Sell Strong

I was in the mall the other day and saw a kiosk chuck full of those wrist bands that are in style. Lance Armstrong made the "Live Strong" wrist band popular.

There were all different kinds; names, mascots, cute sayings...

I asked the clerk if they had one that said, "Don't Conform".

They didn't.

Book Signing...

I can't remember if I posted my booksigning schedule. You can view it here. I'd love to see you there, and you don't even have to buy a book. Just come in and give me a knuckle noogie or something.

Clash of the Titans

I have two character traits that often clash with each other.

First, I'm a person who, when he starts something, pretty much has to see it through to the end. I don't like a lot of loose projects hanging around. That is not always to say that I do a stellar job at wrapping things up, sometimes I just slap on a bit of glue and glitter, and bring closure to my little project, just so it stops bugging me.

In fact, this is why I haven't started my second book. I've got the general idea of the book pretty much nailed down. I have the first chapter all worked out and ready to be put down in electronic ink. And yet I know if I get started I'm going to be bugged until I finish it. I don't know if I have the time right now in my life to take on yet another project.

The second character trait I have is that I'm pretty lazy. Now I say that in a nice way. I'm what you call lazy like a fox. I firmly believe in the 80/20 rule. The 80/20 rule states (at least in my version) that you can learn 80 percent of the material in 20 percent of the time. The last 20 percent of material, takes another 80 percent of the time. It's that last pesky 20 percent that gets you in the end. It separates the amateurs from the experts.

So, lets say you want to know about the battle of Gettysburg. There are about half a million web pages refrenceing the subject, along with countless books other material out there. You could spend days reading and begin to get a good idea of what went on there, or you could check out the wiki article, watch the movie, and you would know a great deal about the topic in a fraction of the time.

So, I am at once a person who wants to see things through to the end, and one who enjoys learning about a whole bunch of things, but I don't like to go for 'depth'. How are those character traits colliding right now?

I'm half way through a Ph. D. program.

I was walking across campus the other day and heard two people (they looked like professors), arguing over the IQ of the American beaver. One put it at around 45-50, and the other thought it was higher, but wasn't prepared to actually name a firm number. The topic fascinated me, (what fascinated me most that this was a serious discussion, but I digress) but the thought of me learning enough about the activities of an American beaver so that I could carry on an intelligent discussion on the topic exhausts me. I'd rather learn the 80 percent and leave the 20 to others.

And yet if I want a doctorate degree, I've got to tie myself to one specific topic, and beat that topic to within an inch of it's life, or mine, I'm not quite clear on that point yet. I have to become the expert. I thought if I looked at video games, a topic I'm quite interested in, I would be able to become that 'expert'. But it didn't work. There is so much out there that the idea of me reading and sifting through the vast amounts of data makes the inside of my eyelids hurt.

Anyway, at some point these two character traits are going to come to a head. I will either chastise myself for being so lazy and pathetic, and tell myself to buck up and become an expert; or I will tell myself to chill out, let things go, I don't need to finish every last thing I start.

Either way, I'll likely end up in the fetal position for a few days.

Problem With OutFoxed...

I wrote a few days ago about about a social software program that lets you use friends to help you scour the internet.

I've come across a problem.

I was searching for news, and while I normally go to Google news, I somehow came across a link that led me to fox news. When I tried to go to a site, a pop up warned me me that this was a 'dangerous' site. The warning had come from one of my 'contacts'. Normally this warning is saved for sites that can infect your computer with spyware, or the like. But some noble person was trying to save his 'friends' from conservative ideology.

So far I've been unable to figure out how to discount information from certain members. If they rate web sites in a reckless fashion, my computer needs to be able to somehow ignore them.

While this functionality may exist, I haven't been able to find it because their website is down.

I'll report more if I am able.

If I May Wax Patriotic...

We went to the rip-roaring So. Ogden parade yesterday, where there were about 30 fire trucks, a couple of kids, and a goat... Ok, I made up that bit about the goat, just to make it sound sexy. Forgive me, I'm blaming that little lie on one of my favorite books, growing up.

Anyway, when the flag came by, right at the first, my wife and I told our kids to stand up and put our hands over our hearts. My son, who had just spotted the entire color guard, asked, "Why? Do they shoot you if you don't stand up?"

It was a funny question. Sure enough, two of the guards had some wicked looking semi-automatic rifles. I assured him that nobody would be shot for not standing up for the flag, at least not at this parade. I almost went on to tell him that since we lived in a free country, you could actually burn the flag (at least for now) and not get shot. But then thought better of it. He is only 5, and that's a bit too young to be putting counter-revolutionary thoughts into his head.

But it is nice to live in a place where you can express yourself. When I was a young'n, my mom used the phrase, "Eat your veggies, there are starving people in China." Maybe the updated version should be, "Express yourself, there are those in the world who do not have such luxury."

Bow Before The Blue Star

When I was little and in school, often somebody would proudly state something they had accomplished. "I got an A on the spelling test!" Or, "I put my shirt on the right way!".

Since the rest of us were pretty much living the laws described in Lord of the Flies, our response was often, "Well, what do you want, a star pinned on your chest?"

It's not pinned on my chest, I but I just became a 'Blue Star" member of e-bay. I did this by earning a rating of 50. They even sent me a certificate, if you can believe that, with instructions to download, print, and "display proudly".

Back where I came from, if you get caught displaying a certificate, especially a 'blue star' certificate, well... You may as well kiss your lunch money goodbye. Chances are there is a wedgie and a good beating waiting for you out on the playground.

Stop the Blathering...

I don't want my blog to turn into me blathering on and on about my book.

I came across this interesting website from Slashdot. The basic premise is that most of the 8 billion (read that like Carl Sagan would have: billyun) web sites are bad, poorly designed, not what you want. But by using this program, when you do a search rather than just wading through the most sites a search engine things are useful, you are wading through sites that your friends have found useful.

If that doesn't make sense, an excellent description is found here.

I'll try this out and let you know what I think.

Of course it only works if other people are willing to play. Does anybody want to be my social software buddy? Let me know and I will 'invite' you.