http://waxingphilosophic.com Culture, technology, psychology and other musings Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:14:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It was a beautiful spring night at the Prospect Park Bandshell and my chance to see Bob Dylan, thanks to a tip-off earlier this summer to the advance sales password on Ticketmaster.com.  A woman I met in line during the show summed it up best when she told me, "I ... http://waxingphilosophic.com/2008/08/13/my-night-with-bob-dylan/ I've been hearing pleanty of hubub about the new iPhone from friends and the media over the past few weeks - in some cases the same people representing both.  The new iPhone's launch was only slightly less eventful as the original.  Back then, my dad called early on the Friday ... http://waxingphilosophic.com/2008/07/12/why-i-havent-bought-an-iphone-and-still-wont/ So much of what determines success is the mental game.  Having the confidence and self-encouragement to get the job done, under whatever circumstances present themselves.  It’s the same in business, sports, relationships….it’s all the same set of mental tools.  I recently heard of a woman who picked up tennis as ... http://waxingphilosophic.com/2008/07/07/the-mental-game/ Someone forward me this today and it's worth reading (and doing!) New York Governor David Paterson has opened a phone line to determine how much support there is for his directive to recognize same-sex marriages from other states and countries. The call is simple and takes about 5 seconds. Here's all you have to ... http://waxingphilosophic.com/2008/06/19/voice-your-support-for-ny-state-recognition-of-same-sex-marriage/ Like most people I spoke to, I was moved by the news of Tim Russert's death.  I became an avid fan of Meet the Press, just within the past year, and began recording it religiously and looked forward to watching the episodes Sunday nights, especially as the political season blossomed.  ... http://waxingphilosophic.com/2008/06/19/my-thoughts-on-tim-russert/ I've been preaching this for a long time.  A few years ago, I compiled a folder full of studies on damage inflicted by cell phones.  Now, it's getting mainstream media attention.  CNN devoted an entire Larry King to the topic two weeks ago.  This article (and forthcoming scientific study) sound ... http://waxingphilosophic.com/2008/06/12/cell-phones-bad-for-your-health/ Andy Rooney, brilliant as usual, sharing his thoughts on Memorial Day this year... http://waxingphilosophic.com/2008/05/26/memorial-day-thoughts/ Alleyways and nooks of Capital Hill are charming.  Wonderful and diverse neighborhood.  I love it. Site lines from Lincoln to WW2 to Washington Memorials are stunning.  Well done. Cold war era signage and graphics around federal buildings downtown need updated.  They’re dated both visually and politically, though not surprising given ... http://waxingphilosophic.com/2008/05/19/dc-in-maysome-thoughts/ This chart graphs the traffic on Sphere's blog in April.  As you can see, traffic chugs along fairly consistently at  150-300 visits per day, then spikes to more than 3,000 the day of our acquisition, which was covered by various high profile blogs and mainstream publishers.  What's funny is that ... http://waxingphilosophic.com/2008/05/14/famous-for-a-day/ When I put together Bergen Carroll a year or so ago, I setup a feature whereby readers could showcase their photos in a "featured photo" section by tagging them Bergen Carroll on Flickr. For the better part of 12 months, nobody noticed and the only photos rotating through the system were ... http://waxingphilosophic.com/2008/05/13/user-generated-photos-picking-up-steam-on-bergen-carroll/