Life Archives
New Site!
August 31, 2006 | Comments Closed
Hey everybody! I’ve got a new site and I’ll be blogging over there from now on. Come on over! Update you bookmarks! Grab the new feed!
Site: dkeithrobinson.com
Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DKeithRobinson
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WebVisions Wrap
July 24, 2006 | 
2 Comments
Short version: It was great. I highly recommend it to any Web professional. It’s not SXSW, but it’s just as good in many ways.
Longer version: I had a great time in Portland. The conference went very smoothly, as did our panel, thanks to the talents of my co-hosts and Bryan’s great moderation. You can see the slides at Bryan’s site. I didn’t get to see as many sessions as I’d have liked but the few I did see were wonderful. I really wish I could have made it to Brian’s mobile session (even though I’ve seen much of it before) which I’m told was great. He’s got some really great slides for that here.
As always the most rewarding part of the conference were the hallway meetings and parties. Mad props to Raincity and crew, not only for the event they hosted, but just for being smart and cool people to hang with. You guys rock!
As do all the other great folks I got to spend some time with. Really, it was a blast and I wish I’d had even more time!
I also want to give a big thanks goes to Kris for hooking me up with some great photo connector thingys. (Thanks Kris!) You can see what he did with ‘em here. Speaking of photos, I should have mine up soon, but for now you can start by searching for webvisions06, webvisions2006, or just webvisions. Oh and keep an eye on superfluousblowjob! ;0)
Anyway, it was great and I can’t wait to do it again next year. Back to work!
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Reconnecting
July 10, 2006 | 7 Comments
My mom’s been bugging me for an update. Here it is with a random sprinkling of miscellany.
(Hi mom.)
Home life
We’ve finally got all moved into our new home and are just about settled. We LOVE the place and feel extremely lucky to have landed such a beauty in such a nice area. Still, being a home owner means lots of work that seems a bit never-ending. Always something right? But it’s fun.
Django and The Blog
Work continues slowly on the new blog. Unfortunately I’m not sure how long it’s going to take and if I’ll ever see the other side. It’s not at the bottom of my list, but it’s not a priority either. I have been spending quite a bit of time thinking about and looking at Django as we’re thinking about it for some Blue Flavor projects.
The Flavor
Speaking of work…
Blue Flavor is going very well. We’ve been really busy of late and we’re going through a bit of a transitional phase right now on many levels. It’s left me exhausted to say the least, but hopefully we’ll have some help in house soon. A few tidbits:
- Things are going well on the client side. We’re really busy at the moment and have some great projects on going and/or wrapping up soon. Last week I did a mini-review of our first 9 or so months and was amazed to find that we have worked with over 20 different clients in our first year so far! Most of which have been excellent and have made getting off the ground much easier. A big thanks also needs to go to all the folks who’ve referred us work and provided references.
- We’re moving to a new office soon! Right now it’s looking like Fremont very close to both Adobe (one of our clients) and Google. We need the space and it’s long over due.
- We’re stepping up efforts on our Blue Flavored blog. We’ve been pretty lax with it and today decided to make it more of a priority. Head on over and check it out if you’ve not yet or grab the feed.
- Were finally almost ready to hire some full time employees. We’ve got a few folks we’re talking to and hopefully that’ll happen soon. We really, really need the help.
- Looks like Idea Day should be back soon. Here’s to hoping we can get Rushkoff back on board after a long delay searching for a new venue.
WebVisions
WebVisions is next week and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll be speaking on a panel with Mike Davidson, Bryan Veloso and Dan Cederholm. We’re going to be talking about Web design inspiration and the good, bad and ugly of Web design in 2006. Should be fun and educational.
RSS
Life’s been crazy and I’ve been out of the loop on quite a few things over the last year. In the last few weeks I’ve taken a few steps to reconnect with some things I’ve missed. The first, and probably biggest as far as my time goes, is I’ve started using RSS again. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve used a feedreader and while I’ve not exactly missed it (or for that matter missed anything all that important) it’s nice to have a small stream of content back. Any feeds you think I should subscribe to?
Reading
Been doing lots and lots of reading (out of a book) lately. Just finished up The Elements of Graphic Design: Space, Unity, Page Architecture, and Type which was a fairly easy read and loaded with terrific information. I’ve just started The Creative License in the hopes it’ll help motivate me to work in my sketch journal more.
On the fun side, tomorrow I’ll be picking up the 3rd book in Greg Keyes spectacular Kingdom of Thorn and Bone series, The Blood Knight. I’m looking forward to that.
More Fun
Been enjoying the following:
- Deadwood! Oh, I love that show.
- Lucky Louie. Another great comedy from HBO.
- Begin To Hope by Regina Spektor
- Hello Master by Priestess
- Dreamfall
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A few things...
May 30, 2006 | 5 Comments
Damn, where does the time go? It’s been a busy month for me and I’ve made much less progress than I’d like on just about all my personal projects from stuff around the house to online housekeeping.
And it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any easier. So, instead of the Reinvention update I’d hoped to have up by now I’ve got a fairly random roundup of things going on in my world.
- Just a quick update on my Reinvention project. I’ve almost nailed down a design and done some work on the templates. There is actually quite a bit I’d like to share with you about the creative process I’ve gone through on this one, I just haven’t had the time to sit down and put it all together. Writing about design can be as tough as doing the actual work at times.
- Blue Flavor is going pretty well. We’re still young and that shows at times, but we’re learning and things are getting better as time goes on. We’ve got some great work wrapping up soon and some exciting projects coming on. All in all I’m happy with how we’re progressing and the work we’ve been doing. It’s keeping me busy, that’s for sure.
- A few of my readers (thanks for sticking around!) have lamented the fact that I haven’t written about music in a long time and I’m not longer doing my podcast. One of the reasons I started this site was to share inspiration and music is a big part of that. Hopefully when I get the new site up I’ll get back to that but for now, here’s some of what I’ve been loving lately: Wolfmother, The Sword (my current favorite), Artic Monkeys (saw ‘em live this weekend and I think you can believe the hype), the new Streets disc, The Coup, “I’m Bossy” by Kelis, Russian Circles, The Gossip, Phoenix and the new Futureheads.
- Tomorrow is my last day at Lifehacker. Was great fun working with them for the last 9-10 months. The added workload was just starting to wear on me and I decided it was time to step out. Not only do I need the tme for Blue Flavor and some personal projects, I want to have some fun outside this summer!
Speaking of which… ;0)
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Reinvention
April 24, 2006 | 47 Comments
I’m kind of sick of Asterisk. Why, you ask?
- The design, while usable, bores me.
- I feel like I’ve not zero time to write here any more (having to spend time on Lifehacker and Blue Flavored doesn’t help) and when I do have time I’ve been suffering from writer’s block.
- I’m blogging more and writing less. I don’t like that.
- My writing hasn’t really changed or gotten any better in months.
- I’ve get WAY more spam than I do real, relevant comments.
- The site feels old, outdated, clunky, brittle and full of cobwebs, duct tape and gremlins from a technical aspect.
- …eh, I just am.
I could go on, but I’d make you as bored with the whole thing as I am.
So, what to do? I’m going to kill Asterisk and try something new. I’m still not 100% sure how I’m going to do that (and I’d welcome ideas) but I know that Asterisk will be no more some time soon.
I thought about a redesign (that usually gets the creative juices flowing) but I don’t think that’d be doing enough. I want to reinvent my online presence. You know? Start completely from scratch. I’ve got a few ideas brewing and I’m starting the creative process (lots of lists! one of which you see the at the top of the page) and hope to have some kind of game plan soon.
Chances are it’ll involve a new domain (I’m done caring about pageviews and all that, so while I’ll keep this as an archive I’m fine with a fresh new start) and I’ll be sure and keep you up-to-date here as details arise, but don’t expect anything of any substance—you can look to Blue Flavored or my Del.icio.us RSS feed for that—in the next few months.
Update: Scratch that last bit. I will post something of substance in the coming months. I’ll post about this project here at Asterisk. I could use the feedback, it may be interesting to some of you and it’ll be a nice way to lay this old site to rest.
While I doubt I’ll be changing the world, I sure as hell hope I can come back with something that gives a bit more back than I have been giving of late and something that’ll keep me motivated and engaged for a while to come.
In the meantime, a question that might help me out. If you were to start a personal site today (blog, portfolio site, etc.) what CMS would you use and why?
Thanks and hopefully I’ll be back in action soon!
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Ripped Off
April 07, 2006 | 25 Comments
This is a bit of a cautionary tale, one that’s not finished, unfortunately, but something I need to talk about to make me feel better.
I’m still in Vegas, CTIA was alright, but not really what we envisioned, but not too bad. I’m sure I’d feel a bit better about it if I’d not lost a really large chunk of change. No, I wasn’t gambling! Someone managed to steal my Visa check card and they also somehow figured out my PIN.
I’m still trying to figure this one out. Brian seems to think it was some kind of complicated scam where someone watched me get cash, memorized my pin and then later stole my card. I’m not sure if that’s what happened but it seems as plausible as any other option.
The strangest thing is that I still have my wallet, it’s just my card that’s missing. So I’m wondering if my wallet was lifted, the card then pulled out and the wallet put back. It’s a stretch, but I’ve heard pickpockets are pretty good and I was in some crowded rooms so it’s not impossible.
Now, why would a thief do that? Well, so that they could get maximum usage out of my card before I called it in cancelled, I guess. That makes sense, I didn’t notice it was gone until yesterday afternoon. Even with all that, I still don’t know how it could have happened. I mean, I supposed I could have left it in a cash machine (I got cash out twice the day it went missing) but how then did they get the PIN?
Something else strange happened that night. My cell phone went on the fritz, the battery just sort of stopped working. Could it be possible that the two are related? Again, to ensure I didn’t get the card shut off right away.
It’s all pretty mind boggling and I’ve just about given up trying to sort it out. Now I’m on a quest to get my money back. Since the transactions (there were about 80 of them) were all PIN based there is no automatic guarantee that I’ll get my money back. Which makes sense, I guess, as there is no hard evidence. However there is a ton of circumstantial evidence that supports my card being stolen. Things like the 5 charges in a row for the same amount at Walgreen’s and the high proportion of grocery store type transactions. Oh and the sheer number. It’s way off any sort of normal pattern.
A few things I’ve learned through this:
- ALWAYS guard your PIN. The only way this person (or more likely people) could have gotten the number is from when I entered it in to get cash. Not one single person knew that number, and I’m sure I didn’t tell anyone.
- Don’t rely on the whole “zero liability for fraudulent charges” bit you hear from Visa. There is still a decent chance I’ll get some of the money back, but that guarantee doesn’t count for ATM and PIN related transactions.
- If you’re traveling and get cash, be aware of your surroundings and if you can, take a friend. I was alone when I made my last transaction, which might have made me an easy target.
- If you can help it, don’t carry a high balance in your checking account (not that it matters too much, they were able to transfer money from my savings last night) as the more you have, the more you can lose. I had the horrible luck of just a few days back depositing a bunch of money to pay my taxes. All that is gone.
Wish me luck on getting my money back. I think I’m going to need it.
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In Vegas For CTIA
March 29, 2006 | 2 Comments
So Brian and I are taking 1/2 of Blue Flavor to Sin City for CTIA Wireless. Mobile is really Brian’s thing, but I’ll be there to help him out, soak up some mobile design culture and get up on the latest wireless Lifehackery.
(Ok, ok, I’m really there for a spot of sun (fingers crossed) and to roll some dice.)
In any case if any of y’all are going to be in Vegas for CTIA, let me know. I do plan on a bit of blogging while I’m there. I’m hoping to find some nuggets for Lifehacker and any Mobile Design related goodies I come across will probably end up on Blue Flavored.
Wish me luck y’all.
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On my way home from Austin
March 20, 2006 | 12 Comments
SXSW was great this year but I’m more than ready to be home. As much as I love to travel, being away from home for 10 days and pretty much rockin’ out the whole time can wear on a person. As a wise man once said, “I need home for a rest.”
But first, the obligatory “SXSW wrap up post.” The photos can be found here.
- It was great to see all my old friends. I wish we could do this more than once a year. How about an SXSWi half-yearly reunion at Austin City Limits!? If not, next year.
- Thanks to everyone who made it out to South by Northwest. I tagged it with “Kick Ass” and that’s what it was because of all the great people that made it out.
- The Design Eye For The List Guy panel was great fun and the feedback was wonderful. We really worked hard to have a panel that as fun, useful and engaging and it means a lot to have had so many people come out and enjoy it.
- I met some GREAT people this year. Ryan and Gill Carson. You guys ROCK. Greg who’s a really nice guy. Martine of the amazing conversations. Jeremy and Robert from Raincity. Rebecca and the other great volunteers. Dan Ruben, rockstar. All the folks at Current.tv. Gina, finally. Bryan and everyone involved with the Avalonstar bowling tourney. Especially all my teammates (Faruk was a crazy man and Ryan Brill is the Michael Jordan of geek bowling). Jakob from Gaia. Chris and Josh from The Web 2.0 Show. I could go on but there were seriously so many of you.
- Music rocked even harder this year. I kicked it off with Dengue Fever (take that Geoff) and kept the pedal down hard the whole way. My highlights: THE SWORD (best of show even if they did only do 5 songs), Art Brut (TOP OF THE POPS!), Sia, Karina Round, The Ark (who have seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show way too many times) and Hot Chip (AKA Dance Party USA). Most of the bands I saw were great and it’s all still a blur, but those stick out to me for some reason.
- The PureVolume Party was a late night blast. Thanks to Ryan, Brett, Brad and the rest for having me and mine.
- I saw Austin’s famous bats last night. That was pretty cool.
- And finally…Tito’s Vodka. I love you. I hate you.
See y’all next year. Stay cool.
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SXSW Prep
February 23, 2006 | 10 Comments
Tomorrow it’ll be exactly two weeks until I leave for the great city of Austin and SXSW. As I’m taking in the whole thing (I actually went for the Platinum Pass this time) I’ll be there a full 11 days. Ahhh, I’m excited.
Until then things are going to be pretty crazy for me. The whole Blue Flavor team will be there so we’ve had to set up a few deadlines right before we leave so that we can take full advantage of the break. That makes for some crazy hours, lots of work leading up and a few more crickets here at Asterisk.
Before it goes dark over here though I wanted to point out a few SXSW related items.
- Check out the full interactive panel schedule or this post for the details on the various panels the Blue Flavor guys are speaking on. Be sure to drop by!
- I’m really looking forward to The 2006 Avalonstar Bowling Extravaganza. Should be great fun.
- Wristbands go on sale today. For those folks who just want to see some good music, be sure and get one of these. If you don’t know someone in Austin who can pick one up for you, try eBay.
- Anyone know what’s up with Kick, the annual kickball game? I missed it last year but really want to hit that up if it’s going on this time around.
- The Austin, TX Showlist has all the details about the daytime music events and special shows. Anyone attending the music part of SXSW should bookmark this page.
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Winter Wrap Up
February 02, 2006 | 15 Comments
I swear there’ll be some more interesting postings here soon! For now though, all I’ve got is this lame round up. It’s been a busy month or so…
- The Seahawks are in the Super Bowl! I’m not sure I can express how much this means to me. It’s a really, really big deal and it’s taken quite a bit of my energy and focus in an already busy time, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Should be a great game and I’m really looking forward to it.
- I moved into my new house this week. It’s great except for the fact that it’s a mess, we’re still not unpacked, my cat is terrified and we’ve got a whole lot of shopping to do.
- Blue Flavor keeps getting better. I’ve been working on some really great projects, with some awesome clients and it’s more fun every day as I get more used to it. It’s been stressful at times and it’s a boat load of work, but it’s been very rewarding as well.
- I’m getting ready for SXSW. We’ve been working hard on our Design Eye panel and it should be a good one. I can’t wait.
- Lifehacker continues to be great fun and we were up for three bloggies including Blog of The Year.
Those are the highlights. Things should be cooling down in a few weeks and I’m really hoping I’ve got more time to write. It’s funny, I’ve got more great things I want to write about than I ever have before, but I don’t have any time to sit down and write them up. When I look back at how I used to be able to write all the time but had much less to say it really strikes me how ironic life can be.
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Four Things
January 27, 2006 | 4 Comments
I guess you knew it was coming. I blame a few folks for this one.
Four jobs I’ve had:
- Salesman at Software Etc.
- Research Clerk
- Door-to-door Newpaper Salesman
- Designer
Four movies I can watch over and over:
- Blade
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Empire of The Sun
- Toy Story 2
Four places I have lived:
- Seattle, Washington
- Ios, Greece (for a month or so)
- Boulder, Colorado
- Shoreline, Washington
Four television shows I love to watch:
- Battlestar Galactica
- Invader Zim
- Deadwood
- My Name is Earl
Four places I have been on vacation:
- Maui
- Whistler
- Ibiza
- Ixtapa
Four of my favorite dishes:
- Pho
- Avacado Eggrolls
- Chili-Mac
- Fried Plantains
Four websites I visit daily:
Four places I would rather be right now:
- Maui
- Whistler
- Ibiza
- Ixtapa
Four bloggers I am tagging:
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The Web 2.0 Drinking Game (Basic Version) at SXSW
January 19, 2006 | 23 Comments
We’ve boiled the Web 2.0 Drinking Game down to one rule.
The rule is simple. Anytime you hear someone say ‘Web 2.0” you have to drink.
Now, realize you don’t have to play all the time. However, the Blue Flavor guys and I decided that it might be fun to play at SXSW. Say at this years award ceremonies? Or, how about any time after 4:30??
Who’s in?
(Oh yeah, and this doesn’t mean you should find one of us after 4:30 and start following us around saying “Web 2.0” over and over.)
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Don't Be An Asshole
January 13, 2006 | 18 Comments
That’s pretty much it. Carry on.
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Goals For 2006
January 03, 2006 | 17 Comments
The craziness is over! Ok, it’s almost over. 2005 has been the most eventful, stressful, fun and just plain crazy year of my life. The holidays were the perfect end. Being all of the above all packed into three weeks—and I’m still not to a point where I can relax.
Ahhhh, but it’s all good. I’m just now sitting down to set some goals and make some plans for 2006. I thought I’d share ‘em with y’all.
My Goals For 2006
- Write more. Blog less. I mean this in a few ways. First off I’m looking to improve my overall writing. Secondly, I’m planning on spending much less time blogging. I’ve been in a slow decline for quite awhile now and it just makes sense to keep that going. I’m not done writing though and while my blogging might be a bit less frequent, I’m hoping to spend some time honing my writing and exploring different topics and styles. I’ll still be active over at Lifehacker and I’ll be doing more blogging for Blue Flavored but there’ll be less here and I’m seriously considering closing the doors over at To-Done.
- Become a better designer. I’ve always said that my ultimate goal when it comes to design is to blend beauty with utility. I think I’ve got the utility down and now I’m hoping to grow as a visual designer.
- Grow the business. Blue Flavor is going strong (we just redesigned the site if you didn’t see that) and we’re starting to feel more and more comfortable. We’ve got big plans though and we’re planning on an exciting 2006.
- Get in better shape. I’m in decent shape now, but there is still quite a bit I could do, especially when it comes to my &^#$’n lower back. I’m really hoping that a better diet, more exercise and strength training will do wonders.
- Save money. I want to have some decent money in my account at the end of 2006. This means spending less and saving more.
- Read more. It seemed like I never found the time to read as much as I’d have liked. I’m going to work reading time into my weekly planning and have high hopes that I’ll have more time to read.
- Make new friends. I met lots of new people in 2005 and plan to keep this one going.
- Relax! 2005 was CRAZY. This year I’d like to take it easy, take more time for myself and just relax more.
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Congrats to Steve and Christine!
November 15, 2005 | 7 Comments
This last Saturday night my little brother proposed to his girlfriend Christine.
In true “Steve” fashion he had to do something pretty special. There we were, watching Ben Lee get ready for an encore when Ben mentioned that before he started playing he wanted to bring someone special on stage to say a few words. He called out for “Steven Robinson” and I about shit a brick.
It was a total surprise. My brother climbed up on stage and proceeded to say some very nice words about Christine and then pull her up on stage where he got on his knees and popped the question. It was great stuff, the crowd was going wild.
Ben then sang them a sweet song and they went backstage for the rest of the show.
Thanks for the memory Steve. I’m really glad I was able to catch this one! ;0) Oh, and congrats. You found a great girl!
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Professional Service
November 02, 2005 | 6 Comments
Staci and I just completed the first stage of the home-buying process. We found a house, put in an offer and won a small bidding war. It was an interesting experience, one that taught me quite a bit about how a professional should work and what a client is looking for when they hire someone.
Everyone we worked with, from our agent to the inspector to our broker has been awesome. They’ve all been professional yet personable, knowledgeable, approachable, and timely. At no time have we felt like we weren’t in the most capable hands.
I relate this to my own experience as a professional who offers a service. Often in my own career I’ve felt I’ve not been as good to work with as I should be. Looking back, and in comparison, I think some of this is the nature of the industry I work in. We don’t have the benefit of years and years of prior knowledge and experience to lean on or look to for advice.
For example, when our agent had questions about how to write up our offer, he knew right where to look. He has mentors as well as all sorts of law and best practice to guide him. In another case, our lawyer for Blue Flavor joked about our initial legal docs, saying it’d be easy if we were a law firm or something, because there is a hundred years of precedence to go back to.
I don’t know anyone personally who has more than a few years more experience as a Web professional than I myself have. That’s kind of a scary thought.
To me this means it’s a good idea to look to other industries to see what they do. Sure I’ll never had that mentor, or wealth of experience to lean on, but the rest of it—being approachable, getting things done on time, working hard, having a positive attitude—I can certainly emulate. As I’ve said before, it’s more about people than it is about technology.
I think there is so much more to working with others than simply having the skills and know-how to get the job done. Although that’s certainly part of it. Some of it is how you get things done.
Making people feel they’re in good hands is the key. I know it made all the difference to us. A big thanks to CJ, Don, Roger, and Sennet for being so good at your jobs and for helping Staci and I though everything so smoothly.
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Learning The Lessons of Entrepreneurship
October 11, 2005 | 20 Comments
As you might know I’ve got a new business in the making. We’re in the very early stages, but I’ve already learned more than I’d ever thought I know about getting a business up and running.
And I don’t know a damn thing yet.
Before we got started I did quite a bit of research. I talked to people who’d done something similar and asked for advice. I read books, articles and blog posts on the topics of small business, entrepreneurship, taxes, LLCs, LLPs, etc.
I tried to prepare myself as best I could. In the main, this stuff helped, but there is so much you just have to experience (and hopefully learn from) on your own.
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When I Make Something...
October 04, 2005 | 20 Comments
- I care what you think.
- I enjoy myself.
- I stress myself.
- I wonder if my mom will find typos.
- I feel self-conscious.
- I lose my head.
- I try too hard.
- I want it to be cool (!!!!)
- I cringe.
- I start out honest but end up a liar.
- I listen to music. Mostly cheesy music.
- I ignore e-mails.
- I try to think positive.
- I have a love/hate feeling about criticism.
- I wanna be adored.
- I second-guess myself. Three times.
- I ask myself where the period should go.
- I estimate errors.
- I want to help.
- I’m begging for attention.
- I want to impress my wife.
- I obsess over pixel placement.
- I demand a second opinion.
- I compete.
- I press “save” or “submit” with much more than a second thought.
- I avoid regret.
- I …
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Desert Island Music
September 17, 2005 | 42 Comments
My buddy Eric asked me tonight:
“If you were on a desert island and you could only listen to five bands for the rest of your life, who would they be?”
My answer:
- Tool
- Sisters of Mercy
- Ted Leo + Pharmacists
- Outkast
- Weezer
Try it. It’s really hard. I’m still second guessing myself.
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Fantasy Football Services: A Review
September 11, 2005 | 44 Comments
I’ve been playing fantasy football online for a few years now and I’ve used three different services the last two years. As anyone playing fantasy football will tell you, having a good service can make all the difference.
Fantasy football is for geeks, and we love to spend game days watching our scores and talkin’ smack. We need a service that just works (keeps track of stats, etc.), primarily, but we’d love some extra fun stuff as well. My experience so far has been mixed. None of the services I’ve came across are really that good. The services that try to do too much don’t work well and the services that work well don’t have a ton of cool features.
So, I figured I’d write up mini-reviews of the services I have used (those worth a mention anyway) for all those fantasy geeks who might be looking for something new next year.
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Back From Mexico
August 28, 2005 | 4 Comments
Hey everyone! I’m back from my vacation and it was great. Thanks to Bryan for filling in! I’m kind of buried under a few stacks (e-mails, mail, photos, fantasy football stuff and gifts) but hope to be back to regular posting and such soon. I didn’t do much thinking about the Web, GTD, design and all the rest while I was gone, but I did think some and have some good, new ideas brewing and lots to talk about in the coming weeks and months.
I wanted to take a second to thank Rogerio for showing Staci and I a good time and a bit more of Zihua than the environs of our hotel. Oh and Félix for letting him know how to find us.
I’ve got lots more trip details to talk about, and photos, etc. but it’ll have to wait until I can dig myself out. Also, for those who sent e-mail, it may take awhile to get back to you. Two weeks is a long time gone.
Speaking of a long time. It looks like lots happened while I was gone, a few things I’ve noted so far:
- A List Apart redesigned and it looks fantastic. I’ve only read one piece that launched with the redesign, When You Are Your Own Client, Who Are You Going To Make Fun Of At The Bar? by Jim Coudal and I really enjoyed it. Lets hope the great can continue and do that design justice!
- Jeremy Keith’s launched a Web site for his book. This is one publication I’m really looking forward to.
- Design In Flight is alive an well! I’m very happy for that.
- Digital Web published Getting IA Done: Part 2 with a bunch of great IA tips.
- Movable Type 3.2 is out. Mike has some impressions and damn, there is another thing I’ve got to do this week. Hopefully it can help with my related items problems on the Boomarung project.
- 9rules changed their member agreement to allow publishers to keep more bank and announced a Spanish network. To be honest, I think the later is very important and really cool. International publishing is one thing I’ve been thinking about a lot.
What else have I missed? Anything important?
Filed under: Life | Permanent Link
Time to Babysit
August 14, 2005 | 9 Comments
Well, first off I would like to extend my congratulations to Keith and his new wife! Hopefully he’ll have some good stories to tell when he gets back. Now let me put my babysitting gear down and we’ll talk.
So let me introduce myself, my name is Bryan Veloso. I’m a 22-year-old Arian (means I’m an Aries) Filipino web designer and now a certified website babysitter. I run Avalonstar, a space dedicated to anything that comes to my head (and some things that don’t). I’ve been in design since age 13 and have worked on Avalonstar since 2000. But enough about me, let’s get to business.
While somebody who’s almost cool is taking care of Keith’s productive side, I have the distinct pleasure of taking care of Asterisk, [hopefully] filling it with the great content that you’ve come to expect from a “DKR” site (I smell branding!). This also comes at the most opportune time, since I’ll be starting my new job tomorrow.
Why don’t we start with that. I’ve come to realize that the first day (or week for that matter) at a new job can be the hardest, even if you already know people there. Although your instance may differ because of personality, most have feelings of nervousness, anxiety and excitement. There’s so much uncertainty that surrounds it, leaving you thinking if it’s a place that will keep you for a long time or one that will fire you before lunch.
So, think back to your first day at a new job, whether it was one you came to love or despise. What were your experiences like and what happened after you got past that first day? What did you wear? How did your co-workers receive you? More importantly, how did you receive them?
Warm up your fingers, because these will be a fun two weeks.
Peace,
Bryan
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Mr. & Mrs. Robinson
August 14, 2005 | 50 Comments
I was married yesterday to the beautiful woman you see in the photo above.
It was great.
I’m leaving for Mexico in a few hours and don’t plan on touching the computer ‘cept to download photos to it. However posting will continue here, as I’ve lined up a very talented and up-and-coming designer—Bryan Veloso—to guest blog Asterisk for the next two weeks. He’s looking forward to it and I’m sure he’ll have some good stuff for y’all to chew on. Treat him well!
See y’all in a few weeks. Ciao.
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Let's Save Our Environment (Creepy Video)
August 02, 2005 | 5 Comments
Found this over at the new Dreamhost blog. I’m serious, those cats have a sense of humor. Anyway, it’s a really creepy video of this guy dancing around like a loon and singing a song about saving the environment. It really is worth a watch, it’s very strange.
Head on over and check it out.
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Broken PowerBook. Oh, The Irony.
July 31, 2005 | 24 Comments
My PowerBook broke today.
The hinge on the display broke off and it won’t stay open. It’s also having some kind of electrical issue. It’s not something I can really live with so I had to buy a new ‘puter. I’ve needed one for awhile, as anyone who’s seen my PowerBook can attest, but I was really hoping to be able to wait until I got rolling before making any big purchases of any kind. Shit, I’d actually planned on getting one a month or so ago, when it would have been much more convenient to break.
It’s funny (in a slightly non-fun way) because it’s the absolute worst possible timing. I just left my job. I’ve got some money, but it was there as a reserve and to keep me afloat for awhile. I’m not dumb enough to leave my job without a contingency plan, but this…this was just perfect in all the wrong ways.
Ah, well, there’s nothing I can do about it…It just amazes me how life can up and kick you in the naughty bits like that. Seriously.
Filed under: Life | Permanent Link
Winging It!
July 29, 2005 | 15 Comments
Today is an exciting day for me. It marks the end of my (rather short) time at PBDH and the first day of what should be a very interesting time in my life.
PBDH was great and I’m happy to have had the chance to work with, and learn from, them. If your an “information architect/web designer/content creator/project manager type” and you’re looking for work they’ve got a great team and lots of cool projects coming up.
For me, I’ve left to try things out on my own. I really felt like I needed some more flexibility with my time and the ability to make a move on opportunities that seem to be springing up all around me. I’m not sure how it’ll go, but I’ve got big plans and I’m excited to get going.
Posting here will fluctuate throughout August as I’ve got some other engagements lined up, including another guest editor stint at Lifehacker next week, some freelance work, a wedding, a honeymoon and some eagerly awaited R&R.
I hope to have some big-ish news soon as well. Ah, it’s fun times.
Filed under: Life | Permanent Link
Home Loans While Self-Employed
July 25, 2005 | 12 Comments (Closed)
I’ve been curious lately about the challenges of getting a home loan while self-employed. Of course when searching for some information on Google, all I can find is less than informative sales information from loan companies.
I (obviously) don’t mind advertising and such, but when I get to a page where someone is selling something like a home loan, I would expect a bit more information.
Ah well, anyway, I thought I’d do a quick post to see if any of my readers had any information, advice or lessons learned about getting a mortgage while self-employed.
Filed under: Life | Permanent Link
Censorship At My Old High School (Shorewood)
July 21, 2005 | 24 Comments
Sometimes I don’t even know where to start.
I got an e-mail recently pointing me to an article in the Seattle Times about what seems to me to be a pretty silly act of sensorship that looks to have some dire and far reaching consequences.
Filed under: Life | Permanent Link
London, The Web and Unity
July 07, 2005 | Comments Closed
Today London was attacked by terrorists and I’m almost at a total loss for words. A few years ago I might have been merely shocked, but now I’ve got friends in London and throughout the UK. Now I’ve gone through shock, worry, anger and sadness.
Of course, being the geek that I am, I turned to the Web for news. I checked blogs (The Brit Pack, etc.) and personal sites of quite a few people I’ve met via the Web in the last few years and the thoughts I found there really helped. My world is so much larger (and at the same time smaller) than my physical location now. I feel friendship and kinship with people all over the world and my heart goes out to those people, any people, who’ve been effected by this attack.
Richard Rutter expresses it very well when he says:
So thanks then, terrorists. You’ve just succeeded in bringing the families of millions of Londoners that bit closer together, giving them an increased love of their city and an enhanced appreciation of their way of life.
The same goes for the rest of the world Richard. We’re with y’all.
Filed under: Life | Permanent Link
A Typical Day Madlib Meme
June 12, 2005 | 8 Comments
This meme was created for me by my friend Justin as a birthday present. He doesn’t have a Web site or blog, but likes to have fun. The instructions and original madlib can be found here.
A Typical Day for Keith.
On a typical day I wake up, wash the jelly from my elbow and put on my socks. I say goodbye to Jerry Springer and I skip to a hotel where I am an information architect. I feel silly about what I do, sure I’d rather be a waste management technician in Sri Lanka, but this pays the bills and buys me lots of thumb tacks that I can pick.
My morning is pretty blurry. Aside from my 2 trips to the elevator to poop and my killer encounter with Mike Davidson it’s just the same every day.
I break for lunch and draw with Jared Spool over a yellow plate of magic mushrooms. A quick jaunt to Antarctica to tell tall tales with Shaun Inman, who’s a total pirate, and it’s back to the grind, until 6:44 when I jump in my shiny red waggon and head for home.
My evening is spent dying easter eggs and listening to Frank Zappa while picking flowers around my kitchen wishing I was Neil Gaiman and drinking all sorts of bubble tea. Then it’s off to bed where I dream of rocks and Ze Frank in a bandana.
Passing it on to:
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Free Stuff
May 31, 2005 | 12 Comments
I realize some people hate this stuff, but my free Mini Mac came today and I’m excited. This little guy is actually more powerful than my Powerbook! And yeah, it’s very old and I need a new one. Hopefully soon.
Anyway, it really was pretty painless. I did the GameFly offer and I’m really happy with that also. So hey, it’s not all crap you don’t want.
So, for those of you who are interested in this free stuff stuff, I went ahead and signed up for a free flat screen and a desktop PC, you know I could use those for testing. I still need some people if you want to help out, if not, hey, no worries.
Filed under: Life | Permanent Link
Proud of My Sonics
May 19, 2005 | 13 Comments
I’m a bit sad right now. My Sonics lost, just barely, to the Spurs in a 6th and deciding game here in Seattle. It was a hard fought series and considering all the adversity the Sonics faced, it was better than most fans could have hoped. They lost one of their best shooters and top players in the first game early on to injury. They lost their 2nd best player to injury in the 3rd game. They dealt with some pretty questionable officiating in a few games, had to look to very inexperienced players to step up and played a great team who could very well go on to win it all.
Filed under: Life | Permanent Link
Getting Things Done at To-done!
May 10, 2005 | 14 Comments
I’ve been reading David Allen’s wonderfully helpful book Getting Things Done and it’s got me working and thinking about all sorts of ways to help de-stress and my life and work less complicated and more productive.
I’ve always been a fairly organized person, but that doesn’t mean I’ve not been open to tips, tricks and new ways of getting things done. Because I learn by doing and by sharing and talking about things with others, I’ve started a site where I can write about personal productivity, GTD, work/life balance and all that goes with that.
It’s called “To-Done!” and very ironically it’s not totally done yet. It’s a “work in progress” so to speak. Heck I don’t even have ads on it!
(That’s supposed to be funny…ah, anyway.)
What I do have is a desire to start writing there, so I’m putting it up a tad earlier than I planned. Much like I did with iPodarmy. I hope you’ll take a look and if you’re interested in this stuff, keep an eye on it, will you?
I promise this is the last new site I’ll be launching and talking about for at least a week or so. ;) It’ll be back to “normal” here soon.
Filed under: Life | Permanent Link
Podcasting at iPodarmy.com
May 07, 2005 | 8 Comments
As you may have guessed I’ve been working away at a few different side projects over the last few months. I’ve got one big one, which is quite a-ways away, and a whole slew of smaller “mini” or “for fun” projects going right now.
One of these is my first ever podcast. It’s a music show, at least for now, where I showcase mostly Creative Commons licensed music and other tracks that won’t get me sued.
Along with that is the launch of iPodarmy.com, a site where I’ll host these podcasts as well as do some blogging on podcasting and related topics. I’ve decided that I don’t want to clutter Asterisk up with too much side business, so this is one of my “channels” to talk about something different.
Filed under: Music | Permanent Link
Take One Punk Show and Call Me In The Morning
April 27, 2005 | 16 Comments
As many of you know I love music and I love live shows. Music is what keeps me going and seeing great music played live is probably my favorite thing in the world. I find that a great show leaves me energized, thinking positive and ready to take on anything. But it’s not always easy to remember that.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been feeling a bit run down. I’ve been really busy (I bit of a bit more than I can easily chew with my personal “projects”) and not feeling in the best of shape. My lower back has been acting up again and I’ve got the mother-of-all sinus infections (I’m probably surgery-bound, in case you’re wondering how bad it is). I’ve been trying to take care of myself, but just haven’t really had time to relax and take it easy.
Earlier this week I let Staci drag me, kicking and screaming, to a show. It was one I’d really wanted to see, but I just didn’t feel up to it. It was on a Monday and I was still tired and stressed from a long weekend in which I had to play a lead role in my buddies wedding.
(If you’re ever a Best Man or Maid of Honor, make sure and have lots of patience and a positive attitude on hand.)
I was just not in the mood for a show. I should have known better.
Filed under: Music | Permanent Link
The Pot Calling The Kettle...
April 21, 2005 | 32 Comments
So, Garrett thinks I ripped off Khoi eh? From what “dark corner” did that come from? Maybe he’s just jealous? I don’t profess to have the most original design ever, but it’s mine and it works.
Umm, yeah. This coming from someone who’s got an obvious infatuation with Signal vs. Noise. I mean come on? Could there be a more blatant rip-off? Let’s take a look at 2 (of many) comparisons.
Filed under: Life | Permanent Link
Idea Journal
April 13, 2005 | 19 Comments
Last Saturday morning I woke up with a head full of ideas, yet nary a clue on how to get them out. It’s a common problem I’ve got. Sometimes it’s simply not enough to have an idea. You need to find ways to express that idea and get it somewhere where is can have a life of it’s own.
But it’s a challenge. Ideas come at the most inopportune times, don’t they? For this very reason I’ve taken to keeping my journal near by at all times, most especially when I’m sleeping.
Filed under: Life | Permanent Link