Global Nerdy | How to Work the Room

Joey’s condenses some great tips on going from wallflower to party panda. Number one has always stood me in good stead:

“1. Be more of a host and less of a guest. Make introductions and make people more comfortable.”

Totally. Not to get all Burning Man on you here, but any event will only be as good as the people who actively participate in it. People who arrive waiting to be entertained are dead weight, while those who do more than the minimum to make things happen can bring the place to life.

• Writing a Book in Google Docs - Lucky bastard. I might (might!) have made it to the end if it weren’t for O’Reilly’s godforsaken MS Word templates. But, you know. Ours was not a project without its share of human error. What do you say, Brian and Danny? Would we have made it with the Google docs?
• Sullivan nod - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Oh, man. That waiter’s nodding trick Michael Ferguson taught me has a name. [thanks, Ben Durbin]
• Design View / Andy Rutledge - Falling Down - Beautiful essay. Go. Read. “What is uncertain is how you will respond to that stumble and fall and how gracefully you will descend and emerge from it.” [via del/fritz.bogott]
• frankschmitt.org / Creating a “Sub Account” with GMail and Mail.app - Clever use of Gmail labels to make life on your iPhone easier. [via del/frankschmitt]
• Wookie Roar | Ask MetaFilter - Very handy. I will totally use this until I get as good as Tracy Morgan. “It’s easier if you start like you’re about to let out a big, loud yawn, and then…go into a dry gargle.” (And, yes, I know the “correct” spelling; and, no, I did not write the headline. Thanks, Red 5, now back to Aunt Beru’s basement with you)
• StuffSafe : Online Home Inventory Software - Okay-looking (weirdly-Windows-like) app for doing a home inventory. So, you guys: does anybody know an insurance-company-friendly app for cataloging your crap? Seems like everybody needs something like this, but not one of the apps I’ve seen (Mac or web) has floated my boat. How ‘bout you?

MacBreak Weekly 74: Hot Lips and Hawkeye

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Hosts: Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann, Andy Ihnatko, and Rich Siegel

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A look back at Macworld, Office spreads out, MacHeist, .Mac future bright and cloudy, certain gestures and more.

Here’s a direct MP3 download of MBW 74.

I think this might be one of my favorite episodes of MacBreak Weekly. Say what you will about the podcast medium, it’s amazing to be able to pull an articulate person like Rich Siegel into your conversation midway – (~00:38:15) – just via IM and a phone number. Very cool.

So. That said. I really want the promoters and developer-fans of MacHeist to have their opportunity to respond to what Rich (and we) had to say. Clearly we all think a lot of the Mac indie community, so it’d be valuable to continue the conversation in a way that’s fair and civil for everybody.

Directions on how to get your voice heard appear around (~00:57:11) of this episode.

update 2008-01-25 08:21:01

Aha! Embeddable video for a third MacBreak interview at Macworld ‘08 has turned up – this one’s with Dave Teare at Agile Web Solutions, makers of 1Password.

As we discuss in the video, I’m really looking forward to seeing 1Password’s secure password bookmarklet for iPhone.

MacBreak: Macworld 2008/Agile Web Solutions

 MacBreak (iPod video) - MacBreak 122: Macworld 2008: 1Password

Amazon.com : Amazon Gift Central

With the holidays’ major combat operations now complete – but while the trauma of bell fatigue and the stink of Orange Julius are still fresh in your mind – I wanted to share a simple tip on something that was really useful to me this past Christmas and that might make your own life easier for next December or any other giftable event along the way.

So, you certainly know that you can create an Amazon Wish List to let people locate and purchase items you would enjoy having as gifts; that’s been around forever (and most needy cam girls have the iPods and panties to prove it). And you may even have caught on that you can now have multiple Wish Lists (with differing privacy settings). And if you’re a power user (read: “Amazon Prime dork”), you will surely be utilizing the very helpful Shopping List for finding and re-ordering repeat items like printer toner and blank CDs. But were you aware of the crazy-useful “Gift Organizer?” Well, okay, then.