What Would ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ Look Like In Real Life?

The one of Beavis is really creepy! I feel like I’ve seen these before though. Even then, still pretty cool work…even if they are creepy as hell!

The new normal for organizations

Interesting thought by Al Pittampalli, writer of Read This Before Our Next Meeting. Here’s the part that brought it home for me:

In a world that is ever faster and more unpredictable, cultures that encourage (or at least tolerate) individuals and small teams to bypass the bureaucracy when necessary, appear to be winning.

This is especially true in the web development world.  Everything changes constantly and, at times, moves at a breakneck pace. As such, those that can’t keep up and get locked into typical corporate bureaucracy usually get left behind. Leads to a “do or die” situation at times.

David Stockman, former budget director for President Reagan, talks with Bill Moyers about the rise of crony capitalism. This is a segment that aired on Moyers & Company, a new program by longtime journalist Bill Moyers.

I met Moyers back when I was in school while he was on a book signing tour. He struck me as a fair, balanced, pragmatic journalist. He was very kind and generous and offered the best advice when signing his book, “Talk about it with others!”  Indeed, when you look at Bill’s show, you’ll notice that he doesn’t surround himself with just people who share his viewpoint.  Rather, he tries to get people who share different viewpoints in an attempt to create a well-rounded understanding of an issue.

This pragmatic view can be seen in the Crony Capitalism segment with David Stockman. What’s interesting about it is that Bill and David are at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Bill openly says he’s a Democrat and David is a Republican. But when it comes to seeing the true nature of politics in Washington, both of them are able to put political difference aside and view things as they are. I really wish more folks out there in the media can do the same.

A reminder on why I don't read Rob Liefeld comics

Reading up on the deal with Robert Kirkman and Rob Liefeld’s Infinite comic reminds me of why I don’t read Rob Liefeld comics. One of the primary reasons I think most Liefeld projects fail is that Rob over-commits and under-delivers. Sounds to me like Kirkman expected a true Rob Liefeld comic with Rob Liefeld art through and though. Instead Kirkman got a Rob Liefeld directed comic with basic layouts and someone else’s artwork. I can certainly understand why Kirkman would be pissed. So would I if I expected one thing but got another.

Refreshing Steamd: A New Beginning

For the small number of folks following my blog, you may have noticed that it has undergone some drastic changes.  In a nutshell, I decided it was time to hit the reset switch.  Here’s why:

I’ve been neglecting this blog for some time.  I like the idea of having a little journal of my thoughts and ideas to share with others but, after reviewing the Steamd blog, I realized something: it’s not reflective of who I am anymore.  Granted, the idea of Steamd still holds; it’s the content that’s in question here.

Over the past 5 years or so my attitude and approach to things has changed. Looking back on many of the posts I’ve made over the years, I noticed a bit of a trend.  Many of the posts were political in nature and, while I’ll still post politically oriented message, the old ones were reactionary in nature. I would see a headline or hear a story and react to it, sometimes in a rather visceral way. 

Today, I tend to contemplate on something before I react to it. I’ll try and look at any story and/or situation from all possible angle. Rather than attach any sort of preconceived notions and ideas or ideology, I much prefer to look upon things as they truly are. In other words, I very much want to be a truth seeker in as much as what the word truth really means. 

For some, the word truth gets tossed around and, in many cases, is being replaced with the word fact. Instead, the word truth is being held to represent a strong held opinion and/or belief as a fact. The problem is that, as we all know, strong held opinions and beliefs rarely ever hold up as facts. Opinions and beliefs change over time and, more often than not, reflect our view of the world and how we see things. Not everyone sees things in the same way and, thus, not everyone shares the same opinions and beliefs that you do.

If it’s something everyone can agree on and can be proven over and over again, well, then that would be a fact, right? The sun does shine. Gravity exists. Everyone eventually dies. So, when I say truth seeker, I am talking about the kind of truth that is grounded in reality and facts. My goal is to write future posts with this ideal in mind. 

Another reason for changing my blog also has to do with technology changes. My blog was running on a customized version of WordPress running on my own server. The problem was that every time a major upgrade to WordPress occurred, many of my plugins would break.  I’m not much of a WordPress developer so, when this did happen, it ended up annoying the hell out of me.  Unless the developer of a given plugin provided an update, I’m forced to either fix it myself or seek out an alternative plugin.

The other problem was that, while I could post to my blog on my phone, it wasn’t always convenient.  Many times all I want to do is share a picture, a link, something relatively simple. Doing so with WordPress, while still simple, isn’t always quick. Mix that with the plugin problem and upgrades and I came to the conclusion that it was time to change.

Enter Tumbler! Tumblr makes it incredibly easy for me to share all kinds of media quickly and easily: text, quotes, photos, links, chat, audio, and video. If I’m out and about and run across something cool I want to share, I can do so with very little effort. This is a Godsend for me because, honestly, if I don’t post it right away I’ll either forget to do it later, lose interest, or lack the motivation to do so. No time like the present, right?

This is the new Steamd, folks!  Enjoy!

Jeff Whitfield