Blankbaby

New job, new duds

It is no secret that I am a fan of the Hawaiian shirt. I was lucky enough to work in an environment, for a while at least, that tolerated such garb. Sadly, now that I've entered a more corporate setting I must adjust my wardrobe.

Good bye, Hawaiian shirts (at work) and hello new blazer! That's right, I just bought a fancy pants blazer (from Boyds, where all of Philadelphia's fashionable fat men get their clothes) for work. Worry not, friends, I won't be wearing this every day but from time to time it is a good idea to have a nice jacket on hand in case I need to go from looking really good to looking super good.

Want a copy of my book?

If you're been paying attention you know that I am real live published author of a book called Building a WordPress Blog People Want to Read, which is all about WordPress (shocking, I know). The book is getting some good reviews on Amazon, and it seems to be selling well. However, since this is my first time writing a tech book I'm interested in a little more feedback.

One of the little known facts about writing a book for PeachPit Press is that they send you 25 copies of your book to do with what you will. I'm keeping the first one the sent me (which I like to think is the first copy ever printed though somehow I doubt that is true) and I've given out a bunch of copies to friends and family (at least those who are interested enough in the book, but not so interested that they would buy a copy themselves), and I still have 16 copies of the book taking up space in my office. While these books are sitting on a shelf in my office they aren't helping anyone learn about WordPress, so I thought I would give them away.

Here's the deal: the first 16 people to comment on this post get a copy of my book. I'll email you for your address and then I'll send you a copy of the book at no cost to you. All I ask in return (nothing is free, people) is that you share with me your thoughts about the book. You can do this in a number of ways:

• Blogging about it on your blog
• Twittering about it
• Sending me an email with your thoughts
• Leaving a review on Amazon or some other online bookseller

The goal is twofold: get some people talking about my book and find out what people think of it. Everybody wins!

Get to leaving those comments, people!

Update: Woah! Who knew so many people would want a copy of my book? I do believe I'm out of copies for the moment. Sorry, folks!

Fork You: Pickle of a Jam

I finished editing this episode a few weeks ago, but when I migrated all my stuff from my work MacBook Pro (which I had to give back to Wharton) to my shiny new Mac Pro (which I'll blog about soon!) it got lost in the shuffle. In fact, I had deleted all the video footage off of my MacBook Pro in an effort to save space, so this episode may never have happened! Thank goodness for my Time Capsule which had saved copies of the video for me, saving me from myself.

You can download the episode in glorious QuickTime here, and if you have some time (and you like Fork You!) feel free to rate us on iTunes.

Clearly Philadelphians have no taste

Girl Scout Cookie season is upon us and you know what that means! A poll on Philly.com asking people what their favorite kind is. To the right you'll see the results as of 11:32pm today.

Clearly, these people have no taste. Sure, we all know that people love the disgusting Thin Mints but how could the far superior Shortbread cookie (known, confusingly, in these parts as Trefoils) come in last? I do believe the invisible hand of the powerful Mint lobby is at work here. I can see them in their white linen suits sipping on a julep and making sure that the honorable Shortbread cookie was once again passed over the the top spot.

How else can you explain the Do-si-do (or the Peanut Butter Sandwich) actually scoring about 100 FEWER votes than the Shortbread cookie, yet the Do-si-do is still listed above the Trefoil.

Fie on this poll, say I, fie indeed.

I shant rest until this crime against shortbread is corrected.

Kindle edition vs. physical copy

I found myself in Barnes and Noble yesterday afternoon after visiting the UPS store, and I was browsing the books as I do. I was happy to note that all the copies of my book (which I previously took a picture of) were gone. I hope that means some lovely people in the neighborhood picked up the book and are even now launching a WordPress blog.

Up to the third floor I went to look at the science fiction and I saw Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America by Brian Francis Slattery on the bookshelf. After reading the back I was intrigued so I snapped a pic of it with my iPhone (using the Amazon app, since I knew it would be cheaper at Amazon) and was on my merry way.

When I got home Amazon had found the book and send me a link to the physical copy, which features a link to the Kindle version as well.

Before I continue, I should explain what a Kindle is, for those not in the know. The Kindle is Amazon's eBook reader. Basically, you can get books downloaded to your Kindle over the air. You don't need to sync it to a computer at all, just buy a Kindle book at Amazon and in a few minutes it shows up on your Kindle without any user interaction. It is very cool, and I enjoy my Kindle.

Knowing my love of gadgets and instant gratification I am sure you must think I instantly bought the Kindle version, right? I would have, except for one thing: the price. The Kindle version costs $9.99 (which is the typical Kindle price) while the physical book costs $10.17 for a brand new copy. Saving $.18 just doesn't make the Kindle version all that attractive to me, especially when I was flipping through the book in B&N and I thought to myself, 'This is a well made book.'

I've just ordered the physical copy.

Some of 2008 in pictures

I give you 2008 in pictures (an idea I have totally stolen from Jacqui and Clint).

January 2008

I drank a Mexican Pepsi (Love it!)

I went to Macworld 2008 and saw MacBook Airs on a string.

February 2008

I turned 31.

My TV (and me) moved into Marisa's apartment.

May 2008

Becky and Eric got married (and not much happened in March or April).

We retreated to a lovely cabin in the woods, with neighbors across the river who really liked classic rock.

July 2008

I visited my Mom and we went to Mount Vernon.

August 2008

I got a Kodak Zi6 (which I like more than my Flip Mino HD, no matter what certain tech pundits will have you believe).

September 2008

I had my first article published in a real, live magazine.

Off to Las Vegas for VMworld (and it'll probably be my last VMworld ever!).

Marisa and I went to Hoover Dam whilst in Las Vegas.

And then we got all fancy and spent the weekend at the Ritz Carlton at Lake Las Vegas (it was really quite nice, and it has turned Marisa into a hotel snob).

November 2008

I got a Flip Mino HD and made a silly movie with it.

I saw my book in print for the first time (and it looked awesome).

My mom visited for Thanksgiving, met some of Marisa's family, and met with Marisa in her role as my girlfriend for the first time.

We went to City Hall and looked cute.

December 2008

I got engaged to Marisa.

Spent Christmas with my mom and bro, as is McNulty tradition (and no one fought!).

More job changes (for people I know)

It looks like something is in the water, or the economy.. depending on how you look at it. Two of my friends (both of whom I met at Wharton) are in job transitions of their own.

Roz (a.k.a Stellargirl) is a victim of the economic meltdown. She was recently laid off from her job and is looking at it as an opportunity rather than a problem. That being said, she would rather not be unemployed if you, or someone you know, is looking for a kick ass tech person to hire for front end work, or generally web geek stuff... she might be the gal for you.

On the other hand, Terry Ryan, who was one of my bosses at Wharton, just willingly handed in his resignation today. Terry has been at Penn forever and a day, and he is responsible for my first job shift at Wharton. I'm sure he'll do wonderful things where ever he ends up!

Change is in the air!

View from my office

View from my office
Originally uploaded by blankbaby.

The view from my fancy pants office.

Cheating on my iPhone

Farewell, Wharton. Hello, Comcast.

I'm coming up on my 6 year anniversary as a Wharton employee (and a Philadelphian to boot), and what better way to celebrate than by quitting?

That's right, today was my last day as a staff member of Wharton Computing where I have learned many things, met lots of great people, and realized that I'm not really interested in following the traditional IT career path of slowly moving further and further from actual technology.

As I was realizing this an exciting opportunity arose. I got an email from Frank (a man I trust) asking me if he could pass along my name to some Comcast folks. It seems they were in the market for someone to run their corporate blog, and Frank thought I would be a good fit. I wasn't looking for a job, but I am never opposed to entertaining options. I gave Frank the go ahead and he sent along my contact info to Comcast. Soon thereafter I was called in for a round of interviews.

I honestly didn't think they would be interested in me given my decidedly non-corporate persona (and Internet presence), but they asked me in for another round of interviews (always a good sign). The second round of interviews found me meeting with a number of people working in the Communications department. After a few hours the interviews were over, and I was impressed with the level of passion and realism that the Comcast folks had about their company. Plus I didn't think I came off as too much of an idiot, which I find to be helpful in such situations.

Soon I heard back from Comcast that they were interested in having me join their team (after I passed a routine drug test, which was the first time I had ever taken a drug test... but that's a post for another day). I had a major career choice to make (though if you read the title of this post you already know what I decided. Stupid spoilers). I've been working in the University setting for nearly a decade (gosh, I feel old) and I've never worked for a company as large as Comcast so I was a little nervous about potential culture shock.

On the other hand, Comcast wanted to pay me to manage the day to day aspects of their corporate blog which is pretty darned close to my dream job. How could I say no?

Tomorrow is my first day as a Senior Manager of Digital Media (that'll look impressive on a business card) at Comcast. I'm excited, terrified, and befuddled all at once (which I take to mean I made the right decision).

I don't generally post much about my work here on Blankbaby, and I imagine that trend won't change too radically. I will post a link to the corporate blog once it launches, and I'll be posting pictures and things from the gigantic Comcast Building (in which my office will be located) from time to time (just as I did from Wharton).

Thanks to everyone I worked with at Wharton. Wharton really was a great experience in my life, and I would recommend working there to anyone.

Speaking of which, if you're interested in my old job go to Penn's Job Site and search for Reference number 081226054. You'll be working with a good group of people on some pretty cool projects.

Here's to the future (is anyone else scared?).

Can I now call myself a bestselling author?

At the time of this post my book is number 10th bestselling book about blogging on Amazon.com. That is pretty darned cool.

Scott McNulty talking about his new book

Scott McNulty talking about his new book
Originally uploaded by mikepj.

Look at me talking about my book at the Peachpit Press booth at Macworld.

I'm super fancy!

Bees, a short film by Scott McNulty

See, I'm totally a pseudo-Mac celeb

Once and awhile I try to explain to friends and family that I am kinda sorta pseudo famous in very particular situations (namely Macworld). I usually end up sounding like an idiot, but now I have proof!

The good folks at The Joy of Tech included yours truly on this year's Macworld Expo Celebrity checklist. Some might say that they were just running out of ideas, I like to think that I am just so darned handsome that they couldn't resist including me.