tips and random info » the constant skeptic

24th July 2008

Blogging from the iphone

I am composing this from my iPhone via the free wordpress app that came out a few days ago.

As you can see I was able to add tags and set the category. I want more features, but it is free after all. I would pay five bucks for it if I could add photos, quotes, and copy and paste from the web.

Overall 7/10.

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22nd April 2008

I am on friendfeed.com, why aren’t you yet?

Hello readers, browsers, info-snackers, crawlers, and spies. I want to let you know there is a better way to follow what I am doing besides just following my latest posts. Do you want to see what I find interesting on the internet and bookmark? Do you want to see my micro-blogging on twitter? Do you want to read my reviews on yelp? Do you want to see my netflix queue? Do you even care?

Well, the amazing thing is, is that this service is free and you and your cohorts can use it to follow and be followed and updated and joined in the conversation that is going on all around you that is, for the most part, external to the blogosphere. It can be a great tool for businesses to manage their brand as well, even though I think a simple google alert can do that just as well for a neophyte web 2.0 adopter.

Friendfeed is what I am talking about. And it may very well be the harbinger of death to the blogosphere as we know it, at least comments wise.

So, I hope I have convinced you to at least check it out. No, I am not getting paid to push friendfeed on the masses, I just think that the masses will find it extremely useful and engaging, if not downright addictive and distracting. Check out their FAQs page if you are still skeptical.

BTW, barack is winning PA and winning the democratic nomination, for better or worse.

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21st April 2008

Quote of the Day - on sacred cows and voting meat

“Sacred cows make the best hamburgers.”

- Abbie Hoffman

We throw ourselves at the mercy of the giant twin arches. McDonalds, our great dark lord, please do not smite us until we eat and drink and be merry via our happy meals.

- The Constant Skeptic

Sorry for the lack of posts, have faith more will be coming, including an enticing, mouthwatering review of ~~chemtrails~~ contrails.

Stay tuned and remain skeptical. If you are in PA, make sure you go out and vote. Brave the pattering storms and speak your mind to the powers that be. At worst, you can vote for yourself. That is what I do.

Check out the latest delegates breakdown here via the glorious google maps mashup.

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25th March 2008

Slightly amusing and demoralizing facts about the large-scale failure of published books

I hate apologizing for not posting in three days but.. I guess I just did. Kind of.
Moving on:

The topic that has drawn me back from my busy work week into the blogosphere is statistics on book sales. These stats come from the great book “The Long Tail” by Chris Anderson.

I understand these stats are a little out-dated, but they are still relevant today, I am sure.

“In 2004, 950,000 books out of 1.2 million tracked by Nielsen BookScan sold fewer than 99 copies. Another 200 sold fewer than 1000 copies.”

What is worse is:

“The average book in the US sells 500 copies.”

Damn you Chris Anderson for crushing my hopes and dreams of becoming a successful author. I think you just don’t want to share the secrets of your publishing success.

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21st March 2008

I want free wifi

Marketers agree, the consumer will be king in the 21st century. Thus, the consumer should get what he/she/it wants.

So, I want free wifi. So give it to me already. I have free wifi where I am at now. But that is not the point.

According to OpenWifiSpot.com:

“There are 24,647 free WiFi hotspots in the US (120 new hotspots added in the last 7 days)”

I wonder how long it will take for all the major fast food and drink chains to offer free wifi. Some of the heavy hitters that do offer wifi already are:

McDonalds

Caribou Coffee

Panera Bread

I am predicting that Chipotle will join the ranks soon, as well as Noodles & Company.

I know you probably could care less, but it is important for me to be able to go out of my house and my wifi network and then proceed to eat, drink, and browse the internet on someone else’s wifi network. I guess I could always walk down the street with my little wifi finder in hand and hope for a signal.

I read promising news from Intel today via ZDnet about their breakthrough in wifi technology to be able to extend the range between routers to up to sixty miles or one hundred kilometers for you other than US types.

BTW, Some great tools to find wifi spots near you:

JiWire: http://www.jiwire.com/

WifiFinder: http://www.wififinder.com/

Someday in the near future, you will be able to connect to the internet anywhere via your brain augmentation device. For now, I guess we will have to settle with a 2.5g EDGE network IPHONE sans Adobe Flash.

Technorati Tags: flash,iphone,jiwire,wififinder,find wifi,wifi finder,panera,caribou,mcdonalds,adobe flash,intel,sixty miles

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14th March 2008

I Did NOT Make it to the Top 100 Productivity Blogs - A Few Reasons Why

Ok, it is 11:30pm on a friday night.

I just got back from a fun night out that involved dinner with the wife and some friends. Am I in bed? Of course not, I am updating this freaking blog. Why?

Do I get paid for this? NO.
Do I get joy out of this? Sometimes… (When I start conversations through comments)
Do I NEED to post? NO.

To get back to the title of this post, there are a plethora of reasons why my blog was not mentioned as one of the Top Productivity Blogs.

I will name a few:

1. I am not a professional blogger, so I don’t spend 24 hours a day on this thing, it is a labor of LOVE.
2. I understand that my site loads very slow, sorry intensedebate.com, I blame you… upgrade your servers, or hire me part time to spread the word about your great service.
3. I don’t know how to marginalize ordered lists. (see the previous line as the letter below the 2 does not fall directly below ‘I’ like it should)
4. I believe that blogs that are said to make people more productive are oxymoronic and moronic, since blogs are a time waster for a lot of us out there and serve as a distraction to our otherwise drizzling life.
5. I use contractions.
6. My content sucks sometimes.
7. A lot of my posts are based on syndicated items.
8. Not enough original content.

What do you think? How can I make my site better? What do you want me to write about? (please do not say the iphone)

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12th March 2008