Do you have air in your spare? Why would I ask such a silly question? You might say I’ve learned from practical experience. I had a flat tire today. But, there’s more to the story than that. I went to replace the tire with my “donut” spare tire. The bad part was the donut was flat too. Fortunately the flat happened while I was in town, so I was able to resolve the issue without too much effort. This incident, however, really got me thinking about safety and being prepared. » Read more: 11 items everyone should have in their car
An interview with Matt Beckwith of PodcastStockton
February 6th, 2010 by Wes Johnson 2 comments »
A little while ago a colleague, Ray Bohmer, suggested that I listen to this guy named Matt Beckwith who has a podcast called PodcastStockton. I listened to the show and was curious about what goes into a podcast production. A week previously Matt had read one of my blog posts about iPhone Apps on MrWes.net and left a comment for me. Since this is the year of stepping out of my comfort zone, I decided to ask for an informational interview with Matt.
Matt agreed to meet with me and suggested we eat dinner at Panera Bread near Eight Mile Road & Trinity Parkway. Panera Bread is a wonderful little deli-style restaurant that makes delicious sandwiches. I plan to take my wife there for dinner some time soon. The following are notes from the interview I did with Matt on February 5th, 2010. » Read more: An interview with Matt Beckwith of PodcastStockton
Keys to successful communication
February 5th, 2010 by Wes Johnson No comments »People communicate in so many different ways today. There’s LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, text messaging, email, phone, forums, comments, face to face, fax and written letter.
But sometimes we get so caught up in sending out the message that we forget who we’re sending it to. If we’re not careful the message might not be received or it might be misinterpreted. » Read more: Keys to successful communication
MrWes celebrates 200th blog post
February 3rd, 2010 by Wes Johnson No comments »I’ve reached my 200th blog post. It’s been a long road to get here, but the journey has been worth it.
Where I’ve been:
During this past year, I have done a lot of growing in my blogging and presentation skills. I have written articles on personal networking and personal marketing plus several posts on technology and DIY.
This last month I committed to becoming an iPhone and Mac OS X developer. It has been a while since I last programmed a Mac, but it’s coming back to me. The iPhone is something new for me. If I had only known that the iPhone would be such a productive tool, I would have gotten one many years ago.
Where I’m going:
My interests haven’t changed from what I’ve been sharing over this past year, but they have expanded. These days my attention has been directed toward podcasts, video blogging and podcast production.
In fact, I have already arranged to do an informational interview with local expert Matthew Beckwith to learn more about what it takes to be a podcaster. Matt’s site is PodcastStockton.com.
I have also started collaborating with a colleague, Donal Scully, on my blog. Starting this week, he will be acting as my editor. We’re talking about the possibility of creating another blog that has a more general theme based on local news and events. I see Donal’s role expanding as a contributing editor.
I’ve also been doing lots of reading, so I plan to write plenty of book reviews. We’ll see how that goes.
Please provide your feedback:
If you have any suggestions regarding topics you would like to read (or hear) about, please give a comment in reply to this post. I’d love to hear from you.
7 necessary skills a student should master before entering college
February 2nd, 2010 by Wes Johnson No comments »Back in October, 2009, I wrote an article entitled “16 essential life skills students should know before leaving high school“.
It was based on personal observations of high school-aged students I have known over the years, including my own kids.
This post takes things a little further, itemizing the 7 necessary skills a student should master before entering college.
» Read more: 7 necessary skills a student should master before entering college
iPhone app Stick It – helps with goals
February 1st, 2010 by Wes Johnson 2 comments »
There is an iPhone app that helps you to easily create a reminder wallpaper for your iPhone.
The app is called Stick It and the image on the right was created with the free version.
True cost of driving to work
January 31st, 2010 by Wes Johnson No comments »One of the exercises in my Personal Marketing class is to calculate the cost of driving to work. I have decided to share this information with all my readers.
First let’s define some automotive expenses related to driving to work (Gas, Oil, Tires, Insurance, Vehicle Replacement, Vehicle Registration, Monthly Parking, Tolls, and Driving Time) » Read more: True cost of driving to work
Upcoming Techie Events
January 30th, 2010 by Wes Johnson No comments »Here are some techie type events I plan to attend during 2010.
Let me know if you are planning to attend too.
| MacWorld Expo 2010 | February 9-13, 2010 | www.macworldexpo.com Moscone Center 747 Howard Street, 5th Flr. San Francisco, CA 94103 |
| CELF Embedded Linux Conference | April 12-14, 2010 | www.embeddedlinuxconference.com Hotel Kabuki 1625 Post Street San Francisco, CA |
| Embedded Systems Conference | April 26-29, 2010 | ESC Silicon Valley McEnery Convention Center San Jose, CA |
| Maker Faire 2010 | May 22-23, 2010 | www.makerfaire.com San Mateo County Event Center San Mateo, Calif. |
iProgram
January 29th, 2010 by Wes Johnson No comments »With the recent introduction of the iPad, the question has been posed by many people. Will you get an iPad? I didn’t have to think very hard on this question. » Read more: iProgram
Acknowledge your FEAR, then Do It Anyway
January 27th, 2010 by Wes Johnson No comments »How many times have you missed out on opportunities because you were too afraid to act? You spent too much time thinking about what might go wrong instead of focusing on the potential for success. Too many times we end up talking ourselves out of taking action because it would require us to step out of our comfort zone. Resolve to be aware of the risk but have the courage to be successful.
» Read more: Acknowledge your FEAR, then Do It Anyway
