Jake’s Life

The eco-friendly janitorial site I finished was published today. The other day I received a signed contract for a larger project, and yesterday I began speaking with a new potential client over another larger project. I also switched car insurers, which saves me about $70 per month on my policy. If anyone else has any money they’d like to drop in my lap, I won’t turn you away. Seriously.

I’ve found some really good community sites out there pertaining to freelancing and working in the web field contract-based, and have been listening to the podcasts at Freelance Switch lately. Here’s some more interesting articles and sites relating to web working:

Legalese for Freelancers: Creating a Contract

Nine Factors to Consider When Determining Your Price

Building Credibility: 11 Ways to Show You’re a Professional

Web Worker Daily — The Why & How of Firing Clients

Web Worker Daily — Get Organized: Keep All Your Work in One Place

…Evernote is my choice… (see above link)

12 Breeds of Client and How to Work With Them

I’m very self-critical: I have expressed this on my blog in the past, either proactively or through my natural writings. Some of you that have talked to me, and all of my friends, know how self-critical I am, but that I balance it with confidence. The main issues I find myself harping on myself for are my weight and fitness, my finances, and my place in life (largely because of my finances).

I’m tall, he’s short: Some of you noticed this from photos of us, but I’m 6’4’’, 200 (-ish) pounds, and Sandro is 5’3’’ and 135. This makes for some interesting looks at us when we’re in public together because I look older than I am, and he looks young enough to be in high school.

I’m an organized chaotic: Everything in my life is organized. For instance, I have a calendar with due dates and amounts for all my bills, I constantly check them online, I have a to-do list on my desk at all times (I recently converted from a notepad to a small dry-erase board), and I set tasks for myself each weekend and constantly monitor them. I do have an issue with procrastinating though, including responding to blog posts and comments. I also have issues with actually completing the tasks instead of staring at them on my list.

I only own one firearm: My pride and joy, a Springfield XD .45 ACP. Classic black, tactical rail standard, 1911 style grip safety and angle, no external hammer (it has a firing pin indicator on the back to show that’s it’s cocked), and a chambered round indicator (a small nub which sticks up on the top of the slide to let you know there’s a round in the pipe). I originally was planning to buy a Glock 22 (.40) but a friend let me shoot his XD and I fell in love with it. I prefer Hydrashok rounds, in case you were wondering. I have been promised a one year anniversary firearm though…hmmm, what to get? (No Adam, an AR-15 is out of the question.)

I love doing nothing: My week usually kicks the crap out of me. You’d think driving around for ten hours is easy, but it’s not. I think the fatigue is more mental because I juggle driving, anticipating others’ driving, radio, cell phone, Nextel, MDT, and am constantly having to be aware of what’s going on around me and my vehicle. By the time I get home my brain is fried. On my weekend, I love sitting around and watching TV, spending time with Sandro, and find it hard to respond to e-mails/blog comments and post comments to others’ blogs because of how much time I spend looking at a computer screen during my week.

While not the most prestigious award ceremony (mostly it consists of me typing, you reading, and me having a beer to celebrate), and superficial at best, here they are. They are mainly from the blogs I read daily or have on my blogroll. If you’re not here and think you should be, send me an e-mail.

Just remember…my blog is the USS Enterprise, and I am Captain Picard. Make it so, bitches.

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Most Insightful Blog

Spo-Reflections

 

Spo-Reflections is a blog that I’ve followed for a long time but only recently added to my blogroll, mainly due to laziness in organizing my Google Reader feeds. From his reasons for choosing the name Ur-Spo as his blogger pen name to the categories he posts in on blog, you can tell he’s a shrink. No, seriously, he is.

Blogger I’d Mind Meld With

jay+gay=me

Jay blogs pretty frequently, and it’s always usually about something that makes you think. He’s originally from the Caribbean, and from what I hear coming out in any way, shape, or form there is really hard to do, and I think his coming out process and inner battle with his sexuality was a big more epic than most’s are. I’d love to take a peek inside his head and see what’s in there.

Favorite Windows Mobile Blog

The Boy Genius Report

 

Anyone who reads my blog knows I’m a big fan of Windows Mobile and other mobile technologies. While I subscribe to several blogs that cover that topic, if I had to choose one it would be The Boy Genius Report. Besides the news stories, reviews, and un-boxings, there are also several photo galleries of different devices.

Wordpress Jedi

Lorelle On Wordpress

If you are just starting with Wordpress, or you’ve been using it since the beginning, you can learn from Master Lorelle. This blog provides so much information on the Wordpress blogging platform it’s sickening. From the small tweaks to fix something only you are bothered by to the good ol’ overhaul you’ve been planning, and everything in between. Bookmark, subscribe, however you do it, but read it. Cheesy as it may sound, the Force is strong in this one, hrmm, yes.

Biggest Fan Award

Path to Enlightened Insanity via Defacted Musings

Here’s one blogger that likes me! Seriously though, during my Coming Out posts he said some nice things about me, and between our IM chats and talks on the phone he has always been there when and if I needed him.

Gayest Blogger

A Boy’s Life…in Utah

Maybe I’m alone in this one, but of all of the blogs I read daily, this one seems like the blogger is sipping a diet cola, legs crossed, E! on the TV in the background, and Christina Aguilera as the ringtone for the celly.

Heartthrob Blogger

Troystopher

Seriously though, you’ve seen pictures, right? One of the first I ever saw of him was one holding a baby girl, and my heart melted. His blog is private now but if you’re lucky enough he’ll give you access.

Solitary Blog Award

Our View on Superior

I’ll be honest here, this is what love should be. While the blogger is monogamously partnered and technically isn’t living in solitude, I get the feeling through his wording and the overall feel of his blog that if he were to live alone in the entire world, not another soul in sight or in mind, save for his partner, he’d be alright with that.

Blogger I’d Stalk

Paint The Blog Orange

Well seriously, V. Jay, what do you expect? You dangle carrots in front of my face, giving me tiny bites of your blogging goodness, then disappear for a week at a time. How else am I supposed to get my fix unless I follow you around, take photos, set up video surveillance in your bedroom, and put a tail on you?

Blog I Look Forward To

Frozen Underwear

Frozen Underwear. Yes, it’s cold where he comes from, but that does little to detract from his blogging. It’s always great when I open Google Reader and see he’s posted something new!

Easy Sleazy Blog Award

The Neighbors Will Hear

Would you really give this shining medal of valor(-ian disease) to any other blog other than the defunct Note For Rent? Four craigslist hookups in one day and enough time to clean up the house for Thanksgiving. I’m no angel, but that’s outright ho-ish. But, we all have our vices and addictions in one form or another.

Favorite Dirty Blog

Dudetube

We all have one, and boy, this is mine!

Blogger I’d Love to Photograph

Closet Frat Boy

I’ve been keeping up on the Frat Boy’s posts lately and would love to see who actually writes the blog. Because he’s in a frat he doesn’t feel comfortable posting his picture, but come on, he’s a frat guy! Who wouldn’t want to see a picture of him?!

Please Post More Award

Already Bruised

A very close runner up to my favorite blog, Already Bruised missed it by the lack of posting. Who am I to criticize his blogging ferocity though, as I have been through many weeks where I’m busy or just don’t want to post. His blog was the first place that really inspired me to post photo blogs of my day, and so far I still like his the best. Definitely a cutie too!

So I came across this free GeoBytes tool today. You input an IP address, such as those from the anonymous, derogatory comments left on my site a while back, and it gives you not only the rough geographical area the connection is in, but also the latitude and longitude, such as in Kent, Everett, and just outside Tacoma. Isn’t that weird?

Having just left college about a month ago I seem to now be fining several blogs and sites focused on student productivity. While I still enjoy reading them, I wanted to publish them in hopes some of my readers ca benefit from them.

• Taking notes that work at Lifehack.org
• 4 Ways to use Wikipedia (without citing it) at Gearfire
• Don’t you dare…in a formal paper by That College Kid
• The burnt toast method (for helping hangovers) at Hack College
• Possibly the Best Way to Increase your Idea Output by Gearfire

Recently found iconlet, a search engine for icons. Book mark it!

[iconlet.com - icon search engine - free icons, images for your project]

Although it may be a bit late to showcase Windows Mobile 6 which came out earlier this year, it’s still great that they’ve done this. It’s geared toward mobile business users but also shows some of the strongest points of the Windows Mobile OS. If you’re looking into a mobile device or just like nicely done Flash sites, check it out.

If you live in Chicago you can check on the web to find out what crimes are reported in the city. You can browse reports by the type of crime, street, date, zip code, and even the police district. I wish they’d implement something like this nationwide.

Yeah, I don’t know about this.

The Everything Test

There are many different types of tests on the internet today. Personality tests, purity tests, stereotype tests, political tests. But now, there is one test to rule them all.

Traditionally, online tests would ask certain questions about your musical tastes or clothing for a stereotype, your experiences for a purity test, or deep questions for a personality test.We’re turning that upside down - all the questions affect all the results, and we’ve got some innovative results too! Enjoy

Personality You are more emotional than logical, more concerned about self than concerned about others, more atheist than religious, more dependent than loner, more lazy than workaholic, more traditional than rebel, more engineering mind than artistic mind, more cynical than idealist, more leader than follower, and more extroverted than introverted.As for specific personality traits, you are adventurous (56%).

Stereotypes White Trash 73% Punk Rock 53% Young Professional 50%

Life Experience Sex 33% Substances 35% Travel 15%

Politics Your political views would best be described as Libertarian, whom you agree with around 41% of the time.

Socioeconomic Your attitude toward life best associates you with Lower Middle Class. You make more than 70% of those who have taken this test, and 31% less than the U.S. average.

If your life was a movie, it would be rated PG-13. By the way, your hottness rank is 55%, hotter than 29% of other test takers.

TAKE THE TEST
brought to you by thatsurveysite

Jakeslife.net is now fully back up. For the past week it’s been either down or short of several entries. Once I got it back up Wordpress was having some issues finding everything due to an upgrade. Anyways, that’s all fixed now. I’ve restored all of my posts, although many have been protected now. If you need the password and aren’t a douche, let me know.

Sandro gets back from Peru next week, and I can’t wait to see him. We’ve been sending video messages back and forth from our phones via e-mail since text messages are about $4 per for Peru. Nasty. He’s also been taking pictures of some sights in Lima. I also switched up my schedule some to spend more time with him when he gets back.

Upgraded my Dash to Windows Mobile 6. Good stuff, even though WM6 leaves me wanting to ditch my Smartphone for a PDA, like the new T-Mobile Wing. The only real difference is touch screen and screen real estate, but my Dash works great for me right now.

Mint, a new free online personal finance manager is in “Elite Beta” right now ad I can’t wait until it opens. It looks like it’s going to blow most others out of the water. Well, right now there aren’t many others out there. Sure, I have online banking, but I am in the process of figuring out how to track everything I do on my laptop on my mobile device. So far, financial software is lacking for Windows Mobile aside from basic checkbook apps. A web solution would be great if it displays right on my device’s browser.

I’m almost done with this school term too. I finished my rough draft for my Effective Writing II final (148/150), which can be viewed along with the final draft at Scribd.

Well, off to another night in paradise.