying to actually use it for business purposes to increase visibility, you're still back to a choice between climbing a big learning curve or hiring an expert. That's too bad.
I'd like to see Blogger add a feature to your Settings called "Blog Promotion", and have it just give you a checklist of the main blog search engines and similar tools, and make it as simple as checking them on the checklist. Of course, Google may not want to help the competition... ;-)
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Janet Jackson's breast, Hugh Hefner, and nipple shields
I don't care if it is "so last week", I haven't had a chance to vent about it publicly, so here goes...
1) I agree with Hugh Hefner:
2) "They're real and they're fabulous."
3) Contrary to my bet last week, piercing shops all over America are not selling out of nipple shields. Turns out that you have to wait three months after the piercing before wearing a nipple shield. However, the interest in body piercing is definitely up as a result.
I don't care if it is "so last week", I haven't had a chance to vent about it publicly, so here goes...
1) I agree with Hugh Hefner:
"I think it was an error in judgement, due to the context -- to do it on half-time at the Super Bowl because of the family audience. But, at the same time, it's much ado about nothing. And it's very reflective of America's hypocrisy related to sex and nudity. The folks in Europe are laughing at us."Let's just get over it. Even if it was on purpose, it was just bad taste, given the context, not a federal offense.
2) "They're real and they're fabulous."
3) Contrary to my bet last week, piercing shops all over America are not selling out of nipple shields. Turns out that you have to wait three months after the piercing before wearing a nipple shield. However, the interest in body piercing is definitely up as a result.
Why I quit taking drugs (or maybe I'm just getting too old)
On the way home from my nightly trip to 24-Hour Fitness, I was listening to the local classic rock station. They were playing the self-titled album, It's a Beatiful Day, which you may recall for its one hit, White Bird.
I reminisced (OK, I was four years old when the album was released) while listening to White Bird, but I'd never heard the rest of the album. It was charmingly dated, with lots of neo-Renaissance instruments playing behind their pseudo-psychedelic-pop vocals.
But what really got to me was this lyric: "Love is the high sign of a lifetime."
It cracked me up, it was so corny. And then as I thought about it, I realized I don't even know what that means. Guess it's been too long since I had a good psychedelic trip.
On the way home from my nightly trip to 24-Hour Fitness, I was listening to the local classic rock station. They were playing the self-titled album, It's a Beatiful Day, which you may recall for its one hit, White Bird.
I reminisced (OK, I was four years old when the album was released) while listening to White Bird, but I'd never heard the rest of the album. It was charmingly dated, with lots of neo-Renaissance instruments playing behind their pseudo-psychedelic-pop vocals.
But what really got to me was this lyric: "Love is the high sign of a lifetime."
It cracked me up, it was so corny. And then as I thought about it, I realized I don't even know what that means. Guess it's been too long since I had a good psychedelic trip.
Blog, blogs, and Blogger
I'm sure I'm not the first to notice this, but it still just astounded me that when I spell-checked my first post here, it turned up three spelling errors: "blog", "blogs", and "Blogger".
Ahh, the irony...
I'm sure I'm not the first to notice this, but it still just astounded me that when I spell-checked my first post here, it turned up three spelling errors: "blog", "blogs", and "Blogger".
Ahh, the irony...
A bit too personal
Welcome to my new personal blog. I already run three other blogs, but they are all business-oriented and narrow in focus. This will be more of a personal journal, but I still picked Blogger because I like the features I get for free better than LiveJournal or any others I've found.
Since blogs aren't a safe space, I don't imagine I'll put anything here I'd be too embarrassed about if anyone from my business networks made the connection, but I still wanted a place to vent/rant/ramble about politics, religion, economics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
It will be interesting to see how long it takes anyone to make the connection. Or, for that matter, if anyone even cares...
Welcome to my new personal blog. I already run three other blogs, but they are all business-oriented and narrow in focus. This will be more of a personal journal, but I still picked Blogger because I like the features I get for free better than LiveJournal or any others I've found.
Since blogs aren't a safe space, I don't imagine I'll put anything here I'd be too embarrassed about if anyone from my business networks made the connection, but I still wanted a place to vent/rant/ramble about politics, religion, economics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
It will be interesting to see how long it takes anyone to make the connection. Or, for that matter, if anyone even cares...
