Larry Larsen sent this to make me feel better. Hillarious song about Timex Sinclair/ZX Spectrum: we bought it to help with your homework.

Correction: it's about the ZX Spectrum, or Timex Sinclair, as it was sold in the US. Thanks to Steve Lacey for pointing that out. My post originally said it was about the Commodore 64.

Charles Carroll says I'm a bad blogger. Ouch.

I wonder, is there such a thing as bad PR in the blogosphere, especially when they link to you? How did I find Charles' site? I saw that there was traffic coming from there in my referer log.

I admire Charles. I recommended him at quite a few Fawcette planning meetings and other places. But, ever since I joined Microsoft all he'd do is attack me. It's like I could do nothing right. But, he's the one who introduced me to Reis and Trout and for that I'll be forever grateful. And that's no hype.

Ahhh, the mustard seed is out. Took a nice shot of Patrick in one of the only remaining orchards in Silicon Valley (this is part of what's left of the Olson's famous cherry orchard). That brings me back to my childhood when large swaths of the valley were covered in these yellow flowers. The orchardists would plant them as fertilizer. You'd only see the yellow for a couple of weeks and then they'd be plowed under.

My parents took us to Olson's orchard to pick cherries in the summertime. Only a few dozen trees are left. Thanks to the Olson family for making sure that at least a piece of Silicon Valley's history sticks around.

The eBay cycle: So Cool. Patrick and I met Chuck Risen and got an up close look at his new chopper. He told us that the engine and other parts were purchased on eBay.

He was tuning it today so that he could enter it in shows and also get it pictured in magazines. It was built by DynamicChoppers.

Yeah, this really has nothing to do with technology but it's a cool looking bike. So heck with it.

How does a geek say "Seasons Greetings"? Scott Knaster shows us how.

Fonz.net points out there are four newfound bugs in Windows. I wonder how Scoble will defend this?" he asks.

I won't. Microsoft's official place to read about security issues is at microsoft.com/security and that's always where you should go to see the official reaction of Microsoft to security issues. On the other hand, if you follow my 14 layers of security you'll be a lot better off.

Erik Thauvin got a Rio Carbon. I'm jealous.

Blankbaby warns us not to see "Holes": "Under no circumstances should anyone watch this 'movie.' The acting is bad, the premise is silly, and it just isn't interesting.

That's the best thing about Blogs, they provide a needed public service.

Someone had a nice present under the tree! Congrats Chris Pirillo and Ponzi!

Maryam and I got engaged three years ago on January 1 in Las Vegas. Yes, there were fireworks. There really were. It was New Years Eve and a bunch of casinos shot off fireworks.

Doing Las Vegas on New Years' eve is somethin you gotta do once in your life. This year? Gonna hang out with geeks.

Hope your Christmas is going well. My brother-in-law is playing Pogo and reports that all the blackgammon tables are full, so you can see that people are playing online games this Christmas morning. Patrick, my son, has been playing his Nintendo DS non-stop.

By the way, if you are looking for some coffee and breakfast in Silicon Valley the Posh Bagel is still open. It's about the only thing open here too.

Ivan Karajas sent this Syndney Morning Herald article along. It's weird seeing your name in the newspaper. Problem is, it isn't me. How do I know? I'm not Australian.