Friday Book Review: The Guns of Shadow Valley

On this weeks review we will take a bit of a detour and review The Guns of Shadow Valley. A webcomic co-created by Dave Wachter and Jim Clark with Dave handling the illustration duties as well.

I originally heard about Guns when I attended the Comic Geek Speak Super Show back in September of 2008. At the show Dave was selling a preview of Guns with the Hollywood tag line Imagine The Magnificent Seven with super-powers which is supposed to put you in the mind set of a spaghetti western where the gun slingers are not quite what they seem. I really fell in love with premise so I bought the preview book and was not disappointed.

What has disappointed me is that no major comic book company has taken a chance on this book which confuses me to no end. Regardless Dave has decided to start posting up his pages as a twice a week web comic. As of this writing the first 14 pages are on-line and it gives you a good indication of what is to come. Please check it out.

I'm really digging Dave's art so much so I commissioned him to draw me a Sandman for this years Windy City Comic Con.

Terry Fox Run 2009

Once again this year I am proudly supporting The Terry Fox Foundation in its ongoing work to fund innovative and progressive cancer research programs.

I very much hope you will consider making a donation in support of my effort, confident in the knowledge that your kindness will impact the lives of so many people living with cancer. I share the following message with you, as I believe it reflects the core philosophy of this organization and one of the many reasons I choose to support it:

The Terry Fox Foundation firmly believes in its obligation to be fully transparent in all matters relating to fiscal reporting. With only 3 cents of every dollar raised going towards administration, and ten cents going towards fundraising costs, the Foundation is an industry leader in fundraising accountability.

You can donate to me directly and securely by accessing my personal fundraising page:

http://www.terryfox.org/cgi/page.cgi/Works/participants.html/WNJN2E

Thank you in advance for your generosity and support of my goal.
Simon Mac Donald

Penny Pinching Coffee Secrets

Lifehacker has a good post on how to save some cash when getting your daily coffee fix.

A Coffee Cup on Twitter

Did you ever wonder what your coffee cup is thinking? Well now you can find out by following your cup of joe on twitter.

Starbucks Pricing Changes

Starbucks has changed their pricing retroactive last Thursday. Fancy drinks are going up 15 to 30 cents while regular drinks like coffee and lattes are going down 5 to 15 cents.

Friday Book Review: Good to Great

I recently finished listening to Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't. In it the author, Jim Collins, combs through years of data to find 11 companies who've made the jump from good to great. Those 11 companies were Abbot Labs, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gillette, Kimberly-Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo of which Circuit City and Fannie Mae's inclusions really made me laugh due to their recent troubles. However you have to take it with two grains of salt 1) the book was written in 2001 and 2) they had a great run before they lost their way.

My favourite part about the book was the Hedgehog Concept:

You’ll know that you’re getting closer to your Hedgehog Concept when you align three intersecting circles that represent three pivotal questions: What can we be the best in the world at? (And equally important—what can we not be the best at?) What is the economic denominator that best drives our economic engine (profit or cash flow per “x”)? And what are our core people deeply passionate about? Answer those three questions honestly, facing the brutal facts without blinking, and you’ll begin to see your Hedgehog Concept emerge.

As I was listening to the book it struck me that the hedgehog concept could work not only for businesses but for individuals as well. If you can find something that you are passionate about, that you are skilled at and can make a living at you will be a happier person. Sometimes this means giving up that high paying job for something that you enjoy doing more. In the long run you'll be more successful. If you don't believe me you should read Jonathan Coulton's bio.

Anyway, it's a great book and it's well worth the listen from a personal standpoint even if you are not a Fortune 500 CEO.

Chemex Brewing Guide

Intelligentsia Chemex Brewing Guide from Intelligentsia Coffee on Vimeo.