Sunday, February 8, 2009

Calling all Tweeple, and, check the side-bar

This post is a combined de-lurking post and a boost-up-my-Twitter-friends post.

FIRST
So, if you Twitter, let me know how to
follow you in the comments. (or, click follow-me on my blog homepage).

If you don't Twitter, but know what Twitter is, tell me what you think about it.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about - leave me a note and I'll send you some info.

SECOND
If you blog, and you don't see your blog listed on my blogroll on the right side (or would like to change how yours is listed), let me know and I'll make sure to include you (or edit).

Cheers!

Friday, February 6, 2009

Want to Succeed? Schedule a meeting with ...

Yourself.
 
As we continue venturing into uncharted economic waters, how can you keep your job on track and continue delivering your best? Schedule a weekly meeting with yourself. That's right: no matter how busy you are, this is not a luxury. It's essential.
 
Every week, take a quiet hour to reflect on recent critical events -- conflicts, failures, opportunities you exploited, observations of others' behavior, feedback from others. Consider how you responded, what went well, what didn't, and what might be more effective in the future.
 
Never cancel this meeting -- it's crucial.
 
Read the full article here.
 
From Gill Corkindale, "A New Year's Resolution: Schedule Regular Meetings with Yourself," HBPS, 5 Jan 2009.
 
 

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Awesome.

18 minutes of toe-tapping, hand-clapping, clean fun and music.

check it:

Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy
From TED

Info: Street View stuff

Google's Street View came up in a conversation with some co-workers today. Apparently, there's still a few people out there who didn't know that you can view (an ever-increasing selection of) addresses at the "street level" - and "walk" the guy (I can't remember his name) around the neighborhood. Fun stuff. You can even incorporate the street views into your driving (or new walking) directions, and literally see the way -- drive the route virtually, if you will.

Anyway, we decided to go a quick Google search (of course) to find out about street view, and -- since I was talking to some of our science and tech guys -- decided to learn about the camera and the process. Here's a few links to get you started.

the wiki article
 
the camera
 
the funny streetview blog
frequent updates of random things you can find on street view. here's some fun ones

enjoy. and decrease your anxiety of driving to a new place by checking out the route before you go.

one last one -- let me know what you see  here 

...


DoJ employees failing spam scam test

Seeing if department employees would respond to spam requests, as part of an ongoing evaluation of employees, this email apparently caused some waves outside of the small group it was initially sent to. Even federal employees know how to hit FWD and pass along a juicy ... rumor. Kind of like a lot of stuff that hits my inbox.

Justice did not anticipate response to bogus e-mail
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090204_2057.php

Report: Justice Department sends hoax e-mail to test workers

...

Two new Google tools

Sync your Google contacts with Blackberry
http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Now_Sync_Google_Contacts_With_BlackBerry/551-95558-643.html
-my only complaint: there's not an option to keep calendar entries "forever" -- Google Sync for Calendar (included as part of this new Sync) continually deleted my appointments -- my colleagues were wondering why I canceled meetings in the middle of the night. My challenges came with trying to sync my Bb with my enterprise server and with Google Sync - I think the phone was having issues trying to figure out what to sync. But my other problem is that old events get deleted (I think 4 months is the longest it will let you keep on the Bb). Google is aware of this issue. http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/thread?tid=75095dc91f64c1ea&hl=en
And says that your Google calendar keeps the events, but deletes them from your phone because of "memory issues." Well, my Bb calendar is set to keep appointments forever, and I haven't noticed any space issues... It's helpful to be able to look back or search for past or future events that may be outside of the 4 month or 1 year span... 
-but if this doesn't matter, Sync away

Stalk your Friends with Google Latitude
Just in case you don't think people can keep track of you through your Twitter or Facebook updates, let them "see" where you are. Haven't tried this yet, but I'll keep you posted.

**BONUS**
Google Ocean - a plug-in/layer for Google Earth. You have to download the program, but it will have you diving around the world before you know it.




Monday, February 2, 2009

Your little piece of knowledge for the day

Rival - from the Latin rivalis, meaning one using the same river as another.

Interesting, eh?