Jud's Bizville HQJud's blog
theme Forest has some very attractive, inexpensive themes and apps.
ActionScript.org is a forum group for learning more about the Flash programming language.
Search Engine Optimization - a worthy goal and a moving target that seems to keep changing. Take a look at "authority sites" and there influence on page rankings at SEOChat. Alchemy? Worth investigating.
Here is MacFamilyTree, a geneology package. Plus other links on the MacUpdate site.
Here is a very nice site for some scrolling news feeds. DHTML, Javascript and standards-based code. And a good looking automated slide show tool, too.
Here is how to update your Web site using only e-mail. You send an update message to a special address and that update appears in your We site.
You see, the bane of organizational Web sites is that they need a lot of people (i.e., committee chairpeople) to routinely update the site information about events and other changes. It is no good to wait for a volunteer Web master who can never seem to get around to updating in a timely manner. The people invested in the updates need to be performing the work.
The classic is a church site, which after being launched with much fanfare, soon devolves into a morass of useless information because the site is always out of date. The problem is that committee chairpeople aren't willing to learn HTML in order to update the site. The difficulty of the technology blocks the ability to keep the site updated.
The solution is a technique that enables a committee chairperson to simply send an e-mail to a special address and the update appears on the Web site. The details are described here.
My pick for the blog middle man is Tumblr but many of them will work.
The caveat here is that you can't have fancy formatting, such as boldface and italics, but this, in my opinion, is a small concession to make to have updated information.
Hey, here is a link that will help you make a better decision on a microphone purchase. But the clear choice is the Shure SM58 for voice (SM57 for instruments), and the Sennheiser E602.
20090311 - GoToMarket Strategies has a good article on the 12 Big Mistakes that we make when presenting. It is located here.
20090222 - Quote of the day: There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, Thy will be done, and those to whom God says, All right, then, have it your way.
Lewis, C. S.
Yojimbo is a collector of information from the Web. It lets you save text, pictures, Web pages, links and other stuff (like the old Mac Scrapbook). I heard about this on MacBreak Weekly and haven't tried it yet. I already use Evernote. I wonder if this would be an improvement.
All good is hard. All evil is easy. Dying, losing, cheating, and mediocrity is easy. Stay away from easy.
Scott Alexander
Pandora Radio is a pretty interesting idea. Its music that you access through your browser. No iTunes. No buying music. You just create your own stations that are made of various artists, genres, and albums. Then just listen. Of course, there's a store if you want to buy any song or album.
20090206 - Creating better Web communications is what Dr. Ralph Wilson is all about. Here is his tutorial on making e-mail newsletters more readable.
Hey, this is cool! Crossover is a software program that lets me run Windows programs on my Mac. It is not an emulator, like Parallels, or a dual-boot system, like Bootcamp, but a little application that accommodates the need to run some Windows apps that just aren't available on the Mac. $39 and $69 for standard and pro. This is a commercialized version of the free Wine program. I think it is worth it have the support.
I am proud to be from the South. I am happy that I was raised my country people and that I know how to tawk rite.
So is BullGrit, a Southern who started a blog at http://www.totalbullgrit.com/the-real-modern-south/. BullGrit's thoughts are not specific about the South and spot-on genius, but I enjoyed his observations about my formerly Stompin' Grounds. Truth be told, the South is just too big to be tallied up in a generalized characteriszation of its people, its foods, and its behavings. Nevertheless, BullGrit's blog was fun to read.
"Every time a man puts a new idea across, he faces a dozen men who thought of it before he did. But they only thought of it."
Oren Arnold
Now this is funny. http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/f40ef6d351/obama-reads-bush-s-letter
Watch your favorite shows on www.hulu.com for free! What a country!
CSSEZ: Here's an interesting site, which contains some interesting CSS templates. You can download the site in several source files and put it back together in the way you want to. The site is in Japanese but the tutorials are highly visual and easy to understand.
I just discovered a podcast site for Johnny Dollar, the man with the action-packed expense account. This is old time radio at its finest. Johnny is a special investigator for an insurance company. That gives him latitude to carry a gun, beat up some goons, attract some beautiful dames, and solve some complicated crimes. On the while, he's reporting his expenses by rattling off his expense account. There were many Johnny Dollar's during its long run, but Bob Bailey was the best. And here is a history of the show and a biography of Bob Bailey.
There are some writers that believe they have a right -- indeed, an obligation -- to overturn the idiotic editing and rewrites of their superiors. Thomas Jefferson comes to mind. For years after his original draft of the Declaration of Independence was reworked by well-meaning superiors, he sent copies of his version around to friends and colleagues asking, "Now don't you think this really was a better version?"
I think of myself as a pretty good writer but I am not so convinced in the brilliance of my own prose. In fact, my motto is "Every writer needs a good editor."
For those arrogant pin heads with whom I have the unfortunate duty to edit their work, I have the following advice:
1) Words are cheap. And you should write and throw away lots of them. Work your copy through at least four of five drafts before asking me to review it.
2) One of the best editing techniques to improving an article is to delete the first one or two paragraph right away. People tend to take a bit to get started and nothing is usually lost by lopping off the top.
3) Set a limit to the number of words you need for this blurb, this paragraph, this page. Say, "This paragraph must not be longer than 35 words." Then write to that. You will be amazed at how this sharpens your writing.
4) Use the inverted paragraph style. Say the most important thing first. Then fill in the details from that first statement in subsequent paragraphs.
5) Strive for clarity over cleverness. You need to know that, no matter what your mother thinks about your writing, there are very people in the world dying to read what you wrote. So get a grip, popeye. Make it worthwhile for me to read your stuff and don't be surprised if I have some ideas about how I can improve what you wrote.
6) Set your brilliant writing aside for a day and then re-read it. You will be surprised at how you are able to spot the wordiness, the cliche, the confused structured and correct it prior to your editor getting his ham-handed blue pencil on it.
20090106 - We were down at the Capital the other day just walking around and watching them erect the things necessary to swear in the new president. I approached a policeman to see if the new visitor's center was open. He looked me square in the face and, serious as a heart attack, said, "Please remove your hand from your pocket". Fortunately, the rest of the family didn't overhear the confrontation. Wow! This is not your father's capital guard. I remember when they used to be avuncular and calming. This guy was dressed more like a commando than a train conductor and though I didn't see even a pistol, I am convinced that had I hesitated for another moment to show both my hands, I would have found myself flat on the ground surrounded by mean looking dudes with automatic weapons. I have gotten used to the snipers on the White House and the automatic weapons at the airport during Code Orange periods. But this really kind of shocked me. The capital, the seat of democracy, looked at that moment like Nazi Germany. Downtown D.C. is like an armed camp. Everything is roped off and they are taking no chances. Policemen and official vehicles are everywhere around the capital in a way I haven't seen before. I am afraid that many tourists, expecting a spirit of conviviality surrounding the Obama swearing in will find their joy mitigated by a sobering display of humorless crowd control. Not that I am against it. I have seen enough of the racist hate speech on the Web aimed at Obama to know that there are plenty of crazies out there gunning for him and his family. But it is a reminder of the times we live in. I wonder if Obama ever regrets wanting the toughest job in the world.
20090104 - Consider the word meme (pronounced meem). It means an element of cultural conditioning or belief that we all commonly adhere to. See a good article at
20090104 - Some technologies to following: 280 North and Sproutcore. These are Web-based application sites that are evangelizing the use of Web-based applications that are created from Javascript or ECMA script). They are extremely new and underdeveloped but could be an interesting play in the Web-based (and platform independent) market. Something to follow. I heard about this on MacBreak Weekly.
I got the blue IBook working. It is incompatible with many modern internet sites but it is still a working word processor and it connect using Wi-Fi.
I has Adobe Acrobat 4.0 installed. That could be helpful in creating and editing documents but probably wouldn't open modern PDF files. It's worth a look. This computer runs OS 9.1. That is no longer compatible with many computer programs. But as a laptop that is handy for writing and some image manipulation.
Well, tonight I found Davey Cooley and his band, 84 West, on the Web. Davey plays keyboards for the band, just as he did back in the good ol' days when I played drums in our band in Dothan, AL. We were a local cover band with about three sets of musicians over two years. We were the stable ones while the others revolved around us. I haven't had much contact with Davey in the ensuing years but he was (and I'm sure is) one of the great musicians from the 60-70's. He's playing the same local club | wedding | party circuit on the weekends that we were playing back then. I wish I was there.
I Want Sandy, the Web-based to do list, is going off the air. The CEO has sold out to Twitter and is becoming part of that organization. Good for him. I hope he made some money. Because that software program was remarkably simple and effective and a pre-curser for fuure programs. the marvel of it is't that it was an on-line storage sysetm for tasks. It was its flexible way in which it communicated with the user, through e-mail, by phone, and text. The Web site goes dead on Dec. 8.
However, the news is not all bad. For one, we can look for some pretty interesting developments at Twitter. Also, the CEO, in a farewell letter to members, listed a group of products that he has been watching. They are:
* Google Calendar: http://calendar.google.com
* Remember the Milk: http://rememberthemilk.com
* Backpack: http://backpackit.com
* PBWiki: http://pbwiki.com
Here is a link that lets you test what Google knows about your site. I need to try this sometime.
Here is tickermyfeed, a Web site that offers several tickers.
The Hamster Revolution: How to Manage Your Email Before It Manages You is a new book revealing tips about my e-mail. Suppose to be very helpful.
There is currently no problem on the horizon that a catastrophic fatal pandemic among baby boomers wouldn't immediately cure.
--Judson Vaughn
Go-to-market Strategies is a good Web site for tools that will help update our marketing planning. These are free or for cost.
Could these people fix my Palm Centro for $75?
My personal calendar is published on the Web.
Dianna Huff's Marketing copywriting blog is here.
Sales Lead Insights: The B2B Marketing Blog by Mac McIntosh
Rolling Stone on the McCain-Palin phenomena.
The law of Goody Two-shoes: Too shoes is goody than one.
Guy Kawasaki is a venture capitalist and innovative business guru who has his own blog.
The McCain campaign gets more bizarre. McCain, at his core, is a couple of tacos short of a combination platter. As Garrison Keilor says that the bums have run out the backdoor and are standing out front of the house yelling, "Throw the bums out!". This article sums up how Republicans expect us to forget the bumbling, the loss, and the death of the last eight years.
The downlow on Sarah http://www.slate.com/id/2199362/?GT1=38001
Here is a good site for music tracks, free and for purchase. http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/free-music.html.
Lots of tools here at http://www.dynamicdrive.com/. Dynamic Drive replaces that old scripts site I used to go to to find hundreds of scripts. Plus calendars, form functions and other tools.
Cha cha (http://www.chacha.com/?src=google_chacha_keyword) is a Web service that answers questions. There are human guides who help with the more complicated questions?
The name "Hussein" means "good boy" or "good looking boy" in Arabic. It is widely used in both Arabic and African cultures in various spellings. Obama's father was Muslim. It is entirely understandable that he would think of this as a very attractive name that would bestow good things on his new baby. It has nothing to do with Saddam Hussein.
Check it out yourself.
2080808 - Here is an example of an interesting way to present lots of clickable options for a music catalog. http://www.music-map.com/
20080728 - Bronson is attending the following wine tasting this weekend. http://www.tarara.com/experience-tarara/wine-festivals/blackberry-days-wine-festival/. His family has invited my family. Don't know sked yet.
20080728 - Maggy bought her car today.
20080723 - Another great video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=xpcUxwpOQ_A
2080521 - Someone has started a ning site at http://summerfriends.ning.com/.
View my page on OrangeFriends
20080510 - Wow, the entire library of Johnny Dollar episodes is available in MP3 format from Old Time Radio Web site. The link is http://otrcat.com/yourstrulyjohnnydollar-p-2020.html.
See the Flash and HTML training at http://www.cartoonsmart.com/as3_video_player.html. This package is what we need for Wowzer. It features YouTube style video with scrolling menu for related videos. Then it lets you put triggers in the time code for jettisoning events, such as opening new windows. The package is $40!
Be sure to have your sound tuned on. This will wow you and make you smile.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEKDFtDAxyU
I Want Sandy is a great example of what Web 2.0 promises. It interprets syntax in your e-mail messages that it ttranslates into to-dos, reminders and even calendar events! The only reason to use Exchange was for the calendar, which makes it easy to plan meetings, now "I Want Sandy" has eliminated that reason.
http://www.adultbiblestudies.com/messageboardkicker.aspx - check this out for a message board for next Sunday's lesson.
20070110 - Incredible! For the worst, noisiest Web site you will see this year, go to Crumpler Bags. Its astonishingly embarrassing for the designer but quite creative as a piece of art.
TidBits is a site to keep Mac people up on repair and maintenance issues. See the recent article on moving to the paperless office.
Dada Mail is located on old Bizville but we need to move to Montpelier and new Bizville.
New word processing package, TexMate, recommended by Twit, offers great, light features.
Total Calendar looks great as a public calendar at www.sweetphp.com
Version tracker - http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/tiger/
Great magazine for on-line innovation: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
20071204 - dimdim is open source data conferencing that is a Webex wanabe.
20071107 - DTMS dialer is helpful when my Skype is screwy:
http://dtmf.free.fr/
20071105 - Found a year-at-a-glance calendar on the Web at http://www.bagley123.wanadoo.co.uk/2008-year-planner-wall-diary-calendar-public-holiday-chart-free.htm.
20071005 - XPlane is a very nice graphic design site.
20071005 - Full-size stand up cardboard celebrities are available at here. These could be more real than the originals. And here is another vendoh.
20070922 - Marshall's class meets with Sandra Day O'Connor as a part of their political science curriculum. Photos are at http://graney.topcities.com/07oconnor.htm
20070915 - I heard a song on WAMU-FM "Stained Glass Blue Grass" this morning. Great acapella song called, "Six feet of earth will make us all of one size".
20070729 - Grand Central is a great new service from Google that consolidates various phones, voicemail, and messaging capabilities. Sort of a throw toward universal messaging. And Free. Right now, they are overhauling it but when this breaks, it will be very interesting.
20070726 - According to Kelley Blue Book, 1992 Volvo 740 Turbo in "good" condition has a resale value of about $2500.
20070724 - Look at Skitch. Let's you add drawings, web page snippets, graphics, video, and sounds to your e-mail, blogs or other media, both on-line and off.
20070628 - The real story on AT&T/Cingular merger.
2070625 - This week's sked.
Mon-Tue - Jud in Reston and McLean. Marshall in Herndon. Grandma and Aunt Kathy are coming into D.C. and staying at the Georgetown Hoiiday Inn.
Wed - Jud and Marshall will leave for Orange around 12 to celebrate Hannah's birthday with a dinner.
Thurs-Sat - All may return to Herndon through the weekend so that Peggy can visit Julie.
However, all dates subject to change without notice.
20070529 - The All American Bluegrass Jam will will held the weekend of June 28 in Orange, VA. Details here.
20070528 - What is my IP Address. SEE YOUR IP ADDRESS
20070523 - What are Web services? Find out here.
200070516 - Marshall and his pals put there latest video production on Google Video. See it at here.
20070512 - In theory, practice and theory are the same. In practice, they are not.