Back in November I wrote about a new client of EchoDitto's, Stefany Shaheen, and her blog focused on what it's like to parent a child with diabetes. more

I've always been an advocate for making New Years Resolutions - I'm just not usually the type to actually keep them. This year, I have a few resolutions: quit smoking (which I've been trying to do for over a year now), work-out more (once I fix my injured shoulder), and get more cool stuff done at work. I find it incredibly frustrating that there is so much I want to do, but it feels like there's never enough time to do it all.

So, regarding resolution #3, I've become obsessed with not letting anything get lost in the shuffle. For me, it has become a three-step process: more

I’ve had a lot of experience in my life working with children – I spent 2 summers as a camp counselor at Tanager Lodge, I babysit various kids several times a week and I am constantly surprised at the general resiliency of children. I think this resiliency exists solely because their brains haven’t been conditioned to believe there are certain limits in life. Simply put, their imaginations are insane. They still firmly believe, until a certain age, that anything is possible (and of this, I think many of us are envious). more

Nicco took an informal email poll of our office asking how people would be following the election results. I was glad he did because I was curious myself. A few of us have been obsessed with Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight who not only provides the stats, but interesting analysis (yesterday's piece was especially interesting). more

I have to admit - I don't check w00t.com on a daily basis. Most of the time I'll check it on a whim, or if my coworkers or friends point me to the site for a cool product. So, it's for this reason that I point your attention, right now, to w00t.com! We've recently been working with a very cool company - Neuton Mowers. Of course all of the people we work with are very cool, but I don't have a lawn, and never before have I wanted something so badly that I personally have no use for. more

Cross posted on our EchoSxSw blog

I just went to a panel called, "The female takeover of casual gaming." Not sure what I was expecting, but I did learn some interesting statistics. I'm wondering, though, if the panelists really analyzed the statistics in an accurate way. A few notes from the panel, and then I'll make my arguments:

- Statistically, females don't like the first person shooter games, or "core" games (as the panelists called them) as much as they like games like "Diner Dash" (which I had never heard of until today). So basically, female gamers are generally more attracted to casual games than they are to core games like Counter Strike, Halo, World of Warcraft, etc. The panelists argued that this was because of the nature of the game - females are generally not attracted to virtual killing sprees or violence in general more

This early (early) morning, Matt, Chris, Brian, Phil and I are all flying South to Austin, TX for another unpredictable and most likely unforgettable SxSwi EchoDitto experience! Chris, Matt and I are here at National Airport, departing early – wheels up at 6am on the dot – we’re just dedicated like that. Brian and Phil are coming later, but it’s not for lack of dedication, rather, more flight options going from NYC and Boston to Austin (it’s insanity what it takes to get a direct flight from DC to Austin).

I’m particularly excited because before joining EchoDitto I lived in Austin for a year but never actually got the chance to experience any aspect of SxSw, not to mention an intense conference with all-day panels, people, and I’m sure some parties. Though we’ll surely be tired after a long morning of travel, we’ve been planning for weeks and are ready to leave the unmistakable Ditto mark on Austin. more

Family is, and always has been, very important to me. If I say anything in this post that seems a bit harsh, well, it’s just the kind of humor my family is used to. None of us take offense, and neither should you.

That said, the other day I drove to my grandparents house with a mission: teach my grandmother how to use a computer. My 80-some year old grandparents just got a nice, new Mac laptop. Before last Thursday, neither of them had ever used a computer before. So, being the one grandchild in a computer/technology-related job (but I like to think it’s because I’m the favorite grandchild), I immediately received a phone call Thursday morning from my mother asking if I could go over to my grandparents house “just for a little bit” to teach them the ins and outs of computer use. more

If it seems like there are more college students in the DC and Maryland area today than you are used to, don’t worry. If you’re in your car, or at home, and are puzzled at the sight of about 5,500 young people at the Capital, just hit up your wireless and type in www.powershift07.org.

Power Shift began on Friday and is going on right now as you read this post -- it's the first national youth summit focused on solving our climate crisis and is happening right here in our area. Power Shift 2007, a project of Energy Action Coalition, has organized this event to give these young leaders the tools to make great change back at home or on their college campuses. more