So I was reading John’s Post and I started to think about my life plan. Needless to say, it’s not really a plan, but more of an idea. This idea being “make others happy, be happy, and stay happy.”

I’ve tried writing this post a few different ways, but I think John’s little list got me to at least make my own list, so I can avoid writing the epic novel that would be my outlook on life (not to mention the fact that it’s ever changing…). But none the less, john made a list, so I figured I would make a list.

This list is not in order in any sort.

• Develop a web-application that is used by 10,000 people
• Get my name in the credits of some piece of art (not sure if I want to include software as art, if so I’ve done this, more on that later…)
• Eat
• Sleep
• Hike the John Muir Trail
• Live in Boston
• Live in Europe
• Visit Japan
• Turn 21
• Be Happy
• Volunteer
• Become a Teacher
• Visit every National Forest in the USA

Anyway, that’s my list. What’s your list?

/Nat

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So I decided, with a little persuasion from my roommate, to do this Project 365 thing. The concept, is very simple. You take a picture of yourself once a day for a year. This concept, in implementation is much more than simple. Problems so far a) Remembering. That’s kind of a given. I was pretty sick right after we started, so taking care of myself took priority. b) Taking photos at night. Since I’ve been forgetting left and right a lot of my photos have been at night, which my camera does not handle well. c) Speaking of my camera, I love it, mainly because I can take it anywhere and it takes a beating like a champ, but I am starting to realize how much the image sensor sucks, which is annoying.

But whatever, I’m having fun. I’ve included a slideshow above of what I’ve done so far, and my three favorite photos, so far, below.

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I don’t want to turn this into a favorite video’s blog, but I really liked this one:

Portal - Still Alive typography from Trickster on Vimeo.

And this was also amazing. Apparently one of my co-workers used to skate this hill (although not in such a bad ass fashion):

Adam Kimmel presents: Claremont HD from adam kimmel on Vimeo.

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I want a band with me at all times now.

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I am not happy with my blog. I really have just lost enthusiasm with this whole domain really, so I think I need to reboot it. So here is what I’m thinking:

1. Switch to Habari. I’ve been a long time reader of BinaryBonsai and I’ve been following Habari’s development on and off. I think it’s reached a point where I’m ready to switch over.
2. Code my own Design from scratch. I’ve switched between hand-coded designs and using other people’s designs for awhile. I think when I make the switch to Habari will be the right time to do this. I’m looking for a mix between BinaryBonsai, Ma.tt, and Subtraction.com I think. I also plan on making natwelch.com simpler. Start having it pull from different content streams on this site and others. That way new posts here will fill in that site more.
3. Finish coding Ideaius. Seriously. My original plan was to release Monday, which is not happening. So I’m gonna aim for Christmas and pray no one makes something better before then.
4. I’m not sure how much of this site I’m going to save. After I lost all of my posts two years ago, I gave up writting on this site. I think if I commit to one good post a month and port just my favorite posts from here, I’ll be happy.

Anyway, that’s just a heads up.

/Nat

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Ok so a friend sent me a message asking to help her brother decide if he wanted to go into engineering.

Hey, if you guys are in Santa Rosa, my mom was hoping that you could come up to my house and talk to my brother and his friends about engineering and computer related majors. They’ll probably want to know stuff about classes and success. The usual. There are two dates up for grabs, either sept. 8th or 10th. There will be food provided, of course. It will take place in the evening. Please let me know which one you would prefer if you can make either. If you cannot make either at all, what would be one piece of wisdom you’d like to pass on to my brother and his friends? Thanks a bunch if you guys can do this!!

Here was my response:

I sadly will be unable to make either of those dates. But words of wisdom? Man, I’m full of cough shit cough cough wisdom. he he.
(more…)

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The Top TV Shows on iTunes as of 7/19

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog is the greatest musical recently. Don’t believe me? Check out the screen shot of the iTunes Music Store to the left.

And while I loved the show and was thoroughly entertained with all of the great plot twists and funny songs, what really got me was the marketing scheme. When I say that the market scheme got me, I mean it reeled me in like a free bottle of beer and a beautiful brunette. Why does this series of three fifteen minute movies have me tripping so? Let me explain how I digest media.

1. Come across something cool,  let’s say a new movie. (Discovery)
2. I watch the trailer, listen to music samples, check it out on Wikipedia. (Research)
3. Digest. If the movie is new enough and I’m not totally broke, I’ll go see it. If the album isn’t from a band I have obtained at least two albums from before, or if the movie isn’t available for rent cheaply, then I will probably obtain it in less than legal means.

Now how did Dr. Horrible throw a wrench into this tried and true formula? He abused two simple facts about my life.

1. I had to leave for the train in fifteen minutes, and I still had to eat breakfast.
2. It was less than five dollars.

I clicked subscribe on iTunes and sync’d Act 1 to my iPod. Half an hour later I was watching it in my seat on CalTrain. It was amazing. I wanted more, but I had to wait a day for the next episode, which I had already paid for.

What can wanna-be producers and marketers take out of this? Joss Whedon explicitly said that working with iTunes was painful, but worth the effort, since he was offering it free online. Marketers, if you make something of quality (you need to care about your work, kinda crazy eh?) and let me consume it in whatever way I want, I will. My generation grew up with Napster and Kazaa. We know how to get what you don’t want us to have. So give it to us with an affordable price tag and we’ll buy it.

/Nat

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So you know what my favorite web 2.0 website is? Last.FM of course.

They recently pushed their beta site design live, and it’s beautiful. I’ve been using it to listen to music at work which has been amazing. I enjoy it more than Pandora, mainly because it isn’t so ad heavy.

My history with Last.fm is strange to say the least. I started using their services back when they were AudioScrobbler. I really liked the concept of the data collection they were doing. They logged every song I listened to on my computer, on multiple media players. Since then the site has been was merged into Last.FM and I’ve loved it ever since.

Some of the features Last.FM has added recently I really like:

• iPod Scrobbling (they track the music I listen to on my iPod as well as my computer)
• Full Tracks, not just the 30 second clips they used to have
• A powerful API. There used to be a decent API from AudioScrobler, but it has since been upgraded by Last.FM and they have added a cool app gallery.

The app gallery should really be highlighted here. Mainly because it allows access to historical data of what you have been listening to for a long period of time (four years for me I think).

Anyway, check Last.FM out if you haven’t already. If you want to add me as a friend or see my musical tastes, it is located here.

Happy Weekend,
/Nat

p.s. check out The Perfect ringtone

p.s.s. In case you didn’t know, my dream job is to work for these folks. That has nothing to do with this post though. :p

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I just got my BYOC tickets today (along with my pay check), HUZZAH!

I’ll post a pic when I can find a USB cord. Until then, just know, that PAX is coming and I will be there.

44 days. Are you ready?

/Nat

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I used to find JavaScript scary. As a language it lets you do all kinds of cool things to the browser, but it also has a tendency to have very ugly code. Through my travels on the internet I came across all kinds of reports about how XSS could steal everything you know without you ever knowing.

But these last few weeks have changed all of that. I decided to rebuild my personal site (as seen here) with javascript. Now it must be understood, I did not code this cool little accordion thingy. The credit for that goes entirely to dezinerfolio.com. I came across these guys through AjaxRain.com and it worked well. The other thing it did was that the source code was included with the compacted code. Through looking at the source I learned that Javascript doesn’t need to be incredibly scary, and with a little work it can even be readable.

Anyway, figured I would share.

/Nat

p.s. Mongolian BBQ for lunch = YUM.

p.s.s. Fullscreen Editor that now comes with Wordpress rocks. Another reason why Javascript kicks butt.

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