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I’m also trying to add support for Digg to automatically load my feed. I need to add this key:

0301e2a3777f4424a1aaf88eb11ae07f

to my site, this is my second attempt. Hopefully this will work.

Martha and Paul will be attending NASFIC to talk about podcasting and running conventions. Stop in and see us.

We will be on the following panels:

Regional Fandom - Room RCC 203 – 1pm to 2pm on Friday 8/6

What Podcasts Can Do for You -Room RCC 203 – 10:30am to noon on Sat. 8/7

Why My First Podcast Sucked - Room RCC 203 – 5pm to 6pm on Sat. 8/7

We’re really looking forward to seeing everyone in the podcasting and SF&F community. Walk up to us and say hello!

The ringtone is a .m4r file. It will go straight into iTune and onto your iPhone. If you don’t have an iPhone you’ll want the .mp3 version. It’s in mono, 64 Kbps, so it should work on just about any phone that will let you use your own .mp3 files as ringtones.

If there’s interest and time, I’ll try throwing some bed music underneath it and post it again.

PS. The best part of the impression was Cory doing his daughter’s British accent.

Unfortunately the laptop screen got broken in an accident a short time later and the machine, while still operational, is anchored to his desktop by a large and clunky monitor. No longer can he create on the go as the universe intended.

So I implore you, please help us get Jared’s laptop fixed. I found a company in California that will repair it for $250. I expect he’ll have to spend between $30 and $50 boxing it up to travel safely as well as for postage and insurance. So I’ve created the ChipIn.com fund for a total of $300 (less PayPal fees). [NOTE: I couldn't figure out how to have Chipin.com show our donation, so I lowered the original amount to reflect our gift.]

Anything you can spare would be a great help. Please consider give a few bucks to help him get his mobile mojo back in gear. Every $5 or $10 you can spare will get him closer to creating more wonderful things without being anchored to a monitor.

My friend, Greg Seidman, has released his first game for the iPhone. Circuits, is a cool game where you rotate parts on the board trying to form a circuit before time runs out. I’ve been testing the game for months and I really love it. You can find out more about Circuits here.

The game is addictive. I’ve played it for hours and that’s saying something for Mr. A.D.D. Usually I put iPhone games down after a short time. But not Circuits. Give it a try, I’m sure you’ll love it.

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Bought it on a 6 year loan, paid it off in 4.5 years. Got rid of it when I won a Pontiac Aztek. Sold both of them and bought Famous Blue, my ’05 Prius.

Current baby name being floated: Rose Atalanta

Everything is fine and we’re still on track for early October.

These are her Han Solo encased in carbonite photos.

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Regardless of my personal desires for a more relaxed world, I still found time to get this new suit jacket for the upcoming series of weddings we will be attending. It really does make me look good.

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My blog comments are below the “read more”.

My Mac dictionary defines affectation as behavior, speech, or writing that is artificial and designed to impress. By definition, if I wear t-shirt and jeans as my default uniform, it is not artificial and definitely not designed to impress.

When I first started my career I bought the book “Dress for Success”. I followed it reasonably well, sticking with suits, slacks, button down shirts, and ties. I allowed myself black sneakers instead of shoes because of foot problems. It wasn’t long before I realized that my job required me to climb under people’s desks to fix their computers. At this point I switched from suits and slacks to Dockers which held up better.

Regardless of my chosen uniform for work, I still changed into my preferred jeans and t-shirt when I got home. Jeans and t-shirt are not artificial for me. They are my default state. My chosen garb. The suits, slacks, button down shirts, and ties are the affectation.

I’m a large guy. Usually I can’t find cloths that make me look good unless I work very hard. I have never found anything second hand that fit me remotely well, and I have spent hours in thrift shops. I usually can’t find much that makes me look good in the stores unless I go to a big and tall man’s shop. The cost of acquisition in time and money is rather large for a whole wardrobe. The cost of maintenance is as well.

I think you missed one opportunity this provides us rebels. By the American work force getting more relaxed I think the rebels will turn to suits and ties to show their rebellion, thus standing society on it’s head. The new punk may be the old IBM dark suit, white shirt, red tie, and black shoes.

I was the first of my group of friends to adopt the golf shirt and jeans as a uniform. Maybe it’s time for me to rebel again and start looking for some good looking blazers.

-Paul Fischer
Rebel Cothier
posted by: Paul Fischer on Thu, 6/12 12:38 PM EDT

Well said. But there is a point that I think you and Jared both missed. For the last 20 years or so I’ve been the chief computer expert in my various jobs. I discovered way back that customers expected me to look a particular way before they would really take me seriously. It was a personal style that screamed to them uber geek.

While my sales and marketing associates were taken seriously wearing a suit and tie, I got the best results looking rather unkempt. I affected a ponytail which looked awful no matter what I did, and went for a full beard and mustache before trimming back to a goatee. If I dressed in a suit I would be ignored. But when I dressed in golf shirt or t-shirt and jeans I was instantly identifiable as the tech genius.

Contrary to Jared’s main point, I was more successful when I fit the mold of what the customer thought a tech guy should look like. When I tried to look debonair I was not taken seriously.

I believe the thinking back then went like this: “He looks like a mess, but they still employ him. He must be highly competent or he couldn’t get away with it.” I know certain people who “get away with it” today. They dress Goth and it seems to be taken as a sign they’re very good at what they do.

Now that everyone in my industry has affected my mode of dress, I am pining for a way to be the rebel again. Maybe it’s time for me to find a nice blazer and tie to wear. Maybe if I get the color combinations so discordant my customers will think, “He must be the best. Otherwise how could he get away with that outfit?”

-Paul
posted by: Paul Fischer on Thu, 6/12 02:25 PM EDT

These photos are now available on my Flickr.

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I think my heuristic will be something akin to this: Do I know you personally? Have I met you in person? Am I going to meet you in person? Do we do business together? Do I find you intensely interesting?

Unfortunately, everyone who doesn’t meet the heuristic must be axed. I’m sorry, but I need to make Twitter work for me. Please don’t be offended. It’s nothing personal. I will still approve follow requests, but I will likely not follow you back.

http://officeofstrategicinfluence.com/bulkmailer/ Is a site that shows you how to mail a brick or other heavy items to junk mailers. It helps the USPS and cost the junk mailers lots of cash. It’s time to fight back America! Click the link and mail your own brick.

It’s been a long journey of ups and downs filled with doctor’s visits, medicine, surgery, grief, and hope. Suffice it to say that we got a lot of help along the way and are still receiving it daily. We’ll post more about our surrogacy journey later. For now we present you with a very early portrait of our little human. We aren’t even sure what sex he/she is but healthy is all that matters.

The Prius is a great car, but it could be better. In many other places where the Prius is sold, with the exception of the US, the Prius has an EV (Electric Vehicle) mode. This allows the drive to completely disable the gas motor if he chooses. It’s supposed to be a huge energy savings when you’re driving in traffic or at low speed. If you could combine this with a plug-in option, you could save money and energy. This is called a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV).

I want these options. I have wanted them since I found out about them by reading Prius board and website on the net. However, the only places that sell kits to hack your Prius that I’ve found, such as Coastal Tech, are west coast based. Until now.

Enter Harvey Coachworks. This is the first Mid-Atlantic company I’ve seen that does any kind of Prius conversions (a.k.a. Prius Hacking). They’re based in Knoxville, MD less than 30 minutes from where I work. For the first time, I have hope that I can work with a local company to install some of the cooler Prius mods on the market without screwing up my car. I just contacted Mike Harvey, the owner of the company, but already I know we’ll be able to work together.

Why?

In and odd coincidence I have worked for him before. In a previous day job he was my supervisor. And, while the company wound up sucking the life out of me, I generally enjoyed working with him. (Except for the time he gave me a performance review and had his head in his Powerbook the whole time he was talking to me. But he was going through some heavy shit at home during that time, so, in hind sight, I’ll cut him some slack.)

What’s even weirder is that he’s going to be on the Science Track at Balticon to talk about his EV and PHEV conversions. I’m definitely going to snag an interview with him. I may even try to record it from inside his car, a VW Cabriolet which he personally converted into an EV.

Here’s Jesse’s obituary.

-Paul

Bacon therapy and furuncular myiasis