Ink Pixels Paper

I've moved!

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 15:03:01 -0500

My words can now be found at: https://medium.com/@inkpixelspaper

Photo

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:57:06 -0400

Julie P.: My experiences in tech: Death by 1000 paper cuts

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:19:46 -0400

Julie P.: My experiences in tech: Death by 1000 paper cuts:

juliepagano:

In Once Upon an Internship, I learned early that sometimes being a software engineer means death by 1000 cuts because you don’t have the power to make it stop. Even the tiniest little things add up to something big – sometimes it’s really death by 1000 paper cuts.

The cuts started early. I’m…

I don't like this identity I've developed.

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:40:00 -0400

I don’t like what you think of me.

I don’t like what you know me for.

I don’t like the way respected designers in our community think of me.

I don’t like that you don’t know me for my actual work, and even more that you don’t know me for my true gift, my music.

I don’t like that I spend so much time on this community, instead of on my own happiness, my truest love, my music.

But, like the statement @snookca once made me aware of, “it is what it is.” I can choose to fight it, or I can find the silver lining. I know what that is.

I am an empath. I didn’t know what this was until I saw an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the one with Famke Janssen. Watching her character take on the feelings of those she met, to the point of death, I could relate to feeling that way, that overcome by the feelings of others. When I go to a large public gathering, I am overwhelmed, dizzied, by so many sensations.

This is valuable for me as a musician. I can communicate what I experience. I can envision what others might, often quite accurately. My voice expresses tremendous feeling (the music critics approve).

My empathy serves me well as a designer and developer, but some don’t relate to it as quite such a valuable skill. Some think it’s all about code. Heh. I have the most under-rated developer’s skill. I’m quite valuable, and it’s not an easy tool to wield. It scares some. I’ve had people think I ran background checks on them because I can express what they feel/think. Silly people.

So, what do I do? Fight to suppress my empathy, to quiet my instinct to protect? Should I give up on what I fully know is right and just? Should I cower because those well-known designers in the web industry (that word, *shudder*) don’t want to believe I tell the truth? Should I only tweet my JavaScript and CSS adventure and tips?

Hell, no. That would be like telling gold not to gleam.

So, more power to people like me, such as @erin and @ashedryden. We feel what some dare not. We experience what terrifies many. We stand up to those bullies. We are the canaries in the coal mine, and we have the capacity to save you from yourselves. ;)

(Okay, got a little grandiose there… but it felt good.)

And thanks to @denisejacobs and @kennwhite, I’m going to spend much more time on what feeds my soul and nourishes me, and as a side benefit has helped so many others. ♡

How many times am I going to be asked to remove that blog post? ||||

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:34:48 -0400

How many times am I going to be asked to remove *that* blog post?

||||

"Poor people don’t have clutter because they’re too dumb to see the virtue of living simply; they..."

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:55:51 -0400

““Poor people don’t have clutter because they’re too dumb to see the virtue of living simply; they have it to reduce risk. When rich people present the idea that they’ve learned to live lightly as a paradoxical insight, they have the idea of wealth backwards. You can only have that kind of lightness through wealth. If you buy food in bulk, you need a big fridge. If you can’t afford to replace all the appliances in your house, you need several junk drawers. If you can’t afford car repairs, you might need a half-gutted second car of a similar model up on blocks, where certain people will make fun of it and call you trailer trash. Please, if you are rich, stop explaining the idea of freedom from stuff as if it’s a trick that even you have somehow mastered. The only way to own very little and be safe is to be rich.””

- Tupperwolf: Wealth, risk, and stuff (via Vanessa Naylon)

I’d been wanting to write a response to the obnoxious New York Times op ed piece this is referring to, but this pretty much nails it.

(via buzz)

Adultery is a choice made by people.The choice not to participate in adultery should never be...

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:18:18 -0400

Adultery is a choice made by people.

The choice not to participate in adultery should never be punished with phone calls and conversations degrading the professional reputation of the person who says no.

See the difference?

When the invitation for an adulterous affair comes from someone with power, there’s a threat attached. If one says no, there may be a price.

I said no. I paid a price. Those who said yes are famous authors and speakers, because they were paid with introductions and offers requested by that person in power.

Thought via Path

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 19:55:00 -0400

Just retweeted some rape facts.

54% of rape cases are not reported.
Only 3% of rapists spend a day in jail.
Via: http://t.co/JxrFpdXaug

Then, I realized I’ve been raped four times. One of the perps was my dad, when I was a child, and I did report that many years later to the OSI. Following through legally was something I wasn’t strong enough to deal with. Rape #2 was my first fiancé, a cop. I did report it to his boss, but they did nothing. Given my emotional condition and that I was in Florida, well….

If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted you have to know you’re guilty from the word go. Even if the perp is held accountable, you’re marked. You’ve experienced something that takes away your innocence.

Forever changed.
Distrusted and distrustful.

Design is not just color and grids. Empathy is a potent design skill.

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 07:27:21 -0500

This morning I followed a link on Twitter to view the latest work of a designer I respect and genuinely love as a human being. On the site’s home page six white male faces looked out at me. Yes, I know a couple of them, and know them to be pretty swell human beings (the full speaker list has more than just white males, for the record). However, my spirit sunk.

If you never awaken from your privileged point of view, you’ll never know how spirit-killing it is to see white men as the face of everything. Young minorities rarely see images like themselves in media. When they do it’s generally in degrading stereotypes.

So many young non-white males I know do not see the full spectrum of possibilities the world has to offer. Depression kicks in. Potent stuff. My uncle resorted to gang life and heroin, spent most of his life in prison. Although he was foolish to make that choice, he was such a sweet person. I wish he had better choices. I miss him. He died of an overdose.

I fight to increase awareness. As a designer I have a voice. When considering imagery to present a face for your brand, you choose who you are welcoming. You might not win (I was once told that the target audience in New Hampshire was only Caucasion.) but at least try to do the right thing for your client, since it can benefit their bottom line.

If you need financial metrics to support your decision, consider that the U.S. will have a majority-minority population by 2043. Also, most children under than the age of 1 are minorities. Look into understanding WHY minorities are becoming the majority and HOW this impacts our collective future.

If you think technology prevents making the effort, you’re being a lazy developer. If you’re the designer and believe the developer when they tell you it’s too much work, I’m telling you it’s not. Images can be sorted so randomizing scripts never pull only white male photos.

If you lack empathy and compassion to understand how this feels, try to develop these qualities. Spend time in other worlds. Speak with, and really listen to, people from very different walks of life. Spend time with people who need assistive technology in their day-to-day life. Chat up people, find out about your different experiences. Feel what it might be like to walk in their shoes.

Some reading to consider when choosing imagery to represent people in your designs:

Ethnic minorities across the globe are becoming a growing economic force with immense buying power - http://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research.cfm/research-with-minority-populations-12053
Objectification suppresses women’s desire to engage in social activism, study finds - http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/11/objectification-suppresses-womens-desire-to-engage-in-social-activism-study-finds/
Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Say - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/education/education-gap-grows-between-rich-and-poor-studies-show.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Seriously, we can make a difference in this world, if we just make the effort. I bet you will be very surprised by the results.

It sucks to be female.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:57:00 -0500

This is written in a moment of brave, faltering impulsiveness. Forgive how scatological it is, please. I wanted to wait and do this more eloquently, and in conjunction with an organization like the Ada Initiative, but I’ve put it off for so long. Many other women are speaking out, so the time seems to be right. Mine will just be the least polished.

In the fall of 2009 I started receiving Twitter @-replies from a well-known speaker and author from the web design community. He wasn’t commenting on my work, rather he was commenting on my attractiveness, particularly my avatar. He wanted me to put my phone number on my website, sent me provocative DMs once I started following him. This is someone I’d tended to dismiss as an ass hat because his book covers were always posed as if he was a member of The Smiths or Bad Seeds, with a stylish suit, slouch and cigarette. I thought that was ridiculous. What does that have to do with CSS and web design? I’m a huge fan of practicality and humility, anything else I treat with more suspicion. I followed him on and off, as his attitude was often arrogant and rude, too personal and lacking in professionalism, but occasionally I could overlook that for the few gems of useful info.

This attention came at a difficult time for me, personally. I was in a long-term violent relationship that I stayed in to protect my then-boyfriend’s daughter from his outbursts. He’d threatened both of us physically, been emotionally and mentally abusive for years. Her mother was mentally unstable and battling breast cancer. She died in 2007. I was busting my butt to take care of everyone, and put myself aside. All this while transitioning from print to web. 2007 was the start of my working nearly exclusively in web. By 2009, I was thoroughly weakened by all of it, since I’d dated him since 2000.

I knew little about this web celebrity. His attention excited me, made me feel special, like I mattered. I’m also a survivor of incest, rape and previous abusive relationships. Yes, yes, yes… I’ve had a LOT of therapy. I’ll work on all of it for the rest of my life. I had no idea he was married, that he’d had a very public mess, or that he’d done this before. I didn’t know many people in the web industry. I didn’t ask others either.

On Christmas Eve 2009 I received a phone call from what sounded like a weird leprechaun telling me they needed a website. The sound was so absurd that I knew it was this person. I laughed and we chatted. This started a series of DMs and Skype messages that became very flirtatious and then more serious. He invited me to a conference he was speaking at, and I did want to meet him, but I didn’t want to be seen as connected because I want to retain my own identity. I never want to attain success because of my association with someone, rather I prefer to earn it through my own achievements. I kept asking what his personal situation was and he kept avoiding answering. Finally I asked a friend about him and he introduced me to another web celebrity I was unfamiliar with. This person told me what to google, then once I found the big mess he divulged more, and I found out the man was indeed married. Once I knew I put an end to the flirtations, instead tried to help him work on his marriage.

Then, the man who divulged info and I became involved and the next few months of my life had some highs and nightmare lows, as it was an awkward time in each of our lives. Crazy drama events at SxSWi and other conferences. At SxSWi I found the initial web celebrity had a very long history of this sort of thing, some particular conditions, had bullied another female designer/developer who refused him, then bad-mouthed her in the industry. Ah, that was what I had to look forward to. After talking with people at SxSWi I discussed my findings with him, expressed my concern, encouraged him to seek help, and he said he would. Instead, I found out that he then bad-mouthed me to other well-known folks. I did let the main conference organizers know what had happened, expressed my concerns. I had certain well-known authors who used to speak with me about CSS suddenly flake out, repeatedly.

Now, I went through total hell in 2010 from all this. I was suicidal. I do not like the spotlight. I loathe it. People thought I was a starfncker, wanted to be famous. That was the last thing I wanted. I love CSS, want to be great at JavaScript, and passionately share info with others.

I kept quiet because I was afraid things would get even worse. There were a few people in the industry I feared would lash out at me if I spoke up. He promised he was going to be a good husband and father. Then, a friend told me what they saw at a conference in May of 2010. He clearly wasn’t going to focus on his marriage. That lead to a couple of years with that woman gaining much celebrity (update: not just that one, see the books for successes and other bully victims). Then that ended, too, and friends told me how that went, that he was definitely not going to do that anymore. A few months ago I heard there have been two more, and one of them was also suicidal.

I’ve wanted to speak out, wanted to warn other women in our industry about the speakers and authors. We have to watch out for them even more than we do our male counterparts in the industry. They are in a position of power, and, with that, comes responsibility. I nearly quit. Hell, I nearly quit Life. It felt like I couldn’t trust anyone, and all I ever would ever be is a sex object. I’m not into casual sex. I’m not looking for romance. Sometimes, sure, it happens. But to be pursued so aggressively and deceptively, to be flattered and lured with special favors, to experience professional blacklisting from refusing those invitations, well… I’m also a musician. I’ve seen a lot of inappropriate behaviour. Nothing in music compared to the s@#% I’ve seen in the web community.

Nowadays, I focus on what I used to. Good work. Always learning. Compassion, kindness, and integrity. Yes, I’m human. I make mistakes. When you’re honest, people will cheat you. Be honest anyway. I can live with myself, as I’ve chosen the honest road.

For the record, I’m also mixed-race, and it sucks to be in a sea of Caucasian, see nothing but Caucasian on stages and book jackets, knowing that my relations and the young minority kids I know are getting the message that they can’t be more than the roles they see other minorities in. This is why I think pushing for more diversity in speakers and authors is important. We have to start the cow paths for the world. The paved paths are for the privileged.

2013-02-10 One small addition: This is not about adultery. Adultery is a decision made between consenting partners, and that’s a grey area for many. When one person chooses to say no, out of respect for vows, they should be allowed to do so with no repercussions. When the person being rejected is in a position of power and uses that power to bully and coerce the other, or punish them for rejecting them, that is a problem. That’s what happened to me and at least two others. I spoke up with hope the person I once cared for as a friend (enough to turn away advances and suggest help for his vows) might own up, stop his bullying ways, and protect the hard-working people in our web community. Why else would I speak up? Would YOU want this kind of attention? I am not a crazy woman or a badger. Sheesh.

CSS Styles for Select Elements in Android browsers

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:56:00 -0500

Oh, Android… must you be as difficult to deal with as some of my adorable friends (you know who you are!)?

The regular Google browser displays select elements differently than the Chrome and Firefox browsers. You can’t just count on native styles, which would be the normal scenario. Usually, the best practice is to leave form elements in the native browser state, or incur the wrath of browser Khan.

So, here’s a nicely functioning bit of CSS to help out.

select {
background-color:white;
border:1px solid;
border-image:initial;
box-sizing:border-box;
color:black;
cursor:default;
white-space:pre;
-webkit-appearance:menulist;
-webkit-box-align:center;
-webkit-rtl-ordering: logical;
}

Good luck, & test everything often!

*NOTE* This came about because normal default select styling resulted in no arrows, among other issues, making it entirely unclear that it was a select field.

The basis for a best-practices, accessible form

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:13:00 -0400

When I need to mark up a new form, I sometimes draw a blank, so I thought I’d put the basis for an accessible form here for re-use.

<form role="form"> <!-- if a search form make the role="search" -->    <label for="name">Name
        <input type="text" id="name" name="name" size="27" class="required"/>
    </label>
    <label for="comments">Comments
        <textarea name="comments" id="comments"></textarea>
    </label>
    <label for="robot_val">I am a *</label>
        robot: <input type="radio" name="robot_val" value="robot" role="menuitemradio" checked="checked" />
        human: <input type="radio" name="robot_val" value="human" role="menuitemradio" />
    <input type="hidden" name="stage" value="process"/>
    <input type="submit" name="rick" value="Submit" class="submit" role="button"/>
   <!-- I made the name="rick" because the NAME SHOULD NEVER BE SUBMIT and @rwaldron taught me this -->
    </form>

And the same thing in haml, still in-progress:

    %form{:for => "form"}
    %label{:for => "name"}name
    = text_field_tag :name

Life, or something like that… (personal reflections)

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:38:49 -0500

The cosmos has a twisted sense of humor. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been thrown some really screwed up situations. Maybe I brought them on myself. Some certainly do see it that way. My IQ is sufficiently high, and I’ve accomplished enough in my life, that I’d seriously question that idea. I do not like drama. I watch TNT, and when I’ve had enough, I turn off the damned thing. Having human beings in my life provides plenty of drama, TYVM.

In 2011, I re-met the love of my life, the one man I always thought I could fall in love with, if things had gone differently. It turned out he believed the same thing, about me. Timing is everything, as is communication. I communicated boundaries, what consequences would be, discussed repercussions and associations. There was no way for me to realize that he wasn’t capable of thinking beyond the end of his, <cough>, nose. I really didn’t think he was like that.

So, I got screwed. And not in any pleasurable way. For months, I was under a degree of stress that I thought was going to end, that I just had to support my beloved while he tried to accomplish something very difficult, and encountered resistance. Then things switched. My body must have decided the sand had run out of the glass… Heartbreak, shingles. I’ve never been so sick in my entire life. I wished for death. I still do, trying to pick up the pieces of my life. Abandoned, homeless, out of work, broke, and completely confused. This is where the real magic begins, or so the movies & books would have you believe. I’m at the bottom of life, grateful for the couch I sleep on, at the mercy of a dear friend.

If you have family who have never violated ultimate boundaries, significant others who trust you enough to show you their worst, a job that challenges you, a dog who gazes lovingly at you — you are blessed. I hope to join your ranks again someday.

Designer or Developer? Or, something more?

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:27:00 -0500

I consider myself a designer who codes. “Developer” is (in my mind) someone who can write JavaScript without just cutting & pasting, following directions. Sure, it is something I aspire to, but without a JavaScript Obi-wan, I will forever just look on wistfully. I can read, learn, code — on-my-own — for a while, but to really use it, I’ll need to work alongside someone who really knows their stuff. Even CSS, I’ve discovered “best practices” seem to be a subjective style, particularly when discussing CSS3 and responsive techniques. Everyone has an opinion, what works for them, and that’s just how it goes.

As far as design, that is definitely subjective. Designers have a style, there are trends, there are other styles out there — and a client can tell you what they like and want, and even if it isn’t your style, you can deliver it. It’s wonderful when a client comes to me because they actually like my style, although I don’t see it as “my style,” rather I evaluate their own goals, their audience, and work toward something that will serve them for at least five years. That’s what I’m thinking, anyway.

Recently, I worked on a project where I was the developer. The project was under another company’s product brand, so I wanted to be sure to deliver what they would want representing them. This meant building files in ways that were unfamiliar to me. Awesome! Learning! I love that! However, it also put me in the humbling position of having to ask a lot of questions and admitting that I didn’t know things. It made me feel stupid. I’m not stupid, but tell me that… I can’t fully hear it. Maybe that’s just me. I’m not sure. Due to schedules, it wasn’t really possible for me to have my questions answered, and I had to turn things over to be completed by the owner. I really feel defeated. Not only did I not deliver the final product, but I didn’t learn anything.

What can I learn from this? The one thing I know is that there must be communication for any endeavor to succeed. Communication needs to be scheduled, as much as any deliverables are. This is actually the real goal of AGILE or SCRUM, beyond any results. Communication is key. As humans, that’s what I bet LIFE is about, too. Not about any defeat over evil or wisdom, but COMMUNICATION. Communication development, for all of us.

HTML5 DOCTYPE, to-go…

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:27:00 -0400

<!DOCTYPE html> 
<html lang="en"> 
<head>    
<meta charset=utf-8 /> 
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<meta name="description" content="">
<meta name="keywords" content="">

<title>Title</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="stylesheets/main.css" />

</head> 

<body>
<link href="scripts/script.js" />
</body>
</html>

Resource: Accessible Table Base HTML

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:27:00 -0500

I’m hoping to provide this as a resource. Let me know if I have any errors here.

<table cellspacing="1" summary="This table contains a description.">
<caption>Your table heading</caption>
<thead>
	<tr>
		<th scope="col">th content</th>
		<th scope="colgroup" colspan="3">th content</th>
	<tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
	<tr>
		<td>cell content</td>
		<td>cell content</td>
		<td>cell content</td>
		<td>cell content</td>
	</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Resources

Who are you building for?

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 07:00:07 -0500

To best meet the needs of people, you need to empathize with and understand them.

The more you can identify with them, the better your work.

We learn from each other, as well as our own experiences.

These words are MY OPINION. If you find value in them, great. If you disagree, then let’s agree to disagree. I’m trying to help. I’m trying to create a bridge, not divide our community. This is not about women vs men. Don’t put that old battle on me. I wish I could call out all the people who are dissing me, putting their baggage on me, but… finger pointing. What’s it good for? People will only change when they choose to.

We need more voices in the web community. If you are not a white male, pick a topic & share what you know. If you’re a white male, sure, do it, too. But, right now, if you’re not a white male, you likely feel you don’t fully belong in this field (this is what I’ve heard from many) — so I’m trying to encourage you. You likely feel excluded, lonely, anxious, and like you have less to offer, that no one wants to hear from you because you’re not famous. There are others who feel like that.

There are kids in high school not choosing design & development, because they get the message that the field doesn’t welcome them.

For example, young minority high schoolers I spoke with believed Romney would win the last election. They didn’t believe a woman or a black man could be president. They voted Romney in their school election for that reason. That’s how little they feel valued, how little they feel their voice matters — they voted for ROMNEY! When Obama won, they were shocked. They literally cried. Really. This is a tough, urban high school, and these kids, boys & girls, cried in front of their classmates. They had a moment of hope. Hope can be terrifying because… it hurts when it fails to be.

I want to encourage people of as many different experiences as possible to share their knowledge, so we create a better community, better work, and dispel long-held myths and animosities. Some of the greatest voices in our field have incredible backgrounds. I’m thinking of a woman who was a carpenter before she became a well-known developer. There’s a man who was a A&R rep for music companies before he became an accessibility expert.

I don’t want to be a speaker, but I spoke recently and will continue to, because I want to give back to this community that has given so much to me. It turns out, although I’m not an expert in my own eyes, I do know some things that can help others, who know things that I don’t. If we share our knowledge… man, that’s beautiful.

I am not a feminist. I am for equality. I want equal rights for all. However, we are not all equal. Our differences make things different. It is our systems that fail to adapt to this. We can respect and value those differences instead of being afraid and angry about them. Nearly everything boils down to having genuine respect for others (oh, and ourselves, something I, personally, struggle with).

For example, the young man who refused to wrestle against the young woman he was matched with. I believe he had a valuable point. Sports like wrestling & boxing are not appropriate for coed participation because violence between the sexes is a serious problem. We need to teach to respect our differences, empathize with each other, honor our vulnerabilities, and have compassion for others. If it was tennis, I’d say go for it. The fact is, men and women are different. Our roles in society are different. Our experiences are different. In order to build empathy, we’re going to have to communicate.

I used to be offended when a man held a door for me, or walked on the street-side of the sidewalk when we were walking together. I interpreted it as him thinking I was weaker. Recently, I realized it is an act of respect. It is good manners. It does not mean he diminishes me. Thank you, Gerald Croteau and Juhan Sonin, for teaching me this.

You have to experience things to know what they feels like, to have empathy. The more experiences you have, the more you feel & know, the more you can empathize, and the better your work. You’ll code more intuitive interfaces if you have a broader understanding of human experience.

To learn, though, you have to be presented with opportunities. We spend so much time at computers, we lose opportunities to experience. Get out there, meet people who are different from you. Learn to do new things — take painting, cooking, hip hop classes. Volunteer in your community. You will become more emotionally intelligent and a better designer / developer for it.

Next: Compassion

Funding Your Vision (140 characters just aren't cutting it today.)

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:34:37 -0500

Today’s brouhaha over Kickstarter & Andy Rutledge’s essay on profit (http://www.andyrutledge.com/profit-lies-theft-and-idiocy.php) rankles me. For quite some time now, I’ve had a problem with Kickstarter. Kickstarter is an option for crowd-sourcing your project. It works for people with a reputation, usually for quality but not always. Sometimes, it’s the person who buys the most beers at an event. It’s a popularity contest, and I don’t mean that one knows the person personally, rather by reputation.

The problem I’ve had with it is that a complete unknown has zero chance of their project being funded via Kickstarter. That wasn’t Kickstarter’s initial mission. It was great when it was practically an anonymous funding project, there was a project outline or brief, with a name that meant nothing, and people funded based on the idea/project. I thought that was pretty cool. The idea merited the funding, not the popularity. Let’s take the names off! Let the merit of the idea speak, not the reputation of the person.

My issues with Kickstarter definitely does not say that anyone is lacking in talent. I just come from a school where we fund our own visions. Some of the folks submitting Kickstarter proposals have the income to fund their own vision, have stable careers, and just need to budget and save to finance their project. They want a traditional book advance to allow them to focus on their project. That’s what the profits of their careers ought to be applied to.

Amanda Palmer is guaranteed success because everyone knows who she is. She’s built a solid fanbase by socializing. She was smart to create a very public persona, initially in Harvard Square as a living statue, then blogging like a woman possessed, and every single action since then. She certainly isn’t the most talented musician in the world, but, boy, is she passionate about the spotlight. Madonna worked the system in a similar way. If you’re not the most talented, be the most charismatic. If you are the most talented, you’ll still need to figure out how to work the system.

Frank Chimero is a brilliant designer and writer who regularly contributes great value to our community. I’m sure his book will further his influence and result in great profits for himself.

I disagree with Ryan Carson about Ethan Marcotte’s choice to go with A Book Apart being one that didn’t allow him as much freedom as the choice Frank has made. The traditional book advance system is more helpful, the publisher is taking a chance, providing funding so the writer can focus on the project, and will recoup the outlay if the book is successful. If the book fails, the publisher is out the advance. Record companies blew it by making the advance a loan that must be paid back, regardless of success.

I’d like to see Kickstarter benefit the project and the folks who fund it, by seeing a return on their investment.

When these Kickstarter-funded projects pull in the big bucks, will the people who funded them get a percentage of the profits? Will there be a full accounting of how the funds were spent?

How is this any different than Arianna Huffington & her volunteer contributors that everyone seems to be bitching about?

My focus is elsewhere at the moment, as I’m trying to finalize my first presentation. This is eating at my attention, though, so I wanted to try to get my thoughts down. The Tumblr format for writing blog posts doesn’t quite work as well for me as I’d like, often resulting in an all-over-the-place post. I still need to find a solution that works for me.

Quotes are powerful inspiration for change, for me.

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:33:00 -0500

I wonder why. Do you find inspiration in quotes?

It seems odd to me that reflecting upon someone else’s words allows me better self-understanding, which prompts change for me.

Often, I send messages to folks, asking big questions without providing background. Their answers motivate me.

Words have power. Use them positively.

140 is not enough.

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:54:00 -0500

Be the CHANGE you want to see in the world.

COMMUNICATE.

Be COMPASSIONATE.

Take RESPONSIBILITY for your actions.

APOLOGIZE when you screw up, especially if you hurt someone. Acknowledge exactly what you did, how you hurt them, and do not do it again.

GIVE others a chance to repair damage they cause you.

Set an EXAMPLE.

INSPIRE others.

CHOOSE the people in your life wisely.

ACCEPT them for who they are, and be GENEROUS with your LOVE, WISDOM, FORGIVENESS, UNDERSTANDING, and TIME.

CONSEQUENCES are a part of any action.

You can’t make anyone change. They will change when they are ready to. No matter how much you care for them, it is what it is and they’re only willing to do what they are willing to do. If you love them, be tolerant and patient while they learn. Take the time to show them you believe in them. Who knows? Maybe you’ll discover they’re right.