The FuzzyBlog!
Marketing 101. Consulting 101. PHP Consulting. Random geeky stuff. I Blog Therefore I Am.
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Tuesday, July 16, 2002 |
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Dealing with Loss and Difficult Times
A good friend of mine, someone I've known for years and years now, went to high school with, and is now on the other side of the country, is dealing with a difficult situation -- the potential loss of a parent to cancer. I've been unlucky enough to have gone through this twice -- in 89 I lost my grandfather to cancer and then in 97 I lost my father in law to cancer. I've also buried both grandmothers, a sister and miscellaneous friends and professional colleagues over the years (and I am still in my 30s, yikes!). So, while I don't know much in this area, I've dealt with it more than most. Here are some thoughts for my friend. ==> Read Story <== 8:05:43 PM Google It! comment [] 
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This Seems Extreme: Life Sentences for Malicious Computer HackersWASHINGTON--The House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would allow for life prison sentences for malicious computer hackers. By a 385-3 vote, the House approved a computer crime bill that also expands police ability to conduct Internet or telephone eavesdropping without first obtaining a court order. Thanks to Demetrious for pointing this out. 7:50:46 PM Google It! comment []
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75 Minutes to Travel 22.32 Miles, No Air Conditioning, Rush Hour -- And I Feel Great!Since I am selling my house at present, this is basically a blatant, shameless plug for the town I live in, Nahant, Massachusetts. If you've never lived in a beach front community, which Nahant is, then you've probably rarely if ever experienced this type of situation. I just had to drive back from my consulting partner's house since we wrapped early and I can be more productive on my own keyboard, my own caffeine supply, etc. I drove the 22.32 miles (thanks www.mapquest.com for the stats!) back home. Rush hour to the max, 10 minute waits at light (thanks to the Big Dig construction). And I was sweating like the proverbial porcine mammal. I mean I was just roasting. My car, which is apparently one of three left in the state of Massachusetts without air conditioning, is something I tend to avoid during the summer except for the Pre-Sun periods of the day and the Post-Sun periods of the day. Not practical I'll admit but I'm mostly home and looking to deal with the blatantly obvious car replacement issue after the house is sold. Anyway, here's the plug. I live walking distance to a wonderful beach with nice sand and clean Atlantic water. Even better I drive past three of the four town beaches on the drive home. And today was the hottest I've been this summer. So I just stopped at the beach I prefer as I drove by. Got out, left my cell phone, wallet and laptop in the car, walked over the seawall in my standard consulting garb of shorts, polo shirt and Teva's and went right into the ocean. That's just plain cool. No towel, etc. Swam for a bit and then got back in the car for the last 1/4 mile home. I mean shorts are basically a bathing suit, the shirt needed to be washed and Tevas -- they're plastic! Although this is a shameless endorsement and I'm hugely biased, that's what living in a beach front community is like. It's cool. 4:22:25 PM Google It! comment []
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Looking for a Really Good Sales Manager / Sales Super Star or Product Manager?You know that the whole job scene is just out of control when not one but two of the most outstanding people that you have ever worked with are both simultaneously in the job market. Two of my favorite people, Patti (sales) and Pete (product manager) are now available. I worked with both Patti and Pete at Dataware where Patti was a fantastic sales person and Pete was the best product manager we had (and, yes, that includes me too). I heard yesterday that both are in the job market for full time / contract work. Highly, Highly recommended (and I'm wicked biased here but they are also wicked good so it all balances out, doesn't it?). Links:
5:17:26 AM Google It! comment []
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Start-ups try to dupe file-swappers (and How File Sharing Software can Fight Back!!!)By John Borland A new generation of anti-file-swapping tools is being built and used by copyright holders and their allies, threatening to muddy the digital waters for devoted downloaders. A handful of entrepreneurial technology companies are advancing techniques once used haphazardly by record companies and Napster-haters, in ways that may be far more destructive to the credibility of file-swapping networks than were previous efforts. The most prevalent tactic used today, growing quickly into a mature business, is dubbed "spoofing," or decoying. Companies seed file-swapping networks with false versions of songs, hoping that file-swappers will download the fake files and log off in frustration. More advanced hacker-like tools may also be on the way, depending on whether Congress passes a bill allowing copyright owners more latitude in fighting peer-to-peer piracy. More: http://news.com.com/2100-1023-943883.html?tag=cd_mh I don't think anyone out there really honestly says "I got this music off the net and I know that the musician didn't get any $$$ but I feel honest and good!". I can't say that of the 13 gigs of music on my hard drive, I feel good about it at all. The bulk of it is actually ripped from CDs but not all. Still the biggest thing about MP3s and digital music isn't that it's free: MP3 is what consumers want. MP3 just makes it easier to listen to music. I know that I listen to between 5 and 10x more music than I did before MP3. I used to hate the "get up, change the CD crap". Yes I am lazy in this respect. On an amusing note, I had co-worker's once break my copy of "REM's Losing my Religion" CD since I just tended to leave it on repeat play. After 3 months + they were kind of annoyed. So the question becomes, for me, how can the file sharing companies battle this? Yes it may not be 100% legal but I'll toss an idea out there -- what about implementing collaborative ranking i.e. If you download a song and it's bad being able to click on a "Not Recommended" checkbox. Now, what keeps the record companies from just doing this in batch? Simple: FREEZE THE USER LISTS OF PEOPLE ABLE TO RANK SONGS TODAY. I.e. the companies spoofing MP3 files now by putting out fake versions can't have that many accounts yet so if you simply restricted this ranking ability to the current 70 million Kaaza users, XXX million Limewire users, etc then it's still a heck of a tool. And, if the companies pooled their ranking cooperatively i.e. Kaaza, Limewire, etc all shared the notion that "For URL X, it's ranked as Not Recommended" then you have not only an awesome tool but also one that overall improves the download experience (how many times have you downloaded a clipped version of a song just because something's wrong with it). I don't need 10 different versions of Bob Marley's "Stand Up, Get Up" -- just one or two versions that someone has vouched for would be good for me. 3:50:24 AM Google It! comment []
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Blogging and AlzheimersI just got a really interesting email and link from Livio, http://livio.blogs.it/ : http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,53815,00.html (Oh and if you don't read Italian, here's Livio's blog translated to "Mock English" by Google -- I say "mock english" because it isn't perfect but it's actually pretty readable.). The article talks about how senior citizens are using blogging as a cognitive tool to help them remember. That's very cool and the regular mental effort that blogging takes could well help. And then on www.slashdot.com they are talking about how caffeine can help fight Alzheimers: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/15/1920250&;mode=thread&tid=99 I know one of the things that I've seen about age and mental issues is that (supposedly) regular mental activity such as learning a new language is supposed to be very good for you. Now the first link makes even me admit to something. A lot of things I blog fall into two categories that seem to relate to the first at least a bit:
Bias Disclaimer: Gretchen and I had a fantastic dinner with Livio, who happens to be Paolo's father, when we were in Italy. It was, without question, the best meal we had in all of Italy. So, yes, I definitely am biased here (I never knew that Italians barbequed, go figure!). Thanks again! 3:22:14 AM Google It! comment []
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