If you get your computer stolen …
So. You learn a lot when your computer disappears. Here are some things I'm glad I did beforehand (and then some things I wish I'd done). Sugarsync. I love this service. It's cross-platform (Mac and PC). I choose which folders to back up and any changes that I make in that folder sync to the web. Over the course of the last two years I've seen three hard drives fail (two Mac, one PC) and all of them had everything restored thanks to Sugarsync. Most users can probably get away with their free version, but I pay a few bucks Read more…
Troubleshooting
Nothing like a few small fires to provide focus. I think today is going to be one of those days. Not bad, not good, just focused and in troubleshoot mode. Actually, maybe that is good. Being focused and fixing problems feels pretty good when you get to relax at the end of it. So, here's to a good day!
Where did that last hour go?
I’m trying to get better at using my time consciously. For me the difficulty in doing this is usually in front of the computer, not the TV (where it used to be, in high school and college–“wait, how many reruns of Friends did i just watch in a row?”). Now, I just keep clicking. Clicking on Google Reader, Twitter, Facebook, newspapers, Wikipedia … and at some point I look up and I say, “Whoa, where did that last hour go?” Sometimes it will happen when I’m supposed to be working. A page will be slow to load, and so I’ll Read more…
Unsubscribe
Every so often I purge emails from my inbox that I no longer use much anymore. Groupon got to that point. I started to feel like none of them were targeted towards me. So I unsubscribed and found this screen. Of course, I had to click to find out how to Punish Derrick. A funny animated gif played where he got some coffee thrown on him, and then they invited me back. It's a great example of how it should be done. One click unsubscribe, a funny little video, and an offer to join again. I almost did.
Some interesting happenings in the self-publishing world
These last couple weeks, there have been two things that have really caught the attention of publishers and author. 1) Amanda Hocking. She's 26, and she's self-published 9 novels to the Kindle. As of this month, she's sold more than 1 million books that way. Even at $2.99 or less per book, which is what she's charging, the general assumption is that no publisher could offer her a better deal than what she's getting from Amazon. 2) Barry Eisler. He's a New York Times bestselling author, who writes spy thrillers. He turned down a $500,000 advance from a publisher in Read more…
OK. Here are some facts from the Times article. Better headline? “Tacoma not as hard hit by recession as most cities”
And yet for some reason the article is framed as a hard-luck story for Tacoma. I dunno, but these seem like pretty great things going on, despite some challenges (ie, Russell and MorphoTrak leaving). Before the recession, retail taxable sales increased at a faster annual rate than in Seattle. The value of construction activity in Tacoma jumped 38 percent last year. Pierce County also has logged more consistent growth over the past 30 years than economically volatile King County. Tacoma has stable high-paying employers: heavy industry, such as the Port of Tacoma, as well as Joint Base Lewis-McChord. A new Read more…
Looking for something to read?
This is the Tacoma Reads book! I was looking back and I can't believe I haven't mentioned it here. It's a non-fiction book by William Kamkwamba, a teenager in Malawi. After a devastating famine, he taught himself electrical theory from a library book, and built a windmill on his family farm. It powered a lightbulb, then two lightbulbs, and eventually a water pump, that allowed extra growing seasons, ending a cycle of poverty. The author of the book will be here on April 10 to share his story. It's a great read! More here at the Library's website.