Growing up in the 1980s most superhero toys either looked like Ken dolls or like this.

My kids, however, gets to play with these.

Who do you think had it better? Sound off in the comments below.

All images via my flickr

The three images below each occupy one of my Mac OS X Spaces. They inspire me to continue learning—something new every day, to act on what I learn so that knowledge becomes wisdom, and then to share that wisdom with you so that we all can benefit.

Learn

Right click link and select “save link as…” to download.

Act

Right click link and select “save link as…” to download.

Share

Right click link and select “save link as…” to download.

All images are were made with widescreen displays (resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixles) in mind and were designed in Pixelmator using the Comicrazy front.

You can download the full set, including alternative resolutions and/or in good ol’ Helvetica from my Learn, Act, Share flickr set.

Some of you might recognize these quotes from their original source. Regardless of whether you do or not, these wallpapers can help motivate you to make the most out of 2012.

Did you find these wallpapers helpful? What image(s) are you using to motivate you in 2012? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Related articles

• The Best Wallpapers of 2011 [Wallpaper Wednesday] (lifehacker.com)

Did I ever tell you about the time I met Darth Vader and Chewbacca? I didn’t!?! Well, it was only the best day of my life!

Yup, that’s little me with them in the picture above. Just chillin’ with Vader and Chewie, no biggie.

In reality, I have absolutely no memory of this day and if it weren’t for this one polaroid, I never would have remembered that this meeting even took place.

From the look of the smile on the face of my 4 year old self I’m pretty sure that this was the highlight of my life up to that point.

What I do remember is that I, like many children of the 70s, loved Star Wars with a passion. I watched the movies, I re-enacted my favorite scenes with the toys, I read the comics, I listened to the records, I the wore t-shirts & pajamas, and slept under the sheets.

Such an encounter couldn’t have been anything less than magical.

What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you that you can’t remember? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Related articles

• Darth Vader in Commercials Compilation (VIDEO) (blippitt.com)

Photo courtesy of NASA’s flickr.

I am moved by the beauty and majesty of our precious planet. What a wonderful world we have been given! It gives me hope for the future.

I didn’t take this picture, but I hope that some of my tax dollars were spent in paying for it.

Want to participate in the challenge? Head on over to The Daily Post and follow the instructions below.

1. Each week, [they] provide a theme for creative inspiration. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog anytime before the following Friday when the next photo theme will be announced.

2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “Weekly Photo Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use a “postaday2012″ or “postaweek2012″ tag.

3. Subscribe to The Daily Post so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements. Sign up via the email subscription link in the sidebar or RSS.

Now, take a picture that captures this week’s theme and post a link to it in the comments below.

Related articles

• An Amazing High Resolution Photo of the Earth from NASA’s New Polar Satellite (littlegreenfootballs.com)
• NASA’s New Satellite Captures Amazing Hi-Res Image of Earth (mashable.com)
• NASA’s New Blue Marble (mossandfog.com)
• The Most Amazing Highest Resolution Image of Earth Ever (gizmodo.com)
• NASA releases the highest resolution photo of Earth ever taken (technologytell.com)
• NASA Releases New High-Definition Image of Earth (science.slashdot.org)

Image via Wikipedia

Over the years I’ve acquired quite a few valuable technical skills. Many of them are as useful today as they were back when i learned them.

The art of de-gunking a computer mouse is not one of those skills, sadly, and has not held its value.

For my kids’ sake (in the event that they should ever find themselves trapped in the past and the only way to get back to the future is to perform an intricate series of mouse clicks and the darn thing just isn’t responding), below are detailed instructions courtesy of an old 1990s Macintosh Classic factory manual I found several months back.

It’s amazing that so much care went into describing such a mundane and now obsolete process. That’s part of what made Apple’s culture the way it is today.

What’s the most irrelevant technical skill you mastered? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Related articles

• 10 Awesome Accessories Featuring the Vintage Apple Logo [RAINBOWS] (mashable.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder (slightlyinsightful.com)
• Retro Mouse Merges New Technology with Old-Timey Wrist Pain (techland.time.com)

No, really.

This week I felt the tugs of inspiration, but I’m sorry to say that I ate my muse—a breakfast consisting of simple berries.

I love fresh berries. I love their taste, their color, and their texture. They are one of life’s simple pleasures.

Want to participate in the challenge? Head on over to The Daily Post and follow the instructions below.

1. Each week, [they] provide a theme for creative inspiration. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog anytime before the following Friday when the next photo theme will be announced.

2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “Weekly Photo Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use a “postaday2012″ or “postaweek2012″ tag.

3. Subscribe to The Daily Post so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements. Sign up via the email subscription link in the sidebar or RSS.

Now, take a picture that captures this week’s theme and post a link to it in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Sleek. Elegant. Sophisticated.

You could use those three words to describe the DODOcase for iPad 2, but then I’d be forced to call you a pretentious schmuck.

As soon as I got my iPad 2 I knew exactly which case I wanted for it—the DODOcase. I’d read the glowing reviews about it on blogs like Engadget and TUAW, but (more importantly) it fit my own personal criteria. I wanted an iPad case that would do the following:

1. Look great
2. Protect the front and back of my iPad
3. Not announce to the entire world that I have an iPad

I’m happy to report that the DODOcase succeeds on all counts.
For the uninitiated, the DODOcase looks like a large Moleskine notebook.

DODOcases are made using traditional bookbinding processes right here in the good old US of A. The do a fantastic job of telling their own story here.

For about six months I’ve been extremely satisfied with my DODOcase purchase. The other day, however, I noticed that the bamboo frame of the case had a large crack in one of the corners and was precariously close to falling off completely.

I wrote a quick note to customer service describing the issue and explaining my concern that the case hadn’t lasted longer. I also and attached the image below to my note.

One minute later, I had a response. That’s not a typo. That’s not an exaggeration. Let me say it again. One minute later, I had a response.

The email was from a real, live human being who apologized for the problem, thanked me for sending them the picture and provided full resolution in their first communication.

The customer service agent advised me that super glue might work, but also offered to send me a replacement. I chose the latter and three days later I had my new DODOcase.

DODOcase Bookplate

Ever since advent of overseas call centers fueled by large corporations’ rise in apathy over the care of the people who buy their products and services we have come to expect poor customer service. Sadly, a company that cares about those who pay its bills is the exception and not the norm.

DODOcase is that exception. They are the Nordstroms of iPad cases. They sell fine products at a premium, but not only are you getting an excellent product, more importantly, you know that they will stand by their products and treat you right.

I’ll warrant that my DODOcase gets at least as many stares as my iPad itself. Everyone compliments me on my handsome notebook and if when they get the chance to look inside they’re even more impressed.

Are you willing to pay more for a premium product or premium customer service? Have you found a company or product you like that offers both? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Related articles

• DODOcase wins TUAW Best of 2011 award for iPad cases (tuaw.com)
• President Obama likes his iPad 2 wrapped up in a DODOcase (thenextweb.com)
• DODOcase Adds Monogramming, Auto Wake/Sleep Magnet To Their iPad 2 Cases (techcrunch.com)
• Customer Love: DODOcase (mailchimp.com)

Check out PopRocksCandy.com and see how many of the biggest web design mistakes it’s guilty of.

What’s the ugliest site you’ve seen lately? Sound off in the comments below.

All images via my flickr

Related articles

• 82-Year-Old Grandma Tries Pop Rocks for the First Time (neatorama.com)

Image via Wikipedia

When I was a kid, something magical happened each Friday night. The whole family gathered around the TV to watch The Muppets until we laughed ourselves silly.

No skit has had more enduring appeal to me than a very special, Star Wars themed Pigs in Space.

Luke Skywalker, Artoo, Threepio, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, & more stared in spectacularly unforgettable sketch.

To my young, impressionable mind this was coolest thing that had ever happened in the history of the universe.

What was your favorite Muppet moment? Sound off in the comments below.

Image via Wikipedia

In September of 1785 Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to his nephew, Peter Carr. Jefferson imparted sage guidance to the young Carr in the correspondence which can be of benefit to any who read it.

Below are seven of my favorite axioms from the Founding Father’s letter.

• “Encourage all your virtuous dispositions, and exercise them whenever an opportunity arises; being assured that they will gain strength by exercise, as a limb of the body does, and that exercise will make them habitual.”

• “There is no habit you will value so much as that of walking without fatigue.”

• “Rise at a fixed and an early hour, and go to bed at a fixed and early hour also…Sitting up late at night is injurious to the health, and not useful to the mind.”

• “A strong body makes the mind strong.”

• “Husband well your time, cherish your instructions, strive to make every body your friend…”

• “He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time”

• “If you ever find yourself environed with difficulties and perplexing circumstances, out of which you are at a loss how to extricate yourself, do what is right, and be assured that that will extricate you the best out of the worst situations.”

Jefferson’s counsel to his kinsman rings as true today as it did over two hundred years ago. I find them especially applicable now at the beginning of a new year when so many of us take the time to analyze our lives and strive for improvement.

Which of Jefferson’s tips would benefit you the most? Sound off in the comments below.

Related articles

• Thomas Jefferson… (pjchamp.wordpress.com)