Reality Me

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  • This sums up my job

    If architects had to work like programmers.

    Dear Mr. Architect:

    Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion.

    My house should have between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdowns for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one at a later time.

    …

    You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can’t happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your ideas and completed plans.

    PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I’ve given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can’t handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.

    PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case.
    [Source]

  • From the mouths of babes

    Amy: "Yea! We have a box to play in!"
    Mom: "We’ve got to get these kids out of the house more."

  • Vote her up!

    Cathy’s caption and my caption are both on the Leader board. Let’s push them higher!

  • Heroes text message

    Files are getting more interesting by the sec. Stay with me I think we are closer than we think. The hunt c

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  • Help Send Cathy and I to BlogWorld – We’ll call it a honeymoon

    Southwest Airlines will be sending two people to Las Vegas on November 8th and 9th to attend Blogworld!

    Southwest Airlines is proud to be the Official Airline of the BlogWorld Expo, which is being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center on November 8 and 9. This is a huge event promoting blogging and new media…we are offering a package to attend BlogWorld for one creative Nuts
    About Southwest reader. This package includes air travel for two on Southwest Airlines to Las Vegas from your closest Southwest city; the good folks at BlogWorld are providing free registration for the Expo; and our friends at the MGM Grand are providing a room for three nights (November 7 through November 9). [Source, Southwest Airlines Blog, Nuts About Southwest]

    Cathy has entered the contest and needs your help. Please visit her caption and give her a vote up! You can also vote for my caption. And if you participate in the contest, it helps to mention either "cathymccaughan" or "djuggler" as your referrer. Thanks!

  • Heroes text message

    Micah has brokn thru 2 a nu level of Linderman’s Archives unlocking a file a day. Check out where he got tod

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  • Blogging saves me time!

    Why do I blog? Because when I spend a large amount of time troubleshooting, the next time the problem comes around (like getting ColdFusion 7 to connect to a MySQL datasource), I just have to read the post.

  • Of Grasshoppers

    Student: Why did I choose to walk such a hard path?
    Master: A hard path gives you a firm step.

  • Feels Like My Life

    Do What You Love

    Thanks Tom!

  • Heroes text message

    In the rubble of the Corinthian, we’ve unearthed a treasure chest filled with secrets. Could use some help.

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  • Have you voted for Glenda today?

    Remember, you can vote for Glenda Watson Hyatt once a day! Make sure you do it! See some details on Reality Me, or Chris Brogan’s post Glenda Watson Hyatt Rocks. Be sure to visit Glenda’s Do It Myself Blog. And vote for Glenda at http://blogforayear.com/!

  • What do you think of the audio narrations?

    I know James liked the first audio narration. How are they being received by other readers? I know a couple were rushed and poorly read. Is anyone listening to them? Is there opportunity here for making Reality Me more accessible to people with vision challenges?

  • Driving Patterns – Let the Ass Merge

    Slow merge

    fast merge

    Narration: [audio:http://realityme.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/drivingpatternslettheassmerge.mp3]

    We all know the guy. You are stuck in a slowdown usually for no reason other than rubber necking. Sometimes traffic just slows for no apparent reason at all. Maybe there was a sign encouraging people to merge right or left. You want to be doing 113 km/h but you are stuck at 32 km/h. To make the situation more frustrating you catch a glimpse in your mirrors of car speeding past all the nearly parked cars in hopes that it can merge in ahead of some poor sap. You curse, "why can’t he just get in line like the rest of us!" Then you decide to do your part for society. You will bring justice by moving your car so close to the car in front of you that he can’t possibly merge between you two. If only all the other cars would do the same! We could leave this self-important jackass parked while a solid line of cars cheerfully passes leaving him further behind than ahead. Of course, that never really happens. Some weak person 4 cars ahead of you lets him in. Where’s the vindication?!

    William Beaty helped me realize that I am the problem, not the other guy. In his essay, Traffic "Experiments" and a Cure for Waves & Jams he suggests a simple cure to the merging-lane traffic jam I just described. Let them in! I have started doing this and even if 3 cars (or more) merge in front of me it has little to no impact on my arrival time at my destination. It does feel good to have not fought someone (positive karma). I have put my family at less risk by not tailgating another driver or inciting road rage in the merging driver.

    Drive by looking down the road. We should be doing that anyway. When you see a slowdown, not when you start experiencing it (although it is never too late), create a gap in traffic between you and the car in front of you. If a car merges into that gap, recreate the gap. It works! It feels good! Traffic moves better. And you have been a safer driver.

    Note: Conversions to metric courtesy of http://www.onlineconversion.com/. Images borrowed from Bill Beaty.

    Update 7/24/2014: And 7 years later, this hits the news: http://arstechnica.com/cars/2014/07/the-beauty-of-zipper-merging-or-why-you-should-drive-ruder/

  • From the mouths of babes

    Amy: "nine twenty eight"
    Dad: "Are you going to be our clock today?"
    Amy: "Yes. nine twenty nine"
    Amy: "There are three number in that itty bitty space."
    Amy: "nine thirty zero. Actually nine thirty."
    Amy: "It’s nine thirty one."
    Amy: "It’s nine thiiirrtty twoooooo. It’s not to early to play with A and W. After nine thirty two it’s nine thirty three then nine thirty four then nine thirty five."
    Amy: "It’s nine thirty three!"

  • Of Grasshoppers

    Student: I am putting more energy into fighting it than doing it.
    Master: Nike.