February 2012
2 posts
2 tags
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write,...”
– Alvin Toffler
5 tags
Taking Time to Reply →
Recently I had a friend decide to deactivate her Facebook account in favor of Twitter. This kinda interested me, as its a fairly unusual thing for people to do (hmmm, that’s a whole other interesting topic right there). I asked her why she had decided to do this, and she told me that a social network is a two way thing. You have to put energy into it in order to get something out of it. She...
January 2012
2 posts
4 tags
Big brother is watching you →
This sorta cracks me up. Microsoft has patented a software that monitors and ranks your behavior. In short, it monitors things like whether you are getting into a monologue in a meeting, or if you use too many hand gestures, or other forms of interaction. It even monitors communication patterns, such as cutting people off in a conversation and recognizing negative phrases and words. All of these...
3 tags
Social Network Reboot →
(Click the link above for context)
Have you noticed how in real life, “friendship” is sort of a vague term, but it’s an extremely solid one online? Either you are friends with someone on Facebook, or you are not, right? And somehow this entitles you to knowing all sorts of things about this person, whereas in real life it’s much easier to pick and choose what you share...
December 2011
1 post
2 tags
“I think that I shall never see a billboard lovely as a tree. /
Perhaps, unless...”
– Ogden Nash
November 2011
1 post
October 2011
1 post
2 tags
Overloaded!
So I’m feeling extremely overloaded right now. It’s been a long, amazing weekend; I had a lot of fun listening to General Conference and visiting my parents. By all means, I should be relaxed, but I’m not. I’m having a hard time focusing on anything. Kinda started up end of last week, and has apparently carried on into this week.
Hence, I have not written much lately....
September 2011
4 posts
3 tags
A decision
P.S. I decided to stay with Tumblr. Though it doesn’t have a good mobile posting option as much as Wordpress, it does have a really spiffy way to email in posts, and it turns out that works good enough for me. Plus, it’s just so darn customizable, and I really like that.
You might see a different look on my blog in the future, if I can ever muster up the time to really write a theme...
2 tags
3 tags
To switch, or not to switch?
Well, I’m facing a bit of a conundrum. I’ve been playing around with WordPress, which is a pretty sweet blogging platform, and I can’t decide if I should make the switch or not.
Pros:
better interface for blogging, comes integrated with comments, site stats, etc.
my wife just switched, so both of us being on the same platform would allow us to guest post on each others blog.
better mobile...
4 tags
Utah Business | Articles... →
Here’s a cool article about Utah startups, also featuring my company, Pixelture!
August 2011
10 posts
3 tags
“The truth is, those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come...”
– Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Waiting on the Road to Damascus” General Conference, April 2011
3 tags
Life Unplugged
Well, I made it through my Internet fast!
While it was a good experience, it wasn’t exactly what I thought it’d be. What surprised me most is that it wasn’t really that different. I didn’t have compulsive urges to get online or anything. But it was surprisingly difficult to cut the Internet out of my life entirely. Something I pretty much failed at doing.
First of...
6 tags
Challenge Complete!
Well… I did it. I made it to the end of my 30 day challenge. And quite frankly… I’m amazed I made it this far. There were a few times I almost gave up. And there were a few times I struggled to get a post out that day. But here I am, at the end, having completed it… and it feels good!
The more important part, however, is what I learned from this experience:
I learned...
4 tags
A Bit of a Break
Well, I’m nearing the end of my thirty day challenge. It’s been an interesting adventure, and I’ll have more to say tomorrow (the last post of the challenge), but I wanted to discuss my plans for the week after I finish.
I’ve always heard of people doing such things as a “Facebook fast” or “Internet fast” and always thought that a little strange. I...
3 tags
Five Low-Hanging UX Tips →
This is a very good piece on the basic elements of design. I wish more people knew how to do this. Technology has somehow estranged a large number of artists. It’s sad really, cuz they are the ones we really need to make technology truly beautiful.
3 tags
2 tags
“Moments are the molecules that make up eternity.”
– Neal A. Maxwell
5 tags
3 tags
Apple Bias
I admit, I’m biased against Apple. If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you’ve probably already noticed this.
I’ve also been fascinated by the idea of fanboyism and brand loyalty.
So here’s my question: Why do I dislike Apple so much?
I love my webOS phone, but if I had to give it up, I’d be willing to give WP7 a try, or maybe even an Android phone....
1 tag
“We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence and private: and...”
– C. S. Lewis
3 tags
Bear Lake 2011
Alrighty web folks… I know I posted about Bear Lake last week and told you all to go visit, but… I didn’t think you’d visit the same weekend! There were so many people up at Bear Lake! We barely managed to get a camp spot, and had to drive clear to the end of the beach to find a table. Yikes!
We still had a lot of fun though. Here’s some pictures to prove it:
...
July 2011
27 posts
3 tags
On Vacation
Well folks, I’m out for the week. I wanted to get some posts queued up for today and tomorrow, but I didn’t get the chance. I guess this will have to count for today’s. If I have a good connection, I’ll post some pictures tomorrow.
We are on our way up to Bear Lake, which is an awesome place up on the Utah-Idaho border. Its a big lake with a distinct blue color, but...
4 tags
4 tags
3 tags
The thing about App Stores...
(Oh, pardon me. Only Apple can call their app store the App Store.)
I have a little bit of a beef with those out there running “application delivery mechanisms.” Don’t get me wrong, I really like the idea. I really like that Apple is bringing it to the Mac, and wish that Windows would develop a similar technology (Linux has had it for years… but that’s the nature of...
3 tags
Facebook Profile Attack →
This is exactly what I was describing with this post. Be careful what information you put online, even on Facebook! (or Google+, or Twitter, or…)
1 tag
“If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the...”
– Carl Sagan
6 tags
5 tags
The science of fanboyism →
This article delves a little deeper into a thought from a previous post about how our choice affects our future perception of other products.
4 tags
The Social Spiderweb
Picture yourself back in your dating years. You meet this cute, fun, attractive girl or boy and start going out. Things are going well for a while, but then they lose interest and break up with you (Sad story, I know, but… keep reading). You call, you try to change his or her mind, but it looks like things aren’t working out. Maybe they stop answering your calls, or they find ways to...
3 tags
3 tags
“He who wants to do good knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the door open.”
– Rabindranath Tagore
5 tags
Family Reunion
This last weekend my wife and I attended a family reunion on my mother’s side. Since my mom has been helping out at Brighton girls camp for years, we were able to use the facilities for our reunion. We’ve done this for a number of reunions in the past, but it’s always a lot of fun. They have a zipline and some other ropes-course activities. One was particularly fun, called the...
5 tags
Brandon Sanderson's First Law
Alright, so I guess I’ll just come out and say it. I’m not a big fan of Harry Potter. Something about the books just doesn’t resonate with me. It’s not necessarily a bad story, or poor writing. In fact, I’d argue that they’re very well written. I just don’t really like the story.
My coworker recently shared this cool article with me by Brandon...
3 tags
“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or...”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
2 tags
Blog Re-themed!
(This is a bonus post!)
So I decided to re-theme my website! My older theme was a bit more suited to my slower pace of blogging. This one seems a lot simpler and cleaner, and easier to read. I might tweak it a bit over the next few days (the Twitter call out seems a bit off…) but this is basically what I want.
Let me know what you think! Good, bad, just this part needs to change, what?...
5 tags
Adventure to Joe's Valley
Last weekend, after the Lavender 5k Run, my wife and I headed up to Joe’s Valley by Fairview, UT where my brother’s in-laws own a cabin. We went to see my two twin nieces get baptized. It’s about a two hour drive, so we were rushing home from the 5k to get showered and back on the road, since the baptism was planned for 12:00. We were on the road just a bit after 10:00, but we...
1 tag
“Don’t be discouraged by failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure...”
– John Keats
3 tags
Social Media Madness
Or in other words… why I’m not that excited about Google+.
First thing’s first, Google+ is built very well. It’s use of “Circles” is a very good idea (especially the fact that you don’t have to be following people following you - worst part of Facebook). Plus it has some cool features like “Hangouts” and “Huddles.” I also like the...
2 tags
Learned Helplessness →
Interesting read. Makes me wonder what things I’ve accepted blindly in my life.
3 tags
5 tags
Lavender 5k Run
This last weekend, my wife and I got to run in the Lavender 5k Run. We weren’t able to practice much for it, so we didn’t go very fast. Our time was about 46 minutes.
Not having to compete with anybody made it a really enjoyable experience. We had a great time running through the beautiful lavender fields. I guess the lavender didn’t look as good as it could have because of...
3 tags
Firstborn →
A short story by Brandon Sanderson, one of my favorite authors. Enjoy!
4 tags
My Beautiful Wife
I love Tasha Moon because:
She is so good at apologizing. Not like me, who says “sorry” for everything until it doesn’t really mean as much anymore. She knows when to say she’s sorry, and I’m amazed at how even the little things matter to her. It’s easy to see that she truly cares about you.
She does not accept defeat easily. I have seen her work her tail...
2 tags
4 tags
30 Day Challenge
I’m inspired!
For my 30 day challenge, my plan is to write one new blog post a day. My wife has pointed out that blogging is not for everyone, and its not exactly my strongpoint. Nevertheless, I want to write more; I’m not so concerned with my blog posts being amazing or popular or anything, I just want to see how it goes. So if you’re still following my blog, get ready to...
4 tags
Connected - The Film →
Really interested to see what this turns out like.
June 2011
2 posts
2 tags
“I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I...”
– Abraham Lincoln
tumblrbot asked: WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT ON YOUR PLANET?