Archive for June, 2008
Founders’ Favorites on ClickBricks
June 30, 2008
I think I may have opened up a big can of worms by blogging at two separate sites. Given that I’m relatively new to blogging in general (dating back to just last summer) you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t get the dual blog thing just right. (And with a few more ideas nearing the end of the pipeline, it may be “tri” and “quad” blogging real soon.
Anyway, while I figure out a good solution to this dilemma, you can view the inaugural Founders’ Favorites post here. (I apologize in advance for my less than ravishing on screen presence.)
- > Join the discussion
A Case for “A Second Opinion”
June 30, 2008
Our two oldest boys started swim lessons at the city pool today and things my wife and I have been telling them for months were instantly validated and strangely paid attention to, much more so than when we have tried to get them to do it. I guess a combination of peer pressure, “expert” instruction and cute lifeguards (from my sons’ mouths, not mine) is a great catalyst for putting heads fully underwater, floating on backs and jumping confidently into the pool. Granted, it’s also a great reminder of the (sometimes) helpless feeling I have as a parent (which I think is a good reminder.)
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
June 28, 2008
That’s the question posed in the recent edition of Atlantic Monthly. The article offers compelling evidence how instant access to information may be changing the way our brains process data.
Bring It On Yellow Pages
June 27, 2008
When Henry Ford launched the Model T there was the railroad. When Sam Walton launched Wal-Mart there was K-Mart and its blinking blue light. When Edison invented the light bulb there was, well, I guess a bunch of messy candles and smoky kerosene lamps. The point I’m trying to make is great ideas often start as really big underdogs in the face of current behemoths.
And so it is with ClickBricks. (Haha, ok so I feel a little silly for equating it with the above examples, but you get the point.) I’ve wanted to try to compete with blow Yellow Pages out of the water for 3 years and the time has finally come to fire my first (deliberate) shot. Hopefully, with much more blood (ok not literally), sweat and tears, this little pea shooter will prove to be a worthwhile business endeavor and allow me to recoup the time, energy, legal fees, programming fees, emotional strain and brain cell consumption that has gone into it and ultimately provide the unique excitement, satisfaction and societal benefit that only entrepreneurial adventures can bring.
In the words of Tiger Woods (sort of) “I feel good, the site looks good, I like my chances.” (If you know where that comes from I’ll give you a cookie.)
Thanks to (in no particular order) Mike Skaggs - Economic Development Director for the State of Nevada, Doug Thomas - Assistant Dean at Anderson School of Management and Tom Carroll - president and founder of Carroll Strategies for sitting on the Advisory Board. Your input has been valuable thus far and I look forward to your continued involvement.
And if you know business owners that advertise online be sure to tell them about ClickBricks - I’d greatly appreciate it!
Internet Explorer is the Bane of My Existence
June 27, 2008
At least Bill Gates is trying to make up for this terrible product via philanthropy. He’s going to have to give A LOT of money to offset all the pain and suffering IE (at least IE6 and prior) has caused web developers over the years.
FedEx Kinkos DOES NOT Have My Business
June 27, 2008
Especially when they charge $0.49 per B&W computer printout. And especially when Staples charges $0.09 for the same service. Oh, yeah, Kinkos also charges $18/hour (or $0.30/minute) to use their computers in order to print the files. Later FedEx, you have lost my business for good.
Tampa Thunderstorms Are Loud
June 26, 2008
I’ve never experienced such loud and looming thunderstorms as the ones Tampa produces. It seems like we’ve had an ominous thunderstorm every afternoon since the end of May. Ones with crazy amounts of lightning, booming thunder and torrents of rain. Maybe you’re not impressed if you’ve lived here for a while, but coming from Albuquerque where the storms are much shorter and inconsistent I’ve got to say I’m rather impressed.
I Need Wisdom
June 24, 2008
As I work towards finishing my book I am in need of wisdom and grace to find a palatable combination of pithy critique, thoughtful dialouge and useful suggestions. (Just in case you are wondering, I’m currently heavy on the first of those three.)
Resolution #1: To Place a Moratorium on Using “Christian” Words and Phrases That Lack Meaning
June 24, 2008
Many people have kept “resolved” lists throughout time and for whatever reason I don’t feel the need to seek “credibility by association” by naming them. Simply put, I’ve decided to start a “resolved list” of my own to track the visceral/spontaneous/deeply contemplated/superficial conclusions my mind sometimes draws.
