Sometimes, I Just Feel Like "Googling Myself"

(Image Credit: Bloomberg News, via Business Week)

For those of you who are not into geek lingo, the phrase "Googleing oneself" basically means typing in your name (first and last) into Google in order to see what appears.



This is a good exercise, as many employers, potential clients and friends will do a quick Google search on you in order to see what appears.



Example: When I Google Darnell Clayton, a bunch of "relevent" links appear, most of which deal with me. Unfortunately, there are a few random ones that appear--ironically dealing with other people named Darnell Clayton.



Here are just a few "unrelated Darnell Clayton's" that appear when I Google my own name.

• Darnell Clayton on LinkedIn: This Darnell Clayton is located in Georgia (the US state, not the country) and is currently a Senior Information Architect.


• The Polish Darnell Clayton on Facebook: I think this page is the polish version of Facebook (since "pl" represents Poland online).


• The Male supermodel Darnell Clayton: This guy apparently was reviewed by a blogger, and I think this is also his Facebook profile too.

None of these guys are me, and if you were having a hard time telling the difference, here are a few clues for you:

• I no longer have a LinkedIn profile (note: I previously had one, but found other social networks to be better).


• I don't speak Polish--although I am trying to learn Hebrew.


• My body isn't sexy enough to be a male model--even with the six pack (note: not that I would ever consider becoming one anyways)

Ironically, one of the reasons I bought DarnellClayton.com was to help avoid this confusion (at least online) of who the real me was all about.



I would recommend other people doing the same thing, as the last thing you need is a future employer/client mistaking you for a high tech geek who poses in fashion magazines during "the night shift." ;-)

My Pillow Died

The washing machine has officially killed my pillow. The one that I've
had since I was a child. Utter sadness. :-(

Just Saw WALL-E...

...and I think it was one of the best movies that I have seen in a very long time (at least as far as animated kid films go).

If you have not seen it, I would highly recommend taking your friends (and family) and check out this film. It puts Toy Story and Finding Nemo to shame.

Dude! Verizon CEO Is Pissed (About The iPhone)

Is it me, or can you sense the jealousy in his response?

(C | NET) The head of the telecom giant seemed a bit irritated about Apple's march into the mobile phone industry when he answered a question posed by the Financial Times about Apple's chances of reaching the mass market with the iPhone 3G by saying, "There goes the conspiracy again. You're declaring them a winner before they've earned it on the field."

Seidenberg's main contention seems to be that the iPhone isn't a success because it has such a small share of the overall mobile phone market, which is sort of like arguing that GM is more successful than Ferrari because they sell more cars. While it's true that Apple has a long way to go before it dominates the U.S. mobile phone industry to the degree that Verizon does, it's only been a year.

Someone sounds a little upset against Apple. Later on, when talking about Verizon's "plan" against Apple he ends the article by saying:

"Steve Jobs eventually will get old...I like our chances," Seidenberg told the FT.

Sheesh! Talk about bitter! Instead of providing snarky remarks, why doesn't Seidenberg actually team up with an awesome smart phone--you know like HTC Touch Diamond or even convince LG to make another phone (as their Voyager was a let down).

And he wonders why people like me left Verizon for AT&T/Cingular (hint: it had nothing to do with customer service).

For all the iPhone wonders/doubters/apple haters out there, you will not be disappointed with this phone. After using it for about three months (note: has it been this long?) I can not honestly figure out how I used a cell phone before without full access to the internet, a real music player/organizer and visual voicemail.

Not to mention the fact that I can customize it with almost 2,000 web apps! (soon to be downloadable!)

So unless you live in Canada I would highly recommend this phone to everyone! Well, except for Seidenberg that is.

Blogger Fix: Inserting Star Ratings (For Custom Templates)

While it's awsome to see Google unleashing new features within Blogger, if you are unable to implement them within your own blog, you may find yourself catching the dreaded "Google Derangement Syndrone" (aka GDS) where every other phrase is "Google is so Fraking stupid" (or something like that).



In order to avoid this contagious disease (which first broke out in Redmond, WA), you need to find solutions to problems--and today's problem is implementing the star rating system within your customized Blogger blog (aka BlogSpot).

After logging into your blog, first click on Layout, then Page Elements.

Then scroll down to the Blog Posts page element, and click on the Edit link.

 

A new window shold appear. Next, check mark the Show Star Ratings box...

...then scroll down and rearrange where you want the star ratings to appear.

Save your changes, then click on the Edit HTML section (which should still be underneath the Layout tab).

Next you need to BACK UP YOUR TEMPLATE! I would recommend either copy & pasting your entire code within Google Docs or Note Pad (highly recommended) by clicking on the Expand Widgets Template box...

 

...then holding the Ctrl button while pushing the letter "A", then the Ctrl button again while pushing the letter "C" and once over into Google Docs or Note Pad push the Ctrl button and the letter "V".

You can also just simply download the template to your computer as well by clicking the Download Full Template link underneath the Backup / Restore Template section.

After backing up your template, scroll down towards the bottom left of the screen and hit the Revert widget templates to default link.

A "questionnaire" should appear (note: hey that rhymed!) informing you that this will change all of your widget changes, although your data will be safe.

 

Simply click the OK button to continue, then save the changes to your blog.

That's it! Now you should have the star ratings system in your blog.

You will also notice a few changes with your blog layout, which you can easily correct since you wisely backed up your template (if went against my advice, then you are a fool person who doesn't like taking my advice).

If you still have any questions, feel free to comment below. Enjoy! ;-)

Update: Inserted image for clarity.



Update 2: Also, for those of you trying to get the comment form working, Amanda has provided an excellent solution over here.