Happy Birthday Buckminsterfullerene

Happy Birthday Ray Bradbury

I just finished Fahrenheit 451. It was wonderful.

Crickettes go down smooth

I ate a cricket.
I wanted to try something completely different from what is normally eaten. I was hankering for bug.

I was a hardcore vegetarian for over 5 years. During that time I explored a great variety of what the supermarket produce selection was able to provide. I explored new flavors and new textures of foods. I would eat something and people would say to me, “Is it safe?” On occasion someone would ask me, “Is it safe?” I bought this food at the local supermarket. There is a sign, a price, and a checkout code for my food. Do I think that the local supermarket would put a poisonous plant in the produce section next to the lettuce?

Red lettuce, green lettuce, kohlrabi, rat poison, beets...

I don’t believe they would.

This is when I realized I ask myself different questions when trying a new food:

• Is this food I’m about to eat edible? This question is to eliminate me eating something dangerous like sand or deep fried garden hose.
• Do I believe it will kill me? This is the allergic question. If I will not die from eating it, then it is still an option for me.
• Is this a common dish anywhere in the world? If anyone in the world eats this type of food frequently I know that I can eat it. This is not saying is this a gourmet food in another part of the world. It’s simply saying that in another part of the world there are lots of people who eat this food regularly like we eat french fries.
• Is this being served at a restaurant? If it is being served in a restaurant I’m going to assume that they know how to cook it. Maybe not as well as 5 star restaurant, but at least well enough to list it on their menu.
• Do I believe I will like it? This is an interesting question. If I have never eaten it, how do I know if I will like it?

The crickets tasted like a very mild peanut.

World Alpaca Conference Cleveland

On Saturday, June 6th, 2009 Rebecca and I attended the World Alpaca Conference held at the Cleveland International Exhibition and Convention Center in Ohio. Link

I'm a long time fan of trade shows - no matter the industry or niche. It's part of my world belief of keeping an open mind and exploring. You'll never know what you'll find or who'll meet. This event was a real treat. In addition to just learning about all things related to the different facets of this industry, they had alpacas there. It was part trade show, part animal show, part family get together. At the lunch counter, some people were brokering deals worth thousands of dollars while a few seats away little ones were playing with alpaca finger puppets. It was interesting all around.

Rebecca and I walked to the back part of the Convention Center to watch a few alpacas being sheered. The alpacas didn't seem to mind. They were quiet and still. Afterwards they were led peacefully away. The incredible stillness and apparent serenity of the animals overall really struck me. The massive conference site was full of people noise not the animals. From an animal standpoint, it was a strange environment filled with weird people, smells of all sorts, and other animals. You would think they would be going nuts or at least be skittish. I came away thinking if anything is a model for a Zen nature it's an alpaca.

How Not to Suck At Sales - Jeffrey Gitomer

Jeffrey Gitomer is a great salesman and a great motivator. Watch this video (Amazon video, iTunes audio):



At 31:35 in the video above (you have watched it right?) Jeffery begins talking about life. This has been on my mind lately. What have I been doing to take myself to the better future I dream of? What is taking me there and what is stopping me?

If you have never heard of Jeffrey Gitomer, seek him out. If it has been a while, re-read his books.

A3 - Alabama 3

Sometimes visiting with an old friend you haven't seen in a while can bring bring out something new in them and you.

Thank you to Jessica for giving me A3.












From Peace in the Valley (iTunes | Amazon)

For whatever reason you refuse to feel this space we're in,
to know its insanity, really know it,
whatever your particular anaesthetic is,
that you hold on to so desperately,
the thing I mean that makes you think you know who you are,
whatever that thing is you allow to keep you sane,
your ace in the hole,
the psyche that keeps you from trying to guess at what your pimp has in store for you,
whatever keeps you from screaming out at this very moment in absolute and sheer horror,
whatever you f**k your brain with,
whatever that is,
whatever that is,
it's a lie.
It's a lie.

So, who is my pimp? What is my anesthetic?

Microsoft Windows XP - Not My Friend

I love Mac OSX. My Mac just works. It runs all the software I need including Microsoft Office for Mac. But, sadly, on occasion there is a need for the other OS. We have a Windows box running XP. It is currently used only for college software.

And today it sucked 4 hours from my life.

Today, for some unknown reason, the Windows box decided not connect to the internet. Nothing changed. No updates. No changes. No new software. No new hardware. Just broke. This is why I hate Windows.

Four hours of fiddling later the box connected. What did I do? Not a thing. I finally had given up and was about to throw the box out the window. I reset everything to the original settings just to see if it would connect. It did.

I am thinking the Windows box was jealous and missed my attention.

12 Years of Bliss

Rebecca and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on Saturday. I am blessed. I cannot describe the joy I have found with Rebecca. May our next 12 years as wonderful or better.

We had dinner at the Black River Cafe in Oberlin.

Bugs

I really think cold viruses are green.

I have a cold. I hate colds. I love Sudafed.

I am covering everything in alcohol gel. Read here for the reasons why...

Also, check out this instruction.

Friends

It is always good to see old friends. Recently, people from my old workplace got together for lunch. It was a good time.

Easy Audiobooks for Your iPod

Audiobook Builder (MAC) takes audio files and easily converts them to audiobook flies (.m4b). If you consume a lot of audiobooks, this application is for you.

Goodbye Eartha Kitt

Eartha Mae Kitt dies at 81.

We will miss you.

Jay Walker's Library

Go out to Wired to this article: Browse the Artifacts of Geek History in Jay Walker's Library

Noah Guy

Do you ever call Noah Guy?

“You bought that diamond ring for how much? You should have called me. I know a guy who could have got you that same ring for 30% less...” Noah Guy. (know-a-guy).

We have all had friends try to connect us to Noah. You may have even tried to connect someone you know to Noah.

Here is the question: Have you ever used the Noah Guy network in reverse? Before you were making that big purchase. Before your car broke? When you were PLANNING something?

Noah is cheap and easy to call. He is available. Next time you are planning on something. Give him a call. You will be surprised.

CostToDrive.com

How much does it cost to go one way to work? How much will it cost to drive to your in-laws for Thanksgiving? Go to CostToDrive.com to get an instant estimate.

CostToDrive.com uses the address of the starting point, the address of the destination, and your vehicle information to pull data from MapQuest and fueleconomy.gov to calculate the cost of the trip.

Fun and interesting.

Rebecca Walked Away

Firewalk

Rebecca and I went to a firewalk at Common Ground in Oberlin, Ohio. Rebecca walked across the hot coals (1,200° F) twice. I walked across the coals once and walked across broken glass. Fun and transformative.












Rebecca walking across glass.

Keeping Up?

Every day your competition is growing smarter, getting faster, and trying to eat your lunch. Your industry is changing.

In 2006, 172,000 books were published in the United States.

How many were published in your field?

Go to Amazon right now and find out. Here is the link. I'll wait...

Below is quick search for web marketing.

There are 3,082 results. With sorting the results by publication date, the last result (12 results) on the first page has a publication date of December 3, 2008. Web marketing is a narrow field. 12 results are newer than December of last year.

Something in the world has changed and it is not what you think.

The method of distribution of information has radically and irreversibly changed. Not too long ago you could only buy books by going to the local bookstore. Now, if a book has been published you can find it and buy it. If a book has been written and is available on a website you can read it.

This can be a

huge

competitive advantage

to you and your business. Oh, and by the way, your competition knows this too.

Did you notice the word Kindle at the left side of the screen? Here is the Kindle video. Of the web marketing search results, 146 of the titles were for the Kindle. Instant portable knowledge.

How much has changed in your field since you...

...graduated college?
...landed your first job in your field?
...you last birthday?
...yesterday?
...wow, what time is it?

Commit to read one book from your field this month. You will learn something new and remember something you had forgotten.

Brian Harold May Finally Gets Astrophysics Doctorate at 61!

Brian May was born on July 19, 1947. You probably know Brian as one of the co-authers of the book Bang! - The Complete History of the Universe. Some know him for the two scientific papers he co-authored: MgI Emission in the Night-Sky Spectrum (1972) and An Investigation of the Motion of Zodiacal Dust Particles (Part I) (1973).

Well, Brian finally received his doctorate degree in astrophysics during a ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall held on May 14, 2008.

Why is this an amazing story?

Well, Brian May took a 30 year break from his college studies before he returned to complete his doctorate.

Many times we think that when we take time off from a goal we will never return, but Brian wanted that doctorate, so he persevered.

What else makes this an amazing story?

Brian's left the doctorate program to be the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. He composed "We Will Rock You".

The very next time you say you don't have a talent for this or that, that you are an artist and therefore not good at math, I want you to smack yourself...hard.

My new motto just might be, "If Brian can, you can."

Or maybe, "We will rock you!"

Randy Pausch: dear soul, rest in peace...

Randy Pausch, the author of The Last Lecture (

book

,

audiobook

,

kindle

,

iTunes

) died of pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008. (

Article

)

Randy inspired me to move forward. You can view video below or

here

.



Thank you Randy...