The Real Lance Brown

• Just got done watching Jon Stewart interview Ron Paul. I might be wrong, but Stewart seemed to genuinely be trying to ponder libertarianism. #
• Listening to a recording from 2004 where I am writing, while running, a gospel song called "I Was Saved by the Revolution". #
• I just added myself to http://MyTwitterDirectory.com – The twitter yellow pages. #mytwitterdirectory #
• Boo to sites that tweet on your behalf without telling you. #
• Not real impressed with mytwitterdirectory.com. Aside from them taking possession of my tweeting, their directory is a pain to select from. #
• I gave up after adding myself to 3 categories, even though they allow 10. #
• As I resolved yesterday, today's going to be about resources and tips. Get your clicking fingers ready… #
• http://printyourtwitter.com/ compiles all your tweets (the last 3200 at least) onto one printable/archivable page. #
• I'm nearing 3100 tweets myself, so I'm checking in there to preserve them all in one file. #
• There are several sites that offer to help you better sort your friends/timeline, and give you a new web-based version of your Twitterverse. #
• http://twittangle.com lets you tag and rate your followees, then gives you lots of ways to display your streams/groups/networks. #
• http://www.tweetvisor.com is like a jacked-up Twitter, with a way more accessible and feature-laden interface #
• http://www.twitiq.com/ is a more low-key re-envisioning of Twitter. (Not more low-key than Twitter, more low-key than Tweetvisor.) #
• And then there's http://www.twitterforbusypeople.com/, which creates a page frontloaded with your most-recently-updated followees. #
• I thought I had more Twitter-re-envisioning sites on hand, but I guess not. Follower-sorting and search-monitoring tools after lunch. #
• Whenever you encounter a "they", you get to choose between "us or them" and "us and them". Choose wisely. #
• @rgoodchild Some guys can pull off a moustache, but I don't know how women put up with them. in reply to rgoodchild #
• I gotta get on the evening walk, but I promised a few more resources, so here are two two-fer tweet tool tweets: #
• http://tweetgrid.com/ and http://tweettabs.com/ are both web-based search and trending topic monitoring tools. #
• http://dossy.org/twitter/karma/ and http://friendorfollow.com/ are good tools for seeing who's following you back or not #

• @frankiemuniz It was probably over-watering; that can kill any plant. It took me a long time to stop over-watering, but it's the key. in reply to frankiemuniz #
• @michaelianblack That's really insensitive to the mentally ill. Just because Daffy's imbalance is on the inside doesn't make it less real. in reply to michaelianblack #
• @FINALLEVEL Do you know if Belzer is Twitter-aware enough to see messages written @ him? in reply to FINALLEVEL #
• TAQUITOS! #
• I was just doing a test of what Twitter would be like if Earth was invaded by killer taquitos. (Scary!) #
• Mmm mmm mmm, William Howard Taft. #
• @danhe13 @donttrythis is one of the Mythbusters guys. The other one is on Twitter too I think, but I don't know his digits. in reply to danhe13 #
• I swear to God, Twitter people, if you don't stop making me click on links, I'll…I'll…probably keep clicking on them. #willpowerless #
• @danhe13 You should check out her show: http://watchtheguild.com It's pretty funny. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is good too. in reply to danhe13 #
• Roman Polanski! #nowifeelincluded #
• Roman Architecture! #betterromanthings #
• I've been using a digital voice recorder to catch my thoughts & ideas since ~2002. My "voicerec" folder now has 7,251 files in 441 folders!! #
• Thats 7,251 separate voice recordings. #
• In other words, I have a great interning opportunity in Nevada County, CA if anyone's interested. ;-) #
• There's a crazy thing w/recording fresh thoughts straight to tape – sometimes I have no memory of the idea. I listen & it's brand new to me. #
• Things that I revisited or expanded on stick in my head, but the ones that just get recorded and left alone seem to leave no memory imprint. #
• It's a little creepy.I'll be waiting for the part where I recognize what I'm talking about, & it doesn't come.Like it's someone else's idea. #
• But if you think about it, the only memory I would have is of me speaking the idea into my voice recorder. Why would my brain store that? #
• I'm listening to a recording from 2002 about a guy named Pete who has in his mind the memories of a particular bird, also named Pete. #
• If any movie producers want to help me develop "Pete, the Guy With Pete the Bird's Memories" into a feature film, you know where to find me. #

• @AndyMilonakis "See, white comedians'll be all like 'my energy is draining, where's my remote?'" – George Lopez in reply to AndyMilonakis #
• Good Monday, fellow twits! Hope you are conquering your respective worlds with due gusto today. #
• @JohnLarroquette I saw it too – you were playing John Lithgow who was playing a serial killer. It was very layered. in reply to JohnLarroquette #
• @egogenius Hapoy to help. It's a good way to be condescending and helpful at the same time. Great combo. ;-) in reply to egogenius #
• This was interesting… RT @LanceUlanoff RT @GuyKawasaki: Top 10 Myths about the Brain http://bit.ly/sHAI5 #
• @RachaelLCook That's just people you went to high school with who've been aging backwards since graduation. in reply to RachaelLCook #
• When you make a error in a tweet that's only to one person, "Correct it or not?" has a different dynamic. Feels weirder to fix it. #

• Twitter has some crazy elements; the craziest may be how you can tweet way more than 140 chars., but it only shows on the single tweet page. #
• For example, check out my first tweet from today, clocking in at 214 characters: http://twitter.com/FreelanceLance/status/4423295738 #
• Lengthening the school year is a dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb idea. IMNSHO. Mmm mmm mmm, what a dumb idea: http://bit.ly/KRf2Q #
• Lengthening the school day or school week are equally dumb ideas. #
• My plan for the Free School on the Internet would result in less hrs per day, less days per year, and much smarter kids. #
• In so many areas, we have become blinded to how much we're being short changed. Moreso in education than anywhere else probably. #
• Think about how much government control has manipulated the energy market in favor of petrofuels. They have even more control in education. #
• The government I mean, not petrofuels. #
• As a public, we're actually more awake and aware when it comes to the energy market than the education market. And there are more options. #
• Both industries have been mangled beyond recognition by interference from leaders with good intentions (and some without). #
• Interference in the energy market taught us to drive cars with abandon; interference in education taught us to abandon our kids. #
• Both are problematic societal habits, created by government "solutions". #
• @Vertigo_X Just 18, actually. in reply to Vertigo_X #
• @Vertigo_X TVTorrents now offers a "season 3 complete" torrent, which usually only happens at season end. Sorry, I was bummed too. :-( in reply to Vertigo_X #
• Funny local news: Guy carries “Demonize me I'm young and dominant” sign; cops get called; guy ends up in police blotter: http://bit.ly/QxRv3 #
• Fun tip: Let Me Google That For You is a site that lets you encourage folks to educate themselves, in a fun passive-aggressive way. #
• Wondering where you might find that site? Here, let me Google that for you: http://bit.ly/15U3ZU #
• For newbies, LMGTFY is not where you actually find info about things, it's where you make a URL that shows others how to find the info. #
• My example link was confusing I think, because I chose the "I'm feeling lucky" option, so the Google results didn't get shown. #
• Kevin Nealon (Weeds, SNL) is the guest on Kevin Pollak Chat Show tonight at 5 PM Pacific time. That should be a good one. #
• And it makes for a better LMGTFY example. What's Kevin Pollak Chat Show, you ask? Here, let me Google that for you: http://bit.ly/ODjnD #
• It seems an apostrophe-s snuck into the show's name at some point. Or just now joined my field of vision. Duly noted either way @kevinpollak #
• In almost every field, we have a vested interest in doing things more efficiently.But there's a perverse incentive to stretch schooling out. #
• Longer school days & weeks & years give parents more time to do important things away from their kids, and be removed from their upbringing. #
• Imagine what would happen to our society if we found a way to teach kids everything in one shot. #
• Or maybe I should say, "Imagine what will happen…when we find…" #
• Probably we would just drop the veil, and the government would take on the role of national day-carer, officially. #
• @IkenCEO Well we already have those, effectively. Plumbing is a licensed profession, and crazily enough, so is hairstyling in many states. in reply to IkenCEO #
• RT @AndyMilonakis: Why did the twitter user cross the road? Cuz he was "following" the @chicken #
• I just realized that what draws me most to #Fringe is the one thing that doesn't have an X-Files counterpart: John Noble as Walter Bishop. #
• He's not the only thing that isn't an X-Files doppleganger, but he's the most notable one. A pretty great character too. #
• In other TV news, the new season of "The Amazing Race" starts tonight. The reality show that gives reality shows a good name. #
• @FINALLEVEL Lance Brown, Grass Valley, CA #FLTG in reply to FINALLEVEL #
• @JaydeeFaire Hostgator is a good host, but there might be easier ways to start selling stuff, if that's what you're talking about. in reply to JaydeeFaire #
• @Mel_dltv Happy birthday Melissa; Daniela says you are good people. :-) #

This is an almost stream-of-consciousness list of tips and observations from indie film experts at the “Produced By” Conference, as compiled by Deadline | Hollywood.

Indie Filmmaking: 35 Tips From Experts – Deadline.com.

• Twitter has some crazy elements; the craziest may be how you can tweet way more than 140 chars., but it only shows on the single tweet page. #
• For example, check out my first tweet from today, clocking in at 214 characters: http://twitter.com/FreelanceLance/status/4423295738 #
• Lengthening the school year is a dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb idea. IMNSHO. Mmm mmm mmm, what a dumb idea: http://bit.ly/KRf2Q #
• Lengthening the school day or school week are equally dumb ideas. #
• My plan for the Free School on the Internet would result in less hrs per day, less days per year, and much smarter kids. #
• In so many areas, we have become blinded to how much we're being short changed. Moreso in education than anywhere else probably. #
• Think about how much government control has manipulated the energy market in favor of petrofuels. They have even more control in education. #
• The government I mean, not petrofuels. #
• As a public, we're actually more awake and aware when it comes to the energy market than the education market. And there are more options. #
• Both industries have been mangled beyond recognition by interference from leaders with good intentions (and some without). #
• Interference in the energy market taught us to drive cars with abandon; interference in education taught us to abandon our kids. #
• Both are problematic societal habits, created by government "solutions". #
• @Vertigo_X Just 18, actually. in reply to Vertigo_X #
• @Vertigo_X TVTorrents now offers a "season 3 complete" torrent, which usually only happens at season end. Sorry, I was bummed too. :-( in reply to Vertigo_X #
• Funny local news: Guy carries “Demonize me I'm young and dominant” sign; cops get called; guy ends up in police blotter: http://bit.ly/QxRv3 #
• Fun tip: Let Me Google That For You is a site that lets you encourage folks to educate themselves, in a fun passive-aggressive way. #
• Wondering where you might find that site? Here, let me Google that for you: http://bit.ly/15U3ZU #
• For newbies, LMGTFY is not where you actually find info about things, it's where you make a URL that shows others how to find the info. #
• My example link was confusing I think, because I chose the "I'm feeling lucky" option, so the Google results didn't get shown. #
• Kevin Nealon (Weeds, SNL) is the guest on Kevin Pollak Chat Show tonight at 5 PM Pacific time. That should be a good one. #
• And it makes for a better LMGTFY example. What's Kevin Pollak Chat Show, you ask? Here, let me Google that for you: http://bit.ly/ODjnD #
• It seems an apostrophe-s snuck into the show's name at some point. Or just now joined my field of vision. Duly noted either way @kevinpollak #
• In almost every field, we have a vested interest in doing things more efficiently.But there's a perverse incentive to stretch schooling out. #
• Longer school days & weeks & years give parents more time to do important things away from their kids, and be removed from their upbringing. #
• Imagine what would happen to our society if we found a way to teach kids everything in one shot. #
• Or maybe I should say, "Imagine what will happen…when we find…" #
• Probably we would just drop the veil, and the government would take on the role of national day-carer, officially. #
• @IkenCEO Well we already have those, effectively. Plumbing is a licensed profession, and crazily enough, so is hairstyling in many states. in reply to IkenCEO #
• RT @AndyMilonakis: Why did the twitter user cross the road? Cuz he was "following" the @chicken #
• I just realized that what draws me most to #Fringe is the one thing that doesn't have an X-Files counterpart: John Noble as Walter Bishop. #
• He's not the only thing that isn't an X-Files doppleganger, but he's the most notable one. A pretty great character too. #
• In other TV news, the new season of "The Amazing Race" starts tonight. The reality show that gives reality shows a good name. #
• @FINALLEVEL Lance Brown, Grass Valley, CA #FLTG in reply to FINALLEVEL #
• @JaydeeFaire Hostgator is a good host, but there might be easier ways to start selling stuff, if that's what you're talking about. in reply to JaydeeFaire #
• @Mel_dltv Happy birthday Melissa; Daniela says you are good people. :-) #

From SFWeekly.com, a cool article about working hard to live the dream in the new media age.

Just Tweet It

Wallpaper.’s Eric Frederic is an unstoppable viral music producer. But can the incessant songwriting, video blogging, and booty tweeting make him a star?

Read the article: San Francisco Music – Just Tweet It.

Two notable events in last night’s Colbert Report regarding capitalism/the free market and walking the walk vs. talking the talk:

1. At the end of his interview with Michael Moore about his new film Capitalism:  A Love Story, which focused on how capitalism is an evil, which causes the rich to do all they can to take money from the poor, Stephen Colbert asked Moore, “What happens if the market decides it doesn’t need a  ‘Michael Moore’ anymore?”

Moore’s smiling response? “Well, as long as people keep going to see my movies, I get to keep making them. That’s how it works.” (Colbert: “That’s how this show works too.”)

Early in the interview, I flashed on the irony of how capitalism (such as it is today) has made Michael Moore into a global megastar millionaire, and that every eye that has ever viewed any moment of his TV/filmography had that moment brought to it by (what we currently call) capitalism. Moore could not have played into that irony better with the way he closed that interview if I had scripted it myself–saying that his justification in the market is the fact that he keeps putting (paying) people in the seats.

(A Michael Moore fan might be defensively thinking, “Well what was he supposed to say?” He could have said any number of things, like: “I think that important messages like this should be out in the market, even if there isn’t financial support for it. So if the free market decided it didn’t need a ‘Michael Moore’ anymore, I would hope the federal government would have enough insight to provide funding for me to be able to get these ideas out anyway.” Isn’t that an approximation of what he supposedly actually believes in? Because it’s the total opposite of what he said.)

Just why does Michael Moore use the free market to get his ideas out there? Am I wrong to think there’s a conflict there?

2. A funny thing came up at the end of the main guest interview with author A.J. Jacobs. (Michael Moore was not the official guest on the show–he came in for a mid-show “issue” interview, which Colbert occasionally squeezes into the show.) Jacobs wrote a book about how he has tried all sorts of experiments on himself, one of which was to try “radical honesty” for 6 months. Colbert prodded Jacobs to give a “radical honesty” thing about him (Stephen Colbert), to which Jacobs replied, “Well I was a little sad that I got the small green room, while Michael Moore got this huge suite…” To which Colbert replied, “Thank you for coming!” (his standard guest sign-off line).

(Jacobs fades off…he may be saying “huge suite” or “huge, sweet…” It adds up to the same.)

Watch the interview here:

Jacobs’s behind-the-scenes leak illustrates that Michael Moore isn’t the only anti-capitalist who embraces free market values. In the structure of The Colbert Report, the mid-show interview/segments are subordinate to the main interview or segment at the end of the show. In most cases, the mid-show interviews are shorter than the one at the end of the show–they are more like the length of one of his other mid-show segments.  The way Stephen introduces the people also show that the real guest of the show is the person at the end. The mid-show guest is introduced most often like so: “With me tonight to discuss…” While the end-of-show guest is always introduced with: “My guest(s) tonight…”

A.J. Jacobs–clearly less recognized, valued, and exalted by the free market than Michael Moore–was  in fact Stephen’s “guest”, while Moore was merely “with [Stephen] tonight to discuss…”. Yet valuable Moore and his movie actually got more time than lesser-known Jacobs and his book. And as we now know, Jacobs also got the short straw when the green rooms were handed out.

It’s easy to see why Colbert and the show’s other producers would decide to invert their show’s guest hierarchy to accommodate Michael Moore–he is a giant global celebrity with a likely-to-be-blockbuster film coming out. But frankly, if not for the free market’s “valuation” of Moore, there would be no justification for him treating Jacobs that way. At least none that I can think of.

In case it’s not obvious, Colbert is bowing to the free market twice in this case. Once, by heeding the market’s insistence that Moore is more important than Jacobs, and at the same time, catering to the market’s signaling that more Moore will bring him (Colbert) more viewers. It’s a win-win-win all around, really, except for the fact that both Colbert and Moore conspired to short-change the small-voiced little guy (A.J. Jacobs) in favor of giving succor to the anti-god they both claim to despise. (Moore openly, Colbert in his subverted fake-conservative way.)

I guess I’m finding the concept of millionaire anti-capitalists a little hard to get my head around.

There are a huge–theoretically infinite–number of home-based business opportunities these days. Inc.com’s slideshow highlights 11 examples that show the range of options pretty well. If you don’t have one of these skill sets or interests, then at least seeing how others have converted their aptitudes and interests into viable, freedom-imbued, home-based careers can give you leads on how you might do the same for yourself.

11 Businesses You Can Start In Your Pajamas in 2009 | Inc.com.

(Back when this was in the news) fellow Nevada Countyian Zuri Berry posted his concern about PETA’s reaction to Michael Vick being signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. I posted more than my fair share of response in the comments section of his blog. I’ve been meaning to mention it here for some time. Check it out if you want to see some of where I stand on PETA, redemption, and the obligation that Vick may or may not have to the rest of us.

PETA will never let Michael Vick be » Addi-Sports: The Addiction.

There are actually 4 (very brief) “tales” in this blog post by The Financial Brand. They include a bonus tale, so I guess I’m spoiling the surprise. Sorry. ;-)

The blog entry discusses how 4 different financial institutions have used Twitter to successful ends both small and large. Most involve making previously-unhappy customers happy–something that many companies could do well to improve at.

Speaking of crappy banks, one of the “tales” here involves my least favorite bank of all time, Bank of America. And despite my pledge of honor to encourage people to never do business with them, I’m linking to this article that praises them for their customer service efforts…because I care about my clients that much. After all, if a giant turdball like BOA can successfully use Twitter to improve their reputation, think of what your company, which isn’t despicable, could do with it. :-)

3 tales of Twitter success

B.L. Ochman’s blog: Why You Should Stop Sleeping With Your Laptop

Recently, at a Tweetup, several of my online buds admitted that they sleep with their laptops. They said they check their email when they get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Sorry guys, but that’s just nuts.

I’ve rebelled. This summer, for the first time in a long, long time, I unplugged for a couple of weeks. Two weeks – count ‘em – unplugged. No computer. No email. No compulsive tracking of Twitter. No updating any of the three blogs I write. No FriendFeed, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Flickr, or iPod Touch. No Seesmic. No Skype. No TV. DIdn’t even read a newspaper most days.

A curious thing happened.

…

Read B.L.’s whole blog post (keep reading far enough and you’ll even find me, in the comments section.)

This article by Hal Croasmun at ScriptforSale.com highlights some good things not to say, and then explains 7 things you should say, when talking to an agent who is considering taking you on.

What to Say To Get an Agent – ScriptforSale.com

Sean Carton from Clickz brings us a solid back-to-basics checklist of questions to ask yourself as you look to merge your business’s marketing goals with the social media information superhighway web 2.0 Internets. Because the social media information superhighway web 2.0 Internets are going to merge with your business’s marketing goals whether you like it or not. The only question is whether you are going to be leading the dance, or whether the the social media information superhighway web 2.0 Internets will be.

A Social Media Strategy Checklist – ClickZ

The amount of difference a blog can make to your bottom line is tremendous–incalculable really–but it goes without saying that you need people to find it and read it in order to tap into the magic of the “social web”. Take this list of 25 blog promotion tips  seriously and you will be well on your way to trading a p aperclip for a house, or blogging your way to an Oscar, or, more likely, manifesting your own particular dream come true. (Woo hoo!)

25 Ways to Promote and Market Your Blog | Social Media Strategies for Small Business | Fast Company.

Thanks to EyeCreate for providing this cool tool to create redirects and most of the other main things you might want to put in an .htaccess file.

Though circumstance has often forced me to be a straight-up geek to get something done, I still appreciate tools that help me spend as much time as I can on the non-codey side of things.

EyeCreate Net Solutions :: htaccess Generator

A Recommendation from Ruth Schwartz of High Performance Advocates, as posted on LinkedIn:

“Lance started editing articles that I was writing for my (soon to be) blog and web pages. I found him exacting and provocative. He challenged my ideas and helped to make my writing and my ideas better. He loves writing and comes to this job with great passion and integrity. Then he built my website. He has a spontaneous understanding of what is necessary and now to make things work online. He was so proficient and fair that we have partnered to bring website challenged business owners the websites they need in this century – quickly, inexpensively and self managed. He will go far and I want to be there when he does.”  -February 14, 2009

Top qualities: Great Results, High Integrity, Creative

The new version of this site continues to take shape, and part of that is migrating my old subdomains poems.lancebrown.org and works.lancebrown.org over to here. Those were entirely separate installations of WordPress, for reasons that seemed to make sense at the time, but which never bore any appreciable advantage. Now they are nestled comfortably in the bosom of the main lancebrown.org site.

The truly dedicated visitor will recall that ye olde photos.lancebrown.org yet remains aloof from our otherwise unified troops. I hope to make it fall in line soon, even if severe discipline is required.

A great deal of change and refinement is still to come, as I strive to make this site more relevant and useful for both me and you. Stay tuned!

I’ll be making a more sophisticated portfolio section on my site soon, but I am long overdue in introducing the web sites I have been designing for clients in Nevada County this past year. (Or in the case of Project Simplify, these past many years. :-))

Project Simplify (original design, now re-done by Velocity7)

High Performance Advocates (original design inspired by client materials)

SCO Planning, Engineering, & Surveying (original design inspired by client materials)

VJ’s Salon & Day Spa (original design inspired by client materials)

Gold Country Roofing (original design inspired by client materials)

Mark Davis Plumbing, Inc. (my WordPress-based adaptation of an existing original design by Brook Design Group)

Debbie Costa Design (designed in collaboration with Louise Preston, who also provided the artwork)

HeartMatters.pro (my WordPress-based adaptation of an existing original design by Susan Powell)

ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat and Air (original design inspired by client materials)

I will discuss these projects at greater length soon, but suffice it to say, those are some great local businesses in the Nevada City/Grass Valley area. I had a great time working with all these folks as we went through the process of getting their sites built. If you’re from Nevada County, CA, or even if you aren’t, check out their sites and give them some e-love (like links, comments, etc.), and/or some brick-and-mortar love.

Yay for my clients!