Author Archives: geewhizkid

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About geewhizkid

OBVIOUS: optimism, brevity, vision, innovation, originality, usability, simplicity. #geewhizdom

GTD – getting the inbox to zero

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I’ve been successful at getting the Inbox down to zero for the last two weeks. Yes, it fills throughout the day and night with dozens of new messages. But I’m continuing to practice the GTD (Getting Things Done) process of managing the Inbox.

My Next Action lists are growing, as are the Waiting On lists, the Shopping Lists for specific destinations, and the Someday/Maybe lists.

Dina H-S started a GTD users network at work. My commitment is to read through the entire book, cover to cover before the next meeting. It’s going well.

My wife says GTD is the perfect system for me, because (continued)

Amazon.com & Harry Potter – email notification done right

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potter.gif

Before the July 21 release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” Amazon.com sent an email reminding me that I’d pre-ordered the book. The email recommended I upgrade my usual shipping option so the book would arrive on Saturday, July 21, the book’s international release date.

This was an excellent example of a company using e-mail notification based on my purchase data. If my daughter and wife had to wait several days for the book to arrive by the slower shipping option, they would have had to deal with the (continued)

Virginia Tech Citizen Journalism

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As a professional communicator, I studied Monday’s Virginia Tech tragedy from several levels. More than any other news event, I noticed how it was broadcast off-network, on nontraditional channels, evidence of our new age of social networking. Students, faculty, parents, and alumni used Facebook, blogs, and digital repositories to post updates reporting that they were all right. Eyewitnesses used camera-phones to report from inside.

Where many lacked journalistic professionalism, they excelled in Continue reading →

GeeWhiz – featured blog of the day…uh…minute!

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You knew that WordPress displays a “featured blog of the day” on their home page, right? Sunday I logged onto WordPress to discover, to my surprise, the prominent (but fleeting) positioning of my blog as WordPress’ “blog of the day!”

But, was my writer ego to be stroked? No, on two counts:
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Web site annoyances and the state code

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You’re about to complete your online transaction. All you need is to enter a two-digit state code in a field. 1-2-done!

But the state code field has a… Continue reading →

Who are you? Why are you here?

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As of March 2007, WordPress reports 3,515 total views of my site (339 best day ever). I’ve now become curious who my readers are.

  • Who are you?
  • What brought you to my site?
  • What keeps bringing you back for more?
  • What other topics do you want me to write about?

The more I know of you, the better I can Continue reading →

started a new blog

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before-surgeryLuv2dance.wordpress.com, a completely different kind of writing project, will open a new audience to blogging. My daughter just came out of back surgery and is recovering.

Those who know her will attest to her high-achieving, constantly over-scheduled, socially-attuned personality. This surgery has temporarily put her on her back.

Follow the story, the background, the surgery, and the post-operative recovery at luv2dance.wordpress.com.

VSP = ?

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Finish this phrase: vsp-closetmaid

VSP is a fun, interactive way to design your perfect…

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Memories of my brain attack, part V – tests, tests, more tests

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…continued storytelling from part III ‘goofier than usual”

While at Kaiser and during my recovery, different doctors and technicians put me through more tests than you need to know about. Here’s a quick list:

WellnessIQ – GetFit and the SuperBowl

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There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the SuperBowl and its traditional parties.raider.jpg

But alcohol with its calories, high calories in snacks, snacks while distracted by TV, TV ads that stimulate hunger, hunger slaked by alcohol …the vicious cycle can go on for four quarters. Remember weigh-in is Monday.

Action item: Just for fun, if you are at a SuperBowl party this weekend, actually write down what you snack on, and how much.

Let that information stare back at you.

I’m going for a walk mid-day on Sunday. Care to join me?

Followup, my vision blindness one month later

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visual_before.gifWithin hours of my stroke, when I mistakenly thought I was just experiencing a vision problem, my optometrist recorded my field of vision at 75% in both eyes. In other words, I had lost about 25% of my vision, equally in both eyes. Here’s an image from just my right eye, the graph showing the approximate 25% blindness in my upper right.

Now, one month after the stroke, here is a second vision test result…

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Winter weather forecast

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Weather forecast as I write this: “it’s cold out there…”

“How cold is it?”

“It’s so cold, hell froze over.”

Well, if you ask my born again brother-in-law Bill about hell freezing over, he and I and other witnesses can attest to that miracle happening. Coming up in March, a super thing happens. Bill gets fully immersed as a symbol of his faith in the One that changed his life.