Thursday, December 25, 2008

MERRY YULE LOG POST

I wish my fellow bloggers, friends and readers a Merry Yule! Do you know where the X-mas tradition is coming from?

Put another Yule log on the fire, have a Solstice D'hiver beer in order to celebrate the "rebirth" of the sun. If you want to understand why it is appropriate for an atheist to celebrate Christmas, read Robert Tracy's post, Merry Christmas! Check out Hot For Words for an explanation of the words, Christmas, Xmas, and Santa Claus.



I have created a Xmas playlist on iLike.



Talking about music, I will listen to Radio Dismuke's New Year's Eve/Day Broadcast Schedule.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

APTURE MULTIMEDIA TOOL

I have added Apture multimedia tool to my blog. [Via Phil Bradley's blog, I Want To.] I will play around with the different features and see if my blog could "turn flat pages of text into multimedia experiences."

I wonder if this technology is better than embedding audiovisual material in the posts. Maybe it could speed up the loading of the blog page?

What do you think of NewsWeek's strategy to become more provocative? According to Silicon Alley, Jon Meacham (Newsweek editor) has used The Economist as a benchmark. [Via Apture @ Twitter.] [Editor's comment: I am thinking of renewing my subscription to The Economist.]

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

BOSTON TEA PARTY 1773

How did you commemorate the 235th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party? [Editor's note: I had a cup of tea and sent a mental thank-you note to the Sons of Liberty.] Here is an excerpt from kempite's post, 235 years later and all that the tea party was about is forgotten:

Our freedom and individuality has been the key to our greatness but unlike the people of colonial America, today, Americans are giving up their freedom and relinquishing their individuality to a controlling authority that they want to give greater control to.

Instead of demanding "no taxation without representation" we are accepting of the practice. (NJ Voices Public Blog, December 16, 2008.)


Next time I am visiting Boston, I will go to the Old South Meeting House. I have been to the Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum before. I will also go to the statue of Samuel Adams and then have a beer with his namesake. [Editor's comment: Have you had Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner?]

Related: My post, SEATTLE ESPRESSO PARTY?

Monday, December 15, 2008

GRATUITY

If you want do a symbolic gesture and add one x-note to the tip jar, you will enter the top spot list listed in left column (top left corner). You get a hyperlink to your site as a thank-you note. The $10 bill has the nickname ten spot, so I figured that USD 10 could be a nice and round gratuity figure. This donation widget is powered by Jim Kukral's site ScratchBack.

John Cox says it in a good way on his site:

If you enjoy John's site, one way to encourage him is to make a donation via PayPal. It's money well spent and deeply appreciated.

GLUE AND SMARTLINKS BY ADAPTIVEBLUE

I have added Glue to my browser and SmartLinks to my blog. These features are powered by AdaptiveBlue.

VISIT TO THE BIG APPLE NYC IN 2009

I am planning to visit The Big Apple, New York City, in 2009. I have accepted a challenge and I will eat a hot & spicy curry dish called Phaal at Brick Lane Curry House restaurant (306-308, East 6th Street, New York, NY 10003). As a chile head, I am looking forward to maximize the heat level, but I don't think I will order a hot and spicy chai tea drink together with the food. I will drink lassi instead. I will prepare myself a bit by sprinkle hot sauces on my food as much and often as I can. Recently I poured some drops of Mad Dog's revenge habanero and chile extract at my carne casada bontaƱa no bean chili at Texas Longhorn restaurant in Gothenburg, Sweden. The sauce extract has a level of 1,000,000 scoville units. It got too hot for me, so the waitress took and switched the plate and gave me some fresh nacho chips with a new side dish.

Please give me suggestions on what I should see and do in NYC. I am not sure that I am capable of visiting the location of the former World Trade Center. Have you been at the Ground Zero Museum Workshop?



Un Memoriam

UPDATE: [Editor's note: P.S. Now you understand why I have added a Moleskine City Notebook New York to my wish list...]

Sunday, December 14, 2008

NETWORKED BLOGS ON FACEBOOK

I haven't used Facebook for a long time. I wonder if it has to do with some sort of social media fatigue... I have now gone through several messages, notifications and requests. Please feel free to join my blog network ("NetworkedBlogs") on Facebook.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

WISH LIST FOR 2009

I have updated my wish list at Amazon. I found several interesting items in the following posts:


I am interested to hear your views and comments regarding netbooks, iPod Touch, Flip camcorder, different smartphones, e.g., Nokia E71, HTC Touch HD and Android.

SJC AURUM AT DESIGNED FOR ME

The Dollar Sign Collection by SJC Gold & Silver Handicrafts is featured at Designed For Me.

SUPER BEAUTIES BOOK

If you adore beautiful women, you will find a gold mine in Dwayne Bell's book, Super Beauties: Nude and Natural. It is packed with more than 400 stunning photos taken by over 20 different photographers.



To learn more about the superbeauties covered in this collection, check out the galleries at Body in Mind.

Here is a special offer from Body in Mind:

Win a FREE copy of Super Beauties - nude and natural. Join Body in Mind by clicking on this link and you could win a FREE copy of the new Body in Mind book: Super Beauties, nude and natural. Every month for the next 3 months (December, January and February) Body in Mind will draw a winner from its members who joined from an affiliate site. Super Beauties, nude and natural is a beautifully bound hard cover book with 364 pages of the most superbeautiful women they've found: Nikkala Stott, Peta Todd, Jewel, Britney, Klaudia, Nadya, Linda, and of course, Tracy. And many more. Sign-up for Body in Mind now to get your chance to win this month's prize.

SAINT LUCIA AND TIPS FOR XMAS GIFTS

Today is Saint Lucy's (Lucia) Day. I will give two tips for Xmas gifts in the next two blog posts. [Editor's note: Full disclosure: Both companies have supported my blogging by purchasing Blogads in the past.]

I recommend you to get hold of a hot and spiced wine drink called "glƶgg" (in Swedish) and then add the following stuff to your shopping list...

Friday, December 12, 2008

PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH JONATHAN HOENIG

I will conduct an interview with Jonathan Hoenig of Capitalistpig LLC at 8 PM Swedish time / 1 PM American time / 6 AM Saturday Australian time. You could send me an email with a question to my guest, write a comment on this post, or send a Twitter message.

Related: My post, EGO PODCASTING COMEBACK IN SEPTEMBER.

UPDATE: Due to "last minute" technical problems with the studio equipment, today's interview had to be rescheduled. Stay tuned for a new date!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

DRAW OBAMA IN SIX SIMPLE STEPS

Follow John Cox's instruction on how to draw Barack Hussein Obama II.



Related: My post, DRAW BUSH IN SIX SIMPLE STEPS.

MY PLAYLIST

I have added my playlist to the music section. The widget is powered by iLike. [Via Blogger Buzz blog.] What are you listening to at the moment?

WHAT AM I DOING ON TWITTER?

I am still trying to figure how to use Twitter in an optimal way. Feel free to follow me on Twitter.

At this moment, I have a Twitter grade of 87 (#41,527 overall rank, out of 563,695).



Read Using Twitter... 'The Smart Way' by Mark Ramskill. [Editor's note to self: Check out SubHub's online publishing platform later on.]

Check out the video, Twitter in Plain English, by Lee LeFever.












You could follow an interesting comment thread to Anita Campbell's post, You Should be Looking for Small Businesses on Twitter. I have added Randa Clay's Twitter graphic to my section with the latest five "tweets" (Twitter Updates).

In the news: Twitter: Secret Business Model On Track For Q1 - Silicon Alley Insider.

I think that the following quote from Evan Williams's post, What Blogger Should Do, is right on target and I hope to see this feature mentioned at Blogger Buzz blog sometime in the future...

Become the Aggregator: One possible answer to the question to what role does the stand-alone blog live in the age of a million-and-one generalized and specialized participatory web experiences is as a personal aggregator that reflects back the other stuff one does on the web. Yes, I'll load all that stuff into FriendFeed, but that's not my "online presence" as we used to say back in the day. Everybody (or at least a lot of people) needs an URL -- and one without a ? in it. I want my tweets, and my photos, and my whatevers to show up on evhead.com (hosted by Blogger) in an attractive way. (Evhead.com, December 3, 2008.)


Related: My post, TWITTER.

Monday, December 8, 2008

BUSINESS IN AMERICA

I have tried to give several reasons for why America is a great place to run a business on Open Forum.

HAPPINESS IN A SOCIAL NETWORK

A new study by James H. Fowler and Nicholas A. Christakis, in the British Medical Journal, concludes that your happiness can be spread through degrees of separation within your social networks. I think that it could be easier to stay in a good mood and be a "happy camper" if you interact with individuals that are advocates of the benevolent universe premise. I think a general positive attitude outlook could spread to others, but it has to start with you, the individual. Therefore I can't agree with the following statement from the study:

Conclusions People’s happiness depends on the happiness of others with whom they are connected. This provides further justification for seeing happiness, like health, as a collective phenomenon. (BMJ 2008;337:a2338, December 4, 2008.)


[Editor's note: I have empasized the word, collective, in the quote.]

Related: My post, PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

LIST OF FAVORITE COFFEE PLACES

I want to create a list of your favorite coffee houses in the United States of America. I am interested in tea lounges too. Read Jacob Grier's post, The Rise (and fall?) of a Caffeine Empire.

Related: My post, STARBUCKS ATTENDING BARISTA SCHOOL.

OLD GOSSIP BY PAUL BOUTIN

Here is an excerpt from Paul Boutin's article, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004:

Twitter — which limits each text-only post to 140 characters — is to 2008 what the blogosphere was to 2004. You'll find Scoble, Calacanis, and most of their buddies from the golden age there. They claim it's because Twitter operates even faster than the blogosphere. And Twitter posts can be searched instantly, without waiting for Google to index them. (Wired, October 20, 2008.)


Phil Baumann has responded with his post, Is Blogging Dead and For Losers?



I am still trying to get used to Twitter, writing "tweet" messages on a regular basis. I have added a gadget with my five latest updates. Scroll down the right column. I think that StockTwits could be an useful application. You could follow a stream of real-time stock conversations.

UPDATE 12/07/08:

Has Ev figured out a business plan for Twitter? [Via Chelle Parmele's Google reader.]

ON MY NIGHTSTAND

What's on your nightstand at the moment? I have added books to my bookshelf at Shelfari. I am planning to interview several authors on my radio show.

ART ATTACK WITH LEE SANDSTEAD

Check out Art Attack with Lee Sandstead! [Via Hence the Elizabethan.][Editor's note to Lee: See you in NYC next year?]

HELP ILLUSTRATED IDEAS WITH WORDPRESS

From Robert Tracy's post, Word Press Upgrade Easy?!:

I’m an image man, and a trader. Anyone out there who can do the upgrade for me without losing what I’ve got, I propose a trade. You do the upgrade for me. I make a graphic or any other image of your desire for you. As long as my image doesn’t require creating a traditional drawing or painting in the traditional manner. I rarely take commissions on my traditional work, and besides it takes too long.

I know I have few viewers of my blog. Of these I ask to spread the word on my offer. (Illustrated Ideas, December 6, 2008.)


I think he needs help with his RSS feed too. I have his feed on my Blog List, but I don't get his latest posts listed on my blog. It looks like this at the moment:

Illustrated Ideas
Introducing Brian Faulkner, Poet. - I’ve found a living poet who seems to possess an unlimited imagination. I find delight, inspiration and encouragement in his works. Find him at: Brian Faul...
9 months ago

EMIGRATING TO NEW SWEDEN OF USA

Maybe it is time to emigrate to New Sweden in America? I looks like I have a consanguinity to the Springer family. I have sent my application to the green card lottery this year too. Please wish me luck!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

TYPEALYZER BLOG PERSONALITY

From Typealyzer [Hat tip to Dennis McDonald, via LinkedInBloggers - Yahoo! Groups]:

The analysis indicates that the author of http://egoist.blogspot.com is of the type: ISTP - The Mechanics.

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.

The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters. (www.Typealyzer.com)



The GenderAnalyzer said the following: "We think http://egoist.blogspot.com is written by a woman (62%)." [Editor's note to self: Que?!]

Here are some material for posts in the pipeline:

  • History lesson on Thanksgiving.
  • Shopping on Black Friday & Cyber Monday.
  • Future chile pepper challenge at a restaurant in New York City.
  • Wine tasting with four different wines from the U.S.A.
  • Forthcoming piece at Open Forum on why America is a great place for doing business.
  • Upcoming podcast interview with Jonathan Hoenig at SolidVox.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

PRODUCTIVE MAGAZINE AND NOZBE

I need to follow Nozbe's 10 steps to productivity. First I have to clear my desk and "clear" my head. I will take some time this Thanksgiving weekend to go through paper stuff. I have promised myself to get a fresh start in 2009, cleaning out my email inbox, sort my papers by setting up the "right buckets" and then stick to a "getting things done" system. I got inspired by quickly browse through the first issue (November) of the Productive! Magazine.

I have to check if I could start to synchronize my mobile phone with my computer and then doing a test with a web-based productivity system called Nozbe and add it to the email program and Netvibes start page.

Nozbe

Mashable has compiled a list of 40 great resources for making lists.

I must say that I like "low tech" tools like my Field Notes memo book for taking notes. I wonder if it could be a good idea to get some kind of digital voice record (dictation machine) for my "notes to self" popping up. [Editor's comment: Have you used any mind mapping program?]



I have ordered the book, The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

BILL GATES AT WEDDING IN GOTHENBURG

Now I understand why a central part of Gothenburg city had been blocked for regular traffic on Saturday afternoon... From Peter Vinthagen Simpson's article, Bill Gates in Sweden for high society wedding.

The weekend will not be all champagne and canapƩs for the Microsoft billionaire as he has been appointed as one of the ushers for the service which will begin at 2pm on Saturday.

With security tight, Gates, the happy couple and the other key figures in the ceremony were taken through their paces for the rehearsal on Friday afternoon.

All the details of the rehearsal were completed in time for the weekend's festivities to begin with a reception at Gothenburg's art museum on Friday evening. Gates arrived early and told the assembled media:

"It feels great to be here," on being asked what it was like to be in Sweden. ...

Simonyi and Swedish socialite Lisa Persdotter were engaged on 08/08/08 in the romantic setting of St.Tropez in the south of France.

Simonyi, likes Gates, is an active philanthropist and is known as something of a jetset billionaire.

His jetset lifestyle has not only been limited to the planet Earth and he caught the headlines last year when he spent 13 days in outer space on a trip that set him back a modest $25 million. He is preparing for his second trip into space, in 2009, that will make him the first tourist to make a second journey into the great beyond.

Charles Simonyi has been described by scientist Richard Dawkins as "a sort of combination of International Renaissance Man, Playboy of the Scientific World, Test Pilot of the Intellect, and Space-age Orbiter of the Mind as well as of the Planet." (The Local, November 22, 2008.)


Recommended reading: Leanne Bell's site, And they lived happily ever after... and Allan Wills's new site, AreYouMyPartner.com.

How about ending this post with a catchy tune? Lance Moore of DoubleLight sent me an email about a music contest. Listen to A Hollywood Ending and Old-Fashioned and then vote!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

BLOGGER AND PODCASTER MEDIA NETWORK

After Larry Genkin's comment on my post, BLOGOSPHERE VERSUS MSM, I had to check out the Blogger & Podcaster Media Network. Here is an excerpt from Jason Kincaid's article, Blogger And Podcaster Media Network Looks To Turn Long Tail Blogging Into A Full-Time Job.

Larry Genkin, the founder and editor of Blogger and Podcaster Magazine, is looking to help the long tail of bloggers turn their hobby into a lucrative job. He has started the Blogger and Podcaster Media Network, a consortium of bloggers and related companies looking to help bloggers of all sizes effectively monetize their sites without having to worry about having a relatively small audience. The site is currently open for signups, but won't go live until early next year.

At launch the BPMN is a rollup of companies including Genkin's magazine, Fuel My Blog (A bloggers' social network based in the UK), Podcast Pickle (a podcasters' social network), and SocialRank, a company similar to Sphere that monitors blogs for related and popular content.

Each of these companies will help promote the new network, and will also offer technology to help bloggers build out their site (for example, they'll be able to use SocialRank's technology). The BPMN will also try to partner with large media companies to help give blogs more exposure. To help each blog get started, the company has partnered with PR NewsWire, which will offer each blogger a promotion package Genkin says is worth $2000. (Washington Post / TechCrunch, October 28, 2008.)


For more on The Long Tail, read Larry Genkin's post, The Must Know Business Principle of The Digital Age and his article, Power (and a Six Figure Salary) to the Blogosphere's "Little Guys".

I have signed up for a free membership to the Blogger & Podcaster Media Network. You are welcome to write my name in the "referred by" field, if you sign up too.

I said in July that my podcasting show would start again in September. I am waiting for further updates on the situation from Prodos. I intend to keep my radio station on BlogTalkRadio, as a test laboratory, but I am not sure how much time I will spend on it. The same goes for my channel on LiveVideo. I haven't had a show yet and I am not sure if I will use this platform in the future. I will check out Ustream.tv and see if this site could be my future live video broadcasting home.

Friday, November 21, 2008

NEW START AND HOME PAGE

I want to create a new start and home page in the near future. I am planning to set up a new site end of this year or beginning of 2009. I am pleased with my Martin.Lindeskog.name domain name, but as the situation is now I think I will change from PageFlakes to some other site tool. I don't think it was so clever move to add advertising on all the pages without informing the users. The company has removed the ads, but the incidence got me thinking of making a change. Here is an excerpt from Phil Bradley's post, Pageflakes removes advertising.

I'm pleased to see Pageflakes responding so quickly, and I think the immediate response has really shocked them. Unfortunately, it also means that they really don't understand their audience at all, and several people have expressed concerns to me about the extent to which they can trust the company now (which is not at all!) It's very disappointing because this could have been so easily avoided, if they'd just talked to their users. However, it's another really interesting example of the way in which the power balance is flicking back and forth in a Web 2.0 environment; sometimes user protests work and sometimes they don't, but users are generally now very quick to voice their opinions. Moreover, since there are plenty of other options available for all of these resources it's tremendously easy for people to simply up and move on - perhaps we're all cyber-nomads now? It's also a useful point for end users to remember - these resources do require money, and it has to be found from somewhere! Advertising is certainly a good option, but it does need to be much more unobtrusive; Pageflakes got that wrong on so many levels! (Phil Bradley's weblog, November 22, 2008.)


I will continue to develop a network hub and market(ing) place for my different business areas, e.g., home based business opportunities, direct selling products, consulting services, freelance stuff as an international project coordinator, etc.

Please send me tips on web site creation and management tools and web hosting providers including domain name registration services. I want to be able to integrate widgets and social networking tools on the site and to set up a landing page and forms for site visitors to fill in. I will use this feature for my future e-pamphlet. I found several tools under the "creating websites" category on Phil Bradley's "I want to" page. I will test Edicy, SynthaSite and Webnode.

Related: My post, MARTIN LINDESKOG PORTAL.

BLOGOSPHERE VERSUS MSM

What is your take on the article, Oh, grow up, in The Economist? The author states the following: "Blogging is no longer what it was, because it has entered the mainstream."

The rest of the world may well have missed the unfolding of his tragedy. Behind it, however, is a bigger trend. Blogging has entered the mainstream, which—as with every new medium in history—looks to its pioneers suspiciously like death. To the earliest practitioners, over a decade ago, blogging was the regular posting of text updates, and later photos and videos, about themselves and their thoughts to a few friends and family members. Today lots of internet users do this, only they may not think of it as blogging. Instead, they update their profile pages on Facebook, MySpace or other social networks.

They may also “micro-blog” on services such as Twitter, which recreate the raw, immediate and intimate feel of early blogs. Twitter messages, usually sent from mobile phones, are fewer than 140 characters long and answer the question “What are you doing?” Tellingly, Evan Williams, the co-founder of Blogger—an early blogging service that is now owned by Google, the Wal-Mart of the internet—now runs Twitter, which he regards as the future.

As for traditional (if that is the word) blog pages, these tend increasingly to belong to conventional media organisations. Nearly every newspaper, radio and television channel now runs blogs and updates them faster than any individual blogger ever could. (The Economist, November 6, 2008.)


A part of the blogosphere has transformed into blog networks with individual bloggers gathered at a specific place, e.g., Pajamas Network. I don't think it is a contradiction to both be an individual blogger, writing and publishing blog posts and at the same time belonging to a network of other bloggers. As I said in my post, THINKING IN WRITING:

I will try to follow some kind of weekly schedule, but now and then I will take a break from my EGO blog, concentrating on other assignments, for example writing pieces for other sites and preparing interviews for my podcasting show. I want to get into the right flow and start to microblog on a regular basis. (EGO, November 11, 2008.)


[Editor's note: I will write a short Twitter message on this blog post later on...]

Monday, November 17, 2008

CAT CARNIVAL IN VIENNA

Check out Carnival of the Cats #244! Meow or mjau as the cats say in Sweden.

It’s the Carnival of the Cats! It’s fun! It’s free! And it’s fur kitties only!

Welcome to Vienna, the famous city on the blue Danube. Originally we wanted to take you yet again to the always fun bearing Vienna Prater but with the recent scary news about Moki and the whole Cat Blogosphere purring and purraying for hims we decided to gather all kitties in the famous Cafe Halweka to continue those purring and positive thoughts. (The Catboys Realm, November 17, 2008.)

MARK CUBAN AND INSIDER TRADING

In the news:


Send your comments to Mark Cuban of Blog Maverick.

Listen to Yaron Brook (Should Insider Trading Be Legal?) on The Peter Mac Show.

UPDATE 11/21/08:

From Alex Epstein, They Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights:

Washington, D.C.—Billionaire Mark Cuban is under investigation for “insider trading” by the SEC.

“This case is a travesty,” said Alex Epstein, an analyst at the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. “Cuban is accused of selling his stock in Mamma.com after the CEO told Cuban that the company would be making a new stock offering that Cuban thought was a bad idea. But there is nothing wrong with this whatsoever—unless Cuban had a contractual obligation or fiduciary duty not to act on the information. And if Cuban violated a contract, which there is no evidence of, then that is the injured party’s—the company’s—job to pursue, not the SEC’s. In all likelihood, if there is anyone who violated a contractual obligation, it is the CEO who divulged confidential, unsolicited information—not the famous billionaire recipient who just happens to make a juicy target for SEC bureaucrats thirsting for another high-profile case to justify their regulatory power.

“The question of ‘insider trading’—when employees and investors of a company can act on certain information—should be left entirely up to private contract, such as restrictions on CEOs shorting their own stock. The criminalization of ‘insider trading’ has authorized the SEC to terrorize those whose only sin was to be a savvy investor. The Mark Cubans of the world deserve to be left free to make investment decisions under a government with clear laws against force, fraud, and breach of contract—not to spend years of their lives enduring witch hunts and prisons.” (Principles in Practice, Drop the SEC Investigation Against Cuban, November 20, 2008.)




Mark Cuban by John Cox.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

WINE FREEDOM WEBLOG

I have created an account at Australian Wine Club. Here is an excerpt from Mark Majzner's article, Swedes and wine - an awkward romance.

To understand the peculiar nature of Swedes’ relationship with alcohol is a difficult task that requires a knowledge of Swedish social history going back several hundred years. However, for over 50 years, the government monopoly on the sale of alcohol has been the main weapon to mitigate the prevalence and effects of alcoholism.

The monopoly stores have the dual responsibility of selling, and at the same time discouraging the consumption of their products. One tool used is to make the shopping experience as difficult as possible. Although there should never be any tolerance for driving under the influence of alcohol, there is a similar intolerance of alcohol itself in politics and public health policy that tries to portray anything to do with alcohol as shameful and irresponsible. (The Local, September 3, 2008.)


Pour a glass of wine and read Mark Majzner's Wine Freedom Weblog ("Vinfrihet" in Swedish).

I will attend a wine tasting on November 19 together with members of Vasa Order of America, lodge #452 in Gothenburg. [Editor's note: Guess the origin of the wines we will taste...]

Saturday, November 15, 2008

PHOTOS BY MORRIS THE CAT

Here is the first batch of photos by Morris the cat photographer. He took about 30 pictures with the camera. I have uploaded five photos at Flickr.

Morris 1(5)

I will ask Morris if he wants to take snapshots on a regular basis. The next step is to track his route by a GPS device.

Here is an excerpt from Chris Radcliff's article, Mr. Lee, the Three-Eyed Cat.

The success of the original Mr. Lee CatCam has spawned more feline tech accessories, like the CatTrack GPS tracker and the forthcoming CatCam Live, a CatCam with integrated antenna for broadcasting live TV feeds. Each has detailed (but accessible) technical specifications and build notes; it's obvious that Perthold is a real enthusiast. (Wired, October 7, 2008.)

Friday, November 14, 2008

CASSIA INTEL ENGINE

I have created a profile at a "credit-driven intelligence engine" called Cassia. I found out about this site via an Entrecard advertiser. Hat tip to: Cindy King, cross-cultural marketer and international sales specialist.

MORRIS CAT CAM

Morris the cat didn't like to wear the pet harness, so we have to wait with the GPS tracking system for now. He has to get used to this new kind of collar. Instead I attached the Mr. Lee cat cam to his regular collar. He started to bite on it and then he went to a chair in order to relax a bit after this traumatic incident... Here is the photo evidence!



Next time I hope to get some outdoor pictures and later on we will add the GPS tracking device.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

FUSION OF TALK AND LIVE VIDEO

I have now installed my Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 and created a new Talk Fusion video email message. Please send me an email to "Lyceum AT gmail DOT com" and we could start using Gmail voice and video chat. I will start to add videos to LiveVideo and also test to broadcast a liveshow as a compliment to my forthcoming new series of podcasting interviews.




Talking about broadcasting, The Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights has sent an email, informing that:

RadioAmerica’s G. Gordon Liddy is devoting a special broadcast of his nationally syndicated three-hour talk radio show to Ayn Rand, her philosophy, and understanding the current state of events through the lens of Objectivism.

The broadcast will air live on Monday, November 17, 2008, beginning at 10 AM, Eastern Standard Time.

The Ayn Rand Center’s Yaron Brook, Onkar Ghate, Elan Journo, Thomas Bowden and Eric Daniels will be the exclusive guests for this extended broadcast. They will discuss the financial crisis, Bush’s claimed defense of capitalism, today’s challenges to free speech, and the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other topics.

The broadcast will air on 200 radio stations across the country as well as on XM satellite radio (on a delayed basis). Live streaming audio will be available at the RadioAmerica Web site. (Special Edition of G. Gordon Liddy Show on Ayn Rand, email from The Ayn Rand Institute.)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

GTD WIDGET BY ALLTOP

I have added a GTD (Getting Things Done) widget by Alltop.

RANDEX

I have added a feed by Randex with "the latest news and commentary on Ayn Rand and Objectivism."

VETERANS DAY

Recommended reading on Veterans Day:

War And Liberty In American History by Wesley Allen Riddle.
What We Owe Our Soldiers by Alex Epstein.


Veterans Day

THINKING AND WRITING

I have been thinking on my future writing. I will continue to write my blog posts in a pundit style, mixed up with lighter entries, e.g., tracking Morris the cat, and coming up with good life stuff. I will try to follow some kind of weekly schedule, but now and then I will take a break from my EGO blog, concentrating on other assignments, for example writing pieces for other sites and preparing interviews for my podcasting show. I want to get into the right flow and start to microblog on a regular basis.

Do you have tips on literature on writing skills? Here is an excerpt from The Art of Nonfiction by Ayn Rand. The book is edited by Robert Mayhew.

The articles I most enjoy writing are in the middle range. Middle-range articles fall somewhere between theoretical and journalistic articles. They consist of the application of abstractions to concretes, which is what most intellectual magazines contain. Such articles deal neither with philosophical theory nor with concrete reporting. They accept a theoretical proposition and analyze some current event or some aspect of the culture from that viewpoint. (Chapter 1 - Preliminary Remarks, page 5.)




Recommended reading: Gus Van Horn Turns Three!

MARTIN NAME DAY NOVEMBER 10

I had my "nameday" yesterday. I have been thinking on how to spread the celebration of name days for a long time. I am interested in getting in touch with entrepreneurs who want to pluck the day and declare: Carpe Diem!

WILL YOU BE A LEADER?

I have a new piece published on Open Forum. I am thinking of writing an e-pamphlet on leadership based on the trader principle sometime in the future.

EXTRAORDINARY AMERICAN

Here is an excerpt from Robert Tracinski's article, Joe the Plumber and Ayn the Philosopher: The Road Back for the Right.

This is true of the American common man in general. Even when he is not (yet) successful, he thinks of himself as a potential success, as someone who is ambitious and hardworking and on the road to achievement. For him, self-reliance and success is the norm. The sign-off to Cory Miller's letter says it all; he describes himself as "just an ordinary, extraordinary American, the way most Americans used to be." Success and achievement-which Obama views as some kind of extraordinary luck-is viewed by these men as an ordinary product of hard work and dedication.

Note also that these manual workers-men without college educations-are surprisingly articulate. Now let me be clear: it is not a surprise to me that they are well-spoken. I am not among those snobbish elites who view anyone with a blue-collar job as someone who must have been too dumb to get into college. What is surprising to me is how much better these amateurs tend to be at explaining themselves than the hapless professional politicians. (Jewish World Review, November 5, 2008)


Do you have more examples of extraordinary Americans?

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

It is time to "mapping" out the results and running the numbers regarding the election.



Please send a notification where you are located now and tips on places to visit. You are welcome to give me suggestions on my future new place to call home...

So, where should I settle down in the future? Please give me tips and suggestions on places to visit on my next USA tour. [Editor's note: I hope I will be able to do some moblogging then..] I think that an optimal state of mind is a combo of a red state ("down-to-earth" and relaxed heartland type, e.g. the Midwest) and blue state (city slicker with an interest of business life pulse, culture and history, e.g. Boston)... (EGO, RED OR BLUE STATE OF MIND, July 17, 2004.)


Related: My post, WHAT KIND OF AMERICAN ENGLISH DO YOU SPEAK?

Talking about maps, I have added a guestbook with a map and photo slideshow feature on my personal ("bulletin board") web site. It is powered by Slide.com. It could be that I start using the Frappr! guest map mash-up again.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

CONTRARIAN VIEW ON OPEN FORUM

I have a new post on Open Forum. The piece is titled, Contrarian View Versus Mainstream Opinion, and it is covering business magazine covers as a contrarian indicator for making investing decisions, Alan Greenspan's "shocking" statement and a real defense of speculators on the financial market, and a golden book tip. Please feel free to spread the good word and submit a "yes" vote if you find the post useful. You are of course welcome to write a comment.

Monday, November 3, 2008

OPEN ELECTION THREAD

Are you in a voting dilemma? Check out the election edition at The Rule of Reason. Both presidential candidates are talking against individualism. McCain is putting "country first" and Obama is explicitly attacking selfishness. Here is an excerpt from Alexandra Marks's article, Sacrifice theme returns to US politics. Both McCain and Obama cite the need for selflessness and service.

Not since President John Kennedy urged Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country” has the rhetoric of sacrifice sat this well with the public. Concern that the US confronts a huge crisis in the form of a global financial meltdown, plus an untapped desire since 9/11 to help the nation more, makes the public more receptive to the idea that sacrifice can be noble instead of just inconvenient. (The Christian Science Monitor, November 2, 2008.)


I recommend you listen to Dr. Leonard Peikoff's podcasting show of October 20 and his answer to the question regarding the election and watch Marina "Hot For Words" discussing the origins of some political words on the O'Reilly Factor show.




Related: My post, MTV CHOOSE AND LOSE ON MYSPACE.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

BLOGS I FOLLOW

I have added a batch of blogs I follow to my Blogger profile page.


Here is a quote from Mendel Chuang's post, Follow your favorite blogs:

In addition, you can easily check out what blogs other fans are writing and following - you might even find another blog you’ll want to add to your reading list. And by the way, you can follow any blog, even if it isn't hosted on Blogger or doesn't have the Followers gadget. Just go to your Reading List in your Blogger Dashboard, click the “Add” button, and type in the blog’s URL. And you can even import existing subscriptions from Google Reader. (The Official Google Blog, September 10, 2008.)

Sunday, October 26, 2008

EGO SAND DOLLAR TEMPLATE

I have installed a new template called Sand Dollar. [Editor's comment: Will you relate the sand dollar template to a gold dollar coin?]

The dollar sand template was originally created by Jason Sutter and then modified by Charlemagne Stavanger. I downloaded the blogger template from Blogcrowds.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

GOLDEN LINE

Could you guess which is my favorite line from the Wall Street movie? The working title of the sequel is Money Never Sleeps. I recommend you to read Jonathan Hoenig's book, Greed Is Good: The Capitalist Guide to Investing.

Will you listen to Yaron Brook's lecture (Capitalism Without Guilt: The Moral Case for Freedom) on October 22? It is a celebration of the launch of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights in Washington, DC?

I will soon take the golden opportunity and send an application for opening an account at GoldMoney. Related: My post, GOLD AND ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

EGO TEMPLATE

I have done some changes to the template and moved things around a bit and removed some stuff. The page takes still time to load and I will look into the matter to see how it could load faster. I know that I have some external third party scripts that could cause delays, but I want to keep a few ads that could generate a little money for my blogging and some social media and networking tools. If you think that my blog is too cluttered with stuff, but still want to read it, you could subscribe to EGO RSS feed. I will keep the Sphere feed flare feature so you could check out blogs and sites that are covering the same topics as my posts.

You have about a fortnight in order to decide if you want to give George W. Bush a score card. I think I will retire the Uncle Sam tour poll in the near future. I don't see that a new commander in chief will pay a visit to a new country in the immediate future... Please feel free to give me suggestions on topics for new polls and interactive features on my blog. Do you think it is a good idea to create some kind of survey regarding the election? I recommend you to read Craig Biddle's article, McBama vs. America, and then share your thoughts by writing a comment or linking to an article or blog post that you think is useful to read before the election day.

Have you seen that Cox & Forkum has posted a new cartoon? Here is an excerpt from Allen Forkum's post, Rescue me.

Since stopping editorial cartoons a year ago, John and I have continued creating gag cartoons for my automotive publications. Occasionally one of our gag cartoons will cross over into editorial territory. Such is the case with the cartoon above, which is why I'm posting it here (it's also posted at John's blog). We have no plans to start up again, but it's certainly not for lack of material in the news these days... (CoxAndForkum.com, October 14, 2008.)



Rescue me

[Editor's comment: I don't want to rescued by a bailout or receive a handout, but please feel free to voluntarily give me support for my blogging. You could use PayPal as the tip jar by clicking on the "Donate" button in the support section, or if you want to buy something from my wish list at Amazon.]

Thursday, October 16, 2008

TIME TO GO ON STRIKE?

Do you think it is time to go on strike? Have you met characters like Ayn Rand's John Galt lately? [Editor's note: Please write a comment if you have read Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged.] Read Dr. Helen Smith's post, Going John Galt. [Via Pajamas Media.] In one way, I am partially on strike, waiting for an invitation to the Galt's Gulch, but I think it is worth fighting for a second renaissance due to the fact that The Ayn Rand Institute is doing a great job on spreading better ideas, giving moral support to businessmen and capitalists, and teaching the New Intellectuals in Ayn Rand's philosophy, Objectivism.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

OPEN FORUM BY AMERICAN EXPRESS

You could read a piece by yours truly over at Open Forum blog. You will find "a wealth of resources for savvy business owners" at the site powered by American Express Company. The title of my article is Time To Bring Back The Smiley Face To America. Please feel free to comment on my post and you are more than welcome to spread the good word!

Monday, October 13, 2008

FOLLOW EGO

You could now show the blogosphere that you are an avid follower of EGO blog. Click on the widget on the top of the left side bar. Right now, I have one follower called Manje.

PAUL KRUGMAN AND THE NOBEL PRICE

I will ask my guest on my next podcasting show to give his opinion on Paul Krugman and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. In one comment on The Big Picture, I saw a link to a piece by Paul Krugman there he is trashing the Austrian theory of the boom and bust business cycle.

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE COLUMBUS DAY?

How do you celebrate Columbus Day? Here is an excerpt from the article, Columbus was a hero by Dimitri Vassilaros. [Via Randex.]

Columbus essentially was an explorer and discoverer bringing Western civilization's cures, science and technology, he says. The philosophical legal process was another gift the Europeans gave to the Indians, he says. "Indians got all that for free."

Columbus' critics should fall down on their knees and thank the Founding Fathers for creating a nation based on the moral principle of the individual's right to life, liberty and, Bowden stresses, the selfish pursuit of happiness. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 10, 2008)


Related: My post, COLUMBUS AND LEIF ERIKSON DAY.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

YUJA WANG

Have you heard about classical pianist Yuja Wang? Here is an excerpt from Lawrence A. Johnson's article, The restless, intellectual life of 21-year-old Wang. [Via Randex.]

In addition to a voracious appetite for music, the depth of Wang's taste in reading is impressive in an age when The Da Vinci Code is considered classic literature. ''Right now I'm reading The Idiot by Dostoyevsky,'' she says. ''And I read Nietzsche's Thus Sprach Zarathustra and Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. And I love Victor Hugo. I read no trash,'' she laughs. (The Miami Herald, October 10, 2008.)

BLACKOUT SHOT

I am feeling a bit under the weather at the moment. [Editor's note: In Swedish you call it "under the ice."] Here is a drink recipe that could be a good remedy:

Blackout shot


First pour Sambuca and then Unicum. Use a spoon then you add Unicum into the shot glass.

EgƩszsƩgedre!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

CARNIVAL OF THE RECIPES

Welcome to my edition of the Carnival of the Recipes! I had similar difficulties in grouping the different recipes as NerdMom, but I tried to compile it in different food groups and type of meals. You could say that a common thread is that you get a warm and fuzzy feeling when you serve these dishes. You will find several examples of soups and stuff with a hot & spicy touch to it. Don't you think this is the perfect theme during the fall season? And now, without further ado, here is the list of recipes!

Liquid form of recipes, e.g. stew and soup. Perfect as a starter.

Shaun presents Ajiaco Emerilized posted at Onelite Foods. [Editor's comment: Is this the similar dish that is popular in Columbia?]

Bill presents soup recipe - vegetable soup recipe vegetable soup recipes - Quick Hearty Minestrone | World Famous Recipes posted at World Famous Recipes. [Editor's comment: Have you had this soup in Italy?]

Slow Cooker Recipes presents Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup posted at Slow Cooker Recipes. [Editor's comment: Does this recipe belong to the Slow Food movement?]

Pasta

After a great start with stuff that is warming up your body, it is time for a meaty pasta dish from Italy.

World Famous Recipes presents Italian Recipes - Italian Pasta Bolognese posted at Recipes. [Editor's comment: Have you compared the different taste between the original source of Bologna and the American style? The Swedish Chef declares that "spaghetti med kƶttfƤrssƄs" is popular in Scandinavia.]

And now over to the sea food category...

Fish

Diabetic Recipes presents Scallop Fish Tacos posted at Diabetic Recipes - Diabetic Meals. [Editor's comment: Mmm... it's getting spicy with Tabasco.]

As you may know, I like to eat meat, so it is time to get out the carving knife!

Meat

Editor presents Barbecued Pork Chops posted at Phoenix Arizona East Valley Living Blog. [EGO Editor's note: I am thinking of getting Eat The Meat by Jonas BorssƩn. Talking about books, check out the next recipe for tips on cooking books for children.]

Anne-Marie presents Warming up with some pumpkin chili | My Readable Feast - children's book activities, kidlit reviews, and children's cooking activities posted at My Readable Feast - children's book activities, kidlit reviews, and children's cooking activities.

Gus Van Horn sent me the following recipe by email. [Editor's comment to Gus: Please pick a matching beer to your recipe...]

And now for a recipe with a "warning label"... Master artist, Robert Tracy, sent me the following email with a moving story about a recipe called "Sh*t On a Shingle":

I tell you the best meal I've ever had, and I had it for breakfast every morning I was in a Marine Corps mess hall, was SOS. We Marines called is "shit on a shingle". I've cooked it myself once in a while and my wife (and daughters, when they were girls) loved it. We always have it for supper, not breakfast. It's a complete meal in itself. This is as far from a PC meal as you can get, what with the beef, fat, butter and salt. But I'm still alive.

Here it is:

Recipe for “Marine Breakfast” (SOS)

(Serves eight, or two hungry Marines)
½ pound ground beef (ground chuck for flavor)
1-tablespoon bacon fat (lard/Crisco or butter) -Bacon fat is best.
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk (add more milk if you want it thinner)
1/8-teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
8 slices of dry toast -It was white toast in those days.

Using a large skillet (12-14 inches), crumble and brown the ground beef with fat and salt. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool slightly. Mix in the flour until all of the meat is covered, using all of the flour. Replace the skillet on the heat and stir in the milk. Keep stirring until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens (boil a minimum of one minute).

Serve over the toast (the "shingle"). Salt and pepper to taste.

Also, I recommend saturating your toast with plenty of butter.

I would add (reading that you like spicy food) that I omit the onions that are in the original recipe for Marine Corps SOS. I do so because I do not like spicy food--it gives me heart-burn, although my wife can take the a half-oz. sip of Tabasco Sauce (by the way, Tabasco Sauce was invented by a Marine) with no ill side effects. Also, I make SOS a little thicker than the recipe I sent by reducing the amount of milk.

Also, I don't think you'll want to use the kinda cute term we Marines called SOS with the first word being "shit". Might want to fix that. But when the meal is made, it looks crappy. But just try it and see. It's delicious. Moreover, you can add and/or subtract some of the ingredients to suit your taste--perhaps come up with a brand new recipe of your own.


Source: Image provided by Robert Tracy.

As a "commander in chef," I order you to prepare the above mentioned recipe and then read the following letter by Robert Tracy to his congressman:

Martin,

Let me try to re-write what I wrote my congressman, in part.

I wanted him to vote against the "bailout".

I told him a story, a true story, about how I was motivated by experience for Linda and I to deal with the situation facing us. That we can fend for ourselves and don't want any government "bailout".

It went something like this:

On a five-day Recon patrol in 1968 in the jungles of Vietnam we got socked in and couldn't get extracted. With five-day's of rations we ran out of chow. What did we do? Well, we rigged up a hook, line and sinker. While at the edge of a wide river one man would stand guard while the other would try to catch a fish to no avail. A Marine from Georgia, an out-doorsman, found a large lizard on a tree, cut the head off with his fighting knife, and cooked it. That's wall we had to share for five days. We got a call from the Commanding general of the 1st Marine Div. in Vietnam with an offer of moral support and to just "hang in there". We were miles inland and what had happened was there was a typhoon that had hit near Da Nang. All we got was so far inland was stronger than usual winds and a lot of rain and a heavy cloud cover. I think the enemy was hunkered down too. Looking back on it I figure we weren't in much danger from the VietCong. Finally the weather broke at twilight and the extraction was successful. Extracted back to the rear we were met with a big meal of steak, potatoes, vegetables, fruit and juice--and a big hearty welcome back. Funny, starved as we were we couldn't eat much. Our stomachs had shrunk. But next morning, after a night's sleep we had the usual SOS for breakfast in the chow hall, and just feasted on that breakfast.

I told my congressman this story to show that Linda and I are hurting just as bad as most are. What we're doing is buying cheap brands of everything and eating less as we see this through.

All the best,

Robert

And now over to a more healthier line of dish (Citrus-Stuffed Herbed Turkey) for the forthcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Here is a quote from Anne-Marie's (This Mama Cooks) post.

Why not create a healthy polymeal feast this Thanksgiving? Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S, is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition, and health. His new book Healthiest Meals on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What Meals to Eat and Why shows how to combine ingredients – what he refers to as “polymeals” – that promote long-term health to create meals that will literally save your life. (ThisMamaCooks.com)


Anne-Marie presents Healthy holiday polymeal cooking with the Healthiest Meals on Earth posted at This Mama Cooks! On a Diet. [Editor's note: Read about the true background of Thanksgiving.]

I want to make a tie in to the health issue by providing you with a a fresh and healthy smoothie based on the superberry called Acai. Dr. Perricone has ranked Acai as number 1 of today's known superfoods. He has called it nature's energy fruit. [Editor's note: Full disclosure: I am a distribute trader / reseller of Acai Planet's juice product.

Martin Lindeskog's Superberry Smoothie

  • 1 deciliter of pure Acai juice.
  • 200 gram of blueberries.
  • 1 piece of preserved ginger.
  • 1 banana.
  • 2 deciliter of mild light yogurt with vanilla flavor.
  • (Ice cubes, optional if you want it very cold.)

Mix everything in juice mixer. Serve cold together with a hot dish!

After dinner time

I think that the recipe called Cheesy Goblin Head by Shawn Lea of Everything and Nothing will be a perfect after dinner combo together with some crackers and a glass of wine. [Editor's note: I want to thank Shawn Lea for giving me the opportunity to host this edition of the Carnival of the Recipes!]

As a special treat, I want to inform you that the Cinnamon Roll Day was celebrated on October 4 in Sweden. Perhaps your prefer a Danish, a.k.a "Rose of the Prophet Muhammad" instead?

If you want to participate with a recipe for the next edition of the Carnival of the Recipes, go to Blog Carnival and submit your recipe.