Smiley's Tropical Escape

Spide, Iron Man, and Hulk

2008-06-20T03:05:13Z

I don't know any details about this, but it is carved out of pure awesome:

Spider Man, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk

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Apropos of Nothing

2008-06-18T02:15:38Z

I spent the morning at the doctor's office being poked and prodded (I'm fine) but I'm a little worn out. So I'm just going to post a round-up off all the things I've been finding on the web to distract myself last night and this morning.

* Amazing and sobering photos of the flood in Iowa

* An excellent TV Squad post about 12 unexpected celebrity deaths

* Cory Doctorow writes in the Guardian about the singularity and an over abundance of surveillance information

* Firefox 3 is out, download it now

* Fray is an interesting new magazine; now accepting contributions

* Magcloud takes the stress out of magazine publishing

* Kottke sums up the current Garfield memes

Go forth and surf y'all.

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Pork & Beans

2008-06-16T04:02:54Z

Tired and not feeling well, so here's a video that I am currently enjoying.

Weezer - Pork & Beans

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Bragging Rights: Schmap

2008-05-30T23:55:25Z

View of Avinguda Diagonal

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a representative from Schmap dot com, asking if I would consider submitting this photo to their Spain, Barcelona guide.

(Scroll to Avinguda Diaganol and my photo is the fourth or fifth to load.)

I did, and then, this morning, I received a message letting me know that my photo has been used in the updated, current version of their guide.

Schmap is an interesting take on map and guidebooks. Their guides are based on Yahoo Maps, but, the content is more or less user generated. Users of the software client or website can post stories, information, links, and photos of favorite places alongside the maps themselves.

Guides can be downloaded for free to the desktop client, which works as publishing software as well.

All in all, Schmap is a very Web 2.0 approach to tourist guides for cities and countries, and I'm happy to be a (small) part.

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Props: Mattias Inks

2008-05-29T23:43:46Z

Nerdbots

'Skine Art, a blog that posts random drawing, sketches, and doodles from artists' Moleskine notebooks, is one of my favorite daily reads.

Recently, there have been several fun posts featuring the work of Mattias Adolfsson. On his blog, Mattias describes himself as a freelance illustrator; his blog seems to function as his online resume for potential employers.

The image above comes from Adolfsson's Flickr account and I am re-posting it here under the terms provided by the Creative Commons license.

If you're interested in art, illustration, watercolor, or Moleskines, you may want to check out his work.

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Goals, Secrets, and Privacy

2007-10-04T07:17:43Z

101 Goals

My mom and I were talking recently and she told me about the 101 Goals in 1001 Days project.

The project, started I think, at triplux.com is intriguing both as a personal challenge and as a study of Web 2.0 in action. Participants are asked to make a list of 101 Goals that they want to complete over the next two and three-quarters years. From the Day Zero site:

Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

In addition to setting out the above guidelines, the site provides examples of others goals as well as a place to list your own, thereby adding in the all-too-necessary web 2.0 interactivity.

So, and as anyone who reads this site must be expecting by now, I made my own list.

And here's where the trouble started. I am very willing, perhaps too willing, to put aspects of my life online. I have several blogs or places on the web where I write, draw, post photos, whatever, and I do all these freely and without worrying about my privacy. And, of course, I love the social aspect of this particular challenge as I believe public goals are actually much easier to keep.

Unfortunately, my list is private. There are some things on my list that I do not feel I can share, either because they relate to my job, or they name other people (something I rarely do on any of my webspaces), or because they are just things I do not want other people to know.

What to do.

My original list is valuable to me in that each of the goals represented are...well, remember that scene in Fight Club where Tyler Durden is driving like an idiot and there are two members of Project Mayhem just trapped in the back seat? Tyler says something like "If you were to die right now what would you regret not doing?" And the two guys snap back with answers immediately and our poor protaganist is stuck without one. Yeah, well that's my list. Things that are imperative for me to do before I die.

Which does not make for good, light-hearted, fun blogging. Trust me.

So I decided that tonight, I'm going to make a second list. A list of small things. Things that I have always wanted to do and just have not made the time to put in the minimal effort needed. Things that will probably take far less than 1001 days. Hell, it won't even be 101, just a list of things. Call it a list of alternates. Fun things that did not quite make the main list but that I do not mind having on the list.

I'll post it here as soon as I have it finished.

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Your Average Bear

2007-06-22T15:11:06Z

Picture 2

Apparently, I am merely average.

Please try to ignore my ego there, writhing on the floor, mortally wounded, while I explain.

This evening, via Make Use Of, I found the brain training site Lumosity. Their comments:

"cool brain fitness program that claims to improve your memory, attention and processing speed. Make sure to take their 10-min LumosIQ brightness test (free only while in beta)."
I surfed over to the site and took the IQ test, where I scored, almost exactly, average. The test is actually broken into three smaller games that test Attention, Processing Speed, and Memory.
The Attention test is a game centered on the idea of Bird Watching. A background picture is loaded and then birds appear in various locations on the screen. Meanwhile, in the center of the screen is a small box where a letter of the alphabet appears at the same time as the bird. The idea is to use your mouse to locate the bird while keeping track of which letter has appeared. Essentially, the test determines how well you can track two simultaneous pieces of new information.
The Processing Speed Test was a series of mathematical equations. Simple problems involving the four basic mathematical skills are presented in a series of falling water droplets. The goal is to type the answer before the droplets hit the water. Wrong answers are penalized.
The Memory Test is another game, this time an "avoid the monsters" style maze. A character is presented on screen, along with a flower. Monsters are shown in various locations and then hidden. You must remember where the monsters are and avoid them on your way to the flower. After you have gotten the flower, you will have a chance for bonus points for correctly identifying where various kinds of monsters are hidden.
Once I had taken the test (and presented with my score) I was given a chance to sign up and begin a series of training exercises designed to improve my score. I signed up immediately.
The screenshot you see with this post is my score page after my first session. Not perfect, but it says that I'm improving.
Which is where my question comes in. I enjoyed the test and I like the challenge of trying to improve my scores, but will this actually result in any real world changes? I like to think so, but what does improving a score really prove? That I can play the games better? Doesn't everyone play better with practice?
I plan to keep up with the sessions. If nothing else it's another way to avoid real work, but I really am wondering if I'll be able to see any results in a month. I wonder if I'll notice a difference in my memory or in my ability to do simple math more quickly.
Anyway, the beta is free and the site notes that there will be fees eventually, so get in and see how well you do. Let me know. Unless you scored better than I did. In that case, just give me a month to prep for the re-match.
Cheers,

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My Friends Call Me Big J

2007-05-24T01:06:46Z

With much thanks to Groove Neuter.

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I Am Frank Herbert

2007-01-28T23:57:25Z

I am:

Frank Herbert

His style is often stilted, but he created what some consider the greatest SF novel of all time.

Which science fiction writer are you?

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