I had a restful labor day weekend. I can't say I thought much about technical writing, but I have been thinking more about podcasting. It's something I want to do, but putting together a show requires quite a bit of effort. After a long deliberation about the best way to record a meeting, I decided it's best to get a lapel mic attached to a digital recorder, and then ask the speaker to repeat any questions given by the audience. I could c...
My hard drive finally crashed. I never thought it would really happen, and I didn't have my files backed up. Oh well. I think I'll take it to a data recovery service. It crashed so bad that it clicks now when you try to boot up. The computer is a Gateway -- I don't recommend them. Only 1.5 years old.
The FTCC team launched the advertisement of the Florida Technical Communications Competition today. You can view the site at http://stc-suncoast.org/ftcc. There are more participants on this competition team than any other, and it's pretty exciting. Lots of group involvement. It has definitely got our members buzzing around each other with ideas, and now a couple of them are going to be doing a special podcast on the FTCC. I plan to have ...
I am thinking about starting up an IT Conversations site for Tech Writers. Currently this niche is totally open -- there are no technical writer podcasts. The power of podcasting is in the targeting of the niche market, according to Jason Van Orden of the PodCasting Underground, an awesome site to learn about podcasting. A few writers have done a podcast here and there, but none have sustained a continous podcast show. I'm thinking that t...
This podcast with Barry Schwartz will absolutely change the way you view the options and choices available to you. Schwartz's basic premise is that modernity has opened up a proliferation of choices for us, from choices in the grocery store to choices about career, choices about companions, choices about electronics, and more. Much of the hallmark of technology and science seems to be that it delivers us absolute freedom of choice. You ar...
This is another mind-bending podcast that will change how you perceive others' responses about your work. Malcolm Gladwell, a well-known essayist for the New Yorker, explains that the aeron chair — similar to our modern computer chair that we all love to sit in all day — was originally despised and deemed ugly. It didn't catch on for 2 years, and then it quickly became the most popular chair. Everyone came to love it. Through various expe...
In this 30 minute podcast, Paul Graham explains what motivates hackers. By hackers, he's not referring to people who maliciously unleash viruses and worms and bring down major systems. He's referring to advanced developers who dream in code. These hackers, it turns out, are a lot like writers. Here are a few of the things that motivate hackers: Hackers enjoy challenges, problems to solve. Hackers believe curiosity is their defining char...
This podcast from IT Conversations was pretty fascinating, though it has little to do with technology. Teddy Roosevelt took an insane journey up a deep Brazilian river and nearly died. In this interview, Moira Gunn (an excellent interviewer) talks to Candice Millard, author of the book on Roosevelt's adventure. It made me wonder why we do the crazy things we sometimes do.
I came to the realization that people feel more comfortable posting blog-like thoughts to their own blog sites, rather than to a group blog. If you have information that you think would benefit the entire Suncoast chapter, such as news about a job, conference, new software, a review, or some other information that you might likewise post across the listserv, then by all means add it to the Suncoast blog. But blogging is all about the pers...
