With a burst of random energy and willingness to do something somewhat irrational - I quickly purchased the book Freakonomics from Audible.com today. While waiting for the 94MB file to download I decided to find out what I just purchased. I’ll let the following description explain as it says it best.
About “Freakonomics” - Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?
These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded young scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life-from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing - and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: Freakonomics.
This was very encouraging to read and made me smile. I’d made a good purchase.
Along with the above information, I also began reading the Freakonomics blog. These guys are hilariously honest and cocky - I love it. In just the first few posts that I read I learned so much. Interestingly enough, what I learned has nothing to do with the subject matter but on being authentic to your users (sometimes called customers).
So, according to my download manager, I should begin enjoying the new book in a little over an hour. I’ll try to let you all know how it turns out.
posted on April 26, 2005| 10:18 PM EST
Right now I have the Motorola V60 series phone under the Alltel network. It’s a good phone on a fantastic network. I’ve had the phone for a little over two years now and it’s served me great but as time continues, phones of course get better.
The new phone of my desire is the Treo 650 from palmOne. It’s has everything a technophile could want and more.
The Treo 650 smartphone from palmOne makes it easier than ever to stay connected. It simplifies your life by combining a compact mobile phone with email, an organizer, messaging, and web access. There’s also Bluetooth technology so you can connect wirelessly to other Bluetooth devices. Not to mention an MP3 player, a digital camera that captures video, and a vibrant color screen that brings everything to life - all in a device that’s still small enough to fit in your pocket. Seems like Treo smartphones just keep getting smarter.
I haven’t always liked devices like the Treo. I’ve been overly skeptical toward all-in-one devices for years now. Do they really live up to their claim of “offering a simpler life”? Most of the time these devises don’t. Whereas they have a lot of features - they don’t do any of them well.
From what I’ve seen in this case is that the Treo 650 does simplify your life. I’ve been spending quite a bit of time researching and testing the phone out. Dave from Macatawa Technologies got one the other day and let me play around with it at the last g33ks event. The thing is sweet.
The Problem
The problem is that the Treo 650 isn’t available under the Alltel network. It is however available under the Sprint network. I’m ok with switching networks as long as I’m not switching to a worse service.
As said earlier, Alltel is the best network I’ve seen so far but I thought I would at least look into what Sprint offers. So I do… (pause for hours of research) … and it sucks.
Sprint has nothing even close to what Alltel is offering. Don’t take my word - look for yourself.
The Solution?
I don’t have a solution yet. It seems obvious to stay with the Alltel network but the Treo 650 is such a cool frigg’in phone. Sprint does have really good business rates and the options they offer for roaming charges (both digital & analog) are interesting as well.
So far it’s looking like I’ll be staying with Alltel but it’s worth me doing the math to see how much coverage West Michigan really has, how much I need, and the difference in costs if I do go outside my calling area verses what I’m paying right now to Alltel (which is a bit more monthly).
What’s your experience?
If you have any experience with Sprint, please let me know what you think of the service. If you work for Alltel, figure out how to offer the Treo 650.
posted on April 23, 2005| 2:34 PM EST
The days of one person knowing and specializing in everything is long gone. No longer do we have one doctor - we have all types of doctors that specialize in one area. They obviously know quite a bit about other areas of medicine but have chosen to become a specialist in one area.
Other industries are no different and the tech industry is just as complex if not a bit wider in scope. There’s no longer a computer guy but a specialist that focus’s on one area and spends an amazing amount of time in that area.
The time spent is not just learning it but also working with communities to lead and innovate. The web has allowed us to do that but with the extreme focus available to us also causes quite a bit of complexity.
What area do you specialize in? They’re all so fun. I’m currently trying to find where my focus should be and I have a few that I would really like to be in. Hardware, computer trouble shooting, and networking are really not that interesting to me but the focus on Web Development consistently is - and in the area of web development is where I’m trying to find my specialty.
Usability and Accessibility have been two areas I’ve fallen into and love the issues very much but they’re quite statistical. Some have categorized the two and called it “User Experience” but I haven’t decided if I agree with that yet.
Along with Usability and Accessibility - I also love teaching people and companies about structured documents and semantics (not the Semantic Web - that’s a whole thing in itself). It closely follows Usability and Accessibility but really are their own animal.
At the current moment I spend quite a bit of time reading and keeping up with what’s going on but I’m not helping to lead any area. I’m apart of communities but I’m not being innovative. This has to do with the amount of work I have in a 10 hour day and a wife and baby girl that I love dearly.
At some point I almost need to just get away to figure out what I should be doing and think about next steps. I need to pick a road to walk down and at least walk a mile. This can’t be in West Michigan so maybe it’s a family vacation.
It’s something I need to get moving on.
posted on April 19, 2005| 8:15 AM EST
A few of us knew this was going to happen but didn’t know exactly when. Today I got an email from Ben Doornbos telling us all that he is engaged. We’re all very happy for him and look forward to yet another wedding this summer.
Email from Ben
On Friday night Liz and I paddled the canoe out to Little Presque Island. We walked to the far side of the island just as it was getting dark. I had hung a basket full of wine, cheese, and cake for her to find on the north side of the island. We sat around a fire and talked for a while. Then we walked out to one of the rock faces and I asked her to marry me. She said yes.
Everything went really well but I accidently dropped the ring right before I gave it to her. Anyway, we had a great night and enjoyed the short paddle back to the mainland.
We have not set a date or yet, but we will let you all know when we figure it out.
ben
posted on April 10, 2005| 4:21 PM EST
A little over a year ago a friend of mine emailed me, along with a few other friends, somewhat freaked out after realizing the amount of information someone could find out about him - online. Orwellian rants came out as he realized someone could simply type a phone number* into Google and find his name, address and other websites that may have talked about him.
The technology had been out for a while and with the type of mission statment Google has - it’s not suprizing. In fact, since then, the world has opened up even more. I’m can now zoom around the world and take a look into other people’s backyards; both personal and corporate.
If I want to take a peek at Alcatraz Island, all I have to do is type in the address and there is is.
I don’t have to stop there, I can also check out the White House, Uffington White Horse, Pima Air & Space Museum, Area 51, Disneyland, Dead Horse Point State Park in UT and salt ponds in the San Francisco Bay.
Of course this is really cool but the fact that we can see so many things may result in us bumping into something we shouldn’t. Right now this isn’t a big deal for those of us that live in areas that don’t attract a lot of attention, but for folks living in heavier populated areas, a boss might be able to zoom in and check to see if you’ve left for work or not. Just by typing in your address and seeing if your car is in the driveway or not.
Who knows, things may even get more powerful and your boss will actually be able to zoom in an see where exactly you are.
* For example sake, I used my parents phone number. Mine isn’t listed because I use a cell phone.
posted on April 9, 2005| 5:24 PM EST
