Disqus - Latest Comments for teemorris

Re: Dear Authors: Don’t Respond to Goodreads Reviews

teemorris — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 10:05:15 -0000

My wife and I are currently in edits for a book on social media for writers, coming soon. In it, we discuss Goodreads. We boil down "engaging bad reviews" to three words:

DO. NOT. ENGAGE.

I'm wondering if I should include "EVAR!!!" in that sentence. (Spelled EXACTLY that way because Interwebz Humor.)

Re: The perfect response to a very personal interview question

teemorris — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 09:27:55 -0000

The worst interview I've ever had was one I walked out on. The interviewer wasn't really talking about the position but about the market, and when he DID get around to ask me a question, I would begin to respond only to have him cut me off and say "Here's where you're wrong..." It went on like that for roughly ten to fifteen minutes.

After the third "You're wrong..." interruption, I finally stood up and said "Very well then. I'm sorry to have wasted your valuable time. Thank you." He then gave me this odd smile and he said "Hey, I'm trying to help you here."

On my way out, I wondered if he was tearing into me in order to sell his company's services to me. As Nick said in this article, "What does your answer gain the interviewer?" In this case, what did my reaction gain this individual? He spent a good chunk of time tearing in to me, and then he says "I'm trying to help you." How?

The interview isn't just an opportunity for you to get a job, but an opportunity for you to interview the job environment. In retrospective, I dodged a bullet.

Re: Unbelievable

teemorris — Mon, 19 May 2014 16:16:13 -0000

Fight the good fight, Zoe, and thank you for all your kindness and talent. Kia Kaha.

Re: Review: Dawn’s Early Light by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

teemorris — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 11:34:38 -0000

So glad to hear you enjoyed it, and that we kept you guessing to the end.

As far as what is happening with the Queen and Sound, we do have another book in the works...with more answers to come! ;)

Re: If Titanfall is the Future of Gaming, I Won’t Be Playing Much

teemorris — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:31:09 -0000

Like you, I'm a casual video gamer. I was curious about this game, but this is a dramatic change in the industry requiring people to play in a multiplayer mode. Honestly, like you, I prefer to play games on my time, and sometimes my time isn't going to mesh with others. Additionally, if I want to play multiplayer-style games, I would rather play a board game like Ticket to Ride or a card game like Dixit. Video games, as selfish as this may sound, are for me.

I wonder if this is a Microsoft thing, or an industry trend. I'm hoping it's an Xbox-only thing, but if its a direction for the gaming industry, I don't know where I'll fit in there.

Re: Why Some Dealers Are Inept At Selling Plug-In Electric Cars

teemorris — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 14:21:16 -0000

I am the proud driver of two EV cars, the Nissan LEAF (lease opened in 2012) and the Chevy Volt (purchased three weeks ago). Both experiences were very different, but both experiences were equally positive. For the LEAF, our sales representative knew very little about the LEAF. In fact most people there knew very little about the LEAF. That did not mean our salesman did not spend the next 24 hours between test drive and signing of papers reading up on the car. In fact, he went out of his way to deep dive research on every question I had about the car, about charging, and about the battery. It was impressive his performance and when my wife test drove the car, she too was impressed by his knowledge. We signed for the car there and then. The Volt was just the opposite. Not only did Country Chevrolet of Warrenton know the Volt, they could not keep them on the lot. The original salesman we had arranged to meet had sold two just in that week. When we arrived we met Bobby, and it was clear within the first five minutes that Bobby was a walking Wikipedia about this car. We were shown in the course of an afternoon everything we could possibly want to know about this amazing car, even the cable where firefighters can sever in order to safely approach the car. There was not a detail that went missed and Bobby was nothing short of amazing. We snagged their last Volt for 2013. If they are lucky they will get in new Volts by February.

Perhaps we have just been fortunate to have driven salespeople but I cannot say a bad thing about either representative, major props going to Bobby who knew so much about the Volt other dealerships call Country for answers.

Re: If Bloggers Want to Be Seen as Professionals They Can’t Write Posts Like This

teemorris — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 09:23:17 -0000

This entitlement has always been a problem. I remember back in the days of Podcast & Portable Media Expo in Ontario, California, the complaints of "The swag was better last year..." and this was the event's second year. In its third (and final) year in Ontario, there were complaints that the hotels were being rude; but I also remember the numerous parties that were nothing short of epic, violating fire codes a-plenty.

In full disclosure, I remember at the PPME an incident with my beer and the fit I threw on a podcast about the service. However, the Internet didn't melt down. Why? I was playing it off as a joke. The hotel (a Marriott, I should add) did make it right; however, one of the offenders — a guest from the PPME who ran into my server, sending my beer to the ground — didn't come up and apologize or even offer a round. He looked at me, said "Sorry, man" and left the bar. Quickly. How's that for community?

Many of the pro bloggers out there are people who have never attended a conference in their life, and therefore believe that they could be catered to in every way. What they think is "I'm here at the conference and I'm a rock star" because some of the biggest names in social media have convinced them they are such. You have to earn respect, and once you get it you can't abuse it. This means knowing the difference between bad service and a hotel that is caught off-guard or overwhelmed by the attendance. This means showing some respect for your hotel staff. ("Please" and "Thank you" can go a long, long way.)

This kind of change begins with us, but with people who don't respect good behavior to begin will miss it entirely and continue to act like frat boys on the town.

What do you think? What needs to happen to change this age of entitlement?

Re: Wayback Wednesday: Mildly sexist Apple computer ad from the 80’s

teemorris — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:27:48 -0000

The host of this ad is Dick Cavett and he was one of the original comedians who dealt in that dry, awkward wit that Flight of the Conchords has down to a science.

So no, this isn't sexist. This is Classic Cavett, making himself look like a bit of a rube. (Good on him!)

Re: The 'Pixar of the iPad Age' Goes to the Academy Awards With Its Short Film - Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg - Video - The Atlantic

teemorris — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:42:55 -0000

I'll just go on and say it...

I cried.

Re: 3 Resources to Get You Podcasting in 2012

teemorris — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:22:17 -0000

My sincerest thanks for including EPP for Dummies in this mix. It is a real honor to be singled out like this.

I recommend that you should take a closer look at the second edition of Podcasting for Dummies. With Chuck Tomasi as our third name on the title, Evo and I were given a chance to update and upgrade our tips and tricks for both professionals and beginners.

Again, thank you for giving us a mention for your 2012 resources.

Re: Getting Inside My Head: Movies Worth Re-Watching

teemorris — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:22:14 -0000

Always a tough question, but "go to" movies to watch again and again...

Holiday films: Die Hard (It takes place at Christmas...)

Action films: The Craig Bonds (both of them), Aliens, the original Raiders of the Lost Ark

Solid Dramas: Heat, The Trip (a drama with a jaded sense of humor), Richard III (with Ian McKellen)

Family Friendly: The Harry Potter films (We're re-watching them as Sonic Boom finishes the books.)

Re: The Great Twitter Unfollow Experiment of 2011

teemorris — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:11:26 -0000

And this is why I tend to roll my eyes at the numbers game.

Social Networking and Social Media isn't about the numbers. It's about the quality of your feed. It's about the content you generate. It's about the connections you make. It's about being social.

So you know, if Chris doesn't follow me back, I'll live. (That just means HE buys the first round of beers between us. I'm just saying...)

Re: Topless Robot - Rob Bricken - Confirmed: George Lucas @#$í with the Original Trilogy for the Star Wars Blu-Rays

teemorris — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:56:07 -0000

All your Death Stars are belong to Lucas!

Re: Topless Robot - Rob Bricken - Confirmed: George Lucas @#$í with the Original Trilogy for the Star Wars Blu-Rays

teemorris — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:54:58 -0000

Well played.

Re: Topless Robot - Rob Bricken - Confirmed: George Lucas @#$í with the Original Trilogy for the Star Wars Blu-Rays

teemorris — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:54:21 -0000

Just checked the IMDB Oracle...

Starcrash, 1978. Italian/USA production. While Roger Corman is absent, the Hoff is in this clunker as well as former Bond gril and 70s/80s hottie Caroline Munroe.Battle Beyond the Stars, 1980. More of a sci-fi Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven, with Roger Corman. So there ya go...

Re: Topless Robot - Rob Bricken - Confirmed: George Lucas @#$í with the Original Trilogy for the Star Wars Blu-Rays

teemorris — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:11:43 -0000

Two things...

QUESTION: Not too sound too cinemaphile, but wasn't Roger Corman's Star Wars rip-off BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS? (If he was involved with STAR CRASH, I missed that...)

COMMENT: When you say "Now, obviously George Lucas disagrees, and they're his damn movies. He can change them as much as he wants -- I understand that, and I genuinely don't begrudge him that. Honestly, if he wants to go in and redub everything so Luke and Leia are named Jeff and Snooki, he can. They're his. He's in charge." I partially agree. Yes, he was in charge...but once you release a movie out into the wild, it is shared with the world as the "final" version. His changing of the films is a bit like H.G. Wells releasing War of the Worlds, and then — when it's a hit — re-releasing it and saying "But here, the humans shoot first." Then, a year later, re-releasing it and saying "Oh but what I meant to do was have the Martian ships standing on five legs and have Gatling guns..." Then, a few more years later, "Okay, so the narrator is actually related — distantly — to Mongo the Martian..."I find Lucas' constant tinkering to be outrageous, and now — one of the most influential films of the 20th Century (no, seriously, this of SF films before SW. With the exception of 2001, visuals were lacking...) and its sequels are losing their impact. Maybe this makes me a purist, but it's a little out of control at this point.Goofy Uncle George needs an intervention.

Re: The Bitch Slap: You Whiny Little “Freelancer”

teemorris — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:08:29 -0000

Good golly...this isn't a bitch slap. This is a spanking!

Nicely done.

Re: My Love for Blogging

teemorris — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:05:57 -0000

Blogging was the "Golden Unicorn" for me when it came to Social Media outlets. I remember back in 2006 being at Balticon, arriving late for a blogging panel (which I didn't mind missing as I had been stuck on it) and the moderator asked me "Tee, closing thoughts, why do you love blogging?" I responded with great snark "It's a good host for my podcasts."

The issue with me was I couldn't justify spending a whole day writing blogposts as I wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing: writing. Redundant? No. I would be on deadlines for columns, novels, or computer guides, and I was a day behind because I would attempt to blog about the writing process. It was frustrating and less than gratifying. Then in 2008 I approached blogging again, this time with set direction and discipline. I was also working with WordPress, and I was just hoping that maybe I'd get into a groove with it.

I'm blogging from my iPhone now! WordPress for iPhone -- it's WIN!

I manage http://idguardian.com (occasionally ghost write for it as well), manage my own blogs, and need to start writing again for http://appadvice.com which was extremely good fun when I was actively blogging with them. I now feel a need to blog, particularly after the rough start to this year; and I'm thinking -- especially after this post -- I'm going to finish up that post I've been sitting on for a while.

Yes, I love blogging, too. I "get" it finally. So what if I'm late to the party. Looks like you brought out some fresh guacamole for the chips...

Re: What the deuce? Twitter changes my password

teemorris — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:44:53 -0000

I just left a comment on Mashable, but I'd like to re-state my concerns here: Some confirmation from Twitter would be good (and I mean REALLY good) right now. I'm finding out about this phishing scam via email and Twitter feeds that claim "The sky is falling..." but when I go to either the Twitter Blog or Twitter Status and there is no mention of this odd behavior as of 10:43am EST.

So...what gives?

Twitter should know better. If you want to alert your users of a phishing scam, it is a good idea to notify your users with other communication lines outside of email and your network party lines...which phishers utilize on a daily basis. My clients are all working fine this morning, so I am curious exactly what is going on...and why Twitter isn't seeming to pay attention to this matter.

Re: Twitter Under Phishing Attack?

teemorris — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:39:07 -0000

I think some confirmation from Twitter would be good right now. The problem is I'm finding out about this phishing scam via email and Twitter feeds that claim "The sky is falling." Go to either the Twitter Blog or Twitter Status and there is no mention of this scam (as of 10:33am EST).

Twitter, if you want to alert your users of a phishing scam, it is a good idea to notify your users with other communication lines outside of email and your network party lines...which phishers utilize on a daily basis.

Re: juliaroy: The MacBook TriBook (I wish!) ... - Bsimi...

teemorris — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:02:57 -0000

I'll be in my bunk.

Re: The Truth About Star Wars and the Matrix

teemorris — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:29:37 -0000

God bless you, Chris Brogan.

Might I add...Pirates of the Caribbean...only one of those too....

Re: Get More Twitter Followers TODAY

teemorris — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:27:13 -0000

I just caught this post (crazy week...) but in light of this parody, I'd like to share with you this NSFW parody site.

http://www.socialmediadouch...

I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. Make sure you click on the top-right corner of the site when you're done reading. I am following this web designer on Twitter, and she's a riot!

Re: The Top Ten Movies That Should Be Made Into Broadway Musicals

teemorris — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:11:46 -0000

How about Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Musical. Oh, hold on...

Young Frankenstein: The Music.... Dangit.

The Last Starfi----aww shit....

Re: A Brief and Informal Twitter Etiquette Guide

teemorris — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:12:01 -0000

Chris, this is why I asked you to write the Foreword for my book. Thanks. :^)