Pinterest is one of the fastest (if not the fastest) growing social networks, and I tell you what. I’m totally obsessed. I’ve found really great ideas, recipes, DIY and gift projects, and even awesome blogs. However, with any new network comes a learning period, where everyone kind of has to figure out how the whole thing works and the most effective ways to use it. Because we’re still in that learning period, I’ve put together a list of tips on becoming an awesomely repinnable pinner.

1. Pin From the Post, Not the Home Page

I’ve found some great recipes and DIY projects on Pinterest, just to click through to the home page of the original poster’s blog. And that pin that I was so excited about was no longer there. [Insert Darth Vader NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Here] So then I have to find the search bar, search for the post, and hope that it was titled in such a way that the search tool can actually find it. So spare other pinners the agony, and just pin from the post itself. If you come across a pin that isn’t properly linked, fix it if you can! Courtesy is always appreciated.

2. Give Credit Where Credit Is Due

Along the same lines as #1, make sure to link back to the right place. This goes for Tumblr – I’ve found some REALLY cute nail pins that would lead to a tutorial, but they only led to a Tumblr post. Very disappointing. If you can, try to find the original source and give credit where it’s due. (And don’t call it a tutorial if there isn’t a tutorial at the end of the link chain). Furthermore, don’t link to other pins. It becomes this endless loop of frustration and no one likes that.

3. Don’t Copy & Paste the Entire Post/Recipe/Instructions Under the Pin

Thanks to Alyssa (@inspiredRD) for this one Someone took the time to write and publish that, and you’re basically taking away their blog traffic (which could be their source of income). That’s not cool, and it’s copyright infringement. If the picture doesn’t already say it all, just tell me what you’re pinning and why I should be interested in it.

4. Caption Accordingly

I’m pretty guilty of this, but I’m obsessed enough with Pinterest that I’m going back and fixing a lot of these. And by these/this, I mean pins that are captioned “LOVE” and “WANT” and “.” and “ZOMGWTFICANHAZIDIE.” Basically, the captions are vague and don’t tell anyone anything about what they’re looking at. This means that if someone is searching for something like that, they won’t be able to find it. At least not through Pinterest, anyway. So what to do instead? Describe the pin, then comment. “Purple Peacock Feather Pumps – LOVE,” “Nicole Espresso Nail Polish – Gorgeous!,” “Cinnamon Roll Waffles – SO easy peasy. Can’t wait to make these!” Or just stick with the description: “Crock Pot Chicken Tacos.” If you MUST put on a funny or cute caption (because I know it can’t be helped at times), at least make sure you’ve placed that pin in the right category (more on that later).

5. Don’t Attack Us with Hashtags

The same goes for Instagram. Great, you want the traffic for this. But #tacos #taco #chicken_taco #taconight #tacotuesday? Redundant. Obnoxious. Please make it stop because you’re making my eyes want to jump out of their sockets. A couple hashtags like #budgeting or #fitness or #diy are fine, but stick with popular hashtags you know people are searching. Keep it concise and broad if you’re hashtagging. Save the specifics for your descriptions.

6. Categorize Your Boards and Stick to Those Categories

I love browsing the category sections of Pinterest, but when I’m browsing Hair & Beauty, I really don’t want to see Orange-Glo which “Does wonders for wood floors.” That’s not a hair or beauty product. It’s a product you like, but if the default “Products I Love” board is too broad a category, maybe it’s time to split it up like “Beauty Products I Love,” and “Home Products I Love,” just for example. Just make sure to categorize your boards as you make new ones. This way, people can find and follow the boards they’re interested in without having to sort through too much clutter (because everyone has different interests, after all).

So that’s it! Do you think I’ve left anything out? Let me know and I’ll add it to the list (with proper credits, of course).

I’m sorry to inconvenience all of you, but tomorrow (January 18), Making Geek Look Good is blacking out in protest of SOPA, which in short intends to fight online counterfeiting and trafficking of copyrighted materials in such a broad way that any and every website could be at risk of being blocked. TechDirt has a fantastic article explaining the flaws and risks of SOPA & PIPA, and they explain the issue much better than I ever could.

However, I will say that the law really has not kept up with technology in so many ways, and piracy and copyright infringement are serious issues. However, SOPA & PIPA are proof that legislators are not doing their part in trying to catch up. I think John Lilly said it quite perfectly:

I’m not convinced that Congress is at all the right body to be taking up these issues, and am 100% convinced that they don’t currently have the technical wherewithal to make informed decisions, in any event.

It’s my last list of the year!! At the beginning of 2011, I set pretty broad goals, because life is uncertain, and birthing & postpartum recovery is especially uncertain. However, I’ve been practicing yoga once a week (I’d intended twice weekly practice, but I’m taking what I can get), I haven’t run a 5K, and I’m 2 lbs away from my goal weight of 115 lbs. All things considered, I had a great year, but I want 2012 to be even better, SO with no further ado, here are my goals for 2012:

10. Wean the little guy

Can you believe he’s almost a year old? I’m very proud that we’ve been able to breastfeed this long, but I know that will have to come to an end, so come February, we’re going to start minimizing daytime nursing (which will be much easier since I’ll be in school full time). I think my feelings might change about it when it comes, but for now, I’m looking forward to not having my adorable little parasite attached to me at the boob.

9. Get straight A’s again

It’s a good feeling. I’d like to keep it up.

8. Stop cosleeping

This one is going to be tough, I know it. Tougher than weaning-weaning. But for his emotional development and my sanity, it’s time to make the separation.

7. Blog at least 4 days a week

If I can do NaBloPoMo, I can do this.

6. Read all 3 volumes of Lord of the Rings. Finally.

I’ve been putting it off for so long, but I read The Hobbit, and that was my main hangup. I have no reason not to read it now, so it’s happening!

5. Ease up on the purposeless shopping

I’m sure I’ve mentioned my retail issues here before. I’ll just be out running an errand and I see something adorable that I 1. Don’t have space for, 2. Might use twice ever, and 3. Really don’t need to have, so of course I’ll get it. Then I use it/wear it once and forget it exists. THIS NEEDS TO END.

4. Get into a solid routine

I excuse myself by saying life is unpredictable, but at least having a daily agenda would do wonders for my sanity.

3-1. Run a 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon

This will be a whole post in itself, but long story short, I’m doing it and I’m looking for sponsors. I’ve already started training, too, and you’ll be able to follow my progress on DailyMile. I’d love your help, because running all these races gets expensive (again, I’ll write a separate post on what “all these races” means) and I’m a single mama, so I’m putting up a PayPal button for donations! I’m happy to add blog badges or sponsor logos to the sidebars as well, but again, there will be a whole post dedicated just to this.

So those are my goals! What are you changing in 2012?

Ah yes, another post wherein I hop up on my soapbox. See, every now and then, a story gets me so riled up that I have to talk about it on here. Today’s edition of pissed-off-geek-rant is brought to you by Paul Christoforo, courtesy of Penny Arcade.

If you’re not yet familiar with the situation, you can read the whole thing on above Penny Arcade link, but in brief, Dave, a customer of Ocean Marketing, emailed Paul, the President of Ocean Marketing, about a set of PS3 controllers he’d ordered in early November, which he’d believed would arrive in early December but hadn’t. Paul gave incorrect dates, then gave vague answers about the shipping and manufacturing process, then when Dave (the customer) mentioned that the site is now giving new orders $10 off, Paul started talking trash, name-dropping, and talking himself up (all with deplorably poor grammar, might I add).

As this situation has unraveled (and my has it), the very names Paul dropped have publicly responded to note his unprofessionalism in their dealings, their unawareness of who he is, or that they do not support Paul or his company. Furthermore, whatever name he thought he had in the online world is.. well, just Google Paul Christoforo. Which reminds me of one line that I particularly loved:

Welcome to the Internet ? Son Im 38 I wwebsite as on the internet when you were a sperm in your daddys balls and before it was the internet, thanks for the welcome to message wurd up.

That’s directly quoted. I’d add in the [sic], but it would get redundant. And yes, that’s what Paul, the president of Ocean Marketing, PUT INTO WRITING.

Honestly, there was a very simple solution to this situation: give Dave a straightforward answer about the date he should receive the product. Honestly, a simple “We’re not sure when this will be available- the product development process hasn’t gone as smoothly as planned, but we look forward to getting it into your hands as soon as possible. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience, and as you can see, we’re offering $10 off of new purchases, so if you could please send me the necessary information, I’m happy to extend that offer to you as well as a thank you for your loyalty and patience” probably would have sufficed. IT’S NOT THAT DIFFICULT, PEOPLE! Okay, so the credit or reimbursement could get a little complicated, but it could have saved him from this whole debacle at any rate.

Honestly, how this guy is president of anything is beyond me, but he’s provided some fantastic takeaways for all you PR and marketing folk.

1. Don’t Lie.

This should be obvious, but apparently it needs to be said. If you can’t give a precise answer, be honest about it and say so. People appreciate honesty, even if the situation is frustrating. At the very least, they get to know what’s really going on and can make a more informed decision about what to do next.

2. Be Sincere.

If you’re really sorry, show it. In this case, extending that same offer that new customers are getting to the ones who are still waiting on their order is a pretty solid show of good faith in my book. In other scenarios, go back to #1. HONESTY GOES A REALLY LONG WAY.

3. Don’t Name-Drop.

Even if the name you think you have to drop is a close, personal relationship, no one likes to be spoken for. Furthermore, it makes everyone involved look bad and it’s just plain tacky.

4. Don’t Disparage Your Target Audience.

This includes assigning them a stereotype, by the way. The thing about target markets is they tend to have a lot in common if they’re buying specialized products like this, and when you isolate one member of that market, the rest of the market sees themselves in that person. In this case, you get the gamers and geeks of the internet mobilized against you. It’s not pretty.

5. Use Proper Grammar, for God’s Sake.

Your credibility drops to zero when you can’t string a sentence together… or in this case, you string eight sentences together without punctuation. Spelling counts, too. Especially when it’s the spelling of what you do. Paul’s Twitter handle is @OceanMarketting. WITH 2 T’S. No joke. How embarrassing. Furthermore, YOU DON’T SPEW OBSCENITIES OR RESORT TO NAMECALLING! I mean, come on. What a gimme.

**UPDATE: Paul changed his Twitter handle to @OceanStratagy. Still misspelled. @OceanMarketting is now tweeting for powers of good.

6. Don’t Draw False Comparisons.

When Paul asked if Dave whines about bigger game launch dates being pushed back, he made a HUGE error in a couple ways. First of all, he compared himself to a situation that he can’t hold water to. When a launch date is pushed back, usually the company will give a reason, estimated date, and apology. On top of that, those companies usually haven’t accepted the payments in full for those products. For example, reserving a copy of a game before its release usually involves about a $5-$10 holding fee, not the entire cost of the game. He opened himself up for even worse criticism, not to mention that he showed the world how out of touch he really is with his target market.

7. Keep Your Customers Updated

This entire thing could have been completely avoided if Ocean Marketing had broadcast the production/shipping delay, which could be in the form of a PR release on the product site, an email blast, a Tweet and/or a Facebook post. I’d recommend all of them, so when these kinds of questions arise, you can say “Here. This is what you’re looking for, but sorry again.”

The more I think about this story, the more I keep thinking of the white iPhone 4 situation. There were tons of delays, but at least the customers had notice about it, and more to the point, they weren’t made available for purchase or pre-order because they didn’t yet exist. They kept their potential or ongoing customers in the loop and able to make an informed decision.

A couple more highlights before I go here:
1. This guy’s Twitter description says his company is “a Premier Social Media Company and SEO Company.” I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
2. Paul promised a Penny Arcade smear campaign. Not only did he not follow through on that promise (big surprise there), but he just made himself look bad. Really. Really. Bad.
3. One of the last things he said was “you have no clue who I am.” That’s usually not a good thing, Paul. Worse yet, we all know who you are now. Again, not a good thing.

While I’m not a gamer, I’m a proud geek, and this has me seriously fired up. What would you have done in this situation?

And I’ll step down from my soapbox now. Ahem.

Yep. I was particularly excited about this one, my sister LOVED this one, and this one has essentially saved my house from being an upside-down nightmare.

Want to follow my boards? Of course you do. Either click on the Pinterest icon in the sidebar or follow my boards here. Note: I’m NOT ResaMichelle on Pinterest. Apparently, someone else (NAMED THERESA! NOT EVEN A REAL RESA!) took the username ResaMichelle before Pinterest was on my radar, so mine is ResaMichelleOG. For obvious reasons.

It’s that time of year again. The season of giving and spirit and spending and super cheesy jewelry commercials that make even the greatest of guys look like total jerks. This also means that Festivus is upon us. Festivus means the airing of grievances. And boy did 2011 give me some serious grievances to air.

10. Angry comediennes kvetching about the asinine.

You can only say vagina in a monologue so many times before it loses its shock value. Once we get past that, we realize there’s no actual content value left over. The off-color, profanity filled crap being spewed doesn’t compensate for a complete lack of material. Related: Thank goodness for Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling.

9. Guys in skinny jeans

I’m wondering why this trend hasn’t died yet, but I really wish it would. I’m not sure if it’s the guys who wear them or if it’s the effect they have, but generally speaking, the guys who wear skinny jeans are almost guaranteed to look sickly. Here’s my advise if you’re one of these guys: STOP IT. No one wants to see your junk, because that’s the only thing anyone thinks of when they see you wearing them. And it’s not in a good way.

8. Public Lazy-wear

I’m looking at you, Pajama Jeans. Snuggies, Slankets, Hoodie Footies.. sure, they all scream “I’ve given up on ever having sex again,” but they typically don’t leave the privacy of your own couch. Pajama Jeans? They’re a loud message to the world that you’ve given up on life. And believe me- I’m not above going out in public in my yoga pants, but I wear them loud & proud. Pajama Jeans are like going out with a whimper. A very (read noticeably) loud whimper.

7. Belieber attacks on Twitter

We get it. You’re infatuated obsessed with an unattainable public figure. 1. You don’t have an ice cubes chance in hell with the guy. 2. If you put this much energy into legitimately important causes, the world might take your generation seriously. So calm down, and think of it this way: the people you rain your hate on are that much less competition.

6. Jumpsuits

I’ll admit, they can be done well, typically by being form fitting on top with a wide leg. Unfortunately, they often aren’t done well, and it just gets kinda sad to see. On top of that, it’s really disappointing to discover that perfect, boho, patterned maxi-dress on the hanger actually has legs.

5. Harem Pants

Or as we called them in African dance, monkey pants. These are awful, but it seems like they’re just on the verge of taking off. I hope this isn’t the case. I have a hard time recognizing a difference between these atrocities and hammer pants, and we all know what happened to hammer pants. If you don’t know what happened to hammer pants, go look at a picture of someone you know wearing them back in the 80′s and try not to laugh.

Yeah. That.

4. Jeggings and Leggings as Pants

It seems like most of this list is a rundown of this years style mishaps, doesn’t it? Anyway, I refer to a very specific type of jegging, because for the most part, these are much easier to wear than skinny jeans are (due to the liberal stretchiness). I’m specifically talking about the denim patterns being printed on nylon/lycra/spandex. It looks as cheap as it is and everyone can tell. Trust me.

Furthermore, leggings are not pants. We know your crotch is covered, but we can still see everything going on beneath that often much too sheer covering. Wear a long tunic, wear a mini-skirt, wear ACTUAL PANTS, but please don’t force your hoo-hah on us. It ain’t fittin’. It just ain’t fittin’.

3. Platform athletic shoes

The fact that Reebok faced litigation and reached a settlement about the claims used in their marketing for Easytone and Runtone shoes speaks volumes in this matter, but if you’re unaware of what’s going on, let me break it down for you. I’m all for products that can ENHANCE your efforts, but they’re not going to do it for you. And holy crap, do the Skechers look ridiculous. They’re up there on the ugly list with Crocs. I’m a girl who LOVES her shoes, but these are abominations and I’m pretty sure Salvatore Ferragamo has been flipping in his grave since these became popular.

2. 3D for the sake of 3D

Mind you, I don’t watch movies in 3D 1. because I’m cheap like that and 2. because they make me WAY nauseous and it’s just not worth it to feel like things are flying at my face if I end up feeling like something else will fly out of it. What I have seen in 2D that was intended for 3D has had some pretty ridiculous moments of 3D pandering, just to make people jump. It feels like there’s a lot of quality sacrifice going on just for the sake of thrill factor, and it’s really not worth it. I mean, yes, action movies are enhanced by it, sometimes thrillers, but kids movies like Gnomeo and Juliet? Really. If it doesn’t enhance the story, then just don’t do it.

1. All things Kardashian

Kris Humphries said it best. “No one will probably care about you. Let’s be honest.” (in reference to what might happen to her “career” after they have kids). I don’t know what this family is famous for, but the whole life for sale thing is getting really old. I’d say it’s laughable, but really, it must be terribly sad not to have privacy, or anything just for yourself. However, that’s a choice they’ve made. I just wish I could check out at the grocery store without it being shoved in my face.

So that’s it. This is how I’ve been disappointed by 2011. If my list isn’t enough for you, check out the hashtag on Twitter (#airingofgrievances), or leave a comment and tell me how you’ve been disappointed this year.

Ahhh, yes. The end of an entire month of blogging each and every day (okay, except for the first couple days), and it has not been an easy process. There were nights when I just wanted to freaking go to bed, days when the kiddo wanted to steal the keyboard from me and eat it so I’d have to stop what I was doing to play with him, times when I had no idea what to write about, but I did it. And I’m so glad I did.

I realized that it’s so important to stretch my writing chops and practice daily. I improved my timed writing skills, which are TOTALLY going to be reflected in my finals, and note that I don’t HOPE this will happen- it WILL happen (CAPS CAPS CAPS). I gained a new sense of discipline, and I got some great ideas on the update I’m currently working on (to be launched after Christmas!!).

But I’m TOTALLY not doing it for the month of December. Between finals, clients, my own redesign and of course the holidays, you’ll be hearing a little less from me, maybe more like 4-5 posts a week. But I do want to know something.

What did YOU like most about this month? Yes, analytics and comments can steer me in the right direction, but I want to hear it from you. So comment and let me know- I’d love your feedback!

My sister and I have made our own tradition of Black Friday shopping, camping out at Target starting at 8pm and waiting out the cold until the doors open. It’s a minor rush, but it’s a fun way to really kick off the Christmas season, looking for gifts for everyone.

So this year, true to form, we haul through Target, filling overfilling a cart with WHOA you almost got me there, but I won’t be tricked into telling what I got everyone for Christmas. You tricky thing, you.

Yeah, that just happened.

Anyway, my sister tried to add something to the cart and it and 5 other items fell out. It was THAT kind of overfilled, so I figured I’d go find another shopping cart and split up the hoard. Now if you’re familiar with Target, you know that the shopping carts are by the $1 bins, which means that I was all over the stocking stuffers and gift wrap, but most importantly, I was that jerk who took all of the tubes of tiny multi-colored Christmas ornaments.

And I made an adorable garland with them, thank you very much.

So I get back to my sister, we sort out our finds out as we weave through the cosmetics department, because by now the queue is so long that it’s actually woven through the aisles.

OH, and there’s a guy waiting at the ends of the aisles TELLING HIS KID TO CUT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. There’s one for therapy. My dad wanted me to get punched in the face on Black Friday when I was a kid.

Anyway, we finish sorting our things and we’re getting close to the checkout. I start to wonder how Cameron’s doing with my dad, so I look for my phone. And it’s not in my cart. Or purse. Or pockets. Crap crap crap.

So I check out, my sister checks out, and she stands and waits while I run back to check the spot where we switched carts, the Christmas ornament section, and guest services, because I was certain that I hadn’t brought it with me when I got the shopping cart.

Oh, and her phone was dead by this point, so I couldn’t even call it. So we get in her car, charge up her phone, and I call it a couple times. Then I remember I had Find My iPhone on it, so I lock it remotely and send a message saying to either call my sister’s number or return the phone to guest services. Then I look at its location on the map and I realize it was still at Target.

Now by this time, we’re about 2 blocks from my house, so we have to turn around, drive ALL the way back and start running around the front of the store like crazy people. So I send off the tracking sound like, 5 times and I hear absolutely nothing. I call, nothing. I check the $1 bins, it’s not there. I check with guest services again. Nothing. Then I look at the map again and MY PHONE HAS MOVED TO THE PARKING LOT!!!

So my sister and I BOLT out the doors, and she starts bellowing, “WE ARE SEARCHING FOR A MISSING IPHONE. HAND IT OVER OR WE WILL PROSECUTE!” and I’m wandering through the parking lot, trying to find the exact spot that the map was showing. Then I realized I was standing right on it, so I peek into the car next to me and there’s this guy playing with my phone!!

So I put on my serious face, knock on the window, and gesture that he has my phone. He steps out, covers the front of my phone and asks what’s on the screen, and my sister starts yelling at the guy, “THAT’S A STOLEN PHONE. WE ARE GOING TO PROSECUTE, SO HAND IT OVER” and I’m trying to shut her up and tell the guy that the image on the screen is MY EFFING SLEEPING BABY and if you would all stop talking, I could prove that it belongs to me by entering the security code.

But he was cool and explained that he’d found it by the liquor filled chocolates in the $1 section and someone else had tried to take it, but he did instead (I really didn’t get what he was saying at that point). He showed us that he already had his own iPhone because my sister was all sorts of feisty, and he wasn’t trying to take it, handing it over after I told him the screen image. He complimented Cameron, congratulated me, we all wished each other a happy holiday, and went on our now much merrier ways.

Now when I got it back, I was locked out for about 5 minutes because I guess he’d been trying to guess the code. My sister thinks he was going to steal and unlock it to sell it because he didn’t just take it to guest services. Frankly, I’m just happy that I got it back, it was intact, and I didn’t lose any data.

However, the moral of the story is to INSTALL FIND MY IPHONE. Seriously, register your phone or iPad with iCloud and you’ll be able to recover it from any computer or iOS device. Maybe you’ll never use it, but it doesn’t hurt to have it just in case.

Years and years ago, I did a bunch of spelling bees. In fact, I was in the spelling bee every year from fourth through eighth grade. I get twitchy when people misspell common words in their blogs, tweets or Facebook posts. Yes, I know, I’m a little bit obsessive, but it’s a conveyance of language and the record of who we are and for what we stand. I’d rather it didn’t become a mark of our decline.

I tweeted this more than a year ago. I'm completely serious about this, y'all.

However, wayyy back at the beginning of the summer, I heard about an organization protesting the spelling bee.

WHAT?!

I mean, yes, the psychosis of spelling bee participation is mildly troubling. The studying shut-ins leave little time for childhood diversions and socialization, but if compulsively spelling words even linguists wouldn’t recognize is what a kid loves, then hey! Live and let live, right?

Too bad that’s not what they were protesting. Organizations like The English Spelling Society (TESS), American Literacy Council (ALC) and the Simplified Spelling Society (SSS) aim to simplify the spelling of words in the English language to the way they sound (or as they would have it, “simplify the speling uv werds in thuh eenglish langwedj too thuh way thay saond”).

Now I understand that the English language is a hot mess of irregularities, exceptions and outright bs. However, it is a language of borrowed words. I mean, yes, it is primarily of West Germanic origin (which, HOLY CRAP have you ever tried to read “English” lit before the 16th century in its original language? It’s the entire reason that people advised against taking classes whose syllabi included Beowulf and/or that Chaucer gets a bad rap), but we’ve borrowed a lot along the way.

Kinda fitting that we speak English here in the US considering our history and culture, dontcha think?

But anyway, the anti-spellers. I get it. I do. But frankly, I think that if they REALLY want to shatter the hopes and dreams of compulsive spellers (myself included), they should go big or go home.

Resa, what the hell are you talking about, you ask.

I’m SO glad you asked, my imaginary voice of my blog friend. In fact, I’m talking about the international phonetic alphabet (henceforth to be known as the IPA).

Thanks for the abbreviation, but you just spewed out a bunch of big words together and expected us to know what the hell you mean.

Well, sorrrrryyy, imaginary voice of my blog, but if you’d stop interrupting I’d explain. See, the IPA is an alphabet whose symbols are based solely on individual language sounds (phonemes) instead of single letters representing multiple sounds.

But there are a few inherent issues here.

First: The prospect of learning a whole new alphabet. It’s actually not TOO too different, and since it’s dictated by how things sound, it’s not at all hard to learn (yes, I can write in IPA).
Second, and most important: The variations in word pronunciation, especially across different regions. On one hand, it would be easier to recognize regional diction in writing, but on the other, academia would have a heyday trying to come to an agreement on the proper pronunciation of certain words.

Well, then, what’s wrong with spelling phonetically with our existing alphabet?

Well, the way I would spell something out would be quite different than the way someone else might. Take the word “would” for instance.
If I spelled it “wood,” would it sound like “wood” or “wooed”? If I spelled it “wud” would it sound the same or would it rhyme with “cud”?

You see the dilemma.

Now I do understand some of the motivations behind this movement. Dyslexics, dysgraphics and children with developmental disabilities or impairments could greatly benefit from a language that utilizes phonetic spelling. I have family members who have been or are in that boat. It’s an incredible tool to assist in bringing written and verbal language together, but it’s to assist.

So all in all? The impracticalities of phonetic spelling, in my mind, outweigh the inconvenience and confusion of language irregularities. Just like our current language, it would be based on rules, probably sprinkled with exceptions, and ultimately just another written iteration of an ever evolving language.

Okay, one last time. Just lyk ower kurent langwadj, it wud bee baysd on roolz, probablee spreenkld with ekseptchuns, and ultimetlee just anuther ritin iderayshun uv an ever evolving langwadj.

What do you think? Should we spell phonetically? Are you itching to learn IPA? Or are you a spelling geek like I am and you’re more than happy to learn the whys, hows, origins and exceptions of the English language?

I knew Steve Jobs wasn’t well, but I didn’t realize his days were coming to an end. Then I heard the news today and I had a hard time not getting emotional over a man with whom I have virtually no connection.

But that’s the thing. I may have never met Steve Jobs in person, but he clearly poured his heart and soul into his work. He imagined products that were not simply objects of utility, but were the simple yet elegant love-children of form and function. He injected the spirit of creativity into everything that reached the consumer market and then some (because we all know that creativity is met with flops, failures, and ideas that just don’t work). He exuded passion, glowed with pride at these creations. His keynotes were some of the most exciting addresses, not just because it meant we were getting in on the next big thing, but because of his excitement. He shared his enthusiasm and it spread like wildfire. Sure, there were always criticisms, but come on. Who wasn’t secretly itching to get their hands on whatever new brain-baby he had sprouted this time? No, I may have never met Steve Jobs in person, but I observe a little part of his genius every day when I pick up my phone, when I listen to music, even as I type this now on my wireless keyboard and iMac.

I know there are people who are wondering why these crazy fanboys & girls are so frenzied over Steve Jobs’ death. It goes far beyond nerdy fandom (and dare I say obsession). It’s a matter of losing one of the boldest and most brilliant minds of our time. He pushed the boundaries of what we considered possible. He changed the way we conduct business. He changed the way we communicate. He changed the music industry. He challenged the rules and turned them upside down over and over and over again. He was a revolutionary and his incredible work changed the world.

So thank you, Steve Jobs, for daring to think different, for empowering the geeks of the world to see their crazy ideas through and shake things up. Thank you for sharing yourself and your work with the world. You’ll be missed.