Author: spierzchala

Hugh, a simple tip: get a better display rack. [here]
And hey…maybe some posters while you’re at it?

Doc is trying to show the world that he should be in a piano band at a New Orleans brothel. [here]
The weird thing is that despite trailing Doc by 20 years, and never having a cavity, I only have 20 of my own teeth left.
Drop testing teeth at 20 mph on asphalt is not recommended by the Newest Industry Factory Supervisor…

I am with Chris Corrigan and Johnnie Moore on this: WTF was the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee thinking with this logo?

Ummmm…the Inuit live many miles from Vancouver, despite what most residents of the United States believe. And as Chris points out, there are many vibrant native cultires in the Vancouver and Whistler/Squamish areas which would be able to present a Vancouver more closely aligned with reality than with the frozen fantasy the organizers wish to portray.
This one hits home with me even more, as my younger brother has been working closely with the organizing committee since it’s earliest days.
Nice logo; wrong message.

So, I have decided to start using StatCounter to track my Web traffic. I have been using a homebrew solution for several years, and while it is useful, it is starting to show the strains of the increasing traffic to my site.
I have seen some great comments on the stats this service collects (follow the discussions here and here),
and the service lives up to its advance billing.
The graphs are amazing; the breakdowns and GEOIP breakdowns are crisp; and the performance is fast.
If you want to see my stats, starting from yesterday, click the StatCounter icon in the right-hand menu.
StatCounter, consider this an endorsement.

Rick Seagal Segal — (sorry Rick!)
the creative tech writer
Dare Obasanjo
Tim Bray
Adam Barr
Scoble getting all CYA
Neuvo
Vic Gundotra toeing the company line
Gary Cornell
OUCH! Track The Ballmer’s political contributions [here]
Johnnie Moore
More Johnnie Moore
Tony Goodson

Scoble posts Ballmer’s memo.
That Microsoft has a legislative agenda scares me. That this bill wasn’t on it, and, as such, was then disowned by the company makes the scenario worse.
Steve Ballmer: You control the world’s wealthiest corporation. You say you are hardcore for diversity. Then you say:

It’s appropriate to invoke the company’s name on issues of public policy that directly affect our business and our shareholders, but it’s much less clear when it’s appropriate to invoke the company’s name on broader issues that go far beyond the software industry — and on which our employees and shareholders hold widely divergent opinions. We are a public corporation with a duty first and foremost to a broad group of shareholders. On some issues, it is more appropriate for employees or shareholders to get involved as individual citizens. As CEO, I feel a real sense of responsibility around this question, and I believe there are important distinctions between my personal views on policy issues and when it’s appropriate to involve the company.

You know how many of your most talented current, former and possibly future employees will see this situation. It is a black eye for Microsoft. It shows all of us, those of us who live in the US but are not citizens, as well as the 48% of the population who do not agree with the current leadership, that your compant lacks the moral fiber to take a stand.
I am ashamed to use Microsoft products, because now they aren’t about the people who use them; they are about the company’s shareholders.
Microsoft: Your money. Our profits. Our shareholder’s dividends.

Read this description of a hardcore geek’s attempt to get SUSE up and running.
I know this nightmare.

Get Apache 2.0.54 here.

Anyone else noticed the name play by the folks at O’Reilly with their new tech blog?

Scoble: “Steve Ballmer wrote us all a note this afternoon about the anti-discrimination bill. I wish he’d post this publicly. It helped clarify a whole raft of issues for me.” [Factory Supervisor’s Note: What could you possibly clarify Steve Ballmer? You made a bad call and know you are feeling the deserved public heat that results from corporate stupidity and an unwillingness to take a stand.]
An Age Like This
Fogdux
Social Cognition
Homestead Books
Steve’s Weblog
Blu Butterfly
Silt3
Proceed At Your Risk
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Neuvo
My Comments: here and here