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July 28, 2004
See me on a BlogOn panel
on Friday I was on a panel about investing in social media at BlogOn conference. Here is the video.
Posted by Martin at 10:30 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
These people should be shot
A new study shows some people actually like spam. It says 20% of the respondents bought something on SPAM and 30% responded. These numbers seem high. In any case SPAM is a supply/demand game. Reducing demand is a very effective tactic. But this study seems to say it is going the other way. Who are these morons?
Posted by Martin at 10:11 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 27, 2004
Cool globetrotting weblog
Ever think about just dropping it all and taking a boat around the world? The Trawler Transat weblog written by Georgs Kolesnikovs will let you do this vicariously. He is a Nordhavn fanatic. Nordhavn trawlers are built on the PassageMaker design which was pioneered by my grandfather Capt. Robert Beebe.
Our foundation has contributed money to save all his ships plans in an archive at the Mystic Seaport.
Hey wait a minute, don't know why I am pointing readers to diversions like this, because I really want you all to start companies so I can fund them!
Posted by Martin at 11:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Fun diversion
AtomFilms - Kleeman and Mike have a new animation up. It is a couple guys surfing trip with their cat. Really gets you in the mood to surf. Good for me sitting here 2 hours away from any surf at all.
Posted by Martin at 11:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
On-line rental market heats up
In the battle for on-line rentals looks to be heating up. One iteration of Google Adsense this morning on this very blog had the usual Netflix and Walmart links, but three new ones focusing on games. Gamefly, Cheapgamerentals.com and gplay. All seem to be taking the price and selection metrics as competitive messages. There it truly nothing new here. In that game, margins go to zero and no-one makes money. What the market needs for to be a real game changer (pun intended) is something that fundamentally changes the economics of the business.
Posted by Martin at 7:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 26, 2004
I am confused by Kerry
Most of my readers know that I am voting for George Bush in the fall. But I keep listening to John Kerry and others hoping to hear some words of encouragement or to understand what he stands for. The Bush campaign sent out this recent exchange between Peter Jennings and John Kerry. Now I am not making any judgement on the issue of abortion. But Kerry is saying two things which are totally contridictory, is seems to try to play to two different political audiences (Catholics like himself and Pro-choice Democrats). He says life begins at conception, but wants women to be able to terminate a pregnancy anytime they want to. My problem with Kerry is that those two are irreconcilable. He wants it both ways. Meaning he stands for nothing solid. It sounds like the worst kind of political pandering for votes. Is that what we want in our leadership? For me, it is better to know that my leaders have convictions (even if I don't agree with them all). You don't have to agree with all your leader's convictions, just more of one than the other.
In John Kerry's Own Words:
On Thursday, Senator John Kerry sat down for an interview with ABC News reporter Peter Jennings. Below is a portion of that interview.
Peter Jennings: "You told an Iowa newspaper recently that life begins at conception. What makes you think that?"
Sen. Kerry: "My personal belief about what happens in the fertilization process is a human being is first formed and created, and that's when life begins. Something begins to happen. There's a transformation. There's an evolution. Within weeks, you look and see the development of it, but that's not a person yet, and it's certainly not what somebody, in my judgment, ought to have the government of the United States intervening in. Roe v. Wade has made it very clear what our standard is with respect to viability, what our standard is with respect to rights. I believe in the right to choose, not the government choosing, but an individual, and I defend that."
Jennings: "Could you explain again to me what do you mean when you say 'life begins at conception'?"
Kerry: "Well, that's what the Supreme Court has established is a test of viability as to whether or not you're permitted to terminate a pregnancy, and I support that. That is my test. And I, you know, you have all kinds of different evolutions of life, as we know, and very different beliefs about birth, the process of the development of a fetus. That's the standard that's been established in Roe v. Wade. And I adhere to that standard."
Jennings: "If you believe that life begins at conception, is even a first-trimester abortion not murder?"
Kerry: "No, because it's not the form of life that takes personhood in the terms that we have judged it to be in the past. It's the beginning of life. Does life begin? Yes, it begins. Is it at the point where I would say that you apply those penalties? The answer is, no, and I believe in choice. I believe in the right to choose, and the government should not involve itself in that choice, beyond where it has in the context of Roe v. Wade."
John Kerry's Own Actions:
Kerry Has Voted At Least Six Times Against Banning Partial-Birth Abortion.
Kerry Has Voted At Least 25 Times In Favor Of Using Taxpayer Dollars To Pay For Abortions In United States.
Kerry Voted Against Unborn Victims of Violence Act - "Laci and Connor Peterson's Law"
Nonpartisan National Journal Scored Kerry's Votes Most Liberal In Senate For 2003. Kerry scored a Senate-high 97% liberal rating for 2003, beating out Sens. Barbara Boxer (91), Hillary Clinton (89), Ted Kennedy (88), and Tom Daschle (80). (National Journal Website, "How They Measured Up," http://nationaljournal.com, 2/27/04)
John Kerry says he believes that life begins at conception, yet does not have the conviction to protect life, and instead promotes abortion -- even up until the moment a child takes their first breath!
Posted by Martin at 4:29 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
BlogOn comments
I was thinking of posting my own impressions of the BlogOn conference I was at last week, but Rafat Ali did such a good job in PaidContent.org: July 25, 2004 Archives
that I won't opine much more. Basically good networking, poorly organized conference. My panel was at 5:00 pm on a Friday. There were supposed to be 300 people registered, but I counted less than 100 in the room. We had fun as a panel, but don't know how much it really helpled.
Posted by Martin at 4:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cisco engineers come up with an anti-spam proposal
Cisco guys Michael Thomas and Jim Fenton have released to the IETF a mail header verification scheme that speculators believe is being worked into Cisco routers. It looks at first blush like a PGP based version of SPF. Verify the sender with PGP. Nothing new here. But incompatible with the current industry efforts. You would expect that from Cisco, try to keep the lock-in to their gear.
Posted by Martin at 3:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 25, 2004
Sipura VOIP adapter finally on sale!
You can buy one here. I am placing my order now. This is like a cell phone. It has all the features you need, and you will pay more for it if you buy an "unlocked" one, but it is better in the long run. Then you can configure it for any network. Go get one today!
Posted by Martin at 8:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July was a bad month for search terms
Well it is Sunday night and I am uploading 400MB to my FTP server, so I guess that means it is time to check the logs and see who is coming to my site and what search terms they are using to get here. Now I like to consider my blog content rich with tech musings and gadget stuff. But what is the #1 search phrase in July? "Buy Cocaine" with 69 instances. This post is the problem. Number 5 on the list is "Where to buy cocaine", same post. There is some solace in the fact that "biodiesel cars", "whipple supercharger", "packet8", "herf gun" and "DVD sharing" made it into the top 10. I wonder what people will be searching for next month?
Posted by Martin at 8:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 23, 2004
Mark Cuban on the Microsoft Dividend
In Microsoft, Dividends and Stock Buybacks - Blog Maverick - www.blogmaverick.com Mark does a good job with the issue. He loves dividends (as I do) and hates buybacks (which I disagree with). In the end buybacks drive up the stock price. I know they are contrary messages, but they work. The problem with this one is that it is over 4 years and there is no way to game its impact. Microsoft has been buying their stock to fund the option pool for a long time. They typically do it one day in the market and tell the market when they are doing it. The price usually goes up a little that day. For this buyback I don't think they will do it that way. Their objective here is to get the most shares off the market for the lowest price. Not pay shareholders money, that is what the dividend is for. Not sure the stock will really feel this buy-back. I am a seller.
Posted by Martin at 3:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Movable Type announces 3.1
Watching Ben and Meena announce Movabletype 3.1 right now at BlogOn. They are having a problem with the server speed, so the major features are:
1. movabletype Pro features like; Post scheduling feature. Auto posting when you are gone. Wow, will it write it for me too?
2. Subcategories are implemented. Very cool. You can move them around to different major categoris. Very cool UI and flexible.
3. Dynamic pages. Original design was to create static pages due to their better performance. Now they will have dynamic pages per template. You can pick static or dynamic per template. You can integrate PHP directly into the templates. All template tags re-written in PHP. This is a check box feature add/subtract. This is very cool for low traffic sites.
This release is out in 3 months instead of 1 year for the last one. This is enabled because they are charging for the product now and they can hire developers. Meena did a good job of showing how you get more features sooner when the thing is paid for. They are on the right track.
Posted by Martin at 3:22 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Video on your blog
First Stream Business Solutions announced today at BlogOn that they have a blog client to add video to your blog easilly. This reminds me of the early days of Loudeye Technolgies. This consumer video idea is not very profitable. It is certain the FirstStream is failing at their business video solutions and see all the people on blogs and they think there is growth there. Can't see paying ANOTHER $10 per month just for video.
Posted by Martin at 3:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 22, 2004
Blockbuster calls out NetFlix
Reuters.com switched it's tune at the annual meeting and turned Netflix from a "minor threat" into the next area for strategic growth of the company. Blockbuster is promising to beat Netflix at it's own game. In part, they are hoping that bundling store rentals with subscriptions will be a winner. I wonder if these two guys are competing for the wrong market though. How many people are 3 or more rental movie a month people? How many people have $240 a year to burn on movies? I doubt the mass market. That is why Walmart is underwhelmed by the performance of their Netflix competitor (so insiders tell me). Walmart's demographic doesn't have $240 a year to spare.
I am still looking for alternatives.
Posted by Martin at 7:54 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Digital Music player sales double in 2004
Technology News Article | Reuters.com reports that digital music player sales will be 10M units this year. I bought my first three years ago. I still don't have an iPod. I like the kind with an FM radio in them so I can use them in the Gym. Who really needs 20gig for music? I need that for video though. Look for portable digital video players to take off next year. I actually think that digital music players will probably tapper off in two years or so. My new phone (Nokia 6230) has it built in (and FM too).
Posted by Martin at 7:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Newspapers enter bloging and sell ads
From the old media jumping on a trend file comes this: Poynter Online - E-Media Tidbits. A Spokane Wash newspaper started publishing blogs (lost of reporters sitting around) and is now selling ads on them. Apparently profitably. Now I wonder if this is a testament to the ad sales force that the newspaper already has, or a testament to the relevance of those blogs. I actually don't read the local paper. But they sure sell alot of ads! Do I really want to go read local newspaper written blogs with car ads in them?
Posted by Martin at 7:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 20, 2004
You know you are a success when you have a dedicated hacking site
Hacking NetFlix
is like the Tivo hacking sites that show all the tricks to get the better of Netflix. When users are passionate enough to publish whole sites about you and how to use your service you are a success! We can all hope.
Posted by Martin at 10:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
BlockBuster's hidden beta of on-line rentals
Here is the new Blockbuster Home Page with the NEtflix like rental integration. I believe the service will be successful, especially because they are combining 2 free in store rentals with your monthly subscription. But it is still very expensive for the average user and those who don't use all the movies in the monty will feel cheated. I still like more flexible services like PeerFlix.
Posted by Martin at 10:30 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Super review of NetFlix as a platform etc.
Netflix, Open up or die!- Features - Engadget - features.engadget.com. Phillip Torrone give us a particularly insightful critique of the current NetFlix service and some timely suggestions on what they should do next. Netflix is a victim of their own success. They are raising prices because they can, but pissing off the base. They need to open up the API like Amazon/Ebay. I doubt NetFlix gets it.
Posted by Martin at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
NetFlix patents its mailing envelope
Netflix has patented their envelope. United States Patent Application: 0040050919. I wonder if they will try to use this to compete with Walmart, PeerFlix and upcomming Blockbuster service.
Posted by Martin at 9:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 19, 2004
One guys AlCan trip
Great White North this guy took a 7 day trip from Spokane Wa to Skagway and back. I am thinking of taking about a 14 day trip starting Aug. 1. North. To Alaska. To as far as I can get. Maybe take the ferry back. Don't know yet. The positive thing I read in this (written in 2002) is only one really hairy road construction piece.
Posted by Martin at 8:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 17, 2004
TheAirCar makes progress (according to their press release
got this in the e-mail inbox...
A car powered by air. Sounds too good to be true. They are signing production deals. Just in Europe though. I bet they don't get the US crash test stuff done. Very tricky. But I will be one of the first buyers when they do!
PRESS RELEASE
The Air Car enters the home straight
The recent presentation of the Air Car at the European Fuel Cell Forum in Switzerland and the sale of a number of licences in Spain and Italy allow a glimpse of an imminent entry to market for the eagerly awaited ecological vehicle.
MDI, the company which invented the Air Car, on the 30th June presented its CityCats vehicle at the European Fuel Cell Forum in Lucerne, Switzerland. This forum, dedicated to an other transport alternative (hydrogen), gave MDI the recognition of the automotive industry, presenting the invention as "Compressed Air: The Most Sustainable Energy Carrier for Commuting Vehicles". The vehicle drove around the roads in Lucerne, driven by Dr Rudolf Rechsteiner, member of Swiss Parliament, who demonstrated his keen interest in a technology that could cause a paradigm shift in automobiles.
The meeting was of primary importance if we take into account the range of vehicles on offer today. The transport sector has reached a crucial stage. The Bush administration has cancelled proposals to investigate regular engines and meanwhile the manufacturers of electric cars have thrown in the towel due to the high production costs and the difficulty in maintenance associated with low mileage. In terms of a hydrogen car proposal, reliable sources do not expect one to reach market before 10 or 15 years, leaving the public with no real alternative. In this context, the MDI technology is the only viable proposal in the short and medium term and that is why the Fuel Cell Forum organisers presented MDI as the best existing solution for transport.
But the MDI compressed air engine is not only applicable to the automotive sector. Its technology is opening a new path of choice in other areas, such as buses, electric co-generation, compressor groups and marine applications. On 1st July in Madrid, Spain, the signing took place for the sale of licences for co-generation and buses in Spain. The investing company has signed an agreement worth 24 million Euros which will focus on a first phase of production of co-generation groups. MDI is also in talks with a Spanish company to reach a similar deal for Portugal.
Spain and Italy are the first countries to sign the agreement for the manufacture of electricity production groups. These systems allow a big saving while offering a solution to a recurring problem: how to produce energy locally according to the production and necessities of consumption. The MDI groups can also be installed in racks, offering an expandable solution which can be applied to a group of houses as well as to an isolated home or without connection to the network. The MDI proximity groups are the solution for providing electricity in developing countries where electricity cables and pylons cannot be installed due to the high cost involved. All these proposals are in pre-commercialisation phase, bringing to an end a long investigation which has resulted in a clean, ecological solution applicable from transport to energy production. MDI is now offering manufacturing licences for each of these products for the different countries of the world.
http://www.theaircar.com (English)
http://www.motordeaire.com (Español)
http://www.motormdi.com (Português)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information about:
Presentation of the MDI car in Switzerland:
http://www.motordeaire.com/Lucerna.html (Spanish)
Application of the engine for public transport:
http://www.theaircar.com/Multicats.html
http://www.theaircar.com/further_applications.html
Formulas and comparisons:
http://www.theaircar.com/ficha.html
Technical report by the prestigious "École des Mines" in Paris:
http://www.motordeaire.com/Mines.html (Spanish)
Refilling systems for CATs vehicles and possible alternatives:
http://www.theaircar.com/station.html
Requests for further information: :
http://www.theaircar.com/investors_contactform.html
Posted by Martin at 9:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 14, 2004
Brad Silverberg on Open Source
seattlepi.com Microsoft Blog: Silverberg on open source
Posted by Martin at 10:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 12, 2004
The Seattle Times gives me an extra job
I have had lots of experience with the media (just google my name). It is a tortured relationship and a very complex process. I am actually amazed how the news gets done on a daily basis with all that needs to be pulled together. This morning the Seattle Times reported on my new blog NWVentureVoice in a very positive way. So positive that they gave me credit for two jobs! Venture Parnter at both Ignition Partners AND OVP. The typo is understandable as it is Dave Chen at OVP and I who had the idea to get the thing started. I am going to have some explaining to do at the partners meeting!
m
Politics aside, some venture capitalists are getting into the blogging act. Martin Tobias, a partner at Ignition Partners and OVP Venture Partners, both located in the Washington State, has started a blog, www.nwventurevoice.com, The Seattle Times reported. "The site is modeled after the valley's VentureBlog, at www.ventureblog.com, down to the taglines. ... Tobias, who started Seattle-based Loudeye, doesn't appear to be slowing down, though he says he'd like more VCs to participate in this new venture. 'Want EVERYONE in the NW to post. There are a couple posts in the works,' he wrote in an e-mail."
• The Seattle Times: Venture Capitalists Muse On New Blog
Posted by Martin at 10:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 9, 2004
PeerFlix gets competition
Moogul wants you to share your shovel | CNET News.com
Posted by Martin at 10:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 7, 2004
Technorati passes 3 million web logs tracked
Sifry's Alerts: Technorati tracks 3 million blogs. This is big news. The growth of weblogs makes it the fastest growing data type on the web. Very big news.
Posted by Martin at 6:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 6, 2004
New business model, Hit Phishing...
We have all heard about people trying to game Google. Most of the people who are trying to do this actually have some kind of legitimate business that they are trying to increase the exposure of. Or maybe a not so legitimate business. But some kind of transaction they want you to complete or offer they want you to accept. Tonight, I found a totally different animal. I am calling it the Hit Phisher.
I was on Google doing diligence on a potential investment. I was looking for DVD and CD trading networks and exchanges. I typed in "trade CD". The top result was http://www.onecer.net/. At first blush it looks like a generalized trade, exchange, swap and barter network with all categories under the sun. Lots of Google AdSense ads, and a lot of pages with keywords on them. For all my trying, I couldn't find ANY actual application code or sales offers. ONLY ADS! The site that has lots of words on the pages to be picked up by the search engines in key categories, but no actual users of the site. Phish for the traffic with lots of words, show an ad and hope the person clicks through. Live on click-throughs. I clicked through all the categories and found ZERO application code behind the text pages. I only found text pages with every combination of keywords in that category you could imagine. Plus lots of dictionary entries. All designed to attract google and then server up Google AdSense ads. I wonder if Google knows it is being gamed on search AND paying these guys through their own AdSense program!
Posted by Martin at 8:48 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Looking for a media database
Gunna try Open Media Database. Look for review in a week or so.
Posted by Martin at 6:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 5, 2004
Thanks dear reader for the book recommendation...
A reader sent me this nice note:
You may already know it, but it was new to me. It's called The Art of Profitability by Adrian Slywotzky.
It's a series of short chapters, in the guru-talks-to-novice form, each covering a different model of profitability. Good stuff. My favorite was the chapter called "Blockbuster Profit," on Marc Geron. Having grown up at Xerox PARC, and now spending all my time studying & doing theatre laboratories, I was almost jumping out of my skin to read about a guy who had figured out how to both nurture and optimize R&D. It's the first time I'd read about something which kept the strengths of PARC or MIT, but improved on the financial viability. Most places kill or starve the goose in their frantic lunge for the golden eggs.
______________
I immediately went to Amazon and bought it. Look for my impressions soon. Thanks and keep the ideas coming!!!!
Posted by Martin at 8:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Jaya123, nimble hosted Quicken competitor
Blogs are a great way to find out about new things. Not just searching and reading other people's, but actually publishing your own. I am WAY behind on all the e-mails from readers asking to look at something they are doing. Tonight I had some time, so I took a quick look at reader Al Canton's latest project: JAYA123 - order entry, invoicing on the web.
You may think an old Microsoft guy would be suspicious of the hosted ASP model of selling software. Quite to the contrary. For many applications, it is a superior way to deliver the functionality. Ignition is invested in Entellium which is doing a fast follower to Salesforce.com in the CRM space. Since CRM is used by a mobile workforce (your sales people), it makes all the sense in the world to deliver it through a browser.
Accounting applications also make sense in the browser. Especially for small business. Especially if your application can handle the confusion of local tax policies. Tax and payroll polices across the country are just too complicated for a small business to follow and it makes sense to buy this in a centralized place.
Well lets look at Jaya123. Here is how Al positions the service: "We're just a tiny company trying to compete against Intuit... and believe it or not it's happening. Honestly. We have customers, we're making a few bucks (accent on the word "few")".
I didn't get to spend much time with the application, but it looks like they have done a passable job to deliver basic customer tracking, invoicing and a product catalogue. Take the demo. You get put right into a demo account (User: Demo, password: Demo) and can add/delete, print invoices to your heart's content. You basically tell the application who your customers are, what products you sell, and what kinds of financial transactions you accept. Then you can start invoicing. There are two export interefaces I could find. One for Quicken to output transactions in their QIF format. The second for almost all credit card processing programs (like PC-Authorize, IC-Verify, Transact, etc.) to do your credit card validations. I was looking for the import functions to allow me to upload my customer/product information from what I am now using, but didn't find it. There is actually quite a rich report section with many pre-defined reports. Easy to print shipping labels, employee commission reports, and so on. From here you can also get flat file dumps of your data. The user interface is very basic, nearly flat file oriented. If you think in terms of database tables and like to fill in boxes, you will be happy. If you like lots of polish, radio buttons, drop down boxes, and UI's that look like checks and stuff like that, you will be disappointed. I guess for a small business that simply wants a web based place to store customers and products and generate invoices, Jaya123 will fit the bill.
I am stretching to understand the category of businesses that need only those functions though. If you run a web store, you want integration of your customer billing system with your storefront. If you are a heavilly sales focused organization with lots of different customer contacts, you want a richer customer workflow tracking system. If you are tracking the books of a small business, you need full General Ledger functions with AR/AP/Inventory Control, etc. It also seems to me that the history of accounting applications has been continuing to build levels of abstraction ontop of the database to hide the file structure from the user. Jaya123 definitely takes the other approach, keeping you VERY close to your data structure. Actually in many ways I like that. In the same way I like Windows over the Mac. But I am a geek. I want to twiddle the bits. For me abstraction means taking control away from me. I don't like that. It makes my heart warm to still be able to get a DOS box in the latest version of Windows.
Well, if you are just starting a business and are a bit if a bit-head give Jaya123 a try. It delivers a down and dirty customer invoicing application in a browser just fine. While it is not on their page at this moment, after I e-mail Al, I am sure he will see the logic of offering a 30 day free trial!
Posted by Martin at 7:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 3, 2004
Review of Letters to a Young Conservative by Dinesh D'Souza
July 2, 2004. Saw Farenheit 911 this week and needed an antidote. I had received Letters to a Young Conservative as a gift two years ago and had it in my "to read" pile. I came of political age under Reagan. He was the first president I could vote for. He was the first politician I ever volunteered for. He provided a very positive and affirming vision of what it means to be an American and how to participate in our democracy and the world. Up until the 60's it was pretty clear what it meant to be an American. Most people agreed on a large number of core values. Somehow in that drug/sex haze that begat me (born 1964), our parents decided to try and throw everything before out and start over. D'Souza does a very good job of reminding us why that was a silly idea and how the legacy of free everything still haunts us today.
This is the kind of book you can pick up anytime and open to any chapter and find thought provoking prose. Each chapter has a specific topic or theme. If you want to understand the falacy of the Anti-Globalists argument, turn to chapter 26 (particularly relevant given current events). Want to understand why the Catholics, once the party of Kennedy, are now up for grabs? Want to know how and why the heartland of America, once working class Democrats, are now all Republicans? Turn to chapter 29. My favorite is probably chapter 18, "How to Harpoon a Liberal". Full of juicy tidbits from his many campus visits and the direct confontations with tenured liberal professors and brainwashed freshmen students. When you are young and still rebelling against your parents, it is fashionable to take up any cause identified on the "fringe". When you are older and hopefully have your own family, you usually come to realize the value of law, society, family, values, and why "traditions" work. When I was young, I was also incredibly fearless, egotistical and selfish. I thought nothing could hurt me, I knew most of the answers and whatever I liked was right. In the end, much of the liberal agenda is selfish kids not growing up, not accepting responsibility and learning to trust others.
The young liberal would say "whatever feels good, do it". The young conservative has an uncomfortable feeling with that. Something about imposing his minute by minute egotistical desires on the world doesn't seem right. If you feel this discomfort and want to know why and how to explain it, read this book.
Posted by Martin at 7:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 2, 2004
Segway bashing
Apparently some people don't like the segway. Sure it is overengineered and costs a small fortune. But that is why geeks like me love it!
Posted by Martin at 9:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 1, 2004
Reputable Canadian Drug Store?
Looking for one? Apparently these guys are: Canadian Pharmacy - Online Pharmacy for Affordable Canada Drugs Haven't used them yet, but they were mentioned in Men's Health as a good place to buy suscreen that is not yet available in the US. I am gunna buy some.
Posted by Martin at 11:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Supernova thoughts
Went to Kevin Werbach's SuperNova conference last week. I like Kevin. He is a deep thinker about messaging. I like conferences with alot of other deep thinkers around. This one filled that bill. The conversations in the hall and during the breaks were VERY useful. I met lots of interesting people and caught up with lots of old friends.
Unfortunately, many of the sessions had an erie unproductive quality to them. The Gillmor Gang noted this as well. These days most conferences provide a wifi network and much of the audience is on their laptops during the sessions. But SuperNova, true to it's name, was OVER THE TOP in this regard. Nearly EVERYBODY was frantically typing away in e-mail, IM, or their blogs during all the sessions. Leaving the poor people on stage to wonder if anyone was listening! The CEO of Skype called in on a POTS line. It was erie to be in the audience looking up on stage at powerpoint slides being driven by an assistant with the dis-embodied voice coming over the PA. And of course he couldn't hear questions and the mikes didn't work well, so the Q&A was a disaster.
One side effect of having so many smart people in the audience is randomization. Nearly every session regardless of topic degraded into monologues about each person's individual pet issues. The most striking case of that was the "Spam and the future of eMail" session. Out of the hour allocated, I counted less than 5 minutes spent on e-mail. The rest was spent on consuming RSS feeds in Outlook, Unified Messaging and VOIP. One audience member asked "Why aren't we talking about voice in this?" Because the panel is called "SPAM and the future of email" you idiot! Go to the next session on VOIP in another room. I tried to get the moderator to put the discussion back on e-mail a couple times, but it kept wandering off into social networking and everything else. After the session, a reporter behind me thanked me for trying to get the session back on track and fretted about what to write. He said "I am trying to write an article about this session which I thought was going to be about SPam and e-mail, but after this, I don't know what to write."
All of these are symptoms of getting lots of smart people together and letting them speak their minds. A fun exercise. People do it every day on Slashdot. For conferences that I am paying lots of money to attend, my expectation is a little more structure and focus on topical content. I come to hear new things on topics I care about. Supernova delivered some of that, but in a bitstream that was not very organized. Looking forward to the next one that is a bit more structured. The Xml version.
Posted by Martin at 9:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cloudmark saves me from getting hooked!
Opening my mail this morning, for a moment I saw a very official looking mail from US Bank with the title "U.S. Bank regular verification! [Fri, 02 Jul 2004 22:12:31 +0600]". Sounds official huh? But just as quickly as I saw it in my inbox, it disappeared. Huh I sayz, that looked official, I bet Cloudmark made a mistake. So I go to the Spam folder and look at it. Now I used to have an account there but haven't used it in a couple of years, so that should have been my first clue. No, this mail wanted me to click on a link to "verify my information". The exact wording is: "As the Technical service of bank have been currently updating the software, we kindly ask you to follow the reference given below and confirm your data, otherwise your access to the system may be blocked." The poor grammer was a clue. Total Phishing! Cloudmark caught it and put it where it belongs. Thanks Cloudmark! Did your Spam filter catch it?
Posted by Martin at 7:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack