Archive for August 2003

Fresh off the e-presses is a new Web site called Blogstakes from the fellers behind Meet the Makers. The link will take you to one of the contests currently running. Now be good for Blogstakes and check it out.

With last week’s massive blackout in the US on the East coast, companies scrambled to keep their businesses rolling to avoid customer interruptions. Some were successful and others weren’t prepared. September 11 and Blackout kicks disaster recovery into action reminds us the importance of contigency or crisis management plans. Whether it be war, natural disasters, or electrical disasters, a company should be prepared to handle anything.

There’s an excellent newsletter that covers this topic called Crisis Manager Newsletter. I reviewed this newsletter and it received high marks across the board. It also takes what people think is a boring topic and makes it interesting.

Remember the Boy Scout motto, “Be prepared” and create those backup plans and practice those fire drills. They’re a pain, but they save lives and businesses.

Palm has changed its name to separate the hardware from the OS. PalmOne is the hardware part while PalmSource is the operating system. At least Palm has managed to do one smart thing — keep the Palm name in both entities. This ensures customers know what is what.

I give up. I am using PDA instead of handheld even though I advocated against it because PDA also stands for Public Display of Affection. PDA just sounds better than handheld. When I got my first PDA in 1995, I still used my planner. Slowly, I used my planner less and PDA more. Now, I don’t even use a planner anymore and have made it a habit to carry my PDA every where. Still can’t decide if it’s for you? Read PDAs and the Small Business to see what you can do with a PDA, even if you don’t work in a small business.

Today is Left Handers Day. Seriously! I’m a proud southpaw who used the nickname Lefty when I played on a softball team. So far, two of my three kids are not lefties. There’s hope yet in the youngest.

Google found another good use for ~ (tilde) in its searches. It’s for finding synonyms of search words. For instance, if you enter “listings ~jobs”, the results produce items with career and employment.

Will we see the antonym operator next?

Shirley blogged about The Blogging Process. As a process analyst, I had to click on it. To me, the process is simple, but Dave Pollard shares a few insights and how relationships figure into the blogging equation. The process could get messy with all the new features and technologies coming to play (commenting, instant messaging, RSS, yadda yadda…). I liked his quote, “Who knows, maybe by next year the chart above will be so much more complex it’ll look like a plan for extricating Bush from Iraq.”

I’ve been doing a little detecting from my bedside desk. Since I can’t do heavy duty work or thinking, I’ve been surfing the Web, downloading programs to try, checking out Web sites recommended by various resources, and taking care of the baby.

I came across History Detectives and it’s a fascinating new US TV program devoted to solving historical mysteries, searching out the true facts (and falsehoods) behind local folklore, family legends, and interesting objects.

The excellent Web site under the pbs.org umbrella shows you how to investigate. Learn ballistics, weapon dating, document examination (obviously, thesmokinggun folks are good at this), and more.

I believe CSI has started a trend in investigative techniques to solve mysteries. It has spawned similar programs and this is one just of them and it’s based on real life. Sherlock Holmes has nothing on these detectives.

This is not a list of bad jokes. The Web page explains that a “groaner” is a hackneyed, overblown, stuffy or just plain silly cliché that turns up time after time in news scripts. All the fun is at Newswriting.com – The 100 Worst Groaners.

While we’re on the topic of writing, I find it ironic that an online writer’s guide and handbook is called Paradigm, a clichéd word that needs removing from every company’s dictionary. Despite that and not adhering to Web standards (it doesn’t look good in Netscape 7+ or Mozilla), Paradigm Onling Writing Assistant is a great resource. It’s all about the material.

I previously reported on This Is Broken when it first started. I bring it up again now that it has good stuff in it. Besides, everyone is busy reading or blogging about the NPR interview on Web standards. Glad to hear that it’s getting much needed attention.

While on the topic of Web standards, see Wish You Were Here fora creative way of sharing coding, design and content tips.