I’ve Moved!!

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:57:56 -0500

Hey kids,

Well, I think it is time for me to move this iWeb blog to something that is a little more blog-like. So I have moved my blog over to HERE. As before, you can get to my blog by pressing the Nougat button from my WEBSITE.

Why the move? I think it all has to do with a little thing called the 3G iPhone. (3G stands for “Omaha doesn’t have 3G so it is really only a 2G phone with better reception”) I got the phone and noticed one of the free apps was to make on-the-spot blogs using TypePad, so I created a user and moved my stuff over there. That way I can blog on the go, and hopefully more often.

It will still contain the various rants and raves about running my own business, the occasional shout out to my son and other oddities that you all have come to expect (all six of you). So jump over to the new site and catch up.

Laters!

Thanks, guys!

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:49:15 -0500

Hey kids,

A lot of cake toppers have gone out so far this year (55 and counting), and a few of the owners are sending me back some great pictures of the Miis in action. The above image is from Jessica Janiszewski up in Canada. I also have a few more from some other satisfied customers.

Like this one from Marco Lara and his wife:

That was the topper that I refer to as my “Fabergé Topper. The bride had so many little flowers on her dress. It was fin to make, and I think it turned out nice. Not as nice as the cake did...

This one is from Joshua and Kristina (don’t know the last name...drat you email). How very elegant. and I think the Miis work great, even at a non-geek wedding.

Needless to say, I am always impressed to see the pieces in action. I have many more images, but these were some of the first I ran across. I hope they all enjoy them as much as I enjoy making them. I tell Lindsay that I have made so many dresses that I can pretty much tell who is wearing what from the images. Pretty sad for a guy, but it’s a living. ;)

It’s been a long time

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:26:43 -0500

Hey kids,

I have been busy, but that isn’t really my excuse. The reason I haven’t posted in a while is due to the fact I have nothing to really talk about. I work every day. I have made now over 200 Miis. And I still haven’t caught up with it all.

Plus, I keep getting shit about daddy-blogging. So you won’t get any more of that... sorta.

But what I want to talk about today is the iPhone, or better yet, the new one. Even though it isn’t out yet, I will be one of the “fanbois” sitting outside AT&T waiting to get my phone on the eleventh.

Why? Well, even though it isn’t that big of an upgrade (only 3G, which Omaha doesn’t even have, and GPS are new), there has been changes to the antennae. As anyone who lives in the greater Metro area can attest, service SUCKS. And not a little, we are talking 1992 sucks. I can stand perfectly still and have full bars and place a call, then have it dropped for lack of service.

I am hoping that a lot of this has to do with the antennae being a flat piece of copper in the base of the 2G iPhone. The new 3G iPhone will have three antennas. They are wired around the camera (which hasn’t been improved), the dock and the outer ring. This, hopefully, will make service better.

And honestly, that’s all I want. I love the iPhone. Everything about it I love, except the service. So, even though there aren’t a lot of changes, better service would be worth the $299 and two-year contract.

Onto a different note. I read a lot of blogs about technology, and especially about the iPhone. There are a lot of folks out there pretty pissed that the new phone doesn’t have video capability. Well, given that it will be hacked two minutes after it is released, I can tell you that I get descent quality audio and video using a program called VideoRecorder. (The video above was shot yesterday at Cracker Barrel.) So, you will have video. It doesn’t come from Apple, but if it works on the iPhone, doesn’t it mean that if Apple had produced it, it would be EXACTLY the same thing? Plus, given that the App Store is where Apple is hoping to make all their money (and they will, tenfold), it just stands to reason that all the apps that people are complaining about not being on the phone will be there.

But you can’t please everyone. I just hope that the service is all good. Then I can be certain that at least one fanboi will be satisfied.

It’s been a whole year

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:05:50 -0500

Hey kids,

Yesterday my son, Alexander, turned one. It is hard to believe that it has been a whole year, but it has and I couldn’t be happier. There is definitely a new perspective when you become a parent. I used to think “What if I hadn’t left L.A.? Would I be working in film, or television?” Now I think “What if I could see a movie? If I had two free hours, would I want to see a movie, or just sleep?”

I enjoy the little guy immensely, and wouldn’t trade him for the world. So here is to you, Xander. A tip of the hat. Happy birthday!

Countdown to Audittown

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:50:44 -0500

Hey kids,

I have been so worried about cake toppers, Mii 2.0 (I mean Avatar 2.0) and WoWSquatz that I completely thought taxes were due Thursday. After my wife reminded me yesterday that they are due today, and Tuesdays being the day I watch my son, I was up WAAAY too late doing the old pencil-pushing.

For anyone who knows me, I am a tax ninja. I don’t mind paying my estranged Uncle once a year, but will only do it when absolutely necessary. To me, taxes are like a strategy game in which my goal is to owe nothing on my freelance business, and maybe get something back from what my wife pays in.

Well 2007 proved to be a weird year for us. It was a year of firsts. First full year in our house, first kid, and first year that my income was solely from freelance work. We definitely had the “new business income” for the first year. We did OK, but not nearly as well as we had when I worked full-time.

The problem came when the “What you owe your Uncle” turned into “What your Uncle owes you”. For the first time in a long time we are getting a refund. And not a little one. I had worked my tax mojo and brought my freelance income to par, but the kid and house gave us every cent back we put in (OK, Linds put in).

I use TurboTax Premier and when you get to the end of the program it has a convenient “Audit Check” for you. We were off the charts. I know my way around the forms, and am not worried about being audited, but I can just see it coming this time. We were audited a few years back when Pop-Out Furniture first hit 100K. They liked to ask questions like “How can you go from poverty to 100K in one year?” Practice.

Just kidding. We had a really good IRS agent set up my business a few years ago and he showed me the man behind the curtain. His help was invaluable, albeit costly. He resides in California, so I don’t use him any more, but the knowledge will be used for ever.

So IRS agent who will look over my form once the magic computer spits it out covered in red flags, I’m waiting for you. And just so you know, I went back and looked over my forms and I did miss a few things... in my favor. Bring it.