Don’t tell Brandon, but truth-be-told, I kinda like that our dog’s name is Charlie. The name reminds me of Charlie Watts.
Why do I like Charlie Watts? Because as you can see in this video, he’s sorta playing the drums in a frickin’ suit. You can almost imagine him thinking to himself, “Oh. I guess I’ll play this little drum bit right now. Hope my tie is on straight.”
I’ve long believed that the 4-way stop is proof that we as humans are capable of being rational, patient and friendly. Especially when the intersection in question is actually a malfunctioning stoplight that defaults to red. Everyone knows what to do, everyone is vigilant, patient and seemingly nice.
Then, the other day I was out driving and came across a malfunctioning stoplight and all hell broke loose. No one was moving, and when they did move, they all moved at once from all directions. People were visibly frustrated and I wouldn’t doubt if some of the weaker drivers just sat there and cried.
If the 4-way stop can’t work in this society anymore, we’re screwed.
Health Care vs. the Penalty (on your federal taxes)
Joe— a single, 26 year old, Indianapolis male making $40,000/year.
Now pays approximately $131/month for health coverage.
Removal of annual & lifetime limits, no pre-existing conditions = PRICE WILL RISE.
Under PPACA [the healthcare bill], Joe will likely pay around $200/month.
Penalty for Joe to forego insurance under health care reform = Approximately $400 (greater of $95 or 1% of income in 2014).
Joe forgoes [insurance coverage] and breaks his arm—he will still receive care and be immediately enrolled.
I had this discussion with my dad yesterday. I, as a sane human being, will be looking very closely at healthcare come 2014 when I will be 27 years old. I currently pay $100 a month for insurance. If the penalties for NOT enrolling in healthcare are less than paying for insurance, you’d better believe I’ll just pay the penalties. It’s what everyone in Massachusetts does now.
One sign of western decadence — a full fridge. I pulled open my fridge door this morning to try and find a spot to put my blender container so my fruits could thaw (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and fresh bananas – yum-o!).
There’s a lot of stuff going on in there. I’d hate to know what’s growing in the back. There’s soy milk, zucchini, squash, onions, potatoes, tomatoes (which I know shouldn’t be stored in the fridge, but they spoil too fast for me otherwise), lettuce and a bunch of other veggies.
The one thing I wanted for lunch? An open-faced sandwich topped with guacamole and cucumber. The one thing I don’t have in this mess? A freakin’ cucumber.
I make a pot of tea each morning. I do this by using a coffee maker because it’s faster and weakens the tea a bit since I’m not boiling a tea bag in a pot. The reason for this is to reduce the strength of the tea and thus, my chances of a recurring kidney stone.
Since I use a coffee maker, I pour the water in the back, put the bag in the decanter and for kicks I throw a coffee filter in the filter tray. It doesn’t really need a filter since I’m just using that area to pass hot water through. All the action happens right in the decanter. Or, so I thought.
I don’t replace the filter every day. Again, nothing but hot water passes through it and it seems like a waste. After 5 days (when I do change it), this is what my filter looks like. This is water filtered through my PUR facet filter. Indianapolis, you’re drinking this.
While I was working with X-Mester at Vincennes University earlier this month, I put on a little nickle-and-dime web design show and we redesigned the Ben Davis University High School homepage. You can view the current site at http://www.wayne.k12.in.us/bduhs/.
With input from the students (who had never worked with web stuff before) and my refusal to use shit like Comic Sans, WordArt, ClipArt or generally anything ending in the word “art”, we put together a pretty nice page in under four hours of work:
I don’t often chat much about my business endeavors online — not even on my own blog. I mention it, however, because I’m proud of my business, Justify Studios, but I don’t talk much about some of the stuff I do with it.
I’ve been working on a new slate of improvements for myself and my business. I’ve introduced a new support system, so anyone who wants to open a request for support can do so without needing to remember my email address. Soon, people can email a specific address and they’ll automatically be tabulated into the support system and there they will be able to monitor their support requests whenever the want, 24/7.
I’ll be updating my portfolio of work, soon, too. Right now, all of the sites on there were done before I started working full time for myself. I have dozens of new projects that I love that I need to get online. Namely, Jake’s website, Springs of Cambridge and FAIR. I’ve got half a dozen more sites in the pipeline, three of which are days away from publication.
I’ve added an online store that, while a little rough around the edges, is a good first go. I’ll be adding more stuff into it, but customers can now come directly to my website and purchase a new website immediately. If they know what they want, who am I to stop them from buying what they want so long as it fits in the guidelines of the contracts for that product? Want a blog? Super, just go buy one — custom made, directly via PayPal or cash on delivery. It’s like buying a birthday cake at a family-run bakery.
I’ll be adding a “Learning” section someday, too. Currently, it’s a walled-off area for clients to learn about their new website.
Speaking of things for clients, I’m now blasting off great looking HTML emails to clients to let them know the progress of their site after I’ve spent at least an hour working on it. It tells them what I’ve done, what I need to do and where they can view their site while in development. To ask questions, they simply just need to reply to the email. No one else offers that level of updating and progress reporting.
And, my proudest new goal: be even faster. I’ve long been told that I’m blazing fast at getting to most things. Technical issues and errors are priority 1 and site updates, development, etc. all falls into line after that. Every client I’ve ever had that asked a question or for something to be done has responded at some point to say, “Wow. That was fast.” Now, I have a new goal of responding to every client’s email within 1 hour. Yes, that won’t always happen, but between my time at home and with my iPhone and iPad, it can work. And, I have a goal of getting new site changes and requests done in 24 hours or less. Not to mention getting new sites developed under time.
I’ve been at this for 6 months and have managed to be just as successful as I set out to be. Initially, I said, “Make at least as much money as you would if you still worked for the State of Indiana.” Today, I did the math, and I’ve discovered I’m $3,000 over my goal. I’m right where I wanted to be. Actually, I’m about a month ahead.
Here’s to the next 6 months and years. Thanks to all of my clients and friends who have referred me business.
Justify Studios is igniting the personal and business website industry in the midwest with a complete media experience under one roof. Managed by Justin Harter, Justify provides website design, development, print, consulting, video and media production for all budgets and industries.
