Final Post (On this blog)

Three Simple Questions...

Why do I blog? Why do I write? and Who is the blog for?

I was asked these questions by a co-worker nearly a year ago, and I didn't give it much thought (Sorry Jeff), but I think I'll share it with my "friends" on G+ now, and the answers I just came up with.

Let's start with Why do I write, that's the easy one.  I write because I love it.  I have a game I'm in the process of creating, I enjoy telling, and documenting RPGs and stories, and I just love looking back on something I wrote years later, and tweaking (not twerking) it, laughing at it, and what not.  I've even learned to not be entirely humiliated by a writing my fiancé found that I made in 3rd grade or somewhere around there.  I love to write, that's why.

Who is it for.  This is relatively easy to explain.  It's for me, more than anything else.  I write because I enjoy to write, and blogging will give me a spot to write in regularly.  Yes, I hope someday that people will come to read my blog, maybe even learn about something that interests them, learned a little lesson I might share, or even walk away smiling because I shared a funny story.  Yes, I hope to touch readers in some way, no matter how small, but if I'm really going to be honest, my blog is not going to make a monumental change in the world, or raise the country's expected lifestyle.  The blog is for me first.

Why do I blog?  That's pretty easy too, I blog because it's a way to get tidbits out of my mind, thoughts I want to share, and honestly as I said, I hope that someday I'll have some people that regularly check my blog to see what insights, thoughts, complaints, or just whimsical RPG story lines I might propose.  Perhaps it's a little vanity, or pride, that I hope people come to enjoy my reading enough to look for it again.  But my blog is not to make money, it's not to be rich, etc.  Sure, I probably will always have google ad-words in the corner, it's free and every 500 trillion viewers I get earns me enough to play a round of Galaga, but that's not revenue, and the blog isn't a revenue stream.  It's fun for me.

That's the problem I've had.  I made two blogs, categorized them, set up a schedule, worked hard to find topics that kept tightly to the established themes, and the thing became a job.  And worse yet, a job without pay.  So my Geek Personified blogs (Gaming and Technology) will be closed.  I'm leaving the links up, and please, feel free to look through them, there are a number of postings that I'm really proud of in both.  According to google I've gotten around 1000 views on my gaming blog, and nearly 2800 on my tech one, so I'm very proud of that.  You can find those blogs linked from my Google+ About page.

Now it's time for something new.  I would humbly ask you all, when I post it sometime this week, to check my new blog out.  Thoughts from a Script Monkey (JustAScriptMonkey.blogspot.com).  I'll try to post every weekday, but I won't even guess about the topic.  Might be about gaming, or technology, or business etiquette.  Maybe I'll post about changes to my code standard, who knows.

If you're a programmer that likes gaming, then the odds are you will at least relate, if not enjoy, every post.  If you've only got part of that, then you'll like part of my blog.  If you don't program, don't play games, and just hate fun, then screw you and don't bother reading it. :)

See you all soon!

P.S. General Warning: I invite you all to read my blogs if you like.  My blogging is not hate based, there will be no racial slurs, or anything else that I personally deem to be offensive.  That said, I don't often censor myself as this is my "personal time" blog.  This means that I may or may not curse, use innuendo, or make casual references to "15 gold-plated hookers."  In other words, I don't go out of my way to be crude or vulgar, and I try my best to have a deliberate, clean and moral point, but sometimes I get there through the circular route.

Expendable Expectations?

Today's Daily 60 is on The Expendables.  Well, that and effective management of expectations.

So who's seen the Expendables?  I'll bet if you saw it you loved it.  Absolutely amazing movie, jaw dropping, the kind you could watch more than once, and I agree myself, it was amazing!

Why do I say that?  Was it good acting?  or amazing dialogue?  Maybe the setting was shocking, or the plot, that was it, the plot was fantastic, right?  No, they were all passable at best.  

The movie was about some amazing 80s stars getting on the screen at the same time and blowing everything else away.  Lots of guns, no plot, and huge explosions.  That makes a terrible movie unless that was the exact thing that the movie maker promised.

Software development could learn a lot from The Expendables.  Manage expectations.  Tell them what they're getting, and improve on it if you can, but stop there.

Ever told a client they'd have their software in a month and it took 3 weeks?  How about telling them it will take a week but it takes 2?  The client that took two weeks is mad as hell, but the one that took 3 weeks is ecstatic!  

Control your estimates, plan your features, and give the best product you can in the time you have promised, or better.  Don't fall into the trap of "just one more feature" because, well, then you get Minority Report.

See ya next time!

Gotta buy 'em all!

Today's Daily 60 (seconds) builds on something I posted last week about phone renewals.  I call it the "gotta have it" bug.

"Holy crap, did you see that new phone's resolution?"

"The playstation 4 looks AMAZING."

"I can't wait for the new Macbook!"

Ok, I'm a tech-nerd as much as the next guy, unless that guy is my coworker Chris, but other than that I'm up there.  I love the new stuff, the new gear, the new phone, game console, video card, whatever.

Even more I love what's around the corner, awesome SmartWatches, digital paper, cybernetics, teleporters! (well maybe that one is a stretch, damn you Heisenberg!)

But I really also need to stop myself, and ask do I REALLY need to shell out the dough for that awesome watch, or the extra money to renew phones early.  I'd love to say that it was the devil/angel battle on my shoulders, but all the angel is saying is that I should wait 6 more months so I can shell out the money for the NEXT new thing before my friends get it.

I guess what I'm saying is don't fall prey to needing "what's cool."  I'm still on an HTX One X (not the One, that's newer) and I love it.  My Macbook pro is 3 some years old, and it runs like a dream.  Enjoy what you have.  The only thing worse than not getting the next big thing is leaving it on your shelf unused as you pine for it's next model.

Never stop looking forward at tomorrow's toys, but at the same time don't forget to play with the ones you have now!  Yesterday they KICKED ASS, and guess what, they still do!

Evernote, trust me you need it

Today's Daily 30 (seconds) is on a product I really can't live without, Evernote.

Evernote is an app that you can get for Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, even just a browser without installing it.  What does it do?  It takes notes.  What did you expect, a circus?  

You can take audio notes and pictures too, but personally I just use it for taking text notes.  I use it all the time to organize anything from addresses to code to RPG notes.  

And it shares them to all the devices on that account, so I can write a long detailed note on my laptop, then use it for reference later on my phone.  Or a shopping list.

Give it a try, even the free version is pretty amazing, and I literally use it every day. The pay version is dirt cheap and has lots of features, like letting you share notes with other accounts so you and your wife can both ignore the same shopping list and just buy goldfish.

Have fun, and see you next time!

Quick, upgrade your phone, NOW!

Today's Daily 30 (seconds) is one the phone companies don't wanna hear, let's talk about upgrades.

Upgrade today, no contract, small payments.. New phone every 2 years, every year, TWICE a year!

Come on, really?  I mean let's be honest, do you really need to have the newest phone on the market this very second? Remember, AT&T's NEXT, Verizon's EDGE, and T-Mobile's JUMP lets you upgrade so much faster than every two years, for no contract.  

Problem is, you're paying the phone off in full, you know, like you would on a normal Credit Card, with payments?  It's not a free phone, and I'm not sure but it's likely not even much of a discount. (This part I didn't check)

I'm just saying use your head, look around, and don't get something because Jimmy next door does.  Look at the phone you have now, it's pretty fricken nice, just enjoy it and save up.  

Worst case?  You can wait the 2 years and get a much more awesomer new one much cheaper.

(I dun speak good!)

See ya next time!

Another need-to-have widget, PowerToggles

Today's Daily 30 (seconds) is a nod to a pretty awesome widget, Power Toggles.

Power Toggles is a widget I can't say enough good stuff about and I could go on for 30 minutes, but let's hit the quick points.  This widget lets you toggle (duh) just about anything you can think of, from your camera flash (flashlight) to 3/4G to sound sliders and more.  Not only that but you can drop in apps in your toggle board or custom links to any internal app references  (like SiMi folders or to directly call a certain person).

Now add in the ability to change the icons for any of those functions, or even just make them invisible so you can have home screen functions that are hidden (or matched to spots on your background) and you've got an incredibly powerful and lightweight tool.  Go on, give it a try, and have fun!

Come, Commune with Anti-nature

Come on everyone, today's Daily 90 (seconds) is here, Let's Get Social!

Everyone's doing it, it's social media!  Make friends you'll never meet, go to "events" in your own home, hell now you can even "hangout" in your boxers and no one will know. You've got Twitter (where stalkers hang out), G+ (Where I hang out), Facebook(where your girlfriend hangs out), LinkedIn (Where your boss hangs out), MySpace (where bands hang out), and so many more.  I mean who can forget Imgur, Reddit, Tumblr, and all the other dozens of sites that can't spell their names right.

So what do you do?  I mean you can't really be active in all those at once, but even better, why are you trying so hard to?  Get outside, make a phone call, visit a friend.  I'm a techno-crazed fanatic as much as the next techno-crazed fanatic, but really, sometimes you just need that face to face.  Games are going online, meetings are going online, employee reviews are going online, interviews are going online, everything is online.  I mean yeah, that's really awesome, but eventually aren't ya gonna forget how to bathe?  Or tie shoes?

My advice is pick a couple of those crazy social sites (Me? I use LinkedIn, G+, and Twitter occasionally), and just focus on them.  If you spread too thin, no one will notice you, and frankly you'll never see sunlight.  So remember one thing when you leave this blog, Social used to actually mean dealing with people directly, so don't forget that whole non-internet thing called talking.

See ya next time!