General
21
Mar 07
Duet Hosting: New Website Design
In 2002 or so, I started a web hosting company, mainly to serve my web design clients and friends and to allow me to start as many websites as I wanted for minimal added cost. I’ve hated the old design for a while now, but haven’t had time to update it. I was messing around last weekend and designed a new website and built it out in a few hours. It was a lot of fun and a relief, in a way.
Some things I’ve done differently versus what I did 3-4 years ago:
- Full CSS/XHTML design
- Scalable design using php includes so I don’t have to change five different pages just to change the footer text
- More spacing. White space is good.
- Randomized testimonials using php
- Google Analytics to go with the rest of my sites, so I can view my site stats all in one place.
- Reskinned the billing login interface, suspended pages template, and new account skeleton pages to match the rest of the site.
I’d like to get some feedback from you. I’ve already received a few good suggestions about the usability of the site, which were really helpful, so look out for those issues especially. When you’re building anything you’re often too close to the project to be objective, so feedback would help fix any glaring problems.
21
Mar 07
What we can learn from American Idol
Christopher Ames pinpoints the appeal of American Idol. Our narcissistic culture has has created a hunger for meaning. We all know that there is a larger world beyond ourselves, yet consumer culture constantly reassures us that we matter more than anything else and that our freedom (freedom to satisfy our desires) is important. I am reminded of the Frank Herbert quotation: “Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.”
Chron of Higher ed.: Schooled by ‘American Idol’:
What lessons about popular attitudes toward grading and evaluation emerge from American Idol’s auditions? First, a belief in genuine standards: We may at times disagree about whether a performance is good or bad, but extreme examples remind us that those differences in taste exist within that shared context of what counts as “in tune,” an agreement about what ultimately is a credible performance. In fact, in one episode Cowell challenged an angry, spurned contestant to go into a local shopping mall and find three people who would testify that he sang well (the contestant didn’t succeed). It was as if a disgruntled student had shown his graded paper to a random assortment of his peers, only to find them endorsing his teacher’s assessment.
Second, the show reveals a respect for expertise. Along with the estimable pop credentials of the regular judges, celebrity guest judges demonstrate how skill and training inform good evaluation. A similar respect for professorial authority characterizes the academic landscape. Amid all the attacks on higher education today, America remains a culture that puts great stock in expert opinions.
Third, the auditions reveal that individuals are often not good judges of their own ability. Again and again, the judges mirror audience incredulity at poor performers who think they are great. The simple reality that professors encounter all the time emerges with clarity: People aren’t objective about themselves. But more than that, most people are not astutely self-critical or even open to constructive appraisal. Learning how to learn from coaching and criticism can be a challenge — and, ultimately, the most successful contestants (like successful students) do just that and improve notably in the course of the season or semester. We call it education.
13
Mar 07
I don’t get Twitter
Twitter is this website where anyone can post what they’re doing right now. You can post to Twitter from your cell phone, computer, email, Wii, etc. It’s like a group MySpace page or something, which I don’t get either. The usual sorts are drinking the kool-aid and posting every time they get a coffee or do something at SXSW. Does anyone really want to know everything I think or do in the course of my daily life? Do you enjoy knowing what all your friends are doing? Maybe I’m the weird one.
It seems like Twitter is MySpace/Facebook/Bebo for the more sociable, blogging nerds. It’s new and it’s social. Those seem to be the important qualities.
One of the problems I have with the web is that novelty-seekers (or, as they proclaim themselves, “early adopters”) tend to talk a lot and often and thus seem to wield a strange influence by creating excitement about new, cool things. Often through sheer volume of activity, the novelty locusts latch onto something good and worthwhile. But, in the case of Twitter, I don’t think so.
In a way, it reminded me of the “cat in ur _____” meme, except twitter will not make you laugh. So, I did this image of cats using twitter, which makes just as much sense as people using it.
See also:
10
Mar 07
My review of SimulScribe (voicemail transcription service)
Price: $9.99 per month for 40 messages. $.25 each additional message.
I hate listening to voice mail. It’s one of those things that you can’t really just take in at a ‘glance’ because speech is a linear way to deliver information. If you have an email you can speed up your reading by skipping over words or sentences to get a taste for what you’re reading. Luckily, there are now services to transcribe your voicemail and convert to email or text message. I’m trying one right now called SimulScribe.
Set up process
For SimulScribe, the set up is painless. You create an account then you receive an email with instructions based on your mobile provider for enabling selective call forwarding that forwards your calls to SimulScribe if you fail to answer the telephone. This works the exact same way your voicemail normally works. It’s simply rerouted to SimulScribe.
Using the service: Callers
On the caller’s end they receive your voicemail greeting after about six rings. SimulScribe includes a tagline for their service with instructions to speak slowly. The tagline can be removed in the account settings, however removing this tagline adds $.05 to each transcribed message. If I had few missed calls per month, I would probably remove this and pay the extra five cents.
Checking your voicemail
Each account has a voicemail number you can dial to listen to your voicemail as you normally would. On most phones, you can set up your voicemail speed dial key to use this new number, so that your process remains the same. As soon as a message is left, you can listen to it in your voicemail, even if the call has not yet been transcribed. You can also review a record of your voicemail messages at the SimulScribe website.
Receiving the call transcription
Once the call has been transcribed, you will receive a transcription message via SMS (text message) on your cell phone or by email on your mobile device or computer. The email transcript of the message will include an attached .wav file recording for review.
In two tests, I placed a call for 26 seconds and another call for 60 seconds, the limit for a voicemail message. For the 26 second message, the transcript was received within 5 minutes. For the 60 second message, the transcript was received within 15 minutes. This seems too long and the wait could be due to heavy usage, however this system was tested on the weekend, which is generally a slow time for call traffic. For important calls, I might end up calling voicemail, otherwise I’m fine with a delay of 5-10 minutes, especially considering how much quicker it is to read your voicemail than to actually listen to it.
Accuracy
In two tests, the transcription system was pretty accurate. It has trouble with acronyms and seldom used words, but the transcripts are more than enough to convey the meaning and content of the messages. SimulScribe also allows you to have the message re-transcribed by simply replying to the original transcript email.
In one of the tests, I read from the Gettysburg Address (Bliss copy version. Lincoln had several versions.):
Hi Chris,
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated (Call ended with SimulScribe ‘Goodbye’ message)
This was the transcribed result:
Hi Chris. (phonetic ‘Four score’) and seven years ago. Our fathers is brought forth on this continent and (phonetic ‘new nation’) conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war. Testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here, gave their lives,that that nation might live is altogether fitting a proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. We cannot concentrate. We cannot hollow this ground. The brave man, living in dead and struggled here have (phonetic ‘concentrated’) it. Far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but I can’t what they did here. It is for us to living rather to be dedicated…
As someone who has a tendency to mumble over certain words and blend words together, the result is very good. Attached is a recording of my call.
Integration with home or office phone systems
To transcribe your home calls, contact your phone service provider and ask if “Call Forward No Answer” is available on your line. This feature is available on 80%-90% of landline phones in the US. If the feature is available, set up “Call Forward No Answer” to your SimulScribe number.
If your office phone system can send voicemail as an attached recording via email (approximately 50% of office phone systems have this feature including ours), have the email sent directly from the office phone system to “insert SimulScribe number”@my.simulscribe.com. SimulScribe will then transcribe the message and send it to the locations that you have specified in your user profile.
Conclusion
SimulScribe is very cool. If you hate voicemail, or have a lot of meetings at work where you can’t talk on the phone, it’s perfect. They have a free week trial if you want to test it out.
09
Mar 07
Hollis Baker keeps things in perspective
Back when I lived in Austin, I went to the Toastmasters’ meetings every Monday morning at 6:45am near my apartment. Toastmasters is where you go if you want to get better at talking in front of crowds, which I suck at. It’s also a good place to meet interesting characters, one of whom is Hollis Baker of Liberty Hill. He’s easily one of the best story tellers I’ve ever met and a good friend to boot. Anyway, I stopped by his blog today to catch up and to see what he’s been up to. I was rewarded with several good stories, and I especially liked the following metaphor:
Quiet draped the porch and the yard, the meadow and the world. Finally Child poked a hole in the stillness with the question, “But Old Man what is the most important fact of Life? Old Man replied, “Two things Child, are the only things that really matter in life. The first are Roses, ” the Old Man said. “Roses are like life and love and beauty. Each rose has a thorn to remind us that life must be handled gently, not clutched, or yanked about indiscriminately, ” Old Man stated. “Each rose forms a promising bud, to be nourished and coaxed into full bloom. As the blossom unfolds in all its pristine beauty they make life worthwhile.” Old Man continued, “And even in death the faded petals fall to earth adding nourishment to morrows blossoms.”
See also:
09
Mar 07
Sensible Mass Transit
Sitting in traffic is aggravating because it frustrates freedom of movement. You sit with thousands of other people in an environment walled in by painted lines, concrete and exhaust; an environment where you must be vigilant enough to avoid an accident but are otherwise denied freedom except what is possible within the constraints of limited attention and movement. If you could divert your attention, it would be less frustrating, but you must face forward and wait in line. Traffic is life as tedium.
We should continue to improve mass transit and the highway system, to solve many of the problems with the usual mass transit paradigm:
- The right target demographic: With the exception of trains and subways in the Northeast, mass transit is rarely designed with the middle-class in mind. This is why it is seldom successful or popular. It is almost always subsidized with taxes and fares targeted at low-income users. This is a recipe for mediocrity since you will never have an easy time with revenue, quality, or service. The working commuter should be the focus of mass transit. It is always more successful to bring the lower end consumer up than to force the higher end consumer down.
- Support commuting, not a car-less lifestyle: Residential bus routes are inefficient and do not make sense for the average commuter. Even with residential routes, you have to walk from your house to the bus stop, which is often inconvenient to anyone but the most desperate or car-less. Greater emphasis should be placed on servicing common junctions where large numbers of residential drivers enter the highways because this is where traffic is congested. High-volume transit stations with adequate parking could be placed along major highways, especially closer to remote suburbs where traffic enters the funnel.
- Partnerships with business: We need to get creative with how to fund mass transit, while at the same time adding value for the end-user. For example, take advantage of any wait time by sharing transit stations with businesses focused on the busy commuter. Get coffee or breakfast, leave your car to be washed and lubed while you’re at work, get new tires, buy a newspaper or an iPod, surf the Internet. With just a few businesses it could turn the commute into time well spent.
- Demand-based tollways: I’m a big fan of toll roads provided they are managed properly. However, the purpose of the toll system should be convenience, not as a replacement for normal conduits through the city. If I’m on a toll road, I expect there to rarely be traffic. With automated payment systems already in place, tollways should increase tolls automatically as traffic becomes more congested. The goal should be to maintain a 50 mph flow. If this drops, the tolls should go up. Another alternative is to increase tolls during normal rush hours. This will create an added incentive for some people to travel outside these hours. It is silly to have a toll system that is empty most of the time and only heavily used during rush hours.
- Promote central density: Tolls should also start out more expensive in the suburbs and decrease as you enter central city areas. This way you pay more the further away you are from the city since these commuters cause the most congestion as they are on the highway longer. This is a good check against the suburban sprawl that afflicts many areas.
05
Mar 07
On the subject of underpants hair
Have you ever really thought about how strange it is to have hair? Or, why we have hair in certain places? It seems strangley odd to have hair springing from our pores. It raises so many questions. Why is it a certain color, thickness, length and oriented in a certain direction? Why do we have it at all? Why is it only present in certain places? We seem fairly naked as far as mammals go, but in fact only the palms of our hands and the bottoms of our feet are completely hairless. Everywhere else our bodies are populated with hair of different lengths and thickness. It’s something I’ve often thought about and been interested in, since on the surface it seems rather arbitrary.
- The Hair Helmet – Why do we have the most hair on top of our heads? Your scalp is covered with thousands of blood vessels in order to keep your brain’s temperature regulated. Hair does a great job of insulating your head and hair actually protects your head from scratches and injuries. You can scratch hair a lot harder than you can scratch bare skin. When you’re hot, your hair also helps prevent your sweat from evaporating too quickly or running into your eyes.
- Eyebrows and eyelashes – Eyebrows and eyelashes serve many different purposes. They can help regulate the amount of sunlight that enters your eyes through squinting. Your eyelashes will interlock and still allow you to see out, like natural sunglasses. Eyebrows and eyelashes also help prevent dust and germs from entering your eyes. And, eyebrows catch sweat that runs down from your head. Eyebrows also help communicate body language and expression. If you’ve ever gone to the zoo and seen the monkey exhibits, you will see how eyebrows are used to communicate body language. Some primates have lighter patches under their eyebrows that flash out when they raise their eyebrows in alarm. As social animals, primates make good use of facial expressions to communicate and eyebrows are an important part of this signaling.
- Sensitive areas – The hair under the arms and in genital areas serves several interesting functions. Much like blossoming flowers, sexually mature human beings release sweat in these areas that is thick with pheromones to entice members of the opposite sex. Under magnification this sweat is even cloudy in appearance. The hair traps this pheromone-rich sweat for use in signaling sexual fertility and health to nearby interested parties. Hair also protects the genitals from chafing and injury, as well as from dust and germs.
- Beards – Beards are harder to explain. Why do men have beards and women do not? What purpose do they serve? What does it mean that beards are out of fashion and have been for so long? According to one source, beards provide a good way to tell if someone is a mature male at a distance. This came in handy when we were running around sticking spears into each other. It was generally a bad idea to run into rival males from other tribes. That and maybe cave men and women looked pretty similar without beards. Beard hair also protects your face while running through the brush after prey. Although later in history, Alexander the Great made his men cut off their beards before battle since he thought it might be a disadvantage during close combat. This is part of the reason why the modern military style is for close-cropped hair and beard.
04
Mar 07
Two productivity tips that work
Life requires a lot of work, and it’s a lot easier if you waste less energy. Like many of you, I am always on the look out for good ways to make things work better, so I can spend more time doing things I enjoy. Here are a few concepts that have helped me improve the way I do things:
- Get up early: It’s hard to get out of bed early, but it’s easier if you go to sleep early. This is probably the hardest part, especially if you’re naturally a night owl or living with a night owl. Even though it feels a little strange to be up before other people, I have found that it adds a lot of benefit. For your entire day you are ahead of the pack. You get the best parking spots, the line at the coffee shop is shorter, traffic is lighter, you’re replying to email before everyone else, you go to lunch earlier and miss the rush, and you can go home earlier without feeling like a slacker. Not only does this help you stay on top of things but everyone else who comes in later starts to look a little more like a slacker. Early morning is also a good time to plan your day and make lists of all the things you need to take care of. If you work in an office, it’s also easier to get things done before everyone else comes in and starts chatting it up. Now, some people like to come in extra late to avoid the herd and this works pretty well, but I find that in the early morning you often have more time to react to situations, like the server going down overnight, for example. This is harder if you roll in at 10-10:30am with your voicemail and email inbox full of messages.
- Funnel everything into one email box: I used to spend several minutes a day logging into various email accounts, dialing into my voicemail to stop the light from flashing, etc. Now I forward all 5-6 of my email accounts (with the exception of my work email address) to my gmail account or I check my email and download into Gmail (Gmail lets you check up to 5 POP email accounts). For faxes I have an Efax account. For voicemail my messages are forwarded as .wav files and are not stored in the voicemail system. For any account statements these are also forwarded to email, so I receive less actual mail.