No where is the idea of cloud computing more evident than in mobile computing. Mobile phones, tablets, ipods and their associated "apps" are to a large part dependent on the cloud. The cloud being the servers where "everything" resides and gets crunched, parsed and delivered. The mobile web is growing at a fast pace, so I'm told. However, if everything is in the cloud what happens when that link is severed? As the lowly user I think it would behoove us to have an alternate plan. Si?

Good to remember all day long. 

Often beneath the mirror smooth appearance of a life lurks the murky currents of hard work, fear, doubt and lots of risk. We see only the new life that springs into the light.

In a nutshell; everything has become about the business model. The main emphasis is placed on marketing, does the author have a "platform" etc. After all, without revenue we can't make any of this happen. Even though publishing has been helped along by the advent of digital media, someone has to buy in order for the author to make his or her way in the world. The cost for your kids braces don't change based on your popularity as a writer. Few writers write purely for the sole purpose of putting their thoughts down on paper. There are those who journal but most of them don't think of publishing those for all the world to read.

It's not that making an income is such a bad thing but when money is the main motivator it affects the work being produced. Writing that is done solely for the purpose of becoming a successful business venture is suspect in it's motives. Why, you ask, is it suspect? Because the writer is not being rewarded for their greatest gift but is rewarded by what people "want" to read. Oh, and what is the greatest gift the writers has to offer; the ability to think and think well, beyond the gloss of uninformed opinion. The writer might be an artful wordsmith with impressive grammatical skills but it's their thinking that is really the gift. Those who can think well and also write have a greater chance at being heard and remembered; which is what we all want, after all.

So what does this mean? In some genre's of writing it might not make a big difference but when it comes to ideas that shape others; who don't think much but let others speak for them it makes a huge difference. If we use a good business model as the criteria for deciding what ideas are worth publishing and shaping public thought are we really on solid ground. If reading is on a decline, is thinking on a decline also and if that be true is our future being shaped by publishing that may only have a good business model?

.... because twitter is currently "down". #Fail For all the shortcomings of social media I/we seem to, uh... rely on it to post messages to the internet community. The two most often mentioned names with regard to posting these short missives is Facebook and Twitter. For some reason Twitter just can't keep up and apparently with their recent technology upgrades are still having some problems. I hope they get it sorted out because of the two Twitter, I think, is a more useful service.

Facebook with its games and invites, fans, likes and dislikes is, to be kind, cluttered. There is no way to lean out that mixture for the designers, coders and minimalists who don't want to play farmville or be invited to do so at every turn. For this reason among others I have turned that network, off. 

More importantly is this. "We" have come to rely on the internet. Peoples livelihoods depend on it eCommerce giants depend on it as well as the little "stores" that have joined this cottage industry. It would be a shame to see it fall into the control of those who see it as a carrot or to use for unscrupulous means... 

I have been using Posterous for some time now and one thing baffles me; the views. I post and in no time, 10, 20, or 40 views with no other promotion than on twitter. I don't have many people following my posts. So who are these mystery visitors? 

If you know the answer, do tell.

I realize things change; sort of like the tennis shoes in the photo above. These shoes; known as "chucks" are all the rage but in my teen years; these were the cheap shoes you got if you couldn't afford some Jack Purcell blue tips. What goes around...

Oh! It's a setup alright. What we must realize is that you don't need the "ultimate setup". While it's good to know what the perfect combination of "stuff" looks like, you really don't need it. 

Let's take software for instance. Few of us have the resources to go out and get the best system and then buy and install all the great applications there are. Oh yeah, and learn how to use them so you can be a digital ninja. 

Use what you have and what you can afford

Use what you have and what you can afford. The best skills are earned on the hairpin turns and steep slopes of life. Don't take foolish chances but learn how to use spit and duct tape and when you can acquire better tools you will be a greater technician.

I was always impressed with the mechanic who could make something work with what I had. Someone who could fix a part was head and shoulders above the guy who could only install a new one. 

The point of all of this is, don't let your tools stop you from taking the task in front of you and make it work. Improvise, adapt and overcome.

A dollar isn't much. Most people can come up with a dollar given a short amount of time. That said, I once offered my advice on how funds could be raised if everyone gave a dollar. I even projected the numbers. It seemed perfectly logical to me; however it wasn't well received since it was deemed that each person could give more than a dollar. 

As it turned out some gave and some did not. So, some people didn't give the dollar or anything at all. As it turns out more money could have been raised if a greater number of people would have given the dollar. Maybe they will give and maybe not. What's the point?

The point of this little story is that we don't often use what we have. We wait for the right time, right amount of money or approval from the right person. 

If you had the ideal set of circumstances then you probably wouldn't take the plunge. We can further conclude that the right time to advance any idea or project is when you don't have the time, money or maybe even skill to do it. Most of these things come as a part of the journey. It's work, I know I know, but we are the rubber that meets the road and so just go ahead and roll up your sleeves and dig in. 

Determination and persistence is what got us where we are and that is probably not going to change. I hope you succeed. 

 Only the most pathological of optimists still believe that everything is just fine. The economies of the world are tanking and that doesn't bode well for you and I. Suffice it to say that poor judgment coupled with poor character is responsible but it doesn't have to be so with you and I. When things go south it is up to the "average" Joe or Jill to rise to the occasion and not further destroy our economy, our culture and way of life. We shouldn't act like those who threw us under the bus.