The first time I learned web design I had an initial let down despite the excitement of learn the technology. When I first saw web site back in the mid ’90s it seemed almost like magic to me. Don’t laugh. Of course I soon learned how un-magical they were.

Do you ever feel down when things that once brought you great wonder now seem so ho-hum? Do you refrain from learning certain things so you won’t “see behind the curtain” at the risk of losing the magical feeling? What continues to make you feel great wonder? What has frustrated you the most in regards of losing the feeling of wonder?

I’ve never had a “huge” problem with debt in that I was constantly using a credit card to buy stuff I didn’t need like large screen plasma TV sets, fancy clothes, etc. However circumstances are rarely a respector of my financial wishes and despite budgeting I still find myself needing to use credit to get my car or home repaired. Occasionally I will treat my wife to a movie and use the credit card but I’m committed to paying those items off as soon as I can.

My main struggle is that of a business owner and the need to provide products and services that to tell the truth I sometimes am not equipped for resource wise even though I have the knowledge to pull the job off.

I recently did some a project for fun after attending an event using iMovie and a basic consumer camcorder and several people were impressed despite how flawed it was. They still seemed to like what I edited with what I had and I’m starting to get requests to do video projects. Do a little 30 second or even 2-3 minute clip for a web video is one thing. Producing something more professional and polished is practically a quantum leaps in time and money. Not only do I need a nicer camera. I need good editing software, a more powerful computer to process the projects, a bigger monitor see what I am doing and of course storage of the very large project files.

I’m already looking at at least $5000 or more to have to proper stuff to get the job done right. However I know I can pay that off in at least two small projects and for a larger project it will more than pay for itself. I should be thankful that the tools available today were way out of my league no more than 5 years ago. The software I can use today would have been in the 5 digits not long ago and we are also coming into an age where high definition is becoming more and more accepted. On top of that producing video and using that medium to tell a story is big passion of mine and something I have always wanted to do. In fact if I ever had a dream job it would be to direct or produce a film of the highest caliber. Considering all of those positives, why do I still struggle when it comes to spending money? I’m worried that if I follow the Dave Ramsey mindset so many people are gettting behind (basically he is big on being debt free and not using credit cards) I’ll never make the jumps in my business and take advantage of opportunities.

I’ve heard many a story like when Microsoft told IBM they had an operating system (which they didn’t at the time) and then went out and bought what was essentially DOS from someone else and rebranded it to some local stories of people telling potential clients they could do it even when they didn’t have the tools at the time but they made it happen. Does anyone have any stories of times they took the risk, said they would do something before having the tools on hand and were thankful you did? Any suggestions on taking leaps in business or personal development without going into huge debt?

As my wife and I were driving around one day on a job I jokingly expressed my frustration we were having looking for a place and wasting gas to the point I was getting very angry. I told her I was just going to stay home and recycle my pee.

It’s easy to get down during difficult and challenging times but as the U.S. Holiday of Thanksgiving approaches I like to actually think about what I am thankful for instead of depressing over the “end of the world.” Let’s look at some of the things that are presenting challenges to us today with a different attitude:

Rising Gas Prices - First of all we really need to be thankful for the fact we can travel the distances we can as individuals but how what kind of opportunities do we have to walk or ride bikes to local spots like grocery stores, etc. While we more than likely as individuals can’t send a hate letter to the oil companies or OPEC or the Government we do have control over how we use what we pay for like properly inflated tires, good spark plugs, air filters, etc. We can buy vehicles that are more fuel efficient and we can collectively support new technologies that cut the use of the current fuels. Also remember that while prices are high they could be a lot higher.

Global Warming - This one frustrates me more than anything. I try to do what I can by recycling, not supporting practices that contribute to the problem but I am thankful we are not experiencing Global freezing or Global burning. Yes, it sounds silly and trite but I am thankful that we can think about things now and stop stupid practices like cutting down rain forests, supporting crazy farming practices that ships for thousands of miles or items in our diet like high fructose corn syrup or the inefficient practice of raising meat like beef, pork and chicken and yes, turkey.

Mortgage and Credit Crisis - This is one thing we have a LOT of control over and a big contributor to this is plain and simple pride. Are you keeping up with the “Joneses?” I admit I have used credit card more than I should but they should only be used in case of an emergency or if you intend on paying them off. Yes, the credit card companies hate hearing and if everyone did that they would be out of business. Do you really need a McMansion or luxury apartment when a more modest place will do? Remember some of the most richest people do not drive the fanciest cars or life in the most ornate places. It’s easy to wish we always had something better but how often are we thankful for what we have? Ever seen the bumper sticker that says, “Don’t Laugh, it’s paid for!”? There is a lot of truth to that.

There are a lot of things a lot of us have like legs that can walk, minds than can innovate, and tools we are not yet using to the fullest potential. Yes, some are not blessed with such things but what are you blessed with and what can you do with those things to contribute to a better today and tomorrow?

[tags]niche, plan, focus, annoucements[/tags]

[tags]bookmarks, organization, management[/tags]

Later in the mid ’90s I started shopping for my own computer but at the time Apple looked like it was dead in the water. I purchased my first machine, A PC running Windows 95 and an obscure brand called, Inteva that I bought as Sam’s Club. Needless to say I was faced with a lot of challenges but I did learn a lot. Not too long after I got the computer, went online I soon learned that their was hope for Apple. In 1997 Steve Jobs was brought back and his company NeXT was bought by Apple. I had started to learn about Linux in my local PC User’s group but I found out Apple was going to be changing their operating system to something called, OS X. I was totally fascinated. A Unix back-end with the user friendly interface and quality Apple was known for.

Year after year I watched the progress Apple was making with their refined computer line and OS X. Around 2002 I bought my first Mac, One of the first white iBooks (Now called the MacBook). My wife is still using that computer but the hardware and software limitations of a slower G3 computer is forcing her to upgrade in the near future. The next machine we purchased as one of the first Intel iMacs. I love OS X but I’m so glad Apple switched to Intel chips as I do need to run various Windows programs like Explorer (for checking web sites I work on) and Publisher (files that some customers have I need to convert). I’m currently typing this on my MacBook Pro and I will have to say it is one of the best purchases I have ever made. I look forward to upgrading to Leopard and taking advantage of the collaboration features of iChat, Finder improvements, etc.

[tags]Apple, OS X, Leopard, PC, Windows, Explorer, Intel, MacBook Pro, iMac, Publisher, iBook[/tags]

With that being said I am even more excited that I can track what the media doesn’t report. I love I can see photography from local photographers on Flickr, I’m finding more bloggers and services like Meetup.com and giving me opportunities to meet with like-minded in my area. In a few weeks I will be meeting with a group of local photography enthusiasts that I would have never meet before.

Finally last night I heard about a new service that plugs into Twitter and I have been able to find more people in my area who are posting to Twitter and thus making more connections.

What are you using to make local connections on the world wide web?

[tags]local, flickr, twitter, meetup, network[/tags]

Like some of you I have been abandoning traditional bookmarks for “live bookmarks” which I first discovered in Firefox or better yet having web updates pushed to me via a newsreader. The one I current use most of the time is Newsfire on my MacBook Pro.

In addition to RSS feeds I am rediscovering Del.icio.us as a way to store my books marks but better yet to receive popular and new bookmarks posted by others.

The thing I like about RSS is the ability to get the latest information however I need a better system for saving information from a web site like a tutorial that I often forget to return to. Is it silly to wish for RSS for static but useful content? Should I have my bookmarks only for those sites I visit everyday and static instructional sites? How can I keep static but useful content from getting lost in the dusty bookmark warehouse?

[tags]RSS, bookmarks, links, static, lost, news[/tags]

[tags]hyphens, clear, url, web address, link, meaning, clarity[/tags]

At first when I heard about urltea (pronouced Earl Tea as in Earl Grey Tea) I thought it was just a competing service but figured I go ahead and “kick the tires” so to speak. At first it didn’t seem that different from TinyURL but I soon learned you can add a custom tag to make it more meaningful and that is one of the things that has bothered me about services that shorten web addresses it that in making them short that take out any meaning and don’t communicate to the receiver what the web address is all about.

This morning a fellow blogger and friend of mine from the Myst fan base shared his frustration with the TinyUrl service. I was happy to point him to urltea and he seemed to think it was an improvement. I do hope the urltea people can continue development and provide a way of automatically making the smaller web addresses it creates more memorable and meaningful.

[tags]url, web address, concise, meaningful, frustration[/tags]