Today is the two year birthday of this blog, at least in it’s current form. I registered justinharter.com in September of 2002, meaning this site has been a blog, personal dumping ground or advertising platform my early business endeavors for almost eight years. I’ve been developing websites a little longer than that for almost a decade.
Now, I feel old.
For those of you following me on Twitter or Facebook, I had the idea the other day to change my avatar daily based on my mood. Right now, we’re at “Status Calm”. Here is the whole chart so you can be prepared. It comes complete with crappy shadows, bevels and spacing:
I’ve learned a lot lately since becoming a full-time web shop owner with Justify Studios. But, I did some homework before I came to the conclusion of quitting my old job with the Court.
One of the things I did manage to forsee is that working a solid 8 hour day is stupid. I’ve always thought the idea of working a set timeframe for some days and not others was stupid anyway. Work doesn’t always happen at 2:12 PM. I’ll work when work needs to be done for as long as I can do so in a healthy way. The result is that my clients get a better product and I get to live my life.
For anyone thinking about doing your own business, don’t assume you can work 8 billable hours a day. Instead, do this:
Figure out how much money you need to make in a given month to cover all the necessary bills. Then add 40% to cover the extra taxes. Lastly, figure out how many hours you need to bill for to make up that amount. For me at my rate, it comes out to 32 billable hours a month, or about an hour a day. Now you have a goal.
Good work, if you can get it.
I’m posting this in hopes that someone, someday will Google it and have an answer for me in the comments. Because I don’t.
I’m trying to find an article that details how I can use my iMac as my primary machine, and my MacBook Air as the secondary display. Frankly, it’d be silly to go the other way because my iMac has much more power than the MacBook Air.
All of my machines use the Mini Display port. Haven’t found nary a thing online about the idea. Evidently, I’m the first to have it.
Back in my day when we had head lice-checks, the lunch ladies would come in with popsickle sticks and root around our heads while squinting. I hated it – I don’t like messy, unkempt hair. So, I’d always have mom take me to get a haircut a day or two before the lice screening so my hair would be short enough not to be bothered by the stick. Yes, that’s right – I had pre-lice screening plans.
Today, however, it’s much different:
Cathy Tarala is armed with a headlight, a magnifying visor over her eyes and a comb called “The Terminator.” Her enemy – tiny but resilient – is pediculus capitis. Most parents know it as head lice.
Tarala is a contractor for the Lice Squad, a $60-an-hour service that treats lice (pediculosis) in homes, performs head checks in schools and trains volunteers on school committees on how to spot them.
…
At many schools and daycares, regular lice screening is as much a part of the routine as safe arrival calls. Getting rid of lice can be tricky, time-consuming and expensive, requiring hours of combing and checking for live lice along with the tiny, brownish eggs that they leave glued to hair shafts close to the scalp.
By the time today is over, this family will have spent more than $200 for the 90-minute treatment, Lice Squad supplies to repeat the process and the special shampoo and comb bought earlier at a pharmacy.
Now that’s a business — “I’m going to look at your child’s head so you don’t have to and you’re going to pay me to do it. And, you’re going to buy all my supplies and fancy tools, like a magnifying glass and a comb.”
Back in August when I had my kidney stone, I weighed 165 pounds. After 1 week of writhing in bed as three stones worked their way through the ol’ plumbing, I weighed 153 pounds.
Then, as time went on, I seemed to lose a pound or two over the next few weeks. Having not eaten anything beyond 1 can of soup that week, I generally didn’t feel much hunger from then on. After a month, I was weighing in at 150 pounds on a consistent basis.
Then, for a while, I didn’t weigh myself anymore. And, starting in about December I decided to stop buying so much red meat – beef, chicken, pork, etc. I thought I’d give vegetarianism a try. I consider myself more of a “flexatarian” than anything because if I’m at a restaurant or some catered event, I’ll pickup a drumstick. But, for the most part, I’ve been really good about not eating meat. I opted for a more vegetarian approach for health reasons more than anything.
Justin Harter, as expected in 2014.
While I can’t say I feel “so much better than before” when I consistently ate at least 2 pounds of beef a week, I evidently feel lighter.
I’ve been weighing myself again this week. Monday I was 145. Tuesday, I was 143. Wednesday I was 143 and today, after having hopped on and off the scales a dozen times, I am now down to 141 pounds.
I became suspicious yesterday after having put on a pair of pants that now required more than a belt. I had to fold the top band around the waist down over itself just to bring them tight enough around my waist.
I’m not even trying and I’ve lost 24 pounds since August. I haven’t weighed that little since I was a freshman in high school. Soon, I will turn into Mr. Burns.
I usually make a list of goals for each new year. For example, last year I had goals to quit my job and start a new business, gather up 10 new clients before starting said business and work harder than I ever had before, among a few others. I achieved all of my goals last year. So, I’m working in 2010 on a new set that is very ambitious:
I’m off to a good start on a lot of these. I’m re-evaluating my Project 365 (gets tough to take a picture in the same house every day). I am drinking more water and I’m being very aggressive and successful in my business marketing without actually spending a dime on advertising.
I’m also well into blogging more and have re-designed my website to serve as a blog and not a “website”. The Justify Studios site takes care of the business end of things for me now.
There’s another item in there to round-out the list, but it’s personal and I’ve redacted it.
Steve Jobs announced Apple’s latest creation today, called the iPad.
I wasn’t thrilled watching the keynote until I saw the price of $499. That’s very un-Apple and I’m glad they’ve finally started to understand how most Americans shop. I’m really tired of seeing crappy software and hardware from PC makers and being asked, “Which netbook do you recommend?” by friends because my answer is always, unequivocally, “None of them.”
However, the iPad isn’t for anyone like you or me. It’s meant for your non-techy sister or your partially inept uncle. The thing doesn’t fill a void in a tech person’s life. Already having an iMac, MacBook Air and an iPhone, this thing fits in my life like a bastard child.
I keep waffling on whether I’d buy it. Earlier I was no, then yes, now I’m back at “no”. I think Apple is looking to build something for mom and dad and something for cheap people to buy into to get them more interested in the iPhone and other Apple products. It’s a halo-device if nothing else.
The killer here is that it can’t multitask, aside from, I guess, the iPod software. But, if I’m doing a Keynote or working in Pages, which are without a doubt neat, I’m going to need to do some research online. And if that thing is as fast as everyone is saying it is, then I don’t get why they don’t enable multitasking.
I have a feeling that Apple is up to something. If they’ve got that fast new processor in the iPad, it’s only a few months away from getting crammed into an iPod and iPhone, then you’d better lookout. Part of me wonders if, maybe, JUST MAYBE, they want to save some sizzle for a pending iPhone 4.0 and if they spill too much on the iPad, it’ll give the competition (i.e., Google, Sony, RIM, etc.) time to prepare.
My prediction and advice: hold off on buying this thing until June/July when they announce the new iPhone as they always do. There, they’ll have new software, new hardware, and I bet new software for the iPad. The guy from Brushes mentioned the iPad uses iPhone OS 3.2. Clearly, there’s room to upgrade this summer to iPhone OS 4.0.
Extreme web makeover
Forty-eight hours. Three websites. One great cause.
INDIANAPOLIS – JANUARY 11, 2010 – The Indiana University School of Informatics at IUPUI and RefreshIndy, a local organization of web designers, developers and graphic artists, are bringing together the best professional and student talent in Indianapolis to develop three websites for three local non-profit organizations within 48 hours. This non-stop event begins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, January 15 at the Informatics and Communication Technology Complex on the IUPUI campus. The date coincides with the University’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service encouraging students, faculty and staff to give back to the greater Indianapolis community.
Indianapolis web professionals will lead teams of student volunteers from the School’s informatics and media arts and science programs throughout this unique service learning opportunity. “This is a fun and challenging way for our students to learn from some of the top professionals in the city while also giving their time and energy to a greater cause,” said Mark McCreary, Assistant Dean for Student Services at the IU School of Informatics at IUPUI. Professionals donating their services to the cause include creative talent from Justify Studios, Squish Design, Web Easy Media and Cassis Design.
Non-profit organizations were identified by the IUPUI Solution Center and chosen based on a demonstrated need for a new or enhanced website, as well as their future ability to maintain that website. “It’s important that these websites be easily sustainable given non-profit’s often limited resources,” explained Justin Harter of RefreshIndy. “Our goal is to simply help strengthen these organizations’ online identities so they can better serve our community.”
Non-profits selected to receive redesigned websites include the following local organizations: Talbot House, a residential care facility for adult male recovering from alcoholism and substance abuse; Progress House, a recovery center for alcohol and/or drug dependent men; and My Sister’s Place, a service providing transitional support and resources for formerly incarcerated and at-risk women and their families.
“The impact of this is huge,” said Carol Wellman, Director of My Sister’s Place. “I developed our website myself using a book, so receiving this type of expert assistance is invaluable. It helps us increase visibility and communication with the women, families and organizations who need our services.”
To learn more about this event, please visit www.refreshindy.com/48hours.html.
About IU School of Informatics at IUPUI:
The Indiana University School of Informatics was established in 2000 as one of the first schools in the nation dedicated to education and research in informatics. Informatics is the study and application of information technology to the arts and sciences, and the resulting impact on organizations, individuals and society as a whole. The School offers an array of B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. programs. The IU School of Informatics is located on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. For additional information, please visit www.informatics.iupui.edu.
Contact:
Stephen McKinney,
Communications Manager
(317) 278–9208
smmckinn@iupui.edu
Justin Harter,
RefreshIndy
(317) 225-8169
refreshindy@gmail.com
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Ha — you dirty thing. You thought I meant that other thing. I really meant that my Dock was bigger.
Mine has looked like this for a week. I am not exaggerating. Someday I’ll get to close something:
