Hey gang, slight modification. We’ll be doing this live interview on Saturday at 2pm Texas time instead of the 3pm time I previously reported in error. Sorry about that!

So, if you want to join us, either click on Cali’s gorgeous picture above, or go here for all the details! Gee, that’s a hard choice huh…

Hey folks, on Saturday June 7, 2008 at 3pm Central time in the U.S. (-5 GMT) Cali Lewis and Neal Campbell will be coming by to live stream an interview with your’s truly. We’ll be chatting about chicken nuggets, quantum string theory, plasma torches and bikini waxes.

Well, maybe not. I actually have no idea what we are going to discuss! But what I do know is, if you stop by http://www.ustream.tv/calilewis/ you’ll be able to watch live, and if you click “Go to Show Details and chat”, you can choose a username (no password necessary) and join in the conversation.

I’ll be taking questions from anyone and everyone on religion, politics, abortion, war, famine, disease, and Michael Jackson. I might not answer any of those questions… but I’ll certainly take them! Otherwise, I imagine we’ll probably talk a little about Woopra, Layered Tech, OMB and other geeky stuff. So mark your calendar and come on by!

One of my readers (Kirk) wrote in with the following question:

I have just purchased the whole set of Katana knives plus a few extra to fill the block. My question is, how the heck do you use that steel properly to keep them as sharp as they were out of the box? Is that even possible? I have ran several of them on the steel at the recomended 22 degrees and it seems to change the edge. Don’t get me wrong, they are still very sharp, but they don’t pop hairs off my arm as they did right out of the box.

Great question Kirk, and I’ve got a rather complex answer for you. As far as sharpening the Katana knives – or any other knife for that matter – you need to know that, just like everything else on Earth, there are varying degrees of cost associated with higher levels of performance. So, I’m going to give you a ton of information here, and you can then make a decision as to which way to go based on your budget and willingness to put in some elbow grease.
Read the rest of this entry »

In the last week at least 5 people have asked me, “how do you come up with so many interesting articles?” To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have chosen to write about this topic if Lorelle hadn’t asked me to (anything for you Lorelle!) because I’m afraid it will bore you people to tears! But I’ll do my best to make it somewhat entertaining, just keep plenty of Kleenex nearby in case I fail…

Before we get into the meat of this question (mmmm… meat), its worth noting that I enjoy writing. On top of that, I wrote a lot in my previous life as a corporate executive, so I’ve had plenty of practice (translation – I raise BS to an art level). As a result of my experience, I recommend that all Bloggers examine two fundamental questions:

• Are you really a good writer? If you know you are weak in this area then you need to get some help. (Tip #1) Take a writing course at a community college, or at the very least have someone proofread your work before posting it. A poor writer can make the most interesting topic boring, while a great writer can turn the most mundane task into a true joy to read. (Example: Dr. Seuss on morning breakfast.)
• Do you enjoy writing? Trying to be a Blogger without a fundamental love of writing would be like trying to be a dentist who finds halitosis repugnant. These things just don’t go together, and eventually you are going to quit.

And while we’re just getting started, I will say that I worry that the reason people are asking this question is really because they are searching for a “quick and dirty” source that will make this whole thing easy. I’m sorry to disappoint, but I spend as much time doing this as most people do at their full time job. So if there is an “easy way”, I don’t know it.

But I digress…
Read the rest of this entry »

The Man received the following question from Steven:

I just purchased a 37″ Sharp Aquos. Is there somewhere on the Internet that I can find the best settings for picture/voice quality — or do I just have to go through it all via trial and error?

Well, Steve. First of all congrats on your new Aquos. I absolutely love my 42″ version and I think you’re going to love yours. Now, to answer your question, there is some personal preference involved with tweaking your audio and video settings, but there are a number of tools to help you with the project.
Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a question I received from a reader:

Can you recommend a good hard drive sweeper? I need to clean up my PC at work… been surfing the net a little too much.

Well yes. Yes I can…
Read the rest of this entry »

After my previous review of the Zen Vision W I had a reader Ask the Man the following question:

Hi,

I just got myself a Zen W last X-mas. I think it’s fantastic as well. I bought the 30gb instead of the 60gb thinking I could probably upgrade the hard drive to a higher capacity eventually.

Do you think it’s possible or know what kind of hard disk format they have in those machines?

Thanks One Man!

No, thank YOU for the question! As far as the answer is concerned, there’s only one way to find out… crack that puppy open!
Read the rest of this entry »

I received the following request from a reader:

Since you’re The Man… Kindly grace us with your Top 5 Consumer Electronic “Must Haves” in the $600 to $1,000 range?

I’ll do you one better! Here are a bunch of my top “must haves” in a variety of price ranges. Not all of these are totally “electronic”, but all of them would definitely fit the description of gadgets. Anyway, here we go:
Read the rest of this entry »

From a reader:

Dear Mr. Man,

I’ve been at my job for a long time, and everyone loves me, but I keep getting passed up for promotion. What should I do?

Sincerely,
Sponge Bob

Read the rest of this entry »