In a word, Internet Marketing (not the spamming stuff, but the real thing) is BAWLS. Brand, Advertising, Website, Links and Content, and Social Media. BAWLS Brand Brand name, collateral (visuals, text), offering, value to customers and competitive strategy. Includes pricing, keywords, as well as customer demand. Advertising Paid and earned. Will drive traffic either to ... Read more
For some reason I have become more and more interested in consuming less-processed foods and beverages. Perhaps it is five years of living in Northern Thailand where very fresh and local food is actually less expensive and widely available. In addition, there are some kinds of foods which have a lot of interesting characteristics, but ... Read more
An end to the geographic lies of China, where a misnomer becomes an excuse for criminality. Geographic Lies of China The geographic lies of china are well documented. The so-called South China Sea is simply one of the more anachronistic, if not damning. The English-speaking world need not continue this farce. And so what should ... Read more
This checklist is inspired by Ted Leonsis' List of 101 things to accomplish. His list is thought-provoking, and I share many of the goals. Here is my list (incomplete). - I will backfill in items that I have already completed, and of course add more. Family Matters (6) Fall in love and get married (done) ... Read more
First, what kind of cheese, then ingredients, then process, otherwise fairly low tech! Try to keep the energy consumption to a minimum, as well as direct costs. The best approach is making it sustainable (and local) for future.
It is an amazing statistic that 30 species make up 95% of human consumption of calories and nutrients. This was certainly not always the case, as more than 12,000 species have been determined to be edible.
Note: toddlers as well
It seems that revenge fantasies are a significant part of the waking (and dreaming) life of many. By this I mean the cinematic, graphic, or otherwise detailed portrayal of justified violence -- violence that is good or legitimate. A big part of this is the notion of revenge, as Nietzsche has so eloquently, and poignantly ... Read more
At 21 months, here are a few observations: - The child seems more alert about language. Can read the alphabet, but cannot make all the sounds. Problems with g, s, ch, sh, ks, and not strong on th (both voiced and unvoiced) and z. - Is starting to repeat words that he has heard repeatedly ... Read more
Both Hollandaise and Mayonnaise are oil-in-water emulsions based on a raw egg yolk (or whole raw egg). Making both of them requires raw egg yolk / whole egg, and the addition of mustard, and then the slow adding (or mixing-in) of oil or butter. Mayonnaise is cold and Hollandaise is hot. Mayonnaise is Spanish and ... Read more
The best approach I have seen is to basically use a blender with whipping cream, add honey (or sugar, not condensed milk), and then add additional items to this base, such as: Vanilla extract and vanilla bean caviar (add the spent pod to your sugar jar) Cacao and chocolate chips Strawberry compote (extra honey if ... Read more
As someone who grew up on Thomas' English Muffins, I had no idea that there was such discord in the culinary community as to how to cook the damned things. I also consider it a distinct failing that it took me until I was 51 years old to actually cook my first English muffin. This ... Read more
Basic Bread Flatbread Buscuits Scones Cornbread Banana bread English Muffins
Parasites Freezing Fish, Killing Parasites Almost Every Kind of Wild Fish is Infected with Worms "I don't eat raw fish because of what I've seen," admitted the fish purveyor, who sells to many of the city's top restaurants. "I don't eat sushi anymore." ... "I urge people not to cook whole fish because the parasites ... Read more
Many various Mozarella recipes The Kitchn - Mozarella recipe - try this one first Serious Eats - Mozarella recipe 30 Minute Mozarella recipe - Cheesemaking.com Cultured (traditional) Mozarella recipe - Cheesemaking.com Need Rennet for Mozarella Curd - Yes and No 30 Minute Mozarella recipe - Cultures for Health Traditional Mozarella recipe - Cultures for Health ... Read more
Many Mommy and Cooking blogs give a recipe for Cream Cheese which does not include any culture or rennet. That is simply misinformed. Especially for those who claim a cooking pedigree. Honestly, the lies are thick out there. In any case, there is a simple dichotomy when making soft cheeses, in terms of cream cheese ... Read more
Having spent quite a few hours for several years in statistics classes, the importance of the operationalization of measurements has been clearly impressed upon me. And so, with things such as happiness, it becomes quite a task to measure this. Luckily there is a diversity of governments and non-government agencies in the world, and so ... Read more
I got a new Asus Zenbook with Windows 7 in order to future-proof myself against Windows 8 (I'll wait until Windows 9, or Ubuntu 14.10, thank you very much). This was back in December, 2012. I've since sold this (two months ago), but have kept this post, for posterity. Installed Applications Here are the applications ... Read more
There are some useful nuggets of information hidden within this latest talk by Kate Mitchell on Own your Own Success. The discussion on mentors and mentorship is one of them. Mentors as a Composite Mentors need not be a single person or a set of people but are more likely a composite of many people, ... Read more
This is a nice talk by Tim O'Reilly on Creating More Value than you Capture httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njpGH_IHjFg Lessons Do Less Trend and theme to minimize interaction with the user, if the apps and devices can do things on their own without intervention Embrace Hardware Software Above the Level of a Single Device Came from David Stutz's ... Read more
This past weekend I parted with my last Windows device. Actually, my last Microsoft Operating System device (though I reserve the right to get an xbox at some point in the future). This is after flirting with the idea of the Surface device (before its underwhelming acceptance in the marketplace). Goodbye Windows (3.1, 3.11 for ... Read more
Domain names are not the end-all and be-all for SEO, certainly. Keywords in Domain Names However, it can be seen as an accelerator and an ace in the hand. You still need a good hand. That said, the value of a domain name tuned to two or three important (high volume and relevant) keywords, should ... Read more
The future of energy is both about the power of the rich (and the riches in the energy markets) as well as the dangers of certain energy sources. So it is about fundamental resources, ongoing innovation, economic risks and rewards as well as environmental and human costs. Growth of Demand Demand for energy, as well ... Read more
I was one of the (apparently) skeptical few when hearing John Seely Brown's job talk at UC Berkeley in 2001, ostensibly on his book The Social Life of Information written with Paul Duguid. Rumor was he co-wrote the book as an exit strategy out of Xerox Parc, the spectacularly failed think-tank. He eventually ended up ... Read more
The nature of innovation and adaptation... What is impossible in December, Becomes possible in January, Actual in February, No longer acceptable in March
Goals can get way out of hand. I see this a lot in the running community in Google+. One would think everyone is an olympic athlete the way complexities and details are passed around and analyzed. This is a bit much, for two good reasons. Goals Need to Be Achievable Goals need to be achievable, ... Read more
What does it take to create a new normal? For the body, to make regular exercise the default and not exercising the abnormal condition? By exercise I mean something well, meaningful. A New Normal To create a new normal, more than incremental change is needed. Instead, a shift of subterranean tectonic plates is needed. Something ... Read more
Yes, the first week of the new year is reaching its conclusion. What follows are a few current thoughts on productivity. Two-a-Day Two-a-day workouts for a total of two hours per day are transformative, and this is the level of input needed to make change in the body. 66 Repetitions to Create a Habit A ... Read more
Update May 2024 - I can't recommend Scribus due to their model of very long time between releases, the fact that only two programmers work on it in their spare time, and the advances to Inkscape (mainly supporting multi-page SVG / PDF). Yes, I'm sure the programmers are working hard, but they've got an inherited ... Read more
Zareason UltraLab 430, when outfitted with 256gb SSD and 8gb RAM, this is 30% cheaper than a comparable Macbook Air. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUsomH1zmcU
Note: I'm moving this information (which will be updated over time) to this page from another site (which will now be decommissioned). Focus on the best of open source for the everyday computer user and the IT manager making decisions. * The Best Open Source for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. * Focus on hese ... Read more
There has been a raft of poor design in the web design on important websites and applications. There is no explanation for it other than the fact that the designers are believing their own propaganda. Let me explain. Five Recent Design Disasters Evernote, Skitch, Springboard Mashable YouTube Design is Not Important Design is not important, ... Read more
Update 2019 - This Aged Well Apparently as of mid 2019 Windows 10 has 50% market share and Windows 7 has 30% market share (of worldwide OS usage). The suggestions to Skip Windows 8 was taken globally. Microsoft did not release a Windows 9, and is now staying with Windows 10 and providing twice-yearly updates ... Read more
Usability is a complex phenomena, especially when it comes to mobile. Hardware, operating system, application ecosystem, all play a role. I've just updated an old Kindle Fire to Android Jellybean. This experience forced me to compare iOS on an iPad 2 with Android Jellybean on a Kindle Fire. Obviously the screens are different sizes. Nevertheless ... Read more
Psy is breaking records with Gangnam Style (480m YouTube views as of this writing). This is more than just a catchy song and music video. It is actually astounding for its resonance for several reasons. These reasons also tell us what can make content a success for SEO and the web. Gangnam Style is in ... Read more
> just woke up from a nap, how fked up is that -- Mac Miller, Blue Slide Park I've discovered the brilliance of napping. The benefits are significant, but one has to have a system for it to work effectively. Power-Napping This is a bit like a focused recharge of one's batteries. Taking the time ... Read more
I want to caution everyone on Alexa rankings. I just put several clients and inhouse projects into Alexa to see what I could see. The ranking numbers have no relation to reality, either in terms of search traffic or in terms of overall traffic. Alexa Rankings have Zero Relevance I see some sites with 7,000 ... Read more
Peter Drucker claimed that there were only two areas of interest in terms of Entrepreneurship: Innovation and Marketing. Innovation is the creation of a new level of performance (mostly through deploying inventions, not actually inventing things). Marketing is the creation and maintenance of a customer. Of course there is more to Entrepreneurship than that, but ... Read more
This is the famous photo making the rounds in email and the Facebook of the Spanish bullfighter Alvaro Munera overcome with compassion for a bull while in the ring. Except it isn't. It isn't Alvaro Munera, and it isn't a bullfighter being overcome with compassion. What it is, and how the famous Alvaro Munera did ... Read more
Back in the early 1990s I realized that most computers were misconfigured. Even today, nearly 20 years later, the otherwise well-engineered Apple products have not solved this problem. SSD drive-based Macs can particularly benefit from a half-dozen or so tweaks. SSD - Reasons and Prices mid-2012 Once you go SSD, there is no going back. ... Read more
Statistics has a bad name. The main reason is due to ignorance of them, how they work, and how to understand and interpret them. It is easy to dismiss statistics in general, and there are many jokes such as "78% of statistics are made up on the spot", which has a nice self-referential ring to ... Read more
This is a short post with a few things I need to follow up on over the coming weeks and months. HTC Desire and Ice Cream Sandwich This is a brief update for 15 July 2012. There is some hope for my HTC Desire (Bravo) regarding Jellybean. ICS is now mostly stable with most features, ... Read more
It's nearly halfway through 2012, the half-time show is just getting warmed up. So, now that we stretch our legs, let's reflect on what was accomplished and what was left undone. What we should and should not do at this point in the year. Goals, Objectives, Tasks It turns out that not having goals or ... Read more
Change, yet again, dear friends. First Four Months of 2012 We are one third plus six days into 2012. At the beginning I targeted eight different priority areas to change/improve. I've given myself scores on each of these areas as does not meet expectations, meets expectations, and exceeds expectations (0,1,2). Adding up the numbers reached ... Read more
Encouraging others to like you (not the Facebook kind) is about social signals and communication. Interesting how books that provide instruction on how to be liked, or how to win friends and influence people, are so culturally constrained. Behavior advocated in those books simply would not work in Thailand. Not only are the social signals ... Read more
This is a list of possible artifacts representing or showing evidence of brand (brand tactics, etc.). These kinds of things help people think through what a brand stands for and how customers should be able to interact with it, as well as competitive comparisons. Brand Artifacts Comic strip Coloring book Colors Fonts, typography Images, figures, ... Read more
There are many different kinds of travel and tourism. Below is a list not exhaustive but extensive. To be honest, tourism as an industry is not necessarily a great thing. That said, there are opportunities inside of the experiences... The Many Different Kinds of Tourism There are many types of tourism, below is meant to ... Read more
A friend asked why use CyanogenMod ROM (or really, any custom ROM) instead of stock Android. Besides feeding the inner geek, there are several reason... Root Needed Sometimes it is only Root that is needed to add functionality, or in some cases, remove it. Though more and more apps and functionality is available for non-rooted ... Read more
Linux and unix-like operating systems have basically won the battle, albeit on the server and mobile front rather than at the desktop. And while there will be Windows and it will continue to live on, its days are essentially numbered. How did this happen? At what point did the phone become a computer? How did ... Read more