Category Archives: Blogging

A Beginning, a Middle and an Ending

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The results of neglecting a blog are either A — you decide it’s not worth the trouble and it slowly fades into history or, B — your mind becomes FILLED with blog posts and it keeps you up at night until you write something.  For me, it’s B.  I’m now starting to see that it doesn’t really matter whether or not I enjoy it — it’s just something that I have to do.  Since I’m out of practice the “flow” of this post may be a bit nonexistent.  I am sure of this though, it will have a beginning, a middle and an ending.

Random thought:  I think better at 170+ BPM.  That would be heartbeats.  I can’t listen to music when I run because it distracts me from thinking.  Ideas flow freely at around 170 beats per minute, but rarely do I remember to write anything down when I’m finished.  I think I’m okay with that.  It’s kind of like my own private blog that only I get to read.  Only once, considering I never write any of it down…

Random thought 2:  (Always) Listen to Music.  I was listening to a song today and immediately it was November of 2004, and I was on the square in Denton, with her.  It was cold, and overcast.  Today, the song reminds me of what it’s like to be in love.  Every time I listen to John Mayer’s album Continuum it is 2006 and I am in downtown Dallas, sitting at a table outside of a Starbucks or driving early in the morning from Houston to Palacios, TX for a college fair.  It’s not about the lyrics or the artist; For me, songs are just triggers for my memories.  While I’m at it, Matchbox 20′s  album Yourself or Someone Like You was my “Angry CD”.  The last time I listened to it I was in college and went for a drive and almost ended up in Louisiana (I was mad at a girl).  Word of wisdom:  If you’re going to drive while you’re angry, only drive half the distance you think it will take to no longer be angry.  That way, you’re at home (and not an hour away) when you finally calm down.  Just sayin’…

There were at least 5 other random things I wanted/needed to write down but I can’t remember them now.

As promised, here is the ending.

Proper Comment Protocol

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I actually wrote this back in January of 2007 but I figured it was worth revisiting.  Actually, I just think it was clever and cute and deserved another shot at being on the front page (and I’m too lazy to write a NEW post tonight)…

Gee guys, thanks for the comments!  I didn’t even have to prompt you guys or anything!  My favorite (use this as an example from now on):

“The calvinism shirt was funny but philosophically untenable. “This shirt chose me,” implies that the shirt has the ability to choose. It should read, “This shirt was chosen for me.””

Notice that the author begins with praise – “The calvinism shirt was funny”.  If you’re at a loss for words just start with telling me how good whatever idea or concept I expressed was.  The author then proceeds to point out a fault in the idea or concept but also provides a suitable substitute.  Now let’s see how NOT to post a comment.

A few months ago a reader wrote:

“You’re an Idiot”

Notice how this does not fit the formula stated above.  The author of this post actually suffers from severe mental deficiencies so I let it slide but it is not an example of proper posting protocol.  How could the author have improved this comment?  By starting out with a note of praise.

For instance – “Paul, you are such an awesome guy but I do not agree with your line of logic on this particular issue.  Maybe one day I’ll understand – until then you’re still the best!”

Notice how this comment is more grounded in reality. Also the addition of MORE praise at the end of the comment is always encouraged, but not necessary.

Try some on your own now keeping in mind the examples provided.

I hate blogging…

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That’s not really true, but considering I’ve only posted three entries last month and NONE this month, my actions are speaking louder than my words.

I blame it on the heat.

Last night the LOW temp was 79 degrees…  it’s throwing me off.  The only time I can reasonably get in a run is around 7am which I would be okay with if I could convince my body that 3am is NOT an appropriate bed time.  I mean, the late hours are great for my “work” life but they pretty much reck havoc on the rest of my life.  I need to work on balance…

Note: Here’s where this post takes a sharp turn.  If you enjoy reading about web development and freelance businesses and the such, please continue!  If you normally skim through my posts on the mentioned subjects, skim away!  If you considered never reading my blog again because of such topics, stop here :-)

_________

I’ve done a lot of thinking about web development and content management in the past few weeks and have come to a few conclusions:

1 — Clients know what they want, but seldom know what they NEED.  Most of my job is listening to the client to figure out what they actually NEED.

2 — Very few clients can successfully manage their own website.  The IDEA of being in control of your own website is appealing, until your domain expires, you forget your password, your site gets hacked (because you set your password to your birthday or pet’s name) or you want to add a new feature that SHOULD be easy to add (and it is for people like me who enjoy reading hours worth of documentation).

3 — Clients want there website to last forever.  You know, “set it and forget it!”  This is how the cycle goes:  you hire a developer or company to build your site.  They successfully sell you on X,Y and Z technolgies which are ligitimently “new” technologies and meet your list of wants.  A few months later your site is up and everything is great — exactly what you wanted.  A year later, your site is starting to look a little dated, that blog you wanted is getting fewer and fewer updates — you’re kinda wanting something “new”.  Year two rolls around and everybody else’s site is looking way better than yours — you decide that the developer/company sold you “old” technology and you’ve been had.  Now it’s time for something “new” again and you (once again) find the “perfect” company to completely re-design your site…

Okay, so part of that was ranting which I do not apologize for — I mean, *I* feel better, and that’s what matters.  More importantly, these frustrations are helping me help my current and future clients.  You see, the cycle I described in #3 really isn’t so much the client’s fault as it is a flaw in the model.  This model makes a website a “product” and every product has a limited shelf life.  Sure, you can upgrade the product, but after awhile your 1988 Pontiac Sunbird isn’t going to cut it — regardless of what you put under the hood.  The alternative?  What if your website wasn’t a product, but a service?  Google (and other companies) have made the idea of Software as a Service (SaaS) popular over the past few years, why not try the same idea with websites?

I’ll admit, this is in no way a new idea, but for some reason it’s not a very popular one for small business websites.  Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, WordPress, Flickr, Twitter — all services.  What is nice about these services is that nobody is stuck with “old” technology with these services;  everyone benefits from the latest and greatest upgrades.

So how can that translate to the realm of paid web development?  For those of you already bored, you’ve suffered through enough.  For those of you on the edge of your seat — wait for the next post!

Army Brat

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In case you didn’t know, I grew up in a military household; my dad was in the Army so that makes me an Army brat.  I recently joined a group on Facebook titled “You know you are a military brat if you…” and spent a good 15 minutes reading through these — here are some of my favorites:

…all your former very best friends are as long gone as your last move.
…always wish you were back at the last place you were stationed even 20 years later.
…are able to imitate others’ speech patterns easily.
…are amazed at people who have never left their hometown.
…are asked “where did you learn to speak English so well”.
…are brought to tears by military music.
…are initially confused when asked where you are from, but quickly respond everywhere.
…at 22 you are trying to find someone in the military to marry so you can get a new I.D. card.
…can call up actual memories of a country while you’re in Geography class.
…can not speak the language of the country in which you were born.
…didn’t save things so you wouldn’t go over the weight allowance of the next move.
…don’t feel quite right seeing military personnel younger than you.
…every room you’ve ever had was stark white and you couldn’t put nail holes in the walls.
…feel like you should be visiting the states rather than living in them.
…find that you can easily amuse yourself for hours at airports, train or bus stations.
…get nostalgic when seeing O.D. Green.
…get the itch to move every 3-4 years and forever feel like the outsider in the civilian world.
…give someone a break because they are in the military.
…went into culture shock upon returning to the states.
…have been asked just where APO, AE was.
…have USAA as your insurance company.
…know exactly how horrible AFN commercials are.
…knew the rank and name of the kid next door’s father before meeting the kid next door.
…left school frequently for bomb scares.
…munched hot brötchen & gummies on the way to school.
…name schools in three countries on two continents when asked what high school you attended.
…played American Football at the schwim bad to impress the german girls.
…polished your fathers boots and brass for his upcoming inspection.
…remember being able to watch the Super Bowl or World Series live on TV at 2 am.
…start a major portion of your conversations with “when I was in…”
…stand up and recite the national anthem at the start of movies.
…talk to someone with an accent and pick it up yourself.
…tell everyone you are from a town that you haven’t lived in since you were 4 years old.
…try to take out your ID card when you enter a grocery store.
…went to school in a converted POW camp.
…know transfer meant pack your toys and say see ya later.