OK, this is soooo dumb. My comments were broken… again. I don’t know what it is about the WordPress comment blacklist feature, but it seems to (on my blog at least) blacklist all comments — not just ones with bad words. Maybe it’s an issue with a plugin I have installed… I don’t know.
So, once again, I removed the words from the blacklist and all is well.
Comment away!
When I heard that 37signals was holding a Getting Real Workshop in Chicago I knew I had to go. There was just one problem: it sold out in 14 hours. I had hesitated and waited to ask if my company would cover it, and lost out.
Then on December 12th, Jason announced there were an additional six slots open for their Getting Real workshop.
My heart raced — it seemed like an eternity as I moved my mouse to click on the link to see if any spots were left.
Click.
1 spot left.
One. Spot. Left.
I jumped out of my chair and raced over to Pete’s office, but he was in a meeting!
“Noooooo!” I screamed inside my head. I was going to lose the spot — as I stood there some punk was filling out the form and taking my spot. “Screw it, I’ll pay for it myself if I have to!” It was time to act.
I ran back to my desk, pulled out my personal credit card, and filled out the (well designed and intuitive) form.
Click.
A problem. The credit card didn’t go through.
Heart racing, palms sweating, and breathing heavily I switched my expiration date (I had swapped the month and year).
Click.
I have never been so happy to see a receipt page before. As I basked in the triumph of my victory I slowly read the page while noting the great copy 37signals writes. Very conversational, authentic, and real — but never cheesy.
Windy City, here I come.
Oh and the company’s got the bill. Joy.
PS- Yes I am a geek. A very happy and excited geek.
I sold it.
Condition: About 3 years old. Still in good condition. Used heavily at first, rarely in the last 1.5 years.
Includes: 512 MB CF Card, Black Case, Wide Angle Adapter Lens, Telephoto Adapter Lens, Lens adaptor tubes, Extra Battery, Microfiber Cleaning Cloth, Original Accessories. I’ll even throw in a tripod if you want it.
Price: $425 (or, make me an offer)
Please note: This is a ‘gray market’ camera- meaning it was imported from Japan- I didn’t know that when I bought it (from RoyalCamera.com). The camera works fine, but the owners manual is photocopied and you can’t download the latest firmware from the Canon USA site. The camera works great with the factory firmware.
* Or, if you know me personally, we can do the transaction offline.
I saw an ad for the Anthro eNook in Wired, and just got an email from Anthro, so I went to check it out.
It’s a pretty great idea- a space to store and charge all your gadgets, with a built in desk for a laptop.
For the casual computer user, having a massive desk with a desktop is really overkill and usually ugly (an older CRT with bland PC desktop). Why not hide it all behind a nice wood panel?
Also, a standing arrangement promotes quick computer use- no more surfing for hours when you just meant to check email.
I’ve got too much gear to use one of these (I have a 6 foot wide IKEA desk and it’s full), but a great idea for Mom & Dad or a small apartment where space it at a premium.
YackPack is a social network crossed with voicemail.
You record audio messages (in your browser — thanks to Flash) and can send them to your friends on the service. It’s an attempt to replace ‘email’ as the de facto way of keeping up with friends (when not using the phone). The founder says that over time email actually erodes relationships rather than strengthening them and YackPack is the answer.
The problem: getting people set-up to record audio on their home computer. Any modern computer has a mic port and can record audio, but few people ever set this up. Most modern PC’s even come with a really basic mic, good enough for voice use.
YackPack’s solution: audiohelp.info and giving away free mics.
As a podcaster, I’m seeing the following features as being huge for YackPack:
1. Get a encolsure enabled RSS feed of the messages sent to you, so you don’t have to use the YackPack site to hear your messages. Imagine listening to messages and updates from friends on your commute.
2. A ‘podcast’ buddy- any message you send to this buddy appears on your ‘podcast feed’ – lowering the podcasting bar even further. Podcasting becomes as easy as ‘yacking’ at a ‘buddy’.
I don’t know if any of this will happen, but I can hope!
On a side note, the way YackPack was launched (in ‘stealth’ mode — which the founder admits was a mistake) is reminiscent of the pre ‘bubble’ companies – a solution in search of a problem and no way to know if it is doomed until it’s too late. After all, we all have telephones… right? Time will tell if it really takes off.