Hitchhiker's Guide to the Blogosphere

Great alternative - Very Short List

2008-12-02T12:14:00.002-05:00

While this blog continues in hibernation, you who do visit here would be most interested in checking out the Very Short List.

It does so much better than we tried to do. Monday through Friday, great stuff.

Want a sample?

View today's Bruce Lee Nokia video, ping pong with nunchakus!

If you like that, you'll enjoy the others they provide so sign up for email delivery to your inbox here.

Garfield ... Minus Garfield

2008-07-30T18:03:00.002-04:00

One of the wonderful things about the internet is that people with way too much time on their hands have a way to share their whacky musings with the rest of us.

I cite a site called garfield minus garfield where the basic premis is this:

Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.

I'm grateful to Logical Emotions for alerting me to this one! There's something about the allusions to mental illness coupled with the sheer randomness of the results of removing Garfield from the frames that works for me. Maybe that says a lot about my mental state, I dunno...

Here's a taste...

and my favourite:

goodbye anonymous comments

2008-03-01T08:30:00.001-05:00

I have gone back and forth on this issue of anonymity a number of times in my own mind and after reading here, I have decided to remove anonymous comments from the various blogs I control. This change is effective 3/1/08.

This is not turning away conversation.

This is ensuring that the conversation is based in honesty and real identity.

It also helps that Google has enabled additional accounts to be used to comment.

If you have any issues with anonymity, you can email me (as you won't be able to comment) after March 1. Email to shersteve at gmail dot com

5min - Life Videopedia

2008-02-26T05:33:00.001-05:00

5min is a place to find short video solutions for every practical question and is also a place for people who want to share their knowledge. 5min's vision is simple: any solution can be visually explained in 5 minutes.

Too many videos to link to. So may I caution you not to get lost there. Do come up to breathe once awhile.

Of course, check back in here for a new site to go explore!

Kamangir - Archer

2008-02-25T05:33:00.001-05:00

I am an Iranian student, not studying politics, law, or anything related to what I talk about in here. I have been living in Canada, since last year, with my lovely wife, Azadeh, and our zero children.
Kamangir means archer in Persian, and please remember that the name Farsi is the Arabic term for the language I speak as my mother tongue. So, here, I will only use the term Persian. I have chosen Kamangir as my blog’s name because my first name is Arash. In the mythology, Arash is the heroic archer who saves Iran. the full story is mentioned here.
I am an agnostic, raised in an Islamic country. Since childhood, one of my greatest challenges has been to explain to Muslims how obvious they think their ideas are and how ignorantly they force others to live as they do. Obviously, this blog follows the same path. However, when I talk about the words “Islam” and “Muslim”, I mean the mainstream Islam and Muslimism. To my understanding, people have the right to worship whatever they want to however they want to and this is none of anyone’s business. However, when people force children to recite books or take ideology courses, or collapse twin buildings, for that matter, in the name of Allah, I find no reason to remain silent.

There is more to the "long version" of Arash's profile that you can read here.

I had already written What I Learned from People before finding Kamangir. This is one site that helps to bring the other point of view forward. Cruise amongst the media rich site and see for yourself.

A video sample:

Enjoy!

5 for Friday

2008-02-22T06:40:00.000-05:00

On this 5 for Friday, we have a variety of course from which you can pick and choose.

1 - Mr Brilliant (37Days readers will recognize this one) has his own blog now. He just celebrated his birthday. That didn't stop him from posting on his birthday:

An early study of attention and perception (or “How Many Items Can it Embrace at Once?”) popped out at me while muscling my way through another year of Nature magazine for 1871. The article was by W. Stanley Jevons ("The Power of Numerical Discrimination," 1871) who contributes an interesting and very early experimental bit on the success of the brain to correctly formulate an accurate memory when in a flash shown a number of items. (That is to say, when shown a certain group of X-number of items instantaneously and then removed, how often will the mind be able to remember the correct number upon recall--and without committing them to memory per se or counting them?) In this fascinating study Jevons records not only right/wrong answers but how "close" the remembered fit is to the original number, and in effect is a pioneering scientific effort towards understanding our abilities and limits in information processing.

Read the remainder of this posting here, or go to the top of his page and start with whatever you find.

2 - Weekend Entrepreneur

Melanie Benson-Strick is our weekend entrepreneur poster child for this week, and we congratulate her for not only making the escape from cubicle nation, but for persisting until she got it right, and then creating a template and system for other motivated would-be entrepreneurs to follow her footsteps…

Click through to read the full interview with Melanie

3 - And from Noel Kingsley we find out about the Alexander Technique

My 'work' with the Alexander Technique is about helping people improve their health and well being and be more successful. They learn to free themselves of unwanted postural habits to improve their balance and co-ordination. By making appropriate choices for themselves they rediscover the natural poise they enjoyed as young children. In principle it's a simple and practical technique that can bring profound benefits including enhancing abilities and performance in sport, business or the arts as well as reducing stress and building self-confidence. And it's usually great fun.

It's wonderful having so many different and interesting clients to see every day. But although they are all very different, the one thing that they have in common is the wish to help themselves. The Alexander Technique gives them a basis to do just that. I've been using the Alexander Technique for over thirty-three years and I can honestly say it's helped me make the most of myself in so many different ways and it underpins my view on life in general.

4 - And from Cellobella in Perth, Australia we find out about the Pillow Wall

A number of people I know are pregnant at the moment and they’ve reached that happy stage of the third trimester where everything is oh so slightly uncomfortable, including sleep.

Slowly over the months they have been collecting pillows one by one. Arranging one behind their back, one between their thighs, one under the belly - now full and heavy - until it takes at least ten minutes to settle in the right spot - cocooned on what was once Passion Central and is now divided by… The Pillow Wall.

Click through to observe the set up (yes, it is safe)

5 - And finally we hear from McBilly:

Hi, my name is McBilly Wilford Sy. Yes. McBilly is my real name. Weird? Theres a story behind it.

You see, the word Mc actually means son of and Billy is another word for William. So now you know my dad’s name. Cool isn’t it?!

I’m 18 years old and currently a working student taking up Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. What can I say, I just love the internet and I want to make a difference.

Other than being a student, I’m a freelance web designer, flash artist and internet entrepreneur. I’m not an expert, but I’ve earned enough from the web that I can honestly say that there is money in the internet.

Have fun cruising amongst these sites. One or more of these you just might find you need to add to your RSS Reader of choice.

GoodyBlog

2008-02-21T05:47:00.001-05:00

Powered by Parents Magazine, the GoodyBlog has quite a crew behind the scenes. The tagline says you can find "Must See, Must Have, Must Do, Right Now."

Although my kids are grown, I recall those days of needing to do something quick while they were quiet or napping.

If you are in the Parents profile, maybe you have already found this site. If you have not, cruise around and check it out.

The Simple Dollar

2008-02-20T05:36:00.001-05:00

The Simple Dollar is for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds - we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money. Read more about The Simple Dollar, peruse some of the best articles, or become a subscriber via a feed reader or by email.

This site is hosted by Dreamhost, a great host if you're just starting out. Read about my experiences with them.

The Simple Dollar doesn't fit the normal guideline of finding a site with very low ranking and sharing it. With 26,000 plus users, it doesn't need the Hitchhiker Team's help.

You, however, may be able to use this site to help yourself financially.

Go explore!

Chuck's Blog - Chuck Hollis

2008-02-19T05:40:00.001-05:00

Chuck writes in his profile:

Chuck Hollis has been with EMC for 12 years, and is Vice President of Technology Alliances at EMC. He frequently speaks to customer audiences about a variety of technology topics, and can usually be counted on for an interesting point of view. He lives in Holliston, MA with his wife, three kids and two dogs when he's not traveling. Chuck enjoys piano, mountain biking and skiing -- in that order.

I liked the FeedJit widget that he uses so much that I set it up on one of my own blogs. If it works well as it seems to, I may expand its use elsewhere.

Spend some time on Chuck's site. If you are into marketing and technology, the six degrees of separation here may put you one step closer to where you want to be.

!Marty Finestones' Activity Book

2008-02-18T10:00:00.004-05:00

Activity Book is an apt name for this site. Last week Marty shared the alert about Adobe's PDF files, shared a tip on how to furnish your studio apt with just one box, shared where to obtain some cool smiley spoons, and for those whom Valentine's Day may have left some unfulfilled expectations, he shares a cool video from a New Zealand comedy duo:

I think you may find some more items of interest in the Activity Book. Go explore!

LeadershipNow

2008-02-18T06:38:00.000-05:00

From the About page:

At LeadershipNow, we want to change the way you think about leadership. It is not about position. Leadership is everybody’s business. It is for men, women and children. It is for families, business and communities. It is for you. In today’s world we need leadership now. We need people of all ages from all backgrounds to take advantage of the myriad of opportunities that exist to make a difference. The path to leadership begins in the mind. Leaders think differently. They see the world differently. We all possess the capacity for leadership, but only those who cultivate it will ever become truly effective leaders. By providing articles, features, books, multimedia and other resources, we would like to encourage you to develop the leader in you — to become an active participant in shaping your future and the future of others.

5 for Friday

2008-02-15T05:28:00.001-05:00

5 for Friday along the trail for passion.

1 - Let's start with a video clip:

From The Wardman Wire

2 - And what twist and turn in the trail brought me to Dangerously Irrelevant, I am not sure. But I have the feeling that I have been here before. I recognize the name Scott McLeod.

3 - And from the Agile Chronicles we read:

I've got a question for you... Do the same rules for leading volunteers apply when leading employees?

We pay people to come to work but can we buy their enthusiasm and creativity? What about their passion and excitement? Maybe we need to consider applying the same or similar leadership principles in our businesses that we've discussed for our volunteer organizations? Do we need to modify our list for business and employees? Let me know your thoughts and what's working for you.

4 - And we find Alun writing at Archaeoastronomy

I am currently a PhD student in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at Leicester University. My work seems to concentrate on the cross-over between science and humanities, in particular with work on Archaeoastronomy.

My current PhD in soundbite form is seeing whether there is an astronomical fingerprint for Greek settlement in the western Mediterranean which can help show the difference between Hellenised and non-Hellenised sites. It works from two perspectives. One is the Ancient Historical problem of whether or not the natives of Sicily and Italy did become Hellenised and how did it happen? The archaeoastronomical side is testing the assumption that cultures do exhibit shared orientations for superstructure or infrastructure.

5 - And we find Christine writing at chicken scratch.ca

Christine Stefanitsis, a founding member of little chick press, is a writer with poetry and fiction published in CV2, Fireweed and Emerge. Editing and publishing a Canadian literary magazine for women has been a life-long dream. Through her writing blog, chicken-scratch.ca, Christine anticipates coaxing her novel back to life.

Quite the variety today. I hope you will enjoy one or more of these and find time to enter them into your RSS Reader of choice.

Tap Dance Blog - Terrance "Taps"

2008-02-13T05:22:00.001-05:00

As a life long runner, I have great appreciation for the physical abilities of dancers, especially tap dancers. So finding Terrence "Taps" cruising amongst the blogosphere was a real treat!

Terrence "Taps" began studying the art of tap dancing at the age of nineteen at Norma’s Academy. Within a year he had moved from the Adult Beginner’s Class to the Advanced Level. Within two years he began performing with the Senior Company, in addition to acting as a substitute teacher for all levels of tap dance classes. Since then he has gone on to teach classes at studios throughout the metro Atlanta area. He has built upon his abilities as a teacher & choreographer through each of these experiences.

Check out his video samples here

Great Tap Dance Blog Articles

And by this time, if you have not already added this site to your RSS Reader of choice, you probably should!

Fly Fishing Magazine Blog

2008-02-12T05:39:00.000-05:00

Yes, the river runs through it. Or something like that. You know. The time honored fishing thing. Those who love it, love it dearly. Those who don't, have just about as much passion.

SNL staff writer, Jack Handley, of Deep Thoughts fame writes about his 2nd passion in this SFreporter article:

I can’t imagine someone trying fly-fishing and not loving it, but apparently that can happen. I know it’s a cliché, but fly-fishing is one of those meditative things. If the fishing is good, and you’re fishing hard, you can’t think of anything else but the fishing. Adding to the allure is that usually you’re in a beautiful outdoor spot, with flowing water. Also, you get to torture fish. Actually, I do feel guilty about that, but so far not enough to quit fishing.

Read the full posting here.

So if you have an inkling or passion for fly fishing, this site is for you!

The Success Blog

2008-02-11T05:29:00.000-05:00

Well, to begin with, time, as we think about it, doesn’t even really exist. We think of weeks and hours and minutes and seconds, but these are completely human inventions. Days and years can be scientifically measured, of course, but these concepts as they’re familiar to us would mean nothing if we were on the surface of another planet. They’re simply subjective.

Now, sure, all of these labels present a convenient way for us to function as a society, but they are really just lies we agree upon. There is no such thing as an hour. Nine o’clock in the morning does not exist. And yet, to give you an example of how powerful a hold this lie of time can have over us, more people have heart attacks at 9:00 on Monday mornings than at any other hour. Think about that. They’d rather die than go to a job they hate. How’s that for processing time with an extraordinary psychology?

Read the remainder of the posting here.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Read the remainder of the post on Paradoxical Commandments from Kent Keith here.

Check this site out. Do you want to not be successful?

NewBCamp 2008

2008-02-10T16:59:00.000-05:00

Hello World!

This is the announcement for NewBCamp 2008, which is being held from 9:00am - 4:00pm on February 23, 2008 in Providence, RI.

You are invited to use the 'Registration' button to RSVP for the event.

The Details:

Saturday, February 23, 2008 from 9am to 4pm in Providence, RI
Xavier Building on the Johnson & Wales campus
259 Pine Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02903
After Party at AS220, 115 Empire Street, Providence from 5 PM - 7 PM

If you're looking to get the flyer for NewBCamp, here's a link to the PDF,

BeachWalks with Rox

2008-02-08T05:42:00.000-05:00

We'll dispense with 5 for Friday to bring this site to you today. There are many, many video clips on the site so you will end up with possibly more ideas and connections from this one site than the 5 could have brought. At least, I think so. You can view this, visit BeachWalks.tv and let me know.

Enjoy!

Beach Walks with Rox #576 - Passion and Process with Carol Linlt;/a>

graphpaper.com

2008-02-07T05:20:00.000-05:00

About Christopher Fahey

I am an artist, designer, teacher, and captain of industry living in Brooklyn, NY. I'm one of the co-founders of Behavior, an interaction design consultancy.

------------------

Let’s begin with a simple premise that I think most practicing UX designers would agree with in a heartbeat: The worst possible way to employ user personas in a design process is for the designers themselves to have no role in the creation of the persona documents themselves.

Or to put it another way: It sucks when the creator of the research artifacts is not also the designer of the product. If personas are created by a specialized “research team” and then handed off to a specialized “design team”, that design team doesn’t actually experience the substantive benefits good personas can provide.

Read the remainder of the posting here.

-------------------

The following is in response to an interesting and thoughtful video and essay by Edward Tufte, posted on his blog/site, in which he argues, among other things, that many of the applications on the Apple iPhone do not adequately take advantage of the iPhone’s screen resolution and its compelling and easy-to-use zoomable UI paradigm.

In one specific case, he advocates replacing the iPhone’s Stocks application user interface with one that displays immensely more information in the same space. He critiques the Stocks app for the cartoonish UI design that wastes space with useless decorative graphic design.

Read the remainder of the posting here.

As a bonus for those paying attention, you also get a link to Edward Tufte's blog!

For anyone interested in design and user interfaces, this is a site to add to your RSS Reader of choice.

The Lingerie Post

2008-02-06T05:21:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Lingerie Post, the new home for lingerie and underwear fanatics on the web. We’ll be blogging about lingerie by the world’s most famous designers and brands. We’ll do our best to look for bargains, keep an eye on what’s hot and what’s not, and make sure you get to see the most beautiful lingerie there is¦

We’ll be updating daily, and we’ll try to accompany every single post with at least one photo. On catwalk occasions, we’ll try to get first-hand photos. On press conferences, we’ll try to be there¦

We’re not affiliated with any brand. We’re not payed by any designer. We give our opinion, whatever it is. We do have some favorite brands though, but you’ll surely find that out when you’re checking out our blog. Stay tuned!

For those readers who like to stay current with ladies ware, this will be a good site to mark with your favorite RSS Reader.

Latest posts:

Silona's Home

2008-02-05T17:02:00.000-05:00

An interesting site layout.

She has links for where she plays, where she works, how to find her, her current projects, and her favorite tools.

Check out Silona!

3 for one Monday

2008-02-04T05:28:00.000-05:00

Deb writes at Punctuality Rules! where she talks about grammar, book reviews, writing, and living in general.

Otherwise? I spend the rest of my time playing with my dog, knitting, spinning (yarns of the fibery variety as well as the fictional type), baking . . . all of which gets documented over at my other blog, Chappysmom.

.......

I run a weekly meme on reading, too, called Booking Through Thursday.

Now, go check them out and one amongst them will perhaps be what you are looking for!

Pigs WILL Fly?

2008-01-29T00:49:00.000-05:00

Gail Plowman and her team believe that anything's possibly where there's a will. (Wait, I think I got that proverb wrong; oh well...)

I discovered fellow-Aussie Gail's site last year after a tip-off. Pigs Will Fly is an independent, self-funded, self-help website with a can-do attitude that provides an e-bulletin, Australia-wide jobs list, small business, tourism & community information with strong environmental and justice themes.

Here's a taste of the interesting posts available:

You get the idea...

Gail's bio reads:

Gail Plowman is an ex Melbourne French teacher who in the late 80s, with husband Ian and their three sons, moved to Sale in country Victoria, to build the Marina Hotel at Loch Sport on the Gippsland Lakes. They went for one year, stayed for ten, and the boys, now young men, all identify as ‘country kids’ - loved the community spirit, country living and the grassroots enthusiasm and creativity!
Reluctant to leave, Gail has now settled back into Kangaroo Ground on the outskirts of Melbourne. Through the Loch Sport business and country tourism association promotional efforts, it was a natural progression to become involved in grassroots community and tourism development, helping to set up the Loch Sport Community House and a ‘local rag’ “The Loch Sport Link” along the way.
[She now works] closely with Local Government and local communities trying to work out how, together, the public and private sectors could achieve more for all the effort everyone puts in.

To Gail and her team, keep up the awesome work!

Pay them a visit folks.

The Public Speaking Blog

2008-01-28T05:31:00.000-05:00

On Eric's About Page we find:

Eric Feng is the go-to guy if you want to learn how to impress your customers, employers and investors through public speaking. Known for his generous dose of humor and incisive coaching ability, Eric has successfully helped over 3000 students, executives and entrepreneurs to become confident and compelling speakers.

As a celebrated Toastmaster in Singapore, Eric has won a number of national level speech competitions. In 2005, he won the championship title for the Division Level Humorous Contest in Philadelphia, United States. He was also a two-time winner of the International Speech Competition at Division Level. As acknowledgment for this speaking achievements, The Straits Times featured him as one of the top 25 alternate achievers in Singapore.

Apart from speech coaching, Eric also heads a training company (Area 9 Training International) that conducts corporate programs at the regional level. The successes he has created at his company got him recently featured on Business Week as one of the top 25 young entrepreneurs in Asia.

We also find these titles amongst recent posts:

Here’s The Formula To Winning The Toastmasters’ International Speech Contest

How To Craft A Powerful Speech In 60 Seconds Using Borden’s Method

The Best Speeches Are Never Written…

Here’s The Other 69 Public Speaking Blogs For You To Check It Out

If you are interested in public speaking, Eric's site is one place on the MUST visit list!

5 for Friday

2008-01-25T05:31:00.000-05:00

A Billy Collins trail "5 for Friday" featuring

1 - Word Lovers Unite!

If you are a word lover, you are in the right place. Think of this blog as a virtual bulletin board for words that surprise, inspire, connect, and resonate.

2 - A lesson learned

I am a first year teacher at an "alternative school" for at-risk students in Santa Cruz CA. I am examining and reflecting on my practice and my life around it.

3 - Constant Growing Amazement

Amazed LDS wife, mother to 5, grandmother to a growing herd. Loves life. If it is creative, I love to do it!

4 - The Borrowed Poem: Be patient that I address you in a poem. There is no other fit medium.

5 - MPL's Blog where the top read posts in the last couple of days were:

Enjoy!

Me~Tronome

2008-01-24T05:23:00.000-05:00

Continuing the Billy Collins trail, we find ourselves in the Windy City with Larry Sawyer:

Poetry, essays, and reviews have appeared in publications such as the Chicago Tribune, Court Green, Vanitas, MiPOesias, The Prague Literary Review, Coconut, Exquisite Corpse, Ygdrasil, the Miami Sun Post, and Ocho. Poetry was recently anthologized in The City Visible: Chicago Poetry for the New Century (Cracked Slab Books, 2007). Larry Sawyer curates the Myopic Poetry Reading Series in Wicker Park, Chicago and edits the online literary magazine www.milkmag.org.

Enjoy!