@Perry What's even more interesting than the fact that there are results of students performing better - is the fact that people completely disregard those results. The author I wrote about above talks a lot about this in his book. I highly recommend his TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_asks_are_we_in_control_of_our_own_decisions.html

@Kay No one is asking Zenyatta's owners to burn her out. We simply want them to run her in a similar campaign to the male horses she will face at the end of the year in the Classic. If she's their equal (which she certainly appears to be) she should be able to handle it. There's no reason she should race in the same female-only races she's competed in, and won for 3 years - unless her owners don't want to challenge her. In my opinion, Zenyatta is great. And she should be allowed to continue proving it by racing and winning against the best horses in the US. As for why Zenyatta's owners raced her in open competition last year for the Breeder's Cup instead of the Ladies Classic - they finally understood that Zenyatta couldn't win Horse of the Year if she didn't race against the best. She's a great horse. Run her like one. And that means taking risks and going after challenging victories.

To get everyone started and demonstrate what I'm looking for: One of my favorite surprises was a billboard for a local auto repair shop. Normally billboards are very unremarkable, so I was really surprised when I looked up at this billboard to see a full-sized rear end of a car sticking out of it! (With 4-way lights flashing as well!) The slogan on the billboard... "Uh dad, about the car..."

Is this with advanced templates? Or were you just able to do this with css?

One problem I've had recently was that when I write a post, the paragraphs are separated by html tags instead of tags. This is just a recent occurrence. Is that an error, or is that how the html in posts work now? I ask because it's causing problems with inserting pictures.

Some thoughts while we're discussing improvements: I'd really appreciate it if we could publish a post without automatically notifying all the publicity services. Since the Preview window is not an accurate depiction of how a post will look on the blog, it would be nice to be able to publish secretly so I can make sure everything looks the way I want it to. Also, it would be great to have a "print this" capability available. Currently, posts print with the banner on one page, and the content on the other. That's a problem, as well as a big waste of paper. Another fix I, and many others, would love is the ability to re-arrange items in a Typelist. Currently I do it using html, but it would be much nicer and easier for non-tech people if they could just re-order items similarly to the Blog Design content selections. Those are three features I've been hoping for for a long time, so I hope this gets it on Typepad's radar.

Tried it, thought it was a very good idea... and it took 10 minutes for me to uninstall it. The recommended readings aren't even from my blog. Frustrating. I'd be much more likely to use this widget if I could pick where the recommended posts came from. I know that Typepad didn't create this widget, but thought I'd give a heads-up about the recommendations to anyone interested in installing the widget.

I love how you're getting people to talk about your book before it's even available. Can't wait to read it. Here's my post: http://www.getfreshminds.com/2009/01/pow-giveaway.html

Congrats! That's a nice way to end the year! It's a great indication you've been doing a lot right. Have fun writing it. Any more clues about what it won't be about? ;-)

I'm not a tech person, so it's taken me a lot of work to figure out how to do some modification to the navigation bar. I thought I'd share what I've learned so it's easier for others who have a hard time with CSS. First of all, if you want your links to align right instead of left, use this css: .nav-list-item { float: right; } "Text-align: right;" didn't work for me, the "float" command was the only one that did. Make sure you have it in the .nav-list-item brackets. Also, in the ".nav-list-item a" brackets, here are some clues how to make changes: text-decoration: can be underlined, strike-though, etc.* text-transform: This can be used to make all the list items in all caps, or all lowercase, etc.* color: Use the 6 number code from the regular website design. If you need more options, or have your colors in RGB, go to http://www.drpeterjones.com/colorcalc/ for a converter. font-family: This lets you pick your font if you want something specific. font-size: Options are: xx-small, x-small, small, medium, large, x-large, xx-large font-weight: Options include: normal, bold, bolder, lighter. Also can use numbers: 100, 200, 300... letter-spacing: How close you want the letters to be together. * For options on text-transform and text-decoration, search "text-transform css" or "text-decoration css". Here's also a key to CSS font commands: http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_font.asp For Typepad, could you explain how to add images in between links in the horizontal navigation menu? Also, like a previous commentator, I'm having trouble with the links not pointing to the address I set because I also have a custom-sized banner. I've submitted a help ticket as well.

Oh thank you! I can't wait for my blog to be switched over. Now, could Typepad come up with a function so readers could print an individual post with the blog banner intact? Then everything would be perfect!

Several things I'd love: 1. Ability to post posts without automatically notifying subscription services. The preview button doesn't show posts in the blog, so it's impossible to tell if everything is perfect without publishing first. I hate it that un-refined posts are then sent to subscribers. 2. Ability to move around items in Typelists. This is really frustrating, and everyone I know wants this feature. 3. More reliable comment notification system. Typepad has not notified me recently about a lot of comments. It used to be very reliable, but now I have to go into Typepad to check for new comments because I'm no longer notified for most of them. I've submitted several help tickets, but this has never been resolved. I have only a single-author blog and I have checked the email multiple times. 4. Ability to designate an account manager to do administrative things without revealing the essential account ownership details. This is in the business account, but it would be fabulous to have it in the pro account as well. 5. A print-this-post button. This would be very helpful! 6. Fixing the custom banners so that they show-up when the rest of the blog is printed. Hope this helps.

I'm going to make an educated guess that that iPhone doesn't do everything anymore! That's a fun video. Thanks for sharing!

Hi Kent, Thanks for linking to my post. For me, one of the best parts of the creative process is working with, and building off the ideas of others. So, I love it when someone says something on there that jump-starts my brain. Confession: I practice creativity a lot, but every idea I have results from what's already in my head. On the other hand, bringing someone else into the conversation is fun because it adds a completely new knowledge base and perspective. They might see connections I don't, or say something that provokes me into thinking in a new way. Or I might say something that gets them going. Either way, I feel like I win. So, I would disagree that your comment was "small". Yes, the text you wrote was not long in length, but it led to new ideas on my end. Creativity and innovation is not about waiting for the grand, world-changing statements... it's about making new connections and building off the beginnings of ideas. Also, I enjoyed the other links as well. I'm trying right now to figure out how to adapt Billie's post ideas to my blog! ~Katie

I must admit, there's more than one reason to count strokes in swimming! If you're swimming backstroke in a pool, not counting will result in a pretty hard bump to the head. There's also a major benefit to counting strokes during 4am early morning swim practices--mostly that it allows you to doze off a little during each length! The meditative part of swimming is very true though. It's easy to get lost in it.

Some very good links to posts there! I particularly like Christine Kane's article on creativity and Scot Herrick's annalysis of how Al Gore reinvented himself. Very interesting. And Mike Schaffner's statement that the iPhone is the next step in the way we interact with computers is very thought-provoking. Maybe I'll add that to my list! And thank you very much for mentioning my post too. I think too many people allow themself to take sides regarding the iPhone without thinking of how it possibly changes the cell phone industry. I'm hoping my questions get people imagining possibilities instead of just taking one side or the other.

Hi Ben, If you happen to swing by northern Germany, I'd love to meet up. Otherwise, here's some tips: For Mexico City, go see the pyramids and climb to the top. It's long way up, but worth it. And I'm very jealous that you're going to St Petersburg now... when I went there to take an innovation course, it was January, 20 degrees below zero and the classrooms were barely heated! But St Petersburg is amazing. If you get a chance, look up TRIZ before you go. TRIZ is an innovation system that predicts the next stages of technical invention. It was based of Genrich Altshuller's study of thousands of Russian patents. It's very complex and very good. Several American companies, like Boeing, HP and IBM, use it: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/may2006/id20060531_965895.htm?chan=innovation_innovation+%2B+design_innovation+and+design+lead As for Ukraine, I might get back to you. My flatmate last year is from there. BTW, bring black socks for Europe. We Americans are notorious for our white socks.

A lot of times, it's harder to write in an easy-to-read and simple style! That's actually one thing that blogs are good at teaching writers--how to create short articles that focus on only one thing. When I was younger, my mother (Selling to Big Companies expert Jill Konrath) read that the best business writing is written at a level that a 5th grader could understand. As I was in 5th grade at the time, I became her guinea pig! But it does work. My mom has had amazing success with her book, newsletter, and blog because everyone can understand how to use her material. She doesn't need to try to sound smart because people can quickly see the value of her work. As someone once told me: "Never use a big word when a diminutive one will suffice!" ;-)