Welcome to tastypopsicle.com

I've decided to open up the weblog archive. At one point is was closed off except to registered members due to an incident, However, that company has since closed its doors so they can just eat it. Use the search to find something that youmight be looking for. Maybe you'll find it.

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I stand corrected. It appears that this BRILLIANT young man still has 1,000 pixels left to sell you. The dimensions are 50x20. Only, these last pixels are going to cost you a bit more than $1/pixel ($1,000). Well, "a bit more" is a drastic understatement, I'm afraid. He's auctioning the last 1,000 pixels on eBay and at the time of this writing the bid price is $133,433.33 and there is still 6 days to go in the auction. Here's what you get if you're the lucky winner:

The winning bidder will not only win last 1,000 pixels on the homepage, they will also receive a huge amount of publicity associated with winning this eBay auction and my site finally reaching the million dollar mark. I will also mention the winning bidder on my blog, which is read by tens of thousands of people every day. This truely is a unique, one-off, hugely valuable marketing opportunity. Happy bidding!

Amazing! This kid is literally going to make at least 1/5 of his intended goal of $1M with just 1,000 pixels, easily surpassing his initial intentions. All in less than 6 months Alex will be $1.2M richer. This is the best internet idea EVER!

It's simply RE-TARD-ED! The bid is now up over $6 million. Just for those 1,000 pixels. Alex Tew is a millionaire 7 times over. [Update: 6:15pm] I don't know what happened but the bid is back down to $159,000. Something ain't right. [Update: 1/6 7:35am] Something is definitely screwy. The current bid is now $152,300.00. The bids seem to be going down rather than up which makes this all the more shaddy. [Update: 1/11 9:30am] With just over 3 hours to go in the auction it's official - the bids are all mucked up. Rather than the bidding going up all I have seen it do is go down. Current bid is $140,300.00 [Update: 1/11 6:45pm] When it was all said and done he got $38,100.00 for those last 1,000 pixels.

Not my real one., but the one I use on my website. Some of you may know that I have used the pseudonym "the dictator" since I started tastypopsicle.com back in 2001. Tastypopsicle.com has always been a little bit of fun and a little bit of informative. While I definitely want it to remain fun and amusing, I have noticed that a lot of my posts are becoming more and more "useful" to certain demographics. Whether it be about mashups, my CTA Google Map, or the most popular post ever the Transformers Breakdance Video I'd like to add a little bit more credence to the existence of tastypopsicle.com and so the name change seemed appropriate. There will be a couple of other quick changes coming soon as well - I'll keep you posted as they develop.

I just *had* to post this. Literally, within the last 5 minutes, I have successfully unlocked the flickr API (well, in my own mind - it's not like the flickr API is a big secret). The responses are all XML which means that I can easily parse the response using JavaScript which means (and I am smiling here, can you tell?) I know I can do A LOT with flickr. First let me make this clear, I don't use flickr let alone visit it in an ever basis. With that said, I do know what I can do with it (hint, hint) - and more importantly I know HOW. I hope it doesn't take more than a couple of days to hash out. I'm excited about the possibilities which means I should find the time to do it. Hopefully.

Mensa International is: an organization for people with high IQs. Its sole requirement for entry is that potential members must score within the top 2% in any approved standardized intelligence test. And a link that is quickly making the internet rounds is the Mensa Intelligence Test which was brought to my attention last night. There are 33 questions in the form of "24 H in a D". If you can figure out that "24 H in a D" means "24 hours in a day" then give yourself 1 point (this one doesn't count as it's a sample question on the site). In about 45 minutes I had called it quits after successfully answering 20 of the 33 questions without using Google or any other means of finding the answers. The site claims that with the scoring, answering 1 to 5 questions is Average, 6 - 11 Somewhat Intelligent, 12 to 18 Intelligent, 19 + Genius. I got 20. I'm just saying. Anyway, it's more fun than anything so don't take it too seriously.

I'm quite sure that due to some probable "Cease and Desist" on the part of Mensa International, the website http://www.mensa-test.com/ now redirects to http://intelligence-test.net/part1/. Part 1? Where there is a first part to something that usually implies additional parts. So, now we have Part 2 - which in my opinion looks to be much more difficult. Best of luck!

When last we spoke I mentioned that I was changing my online persona from an ambiguous nome de plume to my real name because I wanted my blog to be taken a bit more "seriously". This post is the first in hopefully many more of the serious nature. And so... I heard this phrase today: "You are your own worst client". The actual phrase was not said directed to me - quite the opposite actually. And it wasn't said verbatim. Change a couple of words and you get the idea. Regardless, it's totally true so don't focus on the minutia. Sometimes, you don't even realize it, but the first clue should be when you catch yourself in a spiral or never ending development - a project that "will never end". Some of your clients are like that and you hate it! You give them Idea #1 and then they say they want different Idea - Idea #2. So you begrudgingly do it. Only days later to be told that really it should be Idea #1. Or more appropriately to the case at hand, they have an idea and a pretty sketchy concept of it but they say "You're the designer, make it look better." So you do. But then they see someone else's idea and they come back to you and say "Ooohhh, ooohhh!! Do it like this! This is what I want." All the while you're thinking, "Why didn't you say that?!" Only not as nicely. We do this to ourselves. Sometimes you have an idea - an idea so profound that you just have to act on it immediately. Afteral, it's a GREAT idea. Except, it's not very well thought out and as you delve into it deeper it becomes increasingly clear that you're not doing it the "right" way. And so you have to start over. Usually you justlfy it by saying, "well, at least I learned something. I'll do it even better this time. It was a Learning Experience™." Your client, when they do it, is thinking the EXACT same thing, except it pisses you off. And you just want to scream, "Why the F*CK DIDN'T YOU THINK ABOUT IT BEFORE YOU WASTED MY TIME?!" Don't waste your own time. Think about what it is that you want to do first. This may take about a day to do. Maybe more - maybe less. But step away from your own problem and see if there is maybe another way of looking at it. Ask others - employees, partners, girlfriends, boyfriends, family, friends - ask anyone who will listen but be sure to listen to what they have to say. Just remember that you can always be your own worst client if you act too quickly. You will do things that you would curse if a client ever did it. You will do things that you would reserve for "client bashing" at the next company Christmas Party. So, if you have an idea that you've thought through and slept on and you still like it in the morning - do it. But do it with conviction and then be sure to stick through it. Otherwise, you might as well fire your own ass and save your bitching for drinks at the bar - by yourself. on a monday. at 8:30am.

Remembering 20 Years Later

It was 20 years ago today that the Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed in an accident during a mission. Then president Ronald Reagan addressed the nation and honored the seven astronauts killed as "heroes." Perhaps the most notable astronaut was Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire school teacher. The other astronauts were Francis R. Scobee (shuttle commander), Gregory B. Jarvis, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnik, and Michael J. Smith. Although Christa McAuliffe garnered a lot of attention because she was a teacher, Judith A. Resnik is remembered honorably by those of us who went to Carnegie Mellon University. For you see, Dr. Resnik received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1970. Today, there is a student dormitory, Resnik Hall, named in her honor. In the cafeteria hangs a portrait of her lest we forget. You were a brave woman, Dr. Resnik, and your fellow CMU alumni will always remember you and your accomplishments.

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