Goodbye Windows

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

Importance of Domain Names for SEO

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 Antisocial Life of Information

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

Exercise Goals – Simple, Measurable, Achievable

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

Productivity in 2013

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

Scribus – Open Source Adobe Indesign

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 Linux Notebook

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

Open Source Software – A List

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

Designers are Idiots – 2012 Edition

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

Remember Vista? Skip Windows 8

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

Android beats iOS in Usability

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

What Gangnam Style tells us about Content

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

Alexa Rankings are Nonsense

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

Bullfighter Not Overcome with Compassion

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

Optimize OSX for SSD

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

Interpreting Statistics

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

Android, Augmented Reality & A Book

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

New Blogging Directions

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

Brand Artifacts

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

Why Use CyanogenMod ROM (or custom ROMs)

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

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

Getting to Plan B by Randy Komisar

Randy Komisar's book Getting to Plan B is an excellent read and he has some very useful guidelines and advice to the entrepreneur. Plan A is Necessary but not Sufficient > Plan A is useful for a number of reasons... The process of creating Plan A is useful in and of itself. It forces you ... Read more

Don't Travel

I don't mean to be a hater. But there is another side of the story. The so-called lifestyle gurus and permanent travelers seem convinced that their lifestyle is superior. The you too can do it is the biggest hint that their path is preferred. Certainly they don't literally believe it, but rather it is an ... Read more

Customer Service Policy & Practice

Don't be a legalistic idiot. Business is not about getting money from people who don't want to give it to you or want it back, for good or services that were never provided. Who would come up with this as a definition for business, much less good business? This sounds more like a government taxation ... Read more

Network Effects, Multiplatforms and the Cloud

Apple sees most clearly how integration between devices and the cloud, with the cloud as the memory system between devices, is a competitive advantage. Network effects are not only in terms of more users of a system or platform, but more uses across systems for a single user. This means that the Mac OSX notebook ... Read more

Android Multilingual and Swiping Keyboards

There is a plethora of keyboards available in Android (as opposed to the iPhone), and some have the innovative swiping feature of dragging fingers across the keys instead of individual typing of each key. That is great, and the original Swype is available for free in Beta. However, if there is a need for multilingual ... Read more

Two Hours Per Day to Jackpot in 7 Years

There is an interesting news item on how a Stanford Statistics PhD may have beaten the odds through a systematic approach. Total winnings from four scratcher jackpots beginning in 1993 adds up to $21 million. The Clever Part The clever part was figuring out the seasonality and geographic locations of the winning scratcher cards. Not ... Read more

Agree to Disagree: A thought-terminating cliché

One annoying phrase which tends to be more useless than anything is: > We can agree to disagree Thanks to Wikipedia we know that this phrase may be close to 250 years old. We also know that it implies a kind of tolerance but lack of acceptance of another persons' position. However, there are several ... Read more

The Epiphenomena of Academia

Much of academia and academic research in America is epiphenomenal. This is best illustrated by the common comparison of college with the real world. That is, college, the ivory tower, etc., is its' own world that has different rules, and whose learning doesn't always or even usually apply to the other world, outside of academia. ... Read more

Advantages of the Solo Entrepreneur

The Solo Entrepreneur is considered to be an inferior species, generally shunned by investors, and for whom traction comes many years later, when compared with two or more founding partners. However, there are many advantages to solo entrepreneurship, and while the odds of success are likely less, the odds of success of any entrepreneurial activity ... Read more

Change the World… To What?

The inane, though of course superficially appealing, desire to change the world. The question in response is to what? After all, some changes are either inconsequential, or worse, complete disasters, through unintended consequences. It is no comfort that the particular change might be unavoidable or done by someone else in any case. For the one ... Read more

Doi Suthep Bicycle Ride

Bicycle Ride up Doi Suthep Doi Suthep (ดอยสุเทพ) is a mountain directly to the west of Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. Doi Suthep is named after a legendary hermit (Suveda). The mountain is granite with diciduous forest below 1,000m and evergreen above. The top of Doi Suthep is at 1,676 meters. There is around 1,200 meter ... Read more

Motorcycle vs. Bicycle

I've got a new bicycle, after nearly three years without. How did I survive that long? I really don't know. It's nice to be back in the saddle. That said, I've really enjoyed and continue to enjoy the awesome Honda Wave 125i that I acquired a little over two years ago. (Yes, there was nearly ... Read more

Angkor Car

Brilliant! Cambodian builds three cars of increasing complexity with no automotive training. Self-taught automotive engineer and designer. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIU3ywpC5M

No accountability at Identi.ca

Apparently I am "probably" a spammer. But it doesn't matter in any case... Ah, this is how an open system works, I see. Well, for one I haven't subscribed to anyone in a long time. Secondly I do not spam. Identica Cannot be Trusted This is about trust. How can I trust a service with ... Read more

Everyone is smarter than me

I love Spolsky's blog. He has also written articles for Inc, such as the one on competition and strategy called Fire and Motion. In the article there is a great quote about how management for his company is not about employees quickly obeying directives. The biggest problem is getting people to tell me when I'm ... Read more

Time Horizon

First, read the blog entry Nine Time Horizons - Connecting the Past to the Future from 2009-04-30 Definition of Time Horizon A time horizon is understood here as a cognitive structure in which planning and thinking about the future (and the past) can be effectively accomplished. The idea is that there is no intuition regarding ... Read more

A Moderately Difficult Week

Moderately Not severely. In comparison to much more difficult weeks this one is mild. Yet, it was not easy, hence moderate in scope. Difficult The difficult part started right there in the beginning, and after a bit of seeming progress (though perhaps mild) it progressed into difficulty surprisingly quickly. Week It took up the entire ... Read more

Acquainted with the Night

I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain - and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light. I have looked down the saddest city lane. I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain. I have stood still and ... Read more

A Refuge for Others

Cultural Differences As an expatriate American there are many cultural differences I have come across where I now live in Chiang Mai, Thailand. One is the buddhist concept of being a refuge for others. The ability to provide for other people, to feed and shelter them and to take care of their needs is important ... Read more

2009 Year and Decade in Review

2009 In Review This past year has been very interesting. A major reason was the relocation out of the US to Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. Living abroad as an expatriate has a sense of permanent discovery to it, especially the first year. I transitioned out (aka dropped out) of my PhD program at the University ... Read more

Commercial Viability and Approaches to the Flying Car

This is about the commercial viability, supporting documents available, NASA support and competitions, projected use and demand, and green focus of the flying car. NASA predicts that two-car families will have one road car and one flying car in their garages in the next 30 or so years. -Mail and Guardian Turns out, there are ... Read more

Three Thailand Job Sites in English

For those who are seeking for employment or looking for new employees there are three job boards which are in English (though for the JobsDB site many of the jobs are for Thais or in Thai). * Craigslist Bangkok - covers the entire country of Thailand, not only Bangkok * The cesspool aka Thaivisa.com - ... Read more