Random Articles

• Audio is to Books as Video is to Car Crashes A conversation at last night’s PodcastMN meet-up got me thinking about the difference between audio and video. As I see it, the goal of writing is to use the fewest words possible to illustrate the most to the reader. Density. In fact, I’m pretty sure the job of an editor is just that.
• If a Sign is Needed, Something is Wrong. In his Roads Gone Wild article for Wired, Tom McNicol describes a new mentality in traffic control: fewer signs = fewer accidents. From this perspective, traffic control signs are actually a poor band-aid for an unsafe environment. At best, they keep accident rates constant, at worst they actually cause more. This phenomenon is not unique to
• Pushing the Envelope of Business Requires a Strong Identity “Hardball involves playing the edges, probing that narrow strip of territory—so rich in possibilities—between the places where society clearly says you can play the game of business and those where society clearly says you can’t.” An exerpt from the Harvard Business School’s The Hardball Manifesto. The article’s examples of Hardball companies - Wal-Mart, Southwest Airlines, Toyota
• I missed another 1-on-1 Bike Swap The 1-on-1 Bike Swaps are a great way to celebrate spring and autumn, clean out your garage, and race un-ride-able bikes around a track bordered with empty PBR cans. The May 22 bash was the second one I missed. Gene, Hurl, if you’re listening - add an RSS feed to the 117 blog. Thanks.
• On being Seth-dotted I want to thank Seth Godin for linking to the Work Better Weblog yesterday. As expected, I saw it in the server logs. Work Better saw quadruple the traffic of just 24 hrs earlier. It didn’t take down my server (slashdotted) but it did make my afternoon (seth-dotted ?). Plus, I got a great email