I’ve let many opportunities in life pass me by because I felt like I couldn’t afford to do something. I’ve seen many people do the same thing, most recently about SXSW. This compels me to offer unsolicited advice: Don’t make the same mistake. While this post deals specifically with SXSW, many of these concepts could apply to any of the countless conferences and workshops that happen all over the world, or even just a pleasure trip. Take a look, and let me know what you think. What did I leave out? Hope to see you at SXSWi 2010! Biggest tip #1: Start early! Biggest tip #2: Be...

Oh, internet. Come sit down and listen to my tale… We have been working sometime on redesigning www.sparkfire.net. We did a tremendous amount of planning and research and came up with almost exactly what we wanted. With a specific style in mind, copious notes, sketches, and sites and photos as reference, I found someone on www.deviantart.com who did really fantastic work. I messaged him on Facebook (so as to not be mistaken for SPAM) that I liked his work and would like to consider hiring him. He was interested, and had very reasonable rates, so we had been e-mailing for a while about the specifics...

My last post was written in anticipation of attending TEDxTampaBay. Not only did I get a chance to go to this amazing event, I actually got to help out the organizers for the day! Sylvia Landis and I manned the registration table and tweeted about the event while watching the Talks live and via live stream. ...

EDIT: Logo by Museum. ...

Dave and I woke up at 6am and drove south for BarCamp SWFL. Lolz ensue. Video #2. < Now go over setting the song to a music video.. Video #3. < Favorite (made-up) BarCamp...

See you there!...

Culturally-diversified bi-racial girl, with a small diamond nose-ring and a pretty smile poses beside the words: “Women deserve better”. And I almost let her non-threatening grin begin to infiltrate my psyche- till I read the unlikely small-print at the bottom of the ad. ‘Sponsored by the US Secretariat for Pro Life Activities and the Knights of Columbus’ on a bus, in a city with a population of 563,000. ...

I developed a bit of an obsession with Chipotle’s guacamole, it was good but expensive, so I decided to make my own. I’m still tweaking the recipe but this is where I started and gives great results. You can find avocados with the other fresh produce at your grocery store. (extra points if you find them at a market!) ...

Alice asked the Chesire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, “What road do I take?” The cat asked, “Where do you want to go?” “I don’t know”, Alice answered. “Then,” said the cat, “it really doesn’t matter, does it?” Alice in Wonderland, LEWIS...

I work for a small web shop and enjoy a very casual atmosphere. This is great most of the time, but recently it caught up with me. We were all sitting around the conference table eating pizza on the company’s dime and watching the classic Batman film over lunch. I was sitting there scarfing down pizza next to my coworkers and my boss when our sales guy poked his head in and asked me how much we’d charge for hosting a simple e-commerce site. We’re not exactly what I’d call a premium services sort of company, so I quoted him a price of $25/month. But I quickly added that at that...