I few years ago, I discovered hand clocks. I had seen them before, but digital clocks far out number them because the latter are easier to read and can do a lot more. In any case, I buy and prefer hand clocks now, because they tell time without making it the focal point of my day. Since you have to look directly at them to read, hand clocks are there when you need them, without starring you down.
Digital clocks, on the other hand, are always looking at you. Whether illuminated in bright green, blue, or red light, it’s impossible to walk past them without getting an update—down to the latest minute even. As a result, digital clock perpetrators have a tendency to count time, as opposed to using it to stay on schedule. At least that was the case for me.
Since making the switch to hand clocks, however, I’m just as on time as I was before. Plus, it’s easier to live in the moment.
While talking in the third-person on page 198 of his biography: “Pelé is a famous name, but Pelé made his goals because another player passed to him at the proper time. And Brazil won games because Pelé didn’t try to make all the goals by himself, but passed the ball to others when it was indicated, so the goal could be made—that’s the way games are won.” Case closed on the world’s greatest soccer player.
UPDATE: The movie is horrible. Still a funny crest though. ORIGINAL POST: I have no idea if this movie will be any good, but that spotlighted crest is just awesome. Gentlemen Broncos, the spiritual successor to Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, arrives in theaters Oct. 30.
I’m not the kind of person to relate my past dreams to others. In fact, I never do. They’re usually boring, meaningless, and nonsensical—merely the brain recalling past memories or feelings as it tries to get some shut eye. So I only share the following dream because it’s pathetic and telling:
Since my two-year old drinks milk like nobody’s business, I go to the grocer to buy some more. Unsure if we have any remaining at home, I purchase four gallons. Upon my return, I notice there was a full gallon discreetly placed in the fridge door. Gasp! I’m now sitting on five gallons of milk and freakin’ out. “What are we going to do with five gallons!?” I ask my wife. “How are we going to drink all this milk before it expires!!??”
That’s the dream. My worst nightmare: too much milk. Doubting reality, I drank an extra tall glass of the good stuff this morning just to be sure.
OREM, Utah — After four convenient but usually bad-habit forming years, I canceled my Blackberry email/data plan with T-Mobile last week. To my surprise, I was amazed that my email would actually wait for me on the computer, as opposed to following me around wherever I went. Now, if I’m away from my desk, my email will tell me how many unread messages I have upon my return, so as not to overlook anything. (Some fancy email programs even support audible alerts, such as “You’ve got mail!” Really neat stuff.)
In a flurry of discovery, and in search of more answers, I asked a representative of ARPANET, the inventor of email, for comment. “The great thing about email is that it’s free, provided you don’t give money to your cell phone provider for the same service,” the spokesman said. “And unlike the Post Office, you don’t have to put a hold on your mail if you’re away, say on nights and weekends. If it fits, it ships—which is all the time.”
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Good to know if you’re looking for work (or hoping to land a better job).
Prediction: The Killers will end being the best rock band of the decade. They have a fresh sound without straying too far from their rock roots. They’re ambitious, hoping to knock bands such as Led Zeppelin and Nirvana “off their pedestal.” And unlike 90% of most promising bands, their albums have gotten progressively better over time (sorta like Led Zeppelin and Nirvana—go figure.) I expect many more great songs from them in the future, but for now, these are their 10 best.
Griffio, my web development boutique, today launched the redesign of HistoricalArts.com—a rad architectural metalwork company from West Jordan. It’s the fourth new site we’ve launched this year, and the second for Historical Arts since becoming their web vendor in 2005. Nice to finally see it live.
Excluding short articles and blog posts.
My kid sister living in Atlanta Braves territory writes:
“Are you an NL fan or AL fan? What are some of your favorite teams? And is baseball your favorite sport?”
Because I can, let me answer your questions in reverse, Sara. While I find college football, World Cup soccer, and Grand Slam Tennis slightly more exciting, I think baseball is the greatest American professional sport. I say that because I like it better than the more popular NFL or NBA, for several reasons: Continue reading…
PCs have the dreaded blue screen of death. Macs have the dreaded beach ball of death. While I despise both, the latter is more common and often more frustrating. It just stares at you, seemingly taunting you because you can move it but it won’t let you click anything. A friend and avid Mac user said of the beach ball, “It’s like it’s sticking its tongue at you.” You know: “kneener, kneener, kneener.”
On a PC, your system will freeze, but Windows will actually let you click on stuff, making you feel partially in control. You’ll pay for it later. Once the system catches up, a boat load of windows will pop up. But I’ll take a clickable pointer over a spinning beach ball of death any day.
Take note, Apple. We hate your stupid beach ball.
I heard Rudy Ruettiger speak this month as a guest at a neighboring university. Not only does he have a great story, he’s a great motivational speaker. Admittedly, I went because I love his movie—the greatest sports film ever made. But I stayed for his choice commentary on life, guts, and optimism. These are the nine ideas that most inspired me: Continue reading…
Five years ago, I could concentrate on a single deadline for a solid 4-6 hours per session without breaking. Nowadays its feels like my attention span has dropped to 2-3 hours on average, sometimes minutes! Some observations at to why: Continue reading…
As a general rule, food and video games are about as compatible as texting and driving (hint: they’re not). You might be able to get away with cold pizza with a controller in hand, but never stuff your pie-hole with this messiness during play:
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Although the inventor of modern running shoes, Nike doesn’t have a reputation among distance runners these days. Said athletes usually wear one of five brands: Asics (which Nike first sold as a distributor in the ’60s), Mizuno, Brooks, Saucony or New Balance. You just can’t “do it” in Nikes anymore, at least without looking like a corporate shill.
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To commemorate the Beatles’ remastered catalog (which I will not be buying, especially since its CD only), I thought it an appropriate time to cash in on the uptick in Beatlesmania interest, some 40 years after the band broke up. So without further adieu, I give you: The top five greatest Beatles tracks sung by George Harrison. He may have only canaried 30 songs of hundreds, but when he did—man were they good.
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You would think it would be a good thing for students to hear the President of the United States address them personally. But nooooooo, conservative Republicans who oppose President Obama still aren’t civil enough to acknowledge him as president and let their kids hear the age-old “Work hard and stay in school!” spiel from the world’s top political authority.
I guess they think the President will sneak his big government ideas into Tuesday’s broadcast (“Hey kids, tell your parents to support my still undecided healthcare plan!” or “Isn’t it fun spending all this tax payer money on corporate welfare??!!”). The AP reports that liberal Democrats did the same thing in 1991 (surprise, surprise) when President Bush addressed American students—behavior that is equally petty.
Mr. President, I think your fiscal policy is a joke—your spending scares the crap out of me, actually, as did your predecessor’s. And I disagree with you on other issues as well. But I respect you as President, I hope to learn from you during your tenure, and I would be honored to have you address my children.
T-shirt companies were kind of a big deal five years ago. And I came close to launching one in 2004 during the height of the industry, before bailing on the idea a few months later due to manufacturing headaches. In any case, I was perusing the “design” folder on my hard drive today, and stumbled upon these favorites. Continue reading…
Excluding short articles and blog posts.
I’m watching U.S. Open Tennis live, right now, in HD on the grand slam’s official website, usopen.org. It. Is. Awesome. Here’s why: Continue reading…
I had a bit of a senior moment this morning. While crossing over a contoured section of the sidewalk, I tripped over my toes, lunged forward, and overturned the jogging stroller. I landed in someone’s flower bed. The girls landed in the gutter—on their heads!
Moments before, a lady in her forties was approaching us. Being the gentleman that I am, I crossed onto the street to let her pass. I don’t know about other runners, but it takes my legs a good five minutes to warm in the morning. So at the time of the accident, I was dragging my feet a little. Hence, the stumble when crossing back over to the sidewalk.
Outside of insecurity and one hurt ego, everybody was fine. But I’ll be using that wrist strap religiously froim now on, so as not to send the girls rolling into the road the next time I trip.
I wrote on article on cell phone abuse, to be published on GigaOM, and was unable to use the following, which I thought was rather insightful:
“When cell phones were first introduced, they were expensive and obtrusive,” says Dr. Lisa Merlo, professor of psychology at the University of Florida. “As a result, the people who had them and used them did so for ‘important’ reasons. For example, physicians might have a cell phone while on-call. So, people excused the rudeness associated with talking on a cell phone because there was a legitimate reason for doing so. However, cell phones have become ubiquitous, and the rules have not changed to accommodate this.”
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The black coloring makes them look more discreet than they really are. When seen in-person, it’s as if I’m wearing ballerina slippers. (Ridiculous!) Nevertheless, I’m excited to review what’s been called the “next best thing to barefooting” on my daily runs—no heel crashing allowed. Wait for it.
In addition to being a gun-for-hire, savvy readers know that Smooth Harold is also a part-time proprietor (aka entrepreneur on the side). I’m not a very good one—at least in terms of making money. But I enjoy building things. So I build websites. This is my latest.
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- The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (1984)
- Bubble Boy (2001)
- Gojira (1954)
- Three O’Clock High (1987)
- Brannigan (1975)
- The Ringer (2005)
- End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2004)
- Real Life (1979)
- Time After Time (1979)
- The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007)
Brazilians know how to barbecue. Although it’s been a decade since I ate authentic churrasco (in Brazil), the next time you go to an Americanized Churrascaria, save your “green” indicators for the following five meats: Continue reading…
In an effort to centralize my online identity, I launched BlakeSnow.com this week. The site features state of the art HTML, some fancy javascript animation, and an enlarged photo of my shapely cranium. I’ll still be blogging under my pseudonym here, and maintain other websites as well, but this will serve as an entry point for people who don’t know me. Plus it makes me look cooler than I really am.
(Thanks, Robert)
MSNBC published a story yesterday that confirms what many of us already know: The almighty dollar is a lot more elusive these days, as Americans are working harder for less money. That’s been my experience, as I have to scrap a lot more now to make deals happen. Thankfully, there are still deals. For that I’m grateful. But my Mom put it best when she said, “They party’s over!” It sure is, Mom. It sure is. The upside: I got complacent at the party. So the down economy has been just the kick in the pants I’ve needed to double my creative efforts. The paper chase lives on!
Starting two years ago with a trip to Arches/Dead Horse Point, Lindsey and I took an interest in exploring our own backyard (aka Utah and its neighboring states). We’ve since visited and enjoyed a handful of other nearby parks on weekend getaways with the kids and are already itching for more. Continue reading…
Courtesy Shutterstock
I have found, as many before me, that with age comes added responsibility and a much larger to-do list. I’m arguably busier than I’ve ever been in my life with managing a marriage, a new baby, a company, and working on several other projects. Opportunity surrounds us, and I want to take it all in. I hope to learn, experience, and do as much as I can (or even can’t sometimes) throughout my life. I thoroughly enjoy meeting new people, learning new things, and finding other ways of applying the little that I know.
While pondering all of this on my way to Salt Lake City this morning and after catching myself saying “I’m so busy,” to those around me, I couldn’t help but think how this claim might sound to the receiver. Does that phrase add any value to the person listening? Does that make them feel important? If it doesn’t, then do away with it. Continue reading…
For the first time in my life, I’ve become a sports drink junkie. I still guzzle water. But I like how the lightly flavored drink displaces the “workout” taste better than water. So I drink fluorescent colored super juice after heavy training.
Since Powerade (not Gatorade) was on sale last month, I stocked up on all eight flavors. And being the gentlemen that I am, I decided to review them for you. So the next time you reach for a 32 oz. bottle, remember the top 5 most refreshing Powerade flavors, expertly named by yours truly: Continue reading…
Excluding short stories and blog posts:
Credit: Lindsey Snow
Blog reader Derek Bobo asks via email:
I was wondering when and how you made the leap of faith to work for yourself. When did you know you were safe financially? What was the deciding factor, etc? I’m right on the brink but can’t seem to get myself to take the leap of faith.
Excellent question. Here’s my answer:
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I don’t despise Microsoft. I still use XP (alongside OS X on my Mac). Xbox 360 can be a fun time. And Word is still a must for professional document design (GoogleDocs is too limited in some cases). But in recent years, I’ve started to like Microsoft less and less. The reason? They follow the leader now instead of carving their own path. Says long-time tech columnist John C. Dvorak: “Microsoft is a software company. It has been distracted too easily by the success of others in essentially unrelated fields.”
Too support this claim, Dvorak convincingly mentions Microsoft’s ambitions to launch a Google-killer, iPod-killer, and Apple Store-killer… all at the same time! Previously the company tried to be an AOL-killer, Netscape-killer (that didn’t make any money), book-maker, toy-maker, and Photoshop-killer… all while Microsoft Office/Enterprise—the company’s bread and butter—brought in the real money. Frankly, I’m not sure Microsoft has pioneered an original idea in the last 15 years.
Dateline: July 2004. By the color you would think I was selling hamburgers. By the home page copy you would have wondered, “what the crap does this guy do?” And by the cryptic stock photography, you would have thought I was either a motivation speaker or Chinese rice farmer—not a web designer, like I was at the time. Plus it had about eight too many pages. Funny how the look represents everything I currently despise about design (broad ambiguity). Incredible it was only five years ago. At least I had the insight to bet big on open source!
From the latest issue of Wired:
Let’s be clear: Walking around with a Bluetooth device in your ear is pure douchebaggery. There is no excuse for it… If you’re out among normals, flaunting your tech doesn’t make you look like the King of Coolsville, it makes you look like Count Clueless of Dorkylvania.
That’s what I said.
The girls and I just got back from a sweet vacation to Teton, Yellowstone, and Montana. It was one of the best vacations I’ve ever had, given all the sights and activities we were able to participate in. One of the coolest “features” of the trip: no cell reception, internet, or TV at our cabin. We were utterly disconnected, which allowed us to be completely present in the moment. “It totally changes the dynamic of the group,” my wife told me yesterday. It sure did, for the better. Can’t wait to go even longer without a connection next time.
Be back in a bit
I’ve always admired Michael Jordan’s athleticism, style, and grace in the air. He was the greatest basketball player ever. And even though I only owned a single pair of his pricey Air Jordans (version IV, thanks Mom!), I’ve always like the form factor of his shoes, especially the earlier models. So stick your tongue out, poke your air pocket, and check out the top 5 Air Jordans all time: Continue reading…
Look at this photo taken in 1984. Who is visiting who here??!! It’s as if the Reagans are Michael’s guests—not the other way around. And I love how Jackson coolly waves to his fans, while the most powerful man in the world and the First Lady appear to radiate in Jackson’s company. It was reported that an aid called the starstruck White House “really king of embarrassing.”
The term “global icon” is overused. Few people or things ever really become global phenomena. (Even the Beatles popularity was limited to America and Britain.) But Michael was one of them, because he was the greatest performer that ever lived (despite his being unthinkably bizarre), and he’s right up there with Bach, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Kraftwerk as one of the most influential artists of all time.
Excluding short blog posts and news stories:
Smooth Harold reader Scott Daniel asks via email:
Does social networking really work as a marketing tool? My CIO is standing firm that it does not.
Yes, it does, provided you have something interesting to say. For example, my blogging efforts on Smooth Harold alone have directly resulted in checks amounting to around $17,000 over the last four years, excluding advertising. Continue reading…
I like golf, but I don’t like paying expensive green fees. So unless I get a freebie, it’s all public courses for me. And the “best value” I’ve ever played is Hobble Creek in Springville, Utah, which is $12 for nine holes or $24 for 18 (weekday walking). As you can see, it’s crazy green, physically attractive, and very well maintained. A must play for locals and visitors alike. What’s your favorite public golf course?
“The truth isn’t the truth until people believe you, and they can’t believe you if they don’t know what you’re saying, and they can’t know what you’re saying if they don’t listen to you, and they won’t listen to you if you’re not interesting, and you won’t be interesting unless you say things imaginatively, originally, freshly.”—William Bernbach, famed American copywriter
In sum, to be interesting you have to say things in ways other people don’t—but can still relate to. To be heard, you have to say interesting things as often and in as many places as possible. To be understood, you have to communicate clearly. And to tell the truth, you have to tell the truth, which can be found in everything. For example, Satan is undeniably “the most evil man in the world,” so if you are ever hired by the devil to sell more immorality, brand him as such in a creatively loud way and you’re gold.
Michael Jackson was undoubtedly the most disturbed musician of all time. He’s also the greatest R&B performer ever—both as a singer and a dancer—and a top 10 all-time artist, right next to Mozart, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin. If you’ve forgotten how talented he was in the recording studio or on stage, I encourage you to listen to Thriller, the best-selling album of all time.
With the King of Pop’s new summer tour announcement recent death, I can’t think of a better time to list his best hits. There are 20 other songs equally worthy of the honor, but in terms of what gets me moving the most, these are the top 10 Michael Jackson songs of awesome: Continue reading…
I was pretty stoked by the U.S.’s 2-0 victory over Spain today, which vaulted the unlikely team into the final of the Confederations Cup, a World Cup warmup. In my excitment, I do what I always do: head to Twitter Search (no account required) to start reading immediate reactions from fans. (Google is just too slow sometimes.)
Without an active Twitter account, I don’t participate in the conversation—I do that elsewhere; on my blog, on Facebook, and in various comment sections. But it’s fun to get up-to-the-second reactions to breaking news in one location, without perpetrating your offline life like so many Twitter users seem to do.
The temperature of the Earth’s surface is uncharacteristically rising. That’s a measurable fact. What’s unclear is the cause of the change: Stinky humans who are skilled polluters… or Mother Nature spiking the climate like she’s done before (the Ice Age, the Little Ice Age, etc)?
There are two groups behind two popular theses. The first group, whom I will call “believers,” vigorously accept that humans undeniably cause climate change. They are thereby antsy to implement an immediate solution, least they be burned by planetary hell fire at some future date. The second group, whom I will call “atheists,” believe in no such thing, arguing that “intervention” is a farce, and we are just another brick on the wall. In their disbelief, they don’t want to prove or confide in anything. (My metaphor has range—not to mention irony, no?)
Oddly enough, both sides treat their argument as scientific fact—like the law of gravity—while arrogantly ridiculing the other side, quite unfairly at times. It’s a major turn off. That said, as a global warming “agnostic,” I’m ready to become either “a believer” or “an atheist.” I’m just hoping someone can answer the following eight questions first. Continue reading…
Tim Ormond, a long-time friend and Smooth Harold reader, sent me a photo this week of perhaps the best-named restaurant chain in New Mexico. “I eat here every time I’m on business,” he texted from Albuquerque, referring to Blake’s Lotaburger. “They have a wicked good green chili burger.”
Unbeknownst to Tim, my mother has a photo of me standing underneath this handsome signage in a shoe box somewhere, taken when I was but five years old, as the family was passing through. Again, I’m kind of a big deal. In the southwest, anyways.
At my request, Lindsey bought me some recreational (aka cheap) golf clubs two years ago for Christmas. It took me a year, but I recently become infatuated with sport. I have “found religion,” you could say.
Anyways, last month I was whacking balls with my three wood at the driving range. After a slight miss-hit, I sent both my ball and club head flying into the distance. The ball went about 150 yards. The head went about 30. At first I wasn’t even mad. I was amazed actually. But then I got frustrated with myself. Continue reading…
Excluding short new and blog posts.
