The second annual year-end post, sadly with only four other posts sandwiched between this and the 2010 edition.

Movie: Midnight in Paris was excellent, and inspired me to read more of and about Hemingway. Who doesn't love Owen Wilson?

Documentary: I don't think I watched any documentaries, so I'm going to put Moneyball here because I liked it a lot, and it was loosely based on truth.

Book - Non-Fiction: In the Plex by Steven Levy - I loved this book as an ongoing Google fan and lover of all things Silicon Valley. Great writing style, lots of interesting anecdotes and a much better pseudo-biographical attempt of a company and its founders than Issaacson's book on Steve Jobs. I was entertained by that book, then I listened to this podcast, and nearly all the criticisms made perfect sense to me and drastically lowered my opinion of the book. Willpower by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney was a close second.

Book - Fiction: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre - Obviously this book didn't come out this year, and I actually read it before I had heard about the movie after reading The Spy That Came in From the Cold. I immediately read the rest of the series and started seeking out other realistic spy thrillers, but with little luck.

Song: No standouts in iTunes' 'Most Played' playlist, but I will give the nod to Exile Vilify by The National, since it's not on an album and it's high on the list.

Album: Bon Iver by Bon Iver - would have been the Social Network soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, however that was released in 2010. Close runner-ups are Torches by Foster the People and El Camino by the Black Keys.

Blog: Nothing new to my list worth noting. XKCD, Danger Room, SvN, Marginal Revolution, and Kottke are still favorites among others.

Place Visited: Rome!

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Over the last two weekends I finally motivated myself enough to move away from Slicehost, which has been completely stale as a service for well over a year now (ever since they were acquired by Rackspace). They've been rock solid - my VPS has been up for 396 days and counting - but their prices no longer reflect the marketplace, and they do not support any new OS versions.

First impressions of Linode are all positive - $20 for 512MB vs $40 on SH, cheaper backups ($5 vs $10 on SH), great DNS management, good OS options (CentOS 6 compared to Centos 5.5 on SH), easy setup, extremely fast responses to support tickets and so forth.

That said, Slicehost's articles/tutorials are much better (I refer back to them all the time when setting up new servers).

Also, the slicedns2linode script was a signifcant timesaver for migrating all the DNS entries over to Linode, which could have been a nightmare.

Looking forward to the next 396 days on Linode (hopefully)!

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Logout of any social networking or distraction prone site when you are done reading, e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Quora, Google Reader. I frequently find myself randomly clicking to one of these sites whenever I encounter a delay or waiting period at work, whether I'm waiting for something to download, a server to restart, someone to respond over IM or something else that makes me wait for a period of time that's greater than 5 seconds. Clicking to one of these sites will occupy you for minutes to quarter and half hours if you're not careful.

If you're logged out, you get this wall where you HAVE to type in your login credentials, rather than instant content gratification. I then find myself checking back to what I was waiting for to find that it's ready, rather than checking back 5-10 minutes later after looking through someones photo album.

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I recently read these two posts: "Teamwork ground rules" and "How to work with me". Both resonated with me, so I spent some time thinking about and compiling these posts into 10 maxims that I believe result in healthy team environments.

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1. Communicate clearly and consistently - be professional, concise, save the BS. 
2. Don't assume people will dig through noise to discover important details, communicate them up front. 
3. Updates on progress are good, but don't say something is in the process of being done without saying when it will be done.
4. If a deadline needs to change, say so, and don't wait until the last minute.
5. It's not actually done until everyone knows it's done.
6. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification, especially if it prevents wasting time on an incorrect approach.
7. Don't point out a problem without suggesting a solution or course of action.
8. If there is bad news or a time sensitive issue, report it immediately, and don't be afraid to interrupt whomever it needs to be reported to.
9. Most people will forget to respond or take action unless something is delivered to them in writing.
10. Do the homework to justify requests, especially if they involve dollars.

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1. The government would have been better served by revealing far fewer details about the recent raid.

2. The operation is a great example and reminder of the value of being a quiet professional.

3. Discovering Bin Laden's location could be considered lucky, however the time and resources spent towards this pursuit were so great that it was only a matter of time before the stars aligned and enough leads panned out.

4. While I don't think Obama deserves any credit for *finding* Bin Laden, the decision to undertake the raid was incredibly gutsy.

5. Burial at sea was a stroke of genius.

6. The whole stealth helicopter thing is awesome.

7. If you didn't think Twitter was great before, you surely must now. Game changer.

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This is something I hope to continue annually as something to look back on. Here it is:

Movie: The Social Network - I really enjoyed the movie when it came out, true or not, and thought it was extremely well done all around - acting, writing, and so on. Runners-up: Inception, Kickass,and premptively, True Grit (I love westerns and the Coen Bros, the cast is awesome, so it can't disappoint).

Documentary: Restrepo - Moving, really intense, and something that's good for everyone to see as a reminder that our country is at war.

Book - Non-Fiction: Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh - One of the best "business" books I've ever read, no question. This would be a go to book for me if I were starting my own company.

Book - Fiction: Tie between The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson and New York: A Novel by Edward Rutherford - I didn't feel bad making this a tie since these books are so different. The former being a great conclusion to a great series, one of the darkest I've read and actually enjoyed. The latter is awesome in so many ways - being able to create a story out of 400 years of history, and keeping it a fast and entertaining read for 1000 pages isn't easy.

Song: The High Road by Broken Bells - This song has been on my primary playlist since the album came out in March. Really love the intro.

Album: Tie between True Grit by Carter Burwell and Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons - I love the former, but felt guilty putting it on here since it just came out, so I'll also add Mumford & Sons because I've been listening to that a lot this year as well.

Blog: Scott Adams Blog (Creator of Dilbert, existed before 2010, but I didn't see it until this year) - Some good posts: The Illusion of Winning, and Eliminating Political Parties.

Place Visited: Alaska (particularly the drive between Anchorage and Seward, and Denali National Park). Beautiful place, quiet, peaceful and gives you a feeling of adventure!

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Google Maps has real-time traffic data. It would be AWESOME if, when I look at a route from Point A to Point B, I could also enter a "need to get there by" time and an earliest possible departure time, and then Google Maps could use historical traffic data to calculate the optimal time to leave to spend the least amount of time driving. For example, I'm travelling to NYC from DC and need to get there by midnight Friday night. I can leave anytime during the day Friday, so when should I leave in order to spend the least amount of time driving as possible. Right now I have it narrowed down to: don't leave between 3-5pm, and leaving at 7pm is 40 minutes faster but not great.

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Have you read this yet - "The High Cost of College" by Megan McArdle?

Best part of the article was the quote from Instapundit. How great are these couple of sentences:

But homeownership and college aren't causes of middle-class status, they're markers for possessing the kinds of traits -- self-discipline, the ability to defer gratification, etc. -- that let you enter, and stay, in the middle class. Subsidizing the markers doesn't produce the traits; if anything, it undermines them.

There are so many similarities between student loans and sub-prime mortgages it's astonishing.

One more example of government intervention creating a spectacular positive feedback loop.

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Sat down in Border's today with some increasingly rare unallocated time and read two books. The first, Delivering Happiness is excellent - one of the better business books I have read, not in the least because Tony Hsieh references a lot of the typical great business books and expounds on how he applied them to his own ventures.

While much of the book is devoted to the trials of getting Zappos off the ground, the most valuable insights come from discovering the value in the unusual culture - its strength and the innovation to make it scale. It's great to see a CEO embrace the idea that the overriding end result that people desire is happiness, and that most people don't know how to achieve it (though they don't even know they don't know). Anyone who runs a business, wants to run a business, or needs a lifestyle change should read this book. Will definitely recommend it to others.

I also read Rework by the founders of 37Signals.  On the whole I think most of their advice was good, though not as groundbreaking as they (the writers) seem to think it is. My favorite line in the book:

"Rockstar environments develop out of trust, autonomy, and responsibility. They're a result of giving people the privacy, workspace, and tools they deserve. Great environments show respect for the people who do the work and how they do it."

Absolutely dead-on summation of the key component of any great workplace. Of course the trick is making it scale in a large operation.

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Side note: I went into the store, bought a coffee and a sandwich for about $6 and then read two books for free. I thought, I liked Delivering Happiness, I should buy it for my collection, only to realize it's (literally) half as much on Amazon (checked on my iPhone). I could overnight it from Amazon for less money than buying it in Borders. Rapidly failing business model? I think so.

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Even if you think you deserve a Microcell for free or reduced price to compensate for AT&T's awful coverage, it would make sense for AT&T to do just that to relieve strain on its barely functioning and increasingly awful cellular network. Why not give away the Microcell in NYC, San Francisco, and other areas with good coverage but high network strain. If everyone in these cities was pushing their cellular connection over existing broadband, AT&T could further delay infrastructure investment. They could then reserve the network for people on the go, and spare it from people who are using it at home.

By the way, while I hate to give AT&T any more money, I did buy a Microcell because I have no reception in my apartment right outside of D.C. It works, but the fact that I have to pay extra for something they promised to provide me in the first place is frustrating.

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I recently built a web site of which a primary goal was to appear in the Google search results for a very specific set of keywords, "baldwinsville guitar lessons" (link is to the site I built).  Before building the site, the results were basically filled with spammy type directory sites with almost no helpful information. I figured the site I was going to build would be simple, informative and relevant to anyone performing a search with those key words.  Sure enough, within two days of launching the site, it ranked #4.

Two days later, it disappeared.  The site no longer showed up in any Google searches unless the specific title of the site was searched.  Obviously, Google provided no explanation.  After reading various forums and blog posts, I added the site to my Google Webmaster Tools account and hoped that it was a crawl error that could be fixed. Additionally, I put in a reconsideration request.  I did not modify the site at all, there was nothing wrong with it even according to Google's standards. Without any explanation, I had no idea what the problem was.

A few days later, the site started showing back up again.  Webmaster Tools has still not collected any data, however the reconsideration requests were both acknowledged.  Once again, there was no explanation and I have no idea if these requests are what led to the site showing up in search results again.

A lot of sites depend on Google's search results for there business.  I know that search is a free service, and Google is by no means obligated to provide data on search rankings and such.  However, its incredibly frustrating to have a site removed for no apparent reason, and no obvious way to fix a problem.

This could be solved with some kind of reporting process integrated with Webmaster Tools.  For example, once I verified the domain in the Webmaster Tools, Google should have sent me some kind of automated message with the reasoning of the search listing removal, and what needed to be done to rectify the situation.  I don't think this would take much.  Surely Google records this information anyways, and I don't see many downsides to providing this information to website owners.  I can understand the lack of transparency regarding how Google ranks sites, but I don't see why it should hide why it removes them completely from search results.

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I've recently been helping coach a couple U12 girls soccer teams, and despite playing soccer most of my life, could use some coaching tips.  For a first time coach, which is also the case for many parents who volunteer to coach their child's team, it would be useful to have a forum to talk to others who have found things that work and don't work for different age groups.  I understand soccer, but I'm not sure what 11 yr olds are supposed to know and what might be beyond them.  I don't know tricks for making young girls more aggressive and competitive, or drills that are both fun and allow kids to learn without threatening them with laps if they don't behave.  Basically I wing it, and keep track of what works and what doesn't.  For example, kids love playing World Cup, but it results in half the team sitting for most of the drill, so its pointless.  Some kind of stack exchange type site could be effective.  Users could choose the sport and age group and find drills and tips that have been discussed and upvoted the most.  Maybe something like this already exists, but if not, I'm sure it could help thousands of parent-coaches.

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I've decided like many others that Facebook is *evil*. I won't go as far as deleting my account, which by the way, is nearly impossible to figure out how to do without reading a tutorial on another site. Strike one against FB.

Do I feel slightly guilty for trusting Google with a lot of my data, personal and otherwise, by using Gmail, Google Apps for Domains, GCal, GReader, etc.?  Yes, but I have a strong semblance of privacy and security there, and as of right now, Google has given no indication that they will abuse their immense collection of data other than to serve targeted ads.  I don't mind this.

Facebook has made every indication that they *will* sell your personal data to the highest bidder, be it the government or a corporation. Furthermore, they set as much information to open as possible, without notification, including information I have previously indicated I would like to be 'friends only' or whatever. Additionally, they track every click you make on their site, but most people don't know this.  Think of all the random profiles and pictures you have looked at, how long you looked at them, etc. Think you've deleted a photo?  Think again, FB keeps them forever.  In fact, if you upload them to the site, FB *owns* them. Facebook has all of this data, and they have no qualms about selling it to third parties. Don't believe it? Ask yourself, how does FB make money to pay for the servers and bandwidth of the most visited site in the world?

Sadly, I do like Facebook for keeping up with friends, something I'm traditionally terrible at, and it is useful for planning events and getting in touch with groups of people.  I will not delete my account, but I have sanitized it as much as possible (even though all the information I've ever put there in the first place is somewhere on FB's servers), until a more privacy focused alternative emerges. Facebook won't be king forever.

All of this was prompted by a good essay on FB by Jason Calacanis.  My favorite part:

People are creating fan pages on Facebook and then paying Facebook to send them traffic. Let me explain this one more time: You’re PAYING Mark Zuckerberg money to send traffic to HIS SITE. Think about it.

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Inspired by the April Fool's joke where an online store claimed that by agreeing to their "Terms of Service" you were granting them unfettered permissions to your eternal soul.

There should be a site that reviews popular TOS agreements and basically says whether or not you should agree to them, or at least outlines any significant issues.  You could then have a browser extension that said OK in a form with a good TOS and BAD if the TOS was evil or had some issues.  It could be a community driven site, or something that aggregates reviews from around the web.  Just a thought.

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Where is the iTunes for news articles?  I hate subscriptions, and often find myself wanting to read an article from the WSJ but cannot because I don't have a subscription.  Why can't I buy that one article for $.25?  Why can't I have one, centralized area, where I can buy articles from a variety of news sources that I don't have full subscriptions to, or don't want to buy the whole issue of?  It just makes too much sense to keep credit card info stored in one account, and then when you see an article behind a paywall you want to read, BOOM - click the "Buy with iNews for $.25" button and its yours.  I think this is the best model for online news that could ever exist.  It would likely have to be some sort of joint venture or coop between many media companies to succeed, however a private company could do it if there was a way to resell subscription news content.  Why isn't anyone working on this?

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Last week I took some time and redesigned Ward Bitz from the ground up.  It's not a very complicated site, but I wanted to give it some polish and make it appear more professional.  I took inspiration from a number of sites, and I think it all turned out pretty cool.  My biggest constraint is lack of awesome content, one of the best things about sites like 37Signals, HappyCog, Coudal and others.  I'm working on that currently with some projects on the pipeline, but those guys have been doing it for years and are the best  (speaking of pipeline, check out 'The Pipeline', and awesome podcast if you're into web stuff).

Also of note - while I would love to use HF&J fonts, they're way too expensive, and I think the free and open source fonts I used look OK (Museo Sans 500 and League Gothic).

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I will inaugurate this "blog" with this post so I can add the Pinboard.in bookmarklet to my iPhone bookmarks, since I can't seem to find it anywhere else.

Copy the the text from this page: http://www.karlbitz.com/pinboard.php, and paste into the bookmark address to get your Pinboard bookmarklet on the iPhone.

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