I made an offhand quip on the latest Core Intuition podcast, that in light of the recent stock market plunge, I should have invested money into my own company instead of the likes of Yahoo and Apple.

I was (mostly) joking, but there’s a philosophical truth in there. All of us have lately learned, or been reminded, that there are no guarantees when it comes to investing money. At the core of most investments is the expectation that one day down the road, we’ll take back more dollars than we put in today. We’re disappointed at best and devastated at worst if we are forced to cash out with less money than we started with.

But many of life’s investments are risk free precisely because we don’t expect anything tangible in return. So be sure to spend at least some of your dollars and time on something more valuable and permanent than money. Education, artistic expression, good health, time with family & friends, travel, or pursuing your own particular favorite pastime.

All of these investments yield immediate, intangible returns that can’t be diminished at the whim of bankers, stockholders, or public policy makers. People who invest only for financial return wind up going mad with money lust. Losing their investments spells catastrophe. A pity they never took the time to write a novel or learn to play guitar.

In short, invest in yourself and you’ll always have plenty of you to value.

Peter Verkhovensky recently wished out loud on Twitter for a feature in MarsEdit. He wanted the application to play a sound when a post has been sent successfully to a blog, similar to how Mail can play a noise when sending a message.

Although MarsEdit doesn’t have built-in support for this, it turns out to be relatively easy to achieve if you take advantage of the built-in Growl support. Growl is best known for its ability to display small, floating notification windows when certain actions are performed in applications, but it also supports the ability to play a sound.

Peter describes the process of adding a successful post sound in this manner. Nice work, Peter, and thanks for sharing the details on how it was done.

Big congratulations to my friend Gus Mueller whose company, Flying Meat, shipped VoodooPad 4 today.

One of the major features in the updated desktop wiki software is page syncing across multiple computers, allowing users to easily maintain a collection of VoodooPad pages on multiple computers.

I know from a user point of view syncing is very exciting and important, especially with the popularity of notebook computers. It’s something I’d like to provide in MarsEdit, someday.

From a technical point of view syncing is a very tricky feature to get done right. I’m sure Gus is wiped out from the effort. Give yourself the day off, and congratulations again.

Those of you who have followed my blog for some time are aware that Red Sweater Software is, more or less, a company of one. I am the lead developer, marketer, strategist, bookkeeper, PR rep, and, as luck would so terribly have it, designer.

Bob Walsh brilliantly summarizes the conundrum of small indie business people like myself, in the title of his blog: 47 Hats. If I may say so myself, I’ve adapted pretty well to wearing all these different hats. But inevitably, some of them don’t fit as well as others.

I’m not completely inept when it comes to graphic design, but I’m far from professionally capable. The beautiful aspects of my applications are mostly thanks to the brilliant work of designers such as Bryan Bell, who I will continue working with. But I also need somebody at the ready for a sustained period of design brainstorming and production. It’s time for me to take off this hat and hand it to somebody else.

Will you be my visual genius? Will you wear this hat?

About The Hat

As a part-time contractor to Red Sweater, you will facilitate the expansion of the company’s graphic identity in all areas including desktop UI, iPhone UI, web presence, advertising, and more. The position is hourly, with a guaranteed minimum per week or month to be arranged.

The position is primarily “visual design” but your skills in interaction or usability design would also be put to good use.

You’ll have a major impact on the look of Red Sweater’s products and presence. You’ll get paid. And when we get huge one day, you’ll be able to say you were there “way back when.”

The Qualifications

Sound like a position you’d excel in? This hat fits a designer who:

• Pushes pixels and pulls vectors with confidence and skill.
• Is passionate about typography, layout, and visual balance.
• Respects the tradeoff between usability and aesthetic beauty.
• Embraces platform design trends with moderation and taste.

On a personal level, the type of designer I will get along with:

• Work iteratively and collaboratively.
• Accepts criticism but stands up for strongly-held beliefs.
• Designs with integrity and would never steal the work of others.

To Apply

This is an open invitation to talented designers of all ages and circumstances. The only hard requirements are professionalism, skill, and availability for part-time work. Let’s make it happen!

Please send an email to “jobs” at red-sweater.com. Include in your message at least the following information:

• Your name and professional status.
• A portfolio of your best graphic design work.
• Your minimum and maximum hourly availability per month.
• Name up to three designers who you admire. What do you respect most most about their work or how they conduct it?

Feel free to include other information such as your expectations for pay rate, questions about Red Sweater or my work style, etc.

I look forward to hearing from you. And to taking off this hat!