The New Year has been about letting go. The following are links I’ve been saving up until I could write really smart, persuasive, in-depth blog posts about each one. Not going to happen, so I’m just going to move them out of here and let you do as you will. Enjoy…

• The Poor Man posits a hypothetical for those of you who call yourselves Libertarian. He also scratches his head over our so-called War President.
• Breaking the Daou Cycle: Conservative opposition to Bush’s law-breaking – by Glenn Greenwald
• Fear destroys what bin Laden could not. I’m with Robert Steinback on this one. If the terrorists hate our freedoms, are we just trying to get rid of them so they won’t hate us? “Don’t hurt us! We don’t have freedoms anymore. Go attack some free people.” WTF?
• NTodd tears it up on the same topic.
• And Digby, of course, has still more.
• Like my friend Sid the Fish, I’m kind of cool on Hillary, too. I think she’d be the wrong candidate for 2008 for a lot of reasons, but mostly because she will be a lightning rod, galvanizing the right into rallying around whatever morally bankrupt candidate the Republicans nominate.
• This ‘bout sums up the Bush record of achievement.
• Bob Geiger has a few questions for those who still support Bush.
• The invaluable Bruce Schneir on The Security Threat of Unchecked Presidential Power.
• Also, see this at Eschaton on the Imperial President. Who is ably abetted by John Yoo, as ReddHedd explains.

Louise and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the Seattle Podcasters Meetup tonight. We chatted about podcasting (natch), beer, blogging, technology, accessibility issues, and more. It was a small gathering, but a good group and I’m sure we’ll grow in time. If you have a chance, check out the blogs/podcasts for Travis, Matt, Ken (and Gayle, by proxy), and Robert.

If you’re a Seattle podcaster, or want to be, come out and join us for the next meetup, Tuesday, September 6th.

Technorati Tags: Podcasting, Seattle

John F. Kennedy:

“We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.”

Technorati Tags: Art, Quotes

No links in ages. I’ve been holding out on you. I’m so ashamed.

• John McGowan post on the rhetorics of violence. (Michael Bérubé)


• What Catherine Ingram said: “I am so tired of hearing Karl Rove referred to as a genius. It’s like saying the mob boss, known for getting his way by kneecapping people and stuffing bodies into car trunks, is a genius.” These guys are playground bullies with drivers licenses, nothing more. It’s like the whole Republican party decided that it was going to be Opposite Decade. The big mistake is to take them seriously, or to expect that they will behave like adults. Not going to happen.


• To wit: Also what Driftglass said.


• I’ve been following the Valerie Wilson (née Plame) case with interest. Larry Johnson, a former classmate of Wilson’s at the CIA, has the most airtight and compelling answer to those who question the former Ms. Plame’s status and importance as an operative. And this Washington Post article from 2003 details the actual damage caused by the leak.


• From the Applied Improv Network, here’s a post called “When in Doubt, Accelerate.” Pretend for a minute that living life is like riding a motorcycle. Now click the link.

Technorati Tags: Politics

Never “utilize.” Never, never, never, ever “utilize.”

“Use.”

That is all.

Continuing to clean out my virtual notebook with a bunch of links from the tech world.

• Take a trip down 16K-memory lane with these scans of print ads for classic computers from Altos to Zenith.

• De.lirio.us is a social bookmarking clone of del.icio.us. The main differences seem to be the capacity for longer notes, annoying videos built in to the posts, and an open code base. I’m not inclined to switch from del.icio.us after already committing so many bookmarks to that site, but perhaps there’ll be some way to share links between the sites. It does seem like it might be useful to use Delirious as an alternate site for finding stuff I’m interested in. I’ve already found a few very cool sites by browsing through the tags. If you haven’t tried a social bookmarking site yet, I do highly recommend del.icio.us. Check out John Udell’s screencast to learn more about what it is and how to use it. Also, Beelerspace offers a nice tutorial for Del.icio.us beginners.

• Alright, Windows users. I know you’re tired of Mac fanatics, but this article by Mary Stamper on her conversion to the Mac world is one of the most lucid, cogent, and accurate pieces I’ve ever read on just what’s wrong with Windows and what’s right with the Mac.

• I’ve just discovered MyBlogLog.com, and I love it. For those of you with blogs, MyBlogLog is an enhancement to the stats from your web host, in that it shows you which links your visitors are clicking on from your site. It’s dead easy to get started, too. Just sign up for an account, drop a line of java script in your blog template and start obsessively checking the MyBlogLog page.

• If you haven’t noticed yet, Google has added movie times and reviews to their search results. In the Google search field, just enter “movie:” and a movie title and zip code to find show times in your area. “Movie:” and a zip code will give you a complete list of movies and showtimes in the area. (via Slashdot)

• Speaking of Google, Gizoogle is good for a chuckle or two. Gizoogle (tag line: Fo all you beotches who wanna find shiznit) translates any site on the web into hip-hop. Word.

• And, speaking of Google and Word, the Google Tutor and Advisor tutors and advises us on just what the heck Google Print is anyway.

• Oh, what the heck. Let’s just make this a whole Google subsection. Google’s mail service, Gmail (ask me for an invite!), just upgraded its free storage space to 2 Gigs. They also seem to imply that, as you need it, you’ll be able to have as much more storage as you like. I wouldn’t have thought this necessary for any normal humans, but one of my co-workers who apparently never throws an email away has over 9G of archived email. Imagine if it was all instantly searchable! Anyway, for those of you who’ve been hesitating, check Grant McCracken’s blog post about his conversion to Gmail. He’s hooked, and so am I!

• Web-based, sharable lists, from the makers of Basecamp.

• Via BoingBoing, we found this link to an interview with Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm Computing. I had no idea Hawkins also studied brain theory. His new company and his thoughts on computing are very stimulating.

• Via Slashdot, here’s an interview with Mac developer Jonathan Rentzsch. 90% of it is over my head, but I still loved reading it for the insight on the coding world and the dev’s perspective on the Mac OS. Lots of good stuff here.

• Wikimedia’s new venture, WikiCities, hosts community wikis for hobbyists, professionals, organizations, and more.

• This is very funny. Via Boing Boing, here’s a new way to format music lyrics. Those of you with outliners… you’ll understand.
• Seth Godin posted a picture of how people view online search results. Here’s the conclusion of the story at SearchEngineResults.com:

  People continue to favor organic listings over paid search listings, unless the paid search listing is at the top of the page.

  And yet many search engine marketers are ignoring search engine optimization, opting instead to go the “easier” route of buying sponsored listings. The increasing body of research is very clearly saying that it’s a mistake to rely solely on paid listings to drive visitors to a web site. A well-balanced search marketing campaign should incorporate both well-crafted search engine optimization efforts as well as paid listings to capture the full range of searcher behavior.

• I love CSS, but it can be a bitch to tweak. CreativeBits (an indispensable graphic design/OS X site) recently pointed to StyleMaster 4, a new program that promises to make stylesheet editing a little easier. And if you really need to dig in to the code and tweak like a mofo, MacMerc and others have been buzzing about The CSS Anthology. Sure, it’s print, but nothing’s perfect.

Because blog posts are random…

• Hugh Macleod claims that advertisers no longer have control over their message. In order to compete in the future, companies will need to “improve the conversation.”
• I didn’t know my friend Michele Corey had a blog about marketing, entrepreneurship, coaching, and business stuff. Well, she does! It’s called Knee Deep, and it’s pretty damn good.
• Creating Passionate Users continues to be one of my favorite sites. See the posts Creating Passionate Fans, The Power of One, and How to Break Through…
• If you’re interested in increasing your website’s visibility on Search Engines, here’s a short primer on SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. SEO seems to lie more in art than in science, but the few simple tips collected at the SEO and Affiliate Marketing Blog can help.
• This is pretty cool Intelliseek’s BlogPulse tracks “weblog conversations.” From what I can tell, this is basically an index of posts related to a certain topic. It’s a way of looking at a lot of blogs as if the bloggers were participating in a forum or bulletin board.
• Make sure your press release gets seen online. (Online Marketing Blog)
• Jason Kottke’s business influences. Not a bad list.
• Work Boxers is a blog on making money online. The site was formerly titled Big Money Tips, and that site still hosts this article on creating Massive Keyword Lists.
• A wrap-up of the Blog Business Summit.
• The Applied Improv Blog tracks the use and teaching of improvisation in a business setting. Now, why didn’t I think of that?
• Seth Godin has a great take on a lot of business and marketing stuff. Recently, he nailed why it’s so hard to break in on another company’s established market: because very good is not nearly good enough.
• Dave Taylor tells you how to make tons of money with Google AdSense. Well, he hints at it, anyway. Points you to some resources you can buy, in order to make more money.
• Atrios has some really good advice for new bloggers.
• David Pollard’s blog is called “How to Save the World.” See his recent posts, When Will BUsiness Embrace Blogs and How to Make Money by Giving Stuff Away Free.
• Freelancers: Artsy Fartsy Weblog has some advice for you: The Ten Commandments of Freelancing.
• And, here’s how Patty Ayers got her first 39 clients.
• Looking for a job? Run the interview. (Management craft, via Lifehacker).

Cleaning out the old link bank today. This is the first of several posts, loosely organized by catagory. First up: random links…

• Merlin Mann has cranked up the 43 Folders Wiki, an incredibly useful adjunct to his 43 folders blog. Mann tracks the latest in productivity tips and tricks, including information about applications for OS X.
• Here’s more on Merlin Mann and getting things done on the Mac from MacDevCenter.
• Speaking of productivity, I use AquaMinds’ NoteTaker to help me organize my work and writing, and I’m loathe to change, but Steven Berlin Johnson has a pretty cool system going on with DevonThink.
• Not to be confused with 43 folders, 43 Things is a nifty new site for setting, sharing, and tracking your life goals. Who’d’a thunk it? Sign up and visit. It’s weirdly compelling.
• Wicked cool. Via CoolGov, here’s a movie that shows the flight paths of every airplane flying over the US in a 24-hour period.
• Via Boing Boing, here’s an article on writing better emails. Very helpful. (HBS Working Knowledge)
• Very interesting: The Matrix online game hires actors to hang out online and provide “local color.” (Boing Boing)
• The Google Tutor on Google Print.

Given that today is Valentine’s Day, it seems appropriate to post a little something about keeping the passion alive all year long. No, not that way… though that’s nice, too. I mean keeping passion as a user and as a creator.

My new favorite blog for business and creativity is Creating Passionate Users, (CPU) a group effort by the authors of the Head First book series. The posts are just absolutely stocked to the gills with great ways to look at creating relationships between users and companies. Here are a few that I picked out recently:

• Doing a 180 – about changing your perspective on suckiness. How to get better at the things you don’t do as well as you’d like, and how can you think differently at your level of achievement in a particular skill.
• Creating Playful Users – about how playfulness and fun are essential to creating peak user experiences.
• Cognitive bandwidth is like dial-up – give your users an experience that helps them think about the right things. In other words, don’t load them up with information they don’t need.
• The WTF learning principle – learn, and help others learn, by mixing in FERN the unexpected.
• Creative workouts for your brain &ndash points to some websites that’ll help you kickstart your motorbike. If you know what I mean.
• Sentimental Moonshine – about balancing common sense with play.
• How to break through – about… how to break through. Advertising is dead, folks. It just doesn’t know it yet.
• The future is in not learning – being nimble requires unlearning what you know. This may be the big one, the unappreciated essential skill. Think of almost any breakthrough, and chances are it required forgetting the rules.

  Read these and others at the Creating Passionate Users site. This is good, good stuff.

  CPU has my antennae tuned to more tips and tricks for creating cool user experiences. Here’s a few others from ‘round the blogosphere:

• Teresa Nielsen Hayden has compiled a list of tips for moderating online communities. (Via Boing Boing)
• There’s also this post about passion from Evelyn Rodriguez, who reminds us that sticking to your passion and sharing it wholeheartedly is the key to blogging… and everything else, too.