1. Take Flickr
2. Add ability to publish to multiple "streams"
3. Add Facebook tagging

That's all that I want. I take a lot of photos. Most of the time I am actively attempting to become a better photographer but sometimes I'm just out with some friends goofing off at a bar. I don't want to publish those photos to my Flickr account because:

1. The first photo in your Flickr stream is the most important. People rarely look past it so you want to put your best face forward. Random photos don't belong there
2. The people who are in those photos aren't on Flickr; but they are on Facebook. They will never see them if I publish to Flickr and not Facebook

Issue 1 is solved by supporting multiple "streams". By default anything I post appears on my Flickr stream like normal. But I could optionally post to a different stream. That stream isn't shown on the front page of my Flickr account. It's linked elsewhere; available but separated.

Issue 2 is trickier and I'll admit not very likely to happen. I want to have Facebook's tagging built into Flickr. I don't really care how this is implemented. Facebook could link users to the Flickr photo or Flickr could auto-upload images that I tag someone in to Facebook. Either way I just want an easy way to say "here are some photos of you from last night" without publishing to Facebook or falling back to email.

Thanks for listening to me rant. Here's a photo of some flowers (just because):

That's how much Megen and I spend at Starbucks (thank you mint.com). Actually it's probably a bit more because mint doesn't track how I spend cash.

For Hanukkah I got Megen an espresso machine. At the time it cost $79.99 (it's up to $87.35 now). Meaning in just over 3 months we will have broken even (not counting the cost of espresso/milk/syrup since it's trivial comparatively).

There are definitely nicer machines out there that I'm sure make really good lattes but I'm really impressed with this little machine. It heats up in about a minute and can get milk up to a "hot-but-not-center-of-the-sun-hot" temperature. Most importantly though: I think it makes tasty drinks.

I'm sure we'll still purchase from Starbucks occasionally. But it's nice to be able to make a cup at home.

I've been working at home for 4 months now (and what an awesome 4 months it's been). I've learned some tips along the way that might help others working at home (please share your tips too):

Get a pet

Get whatever kind you want; just have some sort of companion. Having a dog at home is great. Not only is Loki a built in stress reliever but she also forces me to get outside every few hours because she needs to go for a walk. Dogs listen to everything you say; if I'm trying to solve some complicated problem talking it out loud to Loki usually helps clear and focus my mind (plus it feels less awkward than talking to nobody).

Eat, but not too much

I go back and forth. There will be days when I completely forget to eat until dinner and then there will be days when I snack all day long. Both aren't very good for me. I'm still working on it.

Set rules about where and when you work

When you work at home there are no built in clues that tell you to start and stop working. That's why I do all my work in our second bedroom. There is a large desk and a dry erase board in there. It's like that advice I've heard: "Don't watch TV in the room you sleep in because you'll have trouble sleeping there".

Likewise you also need rules about when you work. Since I don't drive to/from work I have to setup general rules about when I work or I'd end up working all day long. That might not be a terrible thing for FriendFeed but I do have things that need to get done around the house so I try to wrap things up at a reasonable hour and set them aside until tomorrow.

Podcasts

Maybe this doesn't apply to everyone but listening to podcasts is helpful for me. I usually don't pay attention to what they're saying but it's nice to hear some human voices other than my own (see section 1: I talk to my dog).

Bonus tip! - Don't be afraid to communicate

Don't be afraid to ask for help. When you work remotely you can't just turn around and ask a question; you have to setup a phone call, send an email, or (for FriendFeed) post an entry which are all 1) less immediate and 2) more concrete and formal. Everyone needs help sometimes.

Megen is now 3/8 of her way done with medical school. Congratulations! To celebrate (and because she now has some free time) she baked some apple dumplings for us:

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