June 2011
1 post
Moving On...
Fair warning. I’m blowing up my blog. Or as I said on Twitter, I’m about to Little House my blog.
It will return soon in a new form. But for now, I’m blowing it up.
If you subscribe to the RSS feed and enjoyed what I wrote about technology, productivity, pop culture and general nerdery/geekery then just stay subscribed. It’ll come back to life soon enough.
If you...
January 2011
5 posts
Obama's Arizona Speech →
Exceptional. Go watch it. You’ll be glad you did.
DuPree for Governor →
Over at my firm’s blog, I just announced our newest client.
Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree has an exceptional record as a small business owner, school board member, county supervisor and mayor. Hattiesburg is one of Mississippi’s greatest cities, and we believe that is in part because of the team Mayor DuPree has built there and the way he encourages people to work together to build...
Jonathan Fields: J.K. Rowling on Failure And... →
On this first Monday of the New Year, I thought how powerful it would be to share J.K. Rowling’s marvelous 2008 Harvard commencement speech on failure and imagination, two things she illuminates in a way that brings fresh life to their power and impact as we look ahead.
RIP, Pete Postlethwaite →
One of his best roles, in my opinion, was The Shipping News. Nothing spectacular, just wonderfully portrayed.
NYT: Secession Vote in Sudan May Be Peaceful →
Let’s hope this is the case.
The stakes are so high that neither side, the Islamist northern government or the former rebels who lead southern Sudan, seems to want to be sucked into a war again, or at least to start one. Over the past year, there has been such a steady drumbeat of Armageddon predictions that most potential problems have already been prepared for and Western diplomats...
Brett Kelly: 2010 in Review, Goals for 2011 →
One of the more frank posts about goals for 2011, including this great little wrap-up:
Miscellaneous – Other goals for this year in no particular order: lose some weight, stop being so self-deprecating, delight the shit out of my kids as frequently as possible, give my saintly wife the tenth anniversary she so richly deserves, attend at least one conference and address a group of strangers at...
December 2010
27 posts
Patton Oswald: Wake Up, Geek Culture. Time to Die →
Absolutely fantastic. For all of you nerds, geeks or outliers, go read!
On Usernames and Sabbatical →
Adam King on why he uses the username Sabbatical:
I keep it to remind myself that I need to stop and breathe. The practice of sabbatical — of “sabbath”, pause, reflection, and rest — is vital to personal health, and I’m all too quick to abandon it, if I let myself. It’s a constant call to maintain balance.
NYT: Teacher Rankings, Once Internal, Are Now... →
The wrong way to judge a teacher’s effectiveness:
The rankings are based on an algorithm that few other than statisticians can understand, and on tests that the state has said were too narrow and predictable. Most teachers’ scores fall somewhere in a wide range, with perfection statistically impossible. And the system has also suffered from the everyday problems inherent in managing busy...
Blue Dot Group: Barbour, Citizens Council and Race →
My thoughts on Gov. Barbour’s comments about the Citizens Council.
“But if you’re like me, and are willing to add a bit of friction to your...”
– From Tumblr to WordPress: The Missing Guide — Ian P. Hines
And I’ve found the little extra friction actually increases the quality of what I’m posting.
Blue Dot Group: Triangulation and Mississippi... →
A piece from my firm’s blog about where most leading Mississippi Democrats fit on the political scale.
The Unquiet American: Roger Cohen on Richard... →
A truly wonderful piece on a truly brilliant diplomat.
On Marriage, Civil Unions and France
The New York Times has a fascinating — and admittedly disturbing — article about the popularity of civil unions over marriage in France:
In 2000, just one year after the passage of the law, more than 75 percent of civil unions were signed between heterosexual couples. That trend has only strengthened since then: of the 173,045 civil unions signed in 2009, 95 percent were between heterosexual...
NYT: WikiLeaks Founder Assange Ordered Free on... →
It sounds like the judge in Britain has been watching too many White Collar episodes.
According to the bail conditions set by the lower court, Mr. Assange must spend every night at the mansion, Ellingham Hall, a 10-bedroom Georgian home on a 650-acre estate owned by Vaughan Smith, the wealthy founder of the Frontline journalists’ club in London.
The conditions include a curfew, daily...
Linking to My Consulting Firm's Blog
I’ve decided to post most of my politically related links from my firm’s blog over at Blue Dot Group.
But since they generally spark good conversations on Facebook and Twitter from my personal blog, I figured I’d lump them all into one post from day to day. And it there are only a few, I might even just double post over here.
This is all kind of trial-and-error as I figure...
Being Different
Each night the wife and I read a Bible lesson to our children. Tonight’s lesson was about how God made us all different but loves us just the same.
In discussing the lessons, the kiddos went through people are different — our Uncle Ricky, who is in a wheelchair because of a stroke; sister, who is a girl; brother, who is a boy; daddy, who has no hair on the very top of his head.
Then we...
Patrick Rhone: Different →
We are all different.
(via Instapaper)
Seth's Blog: Where's your platform? →
There’s no rigid line between a job and art. Instead, there’s an opportunity. Both you and your boss get to decide if your job is a platform or just a set of tasks.
Aaron Sorkin: In Her Defense, I'm Sure the Moose... →
That was the first moose ever murdered for political gain.
Aaron Sorkin brings the funny — and the bite.
From Tumblr to WordPress: The Missing Guide — Ian... →
This is brilliant! I suspect Ian is about to be a very popular man.
Patrick Rhone: An Open Letter to Tumblr →
Pretty much what he said. Especially this:
…it may be too little too late for me.
Audible App for iPhone →
It’s been a while since I used the Audible app on my iPhone, but I’m quite pleased with it. I remember being disappointed when it first launched. Now, I have no complaints.
Audible remains one of my favorite services. I’ve been a member since 2004. It’s one of the best subscriptions I have.
(Note: Based on some of the reviews, it might be best to do a clean install if...
Meet Bo Greenwell →
This makes me happy to see. I loved Mike Greenwell growing up. He dominated my baseball card collection. (Don’t ask me why. I’ve always been a huge Boston fan.) It will be fun to watch his sons’ careers.
Reeder App for Mac Draft 3 →
In the two days since Reeder for Mac launched, the developers released two updates. Exciting to see the additions, especially a keyboard shortcut for the sharing menu.
NPR Updates iPad App (iTunes link) →
Ask, and you will receive. The new NPR iPad app update includes background audio streaming.
Paul Krugman: Freezing Out Hope
Paul Krugman is in rare form today. He spares no one, especially President Obama.
There’s this on the federal pay freeze:
The truth is that America’s long-run deficit problem has nothing at all to do with overpaid federal workers. For one thing, those workers aren’t overpaid. Federal salaries are, on average, somewhat less than those of private-sector workers with equivalent...
Wiki Diplomacy and Secrecy
Professor Paul W. Schroeder writes in the New York Times:
The leaks will probably not cause war or even a serious crisis, but they will badly damage America’s diplomatic machinery, processes and reputation.
None of this means that diplomatic correspondence and negotiations should remain secret forever. But except in special instances, confidential communications ought to be released only...
NYT: An American Puts Sudan’s Cause in the... →
This is a fascinating read about John Prendergast, who is working for human rights causes in Africa:
At 47, he has devoted all of his adult life to Africa, especially the Horn and Congo, formerly known as Zaire. He’s been jailed in southern Sudan. He’s had militiamen’s assault rifles jammed into his stomach in Congo. While we sat in the Juba restaurant in October, he was fighting off a rare...
How I Use Them: MacBook, iPhone and iPad
The more the iPad becomes a part of my workflow, the more a distinct pattern of use-cases for my MacBook, iPhone and iPad have emerged.
iPad: Reading (books, RSS, news, everything), blogging (links), initial research on projects and first drafts of long-form compositions.
iPhone: In addition to the obvious mobile aspects, this is my main email device. It’s also my go-to device for...
Lindsey Nobles On Finding Her Voice →
I enjoy reading Lindsey. I found her after reading Michael Hyatt’s blog. She is one of the most honest bloggers out there — not in that she tells the truth but in that she writes from her heart.
Most days my words come easily. I know precisely what I want to say and how to say it.
But sometimes my mind and my heart make things more difficult.
Seth Goden: Who Owns Wikipedia →
I would bet that any charity or cause that gets involvement from its supporters (and I believe that volunteer support is worth more than cash) outperforms equally well-funded organizations that don’t have as deep a connection.
Initial Thoughts on Reeder for Mac
I downloaded Reeder for Mac (Beta) this evening and have put it through the paces for an hour or so. While this far from enough time to really get a feel for a new app, here are my initial thoughts.
What I Like
Design. It’s a beautiful design that stays true to its iPhone and iPad counterparts.
Interface. Reeder takes the same basic interface principles from its touch apps and aptly...
Reeder for Mac (Beta) Arrives →
After years of being a NetNewsWire devotee across all platforms, I switched to Reeder for iPhone, which led me to Reeder for iPad. The latter is without a doubt my favorite RSS reader. In fact, I rarely read RSS feeds on my MacBook.
Until now, if I read RSS feeds on my MacBook, I used the Google Reader interface. No more.
Welcome the Reeder for Mac (Beta). It’s a stunning piece of work....
November 2010
47 posts
WSJ Editorial on WikiLeaks →
As a follow-up to my post below, here’s an excellent editorial from The Wall Street Journal on the WikiLeaks. I especially like how it concludes:
For all of his self-justification as an agent of “pure” transparency, Mr. Assange is not serving the interest of free societies. His mass, indiscriminate exposure of anything labeled secret that he can lay his hands on is a hostile...
NYT Editorial on WikiLeaks, Diplomacy →
I’ve been enthralled reading the process stories that have emerged from the cables released by WikiLeaks. They truly tell an engrossing tale of American diplomacy.
And while I have great reservations about such documents being released amidst continued diplomatic relations, from what I’ve seen thus far I’m inclined to agree with the New York Times’ assessment:
There...
Google Under Investigation →
European Union regulators will investigate whether Google Inc. has abused its dominant position in the online search market — the first major probe into the online giant’s business practices.
The move announced Tuesday follows complaints from rival search engines that Google put them at a disadvantage in both its regular and sponsored search results, by listing links to their...
Stop Comcast from blocking Netflix! →
I’m a reluctant Comcast customer. I’m an enthusiastic Netflix supporter. It would be nothing for me to cancel my cable and Internet subscriptions with Comcast and switch to different providers.
If Comcast goes through with their threat, I’ll do so. I doubt I’m the only one.
Frank Chimero - Content →
Here’s to making better soup.
NYT: In WikiLeaks, Handing Iraq to Iran →
In December 2005, the Saudi king expressed his anger that the Bush administration had ignored his advice against going to war. According to a cable from the American Embassy in Riyadh, the king argued “that whereas in the past the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Saddam Hussein had agreed on the need to contain Iran, U.S. policy had now given Iraq to Iran as a ‘gift on a golden platter.’ ”
Ironically,...
James Fallows: In Which I Become a Conservative →
James Fallows writes in The Atlantic about how conservatives now disdain strong-armed tactics and liberals are supposedly OK with the TSA regulations:
The TSA case, on which Douthat builds his column, is in fact quite a poor illustration — rather, a good illustration for a different point. There are many instances of the partisan dynamic working in one direction here. That is, conservatives...
Taking a Deep Breath Before 2011 →
Here’s a piece I wrote in response to Joe Nosef’s column in the Clarion-Ledger. It’s over at the Blue Dot Group blog.
GOP Continues Game of Political Chicken with... →
GOP continues to use START treaty as political pawn in their obstructionist agenda. Here’s hoping cooler heads will prevail. How about it, Sen. Cochran?
WSJ on Obama, McConnell →
I remember during the Clinton Administration when Sen. Trent Lott was the majority leader. Lott took a lot of heat for his negotiations with the Clinton White House. It was bad GOP poltiics — which ultimately cost him his leadership role years later — but it was good government.
Something tells me we will long for the days of Lott’s Republican leadership once McConnell has an even stronger...
WSJ: WikiLeaks Illustrate Concerns Over China →
As if there were any doubts the U.S. was concerned over China and it’s role with Iran.
(Edit: “roll” to “role”. Thanks, @ianhines, for the catch.)
NYT on WikiLeaks →
The New York Times was one of the newspapers given the documents. They have a good rundown of what has been exposed.
WikiLeaks Reveal Messier Side of Diplomacy →
The impact on our foreign relations — especially with certain Middle Eastern nations — will be something to watch in the wake of these releases.
NPR: Why the Deficit Keeps Growing →
This lays out the reasons why our deficit has more than doubled over the last 10 years. In short: tax cuts, wars and increased spending. At stake: Social Security and Medicare.