I discovered this weekend that a business I have gotten to to know well and used their services shuttered their windows and doors and called it a game.  I was sad, but in the reality of it all it was just game over.  They knew that with all things this too shall pass and there is some times a point where you have to “call it”.

I think Seth Godin did a nice job of explaining when to call it quits today with this post from his blog.  Enjoy his post and let me know what you think about knowing when to quit.

Bankruptcy

1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can’t smoke any of them.
2 Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of “hook up” and “break up.”
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as “dressed up.”
10. You’re the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won’t turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don’t know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald’s leftovers.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You take naps.
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 am would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacids, not condoms and pregnancy tests.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer “pretty good stuff”.
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
22. “I just can’t drink the way I used to” replaces “I’m never going to drink this much again.”
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congraulate them instead of asking, “Oh S*?%!! What the hell happened?!”

BONUS:

26. You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn’t apply to you and can’t find one to save your sorry old ass.  Then you blog about it to a bunch of friends and strangers on the internet, because you know they’ll enjoy it and do the same thing.

Michael Mock

Some Disassembly is Required

Today on Lifehacker there was an interesting video and post by Dan Heath one of the authors of “Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard”. Dan Heath explains that when we make changes we are needing to exert self control often times to a great extent.  This effort to maintain a level of self control burns up our ability to maintain levels of energy that we are needing to handle task such as problem solving, relationships, even menial tasks.

Hop on over to lifehacker.com and check it out.  Let me know if you agree or disagree by leaving your comments.  I would also ask if you had any mind hacks that might help overcome this challenge of why lifestyle change is so exhausting.

Dear Christ Follower,

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don’t care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Now, having said that let Me go on.

If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn’t allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn If all My followers did that there wouldn’t be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape-vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 – 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don’t have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don’t you write and tell him that you’ll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow-up… It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can’t afford and they don’t need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5 Pick someone who has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don’t know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit-picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren’t allowed to wish you a “Merry Christmas” that doesn’t keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn’t make so much money on that day they’d close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary– especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here’s a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no “Christmas” tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don’t know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don’t do things in secret that you wouldn’t do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don’t forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I’ll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I’ll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :

I LOVE YOU,

JESUS

Writing is certainly a gift and some people can do it and some cannot.  I don’t do a bad job of writing and have a few folks I rely on when I get stuck.  Beyond making thing readable, how about understandable?  When you are writing it is rather important to think about a few factors.

1. Who is your audience? 
2. Is your information filled with jargon and industry buzzwords? 
3. Is your copy written above what your intended audience can comprehend?
4. Have you written too much to get your visitor to take action or move beyond your home page?

If you are wanting to know the reading level and clarity to the copy you are writing I suggest you do some SMOG testing by visiting the following sites:

1.  WordsCount

2.  SMOG

I hope you get good results and your SMOG testing will help you “clear the air” and your content so it can be best understood and enjoyed by your target audience.

Michael Mock

Here is a link to the video directly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PdhXx3g9nU

It includes the link to a service manual as well.

Once again I hope this helps you fix or hack you HTC Hero.

Michael Mock

Some Disassembly is Required.

HTC G3 (Hero) Disassembly Be patient as it takes a few seconds for the translator to do it’s magic.

I have had lots of people hitting my blog for this term so I did a little looking and hopefully this will help you get your  device apart to fix or tweak whatever it is you need to do.

Michael Mock

Some Disassembly is Required

I have included a link to the video from the Wall Street Journal you can click here to see it on their page:

Review of the HTC Hero

I have  the HTC Ozone for Verizon and must say that is has been a great “smart phone” for me.  We here at Tusco Display are moving over to it for all mobile users with upgrades this year.  Over all a great replacement to the Motorola Q, which was also a great cell phone, but just at the end of it’s life cycle.

Got a favorite cell phone?  Feel free to tell me about it.  I handle the technology here at work and am always on the look out for real world field test advice for our technology.  Shout out below and tell me about your new cell phones.

Michael Mock

Some Disassembly Is Required

I am sorry if you came here looking for the links I suggested so you could use or purchase them for yourself. I am in the process of moving all affiliate post to a new hosting spot but will continue to use WordPress for the time being.

Much to my chagrin, as I now must eat what I signed in front of the town idiot as the old saying goes. I will catch up with all of you soon.

Michael Mock
Some Disassembly is Required