I’m lucky to have a brother-in-law who is a fantastic photographer. I’m amazed at the expressions he can capture like this picture of Lincoln at the park. Lincoln would grab the football and then run as fast as he could the other way looking back to make sure someone was giving chase.
When it’s from Odwalla. I’m addicted to this flavor right now.
I don’t mind paying good money for things where I know the total cost. When I want to buy a DVD for the kids or a pair of shoes or even a new set of computer speakers, I can calculate what the total cost will be and then decide if it’s worth the money. But there are a few items where it’s darn near impossible to figure out what the total cost will be. Here are two examples:
Cell Phone Plans – My rule for assessing a cell phone plan to take whatever the cell phone company is advertising as the montly rate and double it. I have a shared minutes plan with Kim that’s advertised at $59/month. I’ve never had a bill remotely close that. On a good month I can keep it under $90 if I lay off the 411 calls. Since when did making phone calls become so complicated? When I moved from Spint to Verizon last fall, Verizon sent me a “Welcome Package” that is supposed to explain their billing practices. I’d need a Ph.D in economics to understand the legal wording in this sucker.
Tires – Maybe I’m feeling the pain a little more than most on this subject since I’ve recently installed new tires on both our Honda Odyssey and VW Passat, but buying tires is an exercise in confusion and frustration. I walked into the local Goodyear Tires and found the tire I wanted, got the price per tire and multiplied it by 4. Easy enough I figured but not even close. I found out that it takes a whole mess of preparation before the tires can be safely installed. Once you add the computer wheel balancing, mounting, and old tire disposal fee the same you’re looking at about double what you figured.
Lots of news tonight around Scoble leaving Microsoft. Sort of confusing at this point because Scoble himself hasn’t posted in detail about his decision to leave. Winer has the best write-up I’ve found. Scoble doesn’t seem to think it’s that big of deal since Microsoft has 3000 other bloggers. I tend to think it is a big deal when most people can’t name another Microsoft blogger other than Scoble.
I like the fact that Scoble decided to write his blog on hosted WordPress and not MSDN blogs or MSN Spaces. He never seemed to fit the typical Microsoft stereotype and that’s why I found his blog interesting. Here’s hoping he stays interesting and finds much success at Podtech.
This is one of the strangest national anthem renditions I’ve ever seen. I admire this guy for getting through the entire song.
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With the arrival of warmer weather (finally!) in Seattle, I’ve been getting off the bus near Pikes Market and walking to my office in Belltown. I like the cool breeze blowing off Elliot Bay, the sounds of the street musicians, and the smell of the numerous flower shops. I walk past at least four small flower shops each day but I only remember the name of one of them: Buckets. Such a simple, memorable name. I’ll bet the other three flower shows are named something like “insert hip area of town” Flower Shop.
But the name, Buckets, works because it invites you to think about the name. Why buckets and what is the tie in to flowers? A bucket full of flowers? I don’t know the answer or if a tie in is even intended. Their logo is a simple, universally understood bucket.
Think for a minute about the names of some software products, especially those from Microsoft: Microsoft ISA Server, Microsoft Sharepoint Portal Server, Microsoft Data Protection Manager and my favorite, Microsoft Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition. These names don’t exactly roll off the tongue very smoothly. Although some might say naming isn’t a big deal if your products are backend, enterprise focused products. That might be true but even some of the Microsoft consumer product names sound extremely bland: Desktop Search (Oh wow, how exciting!), Money, and the charismatic, Digital Image Suite. The only Microsoft product name that really makes me think much is Xbox.
One of the few companies that has product names which make me think is 37Signals with their Basecamp, Campire and Ta-Da List. Simple yet thought provolking names from a company that creates elegant and simple products that just work.
I was browsing through Kiplingers’s last week and came upon their list of the 50 smart places to live. Here’s a list of the top 10:
#1 Nashville, Tenn.
Our top pick offers affordable homes, a mild climate and a phenomenal entertainment scene that goes far beyond country.
#2 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
The Twin Cities offer a hip and progressive atmosphere with a midwestern sensibility, multiple cultural outlets, pro teams in all four major sports, a dozen universities and colleges, and a diverse economy.
#3 Albuquerque, N.M.
This laid-back city offers resort-town ambience, a boomtown economy and cow-town prices.
#4 Atlanta, Ga.
The capital of Georgia is a vibrant city with a rich history, good health care, a great cultural scene and genteel neighborhoods shaded by magnificent dogwood and magnolia trees.
#5 Austin, Tex.
Home to the University of Texas, the state capitol, the Zachary Scott Theatre and the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum, Austin is a sophisticated salsa of culture, history and politics.
#6 Kansas City
This city split along state lines offers something for everyone: from stately houses to downtown lofts and world-class museums to barbecue.
#7 Asheville, N.C.
A virtually franchise-free downtown, world-class cuisine, amazing crafts, live music venues and fine arts make this city tucked into the Blue Ridge mountain range one of a kind.
#8 Ithaca, N.Y.
True, it’s in the Finger Lakes boonies of central New York, but Ithaca is an Ivy League outpost with great food, beautiful scenery and Naderite politics.
#9 Pittsburgh, Pa.
Currently undergoing a renaissance, this hidden gem has distinctive neighborhoods, tree-lined streets, glittering skyscrapers, upscale shops and a diversified economy.
#10 Iowa City, Iowa
An oasis on the prairie, this wholesome middle-American city is bursting with creative and intellectual energy.
PCWorld has compiled a list of the 100 best products of the year. Here are the top 10:
With the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor you can check to see if your PC is prepared to run Vista. I ran it and was told my PC is good enough to run the “Vista Core Experience”. I assume that means it will run everything just fine. I have an AMD X2 4400+ chip on an Asus board, but I have a lower end Nvidia 6600GT videocard. But it does have 128MB RAM onboard which is what Microsoft suggests you’ll need for the full “Aero” experience.
And if you’re not in the mood to be told your machine is too sluggish to run Vista, you might like ComputerWorld’s “20 Things You Won’t Like About Vista” article.
Microsoft Live OneCare service was released to the public today. This software is supposed to help PC users protect their machines from internet attacks. The services costs $49/year and can be used on up to three machines. But I guess they are only interested in protecting those machines belonging to people who use Internet Explorer 6, which makes some sense because these are the people at the greatest risk. I tried to download the trial using Firefox and got the below message. Yet another MS product with no Firefox support at launch. They need a Scoble scolding.
Nordquist Blog 