As I mentioned on Twitter recently, I’ve been reevaluating twitter follows, RSS feeds, and even my very own blog strategy. For too long, I wandered through my adult life, looking for the inside track to success. Whether it was a super secret method of building blog traffic or just noticing trends before they were trends (online reputation management).
Month: October 2009
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Watching the Mavs
The Mavs started out okay tonight, but even with the score in their favor, Dallas is weak in the paint. That’s what you get when your starting power forward plays like a guard and your center can’t score to save his life.
Kobe didn’t dress up for this one. They’re speculating on tv that its because he doeant respect Dallas as a challenge. Whether that’s true or not, who can say?
Kris Humphries (former child swimming prodigy) has put in some decent minutes. Shawn Marion looks good. The rest of the offense looks flat footed and content with standingv outside and shooting threes.
We’re still early in the game, but I’m predicting a Lakeer win unless they lull themselves to sleep.
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My First Impression of the Motorola CLIQ
It’s officially Day 2 of owning my Motorola CLIQ, but since I just got my data package activated this afternoon, I consider this Day 1. I have some realistic observations of the CLIQ, both pro and con. But I promise to be fair. No buyer’s ecstasy or Apple hatred clouding my judgment. I’m not a hyped up fanboy like some (not mentioning any names, but it starts with an “r” and end with a “jensen“).
Here are my initial thoughts:
The Look
Love it. Absolutely love the look of this phone. I got the white case as opposed to the titanium/grey (though the backing is still grey).
The Feel
Solid construction. Not at all flimsy. Feels nice and sturdy. Physical keys are a little awkward in that there’s no spacing between them. They are beveled to make each key distinguishable, but the T-Mobile Sidekick is still by far the best mobile keyboard ever made.
To turn the “screen saver” mode on or off, you have to click this button that runs along the side of the device (or the top if in landscape typing mode). My finger keeps trying to press a button a centimeter above the actual button, so I keep forcing myself to look and press the ACTUAL button. Not entirely sure what this means, but it stood out.
The Music
Adding music was a breeze, once I figured out that I need to pull down the status bar to tell the phone to switch from charge mode to download music mode. I ONLY use a Macbook for personal use, but dragging and dropping music files from within my laptop to the phone’s storage was easy as pie (and quick too).
Motoblur
This is the real question in my mind. I’m still a n00b at this point, so we’ll see how I adapt to the setup. Here’s the breakdown: The first thing I see on my home screen is the latest status update from my friends. Mine is set up to combine Twitter and Facebook, so I get everything there. BUT, seeing as how I’m friends with 200+ people on Facebook and I’m following 200+ on Twitter, the chances of me glancing down and seeing an update I really care about are less than stellar.
However, I can tap that latest status update and up pops a page with the same update and a button to favorite or reply. I can click the title bar above that page and the view changes to a vertical list of tweets and facebook updates in chronological order. I’m basically getting a Twhirl kind of singular column view.
Problem: nowhere in this setup do I see the option to view replies. I mean, half of my glancing at Twitter is to see if I’ve missed a reply. How did they miss this important function? I’m looking and looking, but for the life of me I can’t find a page that shows replies only.
What we have here…. is failure….to communicate.
This means I need a Twitter app. And I know nothing of Androidy Twitter apps, so I’ll probably end up downloading a dozen of them and testing them all to see which I like best.
I’ll still use the Motoblur for reviewing the conversation as it goes on, but it could really only be my one-stop-shop for social media conversations if it A) added a reply page or B) I reduce my friend number to less than 50 per site. And even then, I would probably STILL miss replies when I’m away from my phone for long periods of time (yes, I DO put it down for hours at a time).
The Initial Verdict:
- T-Mobile gets a C- for making me wait 24 hrs to have a functioning data package.
- Motorola’s online features get an A- for a superior phone and social media experience with only one real lack – the reply column.
- Motorola CLIQ the phone gets an A- for everything being stellar except speakerphone quality. With the volume very loud, the speaker starts to sound like it’s over capacity.
- Video recording image quality is excellent for a phone, but sound quality left me disappointed.
- The keyboard gets a B+ (for comparison, Blackberrys get a D, G1 gets a D, and Sidekick ID/2/3 gets an A).
- Downloading apps (B+) is easy peesy but doesn’t seem to tell me more than how many stars an app has received.
- The 2GB micro SD card is sorely lacking in space, so I’ll be buying a 16GB card this weekend.
That wraps it up for this mini-review.
What did I miss? Ask and I’ll tell.
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First Lennard Darbee Podcast Now Available
For those of you who have been asking for it, it’s finally here. I posted the very first Lennard Darbee: Rays of Faith podcast yesterday. You can check it out at LennardDarbee.com.
The goal is post one podcast per week, and also provide a transcription of the podcast for those who don’t have time to listen to the whole 11-15 minute session each time.
Your feedback is appreciated. Please leave a comment and discuss points you want to expound upon or disagree with. When you comment on something said, please note the exact time when it was said during the podcast so our other listeners can tune in to hear what you are addressing.
Example: “At 3:19, Lennard said XYZ. I’m not sure I agree with him….”
Thanks and God bless.
– Daniel
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CNN Video: Why Barefoot Running is Better
Check out this video from CNN. The guy they’re interviewing gives some historical background as to how and why he transitioned from traditional running shoes to barefoot. He wrote the book, Born to Run. He also shares some explanations of why barefoot running is better for your body.
My favorite quote from the video:
“The foot is the greatest disciplinarian. You can’t over-pronate, can’t over-train, can’t over-stride … if you do anything wrong, the foot will tell you `uh uh, don’t do that’. Shoes are like morphine: a sedative that deadens the pain.”
Dr. Mercola posted this video on his site and added some commentary beneath about some health benefits of barefoot running. I also discovered from this page that Dr. Mercola wears VIBRAM FIVEFINGERS
on a daily basis as well. We’re an elite club.
You can order Christopher McDougal’s book, Born to Run, from Amazon.com below.
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Day 78: Wearing Regular (GASP) Shoes Today
Last night was a crazy severe thunderstorm in my neck of the metroplex. Rather than face the world with soggy feet and a bitter heart (the inevitable result of cold, soggy feet), I chose to rebel! That’s right, I wore REGULAR shoes!
Wow. How exciting. I’m a regular extreme sports spontaneous kind of guy. Who doesn’t like to get his feet wet.
That’s right. Both pairs of my Vibram FiveFingers are porous just above the hard rubber sole and let all kinds of water in. And once the water is in, there’s no having dry shoes for the rest of the work day. So I abandoned my VFFs and picked up a pair of tube socks (GASP) and my trusty old Diesels.
For this one day, no one will stare at my feet or ask me where I got my shoes. Sigh. Normalcy is so boring.
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Thought of the Day: Friday October 23, 2009
If it’s the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search out a matter, whose glory is it to blog a matter?
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New Batch of Flu Sufferers Points to Texas State Fair
No big surprise here, I guess. The Texas State Fair was a viral hotbed this year. Everyone I’ve spoken to about being sick these past few weeks has either attended the State Fair or is close to someone who has.
More interestingly, one person I spoke with made an odd observation: The hand sanitizer near the petting zoo was sticky rather than slippery and contained no alcoholic smell. These are typical signs of your run-of-the-mill hand sanitizer. Granted, considering the hundreds of gallons of hand cleaner necessary to handle those throngs at the Fair, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they cut a few corners to cut costs. But what WAS in that hand sanitizer?
It may be complete coincidence. Several people I’ve spoken with used that hand sanitizer and were ill within 24-48 hours. Of course, they probably all touched other things in common as well. But it makes me wonder. Not having gone this year, I can only gather secondhand tales and piece them together.
This is the perfect conspiracy theory. What if something viral were introduced to the public at the largest consistent public gathering in North Texas? Whether intentional or accidental, that would make for a serious story.
But I get it. You don’t have to tell me. More than likely, it’s just sick people spreading their germs in tight quarters. I just felt the theory had to be mentioned “in case” I continue to hear accounts of the strange hand sanitizer. So you tell me. Did you go to the Fair? Did you use the hand sanitizer? Did it seem unusual to you? Did you get sick?
Let’s create a conspiracy baseline, shall we?
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
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My Life’s Purpose Seems Impossible to Reach – How Do I Get There?
It’s important to know your purpose in life. In fact, I would venture to say there are only a couple things more important. I’m a thinker. Some would say an overthinker. But I consider ideas and questions from many angles. Nine times out of ten, I’m not satisfied with the status quo answer. I see gaps. I see flaws. I see possibilities.
“They” say that we each attract like-minded people. If that’s true (and I think it is), then I hope some of you are really out there. At the very least, I hope I make a profound difference in one person’s life other than my own by writing in this blog.
I’m going to tell you how I am reaching my purpose. You ready for it? Here goes:
One small choice at a time.
Wait! Don’t leave! I know you’d like something more profound sounding, but this is the truth and if you get ahold of this truth, you will be on the path.
Here’s the deal:
At 17, I was a depressed, anti-social smoker with no hope for a future. I literally told people that I hoped to die at age 25 so I wouldn’t have to bear the lame adult years of being a pathetic domesticated and emasculated male. Just before 19, I cried out to Jesus in my greatest moment of trouble and He delivered me. I was born again, completely clueless about what it meant to live as a believer or as an adult. But my vision began to change.
Within two years, I was deep in depression again. I had no mentors, no one pouring truth into my life and holding me accountable for my thoughts, beliefs, or actions. I was wading through life without a guide, and I couldn’t believe God REALLY loved me enough to help. Everything I did was reactionary. I had no idea what I was aiming at. I had no long-term goals. I had no vision. What’s worse, I had dozens of prophetic words spoken over me that seemed to just bounce off me like BBs.
My point is, I don’t live in that mess anymore. You don’t have to either. I want to encourage you. This is a lifelong process, but I can tell you that my life has grown qualitatively better EVERY SINGLE YEAR. There is no time of my life I would rather be in than right now.
My Goal
It’s a burden on my heart to impart some of my story to you because I’ve had so many friends who are still drifting along without a sense of purpose or destiny. I listened to their aspirations and dreams back when we were 16, 18, 21. But some of those friends got stuck along the way and haven’t made much progress towards the life that God intended, and that will ultimately fulfill them the most while they walk this earth.
That is my heart. If you are discouraged, or have lost your way, I want to encourage you by the Spirit of God. So I will be writing some of my story in the coming days to share with you what I have done to overcome some MAJOR hurdles in my life.
I want to know you. I want to bless you. Spend five minutes with me. You’ll see how human I am. But we’re all JUST human. That’s it. There are no superheroes. There are no elevated people, like super apostles of the faith.
I want to bless you, and I hope you’ll share some feedback with me. Remember, comments are currency in the blogosphere. If you want to thank someone for writing content that matters, write a comment on one of their posts and tell them. Ask questions. Give alternative opinions. BLOGS ARE SUPPOSED TO START CONVERSATIONS.
With that said, I hope you’ll come back and visit and talk to me about YOUR story.
Stay tuned for more of my story.
As always, you can contact me privately here.
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How Many of the Top 100 Blogs Have You ACTUALLY Read?
I haven’t read past the Top 20 in months, so I’m guessing it’s safe to say I have no idea who the Top 100 blogs are. So here’s the list from Technorati, and I’ll but an X beside it if I’ve ever read a post from it.