BOOK OF THE MOMENT

What are you reading at the moment? How many books do you read per year? Do you listen to audio books or read books on an e-reader? Do you participate in any social network for readers, e.g. Goodreads? We (TeaParty.nu) will start a study circle on tea in the near future. January is National Hot Tea month. Have you watched the situation comedy, The Book Group?


Book Apps

Related articles

• eReader Showdown: The iPad Experience (mustbeawesome.com)
• "2011 Audio Book Challenge" and related posts (pageturnersblog.com)
• 30 Online Resources for Starting Your Own Book Club (onlinecertificateprograms.org)
• The Best Audio Book iPhone apps (brighthub.com)
• Daily Bookshot: Simplifying the GoodReads Experience (robaroundbooks.com)

WHEELING AND DEALING WITH WORKFLOW

Have you done your first weekly review for this year? I will present my F.I.X IT! approach, eventually... In the meantime, please listen to Mike Vardy's (Eventualism) interview with David Allen and read Mark Anderson's post, Wheeling and Dealing in the Office.

Business Cartoon by Andertoons

GAME MAKER

Tomorrow I will start to follow "The One Hour Rule" described by Zack Shapiro. I will continue to learn about the video game industry and start the process of creating a computer came. Marcus Lindmark introduced me to the world of Game Maker during the spring of 2010. I will read The Game Maker's Apprentice: Game Development for Beginners (Book & CD) by Jacob Habgood & Mark Overmars. Here is an excerpt from the article, The Game Developer 50:

Mark Overmars
YoYo Games

Mark Overmars' Game Maker engine is a key learning tool for budding gave developers. By abstracting game creation with simple drag-and-drop functionality, Game Maker allows beginning users to easily build working games without programming. Those wanting to go deeper can utilize the Game Maker Language to script complex game logic, as well.

This, combined with the tool's nominal cost, has lowered the barrier to game development to almost nil. But don't assume that amateur hour is the rule of the day. Standout indie titles like Spelunky and Seiklus are creative examples of what is possible with the tool. (Gamasutra, November 17, 2010.)

Read more about Mark Overmars and Game Maker on Answers.com and on YoYo Games Glog.

Related articles

• The Game Maker's Companion (Apress) (i-programmer.info)
• Indie Game: The Movie: Derek Yu and Spelunky XBLA (indiegames.com)

T.G.I.F WITH CAT BLOGGING

This year I will publish cat blogging posts on a regular basis. It is a fun thing to do! Say hi to the host of Friday Ark, @slathe, who is traveling in Europe at the moment. We have to wait and see if Morris will be able to get on (card)board of the carnival "boat"...

"Before picture" from my post, READING IN DIFFERENT WAYS:


Reading Material.

"After pictures":


Morris in a box from the online book store, Adlibris.com.


Morris is relaxing in a carton from the online book store, Adlibris.com.

How do you celebrate that it is Friday? How about training for the World Bartender Championship? Do you have a favorite drink?

DID YOU GET SPAM IN YOUR SHOPPING BAG?

About three years ago I got tricked by a site called Quechup. From my post, QUECHUP AFFECT:

[Editor's note to my contacts in my Gmail address book: Quechup has automatically sent out invitations from my address book. I am sorry if I have caused you any form of inconvenience. I will contact everyone who replied to "my" email invitation and registrated at Quechup. It will take some time...] 

And now it has happened again... This time the site is called ShoppyBag. I hope that I haven't "forwarded" any spam to your inbox...

From Julianne Pepitone's post, What the hell is ShoppyBag:

A GMail help thread from 2009 is full of people complaining that ShoppyBag is a social networking type of site that spammed their contact lists: “Do not sign up at shoppybag. I did a few days ago after an invitation form [sic] a family member, and I woke up this morning with automated invitations to EVERYONE on my contacts list. Do not provide your account and password to shoppybag.” (CNNMoney Tech Tumblr, November 23, 2010.)

How do you protect yourself against this kind of spam?

UPDATE: I learned from the thread ("Will the Shoppybag email scam be able to get my personal information from my stored emails?") on the Google help forum that you could revoke a third-party access to your email contacts by going to your personal settings and then click on the link to "Change authorized websites" and you will see a list of websites with an "Authorized Access to your Google Account."

UPDATE 01/09/11: Read Gus Van Horn's post, 1-8-11 Hodgepodge.

100 VOICES BY SCOTT MCCONNELL

I have read the first interview (Eleanora Drobysheva) in Scott McConnell's book, 100 Voices: An Oral History of Ayn Rand. The interviews are organized in chronological order, from 1910s - 1980s. I look forward to read the rest of the interviews. It will be interesting to hear what Patricia Neal (1940s), Mike Wallace (1950s), Mickey Spillane (1960s), John Malcolm Fraser (1970s) and Louis Rukeyser (1980s) had to say about Ayn Rand.

With the book, it was enclosed a PR document from New American Library with an excerpt from Kirkus Reviews. [Editor's note: I want to thank Heidi Richter, publicist, Penguin Group (USA), Inc., for the book.]

Here is an excerpt from Scott Holleran's post, 100 Voices: An Oral History of Ayn Rand:

100 Voices is an ambitious work about a literary and philosophical genius but it is a collection of interviews about Rand and the content should not be taken as fact or biography. Here, we read that Rand sided with Gen. Douglas MacArthur over President Harry Truman, thought Walt Disney’s animated features were too cute, met Senator Joseph McCarthy, found something to like about former Treasury Secretary William E. Simon, visited the Playboy Club, and entertained Barbara Stanwyck and Clark Gable at her home. There is more, both from those who did not like her and (mostly) those who admire her. The 600-page-plus edition covers her early Hollywood years through her last days in New York City, when she apparently considered going back to Hollywood to finish a script for Atlas Shrugged. (ScottHolleran.com, November 10, 2010.)

I have asked for an interview with Scott McConnell sometime in the near future. What do you want to know about his book and the interviews?

UPDATE 01/09/11: Check out Objectivist Round Up.

TECH TRENDS

What kind of technology trends do you think will be leading this year? I think that we will see more and more applications for people on the go, and the digital consumption will be catered and personalized to the user of the mobile device. The iPad and other computer tablets have changed the reading behavior and you could see how businesses are jumping on the board. Here is an excerpt from William Fenton's article, Bytes and Bites: Restaurants Put iPads to Work:

At Chicago Cut, an upscale steakhouse, customers use iPads to pair wines. A custom app allows patrons to peruse the restaurant's 750 wines, search by price, variety, and regions, and review detailed descriptions of wine taste. Especially inquisitive connoisseurs can even pin the winery on a Google Map. David Flom, the restaurant's managing partner, sees material gain from the virtual integration. (PCMag.com, January 4, 2011.)

Have you tested the social magazine application called Flipboard? From Robert Scoble's post, The New Version Of Flipboard Has Arrived, But It's Not The One I'm Waiting For:

But it’s not the version I’m waiting for.

What version is that? The one that will filter through all of these social networks and use the technology they purchased when they acquired the Ellerdale Project to really find the good stuff out of the thousands of items that are aimed at me every day. (Business Insider, December 17, 2010.)

ReadWrite Enterprise channel has looked at how "technology could disrupt the enterprise in 2011" by citing Constellation's Research Outlook for 2011. I want to take a quote from the mobile category:

• IT will support at least two or three mobile devices per person: smart phones, laptops and maybe tablets or other specific use devices.

• Organizations will get serious about mobilizing apps and embrace the platforms to support mobility.

• Android will become more enterprise friendly by fixing major manageability issues.(ReadWriteWeb.com, January 4, 2011.)

What do you think of Larry Genkin's prediction for "the biggest digital marketing trend of 2011"?

This changing of the technology distribution guard will also result in the largest media change of fortune since the advent of the cable industry in the 1970′s. Now individuals can launch their own TV/Radio Station or Magazine/Newspaper for literally a few thousand dollars. (ThoughtLeadershipMarketing.com, January 4, 2011.)

In an upcoming post, I will write about my EGO podcast show on Blog Talk Radio and tell you why I have decided to "go premium"...

Related articles

• Flipboard CEO Mike McCue (@mmccue) Has An Amazing Day (louisgray.com)
• Flipboard Acquires Ellerdale to Boost Content Relevancy in New Social Magazine (eon.businesswire.com)
• An iPad App and Something Else - Meet Flipboard, Again (macstories.net)
• It's in Hong Kong: The iPad Wine List (blogs.wsj.com)
• Will businesses find a place for iPads in 2011? (macworld.com)

READING IN DIFFERENT WAYS

I have received a new batch of reading material from Adlibris.

• The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World by Chris Guillebeau.

• 30 Days to Social Media Success: The 30 Day Results Guide to Making the Most of Twitter, Blogging, LinkedIN, and Facebook by Gail Martin.

• POP!: Create the Perfect Pitch, Title, and Tagline for Anything by Sam Horn.

• Guerrilla Social Media Marketing: 100+ Weapons to Grow Your Online Influence, Attract Customers, and Drive Profits by Jay Conrad Levinson & Shane Gibson.

• Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business by David Siteman Garland.

• Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business by Ann Handley & C.C. Chapman.

• Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss.

• Bounce!: Failure, Resiliency, and Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success by Barry Moltz.

• Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality by Scott Belsky.

• UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging. by Scott Stratten.

I am thinking of signing up for an account on Audible.com. I still like to read real books, but it could be enjoyable to start to "read" some books in audio format in the future. Do you listen to books?

I recently listened to iPad Today podcast #26 (E-Readers Galore, Skype Video, Risk, ToonCamera, A Microfiber Miracle!) with Sarah Lane and Tom Merritt. Which kind of e-reader to you use on your iPad?

Related articles

• HOW TO: Read 26 Books A Year (davefleet.com)

WEEKLY REVIEW

Here is the weekly review in pictures:



I wrote a post on December 28 with the title, PAPRIKA HARVEST, on my other blog. [Editor's note: When I started to write this post, Zemanta suggested a recipe book and a productivity application called "paprika" as related articles.]

I received the following books on December 29:

• Tea, Exotic Flavors and Aromas by Lydia Gautier.

• Culinary Tea: More Than 150 Recipes Steeped in Tradition from Around the World by Cynthia Gold & Lise Stern.

And on December 31, I got a MacBook from my brother. [Editor's comment: I got this surprise gift in a brown paper bag. Maybe we could call it Fukubukuro ("lucky" / "mystery" bag)?

Related articles

• Paprika - Simple Text Based Productivity by Paste. (getpaprika.com)
• Paprika: The Best Recipe Book for the iPad? (iphone.appstorm.net)

1/1/11

Read the 2010 year in review posts by Diana Hsieh, Adam Thompson and Jenn Casey. I haven't done a special review for 2010, but I will do my annual blog post review (blogiversary) on May 7, 2011.

I will stick to my three keywords (thingies, opportunities, plucking) I used in 2010, for this year too. My take on David Allen's "Getting Things Done" system will be personalized into my own productivity method called F.I.X IT! The main opportunity is the new site on tea that is called TeaParty.nu. I will "pluck the day" by posting good things on Twitter (#GoodThing) and by "getting better now with the one hour rule." I have ordered book on how to create computer games and my goal is to create a game with the GameMaker software during 2011.

Going back to my post, WRITING DOWN NEW RESOLVING THOUGHTS, from 2007, I could mention a few things regarding my core values in life. The main career opportunities are related to social media activities in some way. I want to turn the radio show from a hobby activity to a regular ingredient in my daily worklife. I will continue to take long walks, listening to inspirational podcasts and music with a positive beat. I will order Timothy Ferriss' new book, The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman. I will add a splash of spice into my life with hot & spicy stuff...

I have decided to really try to publish a piece of material every day, following the schedule as follows:

• Monday - Open thread post. It could be a photo, cartoon, this day in history, etc.

• Tuesday - Tech stuff, gadgets, social media trends, etc.

• Wednesday - Mid-week wrap and blogrolling.

• Thursday - Thor's day of thunder. Time for venting and raving about something that happened during the week.

• Friday - T.G.I.F with catblogging.

• Saturday - I think that I will start having my EGO podcast show on Saturdays in the future.

• Sunday - A weekly review and a thought of the week.

Quiptoons 119 - New Year.

Related articles

• Personal Branding Interview: Timothy Ferriss (personalbrandingblog.com)