Month: July 2008

  • July 30, 2008

    Always Going

    During the school year, I was very busy. Between running the business, TAing, and well, actual classes, there wasn’t a lot of free time. But I made due. I worked on weekends but made sure to take time for myself. I thought things would slow down a bit in the summer. No classes to teach or attend- just the business. But as it turns out, I am one of those people who always needs to be busy.

    Even with a lull in work (up until yesterday things were pretty slow), I was doing work every day. I am launching a t-shirt company with my friends (more on that later). I am launching a new blog (announcement Friday). I came up with a new gimmick to make money. I’ve realized my mind is constantly going. Even on the days I say I’m not going to work, I do work. When I am away from my computer, it’s usually because I make work related trips. When I am in front of my computer, I work as much as I can.

    Don’t get me wrong, I do take time to myself. I hang out with friends and go out once in a while. But the last time I took a full day off- no work at all – was…well I can’t even remember. Even when I went to see Rush a few weeks ago, I was discussing a website for my friend’s dad. I was calling my t-shirt printer to make sure things were set with our first batch of shirts. He said they were. They weren’t. And I was thinking about a lot of things related to work. But this realization brings me to a serious problem. I don’t know if I can take one full day off.

    Even when I’m not working I’m scheming. I’m thinking of my next big thing, or how to get more clients. Or how to make money while doing little work. I’m constantly checking email. When I take a normal work break, it usually consists of surfing the net for new things.

    So, why did I write this post? Oh I don’t know. To warn people thinking about freelancing to not be like me? Not really. Mostly to get it off my chest. I think I should make it a goal of mine to take one day a week to do no work. That will be a challenge though. You see to me, some work is also play.

  • July 28, 2008

    Cuil: First Impression

    Cuil Result for Joe Casabona

    The buzz today has been about Cuil, a new search engine that is challenging the current champion of the interwebs, Google. Pronounced “cool,” Cuil makes the claim to have indexed more pages than Google, and in a better way too! That’s quite the claim, and IMHO, Cuil needs to heat up a bit (sorry).

    Even though I am pretty biased towards Google, if you’re going to challenge them, you better come up big. Cuil certainly does not. My first search was my name, Joe Casabona. The first five results that came up were comments I made on sites, or my name mentioned on another page. The next one was finally my personal site and Google’s first result, Casabona.Org. But as you can see by the pic on the right, they botched that too. The photo with the result, while it kinda sorta looks like me, is not me. I don’t even host that picture. In a Google Image Search of my name, that pic isn’t in the first three pages. What gives?

    The design isn’t that great either. My eyes bounce back and forth between the columns of results, making it difficult to easily find what I’m looking for. And the site is pretty slow. I understand maybe you’re getting more traffic than you expected, but I’m holding you to the fact that you’re claiming to be better than Google.

    Over all, I didn’t have a great experience with Cuil. Besides, since they are ‘changing search,’ what does that mean for my current sites and the way I Search Engine Optimize?

  • July 25, 2008

    Yankees Discuss Bonds

    756*

    Dear Yankees,

    If you acquire Barry Bonds, I will be very, very disappointed. And beyond pissed. I will lose a lot of respect for you as a franchise. In short, we’d be fighting. I’m still kind of pissed at you for slapping Torre in the face. So to Brian Cashman and the brothers Steinbrenner, do the right thing.

    Your Fan,
    Joe

  • July 21, 2008

    The Dark Knight

    Why So Serious?

    You didn’t think I’d let a movie like The Dark Knight slip through the cracks on this site, did you? Admittedly, I haven’t reviewed a movie on here in a while, that’s usually because what I have to say about a movie can be found on my Flixster profile. But The Dark Knight is different. The Dark Knight managed to trounce it’s predecessor in action, story line, and acting while also continuing to reveal the story of why Batman is the way he is.

    Spoilers to follow

    (more…)

  • July 6, 2008

    Summer Music

    It should be no secret that I’m a big music fan. I’m no pro and choose not to review music because generally I like a certain genre and don’t really know what to look for when reviewing an album. That being said, here are three albums I’ve been listening to a lot lately.

    The Raconteurs- Consolers of the Lonely


    buy from amazon

    This is the sophomore album from The Raconteurs, a group made up of some very talented musicians including Jack White of the White Stripes. Every single song on this album is catchy with great lyrics, great story telling and complicated and cohesive musical interludes. Oh, and sweet ass guitar solos. My personal favorites are Rich Kid Blues and Carolina Drama, in which Jack White tells an excellent story about a boy living in South Carolina. While I am usually into heavier music, I highly recommend this album.

    Alkaline Trio- Angony & Irony


    buy from amazon

    Alkaline Trio has been around for quite a while now, but admittedly I’ve only gotten into them in the past few years. This latest album is my favorite and is said to be their most mature. I’d say every song on the album has a recurring theme throughout it, which you can hear in the instrumental parts as well as they lyrics. My favorites include Calling All Skeletons, Over and Out, and Help Me.

    Versa Emerge- Perceptions EP

    Let me start off by saying I love a girl who can sing, so by default I have a crush on the lead singer of this band. This is their first commercially release EP (I believe), which you can download on District Lines for $4.99. The CD release is set for July 15th from Smart Punk. People say they sound a lot like Paramore, but I feel they have a bit more of a mature sound than Paramore does. You can listen to the entire EP, as well as my favorite song- The Blank Static Screen- on Pure Volume.

    On a closing note if you read this and though, ‘Hey- I have similar music interests to this guy,’ you can check me out on Last.fm. I mean if you want to follow me just to cut down my musical tastes, that’s cool too. To each his own, right?