Friday, July 24, 2009
Quote from The Onion regarding the newspaper industry
"It appears that in America the very business of published news is in the midst of widespread atrophy, and now carries forward as does a sickly and aging man, coughing up blood and gasping for breath and bearing the pronounced stench of inevitable failure."
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thoughts on terrorism and the death of George Tiller
George Tiller is a victim of terrorism.
Tiller was murdered today in his church. He was an usher. He was also one of the nation's three doctors who perform abortions after the 21st week.
Tiller was prominent on many anti-abortion hit lists. He was protected by federal marshals for several years. In 1998 he was shot in both arms by a would-be murderer. His clinic was fortified with concrete walls and bulletproof glass, and he rarely left without a bodyguard. Earlier this month he asked the FBI to investigate when the security cameras at his office were disabled.
Today a man who had been noted as one of the regular protestors of Tiller's church walked into that church and killed him. Tiller's wife was in the choir.
We can disagree on issues of pro-life and pro-choice. We can engage in spirited debate. We can assemble with like-minded activists and state our minds. But we cannot terrorize.
And that's what happened to Tiller: he is a victim of terrorism.
Tiller was murdered today in his church. He was an usher. He was also one of the nation's three doctors who perform abortions after the 21st week.
Tiller was prominent on many anti-abortion hit lists. He was protected by federal marshals for several years. In 1998 he was shot in both arms by a would-be murderer. His clinic was fortified with concrete walls and bulletproof glass, and he rarely left without a bodyguard. Earlier this month he asked the FBI to investigate when the security cameras at his office were disabled.
Today a man who had been noted as one of the regular protestors of Tiller's church walked into that church and killed him. Tiller's wife was in the choir.
We can disagree on issues of pro-life and pro-choice. We can engage in spirited debate. We can assemble with like-minded activists and state our minds. But we cannot terrorize.
And that's what happened to Tiller: he is a victim of terrorism.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thomas Oates' Mantra
Thomas Oates posted his mantra on Facebook this afternoon: Let the other person be the psycho.
I believe I will embrace his mantra as my own.
I believe I will embrace his mantra as my own.
The Writing Sample Scam
A fellow posted a classified ad looking for a staff writer for his three businesses. He wanted weekly content for the websites of his three businesses, and said he would pay $600.00 a week. Overall, it was an excellent-sounding gig.
I found the ad and asked for more information. The client replied that he wanted to test my writing skills, and asked for a 500-word article covering a particular topic. What he wanted me to write about is not in my realm of expertise, so I did my research.
As part of my research I attempted to locate the website of his companies. I started with the domain name of his email address. The domain name is everything after the @ in your email address: if your email address is stevecase@aol.com, then your domain name is aol.com. Typically, the domain name corresponds with the website you are affiliated with.
The domain name for the client was not related to any of the three businesses he claimed to be involved with. Instead, it was the website for a discount freelance writer. The site claimed that he could expediently provide press releases and ads to clients for relatively low prices.
That smelled funny, so I did a little more research into the client. It turns out he had been noted by other writers for using what is apparently a common scam in the writing world. By asking for a writing sample, the client suggests he is testing your skills. In actuality, the client is another writer attempting to steal your work, or possibly sell it to another client for a relatively low price.
I'm glad I did my research before I invested too much time in the project. It's a shame, too, because the article would have been clever.
I found the ad and asked for more information. The client replied that he wanted to test my writing skills, and asked for a 500-word article covering a particular topic. What he wanted me to write about is not in my realm of expertise, so I did my research.
As part of my research I attempted to locate the website of his companies. I started with the domain name of his email address. The domain name is everything after the @ in your email address: if your email address is stevecase@aol.com, then your domain name is aol.com. Typically, the domain name corresponds with the website you are affiliated with.
The domain name for the client was not related to any of the three businesses he claimed to be involved with. Instead, it was the website for a discount freelance writer. The site claimed that he could expediently provide press releases and ads to clients for relatively low prices.
That smelled funny, so I did a little more research into the client. It turns out he had been noted by other writers for using what is apparently a common scam in the writing world. By asking for a writing sample, the client suggests he is testing your skills. In actuality, the client is another writer attempting to steal your work, or possibly sell it to another client for a relatively low price.
I'm glad I did my research before I invested too much time in the project. It's a shame, too, because the article would have been clever.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Apple's Battery Issues
Apple's achilles heel, I've read, is its battery life. Despite the current MacBook Pro ad that praises an eight-hour battery life, it has been my experience that my Apple products start to fail after four hours.
But there is virtue in the short battery life, I think. If my iPhone had a longer battery, I would be using it more frequently throughout the day on time-wasting activities. If my work Mac had an eight-hour battery, I'd probably be surfing the web for seven of those hours.
Knowing that I have to conserve energy forces me to work more efficiently. If I cannot get my daily computer work done on four hours of computer battery life, then I need to re-prioritize my time.
But there is virtue in the short battery life, I think. If my iPhone had a longer battery, I would be using it more frequently throughout the day on time-wasting activities. If my work Mac had an eight-hour battery, I'd probably be surfing the web for seven of those hours.
Knowing that I have to conserve energy forces me to work more efficiently. If I cannot get my daily computer work done on four hours of computer battery life, then I need to re-prioritize my time.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Anne Lamott quote
"If you are writing the clearest, truest words you can find and doing the best you can to understand and communicate, this will shine on paper like its own little lighthouse. Lighthouses don't go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining."
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Facebook quizzes
The fastest-growing population on Facebook are persons thirty-years-old and older. We embrace Facebook for the same reason we rejected MySpace: the layout is more mature. It's clean. Simple. Uncomplicated. It is a design that an adult would appreciate. A nice departure from MySpace pages, which tend to be cluttered with badges, sound files, and scrolling pictures. MyStuff pages have the charm of a pre-teen's messy bedroom floor.
But Facebook is quickly losing the benefit of a mature design. My Facebook newsfeed today contained the following:
--"Which Jane Austin character are you?"
--"Which '80s movie describes you?"
--"What are your top five favorite breakfast cereals?"
This content is not worthy of a mature design.
But Facebook is quickly losing the benefit of a mature design. My Facebook newsfeed today contained the following:
--"Which Jane Austin character are you?"
--"Which '80s movie describes you?"
--"What are your top five favorite breakfast cereals?"
This content is not worthy of a mature design.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The problem with inspiration
Inspiration is not necessarily a virtue. Anyone can write well when inspired. Solid writers do not need to be inspired to write well.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Twenty-Five Things About Anne Marie Kinman Trammell
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I decided to produce a list of 25 Things about my valentine, Anne Marie.
1. For the past few years Anne Marie has made treats to give our neighbors and friends for Christmas. Last year she gave homemade fudge to our new neighbors, chefs at a swanky country club. A few days later they stopped by the house to tell Anne Marie how much they enjoyed her fudge. “It’s so hard to get the texture right,” the neighbors said. “But you got it perfect. It was delicious.”
2. Since we moved to North Carolina, Anne Marie has had three interviews for social work positions. All three agencies offered her a job. She turned the first two down because they would not have offered her the quality of life she wanted.
3. Anne Marie and I started dating at the beginning of the 2000 spring semester when I was at the University of Georgia. That semester I took a statistics class, and I mentioned to Anne that I needed a buy a calculator. She said she had one I could borrow, and brought it the next day. After we got married she confessed that she could not find her calculator she had promised to lend me, but instead of telling me the truth she went to the campus bookstore, bought a brand mew calculator, and gave it to me to “borrow.” At first I thought that was kind of weird. Then I realized I would have done the same thing for her.
4. Anne Marie is fixated on the cooking, preparation, eating, and binging of food. She reads recipe magazines before bed the way other people read devotionals. Her favorite television programs center on either cooking food, eating food, or losing weight. She frequents websites on the caloric intake of Hershey bars. I think Anne Marie is obsessed with food the way a sex addict is obsessed with pornography.
5. Anne Marie worked for four years in Iowa as a nursing home social worker while I was in graduate school. She paid our bills by serving under unreasonable (and borderline psychotic) bosses so that I could achieve one of my goals. Then we moved to Rochester, where she worked for a great company while I served under a peculiar supervisor.
6. When we first met I thought Anne Marie said her name was “Emory.” She still lets me call her “Emory” every once in a while.
7. On the day Anne Marie found out she was pregnant she spent the day trying to decide how to tell me. When I got home from work she was sitting on the couch. “Guess what?” she said. I replied, “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” I’ve never asked her if she was disappointed that I guessed it before she told me, but I think she was happy that I could tell right away.
8. Anne Marie and I have two different definitions of “clean.” To me, the room is clean when everything is put where it belongs—everything has a place, and to that place everything goes. To Anne, the room is clean when there is no clutter in her immediate way—the couch is clean when there is nothing on it when she wants to sit down. Most of the strife in our first year of marriage was resolved once we realized that “cleanliness” is in the eye of the beholder. Now, when I think the room is messy I clean it myself, and that’s okay with her.
9. Anne Marie had never seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind until she married me. I had never seen The Sound of Music until I married her.
10. When we were dating Anne Marie told me that she was “too happy to get PMS.” I think that was the moment I realized that I was dating a special woman.
11. Anne Marie spends much of her day today taking care of Cooper while I am at work. She feeds him, changes him, plays with him, takes him out for errands, and puts him down for a nap. It is exhausting work, and when I come home I can tell she is itching for time to herself. But instead of taking a well-deserved break, she starts cooking dinner for “her boys,” then cleans the kitchen, then bathes Cooper, then puts him to bed. And then, before she sits on the sofa for a much-deserved rest, she makes me a pot of coffee. I don’t really deserve her.
12. When Anne Marie worked as a social worker in Iowa, one of her supervisors flew off the handle at her. In his rage he told her to go home. Anne Marie wondered if she had just been fired. A few weeks later it was revealed that the supervisor was kicked out of his house for being abusive, and was squatting in the basement of the nursing home. He was fired soon thereafter.
13. Anne Marie has been skeptical of working in a nursing home ever since.
14. Anne Marie got pregnant about a month after we got married. It was unplanned. A few weeks later we lost the baby through a miscarriage. Anne’s Ob/Gyn had Anne Marie get some blood work done to confirm the baby was gone. The nurse saw our pensive faces, then said to Anne, “Most of my job is spent drawing blood from women who want to conceive. You two don’t have that problem at all.” We left the office, went to Steak and Shake for lunch, and ate quietly.
15. Anne Marie spent one Christmas morning on the floor of the bathroom vomiting.
16. Anne Marie plays the piano. She took piano lessons from first grade until she graduated from high school. The last time she played regularly was in Iowa for the children’s choir at our church in Iowa. She would also play for the nursing home residents from time to time. In high school she played every Sunday morning for the worship service in a little country church. The congregation was made up of about twenty senior citizens. The deacons paid Anne $20 each week for playing. When Anne tells the story she mentions that she was proud to get the money, but I think she was also proud that the church wanted her help.
17. Anne Marie would love to play the flute again.
18. Anne Marie says she does not like confrontation, but she sticks up for herself more frequently than I think she knows. I think working with dirty old senile residents helped.
19. Anne Marie would not be convinced that she could not dance as a seven-month pregnant woman until she tried it. She would not be convinced that she could not give birth naturally until the Ob/Gyn told her, “Hon, it’s been over thirty-six hours. That baby ain’t coming out until we go in after him.” She would not be convinced to abandon breast-feeding until trying to feed Cooper for weeks. Normal people would give up too easily; Anne Marie doesn’t give up. Instead, she burns out.
20. In a similar vein, Anne Marie will wear shoes until they get so worn out they make her feet bleed. Then she’ll wear them a few more months after that.
21. Anne Marie is proud to be Tom Kinman’s daughter, but she is hesitant to call herself a “preacher’s kid.”
22. I cut my finger in Iowa. Anne Marie was out of the house at the time, so I called her and asked her to meet me in the emergency room. I didn’t want to be there by myself. Anne Marie cut her finger in North Carolina. She called me to tell me she was going to the emergency room and told me to go home to watch Cooper. She is much stronger than me—I needed her with me when I got stitched up.
23. One Valentine’s Day Anne Marie treated me to romantic weekend Ottumwa, Iowa. She booked the swankiest hotel room in the town. There was not much to do in Ottumwa, but the trip is one of my favorite memories nonetheless because we got to spend time together without being distracted by anything else going on. After all, we were in Ottumwa.
24. While living in Iowa I was offered jobs in Georgia, Michigan, and Rochester, NY. The Georgia job would have brought us close to family, and the Michigan job would have brought us close to Anne Marie’s best friend. Despite how close we would be to people we love, though, Anne Marie told me not to take those jobs. They would not have been good jobs, and Anne said she’d rather have me happy in my work situation than to just be close to family. She agreed to move to Rochester, where we knew no one.
25. She will be a good role model for Cooper. I know because she has been a good role model for me.
1. For the past few years Anne Marie has made treats to give our neighbors and friends for Christmas. Last year she gave homemade fudge to our new neighbors, chefs at a swanky country club. A few days later they stopped by the house to tell Anne Marie how much they enjoyed her fudge. “It’s so hard to get the texture right,” the neighbors said. “But you got it perfect. It was delicious.”
2. Since we moved to North Carolina, Anne Marie has had three interviews for social work positions. All three agencies offered her a job. She turned the first two down because they would not have offered her the quality of life she wanted.
3. Anne Marie and I started dating at the beginning of the 2000 spring semester when I was at the University of Georgia. That semester I took a statistics class, and I mentioned to Anne that I needed a buy a calculator. She said she had one I could borrow, and brought it the next day. After we got married she confessed that she could not find her calculator she had promised to lend me, but instead of telling me the truth she went to the campus bookstore, bought a brand mew calculator, and gave it to me to “borrow.” At first I thought that was kind of weird. Then I realized I would have done the same thing for her.
4. Anne Marie is fixated on the cooking, preparation, eating, and binging of food. She reads recipe magazines before bed the way other people read devotionals. Her favorite television programs center on either cooking food, eating food, or losing weight. She frequents websites on the caloric intake of Hershey bars. I think Anne Marie is obsessed with food the way a sex addict is obsessed with pornography.
5. Anne Marie worked for four years in Iowa as a nursing home social worker while I was in graduate school. She paid our bills by serving under unreasonable (and borderline psychotic) bosses so that I could achieve one of my goals. Then we moved to Rochester, where she worked for a great company while I served under a peculiar supervisor.
6. When we first met I thought Anne Marie said her name was “Emory.” She still lets me call her “Emory” every once in a while.
7. On the day Anne Marie found out she was pregnant she spent the day trying to decide how to tell me. When I got home from work she was sitting on the couch. “Guess what?” she said. I replied, “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” I’ve never asked her if she was disappointed that I guessed it before she told me, but I think she was happy that I could tell right away.
8. Anne Marie and I have two different definitions of “clean.” To me, the room is clean when everything is put where it belongs—everything has a place, and to that place everything goes. To Anne, the room is clean when there is no clutter in her immediate way—the couch is clean when there is nothing on it when she wants to sit down. Most of the strife in our first year of marriage was resolved once we realized that “cleanliness” is in the eye of the beholder. Now, when I think the room is messy I clean it myself, and that’s okay with her.
9. Anne Marie had never seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind until she married me. I had never seen The Sound of Music until I married her.
10. When we were dating Anne Marie told me that she was “too happy to get PMS.” I think that was the moment I realized that I was dating a special woman.
11. Anne Marie spends much of her day today taking care of Cooper while I am at work. She feeds him, changes him, plays with him, takes him out for errands, and puts him down for a nap. It is exhausting work, and when I come home I can tell she is itching for time to herself. But instead of taking a well-deserved break, she starts cooking dinner for “her boys,” then cleans the kitchen, then bathes Cooper, then puts him to bed. And then, before she sits on the sofa for a much-deserved rest, she makes me a pot of coffee. I don’t really deserve her.
12. When Anne Marie worked as a social worker in Iowa, one of her supervisors flew off the handle at her. In his rage he told her to go home. Anne Marie wondered if she had just been fired. A few weeks later it was revealed that the supervisor was kicked out of his house for being abusive, and was squatting in the basement of the nursing home. He was fired soon thereafter.
13. Anne Marie has been skeptical of working in a nursing home ever since.
14. Anne Marie got pregnant about a month after we got married. It was unplanned. A few weeks later we lost the baby through a miscarriage. Anne’s Ob/Gyn had Anne Marie get some blood work done to confirm the baby was gone. The nurse saw our pensive faces, then said to Anne, “Most of my job is spent drawing blood from women who want to conceive. You two don’t have that problem at all.” We left the office, went to Steak and Shake for lunch, and ate quietly.
15. Anne Marie spent one Christmas morning on the floor of the bathroom vomiting.
16. Anne Marie plays the piano. She took piano lessons from first grade until she graduated from high school. The last time she played regularly was in Iowa for the children’s choir at our church in Iowa. She would also play for the nursing home residents from time to time. In high school she played every Sunday morning for the worship service in a little country church. The congregation was made up of about twenty senior citizens. The deacons paid Anne $20 each week for playing. When Anne tells the story she mentions that she was proud to get the money, but I think she was also proud that the church wanted her help.
17. Anne Marie would love to play the flute again.
18. Anne Marie says she does not like confrontation, but she sticks up for herself more frequently than I think she knows. I think working with dirty old senile residents helped.
19. Anne Marie would not be convinced that she could not dance as a seven-month pregnant woman until she tried it. She would not be convinced that she could not give birth naturally until the Ob/Gyn told her, “Hon, it’s been over thirty-six hours. That baby ain’t coming out until we go in after him.” She would not be convinced to abandon breast-feeding until trying to feed Cooper for weeks. Normal people would give up too easily; Anne Marie doesn’t give up. Instead, she burns out.
20. In a similar vein, Anne Marie will wear shoes until they get so worn out they make her feet bleed. Then she’ll wear them a few more months after that.
21. Anne Marie is proud to be Tom Kinman’s daughter, but she is hesitant to call herself a “preacher’s kid.”
22. I cut my finger in Iowa. Anne Marie was out of the house at the time, so I called her and asked her to meet me in the emergency room. I didn’t want to be there by myself. Anne Marie cut her finger in North Carolina. She called me to tell me she was going to the emergency room and told me to go home to watch Cooper. She is much stronger than me—I needed her with me when I got stitched up.
23. One Valentine’s Day Anne Marie treated me to romantic weekend Ottumwa, Iowa. She booked the swankiest hotel room in the town. There was not much to do in Ottumwa, but the trip is one of my favorite memories nonetheless because we got to spend time together without being distracted by anything else going on. After all, we were in Ottumwa.
24. While living in Iowa I was offered jobs in Georgia, Michigan, and Rochester, NY. The Georgia job would have brought us close to family, and the Michigan job would have brought us close to Anne Marie’s best friend. Despite how close we would be to people we love, though, Anne Marie told me not to take those jobs. They would not have been good jobs, and Anne said she’d rather have me happy in my work situation than to just be close to family. She agreed to move to Rochester, where we knew no one.
25. She will be a good role model for Cooper. I know because she has been a good role model for me.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
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