I did some research, and tried a few different options. In high school, I stuck to my parent’s (obviously) community bank. This was fine for high school. College started, and I tried a few different options. I tried TCF bank, WaMu, a few different community banks, and maybe a few I’m not thinking of. The problem with most banks is that they’re geographically based; they usually count on their customers having access to at least one physical location.

This is where WaMu claimed to be different. So I moved all my money into WaMu (Washington Mutual) and I thought I was going to love it. But.. again, ATM fees and a number of odd requirements (I can’t change the PIN on my debit card without driving to the nearest WaMu location… like 10 hours away?!). Maybe I could have lived with those. But their technical support: absolute shit. Worst I’ve ever dealt with. It took me 3 weeks of emails before I even found out where I needed to mail in my checks to have them deposited. And if you want to get a real person on the phone? Forget it. Impossible.

Then, one afternoon, I was looking at new options with my new-found rage toward horrid customer support. I discovered Charles Schwab’s “High Yield Investor Checking”. Learning from WaMu, the first thing I did was call them with a hundred questions. ATM fees, international rates, FDIC insurance, wire fees, and every other question I had. Someone was on the phone with me inside of a minute, and answered everything right away. I feel like I’m doing a sell job here, but I’m happy enough with their service and think that too many people are using shitty banks. So here’s what I found:

• No physical location. They don’t count on you ever going in. Bottom line: Internet is all you need.
• ZERO ATM fees. Anywhere. Worldwide. They will REIMBURSE every ATM fee from other companies. Even in other countries. And it happens automatically. No phone calls. Bottom line: you’ll never pay a dime to take money out of an ATM.
• No checking / savings account split. You make ~2% APY on your checking account. No more keeping some money in savings, other in checking, and worrying about balances. Bottom line: less maintenance. (Though some like having the separation, I find it annoying)
• Personal bank rep. Someone calls you after you open your account, and says “I’m your guy. If you ever want to know anything about your account, call me. Here’s my direct information.” You have any questions? No stupid automated tele-systems. Just call the number and you deal with someone who knows your account. Bottom line: GREAT customer support.
• They send you pre-addressed pre-paid envelopes to send in your checks for depositing. OR, if you like, deposit at any Schwab investment center. They’re everywhere. The money goes into your investment account (free and automatic with the checking account) and you can move it over to savings online. Bottom line: Depositing is easy.
• No minimums. No monthlies. Your account is completely free, and there’s virtually no requirements to open one.

Okay. I feel like I should be getting paid by Schwab for this rant, but in all honesty, I just want to help anyone out who’s in the market for a new bank (maybe you should be?). I did the research, and these guys are the best (so far). Let me know if you find someone better.

-t

 

“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude…” -R.W. Emerson

… Who of those among us, those with whom we hold in high regard, are the independent thinkers bound within society? If an answer does not buffet us immediately, why then do we placate our conscience by conforming to the lead of those legions that enlighten neither society nor themselves? It is unanswerable to a slave of an unenlightened legion; only by a lone few independent minds capable of understanding can it be truly addressed…

All of us are born into the exquisite beauty of the world as untouched clay, genius in its purest form. Our journey to the center of society throughout life tampers and poisons our formerly independent genius capacities, which were molded by nature’s perfected mechanisms of evolution. This contamination leads us to believe that blind belief is the only belief. Thus, we are victims to a public that teaches postmortem treachery for all those who truly think. We are the insentient drones that drive our own progress in reverse.

Yet, independence is scattered among us still. In the minds of those who take not what is assimilated into the weak, but that which is rejected by shepherds leading the public, there exists a questioning nature behind all that is taught. This curiosity inspired temptation leads these minds to a place towering far above the others. A state of individual creativity is wrought from our roots in the beginning of mankind; the truest thoughts stifled since birth are reawakened, and brought into being. The immaculate knowledge originally beset into us upon our awakening into this world is sewn again. But those once great are easily ejected from society. This forged greatness can only be balanced with a societal membership using extreme precision. And so, within the solitude of loneliness dwells the onslaught of individualists who have failed to fulfill the former. It is only the singular minds possessing the wealth of individual thought, yet those that are still bound to the fabric of society, that loom greatly…

Why are the independent so quickly left to this solitude of loneliness? A quick retort would blame societal ignorance, and perhaps even go so far as to stem this from the roots of education. But no! Blame must not be cast into the only tool of redemption. Education is powerful, and casting it aside exercises one’s right to simply let continue the ongoing flow of vast societal ignorance around and through independent thought. Those once great, and those great, and those not yet great will be forgotten, and free thought will crumble.

It should be obvious that success is entirely based upon the person evaluating any given situation. I might see success as simply being happy (which, I in fact do!) where others feel — for reasons of upbringing, social standing, … whatever — it may depend on more quantifiable entities. Money is obviously the likely “number one” candidate here, though I’m sure there are countless other equally silly notions of success. Granted, I hold no disdain for those who chase their dreams of become a millionaire; in fact, quite the opposite. I applaud those who are motivated and confident enough to make strides down that path. However, I must make a distinction between those who chase the dream because of the chase itself (and their love of the work that drives them), and those who chase the dream only because fame/fortune is their end-all perceived happiness. These are two very, very different types of people and - in my personal opinion - the latter of which will never become “successful” in any form of its definition.

I pride myself in my ability to remain happy and content with myself and my life regardless of the situation I’m in at the time. Though I can definitively attribute a large part of this to the relatively bump-free life I’ve had, I also know that I’ve dealt with a good handful of rather unwelcome situations with nothing but a smile and a good attitude. Applying this same notion to everything in my life from business to personal to academic, I think it’s helped me feel completely successful with everything I’ve done.

This article was partially prompted by my brief ’success’ conversation. However, it was also half inspired by an article I just read regarding the ‘Billionaire Boys Club’ and the rules that accompany membership. I don’t know what this club is or who started it, but I know it’s got entry rules. Some of them struck me as good, sound business (or even “lifelong”) advice, where others struck me as rather ridiculous. So, I’m going to briefly give my opinions on these rules that dictate who can and cannot become a member of this club. These rules were grabbed from John Ballantine’s blog.

Rule One- You must have atleast one business venture Well, this isn’t really based on any sort of value, experience, or advice - just a rule guiding membership, so I won’t knock it.

Rule Two- You must know who Warren Buffett, Jack Welsh, Richard Branson, Charlie Munger, the google guys, and any other billionaire legends and swear by their mantle I disagree with this as much as anyone could disagree with something. And I give this food for thought as my reasoning: How many of the massively monetarily (or otherwise) successful people likely based their vision on someone else’s work? Did they because successful because they though, “I want to become successful. How have other people done this?” … or, from my observances, much more likely, simply been driven to do what they love and because they love it, they were the best. Two 100% opposite approaches to business.

Rule Three- You must have charisma and know how to sell yourself. You need to know how to make people like you or hate you. Yeah, I can agree with this. Being charismatic is probably the most important trait anyone can have; relationships (any kind-friendship, business, etc.) are what make people truly happy, and having charisma is the easiest way to establish these relationships.

Rule Four- Never take no for an answer. Yes and no. From a business perspective, I can see how this may be a desirable attribute (to a certain extent), yet it also conveys a particular air of superiority and perhaps even snobbishness; one who can’t take no for an answer also can’t realize the err in their ways before the mistake is made. One who can’t take no for an answer is never wrong until they’ve convinced themselves, which is often times far too late.

Rule Five- Know when to quit. Duh.

Rule Six- Never stop learning. I agree completely. (though the following comment, “School is worthless in itself except for networking purposes” I disagree with completely)

Rule Seven- Don’t waste time with losers, they only bring you down. Yes, but watch your definition of loser. If it encompasses your friends, or is built upon one of the silly forms of the “success” definition (money, etc.) then you might as well buy yourself an “I’m a Jackass” sign now.

Rule Eight- Develope a sense of style. Meh. Be presentable. Overly stylish people give off a certain vibe of vanity. Whether or not this is a bad thing is up to you, but I personally like people who care more about who they are than what they look like.

Rule Nine- Understand the rules of power No idea what this even means.

Rule Eleven-Develope Confidence Absolutely.

Rule Twelve- Find a solid business partner. Find a solid business team, and make sure nobody’s in it for themselves. Interdependence is a pretty huge make-or-break factor in teams.

Rule Thirteen- You need to have a billion dollars worth of venture capitilists funds that you can access if you need it. Total BS. In this day and age, you get the right group of creative people together and the money issues can work themselves out. Be driven to do what you love, not to get paid to do it.

Rule Fourteen- Have a network worth over a couple billion dollars Again, total bull. If you’re basing the value the people you know on how much money they’re worth, you’ve got a lot more to worry about than your businesses. Consider a psychiatrist.

That’s all folks. I’m sick of typing. Have a great evening.

-Tyson

I keep reading about “microcelebrities” (individuals who are very well known to only a few dozen/hundred people), but I can’t find any mention of an actual person who is one. -Mark Mayhew

The dynamic between all the people that have physical connections to each other remains the exact same in the virtual world. That is, a microcelebrity in real life can remain so in the virtual world. I do, however, observe a significant footnote to this abstraction; that the microcelebrity paradigm exists across only the people who know them in the same realm. If I’m famous throughout my college friends, the exact same will remain true regardless of the medium, and this will remain disjoint from those external to my network of college friends.

As Facebook evolved it created easier methods to forge new connections between people without any prior physical relation (and the Feed, I think, is perhaps the biggest instigator of this). We’re therefore all connected to two (or more) distinct networks inside of the same system: one for the virtual solidification of relationships we’ve forged physically (and multiple networks may exist therein), and one for the new, completely virtual relationships.

I’ve personally noticed a small amount of dissonance in my online communications due to this fact alone. I carry myself (as do all) with a demeanor particular to those I’m communicating with — and this is quite different between my social college life and my professional life. Yet, social networks, blogs, and every other online community are together blurring the lines between these two “roles” I take; my professional life is invariably linked to my online presence, which is simultaneously built purely out of my “social” communications and media.

Microcelebrities that have not existed in a physical sense are being created all the time because of this, defying traditional social roles. Do I know microcelebrities in a physical sense? Absolutely; I could name a number of friends around school that almost anyone I talk to knows of to some extent or another. This then creates a similar presence in the online world, which maintains some degree of their ‘celebrity’ status. Additionally, I could name a number of online folks that are very well known across a certain slice of the blogosphere, or segment of a social network. In a similar fashion, this likely creates a similar presence in a number of physical networks — though I’m sure the degree to which this is true varies quite a bit, depending on the members that constitute the virtual fanbase.

The social status from one is blurring into another, in many cases unintentionally. Is this a logical manifestation of our innate human sociology? Or are there completely revolutionary social influences at work here?

(I have no idea.)

I first buy all my domains through GoDaddy because they’re the cheapest, and I already have my credit card on file there, so there’s less typing involved. However, GoDaddy is annoying in a relatively large number of aspects, so to avoid having to use their clumsy interfaces more than once, I immediately change the domain’s nameservers (via their Domain Management interface).

Enter EveryDns- A simple free solution for managing your (sub)domains, mailservers, etc. Just point the primary A record to your hosting company and create CNAME records for all your subdomains (that are on the same server, anyway). I’ve tried 3 or 4 other free DNS services but experienced downtime and disliked the interfaces of them. EveryDns was my favorite.

Now, hosting. I use Jumpline, because they give me a fully configurable VDS system for really, really cheap. I like VDS over simple virtual hosts because it can give you much more control over your system configuration. Granted, if you’re not at all familiar with Linux administration, this likely isn’t very beneficial for you. If you are, however, it gives you your own root filesystem that you can alter in whatever ways you see fit. I think it’s great, and its just so damn cheap! Plus, search the
forums on Facebook Developers and you’ll find a coupon code for 100% free VDS hosting for a year — the deal that got me hooked.

I would like to also add that I’ve tried MediaTemple for a little while. Though I can’t attest to either services’ ability to handle large loads (as most/all of my sites are pretty low volume at the moment) I loved their web interface. If you don’t like working with a command line shell, they’re pretty great. Their DNS management is also fancier than EveryDNS’s, so you can consolidate your DNS management to the same interface as your hosting, which can be convenient. However, I just didn’t like not having total control and moved to Jumpline.

p.s. Are you annoyed by waiting so long when you buy a new domain or move servers to be able to see the result and access things the right way? I was. Check out OpenDNS.

Yup. That’s it.

I got an email asking me how to use Flash and PHP with a validated session correctly. Someone wants their Flash applet to talk to a server page via getURL, and they want that server page to be able to access the respective user’s Facebook session. The difficulty here is that Flash will not, by default, pass all the signed Facebook variables to requested PHP (or other) server pages. So, what are we to do?

IFramed Applications

If your application runs in an IFrame, you do not have access to the handy <fb:swf> tag that Facebook offers. The only difference here is that you have to construct the query string containing all signed variables yourself. This is easy enough.

On a side note, you should always use swfobject.js to embed SWF into an HTML page. It’s readily available everywhere on the Internet, and it allows an SWF to be loaded upon page load without first requiring a user click.

To use it, insert a <div> object in your HTML page, and in an onLoad Javascript callback for your page, write something like this:


function makeFlash(flashvars) {
  var flash_object = new SWFObject("swf/rateme.swf", "swf_object_id", "190", "70", "8", bgcolor);
  flash_object.addParam("flashvars",flashvars);
  flash_object.write(objid);
}

Where objid is the ID of the div object on your page. The key here is the Flashvars parameters. This is where you need to pass in all the fb_sig* variables that Facebook passed to you.

In PHP, to create this string (for the Flashvars), you’ll have code something like the following:

$fbsigstring = array();
foreach($_REQUEST as $key=>$value) {
  if(strpos($key,"fb_sig") === 0)
    $fbsigstring[] = $key . ‘=’ . urlencode($value);
}
$fbsigstring = implode(’&’,$fbsigstring);

This will construct the string you need to pass to your makeFlash() function when your page has completed loading.

FBML Apps

If your application uses FBML, then you can use <fb:swf>. This will create a Flash object that already has all the signed Facebook variables passed to it via Flashvars, so there’s no need for you to do anything. Read on.

Finally..

Inside your Flash object you need to use these variables and pass them back to your server. This can be done in a similar fashion as in PHP, but just in Actionscript. See:

var fb_sign_vars:String = "";
var fb_userpresent:Boolean = false;
var keyStr:String;
var valueStr:String;
for (keyStr in _root) {
  if(keyStr.indexOf("fb_sig") == 0) {
    if(keyStr == "fb_sig_user")
      fb_userpresent = true;
    valueStr = String(_root[keyStr]);
    fb_sign_vars += keyStr + “=” + valueStr + “&”;
  }
}
…
getURL(”myURL.php?somevariable=stupid&” + fb_sign_vars);

Simple. Also, if what you’re doing is only server-communication (as is often the case– user performs some task, record that in the server, send back some updated result, for instance..) you may want to talk to the server with XML. This is extremely easy to work with in PHP, but what about Actionscript? Even easier. (This code partially from Rate Me application at http://apps.facebook.com/ratemeapp )


var transmitXML:XML = new XML();
var recieveXML = new XML();
transmitXML.ignoreWhite = recieveXML.ignoreWhite = true;
recieveXML.onLoad = function() { /* process results from server right here! */ };
transmitXML.parseXML("<?xml version='1.0' standalone='yes'?>" +
  "<rateme-request action='savevote'><savevote raterid='" + this.myRaterId +
  "' value='"+(idx+1)+"'/></rateme-request>");
transmitXML.sendAndLoad(this.serverURL + "?" + this.signVars, recieveXML);

There you go. Now your PHP server pages will get the full set of signed Facebook variables and creating your Facebook() object should work just dandy.

I’ll probably be posting important progress I make with any of the various large projects I’m a part of, random thoughts regarding kiteboarding, random thoughts in general, and informative articles that attempt to articulate some subject matter I feel has possible relevance or importance in the life of someone other than myself.

Please, comment and argue with me. I like arguing But don’t dis the artwork. haha.