Browse: Page 49
By J. Timothy King on December 19, 2007
I wasn’t going to write about this, but it was such a juicy tidbit, I just had to pass it along. So I looked at all of my colleagues, who begged me to keep it quiet, I looked them straight in the eye and told them, frankly, to buzz off. This is an exceedingly valuable tip for small businesses, I just couldn’t in good conscience keep it a secret.
Peter Drucker declared, in one of the most important chapters of his landmark volume The Effective Executive:
Effective executives know that time is the limiting factor. The output limits of any process are set by the scarcest resource. In the process we call “accomplishment,” this is time. Continue reading “Ha! I KNEW Peter Drucker was Wrong!”
Posted in Humor, Leadership, Management, Time & Productivity
By J. Timothy King on December 11, 2007
I usually don’t do memes, because (a) they don’t interest me or (b) they’re too long or (c) they require too much research. (Seriously.) But I saw this one over on Alison Kent’s blog and thought it was just interesting enough, and just the right length, and required just the right amount of research. 10 questions about me and Christmas.
1. What is your favorite Christmas romance to re-read each year? Ah, that’s a trick question. I don’t have a favorite Christmas romance. In fact, I’ve never even read a “Christmas” romance (as far as I remember). And that’s really ironic, because my very first story idea, the one that inspired me to learn to write fiction, that story idea was a Christmas romance. Fortunately, I was aware enough to figure out that I had no idea what the heck I was doing, and I put the project on the shelf until I learned a little more. That was a long time ago, and I never got back to that project. And good thing, too, because the project as it stands now is completely unworkable (which I didn’t know back then). I do know what needs to be done to make it workable, and maybe some day I’ll get back to it. Even though the original story idea itself will probably never see the light of day, some of the characters, though largely undeveloped, still occupy a special place in my heart. I’d like to think that someday I’ll tell their story.
2. What is your favorite Christmas movie or show? Continue reading “The Christmas Meme”
Posted in About Tim King |
By J. Timothy King on December 9, 2007
These are some of the best holiday gifts you can give a blogger. And the best thing about them is they’re absolutely free!
Clayton Makepeace put me onto this idea, and it struck a chord, even though he doesn’t even have a blog. He has an e-zine. Actually, this is also the best gift you can give to someone who publishes his own e-zine or writes for any kind of opt-in email list.
If you’ve never heard of Clayton Makepeace, he’s a world-class, old-school copywriter. His story is like that of many self-made people. At the end of his rope, broke, surviving on Ramen noodles (or however it goes), he learned how to write killer copy, and he got rich. Of course, somewhere in there were many, many hours of work. That’s the part of the story the get-rich-quick schemers never tell you, the many, many hours of work. But Clayton always levels with you regarding that part of the story, and I appreciate it. Continue reading “2 Virtual Holiday Gifts Bloggers Love to Get”
Posted in Marketing, Writing |
By J. Timothy King on November 30, 2007
Here’s one of those blog comments I started to write, and then I discovered I was getting so deeply into it, I had to write a blog post. Ben Arment on his trés kewl blog, History in the Making, posted a couple links to a theological controversy that’s been making the Internet. It’s one of these stupid theological controversies that really gets my goat, because both sides are acting like immature little children. And in the process, they miss the most important part of who God is and–more importantly–what that means to you and me.
Here’s the gist: One side says God is angry at us, because God is holy but we are all sinners, and that “the phrase ‘God hates the sin but loves the sinner’ was invented by a Hindu.” The other side says, on the contrary, that God is not angry at us and has never been angry with us, because he loves us.
OK. I’m officially confused. God is angry at sinners; therefore, he hates us?
I get angry at my kids when they disobey me and do stupid, self-destructive things, but I still love them. In fact, it’s when I’m the angriest with them that I do the most to remind them that I love them. None of this even touches on what scripture says God is like. And it completely ignores how important this is to our personal character. Continue reading “Does God Get Angry? Or Does He Love Us?”
Posted in Christianity, Love and Relationships, Personal Improvement, Religion |
By J. Timothy King on November 26, 2007
A quick one: Ran into this recently on a client’s AdWords campaign. At first, it really confused me. The ads weren’t showing? Why not?! Because they aren’t allowed? Why not? On the “details and recommendations” page, Google provided a link to explain why not…
I clicked on the link and discovered it was just their terms of service. Huh? I re-reviewed the terms of service for the zillionth time and… there’s nothing wrong with the campaign, and there’s nothing wrong with the keywords, and there’s nothing wrong with the ads. And it wasn’t even a human being who “disallowed” these ads, because I had just then added them.
I was just about to dig out the contact info for Google AdWords support, when I discovered that the ads were in fact running. But the UI still said they were disallowed. Maybe, I thought, it’s because I just now added this ad group, and it’s going to take a little while for the correct information to percolate through Google’s system.
Well, here’s a screenshot from a little while later, after all the latest status has clearly bubbled to the UI.
Continue reading “Reason #217 Why Google AdWords Makes Me Laugh”
Posted in Marketing
By J. Timothy King on November 22, 2007
I want to wish everyone in the U.S. a happy Thanksgiving. I myself will be spending the day with family. And I hope that wherever you are, you’ll find love and happiness there.
You’ve probably noticed I’m posting much more on this blog of late. That’s because I’m actually writing again… seriously writing. That is, I’m pursuing it professionally. That’s why BeTheStory.com has a new graphical theme, because I’ve made that site and this parts of a larger group of sites. I talked about this earlier, “Changes: Fading Out of the Software Business.”
I’ve linked 4 sites together as part of this strategy:
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www.JTimothyKing.com – The central hub. It contains links to all my sites, contact information, a selection of stories and articles I’ve written, and links to featured online offers.
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blog.JTimothyKing.com – This site, my personal blog, previously at www.JTSE.com/blog. Here, I used to talk about business, professionalism, and software development. I’ still talk about these things, but I also talk about writing, personal experiences, stories I’ve written, and religion and politics.
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BeTheStory.com – My writing site. All about how to write a story, and how to become a better writer. And since becoming a better writer involves analyzing others’ stories, I’ll continue to post reviews and analysis of books, film, and TV. And video games, if I get around to it. Expect my future reviews to be less general and more about the properties of the storytelling. Be the Story uses the same software as this blog, and you can subscribe to new posts via RSS or email.
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shop.JTimothyKing.com – My online store, not yet active. Right now, it redirects to 1001 Character Quirks, which is being distributed through ClickBank. But I have plans to make it a full online store, directly distributing both electronic and physical products. That is, as soon as I work the kinks out of the e-commerce software.
Most of my time of late has been spent paying the bills (i.e., doing work for paying clients) and writing The Conscience of Abe’s Turn and other fiction. But this shift in focus, or rather a clarification in focus, also means I’m writing more for Be the Story and for my blog. So expect much more content.
-TimK
Posted in About Tim King
By J. Timothy King on November 21, 2007
Here’s something I rarely do on this blog, but since this blog has become more about what makes me unique, and less exclusively about software development and entrepreneurship… Here’s a topic I’m very passionate about, but I rarely have time to write about anymore. Two topics, actually: Religion and politics.
If you might become offended, tune out now. Don’t say you weren’t warned. Continue reading “Here’s Talking about Religion and Politics”
Posted in About Tim King, Christianity, Libertarian, Politics, Religion |
By J. Timothy King on November 17, 2007
Another TV Dr. drinking game, to add to the Dr. House Drinking Game, and hopefully the second of a long series.
I borrowed the Bones DVD’s from my parents, and now I’m hooked. More importantly, this show looks like it would make a good drinking game. Here are a few rules. Please add more rules in the comments!
Cheers,
-TimK
The Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan Drinking Game
Continue reading “The Dr. Temperance “Bones†Brennan Drinking Game”
Posted in Entertainment, Television | Tagged Bones, drinking game, TV |
By J. Timothy King on November 15, 2007
I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to. I got pushed in, as it were. That’s one of the things I hate about swimming in the jury pool; no one ever does so by choice. The other thing I hate is that it’s filled with shark-infested water. In this age of big-brother paranoia, there are two places I avoid if I can: government facilities and airports. But today’s jury pool experience was different than others I’ve experienced before. It seems, the Massachusetts court system has discovered the value of a good story. Continue reading “Yesterday I Went Swimming in the Jury Pool”
Posted in Stories, True Stories, Writing | Tagged jury duty |
