http://www.astuteo.com/index.php You get what you pay for. en Matt Everson Copyright 2010 2010-02-01T17:16:56+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/best-hockey-team-ever/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/best-hockey-team-ever/ I don't know how you can even begin to lose a game with this kind of introduction. Outside The Office, Via! Via! 2010-02-01T17:16:56+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/rescuetime_productivity_application/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/rescuetime_productivity_application/ Of all the necessary evils that come with being a self-employed web designer, time tracking is quite possibly both the most necessary and the most evil. Forget about the billing aspect for a moment; it's efficiency that's the service provider's bread and butter. When you are the engine of your business, understanding when and how you actually work is the only way to facilitate building a better machine. Far too many mornings I arrive at work with monumental goals for the day only to sit down and check my email first. Before I know it, I'm up to my waist in odd jobs, none that were planned for and all of which could have waited at least a few hours. Throw in a little Twitter, a couple phone calls, and WHAM! — it's lunch already. Articles, Building Your Business, Personal Development 2009-10-30T20:53:35+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/helen_thomas_free_press/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/helen_thomas_free_press/ Chip Reid's firing BBs when Helen busts out the 12 gauge. Ka-blam! Outside The Office, Via! Via! 2009-07-23T14:36:53+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/underdog_strategy/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/underdog_strategy/ Malcolm Gladwell's take on the unconventional strategies and tactics of underdogs. Building Your Business, Career Advancement, Personal Development, Via! Via! 2009-05-15T17:48:25+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/stale_css_cache/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/stale_css_cache/ Great PHP trick to force web browsers to automatically load your latest CSS changes. Via! Via!, Web Development 2009-05-14T16:27:48+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/your_business_card_is_crap/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/your_business_card_is_crap/ It doesn't fit in a Rolodex because it doesn't belong in a Rolodex. Building Your Business, Design, Via! Via! 2009-04-09T16:54:00+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/stolen_website_design/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/stolen_website_design/ Tooling around the web the other day, I happened upon an interesting company. I noticed them right away because said company and I offer very similar services – graphic design, web development, and online marketing. Their being headquartered in nearby St. Cloud, MN, also caught my eye, considering I have some pretty great clients of my own in that area. To put it mildly, I was captivated by their unabashed style, irreverent attitude, and overall creativmarketyness. Well, that, and they stole my web site design. Honestly, I wouldn't really care if some landscaping company in Texas appropriated a few elements my site design. But this is a different story entirely. Same design. Same line of work. Minnesota. Articles, Design, Web Development 2009-03-18T14:19:45+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/web_browser_graphics/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/web_browser_graphics/ Designers Toolbox has way more stuff than I remember, including web browser elements and browser safe areas. Design, Via! Via!, Web Development 2009-03-06T19:53:48+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/kutiman_mixes_youtube/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/kutiman_mixes_youtube/ A mashup of YouTube audio clips. Un-friggin-believable. Stuff and More Stuff, Via! Via! 2009-03-04T20:01:43+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/eight_major_failures_of_the_tropicana_redesign/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/eight_major_failures_of_the_tropicana_redesign/ I rarely play design critic. The fact is, I recognize that there's a subjective component to graphic design and I choose not to be bothered by the stuff that doesn't meet my personal expectations. There's a lot of quality brands out there with ugly logos, bad web sites, and lackluster advertising. Personally, I figure if the brand is strong and the advertising works, who am I to criticize the finer points. Business is business, after all. This, however, is not one of those times. As part of a corporation-wide packaging design overhaul by their parent company, Pepsico, Tropicana’s new juice containers recently hit the shelves and it's nothing short of a graphic design disaster. The new packaging was designed by Arnell Group (who, in my opinion, should be banished from NYC for this) and replaces the old packaging by Sterling Brands. Let’s examine how they matchup head-to-head in eight different design-related categories. Articles, Design 2009-02-10T21:56:40+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/the_marriage_race/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/the_marriage_race/ Mortgaged Up The Ass and Drinking Heavily overtaking Domestic Bliss. Stuff and More Stuff, Via! Via! 2009-02-10T14:30:43+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/xero_accounting/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/xero_accounting/ Billed as the World's Easiest Accounting System. Without a doubt, I will soon be using this. Building Your Business, Via! Via! 2009-02-04T21:10:00+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/wisconsins_two_million_dollar_website/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/wisconsins_two_million_dollar_website/ Obviously I need to get in on these state jobs. Damn. Outside The Office, Via! Via!, Web Development 2009-02-04T15:22:29+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/best_tv_commercial_ever/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/best_tv_commercial_ever/ You do feel great. I just shattered my hand. Oh yeeah! Stuff and More Stuff, Via! Via! 2009-02-03T17:21:09+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/twitter_cartoon_avatars/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/twitter_cartoon_avatars/ All the cool twitterers have illustrated avatars. Eureka, I have found the source. Design, Stuff and More Stuff, Via! Via! 2009-01-29T19:44:10+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/the_wtf_blanket/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/the_wtf_blanket/ Parody on the Snuggie infomercial. The voiceover sounds exactly like Daniel Tosh. Stuff and More Stuff, Via! Via! 2009-01-28T14:59:01+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/the_all-new_gotham_narrow/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/the_all-new_gotham_narrow/ You can't have too much Gotham. Really. You just can't. Design, Via! Via! 2009-01-22T14:14:12+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/banjax_request_for_proposal/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/banjax_request_for_proposal/ The RFP that writes itself. Project managers rejoice! Design, Via! Via!, Web Development 2009-01-15T19:56:24+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/ip_chicken/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/ip_chicken/ There are a million ways to check your current IP address, but for some reason I always use IP Chicken. Via! Via!, Web Development 2009-01-11T20:42:57+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/web_development_project_estimator/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/web_development_project_estimator/ Estimating a web site project isn't easy. Although most web designers have an idea of how long a project will take based on their past experience, far too often this guess becomes a final estimate. If you've ever been 350+ hours into a project that's paying you for 100, I'm sure you know first hand why this can be a serious problem for your business. For years, I've been using a simple spreadsheet to do my web site project estimating. It helps me avoid gross miscalculations and the oversight of smaller, yet time-consuming phases of a web design project. It's a perfectly fine, albeit ugly, solution to the issue. But seeing as I'm not a big fan of ugly, I set out to make something better. Articles, Building Your Business, Design, Web Development 2009-01-11T17:48:47+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/home_maintenance_organizer/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/home_maintenance_organizer/ Helpful for keeping track of the paint colors on the walls, upgrades, and maintenance expenses over time. Outside The Office, Stuff and More Stuff, Via! Via! 2009-01-07T03:35:10+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/10_unavoidable_reasons_to_begin_a_web_project/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/10_unavoidable_reasons_to_begin_a_web_project/ “Project meetings” are actually just hanging out at the coffee shop.Unlike the rest of your weekly meetings having to do with unreasonable deadlines and seemingly unnecessary deliverables, the most effective web project meetings usually involve kicking back with good coffee and pondering the incredible potential of it all. Let it be noted that these “meetings” can happen as often as you like, and on whatever days of the week you need to get the heck outta the office. Did I mention my office just happens to be above a pub and across the street from the best coffee in town?Spearheading a web project looks awesome on a resumé.If you’re in marketing, or any other field for that matter, spearheading the development of a new web application adds some serious punch to your resumé. Not only does it provide tangible evidence of your talent, it also shows that you’re a great project manager with an eye for developing efficiencies. It's not always easy to enhance your resumé once you're ingrained in a position, but with a little initiative a simple web project can do exactly that. Articles, Online Marketing, Web Development 2009-01-02T22:20:30+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/competition_grade_coffee_cups/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/competition_grade_coffee_cups/ Who knew there were actually competition grade mugs for your coffee, espresso, and cappuccino? Stuff and More Stuff, Via! Via! 2008-11-26T02:21:15+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/the_jerk_store/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/the_jerk_store/ I stopped into Walgreen's yesterday to satisfy a craving for Red Vines. I prefer Red Vines to Twizzlers because the box has little drawings that kids have submitted printed on the bottom. The childrens' execution is never any good, but man alive if eight-year-olds don't have the most brilliant creative concepts. Anyway, I stepped into the checkout line behind five or six other customers and the clerk asked, "Did you see our weekly special," directing the guy who just needed AA batteries to the Diet Snapple Singles to Go Peach Tea packets sitting on the countertop. "Only $1.99 a box." "YeahIsawitthanks," the guy was forced to respond in order to successfully get the hell out of Walgreens and back into powering up whatever electronic device had just died and ruined his day. His tromping away cleared the counter for the next lady. "Did you see our weekly special," the clerk asked her, this time making a Vanna White-like gesture with his hands. "Only $1.99 a box." Articles, Outside The Office 2008-10-31T00:47:15+00:00 http://astuteo.com/blog/article/gin_and_titonic/ http://astuteo.com/blog/article/gin_and_titonic/ Gin and tonic drinkers, rejoice! Just when you thought the drink couldn't get any better... Outside The Office, Stuff and More Stuff, Via! Via! 2008-10-15T15:19:38+00:00