I love walking to work and back. It's something so few of us outside of NYC get to do- and it's really rewarding. But I do wonder how NYers can walk everywhere and still be just as fat as us in the south. Something to do with thyroid I am sure- stress in NYC must be epic.
So I'm working on my portfolio site at the moment- not going to put a lot of time into it honestly. I have far too much to do.
I really have given up on my current company giving me what I want them to anytime soon so I am going to have to supplement with freelancing- which leaves much less time for goofing off.
Speaking of which- I'm going to quit goofing off(read: blogging) and get to work!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
What in the hell
Apparently they are not just text anymore. I am pissed.
I trusted you with my week-old blog google. And that trust was sacred.
I trusted you with my week-old blog google. And that trust was sacred.
Win a free iPod Nano
Oh, and I added an adsense thing on the side.
On the subject of ads- I am a fan of google. Google's non-obtrusive text ads are great on the side of my website right there- they are just words. There are no flashing lights and no mosquito sounds in the middle of the night and they never tell you about your free iPod Nano(although mentioning that I am sure they shall appear) but what they will do is very occationally tell you about products and services that you actually want to know about, that you don't actually get from the results.
Oh, and when you click on them, you cost someone money. Which is hilarious to me.
On the subject of ads- I am a fan of google. Google's non-obtrusive text ads are great on the side of my website right there- they are just words. There are no flashing lights and no mosquito sounds in the middle of the night and they never tell you about your free iPod Nano(although mentioning that I am sure they shall appear) but what they will do is very occationally tell you about products and services that you actually want to know about, that you don't actually get from the results.
Oh, and when you click on them, you cost someone money. Which is hilarious to me.
Copyright Infringement
Met with a senior designer the other day, and we talked about several design ideas I had, while I asked for criticism and guidance from another self-taught designer.
He had this to say:
"If you see a website you think is cool on coolhomepages.com or whatever blog you read, feel free to try and copy it yourself. Change the colors up a bit, slap a different logo on there and have at it. It's the only way to learn to get the page to do what you want it to do, and you'll learn a lot about composition."
I wondered what he meant in terms of the scope of this plagiarism, as I am very worried I have to come up with an original, stunning design for every brochure-based webpage I do, which is not only a time-killer, it's HARD.
I am by no means a brilliant designer, yet. I don't ooze good ideas like some people I know of but I am getting there.
He went on to say some things about learning the design process, and that "you don't just start drawing and shit out a masterpiece", and I guess this is true.
I never learned to draw and so recently I am learning about the emergent property of design and it honestly is much easier than I thought. For most of my life I really just thought you started drawing a face by drawing the left ear and ending up at the right ear, like a printer does. It's difficult to really wrap my brain around the fact that we are not computers, we do not print out masterpieces and we do not logically follow a set of instructions to it's conclusion and then act upon that conclusion. The fact that there are emotions involved, and an element of chaos- it bothers me. I am not sure why.
So, to wrap up and explain myself, I am not sure about using other peoples work directly, but I think I am now OK with stealing some of their ideas.
Liz out!(I always wanted to say that)
He had this to say:
"If you see a website you think is cool on coolhomepages.com or whatever blog you read, feel free to try and copy it yourself. Change the colors up a bit, slap a different logo on there and have at it. It's the only way to learn to get the page to do what you want it to do, and you'll learn a lot about composition."
I wondered what he meant in terms of the scope of this plagiarism, as I am very worried I have to come up with an original, stunning design for every brochure-based webpage I do, which is not only a time-killer, it's HARD.
I am by no means a brilliant designer, yet. I don't ooze good ideas like some people I know of but I am getting there.
He went on to say some things about learning the design process, and that "you don't just start drawing and shit out a masterpiece", and I guess this is true.
I never learned to draw and so recently I am learning about the emergent property of design and it honestly is much easier than I thought. For most of my life I really just thought you started drawing a face by drawing the left ear and ending up at the right ear, like a printer does. It's difficult to really wrap my brain around the fact that we are not computers, we do not print out masterpieces and we do not logically follow a set of instructions to it's conclusion and then act upon that conclusion. The fact that there are emotions involved, and an element of chaos- it bothers me. I am not sure why.
So, to wrap up and explain myself, I am not sure about using other peoples work directly, but I think I am now OK with stealing some of their ideas.
Liz out!(I always wanted to say that)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
And You Can Too(Lets be honest though, you probablly can't)
I'm beginning to realize what these books are all about and the fundamental misunderstanding authors have when writing them.
Please note this is a broad sociological fact and not anything that reaches down to the individual level.
Authors subscribe to the convenient idea that anyone can do anything. This is not surprising as we are taught this as children, "You are SPECIAL" and "You can be ANYTHING you want to BE!" are common banners littered throughout public schools. This message is fine in school as children will usually not keep at something if they don't seem to show an aptitude for it.
This message extrapolated to it's logical conclusion(you are the same as me and can do anything I can do) is a dangerous message among adults however because people don't understand that they really do have fundamental differences.
The plain fact of it is this: Not everyone can understand everything. I suck at math, and can't do much with my personal finances without a spreadsheet to do it for me. Of course, I know how to program that spreadsheet but I can't even do so much as the basic addition in my head. Conversely my uncle is fantastic at monetary matters and math, but still uses the AOL browser, and believes he has to pay for e-mail.
So a book marketed to everyone(which is fine, you've got to sell books so it doesn't matter who reads them) that told people they could start a web empire with a few books on coding and a weekend is great for me, but a complete waste of time and energy to my uncle. Whereas a book on investing where you only need 5k and a weekday is great for him, but a waste of money and time for me.
The efficacy of these books is questionable at best, harmful at worst, unless you are a SMART PERSON. Now, it's very hard to determine if you are a smart person unless you've been given the opportunity to think using another person's brain(in which case, you probably are.)
We all THINK we are smart people, we all believe that our opinions are correct and unassailable by our opponents and of course we can't think otherwise, or our opinions would change.
Please note this is a broad sociological fact and not anything that reaches down to the individual level.
Authors subscribe to the convenient idea that anyone can do anything. This is not surprising as we are taught this as children, "You are SPECIAL" and "You can be ANYTHING you want to BE!" are common banners littered throughout public schools. This message is fine in school as children will usually not keep at something if they don't seem to show an aptitude for it.
This message extrapolated to it's logical conclusion(you are the same as me and can do anything I can do) is a dangerous message among adults however because people don't understand that they really do have fundamental differences.
The plain fact of it is this: Not everyone can understand everything. I suck at math, and can't do much with my personal finances without a spreadsheet to do it for me. Of course, I know how to program that spreadsheet but I can't even do so much as the basic addition in my head. Conversely my uncle is fantastic at monetary matters and math, but still uses the AOL browser, and believes he has to pay for e-mail.
So a book marketed to everyone(which is fine, you've got to sell books so it doesn't matter who reads them) that told people they could start a web empire with a few books on coding and a weekend is great for me, but a complete waste of time and energy to my uncle. Whereas a book on investing where you only need 5k and a weekday is great for him, but a waste of money and time for me.
The efficacy of these books is questionable at best, harmful at worst, unless you are a SMART PERSON. Now, it's very hard to determine if you are a smart person unless you've been given the opportunity to think using another person's brain(in which case, you probably are.)
We all THINK we are smart people, we all believe that our opinions are correct and unassailable by our opponents and of course we can't think otherwise, or our opinions would change.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
2nd verse! Same as the first!
Ok so I haven't made much headway. Life gets in the way. By life, I mean sleep. And friends.
Apparently I need this lifestyle more than I realize- I haven't had time to get anything done.
Monday I fell asleep early(like 8 PM early) and Tuesday I worked on my social empire(talked with parents, friends) and helped some friends out who don't seem to know how to put baby furniture together.
It DID give me an idea however, a baby-furniture exchange site where people could...
do some things...
Oh people are reading this apparently so I need to keep my ideas to MYSELF.
I have 7 unique visitors since my last post so Hi, spam bots! Maybe you'll inadvertently launch me into relevancy.
Been reading THE BOOK- the 4 hour workweek, looking at the first few chapters, very inspiring. Inspiring is ALL it seems to be at the moment, trying to convince me "taking the plunge" is ok, and results in untold fortune. I am told this on a consistent basis but perhaps I require a little more built up skill before I do it?
Anyway- most of the first few chapters are "You can do it, no seriously". Seems like.
Apparently I need this lifestyle more than I realize- I haven't had time to get anything done.
Monday I fell asleep early(like 8 PM early) and Tuesday I worked on my social empire(talked with parents, friends) and helped some friends out who don't seem to know how to put baby furniture together.
It DID give me an idea however, a baby-furniture exchange site where people could...
do some things...
Oh people are reading this apparently so I need to keep my ideas to MYSELF.
I have 7 unique visitors since my last post so Hi, spam bots! Maybe you'll inadvertently launch me into relevancy.
Been reading THE BOOK- the 4 hour workweek, looking at the first few chapters, very inspiring. Inspiring is ALL it seems to be at the moment, trying to convince me "taking the plunge" is ok, and results in untold fortune. I am told this on a consistent basis but perhaps I require a little more built up skill before I do it?
Anyway- most of the first few chapters are "You can do it, no seriously". Seems like.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Taking the plunge(I'm not ready)
So I've decided to just blog this.
The planning stages I mean(as I've gone ahead and named the site.)
I started reading "the 4 hour workweek" and among random other time-management and motivate-your-lazy-ass publications I have thoroughly decided to get my act together.
I thought it would be helpful to chronicle my exploits in getting in shape, getting out of debt(I started with not much, but the practices are the same), becoming a better person and finally being happy financially.
To preface who I am and where I am in life, so you can manage to figure out if you identify with anything other than the human condition, I'll give you a few details.
I'm 22 years old. I work for a web development company doing things that are below my skill level and I am still amazed that I don't have to work fast food or menial labor. I am a single parent, a high-school dropout(and then, a community college dropout). I have an IQ of 169 and I am more often that not completely helpless, and stupid. I feel I have been working my butt off for the past 6 years to get nowhere and I feel like I have conversely fallen into a cushy job with little effort.
I attribute most of what I feel about my life as due to the failings of the human brain at recording information. I know it sucks, and reading a self-help book about your past ERASES your past and makes you believe the "standard" past of the book is your life up to this point, bringing you to the conclusion that THIS BOOK is the only thing that will change it. This is not, and never will be true because our very nature prohibits it.
Our ability to receive and process new information is dampened by our tendency to immediately compare and contrast the differences between this new information and the old stuff in our brains. Its like a filter, changing information even as we see it and even before our conscious minds are aware of it. No one is open minded.
This makes massive, sudden paradigm shifts very hard, and although we remember very strongly "the moment when our whole world changes" the truth is that this moment does not exist. It is always a slow change from one idea to the next as the old idea has immediate, generational influence over the new. However, once the change has been made we let our conscious selves know, whereupon we then perceive our behavior and thought styles to be different, when in fact they have already BEEN different.
So- I believe I have reached the crux of one of those shifts, and although I have been perhaps thinking this way for awhile, I am just now noticing, and just now able to log the differences.
So I'll post stats.
I've been working in web design for about 3 years.
I have been working with my company for 8 weeks.
I feel uninspired to reach my full potential here.
I make 600 dollars a week at my current job.
My expenses total 567 a week- not including food.
I receive an average of 100 dollars a week from side projects, various refunds, investments and if I need it, help from my parents.
This leaves me with about 140 dollars a week to eat and invest in my future.
I work for 40 hours a week(I can get a little overtime, but not much) and I sleep for 40 hours a week.
I spend about 7 hours a week grooming, 14 eating.
Leaving me with 67 hours to pack my life into. This is only slightly longer than my working time.
I'm not including driving(I walk to work and don't routinely drive) or various obligations (like family dinners, birthdays and time with my son) in that.
My next step is to get working from home more viable, since while I am at work I only do about 5 hours of work for the 8 that I am here, and I'd like to reclaim the 3 hours a day to work on reclaiming more.
The planning stages I mean(as I've gone ahead and named the site.)
I started reading "the 4 hour workweek" and among random other time-management and motivate-your-lazy-ass publications I have thoroughly decided to get my act together.
I thought it would be helpful to chronicle my exploits in getting in shape, getting out of debt(I started with not much, but the practices are the same), becoming a better person and finally being happy financially.
To preface who I am and where I am in life, so you can manage to figure out if you identify with anything other than the human condition, I'll give you a few details.
I'm 22 years old. I work for a web development company doing things that are below my skill level and I am still amazed that I don't have to work fast food or menial labor. I am a single parent, a high-school dropout(and then, a community college dropout). I have an IQ of 169 and I am more often that not completely helpless, and stupid. I feel I have been working my butt off for the past 6 years to get nowhere and I feel like I have conversely fallen into a cushy job with little effort.
I attribute most of what I feel about my life as due to the failings of the human brain at recording information. I know it sucks, and reading a self-help book about your past ERASES your past and makes you believe the "standard" past of the book is your life up to this point, bringing you to the conclusion that THIS BOOK is the only thing that will change it. This is not, and never will be true because our very nature prohibits it.
Our ability to receive and process new information is dampened by our tendency to immediately compare and contrast the differences between this new information and the old stuff in our brains. Its like a filter, changing information even as we see it and even before our conscious minds are aware of it. No one is open minded.
This makes massive, sudden paradigm shifts very hard, and although we remember very strongly "the moment when our whole world changes" the truth is that this moment does not exist. It is always a slow change from one idea to the next as the old idea has immediate, generational influence over the new. However, once the change has been made we let our conscious selves know, whereupon we then perceive our behavior and thought styles to be different, when in fact they have already BEEN different.
So- I believe I have reached the crux of one of those shifts, and although I have been perhaps thinking this way for awhile, I am just now noticing, and just now able to log the differences.
So I'll post stats.
I've been working in web design for about 3 years.
I have been working with my company for 8 weeks.
I feel uninspired to reach my full potential here.
I make 600 dollars a week at my current job.
My expenses total 567 a week- not including food.
I receive an average of 100 dollars a week from side projects, various refunds, investments and if I need it, help from my parents.
This leaves me with about 140 dollars a week to eat and invest in my future.
I work for 40 hours a week(I can get a little overtime, but not much) and I sleep for 40 hours a week.
I spend about 7 hours a week grooming, 14 eating.
Leaving me with 67 hours to pack my life into. This is only slightly longer than my working time.
I'm not including driving(I walk to work and don't routinely drive) or various obligations (like family dinners, birthdays and time with my son) in that.
My next step is to get working from home more viable, since while I am at work I only do about 5 hours of work for the 8 that I am here, and I'd like to reclaim the 3 hours a day to work on reclaiming more.
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