Update to OneNote Virtual PowerToy

Although I’ve been using OneNote off and on for several months now, it has still not become part of my default toolkit. For Microsoft it is an excellent early stage product. At the same time, their compelling need to make products that appeal to the broadest possible audience make it feel more homogenous than I would like.

One of the best aspects of OneNote is that it is extensible. If it manages to draw a developer community to it, then it may evolve into something that will become part of the toolkit. This may be a step in that direction.

Update to OneNote Virtual PowerToy. Yesterday, I wrote about the marvelous new OneNote PowerToy by Darron Devlin. Evidently, some users had problems printing from Word. I m pleased to report that Darron has already posted an update to the OneNote driver that fixes the problem. Be… [Working Smart]

Putting the hours in- working on your craft

This got a lot of play earlier this month in my aggregator, but I only managed to get to it this weekend. It certainly lives up to its billing and Gaping Void now has a place in my aggregator.

Too much writing and thinking about creativity perpetuates a myth that creativity is some sort of innate binary characteristic–you either have it or you don’t. I much prefer a perspective that, regardless of your creative gifts, there is craft to be learned and developed. You can’t do anything about the raw material you were given at birth, but, as Macleod also points out, it is within your power to put the hours in. Reminds me of Jerry Pournelle’s classic advice on how to get his job.

Hard Truths from the Gaping Void.

A few months ago I stumbled upon Hugh Macleod’s Gaping Void weblog, enjoying his crazed cartoons and his jaundiced insights. He has one post that he keeps adding to that is just completely fricking brilliant, called “How to be Creative”. The original post is good, but he has a couple elaborations that are even better:

He has one observation that is straight out of the advice I hear over and over for new writers, most of whom are looking for some sort of silver bullet that will allow them to become successful without spending all that boring time with their ass in a chair doing the work:

3. Put the hours in.

Doing anything worthwhile takes forever. 90% of what seperates successful people and failed people is time and stamina.

This stuff is all good reading, and worth thinking about if you have any ambitions towards being creative – as an artist, as an entrepeneur, as a software developer, as a person.

Comment on Hard Truths from the Gaping Void [Evil Genius Chronicles]

Atom support for news aggregator in Manila and Radio UserLand

One more plus in “Radio”‘s camp. They are about to release atom support for their aggregator. I’m testing it now. It has handled most of the atom feeds I’ve tried. It still chokes on some, but that’s to be expected. More complications to my effort to choose my next blogging environment.

Beta: Atom support for news aggregator in Manila and Radio UserLand. We’ve got a new feature for testing: Atom support for the news aggregator in Manila and Radio UserLand. Before a general release, we would like to invite anyone interested in testing the changes.

You can find the instructions and post any feedback here: Radio UserLand (radio-dev) or Manila (manila-dev). [UserLand Product News]

The Onion Summarizes John Kerry's Platform

When the only tools you have are tools…

The Onion Summarizes John Kerry’s Platform.

This does seem to hit the nail on the head:

The Onion | Kerry Unveils One-Point Plan For Better America: Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry outlined his one-point plan for a better America: the removal of George W. Bush from the White House. “If I am elected in November, no inner-city child will have to live in an America where George Bush is president,” Kerry said, addressing a packed Maize High School auditorium. “No senior citizen will lie awake at night, worrying about whether George Bush is still the chief executive of this country. And no American regardless of gender, regardless of class, regardless of race will be represented by George Bush in the world community.”…

Kerry also spoke on the subject of national security. “This country has embraced a new and dangerously ineffective disregard for the world,” Kerry said. “In order to win the global war against terror, we must promote democracy, freedom, and opportunity around the world. My national-defense policy will be guided by one imperative: Don’t be George Bush. As will my plans to create a strong economy, protect civil rights, develop a better healthcare system, and improve homeland security.”

Joining Kerry at the podium, Edwards raised one issue not discussed by his running mate: the environment. “Let’s not forget one important point,” Edwards said. “We need to set a new standard of environmental excellence for America by renewing our nation’s promise of clean air, clean water, and a bountiful landscape for all. In the 21st century, we can have progress without pollution as long as we have a Dick Cheney-free White House.”

[Brad DeLong’s Semi-Daily Journal (2004)]

Harry Wessel on blogs in the workplace

This is a pointer to an overview of blogging by Harry Wessel of the Orlando Sentinel. It’s been popping up in various newpapers and been pointed to by various bloggers. This time it shows up in St. Louis, which is my old home town. Maybe someone from my high school days will get in touch. I don’t love the editorial slant that got put on it, but I’m not trying to sell papers. And most organizations are likely to think of risks before they see opportunity.

On the other hand, I did get to have a good chat with Harry while he was writing it courtesy of an introduction by Buzz. Better yet, I got a good quote and they spelled my name right! Here’s what Harry had to say:

Jim McGee, director of the Huron Consulting Group in Chicago, said blogs are among “the most important developments in technology in doing knowledge work that we’ve seen in 15 years.”

McGee is a former clinical professor of information technology at Northwestern University’s business school, and he’s an influential blogger (mcgeesmusings.net).

“I track something like 320 sites that are relevant to my work,” McGee said. “In terms of leveraging my time as a knowledge worker, I have at least an order of magnitude of maybe 100 times improvement in my productivity. If part of your job is to be informed, this is the fastest way to do it.”

A few minor quibbles. I’m not the Director of Huron, I’m one of many; it’s a big place. Also, what I remember saying was that blogging gives me between an order of magnitude and a 100 times improvement in productivity. I can see how Harry transcribed it as he did in our phone interview. It’s a reminder to me to be mindful of how what I say is likely to be heard.

STLToday: Blog slog can get you in trouble in the workplace. Sensible words of warning: don’t blog about your sex life or your boss’s dirty laundry without considering the impact it could have on your job security. At some jobs, it doesn’t really matter what you blog about; you boss or… [Business Blog Consulting]

Buzz and Charley from street level

Buzz continues to keep us up to date on the view from the street in Florida. As Ernie says, Buzz is a great storyteller. I wish it took something less than a hurricane to get him posting regularly.

Charley…the second morning after…. Sunday morning, hot humid, but life seems to be creeping back to normal. Rumors that friends have power float by. Starbuck’s is jammed, bagel shops sold out, but grocery stores seem to be humming, particularly the take out food sections…. [buzzmodo]

Einstein and Freud Go to a Bar, and Freud Says . . .

A review by David Gelernter of The Invisible Century which examines how Einstein and Freud went about thinking. Definitely something I intend to check out.

Einstein and Freud Go to a Bar, and Freud Says . . .. Richard Panek argues that Einstein and Freud revolutionized intellectual history by running thought experiments, not interpreting evidence. By By DAVID GELERNTER. [The New York Times > Science]

More on Woody Guthrie’s sense of humor

I don’t get a whole lot of comments here, but when I do get them they are generally well worth sharing. I thought this one was worth elevating to the level of its own post.

Comment on post 4343 on 8/10/04 by mrG. Woody had more than a sense of humour, he actually lived what he preached, and as yet another proof, here’s a story I first heard from Utah Phillips and later had it confirmed from someone who had toured with and heard it from Steve Goodman: The story goes Woody and Huddie (Leadbelly) walked into a NYC music publisher’s office to sell a new song they’d written. The publisher heard their song and knew it would be a hit, so he started fumbling through his desk to find a standard contract. Woody and Huddie said, “No need for all that. Gentleman’s deal: You pay us $50 cash, we shake on it, the song is yours.” You can imagine. The NYC bigshot music publisher’s eyes lit up with dollar signs. He peeled $50 out of his own wallet, gave it to those yokels and they gave him the sheet music, and they shook hands and parted. The NYC bigshot music publisher was ecstatic: He’d just bought a sure-fire chart-topping double-platinum hit for $50. Woody and Huddie were pretty happy too: That was the fifth NYC bigshot publishing company they’d sold it to that morning … By the time the lawyers were through with it, nobody owned the song, it became public domain, free for all, part of the artistic commons to be freely sung and resung by anyone with a mind to sing it. the song was “Goodnight Irene”.

The day After Tomorrow – Best Review

I would happily contribute to bribing this fellow to do more reviews of any movies where Hollywood butchers anything to do with science or logical thought, which ought to cover most films.

The day After Tomorrow – Best Review. Here is the review written by a paleontologist who bet the world that he would not see the film unless he was bribed $100 Another Gem by Jason… [Robert Paterson’s Weblog]

We need more reviews like this. A grassroots-derived review system. [A Man with a Ph.D. – Richard Gayle’s Weblog]