Performance Zen

Author: spierzchala

  • I need to live in Australia

  • Battle over the Google Bonus Plan

    John Battelle broke the story of how Google will assign bonuses.
    Then Russell Beattie leaps in. He slams this idea. As do I. Google will create a culture of have and have nots. And with morale being anecdotally reported as low due to the publication of money made by people when Google went public, I continue to feel that Google will implode or get acquired within 5 years.

  • What do 1919 and 2005 have in common?

    These are likely to be the only two years since its presentation to the people of Canada that the Stanley Cup will not be presented to the best team in hockey.

    The Free Stanley group is seeking to change that by restoring the prestige of the cup, and presenting it to the best hockey team playing in 2005. This could be exciting adventure, making hockey truly worldwide.

    There are hundreds of teams worldwide who would leap at a chance to play for the Stanley Cup. I know I would…in a heartbeat.

    Oh, and for the folks in Boston who may have forgotten hockey…the 1972 Bruins.

  • Moving from Typepad to b2evolution

    This morning, I decided that I had to re-locate to blog server that I ran myself. Typepad was kind enough to provide me with a 90-day free subscription, and I would been happy to use MoveableType. But when I went to install Moveable Type, the process was far more complex than I had time to dedicate.

    b2evolution appeared straightforward. I installed it. Found that it had a Moveable Type (or Typepad) import feature. Exported my Typepad data, including the images.

    Imported it. Blog was done.

    Really, it was that simple. I was shocked. By 3PM EST, I was tweaking the layout and the template, not futzing with the content. Kudos to the b2evolution team; this is a truly amazing lightweight blog platform for someone like me, who wants something to work right out of the box.

    I will keep you informed as I continue to use this product.

  • Open Note to Seth Godin

    Seth:

    Typical notes about how we don’t know each other, blah, blah, blah.

    On point, your comment on the PC. You said:

    I had to use a PC today in order to run Exact Target to do a mailing. I was stunned and astonished at how much the experience has degraded since my last exposure.

    I know what you mean. But I am stuck.

    I could mortgage myself and use a Mac. I would kill for a Powerbook in any size. I think they are cool. I love Apple.

    Truth is, I work for Windows Regime. I have a mortgage and two kids. My disposable income does not exist.

    I would love to say that I have tried the alternative, but Linux Desktops don’t cut it for me. I want a machine that is dead sexy. I want an OS that gets it.

    I want a Mac. And I can’t have one.

    I can have Firefox on Windows, but that’s just not the same.

    Thanks for the Firefox Evangelizing…and for reminding that the OS I use isn’t sexy.

    Sorry Scoble.

    Stephen

  • In case you need Amazon’s Phone Number…

    This is a great little tidbit from the Church of the Customer. [here]
    What are your top 5 search terms? As a company, you should know these. This is how people find you…and look for you.

  • Microsoft Technical Evangelist

    The news that Microsoft is looking for a development technical evangelist has been banging around the net this morning. [here and here and here]
    Hmmm…is this the equivalent of a Jedi or a Sith Lord? I leave that to the community to decide.

    This thread lives! [here]

  • Blogger servers and log analyzers

    First it was Russell Beattie Getting Hacked.

    Then, Jeremy Zawodny.

    Now, Dave Winer weighs in on lousy log analysis software.

    I wrote my own hit-tracker a while back to handle Typepad, but now that I am using B2Evolution on my own machine, I will have to hack my log analysis PHP to use their slightly different logging table.

    Just goes to show that even cool software can have issues.

    Looks like it was a hole in my one of my fave log analyzers, AWStats, that allowed the breaches.

    Damn! 400 Blogs were attacked!

  • Welcome to the New Site

    Hello and welcome to the new site.
    Here, I will be able to manage the site more effectively and not get hammered with intense hosting fees.
    Hang on for the ride…it will be fun!

  • Brand Entrapment — NFL Style

    Ok, via Brand Autopsy, this little nugget on the Washington Redskins requiring all credit card purchases for season tickets to be made with a Washington Redskins Extra Points Mastercard. [here]

    Oh, did I mention that you can only buy tickets through Orbitz with the Orbitz Visa? Or pay for your purchases at Amazon with the Amazon Visa? Or pay for your Delta flight with your Delta SkyMiles American Express.

    Whoever thought this little gem up in the Washington Redskins front office should lose their job. But, the season ticket subscribers are going along with it! Only 10 have complained?

    Have we finally become the Culture of Sheep?