Blog

Annoying Video Ads

Carl Setzer
The first thing I do when one of those obnoxious, over-loud video ads launches on a website I just opened starts playing is to close the whole page. I have to be pretty committed to reading the article for me to stick around through that, or to try and locate the “off” or “mute” button for the bloody thing. 
So, for those of you promoting advertising on your website, you now have something to consider. Of course, I should look at running Ad-Blocker or something like that and move this nuisance into historical reference. 

The All Powerful Snooze Button

Carl Setzer

Laying here listening to my wife’s alarm go off, I’m struck by a significant societal shift which took place during my lifetime: the snooze bar. 

I remember a world where these things didn’t exist. That your alarm clock rang once a day. Heck, you needed to remember to arm the thing before you went to sleep. I suppose some folks rewound the clock and moved the alarm hand forward a few minutes. But most didn’t. Ring, then up; no other methodology existed. 
Now, we tend to gradually awaken. With smartphones and such, you can choose pleasant tones to gently rouse you from slumber. Speaking for myself, my alarm starts earlier, with a more gradual waking process. 

I’m not sure what, if any, deeper effects have been brought about by this. Something to explore. It’s hard to imagine that a significant shift in a culture’s circadian rhythm won’t have some larger impact.  

A Story of Epilepsy and the Power Of Love

Carl Setzer

The Story Collider podcast has become a deeply integrated into my psyche, and my life. I stumbled  upon the series via Radiolab. On my commute today, I listened to Sara Peters and Peter Aguero’s story about Sara’s epilepsy.  This was very well done: by the end I felt connected to them.

So, I highly recommend you spend a few minutes of your life watching the video below (the podcast was recorded at TedMed 2013, so, thus, you get video). Your life will be the better for it.

(It wouldn’t be a bad idea to subscribe to Story Collider, too. Just sayin’.) 

Alcohol Consumption And Arousal

Carl Setzer

A little tidbit to greet the 2nd 20% of your work week.

It explains a great deal, if you think about it.

Found this on Reddit

Perfection’s Obsessive Pursuit Destroys Effectiveness

Carl Setzer

The obsessive pursuit of perfection can destroy effectiveness. How easy would it be, continuously review, rewrite, redo a project. Keep revolving within this loop until its perfect, or we die. I would expect that giving into this loop, perfection would only be achieved well after the project’s usefulness was long past. 


Now, we need to keep mind for quality. Try to make whatever we’re creating as effective as possible. Yet, something is better than nothing. 

Deliver the best you can. Fix, with diligence and haste any material mistakes, smile about the non-material. Be proud of your work, and the problems it solves. 

Red, White, & Blue

Carl Setzer

I’m wondering why our culture had a specific sequence to “Red, White, & Blue”. In the States, the sequence is always R, W, B. Curious, no? Think it’s related to a song? In sure there’s some cultural touch-stone.

First Poem This Summer

Carl Setzer
Dreams laze across summer sunbeams. 
Flickers of dust briefly present 
Then lost upon life’s currents; 
Gentle summer breeze. 

Following Your Gut

Carl Setzer
I remember reading an article, years ago, about how one should never trust their gut. They cited the presence of serial killers like Ted Bundy and how smoothly they talked and acted. This made me laugh. Bundy, et al, had no logical reason not to trust them. Even if we had today’s tools, we wouldn’t find anything terribly remiss in their background. Those people who weren’t taken in were following their gut. 
Perhaps there’s some confusion about gut following. This isn’t just mindlessness; deliberately slowing down and thinking. It’s deeper, though, than simply analyzing facts. But it’s more than airy fairy mindless trust. 
Learning to listen to that inner guide takes time and deliberate training. Often, that voice gets drowned out by the din of modern life. Much to our detriment. 

Email Culls & Other Fun

Carl Setzer

I’ve been wading thru massive amounts of email for far too long. Time for action! Now, as a geek with several domains, it was easy to create a special email for all my news and newsletters. As I’m going through and porting them all over, I’m seeing how many of these aren’t relevant any more. I’m an information junkie. But is really time to draw back. I’m digging thru tons of news searching for stuff I need to attend to. Silly.