I just registered for @startupday 2009. Any others in the @tacomatech community interested in going?

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I have an idea or two that I'm kicking the tires on, and I'm hoping to pick up some good information here. I've learned a lot starting up businesses like Mary Holste Design, The Horatio, and Suite133. And I learned tons from managing a mature business (the Grand). And one thing I've learned … is how much I still just don't know. Going to SXSW, I heard from a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners and am looking forward to hearing from some who are more local. This day-long conference is September 26 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. According Read more…

RR is getting all GTD

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via i.feedtacoma.com RR Anderson is using Google Spreadsheets for his Getting Things Done action item manager. He was inspired by my 4 page practical guide for GTD. I’m honored. Of course, being RR, the lists include some pretty wonderful things. Check out this video I shot of him for Exit133. It’s about a year and a half old, but I think it still holds up.  

Two topics, one video.

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The first half of this is a discussion about Obama’s school speech, which is why I watched it. The second half caught my eye because there’s some good stuff there about online identity, which is the topic of my presentation Wednesday night at Pecha Kucha. Thomas Friedman is scared: MR. FRIEDMAN: Tell your kids, OK, tell your kids, OK, be careful.  Every move they make is now a digital footprint.  You are on “Candid Camera.” And unfortunately, the real message to young people, from all of these incidents, OK, and I’m not here defending anything anyone said, but from all Read more…

After successfully making salad dressing from scratch I now think I can do anything. Next up: no-knead bread recipe from NYT

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3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting ¼ teaspoon instant yeast 1¼ teaspoons salt Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed. 1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. via nytimes.com Bright and early tomorrow morning my bread should be ready for the oven … We’ll see. Considering I’ve only ever made bread once before, this might not turn out Read more…

Along the same line of thought …

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Do presidential portraits hang in school buildings anymore? Has that changed? I remember seeing presidential portraits of Ronald Reagan in grade school. I feel like they were up in classrooms even, but I might be mis-remembering.

On the President Speaking to Students

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University Place School District Superintendent Patti Banks met with her district’s principals soon after hearing from the U.S. Department of Education that the speech was planned. “We discussed the president’s desire to speak directly to the nation’s schoolchildren about working hard, setting goals and the value of education,” she said. “Those are values we support.” But after hearing questions and complaints from parents – including a few who said they would keep their kids at home if the president’s speech was shown at school – she directed teachers and principals to honor the requests of parents who do not want Read more…

Glen David Gold’s “Sunnyside”

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This novel of Charlie Chaplin only has its main character in about a third of the book. The rest is … everywhere. To say that this is a "sprawling" novel is an understatement. There are some wonderful parts, but I had a hard time figuring out how they all related to each other. By the end, the through-line appear to be simply, "movies." And Gold really captures the way that they cross culture and boundaries. (I recall Kate Winslet telling a story of hiking somewhere remote in northern India, where she met a monk. The monk squinted at her and Read more…

Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds

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Earlier this week Mary and I saw Inglourious Basterds. It is a very good movie. It is surprisingly not as violent as some of Tarantino's other films, but all that means is that when you get to the violence, it stands out all the more. I definitely flinched from the screen a few times. I do think the Stranger had a pretty accurate take: Everything you love and hate about Quentin Tarantino films finds a home in his cartoon Nazi thriller Inglourious Basterds: the colorful prattle, the insistent thrills, the horrifying violence, and the long, boring conversations you're manipulated into Read more…