Category: Misc.

The best piece of journalism I’ve read in a long time is David Foster Wallace’s “Host,” a long-form (make that looooong-form: it’s 22,500 words, with lots and lots of footnotes within footnotes) look at the conservative talk radio industry.

Sadly, the article’s in the April Atlantic, and the full text isn’t available on their site. But here’s a detailed review of the piece. (Amazingly, I found my copy of the always-excellent Atlantic in the free magazine bin near the exit of the Beaufort County library last week–along with, I must mention, a riveting Uniforms Inc. catalog; I’m this close to ordering a doctor’s getup.)

Really cool. Enter an address into Google Maps, then click on the “satellite” link in the upper right corner.

Wow. (Where can I get a “USA” jersey like that?)

Believe it or not, the perfect shave does not incorporate Gillette’s famed five blade razor.

I emailed the following to friends last week; figured I’d post it here as well…

—
After taking a few weeks to visit friends along the east coast, I
shall be seeking work in our nation’s capital. Below is a (somewhat
self-promoting) snippet describing my skills. Please pass it along to
anyone you know who might be looking to hire a guy who can write well,
is good with Web stuff, has international work experience, speaks
Spanish, and can count to ten (and say “beer”) in Mandarin Chinese.

Here’s my nugget of self-aggrandizement:

I’ve just returned to the States after two years teaching English
abroad–first in Ecuador and then in Taiwan. I’m looking for
writing/journalism work, as well as Web strategies consulting. (Prior
to my travels, I spent three years promoting non profits’ Web sites
for Burness Communications, a Bethesda PR firm.)

I’m in South Carolina now but will be living in Washington from April
25th through the summer at least. My freelance writing experience
includes travel/working abroad service pieces, as well as commentary
on effective Internet strategies for non profits. A list of some of my
published clips is here:

https://newley.com/clips.html

My Web consulting services focus on helping non profits communicate on
the Web; I can do anything from Internet strategy assessments to Web
site traffic analysis. More details here:

https://newley.com/work/web_services.html

I’m looking for short term, part time, and/or contract work that might
incorporate some of these interests; that said, I’m also open to
interesting opportunities of all stripes. (I’m proficient in Spanish
and speak a smattering of Mandarin Chinese.) My resume is available
at:

https://newley.com/resume.html

Thanks, Newley
P.S. Housing leads in DC are appreciated as well.

How can technology be used to help the masses in developing nations? Give people computers connected to the Interweb, right? Wrong. Give people cell phones.

You know you’re in South Carolina–or anywhere in the Bible Belt, for that matter–when you see a bumper sticker, as I did yesterday, that reads:

“And God created the earth in one day and one night–no matter what you learned!”

Funny thing about this car: it was in the Beaufort County library parking lot. An intellectual creationist, this person.

Mike W., ever vigilent, points out that I should have mentioned, below, that I’ve changed my email. It’s now newley@gmail.com. That’s Google’s Web-based email service, which is truly fantastic. (I have many invitations to give away, so if you want an account, just lemme know.)

Also, you might like to know that I’m writing this from Blackstone’s Cafe, in the heart of historic Beaufort, South Carolina. Using WiFi (that’s wireless Web access for you hopelessly un-hip.)

I made two recent gadget purchases.

The first: Just before leaving Taiwan, I bought an iPod photo. 30 GB version. I plugged it into my 12″ iBook (her name is iRene), and within 10 minutes my iPod contained over 1,200 songs (which I’d imported from CDs, over the last year, into iTunes) and 800 photos (imported from a digital camera using iPhoto). Total memory used: 3 GB. Out of 30. Very cool. It was about US $350. It has a color screen, and although it’s only 2″ by 2″, the photos look good on it. For an itinerant guy like me, the ability to carry around my entire music collection (it’s not all in there yet, but it’s coming) and a bunch of photos in a contraption the size of a pack of cigarettes is just too good to pass up.

The second: I recently picked up a Palm Zire 31 PDA. It’s the cheapest Palm makes: 150 bones. Color screen. 16 MB of space. I’ll use it to store my contacts and keep my calendar. My first PDA, after years of resistance. (Why did I resist? I don’t know.)

Finally, on a related note, a few of you have asked for a link to my “Thoughts on the Mac Experience” post, which I wrote after switching from a PC to my iBook last year. Knock yourselves out.

If you’re a high school slacker looking for a plagiarized paper, be careful who you IM.