My sources tell me that another long-time PC guy is very close to getting a Mac. If/when this happens, it will be the fourth person in my little world to step off the cliff. I thought it might be fun to keep a record here. Top row, left to right: smays; Phil Atkinson, Head of Learfield IT; Roger Gardner, Learfield President/CEO. If you decide to Get A Mac, drop me a line (and a pic).
Update: Bottom/left is Chuck Zimmerman (3/6/07)
Update: Clyde Lear (4/4/07)
Update: David Brazeal (4/18/07)
David Fincher’s new film, Zodiac, runs 2 hours and 40 minutes and doesn’t have a chase scene or an explosion and only a couple of moments of violence and held my attention from start to finish.
Other films by Fincher: Panic Room (good); Fight Club (I was confused); The Game (very good); Se7en (very good); Alien3 (no so good).
Throughout Zodiac, I kept whispering to Barb, “Where have we seen him/her?”
Brian Cox –the original/best Hannibal Lector played Melvin Beli; John Carroll Lynch is the Zodiac and saw him on the HBO series Carnivale. Same for Clea Duvall (if you didn’t watch Carnivale, it doesn’t matter); If you’re old enough to remember Candy Clark from American Graffiti (’73), you might have spotter her brief appearance; John Mahoney –Frasier’s dad– had a small part; and Phillip Baker Hall plays a document expert. I remember him as Lt. Bookman, the library cop on Seinfeld.
Good movie.
The Wall Street Journal reports: Former Attorney General John Ashcroft approached XM Satellite Radio in the days after the merger was announced offering the firm his consulting services, according to a spokesman for XM. The spokesman said XM declined Mr. Ashcroft’s offer to work as a lobbyist for the company.
Mr. Ashcroft was subsequently hired by the National Association of Broadcasters, which is fiercely opposed to the merger. On its behalf he conducted a review of the effects on competition if the two satellite radio companies were allowed to merge and concluded the merger would have a significant negative impact on competition in the market and urged the current attorney general to withhold approval for the merger.
That tells you just about all you need to know about our former Attorney General.
Dave Morris is blogging from the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, which now has a smoking ban:
“…all around our hotel there are signs that sell the virtues of something called Nicogel – a hand gel which contains nicotine… rub it on and get your fix. I’ve certainly “milked” the whole concept of killing two birds with one stone by masturbating with it. Problem is, you’d really want to follow that up with a cigarette.”
If that’s original, it’s a pretty good line. If Dave stole it…it’s still a good line.
I spent a lot of energy in the late 90’s trying to convince people I worked with (and anyone I could get to listen) the Internet was a force to be reckoned with. Something that would touch and change every part of our lives and our business. There was plenty of eye-rolling and rib-nudging. Then, one day, I didn’t have to say another word. Anyone with a functioning cortex understood the Internet wasn’t just happening… it had happened.
Five years ago I started blogging and, a couple of years later, listening to podcasts. Again, I tugged at a few sleeves and suggested these tools would be/could be/should be part of what we do. The reactions were very similar.
As I swill Rocket Fuel and surf away another Saturday morning, I come across story after story about how people, company organizations are blogging and podcasting. Out of habit, I started to forward these to those who would (or should) want to know…and I stopped.
No need. If you don’t get it by now, you won’t. I’ll continue to post on these topics (until even that seems pointless), but I won’t spend every evening tip-toeing up and down the hall, sliding these links under co-worker’s doors.
Whew. Glad that’s over.
What’s a pop star do with clothing and costumes she can no longer wear? Goodwill? Salvation Army? Sheryl Crow sends hers home to Kennett where they wind up in a tiny room on the second floor of what was once the Cotton Exchange Bank. It’s now “The Bank,” an antique shop run by Mary Jo Byrd. She sells Ms. Crow’s duds and the proceeds go to the Delta Children’s Home. I did make a purchase and will post on that later.
This post purports to be an “honest word about what it’s like to switch” to a Mac. It certainly mirrors my experience. My favorite was #13: “You’ll be amazed at how little there is to modify”
“I was the ultimate tweaker in Windows – registry entries, options, toolbar buttons – and was taken aback at how few things there are to tweak on the Mac. At first it seemed to be restrictive, but I’ve realized it has actually freed me to do things other than tweaking, like work on this website.”
If you’re thinking about getting a Mac, this is worth a read.
I’ve stayed in a few nice hotels so this is not the first time I’ve seen hotel towels folded and arranged in a pleasing manner. But someone in Guest Services here at the Country Inn and Suites (Knoxville) is the Michelangelo of towel folders. I kept using the same towel and wash cloth because I didn’t want to ruin this arrangement. (I did remove one hand cloth before taking this shot)
Then I started wondering how this works from a practical standpoint. Is there just one person who knows how to do this? And he/she races from room to room every day? Or do they require all new hires to learn how to do this? Six weeks of Advanced Towel Sculpture before you move on to Short-Sheeting the Bed?
I’m betting someone on the staff once worked at the Bellagio and was doing rooms one day and decided to have some fun. A supervisor spotted what she had done, called all the other maids in and announced, “Alright ladies… from now on, this is how we fold the towels.”
It took me 5-6 hours to drive from Jefferson City to Nashville and less than 4 hours from Nashville to Knoxville [blue line]. I was feeling noble for making the drive to see my brother…until he related his flight.
Bandar Lampung (Indonesia) to Jakarta – 30 min
Jakarta to Singapore – 90 min
Singapore to Tokyo – 7 hours
Tokyo to Detroit – 11 hours
Detroit to Knoxville – 1 hour and change [larger image]
He’s been doing this for years and usually with three kids in tow. He’s a hard guy to rattle. And if you need to know how to bribe a corrupt third-world customs official, he’s your guy. I’m just hoping I can find my way back to Jefferson City.
Kathy Sierra blogs about Creating Passionate Users and says too many companies are like bad marriages:
“It’s been said that the secret to a good marriage is… don’t change. In other words, be the person you were when you were merely dating. Don’t stop paying attention. Don’t stop being kind. Don’t gain 50 pounds. Don’t stop flirting. Stay passionate, stay sexy, stay caring. Answer their calls. Unfortunately, too many companies are all candle-lit dinners, fine wine, and “let’s talk about you” until the deal is sealed. Once they have you (i.e. you became a paying customer), you realize you got a bait-and-switch relationship.”
This is an excellent post with great illustrations (Perfect for that Powerpoint). If you own or manage a company (or department), this is a must-read.