effingthedog.com

Effing Limerick Of The Week #18

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:18:55 +0100

There once was a man named RaelWho put cool software he developed for saleHe ticked off those who used itAnd was victim of a huge abuse fitResulting in him getting a fail whale (http://getsatisfaction.com/iwantsandy/topics/a_fork_in_the_road_an_important_announcement_about_i_want_sandy)

Top 10 Giving Thanks-ish Tribute

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:44:30 +0100

I'd like to give thanks for the following: 1. My immense, yet terribly unobvious talent when it comes to writing and whatever it is I'm writing these days.2. You, for recognizing said talent.3. Al Franken and Lewis Black, for having virtually indistinguishable voices on occasion.4. Xerxes, for being my cousin. As a result, I don't have to pay him for what he does.5. The Internets. For its accuracy and creative license.6. iReporters. Now I have nosy neighbours everywhere.7. Guinness. For making the act of getting drunk sound regal.8. For the word inebriated...when I'm not so drunk that I forget to use it.9. Hannah Montana. Whoever she really is, she surely has kept both my daughter preoccupied - and Billy Ray Cyrus' heart not so achy or breaky.10. Twitter. For creating both the term Tweetups and the results therein. The great thing about this list is that t's not even Thnaksgiving where I live.

It Had To Happen Eventually Productive! Magazine

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:25:17 +0100

We all know the old adage, “Keep your friends close, but heavily monitor your enemies on the Internets.” So it’s no surprise that I periodically keep aware of the musings (or amusings) that productvity pundits post for people to peruse. And in a recent web excursion, I discovered at the OrganizeIT (http://www.organizeit.co.uk/2008/11/23/first-issue-of-productive-magazine-released/) website the long-awaited release of a new publication primarily pushing productivity. Productive! Magazine (http://productivemagazine.com/) (as the publisher Michael Sliwinski of Nozbe fame (http://nozbe.com/) puts it) “is a platform where the top productivity bloggers will share their best productivity principles and tips’n'tricks.” This magazine marks a real breakthrough in productivity, as it takes the ingredients often involved in the forming of a supergroup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supergroup_(music)) (i.e. Cream, The Thorns, or most Steve Winwood projects) and applies it to the world of productivity experts and bloggers. For example, the lineup for the premiere edition is as follows: David Allen, Oliver Starr, Leo Babauta, Alexander Kjerulf, James Mallinson, Nick Cernis, Gretchen Rubin, Steven Aitchison, Mark W. Shead, Marc C, Stephen Smith, Glen Stansberry, Chanpory Rith, Brett Kelly, Alex Shalman, Michael Ramm and John Kendrick. Impressive, but missing a name. No, not Merlin Mann....

Effing Limerick Of The Week #!7

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:00:00 +0100

There once was a book whose sales were strongIts story pleased much like a songIt’s a bible of sortsAnd countless “blogger supports”Of a work week only four hours long!

The 12th Of Never(!)

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:31:35 +0100

Since yesterday was November 12th, I thought I’d take the time to discuss with you the ultimate date for those who follow Eventualizm - The 12th of Never. While the expression (and song based on said expression) states that this date lasts forever, there are several facts that dispute this as outlined below:

The EffTD Exception

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 03:59:01 +0100

EffTD Advertising: The Infomercial

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Note: Mike was on ill for most of last week...having contracted the speech impedement known as laryngitis. This also, oddly enough, caused him to lose his ability to write. With the invasion of Barack Obama in primetime last week, it brings up an eventual form of advertising that has yet to be fully explored here at the site: The Infomercial. We've all seen these long-winded forms of pseudo-entertainment, extolling the virtues of such products as juicing machines to the latest Chuck Norris offering, but unlike the traditional 30 second spot - these tend to stick with you in much the same way as a dog gnaws at a bone until it is either digested or thrown by the wayside.

The Lasting Supper

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I found myself anticipating one of the bastions of the gambling capital’s lore - the all you can eat buffet. Alas, I came across none in my short stay,leaving me forlorn. Forlorn or not, I felt obliged to find one as soon as I returned to my home and native land. I went to the first Chinese buffet I could find, and began the eventual process of eating diner. True enough, the buffet is an EffTDers dream when it comes to eating. You can take as long as you want to do it, and it is expected that you do.

Effing Limerick Of The Week

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100

There once was a great Hallow’s EveThat allowed some of us to achieve;Costuming heightsWhile wearing tights;In an attempt to make us all believe. But you're still not a real ninja - you're just Steve.

EffTD Tool of The Day: Musicals (Part One)

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100

With the release of High School Musical 3 (http://www.disney.go.com/disneypictures/highschoolmusical3/) today, I think it’s timely that we discuss yet another important tool that you can use to further your EffTD training. While music unto itself is a great tool, it spawns several tools as well. Lessons, clubbing and “iPodding” are some of these. Watching music-based programming like MTV (http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/antimusicindustry/MTVSucks.html), MuchMusic (http://torontoist.com/2008/03/much_more_medio.php) and the like used to be considered as well, but they no longer play music videos as a major part of their programming. These channels had already succeeded in their missions of killing the careers of less TV-friendly faces like Christopher Cross and countless others (that I cannot remember as I can’t put faces ot the names), so there is really no need for them to continue doing what they did. Now they can just fill the void left by the absence of Robin Leach and show off celebrity homes (known as “cribs”) and leave music programming up to reality television.

The Economy: Bad Ideas Gone Badder

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100

I promised myself that I wouldn’t delve in too deep into the current economic “crisis” that is gripping the globe, but frankly, I can see there’s a lot of interest in the topic…and where there’s interest, there’s money to be had. During this inconvenient situation, I’ve made note of several ideas that are being put out there that not only go against everything Eventualizm and EffTD stands for, but simply don’t make long-term sense. I’ve gathered three of these for your consideration:

Effing The Dog: The Podcast - Episode 9

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:59:49 +0100

Effing The Dog: The Podcast (http://feeds.feedburner.com/EffingTheDogThePodcast) episode, I did a phenomenal interview with The Geoff Smith (http://www.thegeoffsmith.com) of Ringtone Feeder (http://www.ringtonefeeder.com) fame. I also spend more time stalk…um…researching the whereabouts of Merlin Mann (http://www.merlinmann.com), enemy of EffTD, only to find he has infiltrated the inner sanctum of the CBC (http://www.cbc.ca/spark/). Time is spent discussing the progress of my book as well - which I have eventually decided to write...at long last. More to come later today…but for now, the aforementioned are The Show Notes.

Effing Limerick Of The Week

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:50:52 +0100

There once was a woman named PalinWhose reputation took quite a nailin’;She went on SNLAnd she did pretty well;Unlike her campaign which is failin’!

EffTD Sort Of At The Movies: The Incredible Hulk

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:56:18 +0100

This week, I was one of the fortunate few who was able to snag the sequel to the eventualistic masterpiece simply known as Hulk. And by snag, I mean rent. The Incredible Hulk is nothing short of the adjective that describes it. But I’d hardly view it as a sequel. First off, in this film, a completely different guy turns into the beast. He has a completely different girlfriend, and a completely different military man driven by MacBethian-like ambition is after him. I can only assume that they kept the names of these people the same as some form of code or something. This new “Banner” is more slender than the original man, so his transformation into the green goliath is all the more dramatic - and eventual - as a result. He also seems to have more command of his surroundings, almost like he had a hand in creating everything and not taking no for an answer. Or so I've heard. The new military man is younger and less “down home” than the other guy who still hasn’t caught his Hulk yet, and the girlfriend looks almost elven-like. I think...

Effing The Dog: The Podcast - Episode 8

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:00:00 +0100

Episode 8 is up and running, and we'll follow up with #9 this weekend. On this episode Mike discusses Blog Action Day (http://www.blogactionday.org), his successful index card experiment and finds that Merlin Mann (http://www.merlinmann.com/) is back on the scene in the segment known as Mann In Motion. The second part of the two-part interview with Jonathan Coulton (http://www.jonathancoulton.com) is also presented in fantastical fashion. iTunes has it, or here...you can listen up (http://www.domesticateddad.com/Effing_The_Dog%3A_The_Podcast/Media/Effing%20The%20Dog%20-%20The%20Podcast%20-%20Episode%208.m4a).

The New Look: An Eventual Work In Progress

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:38:14 +0100

We're starting the shift to the new look here at the blog, and it got underway yesterday. This is going to happen eventually (as it should, of course), with the site shifting from focussing on the system known as Effing The Dog to the ideology behind the system, known as Eventualizm. While efforting the dog is still a key component behind my pearls of offered wisdom, I feel you're all ready to move forward and begin to grasp the semi-awesome power of Eventuailzm, which is a true productivity alternativity. EffTD is still the sytem you will use to make your way through this journey that you're trying to catch up to me on, but Eventualizm is what you're ultimately journeying to and fro for. Why the z instead of the traditional s in the word? There are three reasons, and I'll elaborate on both of them tomorrow. For today, just know that you'll have all of the answers to why the shift is occurring..and you'll have them eventually.

Eventualizm & Blog Action Day 2008

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:00:27 +0100

With the world teetering on the brink of an economic crisis, there is a significant amount of focus on more people becoming poor over the course of the next while. It’s in the news. But with today being Blog Action Day (http://blogactionday.org/), it is as if the founders of this prestigious day knew this was going to happen and planned it all along. All the signs are there. Here’s how the series of events went down (in my estimation, at least): 1. I received an email asking me to participate in Blog Action Day for 2008. Feeling a sense of pride and thinking that it meant that I would get to write “poorly” for a day, I accepted. 2. As October 15th approached, the world’s markets collapsed. Even my local farmers’ market tent collapsed. That’s how far the Blog Action Day reach was. It was at that point I realized what the email actually meant, especially since I could not find coronation grapes anywhere. 3. I received another email, this time a “reminder” that Blog Action Day was only 5 days away. This was not a...

Why I Love Elections, West Coast Living and Minority Governments

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:00:00 +0100

Today is Decision Day in my home and native land (http://canada.gc.ca/), and all signs point towards another minority for the reigning Conservative Government. Now I know many of you are wondering which political party I support, whether I'll be voting at all and who I'll be voting for if I do vote. I'll answer both of those with an emphatic yes.

Happy Turkey Day, Canada!

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:23:40 +0100

Effing Limerick Of The Week

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:30:41 +0100

There once was a fella named JonesWho fell to depths not recently knowns;You know him as DowAnd he fell from grace - and how;Which resulted in really big loans…(TO THE WRONG PEOPLE!)

The Chaos Theory Experiment

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:28:00 +0100

A week ago I reviewed the film Chaos Theory, as part of my segment EffTD Sort Of Goes To The Movies. For those of you who have not seen the film, I am left wondering why and also disappointed that you didn’t rush out to rent it (or not rush out to rent it and just download it) within the last week or so. For shame. On you.As an admirer of Ryan Reynolds’ work, and the character he plays in this film in particular, I decided to take it upon myself to enact one of the key elements of this film in real life…using index cards to make my decisions for me.Here’s how it went down:

Triple Podcast Week: The Finale

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:09:43 +0100

Today I posted the third of three podcasts I'm presenting here this week at Effing The Dog as part of Triple Podcast Week. While you don't get a lot of me on this episode (which is briefly explained in the podcast and will be elaborated on tomorrow here at the blog), you do get the fantastic interview I had with Carl Honoré, author of In Praise Of Slow (http://www.amazon.com/Praise-Slowness-Challenging-Cult-Speed/dp/0060750510/ref=bxgy_cc_b_img_b) (or Slowness if you're American) and the recently award-nominated (http://www.writerstrust.com/pdf/WTA_Finalists_Fall%202008.pdf) book Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting (http://www.amazon.com/Under-Pressure-Rescuing-Children-Hyper-Parenting/dp/0061128805/ref=bxgy_cc_b_img_a).What you'll get going forward is a twice weekly podcast featuring interviews, regular segments, and most importantly - me.Upcoming guests that get to talk to me are Jonathan Coulton (http://www.jonathancoulton.com) (in the second part of our fireside chat) and The Geoff Smith (http://www.thegeoffsmith.com) - and more are going to have the honor soon (or honour, if you're Canadian or perhaps British).In the meantime, enjoy the podcast here (http://www.domesticateddad.com/Effing_The_Dog%3A_The_Podcast/Effing_The_Dog%3A_The_Podcast/Effing_The_Dog%3A_The_Podcast.html) or subscribe via iTunes (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=273633438). I'm going to go eat more bacon now.So sayeth the index card, so it shall be done!

EffTD Review: Your Personal Mission Statement by David B. Bohl

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:33:25 +0100

The following is a review done by GTD-totin' Xerxes Vardy, the erstwhile cousin of Mike Vardy. What Xerxes says here does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Mike Vardy, E.P.E., and, in fact, most likely doesn't. Xerxes also doesn't know that I, Mike Vardy, wrote this premable. So there. I had earlier reviewed the first in the trilogy (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=95 Itemid=1) of David Bohl's SlowDownFast (http://www.slowdownfast.com/blog/) book trilogy, and Your Personal Mission Statement follows up on where its predecessor left off. This book really lets you get to the heart of who you really are now and who you really want to be, based on your own goals and values. Again, through a series of exercises and personal soul-searching, Bohl gets the reader to dig deep and put down on paper what it is they really stand for.

Effing The Dog: The Podcast - Episode 6

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:34:15 +0100

Jonathan Coulton (http://www.jonathancoulton.com). The segment known as Mann In Motion makes an appearance, and Mike discusses Effing Limericks (http://indigospot.com/2008/10/the-limerick-politick) and how you, the EffTD faithful, can get a FREE Eventualism wristband.Head on over to iTunes to get it...eventually.