Hot Shit Of The Week - Eggnog Glug Glug 2009 Edition

In between weekend parties I've been scouring the internets hard to find some really good stuff for this week. It takes a lot of deliberation to find just the right hot shit, and I'm still trying to find the right tone and voice for the feature. For the most part Hot Shit Of the Week stays on the up and up. It is here to show the best, not snipe the worse. Old School Hot Shit will be an occasional separate single post, probably mid-week. It is naturally snarky feature so Hot Shit Of the Week will be more positive from now on.

First Up: Google Reader

I am convinced that one day Google is going to turn evil, and while it is entirely possible that day has already come you can't fault a company for having good products, especially when those good products are buck naked free.

When it comes to technology, some people will say there are enthusiasts and luddites. I tend to think it isn't that simple. The choice of when to adopt any new technology isn't a yes-or-no-one-size-fits-all question. You can be way ahead of the curve, but a lot of the time that means you'll spend far too much time dealing with the early adopter's growing pains. RSS is one of those technologies where I was certain it was going to take root eventually, but didn't adopt until it had already gone main stream. I've used a number of RSS solutions, but Google Reader is the best compromise of features and simplicity I have found. It makes a great solution alone, or in combination with a good desktop application.

One of the things that was always a pain in desktop RSS applicaitons was keeping a collection of subscriptions in sync cross multiple computers. The better clients had export/import features, but with Google Reader that isn't neccesary. You can manage your subscriptions centrally and there is only one feed to configure on each client no matter where you go. The sharing and starring is also a really nice feature. Combined with some other hot tools I'll be talking about in future weeks, Google Reader is what makes Hot Shit possible. I can star something I find and then when I'm ready to complie a list of Hot Shit it's right there.

Next Up: Cute Overload

Who doesn't love good clean humor? Now maybe I'm just getting old, but I can't help but wince a little with the moden movement in humor. Sure rude, irreverant, and even sacrelegious gags are funny now and again but some where around 1997 things got a little out of hand and over a decade later they are just getting worse.

One breath of fresh air amidst all these fart and Jesus jokes is Cute Overload. It's like Breaking Bad News With Baby Animals, without the bad news. Every day cute images come flooding in, some of which are also quite humorous. I can't say that they have ever made me ROTFL, but often a chuckle or smile. I'll take a guilt free chuckle over a cheap Lolercopter any day.

Moving Along: Bento!

Why should the Japanese have all the fun? If I did New Years resolutions, mine would be to make my lunch more often. I don't (do resolutions), but really do hope that in the future I do (make my lunch).

Not that I'd have time to be this creative with my lunch, pretty much ever, but the bento artist at Anna The Red's Bento Factory is a truely genious source of inspriation. You always have to wonder how edible some of the creations are. Some are totaly convincing.. others you just have to wonder what some of the detials are made of.

I'd also feel bad while eating it...really bad...as I ate the whole thing. I think the phrase, "Nom Nom Nom." is fitting.

Finally: Web Designer Depot

Now normally I don't go for sites like this and it is definately special interest, but I found this site through a friend on Google Reader and it is a good mix of web design showcase, web industry tips, and just generally interesting links.

The down side to Web Designer Depot is they tend to post very LONG articles. Sometimes they break things with their ginormity.

The semi-eclectic feel of this blog is great. It has a focus, but switches things up a bit each week. There is something to be said from following a formula, but I think we can all learn from a good directed sense of aventure in writing.

Hot Shit Of The Week - We Survived Half of October, Where It My Candy? 2009 Edition

Halloween is getting pretty close, not to mention the end of the year. It is kind of exciting to think about how things will go in 2010 what with people getting Google Wave invites and all. Few things are more exciting than watching people type to you in real time! You could be using that time to multi-task: either getting real work done or plowing your fields in Farmville. But hey, we all know how overrated multi-tasking it over rated. I think once I do get into Google Wave I'll probably type all my responses to people in a different window and cut paste, really blow their minds.

First Up: Making Anything "Micro"

So we've covered "micro-Blogging" with Twitter, but there are so many more things in life that need to be shrunk down because we just can't handle it: like the plight of people less fortunate than us. No more sending money to Sally Struthers for me! Now there is Kiva. This is a great way to help other people, and you get to keep giving because Kiva is a communal loan. The people you help get what they need and pay back the loan so it can go to help others.

And even better, you pick where it all goes. This is a convenient, online, non-socialist, and to help out people all other the world. And it real helping, not Farmville friend helping. Thanks Micro-Fairy, that is more more thing that can productively be integrated into my busy lifestyle.

Next Up: Raindropmemory

Here at SWML we are very proud of our month long tradition of pointing out some of the great creative talents on the internet. This week's Hot Shit includes a very talented graphic artist from Deviant Art: Raindropmemory. This guy is a great illustrator, but he's done some icon sets that are truly outstanding, including a fantasy/rpg themed icon set, Legendora, that quite frankly rocked my socks.

There is a lot of versatility in RDM's style. It is soft, warm, and friendly with a heaping spoonful of playfulness with texture. I'm definitely keeping my eye on this deviant artist. Hopefully there will be more great art and icon sets to come.

Moving Along: Hack A Day

There are lots of RSS feeds that people need to know about. Some of them are funny, some are informative, and some just have occasional jems that are just too neat. Hack A Day is one of the later. From old school to new wave, these guys are all over the technology map. The hacks range from emulation, to basic generation of electricity, and even things with no electronic parts what so ever. To top this off this blog posts multiple types a day typically so there is a constant stream of neat information.

It is not uncommon that they go on particular tangents from time to time, like RFID, or micro-bots, but most geeks can at least appreciate these even if they are a little less awe inspiring. Some of the things are practically do it yourself. Many are probably beyond the casual hacker's ability, and some are clearly "do not try this at home". All in all, Hack A Day is the coolest geeky how-to source.

And Before I Forget: Old School Hot Shit - Being On Top Of Shit

One of the great things about the Internet is people will practically read your mind and do what you want about 25% of the time. This saves a lot of time and effort, so long as you know how to use Google, or troll the right forums, just happen to subscribe to the right RSS feeds.... *wink*

You can imagine my delight when someone shared this gem: Dozens and Dozens of decent-to-good freeware games and links to many many more. We've all seen them, and most of us are lucky enough to have friends that share cool things like this with us. So if you want to be in the know, here is our SWML Twelve Step Process to never being bored again:

1. U need teh Internets. No internets? How the hell are you reading this blog?
2. Find a forum of like minded gamers. It is recommended that you avoid Digimon Cults.
3. Subscribe to some RSS feeds.
4. If you have real life friends, find out what online communities they go to and team troll with them.
5. Try to keep up. Most online forums have tools to help you track conversations and _search_.
6. Get smarter, learn the tools of your RSS aggregator. What? It is called Google Reader.
7. Google, also good for _search_.
8. Make sure you keep those connections with real life friends. What good is staying on top of trends if you can't show off at parties or other social gatherings?
9. Occasionally sluff off dead weight: sites/feeds/friends/interests that are just not cutting it any more. No matter how good you get you're never going to be able to stay on top of things if you get stretched too thin.
10. Sit back, relax, and enjoy getting almost everything online for free. This does not include downloading stuff illegally.
    
11. Pay bills, because if you don't there won't be any Internet. You don't want to be that homeless person that practically lives at the library because it is the only window into the ether.
    
12. Devalue anything/anyone that doesn't have a URL. Everything MUST have a URL, even if it is one you created.
    

Working your way up through these twelve steps you'll find life in the ether is much better than real life... that is until a power/network outage.

Finally: Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

Ok, I admit this one is a bit weak. It IS funny in parts and it is a great find. Hulu is a great source for all kinds of things like this. Is has a good sense of meta-theatrics, it is cute, and it has Neil Patrick Harris so it has to be pretty good.... it's DR. HORRIBLE'S SING ALONG BLOG. There is a 90% chance this is well worth 45 minutes of your life.

And is if just me or is Doogie Howser getting OLD? I mean he's only 6 years older than I am so I hope I age a little better. Is he trying to catch up to House? The mind boggles.

So until next time, try to keep up! Hope everyone gets their Google Wave invites!