Just Evacuated

Just Evacuated

The building in Bellevue I was working in just had an emergency and evacuated everyone.

Tons of firemen and emergency services people running around. Time for lunch.

The Posting Formula

It has been a little while since I've been posting, mostly due to it being not quite comfortable for me to type. However, being completely addicted to my daily ingestion of news, trivia, and other related spew from various internet sources I have no shortage of interesting ideas.

The following one was inspired after clicking through the TinyUrl posts of half a dozen major bloggers I follow. They seemed to share a general approach and pattern which sort of stuck in my craw. In my ever expanding exercise of de-mystifying how the magnificent manage to remain so. . . well . . . magnificent, I'm going to share the secrets of the list masters with you now.

In a nut-shell, if you want to create a captivating post, just design a top ten list and then follow these steps to spell it all out for your readers. It's a sure-fire recipe for blog post fame. Here goes . . .

1. Start with the most obvious point first. Keep it simple and short. Something flashy. Something sexy. No big words.
2. The second point should be more under-stated, perhaps even a little vague. Don't give anything important away, you need them to keep reading.
3. After two good points, the third should really stir the point. Something sure to incite a response is best here. Blatant offense is good if you can handle it.
4. So that people don't think you're closed-minded make the next point at the other end of the spectrum. You want people to think you've really considered this crap and put a lot of thought into the order of your points.
5. Now that you are over the hump, it's time to add filler. They've read this far already so start shoving in any of your points that don't really fit anywhere else.
6. To keep reminding them that you've really thought about the contents of this spew this would be the place to add references to other like-minded posts, authors, or books.
7. Before we start the conclusion you should try reiterating the first couple of points again. If you lump a couple together with run-on sentences it might seem like you're introducing new material.
8. Here is where you start redefining words, concepts, and introducing catch-phrases and "action items". Make sure you are ready to deliver the "call to action" that's coming up.
9. This is pretty much your last chance to sound like an authority, so really step it up here. Maybe try shifting into formal prose or future-tense. If all else fails you can always talk at length about the amazing results people will get if they adopt "the list".
10. You have a couple of choices for the conclusion. Witty remarks showcasing your casual humor are always appreciated. On the other hand, something self-absorbed and overly personal will often inspire interesting comments from the readers who might mistakenly think their opinions will change the contents of the list.

Sex and Chocolate

My life is usually pretty simple. I travel full-time so I have to stay pretty light. Which means I don't collect nearly as much stuff and junk as at one point I was known too.

Okay, so I still end up with stacks of books everywhere I go, but books are so sacred that surely we can over look that one. And music, I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 thousand songs taking up around 400GB on my external drive. Again, music is a sacrosanct virtue so it shouldn't count, right?

The hardest thing for me are gadgets. Trips to Best Buy and such are torture for me. I see the beautiful flat screens and WII's and Xbox's and so on. I start to sweat a little and my mouth gets dry. Then I usually see a nerdy looking sales person and I snap right out of it. I have no home so no Blue Ray player for me.

When it comes to what other people can't live without it is interesting what ranks highest. In a poll from last summer men valued sex 5 times more than chocolate and 4 times more than alcohol. On the other hand women ranked sex and chocolate the same. This was a serious marketing survey. Hmmph.

As someone currently Celibate By Choice (CBC) these stats don't really amaze me. Well, the difference between sex and alcohol is a little surprising. Without the alcohol there would be much less sex, wouldn't there?

There were some other interesting statistics but nothing that wasn't equally obvious.

How would you rank 'em?

Don't You Hate

Don't You Hate

When you are listening to a song and you really can't stand just a part of it but you love the rest?

I'm listening to Somebody Wake Me Up by The Veronica's. The opening is just garbage but the rest of the song is excellent and well produced.

Makes me wonder what the heck was going on in the studio those days.

Finger socks

Finger socks

My baby was wearing the coolest finger socks this morning. Lime green, no less.

Out With A Friend

Out With A Friend

Lincoln Square is such a hip environment packed with great shops and fun things to do. I need to get a job on Seattle's Eastside so I can take better advantage.

The condos in this place are fabulous!

Snow Day

Snow Day

I went with the kids to Flagstaff to play in the snow. Dustin and CJ really rocked but I think Thomas stole the show.

More pictures and videos online later.