dwcoon's favorite subreddits & stats

dwcoon's Top 7 subreddits

as of August 29, 2014

Subreddit subscriber count + stats accurate as of 8/28/14 1535 dw

•            1)  www.reddit.com/r/ADHD     
  27,314 reADHDitors discussing AD...  hey sure is a nice day today isn't it? Want to go/do something?
  
•            2)  www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit   
  6,501,403  subreddit subscribers asking and answering questions
  
•            3)  www.reddit.com/r/askscience   
  3,303,614  scientists discussing science
  
•            4)  www.reddit.com/r/IAmA   
  6,167,014 who are a something interesting. I Am A diplomat/doctor/judge/drug dealer....  AMA ask me anything
• notables IAmA:
• reddit.com/r/IAmA/i_am_barack_obama_president_of_the_united_states/  23,968 comments
  

•            5)  www.reddit.com/r/aww   
  what happens when you give 5,078,626 people a place to share pictures of cute things, and then have all thoses pictures compete in a never ending contest to find the cutest thing ever? You get the best, ever growing collection of the cutest things humanity has ever known.  aww isn't that awesome lol   awwExample
  
•            6)  www.reddit.com/r/trees  
  621,109 human beings who enjoy/or need marijuana for mental health or recreational reasons
  
•            7)  www.reddit.com/r/sex  
  477,836 people sharing stories about their lives, and wow, I've read some interesting stuff....
  

These subreddits plus the reddit app (I use reddit is fun) = literally endless reading material that is highly interesting to me. (It's endless because there is always new material being added, lots of it...) 

Conclusion:  Whatever interests you, there are subreddits for that. So if you like to read, you should make a reddit account right away, you won't regret it....

Architecture of the Homepage

New URL

neuraltornado.com/clean/menu-lv1/menu-hierarchy/website/245-homepage-architecture.html

Priceless advice from a great webmaster on the psychology behind a modern professional website.

Hi Guys,
Let me take a little time to talk about the architecture of the homepage - it is very precise and we should stick to that precision because we are mirroring user-psychologies with it in order to provide a good user experience. 

-----------------

<header>

Summer hours - give ACTUAL hours, not blurbs or pitches. People want to know when you're open so they can plan and that's what that area is for: critical information. 

------------------

<showcase>

"Do you like wine paired with great food?" - don't ever lead in with a question. Make a statement that catches them. It's obvious they like wine and great food. 

This is a focal point, so the perfect place for the Rare Earth byline "Get a Taste of This." Then follow that with a VERY short piece of text - a hook. This is the web. They won't read the longer stuff, especially not in an area that users have learned to treat as a showcase position.

No tag clouds can go in here. They would be diminished by the background image (which is meant to catch the eye) and they need to stand out. If they are going to be used as a search feature they especially need to have their own pride of place in the site architecture so visitors can find them on any given page without having to back-click to the home page or conduct additional navigation. 

Visitors wouldn't see the tag cloud in the showcase area without mousing over this area anyway, so it's wasted effort

-----------------

<feature>

This area is an extension of the showcase focal area (Get a Taste of This). It is there to drive visitors to any of the three major sections of the site - where they will _then_ find the expanded information. We can't put the expanded information in here because they will not read it. This is a home page, so like the showcase area, this area becomes a headline area although a little more involved because now you are asking the visitor to fork _into_ the site. 

I left instructions for the _length_ and _nature_ of what should go in there. You can see my instructions here:

http://rareearthwinebar.com/sandbox/

Once those blurbs are written as I have indicated I will link them to the appropriate areas of the website - where you then have all the real estate you want in which to tell your story. 

--------------------

There should be nothing after the daily menu because it's distracting and de-focuses the visitor. This is not where you talk about the staff and their roles. That goes in an "About" or some other modular area. 

--------------------

Take a moment to truly familiarize yourself with what's happening on the home page - it is carefully architected:

1. Critical contact info, which is the first reason a visitor is there - to learn where and when.  <header>

2. A focal point which is primarily image-drive, with a by-line (hopefully) catchy. This needs to tell them right away what the site is about. <showcase> 

3. A fork into the major sections of the site. <feature>

4. [left] Daily menu changes (article area, which updates frequently and is info a visitor needs _now_, in order to decide whether or not to visit Rare Earth)

5. [right] Daily happenings (latest news, which also updates frequently, also info a visitor needs _now_)

6. List of drinks - this is a wine bar

7. Then below that we can add a few more forks - into food, or mood, or picture galleries, or a calendar, or several TAG clouds. But by the time the visitor gets to this area (already the footer) they have been drawn into the site's architecture and know what the site is about (at a glance) as well as where everything is and what's going on, without once losing their focus or stumbling over anything verbose. 

-----------------

Best rule for writing for the web: less is more

Important rule for writing for the modern web: you don't know what device visitors will access the site on, so again, less is more. 

Codicil to this important rule: we use @media Queries to deliver versions of the site to viewports of different sizes, so in many cases the text has to be customized accordingly (using media query classes to hide or add bits to a text string). So you have to plan for this.

Another important rule: text on the web serves an aesthetic as well as informational purpose. That means length matters - it has to fit in a way that conveys the information without breaking the aesthetic layout. This is even more important when we're working with Responsive websites like Rare Earth, which use percentage and not pixel measures so they can customize content-delivery depending on the viewport.

In brief: write short, write catchy, treat text as an aesthetic element.

---------------

OK:

1. I've fixed the "Our Selection" section.

2. I will fix the Feature area (Drink, Food, Mood) once you get the right text for it - just give it to me and I'll add it because it requires some coding in this instance. 

3. Take the text that's in the Feature area and use it in the appropriate sections of the website. 

4. Do the same for the material below Today's Menu.

5. In the meantime I'll start adding the additional software we'll need, as well as the food categorization/architecture and a couple of other things.

Rich

PS - don't be offended by the above or take any of it personally; we have been doing this for a long, long time. Trust me on it.

Good news, my hard work is starting to pay off

I think I've found a new job? My dream job perhaps? This is a recent email I got from a seasoned webmaster that I've been collaborating this past month...

Hi David,
Thanks for the update. You definitely _are_ learning a lot as well as whipping right along. I'm going into the site tonight to help you out with the more programmatic stuff.

But I've something else in mind. I'm very impressed with the way you've taken control and driven yourself to learn the CMS - certainly how you've gotten this far on your own. Most people just whine and give up. 

We spoke briefly about you selling and building for me. I'd like to discuss that. I'm always looking for people who are independent, smart, driven, and quick learners - like you. 

My model is very simple. Anything you bring in: 1. You get 10% right off the top of the contract.2. You get to build it (here we negotiate price per site with the members of the team who work on the site - typically me, the content developer [you], my designer, and if needed, my programmer).3. You get to maintain it. Also, any site I sell and need content development on, #s 2 & 3 above apply if I include you on the development team.I subcontract with everybody, which means less headaches for everyone - and most important, other than occasional meetings, allows you to work from anywhere at any time (as long as we're meeting deadlines). In the structure above you end up running quite a number of sites over time, exactly as you are/will be doing for Rare Earth (except that I'm not involved in the billing structure for Rare Earth, since there isn't one).Let me know if you're interested!Rich

To which I replied: 

Thank you Richard for the kind words and encouragement. I am absolutely interested. I love creative writing, learning, researching and website content development. I strive to learn something new everyday and I'm learning new skills everyday.

This is what excites me and drives me. This is definitely the kind of work I'm meant to do.

It would be an honor to work with you on future projects. 

Side note: When I first read this email, I laugh to myself and said that I didn't know what CMS was, but apparently have learned it well.  So I had to look that up right away. Here is the Wikipedia definition:

A content management system (CMS) is a computer application that allows publishing, editing and modifying content, organizing, deleting as well as maintenance from a central interface. Such systems of content management provide procedures to manage workflow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual steps or an automated cascade. CMS's have been available since the late 1990s.
CMS's are often used to run websites containing blogs, news, and shopping. Many corporate and marketing websites use CMS's. CMS's typically aim to avoid the need for hand coding, but may support it for specific elements or entire pages. 

I am well on my way to mastering CMS. Mastery of the very architecture behind great website. Combine this with love of learning, broad knowledge base, website experience, creative writing style, ambition, drive to always give my best, desire to be an entrepreneur, my unwillingness to work a soul-sucking job...
Makes me a website content developer all-star in the making.... Yay :)

Dare I pioneer, or shall I defy or heavens forbid "define" modern context?

I know I must sound conceited when I say that there is a possibility that I (a 30 year old sociologist with a state univeristy education) know more than doctors. Simply because they are doctors and I'm a nobody. However the reality is that pioneer (like myself) are the ones that change history.  For example, at one point in history in the 16th century people thought that the earth was flat and that the ocean fell off the end of the earth.  But due to the courage of a few brave pioneers, humanity was able to break that false belief in favor of the truth.  

Nothing is perfect, nothing.  Everything and anything can always be improved to some degree. And lord knows our society is far from perfect.  This is the concept of progress and CPI, continual process improvement.  Science is the only answer. This is one thing I love about science.  Science's mission is to discover and understand the truth about the universe. However a principle of the scientific method is that what we believe to be the truth is only science's best guess, as the true nature of reality is not, and may never truly be know one hundred percent. Science is principle has no ego. And if our current hypothesis, theory or belief is proven false or trumped by new facts, we discard our current model in favor of the newer, more correct version.  

I humbly accept that I don't know everything or that I have all the answers. But I believe that am on to something and that I may be more correct than an old conservative doctor.  

All I'm asking for is that you consider that fact that you or I, or any other young person for that matter (the next generation is going to be the smarted in human history because of the wealth of information on the internet) may have a new fresh and valuable contribution to make. However if we wish to improve our society and our world, then we must leave behind old beliefs and ideas in favor of newer, better solutions to our problem.  

One thing is for sure.  If we keep doing things exactly as we are now, then nothing is going to change or improve, and the problems will only get worse.  It's time to evolve and progress. And it is up to me, the educated social scientist, or you, the unique individual with new creative ideas, inventive solutions or heck even just something different, to change the world.  
It's not going to happen any other way.  It is up to us.  This is our responsibility to do something for the sake of posterity....

So, what do you have to contribute?  What do you see as wrong or broken about our society that needs to be fixed?  It is my experience that if something feels wrong, it probably is... Don't let anyone tell you differently...  Follow your heart.  

     -Peace, Progress, Love and Learning for Posterity's sake! 

Dare I pioneer? v1.02 July 30, 2014    

My Music In Color BEGINNER PIANO SCHOOL (long description)

Welcome to My Music In Color BEGINNER PIANO SCHOOL (aka "My Mic BPS").

My Mic BPS's mission is three fold: 1) Teach you to play the piano (any song or style you want), 2) Help you understand "classical  music theory" (understanding this theory is critical, and makes the difference between an amature and a true musician) and 3) Teach you to sight-read piano sheet music (utilizing "Your Sight-Reading Secret") allowing you to play any song you want.  All this is to build you, the aspiring musician, the musical foundation needed for advancement and ultimately enjoying a lifetime of learning and playing music.

Everything the aspiring pianist needs to start their musical journey can be found in our book (color pencils included).  Using all original teaching methods designed especially for people with no previous music experience makes the learning process fun.

(Anyone can learn the music, all that's needed is determination and commitment and BPS will take care of the rest!).

School Tools: 

1. My Music in Color BEGINNER PIANO SCHOOL Music Theory 1st Grade Book  Book Link
2. Your Sight-Reading Secret App App Link
3. My Music in Color Website: sites.google.com/site/mymusicinco

The Concept: My Music in Color, or should I say "your" music in color utilizing your own touch of color as a learning tool to help you learn to sight-read piano sheet music.

  ADDING YOUR OWN ARTISTIC COLOR TOUCH AS A GUIDE TO HELP YOU LEARN AND SIGHT-READ. Good old fashioned black and white, ink and paper sheet music is great just as is. I don't want to change anything about the unadulterated classic form of sheet music. I am not trying to re-invent classical sheet music, I think of adding a personal touch of color as evolving and improving upon the old.

The “My Music in Color” Book is black and white and comes with a pack of color pencils.  You add the touch of color yourself as a learning tool and sight-reading guide. Use color to accentuate and emphasize the music. Make your own personalized color code system, something that makes sense and works for you. I like to color in the note tails of some pieces various colors, or color all the lines blue and spaces red, making “skips” and “steps” easier to read at a glance. Or some pieces I like to color all C notes red, and all G sharps green or B flats orange. It is completely up to you. Just highlight segments or the rhythms phrases or just make it the music look pretty, whatever makes you happy, and assists you in sight-reading faster and more effectively than ever before. Be sure to enter “your” colored music into the school contest for best Colored Sheet Music. Check out the BPS Color Music Contest for ideas.

What do I love about classical music? 

I love the beautiful sound; that and the amazingly coherent mathematical beauty that is the core of music theory; that and of course the satisfaction, excitement and challenge of actually playing piano by sight-reading classical sheet music that was written by the likes of Beethoven and Mozart. And now with the internet, now is the best time in history to learn!

I love how eloquent and articulate classical sheet music “describes” the intricacies of the sound of that piece of music. That and the beauty of the simplicity of the black and white music notes on paper spanning the ten lines and spaces of the Piano Grand Staff. All music can be accurately translated into sheet music, which with understanding of music theory, it is easy to learn to sight-read and play on the piano.  All sheet music is composed of simple notation of whole, half, quarter and sixteenth notes, with some rests, accidentals, dynamics and articulation notation thrown in here and there (don’t worry, this book teaches what all these fancy music terminology means). Piano sheet music also features key & times signatures, chords & arpeggios, finger numbers, slurs, ties, sharps, flats, crescendos, diminuendos and staccatos, the treble & bass clefs on the piano grand staff, measures and ledge lines, rhythms & harmonies, dotted notes, Major and minor Scales, repeats, octaves and pedal cue marks. Not to mention that without this 'written sheet music', we would not have any of the great sonatas and symphonies of the Classical Era that were written more than 200 years ago. These simple notations on paper immortalized the classical music of the late great icons like Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang A Mozart... And the best part of learning to music theory and to read sheet music is that there is an unlimited amount of sheet music waiting for you online and at your local music stores. There is more music than you could ever play in a life time! Your favorite songs are waiting for you. It all starts in first grade music school. (oh and the best part is the more you learn, the better it gets!)

Summer 2014 marks our school's third year anniversary and the seventh year of the Music in Color Concept as it was founded in 2007 by writer, musician, scientist David W Coon. This is just the beginning for BPS, the book, the app and for our school.  If you have ever wanted to learn to play piano, then this is the right place for you.

Much more to come.  Thank you for your support.

www.facebook.com/mymusicincolor

Fundraising Drive coming soon from IndieGoGo

www.indiegogo.com/my-music-in-color-beginner-piano-school-fundraising

MyMic BPS long descript  v1.02  7/28/2014 1604 BN SS

Ten Choices You Will Regret in 10 Years

Here are ten choices that ultimately lead to this phrase of regret, and how to elude them:

     1.  Wearing a mask to impress others. – If the face you always show the world is a mask, someday there will be nothing beneath it.  Because when you spend too much time concentrating on everyone else’s perception of you, or who everyone else wants you to be, you eventually forget who you really are.  So don’t fear the judgments of others; you know in your heart who you are and what’s true to you.  You don’t have to be perfect to impress and inspire people.  Let them be impressed and inspired by how you deal with your imperfections.

     2. Letting someone else create your dreams for you. – The greatest challenge in life is discovering who you are; the second greatest is being happy with what you find.  A big part of this is your decision to stay true to your own goals and dreams.  Do you have people who disagree with you?  Good.  It means you’re standing your ground and walking your own path.  Sometimes you’ll do things considered crazy by others, but when you catch yourself excitedly losing track of time, that’s when you’ll know you’re doing the right thing.  Read The 4-Hour Workweek.

     3. Keeping negative company. – Don’t let someone who has a bad attitude give it to you.  Don’t let them get to you.  They can’t pull the trigger if you don’t hand them the gun.  When you remember that keeping the company of negative people is a choice, instead of an obligation, you free yourself to keep the company of compassion instead of anger, generosity instead of greed, and patience instead of anxiety.

     4. Being selfish and egotistical. – A life filled with loving deeds and good character is the best tombstone.  Those who you inspired and shared your love with will remember how you made them feel long after your time has expired.  So carve your name on hearts, not stone.  What you have done for yourself alone dies with you; what you have done for others and the world remains.

     5. Avoiding change and growth. – If you want to know your past look into your present conditions.  If you want to know your future look into your present actions.  You must let go of the old to make way for the new; the old way is gone, never to come back.  If you acknowledge this right now and take steps to address it, you will position yourself for lasting success. Read The Power of Habit.  

     6. Giving up when the going gets tough. – There are no failures, just results.  Even if things don’t unfold the way you had expected, don’t be disheartened or give up.  Learn what you can and move on.  The one who continues to advance one step at a time will win in the end.  Because the battle is always won far away and long before the final victory.  It’s a process that occurs with small steps, decisions, and actions that gradually build upon each other and eventually lead to that glorious moment of triumph.

     7. Trying to micromanage every little thing. – Life should be touched, not strangled.  Sometimes you've got to relax and let life happen without incessant worry and micromanagement.  Learn to let go a little before you squeeze too tight.  Take a deep breath.  When the dust settles and you can once again see the forest for the trees, take the next step forward.  You don’t have to know exactly where you’re going to be headed somewhere great.  Everything in life is in perfect order whether you understand it yet or not.  It just takes some time to connect all the dots.

     8. Settling for less than you deserve. – Be strong enough to let go and wise enough to wait for what you deserve.  Sometimes you have to get knocked down lower than you have ever been to stand up taller than you ever were before.  Sometimes your eyes need to be washed by your tears so you can see the possibilities in front of you with a clearer vision again.  Don’t settle.

     9. Endlessly waiting until tomorrow. – The trouble is, you always think you have more time than you do.  But one day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to work on the things you’ve always wanted to do.  And at that point you either will have achieved the goals you set for yourself, or you will have a list of excuses for why you haven’t.  Read The Last Lecture.

     10. Being lazy and wishy-washy. – The world doesn't owe you anything, you owe the world something.  So stop daydreaming and start DOING.  Develop a backbone, not a wishbone.  Take full responsibility for your life – take control.  You are important and you are needed.  It’s too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday.  Someday is now; the somebody the world needs is YOU.

Source: Marc and Angel via Why Don’t You Try This

Shared from www.the-open-mind.com/ten-choices-you-will-regret-in-10-years on July 20, 2014 at 1833

The gift of an ADD Hyperactive Brain

The "gifts" and "strengths" that ADHD has given me?

I'm not sure whether I can attribute all of them to ADHD, but here goes: 

• I can read and research and learn at breakneck speeds, so I read a lot, and I learn a lot, I am one of the best-read people with the broadest knowledge base I know. I listen to at least a few 10-20 hour non-fiction audio books a month. This amounts to hundreds of books (ninety percent being science and history) over the years. The complete list of books that I have in my head can be found at the wonderful book record website GoodReads.com.
• I need the stimulation I get from information, and this makes me always seek out new information, learn stuff, try out new experiences. I often go on Wikipedia binges where I read fifty or so wikipedia pages on one particular subject. I read so many that to keep track by bookmarking each one I read. My life goal is to read one million wikipedia pages before I die. Google Chrome keeps track of the total number, I'm currently at five thousand. 
• Anytime I come across a new subject, concept or idea that I'm unfamiliar with, I immediately look it up and learn everything I can about it. I want to learn about everything in the world. No topic is off limits.  
• I read and write compulsively. I have so many ideas to share and write about.  I journal everyday. The best of the journal makes it to my blog. Out of the best of the blog, I have made over 50 websites (only a dozen are really good).  I love writing, because I can take as much time as I need to say what I want to say as competently and intelligently as I can.  
• I have an incredible range of very different interests, that range from studying French and other obscure languages to quantum and astro physics to classical piano music theory and world history. I love working out, climbing mountains and wrestling, but I also like staying in and crocheting (kind of like knitting).  People often admire me for this, sometimes I'm called a "Jack of all trades” or “a man of many hats..." or "multi-talented educated individual". 
• The above points make me interesting in social situations, as I can competently talk just about anything the other people are interested. It also helps to deal with awkward or boring situations. I can withdraw to a lovely world of fantasies in my head whenever reality around me is meh.  
• The disadvantage is that I often find other people boring. I like to be around intelligent people.
  But I'm versatile and I can hang with and get along with just about anyone from any walk of life.
• I'm pretty flexible and spontaneous. I do plan my day in detail, but can adjust very easily if everything goes the other way. I roll with the punches and try to make the best out of what I have available to me. I can make the best out of any situation. 
• I can work on several projects at one, with no problem in switching from one to another. 
• I can often see the "big picture" and spot connections that others miss.
• I love to explore, both places as well as ideas, because I don't like to take the same routes. After living in a town for a few years I find that I know all the interesting places which the locals aren't aware of.  No matter where I go or who I meet, I usually have something interesting to tell them. 
• I can't tolerate boredom and I must be doing something productive with my life, which means I will never chose to work in a soul-sucking job. Fuck the greedy heartless capitalists that pay their employees as little as possible. I won't ever work for you. I value my contribution too much. 
• I have a gracious heart, and I love my fellow people and I would always help out anyone that I can. 
• I like to switch up things in my life, I love trying new things, like changing my eating style or work, etc etc. I will never get stuck in a rut.
• Because of my deep understand of classical and moral philosophy, sociology and world history,
  I have a deep sense of morality, justice and honor. I believe in science, truth and love above all.
• I can pour a lot of love, dedication and attention to something that really grabs my interest.
  I devote myself to something and I don't give up until it ends in great success or total failure.
  But even if I fail, I will learn from it and keep moving on.  

(Side Note: I am not any of this with my stimulate ADD medication. Without it, I am a shell of the man I really am. Thank God for my vital, life saving ADHBD medication. Without it, I may not have my sanity. Or even worse, without it I may not do anything useful for society. Without my medication, I have no desire to create and learn, I don't write books or publish any webpages, and I just don't take care of myself in general.

Worst of all, without my medicine, I'm not happy in my own head because I don't do anything productive, and just to get a moment of relief, I fall back on alcohol, which is really bad for me. The point is that without my medication, I may not have anything meaningful to contribute to posterity.

To Ritalin I own my legacy.) 

ADD Gifts blog v1.09 7/12/2014 2010 bk