Found a great motivational post, “Fail Upwards“, that I wanted to put on my motivation board on Pinterest. Clicked my “Pin it” bookmarklet to pin the post but was greeted with this sad message:

If you want your content to be sharable on the booming social sharing site, Pinterest, then include a related and cool looking image to go with it! … or just include a cool photo ; )

The next video is on the New York Times Opinions Page. I don’t agree with A.C. Graylings statement that there is not God but I like the rest of what he says. You can read about it and watch it at http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/10/31/opinion/100000001141283/ac-grayling.html

• ErrorStack helps us collect, report, and notify us of errors across all of our applications no matter where they are.
• Graphite stores and graphes analytical data provided by our products.
• StatsD run by NodeJS collects our analytical data via UDP so there is minimal impact on the performance of our applications as we collect the data.
• Cron helps us run various tasks on our servers and helps us ensure that things are running smoothly

Just a minute or two later I got an email alert from ErrorStack notifying me that Node had died. After checking the graphite graph again I saw that the total metrics received had gone back up because the Cron script was able to restart the process. I love it when a plan comes together like that.

#!/bin/bash
PID=`pidof node`
if [ $PID > 0 ]; then
  echo "node still running"
else
  echo "node died"
  curl -d "Msg=node died&_s=yourErrorStackKeyGoesHere&_r=json" http://www.errorstack.com/submit
  # command to start node server again goes here
fi

Here is some of the code that I use to report errors to ErrorStack https://github.com/MikeGrace/ErrorStack-Reporting-Tools

Bob Pearson posted on his blog today 10 things he has learned from Michael Dell on innovation and collaboration. I have taken my favorite parts and shared them here.

• We get smarter when we listen well.
• Most innovation occurs step by step. It is rarely about the big idea.
• Collaboration leads to the best ideas
• The most powerful driver of human behavior online is to help your peers.
• When companies see themselves as peers, they serve their customers well
• People get a sense of empowerment when you allow them to participate and recognize their contribution.
• The real action occurs after the idea is received.
• Let go, allow your team to try new ideas, fail occasionally and end up with a great batting average.

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should”

Sometimes trying to be efficient results in less than efficient results. You have all probably seen manifestations of this even if you didn’t recognize it. I challenge you to take the next few days and try to recognize these things around you and in things that you might be trying to design, build, or do. I would like to present to you one example that I have encountered since moving to Austin.

Exhibit A:

Now I’m guessing that one day a person was put in charge of deciding on a layout for the men’s bathroom. They probably calculated the remaining distance left for the urinal area and exclaimed, “Hey! There’s enough space for 2 urinals!”

SEE! There’s enough space… or is there?

Let’s put it in context of its use.

Woah!! That’s close! And we know it! This is why both urinals almost never get used at the same time. What a waste! If only one urinal had been put in place it would be a much more luxurious experience and other guys wouldn’t be forced to decide to use a stall or break the universal protocol.

Please! As you are designing, building, and going about your every day life, don’t just do something because you can. Make sure that you take the time to consider the use cases and the context in which the disign, tool, app, etc. will be used.

: )

I have always found asking questions an interesting part of life. Asking people clear, concise, and well formed questions can lead you to better information and interaction faster and with less friction. Asking questions to one’s self can bring better understanding and lead to new discovery. There is soooooooo much to learn about asking questions and the impact it has on our lives.

My life is full of asking questions:

- Google search
- How could I build this better?
- What technology would fit this application best?
- What did my wife mean when she said…
- What does it mean?!

Jeff Atwood recently posted some interesting thoughts on asking questions titled “Gorilla vs. Shark”. A fun and interesting read that I recommend.

Your time and my time is precious. I am grateful for tools that help me get work done quicker and better. I was reminded today how grateful I am for these tools as one was letting me know that it was updating to fix some issues that were found recently.

Tools can be immensely useful but only if used properly or at all. Here are some of my thoughts on finding and using tools better.

1. Decide today that you are going to try new tools
2. Don’t try every new tool that you find
3. Watch and learn from others around you
4. Really learn how to use the tool
5. Question the tools you are currently using
6. Wish
7. Build new tools

If you decide today that you are going to take the time and effort to use a new tool when you find one, it will be much easier than deciding right when you find it and don’t feel like you have the time right then or the motivation. If you tried every new tool that you found, you might not have time to actually do anything else. This depends on how many different tools you are finding and trying but it’s good to use some common sense in this area. Others may have found great tools that you didn’t know about and paying attention to what your friends and coworkers are using can help you find tools that you might not have otherwise. This also goes for how others use the same tool that you do. It always kills me to watch others use a tool and see that they are greatly under utilizing the potential of the tool.

Have you ever wondered why a tool works the way it does? Have you ever used a tool or an app and thought, “That was stupid.” Questioning current methods and tools helps us find and move on to better ways. Many years ago I was in a typing class in Jr High learning how to type. The teacher told us how the qwerty keyboard keys were arranged with the goal to slow down a typist to prevent typewriter arms from jamming up. I remember wondering why we were being taught a keyboard configuration made to slow us down. Unfortunately, no alternatives were presented at that time but several years later I came across dvorak! Dvorak was designed with the goal of being more natural and reflecting the common english language. I made the switch to typing using dvorak just over 3 years ago and I have never looked back.

Have you ever heard yourself or anyone else say, “I wish that…”? This is usually how the sentence begins when someone recognizes that there could be a better way. Don’t just let those realizations just float by you without thought or action. Do a Google search for a better way or tool to see if you can find one. Ask your friends if they know a better way. Ask an expert in the related area if they have advice on a better way or tool. If none of these return results, then it’s your turn to come up with a better way or tool. All the tools that I know of and use on a regular basis came to be because someone recognized that there could be a better way and made it so. One person can make a difference. You can make a difference by educating yourself, recognizing areas of need, and taking action.

I really enjoy helping others, finding better ways to do things, and building tools which is a big part of why I enjoy my job as much as I do. Here are some of the tools that I use on my Mac that make tasks easier and more enjoyable.

I think the native retweet is great sometimes and other times it just doesn’t fit. I got really sick of doing the copy and paste dance so I built a Kynetx app that adds the “RT” functionality that I want. The RT doesn’t automatically get sent out because often times I need to shorten up  because it doesn’t fit within the 140 character limit.

Action shots

RT button:

After clicking RT button:

Get the Google Chrome or Firefox extensions below

Download Chrome Extension

Download Firefox Extension

Download Internet Explorer Extension

You can view the code that runs this app along with a short explanation on how it works over at http://kynetxappaday.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/day-32-old-school-twitter-retweet/

Wishing @Twitter would add support for showing XKCD comics inline on twitter.com

I agree that it would be nice to have each XKCD comic load inline. Until it is supported, I thought I would bang out a Kynetx app to do it. Only took me an hour while helping my wife get ready for work and out the door so I feel pretty good about it. There are a few things I could add to it but it works and it’s simple. You can use the app as a Google Chrome extension or a Firefox Extension.

Download Chrome Extension

Download Firefox Extension

Action shot!

Etherpad code http://code.google.com/p/etherpad/

Setup Instructions http://code.google.com/p/etherpad/wiki/Instructions

ARCHATHOR’IAN THE ERADICATOR

I spent the day learning and working on Kynetx code that was my first assignment since joining the team. I sure hope I won’t disappoint. Finally as the final hours of the day were counting down I was helping my wife make the bed when IT happened. Yes! IT happened! What is it? I was throwing the sheets up so I could get them to lay flat on the bed. When on the last throw, I threw them too hard, I hit the ugly glass plate covering our light hanging from the ceiling and it came crashing down. The largest shard was able to somehow maneuver it’s way to my head and connected with whatever sound glass makes when it hits flesh. *{insert sound here}* Once I got the wound covered we were able to clean it up and bandage it enough to get to bed. Here are some photos of the battle wound. Enjoy! ; D

Chicks dig scars right?!  ; )

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!! : )

Enjoy your Halloween and thanks for watching!

Trick or Tweet!

THE PROBLEM

Information is flying all around us like debris from a tornado going through a trailer park. Information overload is a real problem now for the average person and it can wreak havoc on a persons productivity and goals. Never before in the history man has there been soo much information available. Experts, books, seminars, awareness: the availability of these are low if not non-existent. We are like little children who have been handed a gun with incredible power but no one is talking about how to safely handle it, and people are getting hurt!

WHAT TO DO

Fortunately for you, if you “shoot yourself in the foot” its your fault! Probably not what you were expecting, but it’s true. You have control over most of the information you subscribe to.

• RSS Feeds
• Television
• Radio
• Email
• Social Networks
• Magazines
• Newspaper

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MY BROWSER?

You can control what your Firefox looks like. I have seen too many people who try to browse the web with so many buttons, bars, and add-ons that much of the space for actually viewing web pages is reduced by about a third or more. Take back your browser real estate and surf the web with freedom again!

WHAT CAN I DO?

Here is an example of two extremes.

If the bloated one looks similar to yours or a friends browser then you are in the right place.

To Do:

• Use the Toolbar collapse button to hide the clutter until you need it

• Remove all add-ons you aren’t using all of the time (Spring Cleaning!)
• Hide toolbars (functionality can often be accessed through the application menu)
• Remove buttons that aren’t needed (most have keyboard shortcuts which are faster)

This is really fun because you get to drag and drop buttons where ever you like.

• Hide status bar if you don’t use it (Bottom gray bar)

• Disable “Always show the tab bar”

The real trick is to balance the functionality of add-ons and buttons with space. After many months of trying different configurations, this has been the most effective layout for me.

I use the keyboard shortcuts for the Firebug add-on and the other basic browser buttons like forward, back, refresh, so I have removed all those buttons and add-on bars. I show the status bar on the bottom so I can see if the HTML pages I am coding are validating as strict without running a validator. I also hide the bookmarks bar because I don’t use them very frequently. Everyone uses the web differently which makes Firefox great for many people because it can be customized for their needs. Play around with your layout, reduce distractions, and find what works best for you.

Storm Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/liebedich/ / CC BY 2.0

GoogEEFree

UPDATE:
Within two days after writing this I had 6 friends on Twitter tell me thank you and that they hate Experts Exchange, while 1 friend basically said I was being lame. I hadn’t realized there were so many other people who despise Experts Exchange. I was also checking my visitor stats the day after posting this and came across this in my stats:

I am not sue how they found my post but I couldn’t stop laughing when I found out that someone in the Experts Exchange network visited my blog post on them.

• RT @ashlux: The lack of versioning Ubiquity commands bothers me. I imagine that’s something being worked on though. #
• RT @ElphabaPotter: “Cool Web Thingy” DOESN’T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE ‘Ubiquity’ by Mozilla. http://tinyurl.com/56uykw SRLSY, watch the video. #
• RT @Husker234: I heart Ubiquity. #
• RT @rdhyee: The Mozilla Labs Jetpack project (http://bit.ly/lTzYo) is “an API for allowing you to write Firefox add-ons” more easily. #
• Love the changes to the creative commons flickr search. Much easier to quickly search through photos now. ; ) http://bit.ly/jQAjW #
• The day I met Mozilla’s Ubiquity http://geek.michaelgrace.org/ #
• checked out Ubiquity & Jetpack from Mozilla today. Amazing set of APIs. Have really come a long way in the last year! (via @mikefarmer) #
• RT @theappleblog: Five Ways to Become a Mac Minimalist http://bit.ly/160F0x (@mikefarmer will like this) #
• AWESOME! i love reducing clutter RT @prestondlee: How to reduce clutter in web design | Graphic Design Blender http://bit.ly/EVi47 #
• New post (#technometria): Sweetter in Ubiquity http://bit.ly/eaKeW (via @windley) #
• RT @mikefarmer: about to work on the M$ stack. Step 1, remove sharp objects within reach. Step 2, warn others of impending outbursts. #
• Confirmed: it was the fuel pump that was causing the problem with by Goldwing. Now to see if I can fix it until I order a new one. #
• Bridgemaxx sucks! http://twitpic.com/dkirw #
• Bugs dont last long when they fall in a can of carb cleaner. #
• Finalized: November 18 – 19 Kynetx developers conference @ Provo, Ut
  Wooohoooo! ; ) #
• Wohooo! @leolaporte got @twit and is using it to update on live shows starting. Thanks Twitter! #
• Kynetx Impact Developer’s Conference 2009 – Registration is OPEN! http://bit.ly/kQTWl Seats are limited so sign-up soon. (via @kynetx) #
• floss weekly on twit.tv was cool. Really look forward to the upcoming shows. ; ) #
• openstreetmap.org SUPER COOL! You can make the map better! Happens within minutes. ; ) THE FUTURE IS HERE! ; ) #
• Roadee for the iPhone! Turn by turn directions for $2!!!!!!!! Using openstreetmap.org AMAZING!!! ; ) I can’t stop watching @leolaporte! #
• I had no idea it was left-handers day. http://www.lefthandersday.com wohooo! #
• Finished updating fresh install of ubuntu and now installing FreeBSD in preparation of launching a linux tutorial site. Very excited! ; ) #
• hmmmmm… looks like my twitter tool plugin for WordPress is broken. Keeps tweeting my posts without a link. ; ( #
• Are you geek enough? http://bit.ly/6MCTp
  You wish!! ; ) #
• Am I Geek Enough? http://bit.ly/NQ3sN #

Powered by Twitter Tools

1. Properly secure a wireless router.
2. Crack the WEP key on a wireless router.
3. Leech Wifi from your neighbor.
4. Screw with Wifi leeches.
5. Setup and use a VPN.
6. Work from home or a coffee shop as effectively as you do at the office.
7. Wire your own home with Ethernet cable.
8. Turn a web camera into security camera.
9. Use your 3G phone as a Wi-Fi access point.
10. Understand what “There’s no Place Like 127.0.0.1” means.
11. Identify key-loggers.
12. Properly connect a TV, Tivo, XBox, Wii, and Apple TV so they all work together with the one remote.
13. Program a universal remote.
14. Swap out the battery on your iPod/iPhone.
15. Benchmark Your Computer
16. Identify all computer components on sight.
17. Know which parts to order from NewEgg.com, and how to assemble them into a working PC.
18. Troubleshoot any computer/gadget problem, over the phone.
19. Use any piece of technology intuitively, without instruction or prior knowledge.
20. How to irrecoverably protect data.
21. Recover data from a dead hard drive.
22. Share a printer between a Mac and a PC on a network.
23. Install a Linux distribution. (Hint: Ubuntu 9.04 is easier than installing Windows)
24. Remove a virus from a computer.
25. Dual (or more) boot a computer.
26. Boot a computer off a thumb drive.
27. Boot a computer off a network drive.
28. Replace or repair a laptop keyboard.
29. Run more than two monitors on a single computer.
30. Successfully disassemble and reassemble a laptop.
31. Know at least 10 software easter eggs off the top of your head.
32. Bypass a computer password on all major operating systems. Windows, Mac, Linux
33. Carrying a computer cleaning arsenal on your USB drive.
34. Bypass content filters on public computers.
35. Protect your privacy when using a public computer.
36. Surf the web anonymously from home.
37. Buy a domain, configure bind, apache, MySQL, php, and WordPress without Googling a how-to.
38. Basic *nix command shell knowledge with the ability to edit and save a file with vi.
39. Create a web site using vi.
40. Transcode a DVD to play on a portable device.
41. Hide a file in an image using steganography.
42. Knowing the answer to life, the universe and everything.
43. Share a single keyboard and mouse between multiple computers without a KVM switch.
44. Google obscure facts in under 3 searches. Bonus point if you can use I Feel Lucky.
45. Build amazing structures with LEGO and invent a compelling back story for the creation.
46. Understand that it is LEGO, not Lego, Legos, or Lego’s.
47. Build a two story house out of LEGO, in monochrome, with a balcony.
48. Construct a costume for you or your kid out of scraps, duct tape, paper mâché, and imagination.
49. Be able to pick a lock.
50. Determine the combination of a Master combination padlock in under 10 minutes.
51. Assemble IKEA furniture without looking at the instructions. Bonus point if you don’t have to backtrack.
52. Use a digital SLR in full manual mode.
53. Do cool things to Altoids tins.
54. Be able to construct paper craft versions of space ships.
55. Origami! Bonus point for duct tape origami. (Ductigami)
56. Fix anything with duct tape, chewing gum and wire.
57. Knowing how to avoid being eaten by a grue.
58. Know what a grue is.
59. Understand where XYZZY came from, and have used it.
60. Play any SNES game on your computer through an emulator.
61. Burn the rope.
62. Know the Konami code, and where to use it.
63. Whistle, hum, or play on an iPhone, the Cantina song.
64. Learning to play the theme songs to the kids favorite TV shows.
65. Solve a Rubik’s Cube.
66. Calculate THAC0.
67. Know the difference between skills and traits.
68. Explain special relativity in terms an eight-year-old can grasp.
69. Recite pi to 10 places or more.
70. Be able to calculate tip and split the check, all in your head.
71. Explain that the colours in a rainbow are roygbiv.
72. Understand the electromagnetic spectrum – xray, uv, visible, infrared, microwave, radio.
73. Know the difference between radiation and radioactive contamination.
74. Understand basic electronics components like resistors, capacitors, inductors and transistors.
75. Solder a circuit while bottle feeding an infant. (lead free solder please.)
76. The meaning of technical acronyms.
77. The coffee dash, blindfolded (or blurry eyed). Coffee <brew> [cream] [sugar]. In under a minute.
78. Build a fighting robot.
79. Program a fighting robot.
80. Build a failsafe into a fighting robot so it doesn’t kill you.
81. Be able to trace the Fellowship’s journey on a map of Middle Earth.
82. Know all the names of the Dwarves in The Hobbit.
83. Understand the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel.
84. Know where your towel is and why it is important.
85. Re-enact the parrot sketch.
86. Know the words to The Lumberjack Song.
87. Reciting key scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
88. Be able to recite at least one Geek Movie word for word.
89. Know what the 8th Chevron does on a Stargate and how much power is required to get a lock.
90. Be able to explain why it’s important that Han shot first.
91. Know why it is just wrong for Luke and Leia to kiss.
92. Stop talking Star Wars long enough to get laid.
93. The ability to name actors, characters and plotlines from the majority of sci-fi movies produced since 1968.
94. Cite Mythbusters when debunking a myth or urban legend.
95. Sleep with a Cricket bat next to your bed.
96. Have a documented plan on what to do during a zombie or robot uprising.
97. Identify evil alternate universe versions of friends, family, co-workers or self.
98. Be able to convince TSA that the electronic parts you are carrying are really not a threat to passengers.
99. Talk about things that aren’t tech related.
100. Get something on the front page of Digg.

Photo by bellafer*:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gataclark/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

• @kylew01 cool! They even have your name on them. ; ) in reply to kylew01 #
• @kylew01 that’s going to e really cool. in reply to kylew01 #
• @kylew01 when do you think you will be putting the roofing on? in reply to kylew01 #
• My blog just posted my tweets for the week if you’re interested. http://geek.michaelgrace.org #
• Our well is on the fritz. Anyone else had this problem? http://twitpic.com/cnfud #
• RT @thedarktangent: Sleep after #defcon == good++ #
• @judkinsk oh good. ; ) in reply to judkinsk #
• @kylew01 nice! Your going to keep it right? in reply to kylew01 #
• @Eleven2 looks good. To bad it’s out of my price range. in reply to Eleven2 #
• @mikefarmer can’t wait for your blog post about it. ; ) in reply to mikefarmer #
• @mikefarmer if we were living close to you, we would go in halvzies with you. ; ) in reply to mikefarmer #
• @kylew01 AWESOME!! ; ) in reply to kylew01 #
• @kylew01 you need to put in a disco ball so you can have dances and parties there. in reply to kylew01 #
• @nicbifano haha. Good memories I’m sure. : ) in reply to nicbifano #
• @kylew01 if you threw it away I was going to have to smack you. ; ) in reply to kylew01 #
• Car washed and detailed from Defcon trip. Now at parade with wife and very hungry. #
• @hgrawe very cool! Takes a long time to get that pennies. ; ) in reply to hgrawe #
• Looking for an apartment in idaho falls. ; ) #
• @MrBrettYoung yeah, that’s ignorant. in reply to MrBrettYoung #
• Google docs spreadsheets have come a long way. I am very impressed. #
• Google docs has incorporated some great keyboard shortcuts to make your document editing life a lot better to. ; ) http://bit.ly/g77c2 #
• @CMoz Good Morning! ; ) in reply to CMoz #
• @CMoz 4 days of geekin out with 2 nights of sleep. IT ROCKED! ; ) I learned tons even if the crowd was a bit rougher than I had anticipated. in reply to CMoz #
• @CMoz Not only was the learning awesome, I picked up an apple newton for $20. ; ) in reply to CMoz #
• sometimes apt complexes don’t want you to see just how crapy they look so they “show you” w/out showing you. http://twitpic.com/cpwsl #
• @MikeGrace or you can live in someone’s backyard shed for $400/ month! blahhhhhh! http://twitpic.com/cpwy2 in reply to MikeGrace #
• @CMoz she was really sad to have me gone over the weekend but is glad that I was… Read More: http://is.gd/21OlZ in reply to CMoz #
• @CMoz just a different place. ; ) Little people are in the plans though. ; ) in reply to CMoz #
• @kylew01 there are a lot of places cheaper than Rexburg. in reply to kylew01 #
• @kylew01 I was up late. Couldn’t
  Sleep. We are seriously considering it. Besides, we would get to hang out with the @mikefarmer s ; ) in reply to kylew01 #
• Todays morning run felt good. Visit to las vagas really cut back on my endurance. #
• @jessecole figures. ; ) in reply to jessecole #
• @bluedoggiant I’m stuck! ; ) http://twitpic.com/cvsvk in reply to bluedoggiant #
• @kylew01 sure do. You coming by to pick it up? ; ) in reply to kylew01 #
• @kylew01 yes in reply to kylew01 #
• Found out where the fleeting 3g signals were coming from… St. Anthony! Idaho! #
• @bryanwilliams @kylew01 I know! Totally crazy and I don’t know why but I had full signal strength in a place we are looking at moving into. in reply to bryanwilliams #
• Oh, and on the way to look at the apartment my bike decided it was out of gas before it told me. #
• @bryanwilliams haha! Nice!! Looks like we need to get the Mayer of Rexburg hooked on an iPhone then. ; ) in reply to bryanwilliams #
• OUCH! looks like the fuel pump died on my goldwing. : ( #
• @nicbifano it was a DDos attack?! hahaha. That’s interesting. in reply to nicbifano #
• Got the Gold Wing home safely on the trailer. ; ) #
• Because a new fuel pump for my Goldwing is priced at about $180 I am going to see if I can resurrect my current one. #
• @kylew01 Thanks. I have been looking and there have been some who have been able to get it working again and never had to replace it. ; ) in reply to kylew01 #
• Tfjgukfl. B Gjshgi. V ysyd. Rdhfznnfhxgvnb cxhtgh (via @mikefarmer’s Abbie) #
• FhdfjddxFcejfjdddf. FfasfsggFcssdjvsxxcxccvdsufvgV bchhvhhcdid (via @mikefarmer’s Abbie) ; ) #
• great evening at Rexburg’s concert in the park with @mikefarmer and farmer tonight. Fun to hang out with friends and wife. ; ) #
• @mikefarmer I am working on the photos right now. ; ) in reply to mikefarmer #
• @mikefarmer Nice! IE 6 must die!! ; ) #
• @bryanwilliams @kylew01 AMEN! IE meet firing squad. Firing squad meet IE. ; ) in reply to bryanwilliams #
• Great use of Twitter by a non profit. @WCA_Boise (via @jamie_cooper) #
• Win a 24″ LCD Monitor or 6 months free hosting from @firehost and @designmoo http://designmoo.com/contest #
• @jonmott isn’t that the truth. ; ) Las Vagas is full of failures sadly enough. in reply to jonmott #
• @flipstock Way to go. Hope things work out for the best.; ) in reply to flipstock #
• @mozmac sounds like my kind of party. ; ) in reply to mozmac #
• @mozmac really? Wow! I would have thought with Apples awesome OS upgrade prices that more would have switched. Older hardware probably. in reply to mozmac #
• Do you think http://www.bitcartel.com/pandorajam/ is illegal or wrong? or do you love it? #
• @kylew01 ; ) very nice. in reply to kylew01 #
• @davidweiss interesting. Thanks for sharing. Wonder how many people will notice and say something about it. in reply to davidweiss #
• @flipstock probably was. ; ) I have seen some silly holes for vents also. in reply to flipstock #
• I absolutely love working with designers! Designers rock! (They make me look good) ; ) #
• @fulling Sweet! Sounds like a party fore sure. in reply to fulling #
• @fulling They can get pricey but I have heard that good ones are worth it (depending on how much you ride) in reply to fulling #
• @kylew01 Cool! Would have been crazy to see it. I am glad you got some cool HDR photos of the smoke. Thanks for coming over today also. in reply to kylew01 #
• @mattMur Nice! ; ) in reply to mattMur #
• @mattMur haha! Your mage game is fun. ; ) Simple yet fun. Way to go. in reply to mattMur #
• @jessecole have fun and don’t do anything too crazy ; ) in reply to jessecole #
• No need to do a speed test when it takes 3 min. to load the speedtest page. #bridgemaxx #fail. Soo glad I will have cable in 3 weeks. ; ) #
• Took over 1 hour to download Namoroka 3.6 which is 17.4 MB. (dev. alpha of Firefox) I despise bridgemaxx and I am leaving them! Muahahahaha! #
• @1password is already compatible with Firefox 3.6
  Cool! ; ) Way to go guys! #
• After about 11 hours of coding web pages I am ready to put the computer away. Was a very good productive day. I enjoyed working from home. #
• @kylew01 Sure looks like your going to have fun. ; ) in reply to kylew01 #
• @terminaldude exciting isn’t it! A friend of mine wrote a shell script to download the latest and replace the old version with the new one. in reply to terminaldude #
• @kylew01 Nice! It’s a deal. I just have to be able to make it over the roads. ; ) in reply to kylew01 #
• I think it might finally be time to look at replacing my mouse. It is a 7 year old logitech laser. Was using before I went to Japan. ; ) #
• @vpeternguyen not sure. I am going to start my research. My guess is I probably will end up with a gaming mouse for its precision and form. in reply to vpeternguyen #
• Saturday morning BACON!! ; ) yum! http://twitpic.com/d6k3f #
• @johnwinter Haven’t used Dropzone before bit it looks well done and very useful. Way to go! ; ) #
• I really like the changes to the Firefox 3.6 download window. Way to go Mozilla! ; ) #
• @vpeternguyen No, it is a big decision because so much time is spent using it. But no matter what we say it is still very nerdy. ; ) in reply to vpeternguyen #
• @MrBrettYoung The HD is VERY nice if you have the income to support it. ; ) Which is why I am not there yet. in reply to MrBrettYoung #
• Gotta love it when customers don’t completely read instructions you give them and they cost you hours of your time. #customernotalwaysright #
• @kylew01 huraaaaaaaaaay ; ) in reply to kylew01 #
• RT @donttrythis: My talk (Adam Savage) from #defcon is up! http://vimeo.com/6006731 #
• Ubiquity Rocks!!! #
• I can’t sleep because I can’t stop playing with Ubiquity and writting my own Ubiquity commands. #
• UBIQUITY!!! #
• @kylew01 yeah, I got a bit carried away. Goodnight. in reply to kylew01 #

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Bumpits Hair Product

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/ / CC BY 2.0

NameGuard

I have used several different sites and services to register domains. NameGuard is hands down the best domain registration site and service I have ever used. After registering several domains with NameGuard I wonder why I ever used all the other sites out there.

Why

• FREE Privacy Protection!!!
  • Many other services charge extra, each year, for this service
  • If you don’t get privacy protection all of your personal information ends up in the whois directory for that domain. Bad!
    
• Industry standard pricing on domains
• accepts paypal or credit card for payment
• Change DNS name servers at time of registration
• Extremely fast registration time

NameGuard Advantages

Even though the girl doesn’t come with every domain name registration, NameGuard provides some of the best services I have seen yet. Click on the girl to read their list of advantages.

This post may seem like I may be making money through some affiliation program but I make nothing from this post other than helping others enjoy the same great benefits of a great domain registration service while protecting their personal contact information

Auto-Tune the News #3 Video

I don’t usually share videos but this video has caught my eye. The makers at barelypolitical have taken news clips and made them into a song. Really amazing work taking the voices and clips to morph it into a cool song. I am sure a lot of video geeks are geekin’ out over this one. The video can get a bit crude so you have been warned. The title of the video is Auto-Tune the News #3 !!!

Enjoy

In the fight of jQuery vs Flash there are many arguments on both sides but I think this smart bird sums it up nicely. ; )

countdown widget

Would work well on blogspot (blogger), WordPress, TypePad, and many more.

Website Design & Usability Review Project!!!

For over a year now I have had the idea and the desire of creating a website reviewing website designs and their usability to help improve my own understanding of good design and usability practices. I could have just done it on my own and written it down in a notebook but that’s nearly as fun as creating a site and sharing my thoughts and findings with others. I am currently a student at BYU – Idaho and I just switched my major from Business Management to Computer Information Technology and I have loved every minute of it since.

I am sure that there will be those who agree with my opinions and those who don’t and I am excited about that. This site is all about learning and improving design and usability and I look forward to everyone’s feedback and participation.

Disclaimer:
I don’t claim to be a design or usability expert by any means. If you don’t agree with what I say then speak up and let me know and lets learn together. The only content on this blog I claim to be my own are the written rewiews unless otherwise noted in the post. All other content such as this gallery WordPress theme, designs of sites reviewed, etc. are not my work but the work of others and all copyrights are retained by their respective creators/owners. Above all, if there are any problems with copyright infringement or you have questions regarding any content on this site please contact me.

Special thanks to

Chris Wallace – Awesome designer and WordPress Guru who made this theme available for free use

Eleven2 – Best web hosting I have used yet and the guys running the place rock!

My wife for encouraging me to do what I love to do… and bring home the bacon. ; )

Check out the project!

Open the Mac OS X utility called “Disk Utility”. It can be found in the “Applications” folder and inside the “Utilities” folder. Or… be cool and use spotlight to open the application.

2. Click “New Image”

3. Name .dmg, image, and set options

• Size: Size of image
• Format: How the image file is constructed (The default will meet most needs)
• Encryption: No need for this if you are creating the image to burn to a disk
• Partitions: Ditto
• Image Format: read/write disk image will meet most needs

4.  Click create and find your creation

5. Open image and drag and drop your files into it

6. Eject image once you are done filling

7. Now the .dmg can be burned to a disk or you can just keep it. Double click the .dmg to mount the image.

Here’s an idea that might be useful – if you are working on a jQuery project, why not make one of these your wallpaper so all you have to do is view your desktop and “Bam!”, there is your answer. ; )

URL: http://www.businessinsider.com/here-come-the-google-tv-ads-2009-5#comment-form Accessed: 2009-4-8. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5gcvACaxO)

Page archived with WebCite dashboard widget

A fun international day where everyone takes off their CSS. Dustin Diaz, the founder of CSS Naked Day (archived at http://www.webcitation.org/5fuQLFhny), says that the purpose of this holiday is, “…to promote Web Standards. Plain and simple. This includes proper use of (x)html, semantic markup, a good hierarchy structure, and of course, a good ‘ol play on words. It’s time to show off your <body>.” (archived at http://www.webcitation.org/5fuPcZGxn)

So, I am taking this opportunity to promote the proper use of (x)html and good hierarchal structure by taking off my CSS. If you would like to join and you have a WordPress blog all you need is a simple plugin to do the work for you. The plugin is named “CSS Naked Day”.

What happened to the design?

To know more about why styles are disabled on this website visit the

Annual CSS Naked Day website for more information.

—————-
Sources

Dustin Diaz. About Dustin Diaz. dustindiaz.com.. URL:http://www.dustindiaz.com/about/. Accessed: 2009-04-09. (Archived by WebCite^® at http://www.webcitation.org/5fuQLFhny)

Dustin Diaz. Naked ’09. dustindiaz.com. URL:http://naked.dustindiaz.com/. Accessed: 2009-04-09. (Archived by WebCite^® at http://www.webcitation.org/5fuPcZGxn)

horiwood.com has put together an impressive list of twitter tools some of which I use on a regular basis. Check it out at http://horiwood.com/2009/04/06/100-twitter-tools-n-tips/

This Warning applies to you if you are using an old browser!!

Check out the bring down IE 6 campaign over at http://www.bringdownie6.com/

I changed some of the functionality and the css in the jQuery functions so it would be a little more compacte and now it is looking great. Really easy to install but if you are wanting to customize it beyond how many tweets show up you are going to need a fair understanding of jQuery.