I May Not Be Right

A Hope and a Wish

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:48:31 GMT

The first 1:22 of a new song called A Hope and a Wish, dedicated to my daughters. You get to hear me sing, and not badly either =)

It's Official

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:54:51 GMT

I'm moving to Orange, CA on the 19th - but on the way, I'm visiting an old HS buddy in Florida the 17th. Of course, this means I will be at the next Resurrection, wearing the new costume.

I don't know when or even if I will be back, since Will is moving with me, and California has been my dream for so long as I can remember.

My back is feeling a bit better. Last night I developed a bit of a cough trying to get phlegm up. In the process of coughing gently so as not to aggravate my back, I developed a sore throat, and eventually couldn't stop coughing all through the night. That proved to be a good exercise for my back - I could walk first thing this morning - but my voice, on the other hand, is pretty much shot.

If I Play My Cards Right...

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 04:55:41 GMT

Every logical decision points in the same direction. Its time to take that direction.

If you need to get in touch with me, LiveJournal, MySpace, and Facebook are not the places for it. I will not check those for at least a few weeks.

I'm disappearing off the face of your known planet, and if you know the planet I am going to, then you also know how and when to reach me - and why I'm going.

For those of you that know my tendencies, and the other methods of reaching me - I beg you, don't let me go too far, because I can... all too easily.

My Bible

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:42:58 GMT

There's a certain kind of clarity that comes from reading Atlas Shrugged. A perfect joy from knowing one's virtue is right.

Care, Trust, and World Peace

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:43:06 GMT

When you start caring about someone, it changes the whole dynamic of not just your relationship with them, but your relationship with yourself.

Let's break this down a bit. Say you care about someone. You care that they make it home safe. You care that they had a good day. You care that they smile.

You care about what they have to say. You care about their opinions. And here is the most important one - you care about their opinion of you.

Now it's interesting to note that as a child, you are taught not to care what others think of you - to do as you please, and to please yourself.

Yet that is the inverse of what happens when you care about someone else. So if we are taught to not care what others think of us, then aren't we being taught not to care about others?

You could say that is extreme - but let me assure you it is not as black and white as it may appear. Some people care more about people than others. Those that care the least about another's opinion of them, tend to care the least about people in general.

This isn't to say one overall careless person could not open their heart to a few individuals, but it would surely be more difficult than for someone more caring.

Of course, caring isn't the only factor - trust plays a very large role. In order to care about someone's opinion, you must first trust that person's judgment and ability to form a sound opinion.

An example. I was the little girl that "cared too much" about what others thought of me. I was also the one to walk up to a stranger and open a conversation. Inherently, I was very trusting and caring.

Einstein once said, "the most important question for man to answer is 'is the universe a friendly place?'" - I believe he is right.

When you believe the universe is a friendly place, you openly trust - and when you openly trust, you openly care. And that is perhaps what needs to happen in order for world peace to ever become more than an hopeless ideal.

So teach your children to care about others' opinions. Maybe then they can realize the peaceful happy world we've always wanted for our future generations.

Making Decisions Without Television

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:37:28 GMT

Newest video on youtube.com/mayobrains =)

(P.S. That's Jamie)

Propagating Fear

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:33:31 GMT

I don't know exactly when it happened, but sometime ago I decided to secede from politics. On either side of the coin, you have idiots in "independent media" that are using the very same tactics as major media outlets to spread a message.

Chew on this excerpt for just a moment:

A survey of the carnage: The Charlotte Observer will cut 123 jobs, or 11 percent of its workforce. The Miami Herald plans 250 job cuts, 17 percent of workers there. The Herald-Leader in Lexington, Ky. is dropping 17 positions. In Raleigh, N.C., the News & Observer is cutting a total of 70 jobs, 16 of them in the newsroom.

Doesn't that make you fear today's U.S. economy? Notice how he is using percentages to make it seem larger. Even if it is only on a subliminal level, these kinds of facts are going straight to your fear gland.

What if we instead looked at some historical data? I bet you would find relatively similar numbers. He does have one valid point, however:

But not all will suffer equally. As the Lexington Newspaper Guild pointedly observed, McClatchy gave CEO Gary Pruitt an $800,000 bonus last year and just hired a new corporate vice president, even as the company's stock was spiraling downward...

Nevertheless, the point of this article is to point out the necessity of independent media. Yet all of those fear-inducing numbers don't have to get brought up.

The reason is simple: corporate media is corrupt.

ANALYSIS: Big Media cuts show independent media still essential

by Chris Kromm

Reports that newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. is slashing 1,400 jobs this month -- 10 percent of its national workforce -- sent shockwaves through the media industry and served as a grim reminder of the precarious state of newspapers.

But McClatchy's massive bloodletting raised a bigger question: When newspapers don't have reporters, who's keeping the public informed and shedding light on the state of democracy?

The cuts will be especially hard in the South, where McClatchy owns 15 newspapers. And although McClatchy insists cuts in news reporting will be less than seen at Gannett and other chains, newsrooms will definitely feel the knife.

A survey of the carnage: The Charlotte Observer will cut 123 jobs, or 11 percent of its workforce. The Miami Herald plans 250 job cuts, 17 percent of workers there. The Herald-Leader in Lexington, Ky. is dropping 17 positions. In Raleigh, N.C., the News & Observer is cutting a total of 70 jobs, 16 of them in the newsroom.

But not all will suffer equally. As the Lexington Newspaper Guild pointedly observed, McClatchy gave CEO Gary Pruitt an $800,000 bonus last year and just hired a new corporate vice president, even as the company's stock was spiraling downward:

The Guild does not believe it is humane when employees who have put in a lifetime of service to McClatchy and KnightRidder are thrown to the curb, while McClatchy's excessive corporate bureaucracy remains untouched.

McClatchy's corporate mindset -- so common in today's Big Media -- offers clues to the real problems facing newspapers. It's not necessarily readership: As McClatchy admits, online readership grew 41 percent in the first quarter of 2008. The problem is an economic mismatch between declining ad revenues and shareholder demands for high profit margins on one hand, and the money needed for in-depth reporting on the other.

Profit-driven journalism doesn't just shrink the number of reporters readers can count on to do in-depth reporting -- it also affects the kind of coverage we get.

For example, stories about the economy are usually told from the standpoint of business -- not everyday workers and consumers. A new study by the Center for American Progress finds that TV and newspaper economic coverage heavily tilts towards the viewpoint of economic elites. In stories on the minimum wage and trade, "the views of businesses were sourced more than one-and-a-half times as frequently as those of workers," the study found. In stories on unemployment, "businesses were quoted or cited over six times as frequently as were workers."

So much for the "liberal media."

Big Media will always be motivated to chase higher profits -- and the news coverage that will guarantee big returns. But democracy demands a different bottom line -- especially today. As journalist Bill Moyers said in his speech to the National Conference on Media Reform earlier this month in Minnesota:

[W]hat we need to know to make democracy work for all Americans is compromised by media institutions deeply embedded in the power structures of society ... [O]ur dominant media are ultimately accountable only to corporate boards whose mission is not "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for the whole body of our republic, but the aggrandizement of corporate executives and shareholders; organizations whose self-styled mandate is not holding public and private power accountable so there is an equilibrium in society, but aggregating their interlocking interests; organizations whose reward comes from the manufacturing of news and information as profitable consumer commodities rather than the means to empower morally responsible citizens.

As Thomas Jefferson said, "Information is the currency of democracy." In-depth coverage and hard-hitting investigative reporting is vital to the health of our politics and culture -- whether it turns a buck or not. The need for fearless, independent media -- like Facing South and others -- is needed now more than ever.

You can do your part to support independent media and investigative reporting with a donation to the Institute's Investigative Reporting Fund. Please visit here to make your tax-deductible contribution today.

Now, My Aim

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:47:08 GMT

Never have my own place again. It's too hard to move out.
Minimize my things to that which will fit in a few bags.
Always have toiletries, a snack, a bottle for water, and a knife.
Must have: a laptop.

A Bit of Down Time

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:50:07 GMT

I'm currently "stuck" in Atlanta, GA with halafax. Not that I mind it at all - well, the part about being with him, at least. Atlanta just has a negative vibe. Not quite my cup of tea.

Minneapolis, on the other hand - I fell in love with the city on first sight. From the plane I saw all kinds of rivers and lakes. So watery. So beautiful.

Then once I got to the ground, it almost felt like home right away. It just felt so comfortable. Sure I still got stared at, but that happens everywhere. The looks were different though.

Curiosity, instead of scorn.

Welcome, instead of "stranger alert."

I soon came to discover that "my kind of people" are plentiful in Minneapolis. Not to mention the city is just absolutely gorgeous. The downtown is the biggest I've ever seen (mind you, I've never been to NY, NY), and the architecture is just stunning.

Housing prices are comparable to NH, downtown at least, but a little less expensive. Yes, I'm seriously considering it. Like I said, I fell in love. The air is cleaner, the city is meticulously clean, public transit is awesome, most people get around by bicycle, and everything is right there at your fingertips.

I've always thought of myself as a coastal bug, but Minneapolis changed my mind. Sure the winters are rumored to be absolutely awful, but again comparable to NH, and the summers rarely get over 90 degrees because of the lake effect.

So I've been thinking about the possibilities of that the last couple days while kicking back with halafax. It's been a nice relaxing couple of days - just what I needed. My feet are back to their normal size, and things are coming into perspective.

So what if I've got $4.42 to my name for now. That will change soon enough =)

People of the Woodwork

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:52:56 GMT

Is it right?
...does it matter?

Probably not.

It's time to let go,
and just hold on.

Dropping a "bad habit" caused hair loss...

Sun, 18 May 2008 23:48:48 GMT

I just figured out why my hair could take being dyed every 30 days...

I drank a lot of coffee (like, 8 cups a day), ate a ton of tuna (with heavy mayonnaise, which is eggs), preferred turkey over any other cold cut, and snacked on peanuts and dry cereal.

All of which are high sources of Niacin and Biotin.

Lately I've been having heavy hair loss. Come to find out, it's because I dropped my "bad habits." I haven't had a single cup of coffee in over 6 months, I don't eat tuna nearly as much, turkey replaced it but it's not as good as tuna+mayo, and I try to stay away from the peanuts and cereal.

Funny how that works...

Brain... fried

Sat, 17 May 2008 07:23:48 GMT

Lately I find myself writing here when I'm stuck.

Too much is on my plate. I'm at that crossroads again. The things that make the most money are also taking up the largest amount of my mind space... not clear enough to take on what will propel me into my future.

Too much is foggy now.

I know it will all make sense soon. I know it will all fall into place in a couple of weeks. That is my pattern... but is it a pattern I can break? I don't like this periodic limbo...

If You're a Techie That KNOWS ISP's - Please Help Me Out

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:07:40 GMT

Kyle, Brian, I'm talkin' to you... mainly. But if you're reading this and you follow, can you let me know what's up?

Last night at about 2am, my 'net connection shit the bed. I figure it's no different from the 7 other times I've had this same issue since getting Charter in February, so I start the process.

You know - recycle the modem, and if that doesn't work, call Charter and wait on hold for 20 minutes so they can recycle the signal. Well, that didn't work this time.

So this tech has me go to 192.168.100.1 to check on my modem's signal strength. Now, I'm also on a dynamic IP, which I think is why my connection randomly shits the bed and needs a good kick in the... signal.

Well, last night my "Receive Power Level" was pretty happy, hovering around 0 dBmV (apparently -13 to +13 is kosher). However, my "Transmit Power Level" was maxed out at 55 dBmV. Closer to 30 is definitely better. FYI, my modem is a WebSTAR DPC2100R2.

The earliest they can send a tech to check on my wires is May 1st. I don't think it's that because, without touching a thing, I am typing this right now. It's a nice gift to wake up to 'net access, let me tell you.

Currently, my "Transmit Power Level" is 49. A little earlier today it was 47.8. I have already set up to get Charter Business, which will double my 'net bill, but gives me a static IP and a static tech - one go-to guy. Which, so far I'm none too happy about because Eric seems to be clueless about this stuff.

I'm debating on whether I should go ahead as planned and trade my modem today, or buy a real modem. I'm not sure whether it's my connection speed that's the issue, which is 5M by 512K. I could upgrade to 1G by 3M at almost double the already doubled price, which might solve yet more problems... or might not.

So help me out here. What's the real problem?

I iz proud 'o meself

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:44:40 GMT

see more crazy cat pics

It's not even the end of April yet, and I've already more than tripled what I earned in March. Of course, half of April was basically wasted in terms of earnings, and totals half of what I earned in March - or, 16% of April's earnings.

That is thanks in large part to my virtual assistant (as I tweeted earlier, if you're curious about getting a virtual assistant, check out http://tinyurl.com/5bpf2m & http://tinyurl.com/5bhk8j)

I've been working on releasing several ebooks and courses - one at a time of course - but I've been doing a lot of reading in preparation. 6 ebooks this week already... and that's on top of earning about $800 this week... all thanks to the free time afforded by having a virtual assistant.

I just can't believe how much I've gotten done. It's insanely awesome!

Bummer?

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:36:14 GMT

The Bad(?) News: I'm not working full time at NowSourcing anymore - for reasons which I cannot state due to NDA, but we're still on great terms.

The Good News: That gives me time to pursue more clients... of which I already have a few regulars.

We shall see.

Karma Pre-Pays When You Have Good (K)redit

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 04:21:35 GMT

Either that, or I have one kick ass network.

I now have 4 clients + NowSourcing, and a probono pet project. I'm not doing any marketing to get these clients. I just fuck around on Twitter and Linkedin.

Recently, for the probono pet project, I reached out to my network to see if I could get a guru in the field for the next podcast. 20 minutes and 1 email later, I had my guru.

Things are good. Yes. Things are quite good ^.^

It's a Blessing Being Busy

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:03:10 GMT

Writing for so many blogs has given me one definitive blessing - a lack of time.

In one of my previous posts, a commenter tried to start a flame war with me. In the past, a defamatory comment on my blog would get an instant half-assed response and rebuttal, and that flame would eventually turn into a 6,000 comment thread of cheap shots and bickering - no matter my attempts at being diplomatic.

But now that I didn't have the time to reply immediately, much less even read the comment when it cropped up, it has given me two weeks to think it over and come back with a very reasonable response - one which the commenter in question couldn't help but agree with.

Heh. I should have less time more often! ^.^

Vicious Circle

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:59:21 GMT

An animated exploration of the dichotomous relationship between nature and humans.

AtomFilms.com: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central

Amazing

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 06:56:00 GMT

I just took a step back to look at everything I'm actually doing... and it's amazing how I'm even able to keep up.

Writing regularly and professionally for FIVE blogs - ComHacker, NowSourcing, and 3 client blogs. (with the help of research from my assistant)
Guest blogging (the newest one will be on Remarkablogger later today)
Maintaining and promoting 5 Twitter accounts.
Redesigning a website for, and collaborating with, one of my own clients.
Making arrangements to attend my first conference in June.
Managing 3 PPC campaigns. (with the help of research from my assistant)
Consistently performing SEO related work for several of my own and NowSourcing's clients.
Pitching new clients. (with the help of my assistant)
Pitching magazines for submissions (which are constantly being researched by my assistant)
Going to Toastmasters meetings.
Getting an agent with Monitor Talent. (it's a very interesting, but long, evaluation process)
And of course, the Wordpress weekly podcasts. (although there wasn't one this week since Jeff was at PodCamp)

Believe it or not, all of that is toward the same end - and I'm NOT overwhelmed! I pick and choose when I work - that, in and of itself, solves the majority of any problems that could arise.

I (very) temporarily took a pay cut leaving MasterNewMedia, because all the free time I have now lets me do everything I've always wanted - but on my terms.

It's astounding what you can do when your time is your own.

Doing it Wrong, All Along

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:58:13 GMT

Ever have one of those "duh" moments where you realize something you think is profound, but should have been thoroughly apparent? Yeah, just had one of those.

I learn through feeling.

I do through logic.

In other words, I don't learn the same way I do the things I'm best at. I'm best at working with numbers, analytics, statistics - "hard" facts. But that isn't the stuff that sticks with me and becomes an applied skill.

I learn through intuition and feeling - applied skills are those ingrained in my "gut feeling." The "hard" facts aren't consciously remembered by the time I'm good at any given skill. It just feels right.

Take for instance, several years ago when I was writing a commissioned blog (spreadingthought.blogspot.com, or the former Mayobrains.com for those that have been around that long), the proprietor of the company said I should write in beat poetry and prose.

I didn't know what the heck it was, but with a nudge and a notion, I went for it. Somehow, I had a knack for that kind of flow and alliteration.

I didn't count my syllables, didn't pine over rhyme, and I paid no heed to speed or any other such nonsensical analysis. I just read it aloud, and if it rolled from my lips and "felt" right, I went with it. I'm much the same with spelling and grammar.

All this time I've been trying to learn new skills, but I have been obsessing over getting all the reports and statistics that I can - because numbers and "hard" facts are my most favorite thing in the world - but without much success.

Now I know why.

Breaking Through

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:30:06 GMT

How do you get
a REAL message
through to people
who want nothing more than
300 words, pretty pictures, and 60 second videos?

...and I'm not just talking about netizens either...

Permed it again...

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 04:20:11 GMT

Ok, so it's been like, what, five days since I last updated...

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 06:15:11 GMT

I was officially announced on the NowSourcing blog yesterday. Since then it's gotten 45 Sphinns (which means it front-paged), 35 Mixxes (also front-page material), and people were re-tweeting it left and right. Who knew a post about me would be so valuable to internet marketers?

I guess this means I'm now a suck-up-able online personality. Proof of that is in the comments on the post, and the 40+ people who followed me on Twitter today. My following is at 306 for now, but that's liable to change any minute =P (yep, I just got another follower)

Right now I'm just waiting for a client to sign off on a $1,000+ freelance gig and taking care of some things for NowSourcing. It's been busy, but really really fun. It especially helps that Brian knows how to manage people - he's actually the person who sent me the image above.

He has even kinda worked around me and set up a wiki ^.^ You have no idea how happy that makes me, especially with the double digit accounts I'm managing right now. That's not their value - that's how many I'm handling.

You know, there's a very real difference between doing lots of different things the same way, vs. lots of the same things in different ways each time. It's not nearly as rewarding to do the same set of tasks over and over, as it is to use the same methods in different applications each time.

At NowSourcing, the goal is always the same, but the ways to get there are always different. Lots of people have said I just belong in marketing. Although I dreamed of being in an advertising agency, the only real difference is where the ads are going and what we call our service.

Who knew I would end up here? Looking at the steps to get here, you could almost call it methodical - but I really had no freaking clue what I was doing. My intuition just pointed me in a direction, and I went for it. Thank you Will for teaching me to trust my gut =)

Maybe Fate does exist, and maybe our Fate is written in stone - but our Free Will is to either use thy Fate, or strive against it...

In other news, I just bought a 1GB RAM stick, and it's headed my way. Looks like it will be here Friday according to UPS ^.^ I've also picked out my second monitor. Looking forward to buying that when the first check from my freelance gig comes in =D

I'm pretty seriously considering getting a modem tho. The one Charter gave me keeps crapping out. I changed the wires though, and that seems to have fixed the issue. We'll see.

This Friday we're going to Beaufort to see some family, so I'm doing that week-before-3-day-vacation crunch with work. Of course, it's great that I CAN take some time away from all gadgets and not be tied to them, like I was at MNM. Yay for no time-dependent requirements ^.^

Catch ya'll later. Hopefully I'll get a chance to read my friends page in the next few days =P

Patricia Mayo Leaves MasterNewMedia.org, Joins NowSourcing.com

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:25:56 GMT

"The blogosphere ooo'd and aaah'd as one new media giant stole a valuable player from another."

I wish.

Ok, "valuable player" might well be true. =P "New media giants" certainly is. But did the blogosphere notice? Nah. *shrugs* Doesn't matter - I'm a Social Media Strategist for NowSourcing.com now ^.^

I even have my own @nowsourcing.com email! =D

I did some keyword research today. That was fun. It's the kind of brain-stretching work I've been begging for =) Tomorrow, I write for blogs ^.^ And Saturday... Saturday is a guaranteed day off - w00t! I get one of those now - days off. Yeah. Didn't think that would ever happen.

And my job is really fun - like seriously. We played around on Facebook - I bought Brian (my boss), and now he says he doesn't have to pay me anymore =P BUT, he has to listen to what I say... lol

I also signed a non-disclosure agreement today. So, sorry - no specifics. Lovin' the gig though =D

Note to Self: Interviews are Time Consuming

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:40:11 GMT

I just spent the last 4 hours answering 12 questions from Associated Content author Donald Pennington. Don't get me wrong, it was fun - but it really took a huge chunk of the day away from finishing up v2 of the ComHacker design.

Although, I'm sure in the end it will balance out =)

I should've known better though. Last week's WordPress Weekly interview ran over an hour, and that's spoken (they didn't start grilling me until after the show though).

LOL, I just remembered, I got an email from TalkShoe today and I was so excited thinking it was the notice for the firm date of next week's show. Come to find out it was just a general notice and I got sooo disgusted lol

It's going to be so super awesome co-hosting a podcast ^.^

(gawd, if anyone told me two years ago I'd be here now, I would've sent 'em to the loony bin)