When I first saw Tom Scott's Journalism Warning Stickers, my first thought was that surely, by the next day, someone would have written a bookmarklet for them.

I haven't seen one yet, so I'm taking a stab at it myself. (I've never written a bookmarklet before, so we'll see how this works out...)

The idea: Create a bookmarklet that will open up a j.mp or Publish2 style sidebar overlay. From here, you can select which sticker to overlay on a web page, and create a URL for the page WITH the overlay to share on Twitter, FB, etc.

So far, I have the script that will overlay an image on a website:

javascript:
(function(){
  document.body.innerHTML+=\'<img src=\"http://www.megantaylor.org/jwarnings
/jwarnings_02.gif\" style=\"position:absolute; left: 200px; top: 150px; z-index: 1000\">\';
}
)();

The image URLs are jwarnings_02.gif, 03.gif, etc.

I tried to link the bookmarklet here, but I think WP is messing with my code. Here's a quick example of the output:

I'm gonna keep working on this, but if anyone wants to give me a hand, or point me in the direction of some useful code, I'd really appreciate it.

Post from: Megan Taylor: Web Journalist

Journalism Warning Stickers Bookmarklet – Help?

In my quest to keep learning and doing while unemployed, the hardest obstacle to overcome is that of working alone. It's uninspiring and demotivating.

So I joined a Meetup group.

Ruby Nuby is "a soon-to-be non-profit dedicated to teaching the first year of Ruby Programming, Rails Framework and Related Technologies to professionals who then learn better by teaching at-risk, disadvantaged youths and helping Nubies become professional Rubyists."

Why Ruby?

Honestly, it didn't matter to me which language I pursued, because it's fairly easy to learn new languages once you've delved deeply into one. This was just the group I felt best matched my needs.

At last night's meeting, we discussed the curriculum going forward. We'll be using railstutorial.org to start with, and building from there with supplemental or more advanced books. I got my Ruby install up to date and also installed Rails.

Malcolm Arnold, the organizer, put a lot of effort into researching Ruby and Rails and how best to teach them. He's got a well-thought out plan for us, and I'm really excited.

I'm gonna try to post what I learn here, starting with how to install Ruby and Rails on OSX 10.5 (Leopard):

Installing Ruby, Rubygems, Rails, and Mongrel on Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)

Yes, I'm just posting a link. It's a really easy-to-follow tutorial that gets the job done. What more do you need?

P.S. If anyone wants to sponsor the group or teach a session, please contact Malcolm from the Meetup.com page.

Post from: Megan Taylor: Web Journalist

I’m a Ruby Nuby

The NYTPicker is one of my favorite media criticism blogs, and this post is a winner. Writer Joseph Epstein, who subscribed to the New York Times for 50 years, cancels his subscription because:

"...the Gray Lady is far from the grande dame she once was. For years now she has been going heavy on the rouge, lipstick, and eyeliner, using a push-up bra, and gadding about in stiletto heels. She’s become a bit—perhaps more than a bit—of a slut, whoring after youth through pretending to be with-it. I’ve had it with the old broad; after nearly 50 years together, I’ve determined to cut her loose."

Post from: Megan Taylor: Web Journalist

Link: 50-year Subscriber Calls NYT “A Slut, Whoring After Youth”

Fuck Yeah Journalism: Bringing you the good, the bad and the unintentionally funny things the journalism world brings us.

Post from: Megan Taylor: Web Journalist

Link: Fuck Yeah Journalism

I came across this comment today that really helped me solidify how I feel about Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and one of my favorite books, Atlas Shrugged.

I don't consider myself an Objectivist, but A does equal A.

Some day I will write a really long, tedious blog post about this that no one will read. :)

Post from: Megan Taylor: Web Journalist

Link: Ranting about Ayn Rand

My most recent bout of unemployment has now lasted about four months. A friend asked me the other day how I avoid going insane with boredom. This post is my answer.

1. Job Hunting - This eats up a couple of hours every day. I go through my job search results via RSS, check Craigslist, email past freelance clients, write cover letters, fill out online forms, etc. I've been going light on this because of my upcoming wedding (see below), but will jump right back into the fray when I get back from the honeymoon.

2. Exercise - You know, that thing you never have time for because you have a full-time job? I try to do an hour a day of cardio (sometimes running through Central Park with friends, other times running at the track near Yankee Stadium by myself or using my elliptical machine while watching TV at home). I also do yoga at home twice a week, and do body strength workouts every other day. I keep track of my eating habits and and workouts with DailyBurn. (This has nothing to do with my wedding, by the way, I just feel better when I blow off steam.)

3. Keeping Up - Just because I'm not in an office doesn't mean I'm not paying attention to what's going on in offices all over the place. RSS and Twitter give me plenty to read and think about.

4. Learn Something New - At least once a day I come across some code or tutorial I want to try out. Lately, I've also been learning how to cook! A few months ago, I could barely make scrambled eggs. Husband-elect would get home from work and we would scrounge up whatever was ready to eat for dinner, or order in. Now, I try to make dinner a couple times a week. Even when I screw up, I learn something.

5. Planning a Wedding - I'm getting married in less than a month (Sept. 7!) and for the past 2 months, the planning has been a major part of my daily schedule. Even though it's going to be a low-key affair, I still had to send out invitations and find a place to party.

6. Gaming - Mmm, timesuck.

How could I possibly be bored with all this stuff to do?

Umemployment sucks on a whole lot of levels. Boredom does NOT have to be one of them.

Post from: Megan Taylor: Web Journalist

How I Keep Busy While Looking For Work

Hilarious website with English translations for business jargon. Submit your own definitions if they haven't defined your pet buzzword, and find out what the hell your boss just said. Click the "I'm Feeling Douchey" button for a random word and definition.

This should be required reading for anyone with an MBA.

Post from: Megan Taylor: Web Journalist

Link: Unsuck It

Ever since I first heard about Tumblr, I've wanted to integrate something similar here. It took me a while (hah!), but I finally did it, following these great tutorials at Digging into WordPress: How to Implement Tumblr-Style Links for Posts and Feeds and How to Design a Tumblelog Theme for WordPress.

It's so easy, I feel silly for not doing it a year ago.

I haven't had a whole lot of time yet for styling these posts, but they are for now, while pretty ugly, easily distinguishable from regular blog posts.

Hopefully this means I will be posting more frequently.

Post from: Megan Taylor: Web Journalist

Tumblr-style posts in WordPress

I woke up today and decided to try something new. I want to meet as many people from my online community in person as I can. The impetus? It already started to happen on it's own. So far this year, I've met 5 or 6 people in person that I only knew online before. I really like being able to put a face, voice and body language behind an account.

There are a couple of other things behind this. I've lived in NYC for 2 years now, and have found it ridiculously hard to meet people who might become friends. I'm also kinda bad at getting out of my apartment, especially when it's 90 degrees outside. It's helpful to have the draw of company.

There's some stuff to be examined here about taking web-only relationships to the real world. How does the relationship change? Positively or negatively? How much do people act in person the way they do online? How do my perceptions change, and how do the perceptions of others change?

If you want to have lunch, coffee, or just take a walk, I'm game!

Post from: Megan Taylor: Web Journalist

Taking relationships from the web to real life

Yesterday I showed up for my first UnThursday meetup with Dave Winer at NYU.

I was a little apprehensive, because there hasn't been any information coming out of those meetups and I wasn't sure what the agenda was.

Turned out to be a really cool night. It was a small group, which I liked because as a newbie I could ask meta-questions and figure out what was going on. Richard Ziade, of Arc90 and Readability, told us the story of the bookmarklet and discussed Safari's use for Reader.

During the meetup, I spent some time going through Arc90 Lab, where there are a bunch of code examples that look pretty useful.

I'll definitely be a regular for these meetups, and I'm really excited about finding a bunch of cool, smart people to play with.

Post from: Megan Taylor: Web Journalist

UnThursday with Dave Winer