This is who I am

Laphroig 10

docsmooth — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:34:39 +0000

Peat and strength with tastes to enjoy,
The 10 year Laphroig keeps bartends employed,
I take one more sip,
And my hat I will tip,
To distillers of liquid joy.

Determining spam on Twitter

docsmooth — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:45:43 +0000

First written on Twitter:

@docsmooth: Signs of twitspam: bio is tinyurl; <100 updates, >200 following/ers;all updates “from twitfeed”, inc. link; no conversation. Check yourself!

I just went through my followers list on twitblock.org and thought I’d write a bit deeper on this subject.

Ways to determine a twitter spammer – higher scores are more likely spammers:

Bio link is tinyurl or bit.ly or other URL shortener. There is *never* a reason to put this in your URL link on Twitter, unless you’re hiding the destination. +10 pts
you have more than 200 “friends” and less than 100 updates. +2 pts
you have a follower/following ratio below. .5 +2pts
Every single tweet has a link. +5 pts
Every single tweet is from TwitFeed. +5 pts
More than 2 tweets are from an unregistered API app. +8 pts
You have never @replied anyone. +1 pts

I generally block anyone above a “9″ score on this scale.

Cross-posted with my professional blog.

Polititions saying what’s best for re-election…

docsmooth — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:53:28 +0000

Sarah Palin wrote on a Facebook note today: “We know from long experience that the creation of a massive new bureaucracy will not provide us with “more stability and security,” but just the opposite.”

But didn’t the Patriot Act create a massive new bureaucracy to provide us with more security and stability? And doesn’t the Republican Party line support the Patriot Act?

So, I’m confused here: the big problem with the current Health Care reform bill is it will create a new bureaucracy, and bureaucracy by definition can’t secure us, BUT we need to keep the bureaucracy of the Department of Homeland Security bcause it’s the only way to secure us?

Dear politicians and talking heads: let’s all get on the same page:
1) come to concensus on the project *goals*
2) debate the project *plan*.

For me? I’d like to know that I will have health insurance after I am hit with an errant stick while playing hockey, and not have to worry about it being denied for some legal mumbo-jumbo.

Marketing Experts?

docsmooth — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:52:11 +0000

I just got followed on twitter by YASME (Yet Another Social Marketing Expert) – I have so far found… maybe 1 actual social marketing expert. And he runs a few Domino’s Pizza shops in Chicago.

According to my analysis of the twitter Company “Personalities” I’m a fan of (@ramon_deleon, @marriott_intl, and @colonelTribune) – the requirements for a “Social Marketing/Media Expert” are:

Engage people as a person, not just as a corporation
Don’t just talk about the business
Respond to others with real information
Don’t put links in every post/tweet

So, apparently, you just have to be human. That’s it. So, from now on, I’m going to start calling myself a Social Media Expert, too. Ha!

Bowmore 15

docsmooth — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:01:21 +0000

Strong and woody with smoky dryness,
A drink that the gods would surely bless,
The nose, a perfume,
It goes down so smooth:
Like your girl stripping out of her dress.

Written in a “Scottish” bar: Mosaic, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Not sure how authentic it is.

Facebook API and Security

docsmooth — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:22:33 +0000

I’ve become curious about what kinds of data Facebook Application developers can gather from people who use the apps, so I signed up for a Facebook Developer API key, and think I’m going to write a little quiz. Not sure if I’ll host it here or at totalnetsolutions.net yet… if it becomes something worthwhile, I’ll probably post it there. We’ll see. Stay tuned.

Glenfiddich 15 Solara Wood Reserve

docsmooth — Mon, 18 May 2009 06:01:05 +0000

Smooth as silk with a splash of water
I sip as my wife talks of being a potter,
Its nose is sublime,
Soft as syrah wine,
The effects do make my pulse hotter.

(written on my 7 year anniversary date)

Back from vacation

docsmooth — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:45:10 +0000

We went to vacation in the Riviera Maya, just south of Cancun. We stayed at the Hotel Excellence Riviera Maya, just outside of Puerto Morelos. I dove 2 days, one just outside of Puerto Morelos, and one from Cancun. Both days included dives to a sunk minesweeper, and a wreck dive. Pictures are up at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chi-diver

bad experiment: Weekly twitter updates

docsmooth — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:18:13 +0000

All deleted, turned off, and won’t do that again. Maybe I’ll try to post here more often. Just not thru twitter.

Copenhagen photos on Schmap

docsmooth — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:36:05 +0000

2 of the pictures I took on a business trip to Copenhagen got picked up for Schmap’s online guide. One of them appears to be one of the only decent photos of the hotel I stayed at under a Creative Commons license on Flickr. You can see them on the guide at:

Nyhavn Harbour

and

Palace Hotel

It’s kinda cool.