Tuesday, May 24, 2011
American Idol on Fox TV: how about that final pair?
Apparently Denny's restaurants are featuring a new meal to represent Scotty and Lauren, the final singers on the American Idol TV show, which should be renamed "Young Bland Country Karaoke." On the new menu is a slice of dry toast and a glass of white milk.
Monday, April 04, 2011
more about blogging from an enthusiast
As mentioned in _say_everything_ by Scott Rosenberg:
As computer science pioneer Joseph Weizenbaum noticed in 1999, the Internet is like a garbage dump with people crawling all over it, and maybe they find a bit of something they can use or sell, but mainly it's garbage. But there are gold mines and pearls in there that a person trained to design good questions can find.
Weizenbaum saw the Web as an encounter between individual people and a vast, disorderly junkpile of data. Within a few years many of us arrived at a very different understanding of the Web. Most of the words we encountered online weren't being generated or organized by machine; what we found on the other side of the screen was other people, typing away. The machine was just making it possible for us to connect with them. == sounds like things are improving!
If you are annoyed by low standards (in science-fiction-novels, blogs, YouTube videos, popular music, etc.) then remember Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crap.
As computer science pioneer Joseph Weizenbaum noticed in 1999, the Internet is like a garbage dump with people crawling all over it, and maybe they find a bit of something they can use or sell, but mainly it's garbage. But there are gold mines and pearls in there that a person trained to design good questions can find.
Weizenbaum saw the Web as an encounter between individual people and a vast, disorderly junkpile of data. Within a few years many of us arrived at a very different understanding of the Web. Most of the words we encountered online weren't being generated or organized by machine; what we found on the other side of the screen was other people, typing away. The machine was just making it possible for us to connect with them. == sounds like things are improving!
If you are annoyed by low standards (in science-fiction-novels, blogs, YouTube videos, popular music, etc.) then remember Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crap.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Blogs
Reading a good book about blogs: say everything by Scott Rosenberg.
Some significant statements from the "Blogging for Bucks" chapter:
"Bloggers weren't selling ads and could not point to direct revenue from their posts. Yet their blogs were benefiting their businesses, helping them reach new customers and stand out from the competition."
"The demonstration of knowledge and expertise over time in a weblog is the modern equivalent of a résumé."
"There is a distinction between making money with a blog, and earning money indirectly because of your blog, which spread your reputation and opened doors for you."
Of course, Brenda Woods' blog at http://michiganmugsandmeals.wordpress.com/ is a wonderful example.
Some significant statements from the "Blogging for Bucks" chapter:
"Bloggers weren't selling ads and could not point to direct revenue from their posts. Yet their blogs were benefiting their businesses, helping them reach new customers and stand out from the competition."
"The demonstration of knowledge and expertise over time in a weblog is the modern equivalent of a résumé."
"There is a distinction between making money with a blog, and earning money indirectly because of your blog, which spread your reputation and opened doors for you."
Of course, Brenda Woods' blog at http://michiganmugsandmeals.wordpress.com/ is a wonderful example.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
good advice
I have the pleasant privilege of meeting with small groups to have conversations about books. We take our time to appreciate and question and identify with the issues, so the experience is wider and deeper than reading the book alone. Here is an example of a book that is worth investing the time: Courage and Calling by Gordon T. Smith.
an overview of the topics in this book:
God made us with definite diverse personalities, with a definite purpose for our lives. We live in community and in solitude, with activities determined by that purpose. Our calling to activities has three expressions: a general call to follow Jesus Christ and be a Christian, a specific call to a mission or vocation, and an immediate call to tasks and duties of the moment. We will find joy in knowing our calling and acting appropriately.
an overview of the topics in this book:
God made us with definite diverse personalities, with a definite purpose for our lives. We live in community and in solitude, with activities determined by that purpose. Our calling to activities has three expressions: a general call to follow Jesus Christ and be a Christian, a specific call to a mission or vocation, and an immediate call to tasks and duties of the moment. We will find joy in knowing our calling and acting appropriately.
