Josh Zapin’s Musings

And she’s great

Read more…

I just downloaded the Google API: The toolset that Google gives to anyone who wants to play around with Google’s programs to do some very cool stuff. 

If you look at the download size it says 666K! See:

{mosimage}

 What do you think?  Go there and see for yourself!

Read more…

Is it a good thing that our economy (especially our tech sector) continues to churn its workers over and over again?

I’m in this predicament right now: My company, Maxtor, is being purchased by Seagate.  It is all but expected that I will be losing my job in the next 6 months.  While I think the transaction makes sense from a business standpoint (there really needs to be more consolidation in our industry), it’s hard for continuity.  How can we build good solid companies if the ground keeps moving from underneath us?

Read more…

I’ve had some ideas swirling in my head for some businesses of late.  I won’t go into details as to what they are (right now), but I’ve been searching for some names for them.  Why would I need a name for a business that doesn’t exist right now?  Because it makes it more tangible for me.

Of course, I lack a creative bone in my body, so I’ve been struggling with names.   I want it to be something cool, something hip, something that would resonate but doesn’t necessarily mean anything.  Think of some of the names of the most successful businesses today.  Google, Microsoft, eBay.  Were any of them household names before their success?  Nope.  Not at all. 

What’s my solution?  The Internet of course!  I found a few random name generators:

Noemata and New Media Company Generator.  Both come up with some interesting names for companies.  

Noemata comes up with "gibberish" like names Leonet, Napson, and Manvan.  (What would Manvan be selling?).  It even has button to search google to see what comes up with that name (you definietly don’t want a domain

 
New Media Comapny Generator is even cooler.  Not only does it find some cool combiations, they apply a random logo, color, and a tagline to boot! 

Try them out.  Maybe they’ll spark an idea for you?

Read more…

Matisyahu is going to be on David Letterman tonight (1/16).  If you haven’t checked him out, you should.  He’s one of the most interesting acts in music today.  Channeling Bob Marley with cantorial singing.

Try him out.  You won’t be disappointed. 

If you really want to get into him, definitely check out his cds. They are fantastic!

Update: Here is a link to the performance on Letterman.

Read more…