Category: Uncategorized

Go John!

“Although I blatantly admit that my promise was based more on joy and enthusiasm than my swimming abilities and physical health, I will do my very best to keep it,” he said in a statement.
Tetzchner entered the “freezing Oslo fjord” on Monday and started swimming toward the United States, the company said. Opera’s public relations manager, Eskil Sivertsen, is rowing an inflatable boat alongside Tetzchner “as an act of guilt after making the CEO’s statement public,” according to the Opera Web site.
It remains to be seen whether the CEO will actually complete the ambitious journey.
A map of the executive’s planned route features a stopover in Iceland for “Mum’s hot chocolate.” An update on Tetzchner’s swim is planned for Tuesday.

Is it just me, or is Opera the only company in the world that still has a sense of humour? I mean, they did bring the world their unique BORK! version of Opera 7.x.
Go Opera!

Me too, please.
Via geeked and Jeff Nolan.

Driving through Montana has become a helluva a lot more dangerous lately…

Via Doug Kaye

It’s official: DoubleClick is going private. [here and here]
This will be very interesting, especially as DoubleClick starts to feel the heat from AdSense and Yahoo! and any number of other small players.
I wonder if DoubleClick will be releasing an AdSense product, or if they will focus on their current market?

alarm:clock
The Street

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.