My New Site

I am so grateful to everyone who entered to help redesign my Web site! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have put all of the entries into a Flickr album, which you can find here.

I have chosen the winner and will reveal it later this weekend once I implement the design. My apologies but I am slow moving these days so I have to do this one step at a time.

Also, thank you to those of you who shared your special Leap Day yesterday, including my mother. I have not followed up on her singles' night adventures and frankly, I'm a little afraid to. Nevertheless, it is good to see everyone pushing the limits on their Leap Day Friday. I on the other hand, relaxed for a change. Here is what I did that I've never done before: After a long work week of 14+ hour days, I left the office at 4 p.m. and crawled into bed. I caught up on my DVR, and fell asleep by 8:30 p.m. I lead a wild and crazy life, I know.

Happy Leap Day!

I feel like I should do something I've never done before today since it is Leap Day. This is a bonus day, after all. I can't think of anything in particular to do since everything I do is still new to me here in New York. But I know one thing that I can make new: my Web site!

I have received a surprising number of entries for my redesign contest. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who submitted! What a creative bunch of readers I have! I will post the submissions later today, as well as my favorites. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, you should go out and do something new too! Try yoga (not Bikram though! Trust me on this one. I taught yoga for five years. You don't want to do Bikram.), or try a type of food you've never eaten, or buy yourself a new pair of shoes. Whatever you decide to do, share it with all of us here in the comment section. Get a little crazy! Not too crazy though. Nothing illicit or prurient, please. My mom reads this blog, after all.

For Those Of You With Vision: A Challenge

I want to redesign this site. The picture above is an old promotional shot from TeXtra and the color scheme is not my favorite. Unfortunately, I have no vision for creativity. I can't accessorize to save my life, the walls in my apartment are painfully bare, and my sister informs me that my wardrobe on Loaded is "boring" and that I need to "push the edge a little more." I am left brain.

I was talking to my very good friend Naldo about this yesterday. He is one of the most creative graphic designers that I know (and also a good dancer: He is the groom in this video). Naldo suggested that I ask my readers to help out instead of finding a random designer on Craigslist. He actually suggested a contest like Doodle 4 Google.

I don't have a team of judges and I don't have a grand prize to give out like Google does but if you would like to take a stab at redesigning this Web site, have at it! I will pay the person whose design I like the best $100 via PayPal, give mad props to him/her on this site, and happily be a reference on his/her resume or Web site.

Here is what I am looking for: I would like to get rid of this aquatic-looking color scheme. Perhaps something a bit more gender-neutral. Even a gray scale would be nice. I don't like the font that my name is written in above either. I would also like to use either one of the two photos below in the header. I'm not really all that picky about it but one is quite formal and the other is more casual. I'm sorry I can't give too many more guidelines. Like I said, I have no vision.

If you want to submit a design, please either post a link to your design in the comments or email it to me at ndelconte-at-gmail-dot-com. I will be choosing a winner by next Friday, February 29.

Thank you to anyone who considers helping me with this! I hope to create a prettier place for us all to visit here at natalidelconte.com!

CNBC Power Lunch

I just back from 30 Rockefeller Plaza where I was a guest on CNBC Power Lunch. You can watch the piece here.

Today's topic was gaming. I don't consider myself a gamer, although I am quite good at Wii Sports. I do consider myself a casual gamer though. My new favorite casual game is 25 Boxes. It is a silly little time suck but I love it.

Power Lunch was my first nationally televised network news appearance. I feel good about it and I had a great time! I did not, however, eat a Power Lunch at NBC. I bought a cup of lentil soup from the deli across from my office when it was over.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I am on Reuters TV today talking about gadgets for your Valentine. You can watch here:

Truth be told, I didn't really like that Kodak EasyShare EX811. It is one of the nicer looking photo frames on the market but the interface is crap. I personally prefer the Parrot digital photo frames but the EasyShare made for a nice round-up of "pretty" gadgets for the holiday. Of the rest of the gadgets on this segment, my favorite is the LG Venus. That is one slick looking phone! I don't have Verizon so it isn't an option for me but I did like playing with it. I had to give it back to the CNET labs though. Oh well.

Happy Valentine's Day to you. Here is hoping you have some sexy electronics in your near future!