Book By Its Cover

If you enjoy looking at beautifully designed and illustrated books, you need to visit Brooklyn artist Julia Rothman’s site, Book By Its Cover.

The books and interviews on the site provide a great source of eye candy and artistic inspiration, covering a range of styles and types of books, from comics to fine art, children’s books to sketchbooks.

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Tags: Book By Its Cover, Brooklyn, Julia Rothman
Posted in General, Reviews

I Got My Start

Check out I Got My Start, a site I found via Twitter, and submit your story of how you got your start at anything in your life.

The site is the creation of James Dickey, a self-described fan of biographies and autobiographies, who is “constantly fascinated by how people got into their field.” + Continue reading…

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Tags: Dan Kellner, I Got My Start, James Dickey, Twitter
Posted in General

1932 Thanksgiving Day Parade Photos

Enjoy these vintage photos from the 1932 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade courtesy of Swapatorium. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Tags: Macy's, Photography, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day Parade
Posted in Photography

Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker: A Retrospective

Over the weekend I visited my brother, Aaron, and his girlfriend Lindsay in Williamsburg to play some GH:World Tour on XBox 360. He also has a Nintendo 64, Nintendo Wii, and a Sega Genesis (A hand-me-down from our brother).

After we got tired of rocking, Aaron popped in the classic 1990 Sega Genesis game Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker for some old(er)-school gaming. I remember playing this game in high school. I was 14 years old when the game game out; Aaron was 5. + Continue reading…

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Tags: Brooklyn, Dan Kellner, Guitar Hero, Michael Jackson, Moonwalker, Sega Genesis, self-employed, XBox 360
Posted in Recreation & Relaxation

Sofa-Employed Productivity Tips

After working from my sofa for the better part of seven years, I’ve noticed that I’ve developed some productive work habits- as well as some counter-productive ones. After analyzing how I get the most and best work done, I’ve come to define some guidelines that have improved my productivity, kept me sane, and allowed me to separate my work life from my home life- even though they inhabit the same physical space:

1. Keep Separate Email Accounts for Work Email & Personal Email
I know checking separate email accounts in multiple places can seem counter-productive since it’s really easy to import multiple email accounts into an email client, but I find the act of opening a different email client/website helps me keeps my life separated and organized. I always know what kind of emails I’m getting in which account and it helps to keep my work account free of spam.

2. In the Morning, Don’t Read Work Emails Until You’ve Had Coffee
When I get up in the morning, one of the first things I do is go to the sofa and turn on my computer to surf the Internet, check the weather, etc., before I go out for coffee and a bagel. + Continue reading…

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Tags: consultant, consulting, Hulu.com, productivity, schedule, self-employed, sofa-employed, The Simpsons, web development, work
Posted in Work & Productivity

Post-It Illustrations: Part 2

As promised, here are the Post-It illustrations in context around my wife’s monitor at work.

I think they do all they can to prevent a case of the “Mondays.”

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Tags: illustration, post-it, work
Posted in Illustrations

Post-It Illustrations

One of the drawbacks of not working from home is having to work in an office. But one of the advantages of working in an office is free office supplies.

My wife works in an office that shall remain nameless. Even though she doesn’t find the work particularly stimulating, it does offer her some time and supplies to make great Post-It art to decorate her cubicle. The following illustrations were made with pens, pencils, highlighters and white out.

(A photo of the illustrations in context is coming soon!)

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Tags: illustration, post-it, self-employed, work
Posted in Illustrations

Watching (Less) Television

I watch television.

A lot of television. (A lot.)

If I’m home and awake, there’s probably a 90% chance that the TV is on. I work with the TV on, read with the TV on, eat with the TV on, even listen to music with the TV on. And of course, I blog with the TV on. (The television’s on right now.)

Since my “office” (aka sofa) is conveniently located in front of the TV, it’s almost impossible not to reach for the remote to get my fix. I’m a slave to the program guide because I don’t have TiVo or DVR. (My friends tell me I need to get one.) If I do miss a cable show, I can usually just watch it the next day; network shows I catch up on on the Internet (Hulu.com) or iTunes. Most of the time I don’t care what’s on though, just that I have dialogue in my ears and flickering images in my peripheral vision. + Continue reading…

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Tags: consulting, Guitar Hero, Hulu.com, Law & Order, productivity, self-employed, television, TV, work, www.kill-television.com, XBox 360, XBox Live
Posted in Work & Productivity

Shift-Tilt Photography

The technique of faking shift-tilt photography has been popping up all over the internet. It’s a really cool way of making an image look like a miniature model.

Here are some images I “miniaturized”:

Click Here for a tutorial on how to achieve this effect for yourself.

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Tags: boats, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Bridge, carnival, Photography, shift-tilt, shift-tilt photography, temple, Yankee Stadium
Posted in Photography

The Great Skateboard Giveaway

Click for Larger View

A friend gave it to me years ago and since I don’t use it anymore, I’d like to pass it on to someone else. Click the thumbnail to the right for a larger view of the actual bottom of the board. (It has black griptape on top.)

How to Enter:
All you have to do to enter the contest is leave a comment to this post on sofaemployed.com telling me why I should give it you. Extra points for creativity.

Who is judging the contest?
I am. My decision is final. (Sasha will probably help, though.)

Is there another way to enter the contest?
No. The ONLY way to enter is by leaving a comment to this post below.

Other Rules:
The contest is open to everybody, but if you win you have to be able to meet me in person somewhere in NYC to claim your prize. (Sorry, I can’t ship it anywhere.)

The contest winner will be notified by email, so please make sure to enter your email address accurately when you post a comment.

The deadline for entries is 11/30/08. No entries will be accepted after this date.

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Tags: Brooklyn, contest, skateboard, Yocaher
Posted in Recreation & Relaxation