making a difference. Justin Knabb's blog

Streamlining everything. (no, really... everything!)

The past few months, I have been tinkering with different gadgets and websites... essentially trying to better automate my life. 

• My calendars, contacts, music, weather reports, stock updates, to-do lists, camera, photo albums, alarm clock, and notepad are all kept on my iPhone (I think I can safely say the investment made in this product was one of the best purchase decisions I've ever made... this thing is outstanding!)
• My personal journal or "diary," is now online, in the form of this blog.
• My fitness records are all kept online at Gyminee.com.  With my iPhone, I can now enter my exercise info while working out at the gym...even get ideas for new exercises... and then check my progress online periodically.
• My financial and spending records can be securely organized on the new, outstanding service provided by Mint.com.
• My photo albums, at least w/those photos from the past 5 years, are being put up on Flickr during spare time on weekends.  Not only are photos kept secure online (as in, won't get burned by fires, lost film, etc.), but they're all sorted by custom tags and geographic maps.  Plus anyone in the world could essentially view my photos now if they really wanted to... hugely exciting!  (But I do back these files up on hard drives whenever possible)
• I rarely use Word, Excel, or PowerPoint anymore either, thanks to Google Documents.  Why save these on my hard drive when I can access these from remote computers from anywhere? (again, of course, I do back these files up on hard drives whenever possible)

Which leads to my new enthusiasm for Google Sites, just launched recently.  I always wanted to try using Basecamp through 37signals.com as a collaborative engine, but Basecamp is expensive and carries a monthly fee.  Thanks to Google, this type of thing is now free.

Wow.

We can't help but take these FREE web services for granted nowadays.  We're so used to this now.  Craigslist.org.  Google search.  Free online stock trades through Zecco.  We just can't forget how phenomenal this digital age really is.  These services certainly didn't exist 10 or even 5 years ago.  Now they are so ubiquitous that we almost forget what it's like to pay for things online.

Which leads to my final item to post-- this outstanding (and somewhat scary) article by Chris Anderson on the present and future state of FREE.  "Free" is great for us consumers, but how will companies make any money going forward??

 

Logo is property of Google, Inc.

Inspiration COUNTS!

I've written a lot about Barack Obama and the political race lately, so why stop now?  It amazes me that people keep knocking this man for being "all form and no substance."  It's almost as if he's being punished for being an outstanding speaker.  Inspiring messages, "they" say (i.e. Hillary... boo!), are hollow and irrationally utopian.

Does inspiration count?  Do visions of hope count?

Yes they do, and Garr Reynolds offers an excellent defense for why inspiration/optimism/enthusiasm/HOPE matter.

Hillary.

Hillary Clinton still has me upset enough that I feel the need to vent by citing some articles and clips):

• Frank Rich was dead-on in summing up the current state of the Democratic Presidential race.
• Reese Witherspoon may not have known it in 1999, but she was actually starring as a young Hillary Clinton in the film Election. 
• I know this clip is old news, but I really think this would be a preview of our State of the Union speeches with Hillary commanding the House podium. 
• Hello, Mark Penn (Hillary's chief strategist)... are you awake?????

As Rich points out, if "experience" and "hard work" is what Hillary keeps touting as her credentials...then how to explain why her campaign is continuously broke?  Why volunteers keep saying how unorganized and uninspired it is?  Why she's lost 11 straight states?

Hillary, if this is your tryout for President... how can we trust you to run the most powerful country in the world?

Hillary, Obama and NAFTA

To be fair to Hillary (since my last post), I think it was a poor decision by the Obama campaign to distribute this anti-NAFTA literature:

Brochure

For one, while extremely relevant to Ohio workers, free trade is such a treacherous topic to begin with.  Was NAFTA really bad for our economy?  Guess it depends who we're talking with.  Stats show that per capita wages have gone up since NAFTA began in 1994, that productivity (especially in manufacturing) have shot up, and that free trade has been a key contributor to our outstanding economic growth in recent years. 

Yet, as they say, it's always a "depression" or "recession" if you're the one who lost a job.  And we certainly keep hearing that "giant sucking sound," as Ross Perot famously forewarned, of our American jobs getting sent overseas.  Obama and all these candidates need to really think this issue out.  As a manager of a small manufacturing plant in rural Pennsylvania, my (selfish) gut says, "Let's become more protectionist.  Let's keep jobs and work opportunity right here in the United States."

But basic economics say, "This is the 21st century.  Keep the trading borders open.  Stay competitive, weather the market adjustments, and in the end we'll enjoy economic growth and all benefit thanks to the law of competitive advantage."

In addition, this is a negative ad that Obama ran.  The absence of ads like this are key reasons I've gravitated toward his political movement.  I hope that the candidates can offer us all some good solutions for this Catch-22 in the upcoming Ohio debates...

Hillary is getting desperate

These comments by Hillary Clinton made me angry.  Her back is against the wall and now she is playing to the Obama stereotypes coming from un-informed voters.

When has mockery ever been a good tactic?  Did John F. Kennedy mock the Russians as they attempted to beat us to outer space?  No... he prepared us to not only match their feat, but to go 1,000x farther and put a man on the moon.  And, despite all our deeply urgent problems as a nation, Barack Obama is making it clear that he is not thinking small in this run for the Presidency.

Hillary thinks that we can't work towards a Washington not driven towards special interests?  A Washington not guided by cronies like herself?  She may be a talented senator who has done a great service to our country, but I question her integrity and can't stand her arrogance.  I certainly do not want to see her become President of the United States.  She is way too polarizing so as it is.  And that is the difference between her and Barack.  He has proven that he can unite legislators and the American people better that she can.  He has proven that he can raise more grassroots support and money from the ultra-affluent and late-shift-mom alike.  He is proving to push across viable solutions and ideas for our country, all via a fresh approach that has Americans excited for politics again... and she knows she can't deliver like him.

Non-Obama supporters like to mock his camp for their simple mission of hope for our nation.  It's a shame that they overlook his outstanding record of service, his proven leadership abilities, and his glowing tenure in the Senate.  Here's a great article by a woman who actually did her research and found that not only might Hillary not be as "smarter" than Barack as she thinks, but that Obama is really walking the walk. 

Keep on plugging away, Barack... let's clean up in Ohio and Texas!

The last movie star

Seems like George Clooney is the biggest actor in Hollywood right now.  He didn't come home with an Oscar last night, but the press can't stop sing praises for him nowadays.  The guy is an outstanding actor, has a gorgeous girlfriend and just has an overall great life (not to mention, dream villa on Lake Como in Bellagio, Italy; one of my favorite places in the world.)

Not that I know what the silver screen was like back in the days of Bogart, Grant, Gable, Hepburn, etc... but Clooney is definitely a throwback actor.  He's a living testament that "classic" style is always cool. 

Anyways, Time magazine wrote an outstanding feature on Clooney this month: here.

Register today... Walk for Water 2008

Support Water for Waslala's (WfW) mission to fight disease and death through supplying clean water to thousands in Nicaragua. Join us for a our 4th annual Walk for Water and help make our goal a reality!

Our event includes a 5k walk around main campus of Villanova University, followed by an outdoor barbeque, live music, games and fun!

Last year's event drew over 570 people and helped WfW raise $32,000! This year we are hoping to draw 600 people and raise another $35,000, which will build 3 more water systems and supply 1,400 people with clean, life-giving water.
Please register for our walk as either an individual participant or as a member of an existing or new group! The base fee per person is $25, which includes a free t-shirt and lunch. All proceeds benefit Water for Waslala.

Register before April 13th and enter our raffle for a $100 gift certificate for the iTunes music store!

Prizes will be awarded to the highest individual and team fundraisers, as well as the individual who recruits the most participants! Click the info page for more information.

We ask all participants to consider raising $100 to supply one family of four in Waslala with clean water for a lifetime. Register now and find out how!

For more info about Water for Waslala, please visit our home page.

Test post: iPaper beta

Thought this post would accomplish 2 things: experimenting with Scribd's iPaper for the first time (this tool is amazing and looks to have tons of potential to give Adobe a run for its money) and to post my PowerPoint presentation from my workshop on social entrepreneurship from the Beyond Ideas conference held at Villanova University last month. Since the majority of the presentation contained high-res photos, it was impossible to upload this directly to the TypePad blog.

At this point, the viewer is a bit clumsy but definitely a step in the right direction with PDF technology.  My IE and Safari browsers are accepting iPaper but I'm not having any luck with Firefox.  Plus, default view for the presentation is too big right now and has my slides cut off... although this can be fixed by zooming out via the third button in from the top right.  Finally, Scribd document translator has scrambled up a few of my slides.

Overall, I'm impressed with this thing and look forward to (hopefully) using it in years to come.

Obama, thanks for listening to us

Barack Obama is close to securing a donation from his 1 millionth supporter this month.  He's at 925,190 unique donors, as of today. 

Nothing quite stamps approval like people parting with their hard-earned money--especially as we weather a recession.  Americans are speaking up, and I think it's starting to become clear: so many of us are really craving a completely fresh face in Washington.

After eight years of feeling like President Bush doesn't care what we think, doesn't care about his (dis-)approval rating, doesn't care about torture and considering stem-cell research and our burning desire for answers and competent direction in regards to Iraq (whew)... we want someone who does care.

Of the remaining few candidates, no one can boast a base of true grassroots, widespread believers and supporters than Barack.

Glad I could add to your donor list today, Barack... just 75,000+ to go.

Logging my Europe trip from 2004...

I don't know why I didn't think to do this earlier.

Google Maps -- complimented w/Google Earth -- is my favorite map application on the web.  I guess every other diehard traveler on the planet thought well before me to take advantage of the technology.  I visited TravelPod.com for the first time last night and found some awesome travel blogs.  People have done a great job chronicling their travels -- which is a significant part of the joy derived from traveling... first witnessing, then journaling and sharing the experience with others.

I think about and miss Europe every single day.  This is good timing, then, to make time to chronicle my European travels from four years ago, which was probably the most transforming experience of my life.  I took time to start mapping out that trip on Google maps and I'm having a blast doing it.  Feel free to check in over time as I refine my travel map.  It's fun (and definitely bittersweet) to re-trace my steps through the Western European continent...

 

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