Archive for November 2007

While podcasting is low on my list of things to follow, an article caught my eye. A local PTA is using podcasting to record its general meetings so those who can’t attend can get up to speed.

Most of the time, general meetings follow with a program consisting of a speaker on an education-related topic or the children perform for their parents. Recording the meeting gives people a chance to hear the speaker and learn more about the topic or parents to have a recording of their children’s program.

On the flip side, will podcasts prevent people from attending meetings? The article states it won’t because it means missing out on the interactions and asking questions. Things brings up an important point — is technology isolating us?

For me, technology brings me closer to people more often than in an in-person group event. But that’s probably because of my hearing loss. Technology is wonderful, but we want to ensure it doesn’t cut us off from each other.

Last week, I attended an in person meeting with a local client. Though I feel uneasy about meeting someone in person for the first time (because of concerns whether I will be able to understand the person), the meeting accomplished more than if we had discussions by e-mail.

Since most of my clients aren’t local, it isn’t a problem. But it illustrates the value of connecting with others in-person.

Sometimes Firefox causes problems on my computer by sucking up too much memory. I won’t give up on Firefox easily, so I set to work on how to improve its memory. Over time, I’ve done things here and there to improve its memory usage — but thought it was time to put together a few resources.

As wonderful as extensions are, they can become a memory hog. As a compromise, I looked up my extensions for problematic extensions and made changes. I also do an occasional extension check up to see if I make use of them all. If I rarely use an extension, then it goes bye bye. It’s not worth the memory if I don’t use it enough.

The following resources do a nice job of explaining what to do and offering plenty of options to improve Firefox’s handling of memory:

Excellent forum post on how to improve Firefox’s memory usage.

MozillaZine’s article on Reducing Memory Usage in Firefox offers plenty of tips.

MozDev.org provides a memory usage FQA (frequently questioned answers — appropriate!)

Standard Diagnostic helps troubleshoots Firefox problems — not just memory.

I accidentally broke the coffee pot from my trusty coffee maker. I don’t know how long we’ve had it, but I know the Braun KF-187 (view larger image) coffee maker is a rare breed. We have an older KF-140 Braun (view larger image) coffee maker that we’re using as its replacement. It took only one use for me to see how the little things make a difference.

• Filter basket handle: Makes it easier to open and close basket.
• Green light: Alerts us when the coffee is ready.
• 1 – 3 cup button: I only make one cup of coffee and this button prevents burning when there is not much coffee in the pot.
• “Right feel” carafe: The pot felt nicer to hold, the lid was easy to get on and off, and it was just the right shape. The one I’m using now feels square and clunky, and it’s tricky to get its lid back on.
• Water level indicator shows small water amounts: When I made the first couple of cups using the KF-140, the ball indicator didn’t budge. So I thought I didn’t have enough water when I did. I rarely made too much coffee with the KF-187 as its indicator was reliable.

It also has a auto on feature, but I haven’t used for over two years that since I wake up at different times. The lesson here is that the little things make a difference.

I’ve been looking at current coffee makers and think many of them have too many features and their bodies feels like cheap plastic. I opened the lid to the water reservoir to see how they feel. A couple of them didn’t open and close smoothly and some felt like lightweight cheap plastic.

I love geeky and techie things, but a coffee maker doesn’t need most of those useless features. It’s a shame Braun didn’t keep making more FlavorSelect models since they were popular.

Older gadgets like VCRs lasted longer than the new ones. As companies find ways to make things cheaper, they also sacrifice quality. We had an older VCR that outlasted two or three newer ones. When a VCR lasted over a year, it was a miracle.

While I can order a replacement carafe, I decided it’s time to let the coffee maker go. It was getting worn out from so much use.

• An Introduction to Social Networks
• Improve your writing: Contains the advice you see in most articles like this one, but it never hurts to brush up.
• How bad blogging could hurt your company: Blogging is not for every business just like businesses won’t market in every medium. Past entries on this topic.
• 33 Dos and Dont’s for Your Next Presentation. [Thanks, Freelance Folder]
• The Business Implications for Second Life
• A Quick Guide to Marketing Your Book on the Internet
• Greatest Copy Shot Ever Written: Fascinating insight into the famous slogans, taglines, and headlines.

Three Things Your Customers Won’t Tell You Unless You Ask offers excellent advice to help you improve your business and relationship with your clients. Here are the three things from the Freelance Folder entry and I add a fourth because it ensures your business receives effective testimonials:

1. Why Do You Enjoy Being My Customer?
2. What Else Do You Wish My Business Did?
3. Who Should You Tell About My Business?
4. What has my services helped you achieve through [service provided]?

Item #3 feels awkward. It comes across more like a statement — “Go tell others about my business.” I suggest replacing “should” with “would” and see what happens. Maybe they will provide contacts or it’ll compel them to tell others on their own.

2007 has been a roller coaster of a year for my family with very high points and very low points. To avoid falling into the woe is me trap, I try to reflect on the positive and what’s gone right. Here are ten approaches I take in staying positive. Why ten? Because I believe there should be at least 10 positive comments for every negative comment.

• Avoiding taking clients, friends, and family for granted.
• Making improvements based on feedback, reading, mistakes, and education. Improvement can boost productivity and quality, which in turn boosts happiness.
• Going the extra mile for clients, friends, and family.
• Reading books that teach, make me laugh, or both.
• Counting my blessings. While my dad might be in poor health, I’m grateful for my children’s good health.
• Thanking people.
• Stopping to enjoy little moments like watching my kids toss the ball to each other or my older son reading to my younger son.
• Doing things I enjoy like playing tennis or computer games. If you enjoy watching TV, don’t let all those experts who say TV is bad stop you. I believe anything you enjoy is good for you as long as it’s not excessive.
• Focusing on “What can I do?” instead of “Why?” thanks to QBQ!
• Saying “No” to a project, assignment, program, or task when saying “Yes” will mean I’m in over my head. An overwhelmed person can lead to a negative attitude.

I’m an organized person and don’t operate well with clutter. That includes a cluttered room, cluttered desk, and a cluttered inbox. I believe that for as long as I’ve used e-mail, I’ve made an effort to keep my inbox as small as possible.

My process is similar to what experts say to do in keeping your snail mail pile small. As soon as you bring the mail in the house, do the following steps:

1. Trash anything that’s junk or read, but not worth keeping.
2. File anything that is worth keeping. Try to do it right away or put it in the room where it belongs for later filing when you get into that room. For example, I put health-related paperwork in the office. When I get to the office, I file it.
3. Act on anything needing action. While we may not need to pay the bill right then and there, bills can go into a file for time sensitive things. RSVP for party? Fill it out, or if you don’t know — file it under time sensitive. Pay bills? Pay them right there and put the date where the stamp goes — the date should be the day you need to mail it, not the day it’s due.

E-mail works the same way. It’s easy to scan and delete obvious junk that slipped through the filters as well as “Fwd:, Fwd:, Fwd:” messages and jokes. I read the good ones.

Anything in my inbox, I need to address as soon as I can or they’re a reminder of a current project I’m working on (I only keep ONE e-mail from the project and the rest filed under Current Work).
Newsletters and articles automatically go into the Newsletter folder. These I read whenever I need a reading break or information.

Regular e-mail from a non-profit organization goes into one of two folders for that non-profit. One is under Personal (my Inbox folder) and one is under Education for filing away. So those under Personal are the ones I need to act on, but I want to keep these separate from my regular Inbox folder. See below screen shot of my Personal folder and its subfolders.

Less time sensitive stuff needing action go into the Follow up (action and e-mail) or Respond (e-mail only) folder.

If I am waiting for something and need to follow up at some point, it goes into my Waiting folder. For example, I’m waiting for a judge’s response for a program I’m chairing. I check the waiting folder to remind myself to follow up with the judge when an agreed upon date passes.

Just checked my Waiting folder and deleted a handful of e-mails since the project is over or action taken. Ah, feels great.

I majored in RTVF (Radio, TV, film) when I was a freshman in college. It only took one or two semesters for me to realize it was not the major for me. But I picked up one valuble lesson — I started watching films in a different way after taking a RTVF class.

I paid attention to the shot angles, the zooming in and out, and the cuts. This skill works for writing, designing, and other careers. Instead of shots, designers pay attention to the use of color, styles, and space. Writers watch for …

• verb usage (avoiding “is” and “be.”
• writing mechanics
• use of conversations
• style
• use of show, don’t tell

Having written so many game reviews, I feel like I use the same verbs and descriptions when writing a new review. In trying to change things up, I went to the Thesaurus and read reviews from talented writers. It’s still a struggle, but this process helps explore new directions.

Solitaire mahjongg today looks nothing like its older counterpart from 10 years ago. Back then, the biggest features were the variety of themed tile sets and the graphics. Now they come with stories, different modes of play, power ups, and other twists. Mahjongg Artifacts, Chapter 2 follows Mahjongg Artifacts’ footsteps in providing a quest mode that occurs in five countries. Well, actually, four countries and one virtual place.

In Quest mode, you go on a — what else? — quest to find a friend. A level consists of a full solitaire game, but it doesn’t require clearing the board to succeed. The level ends when you find the two matching golden tiles. Power ups, hints, undo, and shuffle help you along the way. The game works like any other mahjongg game in that you make pairs. As you make matches, you earn pearls.

Rather than freely giving players all the hints, undo, and shuffle they want, players must purchase them with pearls, which are the game’s bread, dough, moolah, lolly, loot, dinero, or whatever you call money. Add the power ups to mix and the game keeps players hopping. Instead of spending mucho pearls on shuffle, watch for power ups that swap tiles, move a tile to the top, and shuffle a small section of tiles, among others.

Upon finding the two golden tiles, the game cuts to the comic book style scene with a story update. The well-drawn scenes have an anime look and feel. The story could use a smoother transition from start to end and provide more details. Furthermore, the story is incomplete and ends abruptly. The good news is that it doesn’t take much away from Quest mode thanks to the travels, tiles, and artifacts. Artifacts hide in every level, but the artifacts don’t tie in tightly with the story as they could have.

After spending five levels in a country, players move on to the next. Most countries are in Europe and Asia with one in an unknown place. A new country means experiencing a new theme of tiles and a welcome change of pace. With 25 levels in all, the Quest could go on a little longer. I’d trade Endless mode for a longer quest. Hey, I’ll even trade Classic mode for a longer trek.

Since there are five countries, there are five tile themes. Each one is lovely, but sometimes it’s hard to tell what goes with what. Mahjongg players know that some pairs don’t have to be identical like the flowers and seasons. With themes, it isn’t easy to figure these out. The same goes for the power ups. I think using tooltips would help.

The game awards trophies, which pumps the players’ egos and motivates them to keep on. These rely on tooltips, but sometimes they don’t pop up without some effort. My eyes are thankful for the feature that reveals open tiles so I don’t spend a lot of time trying to find them. OK, so this is a shortcut or cheating perhaps, but more games await my eyes for reviewing. They need a break!

Download and try Mahjongg Artifacts and Mahjongg Artifacts, Chapter 2.

System Requirements: Windows

• Windows 2000/XP/Vista
• Pentium 3 800 MHz or faster processor
• 256 MB RAM
• DirectX 8.0 MB or later

• Eliminate Common Writing Mistakes
• imbee: social network for 8-14 year olds
• 100 Websites You Should Know and Use
• 131 Productivity Boosters for Email, Instant Messaging, Word, Excel, and More
• Rico Clusters: Mind-mapping alternative
• Animoto: An easy way to create videos [Thanks, Steve]
• 10 Great Ways to Show You’re Grateful
• Dealing With Professional Burnout Without Quitting Your Job: Happy or not, we all run into burnout from doing the same thing for so long. Of course, blog burnout is something different… with blogs, if you take a break… you also risk losing a lot of readers as it’s a big blog world out there.

[View larger image]