Our Founding Fathers viewpoints of our country

Here are some quotes from some of our country's founding fathers as we near our Nation's Independence Day on July 4th:

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed…" -The Declaration of Independence

"The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sun beam in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power." -Alexander Hamilton

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion...Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." -John Adams

"Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." -John Jay, First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

"Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention...The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other." -Alexis de Tocqueville, French Historian

"The religion which has introduced civil liberty, is the religion of Christ and his apostles, which enjoins humility, piety and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free constitutions of government." -Noah Webster

"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever." -Thomas Jefferson

"Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." -George Washington

"The Almighty God has blessed our land in many ways. He has given our people stout hearts and strong arms with which to strike mighty blows for freedom and truth. He has given to our country a faith which has become the hope of all peoples in an anguished world." -Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The right to freedom being the gift of the Almighty...The rights of the colonists as Christians...may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institution of The Great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament." -Samuel Adams

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I should do and, with the help of God, I will do!" -Everett Hale, Chaplain of the United States Senate

"Almighty God...I yield thee humble and hearty thanks that thou has preserved me from the danger of the night past, and brought me to the light of the day, and the comforts thereof, a day which is consecrated to thine own service and for thine own honor. Let my heart, therefore, Gracious God, be so affected with the glory and majesty of it, that I may not do mine own works, but wait on thee, and discharge those weighty duties thou requirest of me. Give me grace to hear thee calling on me in thy word, that it may be wisdom, righteousness, reconciliation and peace to the saving of the soul in the day of the Lord Jesus. Grant that I may hear it with reverence, receive it with meekness, mingle it with faith, and that it may accomplish in me, Gracious God, the good work for which thou has sent it. Bless my family, kindred, friends and country, be our God and guide this day and for ever for His sake, who lay down in the Grave and arose again for us, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." -From the Prayer Journal of George Washington

"Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." -William Penn

Question is: do these comments ever make it into our schools textbooks?

Is the rise of Extremist Islam the same as the Old Communism?

After reading this web article Somali Islamists seize checkpoints, demand sharia it seems that there is little difference between Islam's Sharia and Communism's approach to its people: extreme limitation to people's freedoms.

However, when you look at the other exteme of not giving citizens the right to protect themselves as it shows in Belgium in this aritcle “Youths” Kick Man to Death on Crowded Antwerp Bus it shows that governments that don't have the means to which to protect its citizens cause fear. But notice what the paper stated "Three Moroccans, two of whom are minors, were arrested today." While most Moroccans are muslims, these may not be following Islam or follow an extemist viewpoint.

What are the answers?

Call to cancel AOL Account

OK, you've got Vincent Ferrari recording his Customer Service call and trying to cancel his account and according to an AOL spokesperson, the person was fired. Typical corporate baloney. Regardless of the company most larger companies have measurements of how well things are going and those metrics are to help the company, not help the customers. While it may show up in the bottom line in the short term positively, it goes to show in the long term how bad this type of measurement and metrics can hurt a firm, not help it.

Another interesting thing is that there are laws that are on the books that allow for Vincent to record these calls without the other party's consent. According to this web site Can We Tape? it states that journalists can record anything without anything being wrong. This site states:

"Federal law allows recording of phone calls and other electronic communications with the consent of at least one party to the call. A majority of the states and territories have adopted wiretapping statutes based on the federal law, although most also have extended the law to cover in-person conversations. Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia permit individuals to record conversations to which they are a party without informing the other parties that they are doing so. These laws are referred to as "one-party consent" statutes, and as long as you are a party to the conversation, it is legal for you to record it."

OK, so while most customers are not going to make a phone call and try and snag you into saying something which is bad for you and your company, what this implies is that anyone can call anyone and record their phone call and put it on YouTube or their web site for the whole world to know. So if you work for any company, remember that anyone can record your conversaion without your knowledge and based on the above incident, you could be fired for following "company policy" of "zero tolerance" of something or what not.

Maybe that's why phone calls waiting times get longer and longer? Or just maybe it gets tiring of hearing "I Win, You Lose" attitude from companies.

Oh, and by the way, the reverse is also true. How many customers lie to get out of paying something to a company?

It works both ways!!!!

Al Aqsa official: Jewish temples existed

In what is astounding is that the article Al Aqsa official: Jewish temples existed it states

"Contradicting most of his colleagues, a former senior leader of the Waqf, the Islamic custodians of the Temple Mount, told WorldNetDaily in an exclusive interview he has come to believe the first and second Jewish Temples existed and stood at the current location of the Al Aqsa Mosque.

The leader, who was dismissed from his Waqf position after he quietly made his beliefs known, said Al Aqsa custodians passed down stories for centuries from generation to generation indicating the mosque was built at the site of the former Jewish temples.

He said the Muslim world's widespread denial of the existence of the Jewish temples is political in nature and is not rooted in facts.

The former leader, who is well known to Al Aqsa scholars and Waqf officials, spoke on condition his name be withheld, claiming an on-the-record interview would endanger his life.

There you have it folks, the Islamic religion and culture denies anything or very little about Jewish history. Blame the clerics and extremists for "dumbing down" the Arab people. No different than Galelio being suppressed by the Christian clergy in years gone past.

Statements of facts are one thing, statements of beliefs are another. it is when statements of beliefs are NOT based on facts or half truths that problems arise.

Is the info on the web site "God Hates Fags" really true?

After taking a look at the God Hates Fags web site you begin to wonder: Is what they say 100% true?

Well, as a matter of fact, no. But then again, there are very few people in the world both in the past and into the future that are or will be 100% correct, not even me, because we're all fallible. But, from this perspective there are some that are more accurate and correct than others.

Their web site is more accurate than most in describing God's judgements, but where they fail is in HOW they tell about God's judgement and pervert God's love for each individual. Telling a person that they are destined for Hell is correct in expressing God's judgement, but if you don't talk even more about God's LOVE of the person in order NOT for that person to end up in Hell which is provided by God's Son Jesus Christ then you are failing to preach the gospel according to Jesus Christ.

In their FAQ: Doesn't the Bible say that God loves everyone? they state "No. You are probably thinking of John 3:16, which says no such thing. The word translated "world" in that verse (kosmos) NEVER means every individual of mankind who has ever lived (see, e.g., John 17:9)." While they are very accurate, they miss HOW God loves the World. In John 3:16 "God so LOVED the World" means that God judgement was looking to condemn every individual in the world because of the inherant Sin that is in each of us, but that God's LOVE for each of us He was looking NOT to condemned us by His Judgement but it caused Him to offer HIs Son as a sacrifice for each of our sins. Once Jesus Christ satisfied this Judgement, God is able to OFFER salvation to each of us. But, it is up to each of us to RESPOND this this LOVE and accept His Son's Salvation.

But where they really err really bad is when they discuss the Unforgiveable Sin. In their FAQ Aren't all sins equal in God's eyes? they incorrectly state "What is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost? It is attributing the work of God to Beelzebub." This is 100% false!! In the Bible and God's eyes this is works related, not Grace related. This is a SALVATION passage and it's in regard to the Holy Spirit convicting the person of their need for a Savior in Jesus Christ, both with Judgement in that they are a sinner, but also with LOVE in that He has provided a way for them to be accepted into His family by their belief in what Jesus Christ has done for them. We are to SHARE the gospel and allow the Holy Spirit to CONVICT the person. But understand, God expresses Himself regarding salvation depending on where the individual is coming from. In the story in Luke 17:36-50 Jesus states that the one who is forgiven more will love the forgiver more. The prostitute that feels unloved by God will get much more love from Him than condemnation, however, the arrogant will get more judgement than love to show them that their self-righteousness is never acceptable in His eyes.

Where Churches and Christians go wrong is when the church or Christian through their OWN works (see 1 Cor 3:11-15 under "wood, hay, straw" convicts the person that they need Jesus Christ and not allowing the Holy Spirit to convict them. This results in a false salvation and if the person "leaves the faith" then the Christians or church state "they were not really saved then" which causes irreparable harm with the inaccuracy of their knowledge of the Bible and God.

When they state in their FAQ When it says in the Bible that God is not willing that any should perish, doesn't that mean God wants everyone to be saved? that "It is clear by any plain reading of this verse that the "not willing that any should perish" language is directed at and applies to only a specific group of people, here called the 'us-ward.' " Now the NASB version of the Bible is more accurate by stating "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." Yes, God does want everyone to be saved, but not everyone HAS BEEN or WILL BE saved. This reference is not for a select group of people other than the whole world, including the scoffers, and it is intended to show that if they don't come to the conclusion about God's judgement about their own life and sinfulness they WILL perish if they don't make a salvation decision!

Read John 3:16-18 and you'll see that each person is condemned already, but God has provided an answer to your situation. Once you are saved you CANNOT lose your salvation and place in heaven as per 1 Cor 3:11-15 under "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved". You may lose your rewards that have glorified God, but you will still end up in heaven no matter what you do here on earth.

Does that mean i hate homosexuals? No!! For instance, I don't hate alcoholics, I hate what alcohol does to the person. I don't hate arrogant CEOs, I hate what unbridled power does to a person. I don't hate drug addicts, I hate what drugs does to a person. Judgement is about figuring out right and wrong regarding what a person is doing, love is about how to correct in a way that is meaningful to the person to let go of the addictions they have.

You can also see on YouTube WBC on Fox News 061006 on YouTube describing an encounter with a member of their church.

Writer's being scammed

It is just plain bad business to be be doing this to writers, butt Angela Hoy's article Top 10 Signs You've Been Scammed Into Writing for Free shows the problems of writers and "getting into" the main stream can run into. But this also goes for other writers as well. I've been in touch with Dave Taylor of Ask Dave fame about my book and have not heard from him concerning my book as I, too, want to write a book and showcase my skills. Although he told me after seeing my Table of Contents" that I had a great idea, I needed an Editor to help get things moving along since I have over 118 pages of info already written.

Since it has been since the end of March that I have talked with Dave about my book and have helped him out personally regarding a computer, I'm still eager to see what his comments are concerning my book. He suggested that I contact No Starch Press book publisher, I have to put together a book proposal about my book. I'm working on it and should be done shortly. My purpose of writing the book is to showcare my thought processes and not showcase my writing.

We're moving on.

Entrepreneurs: an MBA at the library?

This is a good article, but it points out the one part that even Bill Gates knows: nothing prepares you for the challenges of building a business than actually doing it for real (he quit Harvard to build Microsoft at the right time). While schools can give you close to real world experience, it's "only simulated" at best and can provide some critical thinking skills.

Iran, what state is it in?

What I find interesting is that Iran is becoming a rather troublesome country. You find that Iran is having trouble at home as well as it's influence abroad in neighboring Iraq. This could spell more trouble for the region which is already unstable, but only time will tell how it will play out.

Viewpoints of: Is the glass half empty of half full?

As I was thinking this morning, I began with just a short view of this issue, but it took on a life of it's own as I began to think of others. Here goes:

Optimist - The glass is half full
Dreamer - We need to find a bigger glass or more glasses
Jesus Christ - “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 14:13-14
Pastor - Drink of the Living Water
Business Owner - I own the glass
Supplier - We need to find more water.
Property Owner - I own the water (lake, stream, pond)
Engineer - Someone didn’t design the glass to specifications
Jack Welch, former GE CEO - My main job was developing talent. I was a gardener providing water and other nourishment to our top 750 people. Of course, I had to pull out some weeds, too.
Environmentalist - how clean is the water?
Scientist - If we freeze the water it becomes ice, if we boil the water it becomes steam.
Hollywood type - Can I have MY Evian bottled water.....
Survivalist - First thing is to find water because we can’t live without water, then find a glass (container) to put it in.
Manufacturer - how is the glass made?
Conservative Politician - the government is not in the business of finding water, let businesses do that.
Liberal Politician - a pitcher of water in every home and the government will get it for you.
Doctor - you need four eight ounces of water to drink daily.
Sahara desert dweller - how far until I get to the next water hole
Astronomer - where can we find water on other planets
Artist - what style or type of glass should hold the water
Waiter - would you like some more water?
W. C. Fields, comedian - You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it.
Traveller - I started out with a full glass …
Desert Traveller - Water, I need water …..
Statistician - .5 * 0 = 0, while .5 * 50% = .25, so the glass is ….
Accountant - why did you spend money on too big a glass?
Manager - We need to budget (ration) this water out
Customer - Where can I get more water
Leonardo da Vinci - Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.
Worker - I need more water to drink
Blue Collar Worker - I don’t need water, give me some beer!
Government worker - we need to tax more so I can get more water and glasses
Socialist - You need to give some of your water to others, you’re hoarding too much water for yourself.
Pessimist - The glass is half empty
Skeptic - We may not have any more water or glasses to go around
Burglar - I’m going to take your water
Terrorist - I’m not going to let you have any water or any glass
Cynic - There is no more water to fill the glass up and the glass is made of glass and it will break
World View - 1 in 5 people of the world is without adequate drinking water.

So you see, it’s the glass, water, time, and the person viewing it that determine the viewpoint of the glass of water.

Facts about water:

National Geographic: Water Pressure
A Frenchman who can see water beneath the Sahara
The Water Page - The Water Page is an independent initiative dedicated to the promotion of sustainable water resources management and use. A particular emphasis is placed on the development, utilisation and protection of water in Africa and other developing regions.

US Media: Liberal or Too Liberal with Islam?

My wife and I watched the movie "Good Night and Good Luck" about Edward R. Murrow's "discussion" and op-ed pieces regarding Sen. McCarthy's hunt for communists in all sorts of places showed how fabricated McCarthy's sensabilities were about communism, but had shown how McCarthy had taken fear beyond what was realistic. However, after viewing the movie I've come to conclusion that today's media no longer carries along tje tradition as Murrow has established.

As seen on Dr. Salah Sultan's web site, who is president of the American Center for Islamic Research (ACIR), shows that the US media has not picked up on someone who is living right under American's noses and is expressing hatred for Americans. Why? In fact, Dr. Sultan's resume, which I was able to download on his english side of his web site states "• Vision: To live happily. To die as a martyr. To meet the beloved ones in the Paradise of the Lord of the heaven and the earth." which you can download and see for yourself.

While free speech is protected by our Constitution, I wonder if those that teach others to yell "Fire!'" in a crowded movie theater when there is no fire but DOES cause harm to others is prosecutable? As is used on the Internet, IANAL (I Am Not A Lawyer) but I'd keep a close eye on Dr. Sultan, because he's one to incite others to action in his comments.

I believe in Ronald Reagen's approach: Trust, but Verify!

Self Esteem: performance or encouragement?

Was in a discussion last night with my father and sister-in-law about kids in school today and the subject about kids self-esteem. My father's comment was that "kids learn self esteem from performance, not being told their good at things." My sister-in-law spoke about the same thing, but I began to wonder about the whole discussion and wondered if the performance thing is only one part of a kids self esteem?

It also belongs on the argument of kids: are they nature or nurture grown in regards their talent, skills, and experiences?

Just look at the number of kids that are troubled because of alcoholic parents. Is this performance related? Or how about motivating sports teams, at that point is probably no longer encouragement esteem but performance esteem.

Bottom line: I think it's a mixture of both nature and nurture regarding how kids grow up and it has to be age appropriate encouragement and performance. But it's also about motivating an adult. While performance at work is probably self motivating, it's still about motivating everyone so that they can perform to their fullest.

Is Islam the problem or is it's interpretation? What does the Bible say?

After reading this online article called Part of me died when I saw this cruel killing that describes a Iraqi woman journalist that was well respected and followed her heart to unite the Iraqi people around the good that they offered was brutally murdered "in the name of Allah" by the evil, fearful and oppressive Al-Qaeda and Taliban Islamic fundamentalists. The real question is; are the Taliban and Al-Qaeda approach to Islam a poor or wrong interpretation of the Quran (Koran)?

After viewing this site The Middle East Media Research Institute's Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 273 about the reforms needed to take place in Islam it makes you wonder if such ideas and reforms are possible. After looking at this site Jihad Watch about the more subversive approach Islam works toward is it any wonder that they've chosen a different path using the same "thought-action-habit-character-destiny" approach by the more negative side of hate than of love. But why?

John 3:16-18: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

But of more importance is where is this evil all leading us to?

What even most Christians think is that, or the lack thereof, is the more liberal slant of Chritianity: we all want peace and we've created this problem! This includes those Christians that believe that the Sermon on the Mount and what the rest of the Gospels teach us are for us today. There are two basic problems with both the "where is evil leading us" and "Love and Peace is what Jesus teaches us to do in His Kingdom now" views of the more liberal churches.

1. Based on the above Bible verses Man has the capacity to do evil as well as "good" especially under the guidance of Satan, but these Muslims choose evil rather than good "in the name of Allah". When you constantly hear that most Muslims are against Israel while the Bible states that Israel is His Chosen nation, those that are against Israel are against God (In the future a Muslim army will attack Israel and be slaughtered by God supernaturally).

2. But when you look the Bible Prophecy you see a different story, especially when you read the book of Revelation. While the book has 22 chapters, chapters 4-19 contain some of the worse judgements to happen to the world since the Great Flood during Noah's time. If you'd like to understand more, read Events of the Second Coming which describes an overview of what will happen during these chapters in Revelation while Terms To Know describes some of the key terms that explain End Times prophecies.

Based on the original story, it would seem that religion is becoming much more pronounced and counterfeit to what the Bible states: that religion changes man from the outside in while in true Chritianity the Holy Spirit changes a man from the inside out and in the name of religion let's kill those that go against our beliefs.

So, the sequence of events in the future are:

The Great Apostacy - where even Christians will leave the Chritian church to follow counterfeit religons, including Islam, Buddism, and Hinduism, no matter how sincere they are and the rise of terror and evil.
The Great Tribulation - where about 1/2 to 3/4 of the world's population will be killed
The Battle of Armagedon - where Believers and Jesus Christ will come to kill the last remaining unbelievers to set the stage of the Millenium
The Millenium - where there will be 1000 years of peach with Jesus Christ establishing His Kindgon here on earth with no wars or any of the current health problems.

If you'd like to know more about up and coming events in more detail, see Charting the End Times by Tim LaHaye and Thomas Ice who give a graphic example of what is to happen in sequence, but not with date and time stamps.

If you need more answers, post the questions, I don't want you to be left behind and neither does God! He loves you enough to provide a way out of your dilema.

UPDATE 5/8/06: It seems that the video of the murder of the Iraqi journalist is a hoax per Atwar Bahjat horror story [UPDATE: it's a hoax.]. Goes to show that even bad AND news in error travels fast!!

But the bottom line on the video and pictures: who would STILL do such a thing? Only EVIL people!!

UPDATE 05/23/2006: Well here is a link to a story"This is a Saudi textbook. (After the intolerance was removed.)" that what I state above is closer to reality than even I thought.

Who owns your data?

One of the things that has bothered me is the fact that as Stephen Nipper writes in "Five things I would do differently if I started blogging today"> that most "free" things are not free, but can be costlly if you allow them the "free" part to continue if things ever get bigger than you considered it.

His first online comments about blogging is "portability, portability, portability" of which I say data retention, data retention, data retenion!! So the question becomes: who hosts or owns your data? If you read Stephen's comments about trying to get his data out of his blog hosting, it basically gone. Same with any other hosting company that web hosts your information. So, if you're a company that uses a web hosting of your data, I'd be very wary of how has the data versus who owns the data. Data now becomes a property thing and if someone hosts your data, someone else can get access to it without your knowledge or input.

BLOGGING

Wow, just read Guy Kawasaki's blog and got some good info about how to do it better under his title "The 120 Day Wonder: How to Evangelize a Blog." I really like Guy's writings and enjoy his insights.

What sites he recommended were Feedburner which actually turns your blog into an RSS feed which you can use NetNewsWire (on Macs) to track RSS feeds and Feedblitz for adding emailing services to your blog. Cool stuff.

A Dangerous Business: Morality at it's lowest

This Frontline program called A Dangerious Business aired a few years ago, but the affects are still being felt today. See the updates to the program.

It's along the lines of Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom, it's a moral thing. The sad part is that most vendors and customers will still do business with a company with this sort of morals rather than "shaming them" into better business behaviors.

Oh, and by the way, when you read the transcripts of the program, read what they state about ACIPCO, same business, different culture, better company!!

Success or Significance?

One of the things that I find when talking with others is whether they are looking for success or significance. What's the difference? Success is finding your own way of getting ahead in life and only thinking of yourself, but with significance is about you AND others that are around you. It's one thing to think about youself, but if you fail to consider others so that it's not a Win/Lose proposition, such as you win and the other loses, but one where it becomes a Win/Win situaion where both you and someone else you associated with gets ahead with being associated with you.

So, next time you are around someone, make sure that you are each encouraging to each other in a way that benefits both of you. It's OK to be corrective, but don't be condenscending or overly critical so that you kill someone's motivation. As the Bible points out in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3:

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have {the gift of} prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed {the poor,} and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

You can't give to others what you don't have, so if you can't love yourself, you can't love others. Loving yourself is getting to know what God has created in you, but loving others means seeing what God has made them to be and what they are to accomplish.

As Mother Teresa stated: You can't judge others when you are loving them!!

Linux goes into the Public sector in Steamboat Springs Colorado

In this article Linux taken for a ride in the Old West gives some details about how Steamboat Springs, Colorado is transitioning from Windows to Linux both in the server and in the desktop because of the costs associated with some proprietary software and gives another reason why Open Source software is gaining ground.

The biggest problem is for Open Source to get traction is getting the word out that it works.

iPod Cross Platform: Windows and Mac

As one who has used computers since 1984 and run Windows, Mac, and Linux the one thing that has been most interesting is cross platform issues. Most interesting is that most people I have talked with are not taking advantage of all of the features of a given hardware/software solution.

My wife left the Windows world in her career of real estate a few years back when she saw the various programs and uses of the Mac in her industry. Recently my wife, who is is becoming a geek chick if I ever saw one became fully aware of the iPods full capability: it's not only an MP3 player, but it's a "flash/hard drive" as well.

But, being in a real estate office that is mostly filled with Windows and a few Mac agents she has concerns with being able to get things done in a Windows environment. When she realized that the iPod is also a "flash/hard drive" and is able to carry all types of Word, Excel, Powerpoint and other files with her without carrying her laptop she was excited about the possiblities. However, after I confirmed that the Mac iPod "hard drive" could not be accessed by a Windows computer I had to see what solutions were available.

Enter MacDrive 6 by Mediafour. This product, once loaded on a Windows computer, allows a Mac formatted iPod "hard drive" to be accessed on a Windows computer. Now the question is: what about Windows > Mac "hard drive" via Macs OS X Windows sharing AND flash drive iPods.

I'll let you know what I find out about this answer.

iWork: Pages and Keynote web sites

Here you go with some web sites for Apple's iWork

iWork Community:

iWorkcommunity.com

Pages:

PagesUser.com

Keynote:

Keynoteuser.com
Keynoteadventurer.com
KeynoteHQ.com

As I find more sites I'll update this blog.

Creating Sales is like being a farmer....

you have to plant some seeds before you can harvest!!

I was recently talking with a business person and we got on to the subject of sales and his ONLY comment was:

What are your Sales numbers?

While I don't disagree that sales numbers show results and results are what matters, what HE failed to realize is that results come from activity to produce numbers and results. You can't find out how much a farmer harvests unless you know how much he plants and how much he "maintains" his field in preparation for planting and the next step of planting in search of getting more of a harvest. So, in more detail:

Field Preparation + Planting + Plant Maintenance = Harvest

Same goes for business, but with different terminology:

Planning + Designing + Marketing = Sales

Poor leaders focus on EITHER one or the other side. POOR workers focus on EITHER side as well. Good leaders AND good workers will notice BOTH sides of the equation rather than only on one side, results OR process.

So, next time you are talking with a person whether that person is a business owner or a person who works for someone else, listen to how they measure themselves or how they are measured or even how they've been measured.

If a leader states "I don't care how you do it but reach this number or you'll be ...." is a VERY POOR leader because they fail to understand HOW their business will GROW!! It shows that they will NOT be able to duplicate what has been done.

If a worker states "I don't care how I do it but I have to reach this number or I'll be ..." it shows that the worker is willing to possibly swap out ethical behavior with something less truthful.

In both cases we've seen how Enron, Tyco, and other companies bow to pressure to perform and begin to perform unethically.

If you take care of your customers, they care about how you perform, Wall Street can take a hike.

Free software posted on a Commercial Web site

Here's a neat example of a company that is concerned with their customers, Bare Bones Software has a section of their web site that lists free software on the Mac. Nothing is more important to me starting a business than finding free or low cost software to get my tasks and jobs done. But what is really nice is the fact that here's a company that that lists it on their web site. Good job in my view.

This should be a suggestion for every commercial web site that sells products, placing links to free software that either helps with your products or that you find that have been helpful to you.

Golden Rules: Here are some, what are yours?

I was glancing at this site about "49 Golden Rules" by CEOs and thought this interesting. But the real question is: how many companies work it?

As W. Edwards Deming stated once: "I don't know of any employee that walks into their work with an attitude of 'I'm going to really screw up today.' "

What do you think?

iPods: Maintaining them and finding answers

My wife has an iPod mini that I got for her less than a year ago and she's been having an issue with it. But after going to Apple's Support web site or the iPod Support site and the iPod Updater Software web site I realized that my wife had not updated her iPod software since she got it last year. But another thing happened that I was not aware of: that by using the Mac "Software Update" I had actually automatically downloaded all of the iPod Updater software that was located under the Applications > Utilities > iPod Updater folder and when I checked this folder all of the updates to the iPod software were there. Wow!! And I thought I had to download the newest version each time one came out.

The other part was that the "Five R's" do work. Fortunately, my wife's issue was not a hardware issue but a software one which, for those that have been around computers for any length of time, most of the time issues are with software and not hardware. This means that you can do things at home and not have to call your friends and visit an Apple technician.

So, my wife is happy again with her iPod and I learned something new today.

Company Metrics: Measurement for the Company or measuring for the Customer?

Recently I was discussing measurements with a QA professional friend of mine and we got into the a discussion about metrics, or the measurement of something. Most companies today have begun measuring productivity of each BU (Business Unit) in terms of various metrics, but just like the ISO 9000 of old, just because you have a measurement does NOT mean you have customer satisfaction. Just because you have a process documented does not mean you have customer satisfaction. Just because you have a measurement does not mean you get customer satisfaction.

In most QA circles (such as American Society for Quality) there are two terms that are discussed: outcomes and output. Outputs are what you produce based on the defined process, outcomes are what you want, the goals that you define. However, if you define a metric of only what management wants and not what the customer wants or do not take into account what a customer wants you'll drive your customers away while patting yourself on the back as far as your metric goes.

In the past I worked for one company that made sure you did a certain percentage of transactions through BU "A" of the company because it affected the bottom line and payroll of each of the BUs when in reality the customers got better service in BU "A" because of the newer and faster machines. While the customer's wanted the faster service, the metric of management kept certain customer's waiting longer, thus making some of them go elsewhere.

On the other hand, when I was having a discussion with another computer user over the use of Windows, Mac, and Linux the one thing the person asked was "what about getting 24 hour support for Macs while I may not get any for Linux but where I can with Windows." The one part that most people don't understand from this person's or company's "metric" is that having 24/7 support for the product they buy can be had for probably a price and while it may indicate "high quality customer service," it may also be indicative of a poor product quality! With a high quality product you won't have to call anyone because there are no issues to resolve.

Or, you can also relate that a customer's view that "you're having more tech support calls" means that you're having a product quality but could really mean that you've sold more of your product.

The same goes for measuring an employees performance. Many a metric that has been established to measure a manager's performance actually hinders an employees chance for advancement. If a manager has a good employee who keeps a metric high and the employee wants to advance, the manager might dissuade the employee to stay just to keep their metric high while preventing the employee's real talent to shine in a promotion. The manager's manager might look at the "metric" and see that if it goes down that either the person was "promoted," a positive outcome, or "quit", a negative outcome, because of a failure of the employee to advance in the company.

Make sure that the metric you use is based on reality and customer feedback and not following "Enronish" expectations. For those that think that no one is watching them and can get away with doing bad things either to their customers or their employees or others, just remember that God is measuring your output as indicated by in 1 Corinthians 3:4-8.

Off today, doing some writing and thinking

I'm off today from my regular job and getting into writing my book. Came a cross a number of sites that added information to my book:

Marc's Outlook on Productivity
apennyfor.com

I'll be back with more, I'm still looking....

Update 1/23/2006: I never did finish this, but hopefully the links wills spark some new ones when I have the time.

Added use for iPods: Kids Emergency Info/Medical Source

When I do my computer writing, software updating, and all around thinking about computers I come up with ideas that can be helpful to others. Well, while I was updating my wifes iPod with the newest Apple iPod Updater for all iPods, I was reviewing my wifes iPod Mini and came up with a thought for parents who get their iPods for their kids:

Place your kids emergency medical and contact information information on your kids iPod so that it's easy for those around during an emergency to be able to respond quickly and appropriately.

Since most kids carry their iPods with them most anywhere, especially with their friends, it's easy to find the information.

Any comments?

Hope this helps someone's kid at some point.

Military Officer's Oath and President Bush's "Spying" on Americans

When I entered the Air Force as an officer in 1983 I took this oath:

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

This same oath is taken by all military officers while the enlisted one is slightly different. The interesting thing about this oath is the liberal media is crying "Spying on American's" by President Bush and their constant barage of their approach to Iraq as "we're not at war anymore, so let's draw down the troops so we can get back to normalcy here in America."

What the liberal media does is take the "hook, line, and sinker" of the minutia of civil liberties issues of spying on 30 potential terrorists in American, but fails to see that only 19 terrorists came into this country, that were not "home grown" in America, and murdered over 3000 Americans in 2001 in the World Trade Center. Home grown meaning that they are American citizens, just like John Walker Lindh who was found in Afganistan "fighting" the Americans. While Walker Lindh "repented" for his actions, what about others that may not be so remorseful or have full intent? What about those that are domestic enemies that use our systems to undermine our way of life? Can what happened in Britan on July 7th, 2005 happen to us?

Personally, I think it is very possible, so when President Bush only signs up spying on 30 out our total population of millions I don't think we're going down the tubes just yet. The real question is: will American's media get the message at all, or will they be the catalyst for more deaths in America?

Proprietary Standards are just another "Tax" for governments

When you read this article about Open Office and Microsoft battling for the file format standards you get the distinct impression that anything that are not open standards are just another tax for governments impossed on the people.

Personally I'm not against proprietary standards and intellectual property, but when it comes to my Federal, State, and local governments using proprietary, closed standards it now costs me, a taxpayer, more money to access government documents. If I do not have the correct program to access government services I now have to purchase the correct one in order to get that acess I am now "being taxed" by my government. With open standards which everyone agrees upon the program that I now own will probably be converted to the new standard so as to not be left out of the competition for my hard earned cash.

Public and open standards rarely "tax" anyone, but proprietary ones do.

Good enough or Great enough: getting it for free or paying for it

In writing my book I've been using the phrase that "some solutions are good enough" for most people to use in their everyday work and job. Much like seeing Microsoft Works being good enough for most people, including some small companies, to use everyday and to purchase Microsoft's Office Suite for the most part is overkill.

However, I'm come across a new perspective: are some solutions great enough to pay for them?

Because Open Source software is now used in a large portion of the Fortune 500 companies and has lowered their cost of purchasing this software to free and the software is good enough to use in everyday work, purchasing software from a vendor that will sell you a license now begs the question: is the solution worth the price you are now paying?

So instead of "good enough" being the newest game in town there is a new game called is it "great enough?" This new game is now causing many a vendor to see if the features and benefits it gives it's customers are truly what they need and want.

Due your due diligence on researching your computers solutions before you spend your hard earned cash.

Start Ups Need to Learn from Big Business Big Brother

One of the things in talking with many a small business is that they don't have the manpower or time to research all of the solutions for their business because they're too busy with their primary jobs: getting and keeping cusotmers. So, in lieu of researching for themselves they can watch they can watch what their big brothers big business are doing and learn from not only their mistakes but also where they are heading. As Frank van Wensveen in his article states

There are good reasons for using open source software (OSS), and I've learned those reasons through 15 years of experience with more traditional, commercial or closed source applications.

But what this experience teaches Start Ups is the sometimes higher quality can cost us just like poor quality can cost us, but poor quality delivers poor results even though costs are the same. That's why when costs are similar, you next look at the value of what you get.

Is Open Source Really Just as Good? A rebuttal

Michael Jung has written a blog about Open Source and is it good enough, especially from a Venture Capitalists point of view and those who look for that next big thing. But one thing you will note, there is a lot of FUD(Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) in his questionings. But let's take it one step at a time.

What’s the ecosystem that they’re trying to build?

Now let's take this first question. My first question is: who cares? I mean, when Linus Torvalds decided to Open Source the kernel of Linux, did he decide to design an ecosystem? Not hardly, but he did want to solve one problem: having other people contribute to the problem as a team where he might be weakest.

Will there be lots of people who will know (or want to know) how to work with the technology?

Again, my first impression: who cares? Normally the "Next Big Thing" are for those that have a nose for the future and even then they may not be right most of the time. We don't have a good idea of what the future holds for us especially in technology. Who would have thought that Open Source software would have has such an impact today compared with 10 years ago. Look at the history of technology and you'll see the technology dinosauers that have been killed off, and even some that remain, and notice that most people are wrong about the demise of them.

Are there vendors who can provide great support?

Again, I say: who cares? In this case, the business that is buying it cares, but the ones willing to take the risk may be in for the greater benefits if they decide to take the risk. But most businesses, especially smaller ones, are not willing to take risks with newer technologies, they wait until the Fortune 500 folks take a gander at it to see if it's worthwhile and then procede with caution with their own decisions. Bottom line: no one knows whether a product or service will take off and only time will tell if and when there will be a tipping point of a growing ecosystem being built.

And is there a path of innovation that will help the ecosystem grow?

Now here's a question that I can answer: it depends on how the innovators define the ecosystem and whether it will grow or not. The more restrictive the technology is (i.e. Intellectual Property) toward growth the less or smaller the path will be for others. No different than world governments. The more restrictive the less growth, the less restrictive the more growth. So, if you want your technology to take off, get liberal with it.

Open Source is here to stay and will continue to grow and companies would will be well advised to keep it on their radar screen. The real question is: are the VCs and others keeping their fingers on the pulse of the health of technologies or are they keeping their wetted finger in the air monitoring the winds of rumors and smoke signals.

Update: Take a look at Vince Cerf's comment at Doc Searls' "Saving the Net: How to Keep the Carriers from Flushing the Net Down the Tubes" for a quick and more precise comment about being open.

Delivering value with Linux

Brian Proffitt has written a very good article "Delivering value with Linux" concerning Linux and the loss of Linux "selling techniques" by various Linux advocates. But there is a missing point to his argument: it's not that businesses don't want to sell Linux, but that to sell Linux requires a lot more work to sell than Windows does. In other words, it's an up hill battle to sell Linux and since most businesses earn money by what they sell, which would you go after, the easier money of selling what most people want or the harder way of making money selling something which many may not be aware of?

Now, to counter this argument, Linux advocates need to change how this is discussed. There are a number of things that need to change. First, there is the mindset that most computer businesses get more and more services money from the same customer but at a greater and greater cost of poor quality to the customer, i.e. a bigger and bigger piece of the IT budget pie. Second, that if the businesses sell Linux it has now moved from a "getting more from one customer" to getting more and more of the market share (i.e. more and more) of the number of customers because you will visit the customer less often. Hence, quality is a significant factor here.

Now, most businesses will go after the first part to get more and more of the customer's IT budget until the customers pain is so great that the pain to remain with the current situation that it is too great to stay and thereby resulting in change. But this change can come from two perspectives: the business changes to reduce their charges to the customer and the customer stays with the business, or, the customer is so fed up that they change businesses/vendors regardless of what is offered. This last change is known as the migration factor, from Windows to Linux or Windows to Mac.

I've been selling Linux, Windows, and Mac for a number of years and in order to stay in business you have to make money. While most computer sellers want the "easy bucks" of what people want, the longer haul will be Linux and Free and Open Source software (FOSS). While the foundation for Linux is superior to Windows, the first and second floors (desktop and applications) are the next area in which Linux will gain ground.

But, since most computer purchases are "enterprise level" purchases, Linux will only make more inroads to Windows area when you see Linux on the Fortune 500 desktops. Why? Because once people use it at work they'll want to "bring work home with them" and will want the same thing at home. Once it has started in the Fortune 500 then the medium and smaller businesses will take notice. Unless, of course, the small business is like Ernie Ball's Guitar business did when he dropped Windows for Linux. Ernie is a leader. But many small businesses are followers.

Linux has the better value for sure in many ways, but getting people to change is the hardest part. People don't want to change. It took a friend a year and a half to get me to see and then begin using Linux. Most people will be the same. Linux selling should be in for the long haul.

Intellectual Property and Derivative Works

Ok, I just signed a new Intellectural Property document because I'm beginning a new job. What I was told, but have not gotten a copy of what I signed, was that any information that I saw and if I were to leave the company and used that information to create a new product that this company owns my idea.

It reminds me of license agreement I read about some Excel macros that were sold to others and the license agreement stated that if I added to his work that he owned all derivative, i.e. added, changed, or otherwise improved, works to his program.

One of my skills is a "connect the dots" skill, that when I see certain pieces of information I can "connect the dots" to arrive at conclusions that most people may not see. So it would seem that the only to be legally bound by any IP agreement is that someone would have to find public information via Google and "connect the dots" in order not to loose out on any future income to get out of their economic doldrums.

But what I find so interesting is the "legal" approach to this issue rather than a "let's build it together" approach. Rather than a, forgive this poor analogy, of a "slave and owner" viewpoint that is taken it now bomes a "partnership" like Jim Collins expresses in his "Good to Great" book. It would seem that the out of the gate while sets the stage, there is very little "Let's build it together" in making things better. It reminds me of the story of the goose that laid the golden egg. Greed got to those that wanted it faster and better and killed the goose rather than letting things mature at the rate at which they would grow and be more inclusive. Imagine what a company could do if they were to say "Hey, you've got a great idea, let's work together to build it." When you read that 70% of the people working are not happy with where they are working, is it really the work or the organization that is making things the way they are?

For me, it's making the world a better place, not that I want to own the world.

Discussions with a book publisher: Addison-Wesley, first of many

Ok, I've begun discussing with Addison-Wesley about my book. What a "long" process and I'm not a full time writer, but a part time one and this processs looks daunting. But as I've read before, I'd rather be a best selling author than the best author.

As I discussd with AW my book has some elements of a series that if I spill it to them that while I'm not a great writer and there are others that are better at it than I am, it's the idea that I have that could make my first book become a series. I have heard of some horror stories about publishers treating "up and coming" authors like the publisher owns the author. As I was not aware of, for you all beginning authors here is what working with a big publisher will get you involved with.

Each project has a editor, an editorial assistant, a production editor, a marketing manager, a markeing specialist, and a publicist. There are also members of the sales team that may contact you from time to time to strategize or get information for customers.

And all I was thinking was publishing one book. Whoa, more to think about and stretch myself in new directions. As my wife has stated, "hold on because the ride is going to crazy and wild." More personal stretching and growing to do here.

But, what this does is get some backing from a large publisher and lessens my royalties compared with going with a POD (Print On Demand) such as Book Locker publisher.

The real question is since I have the idea I don't have the expertise to write the series so that if I write the first book and it sells well it's the subsequent books that I wonder if I would be involved in.

We'll see what happens, I have to go learn some more to prepare for this endeavor.

Update: I found this site that is most helpful A Book Publishers Blog by Joe Wikert. Good info in my quest.

Linux IS cheaper, more reliable, more secure, and...

This is the real reason that you should use Linux:

"One thing business-technology professionals believe about open-source software: It provides more opportunity for innovation than commercial or proprietary software. Two-thirds of the 439 business technology professionals we surveyed in January 2005 contend that open-source spurs more opportunities for technical innovation. Half (47%) say it encourages business innovation."

It can't get any better than that.

FOX News: Massachusetts Should Close Down OpenDocument

Ok, have I got a really BIG beef with James Prendergast's comments in his Op Ed piece at FOX News. Here are his comments followed by mine

The policy promises to burden taxpayers with new costs and to disrupt how state agencies interact with citizens, businesses and organizations.

Let's begin with defining what OpenDocument is. OpenDocuments is an open standards based file format that is open to anyone to copy or work with. See OpenDocument FAQ for a more detailed outline. Here is just one quote from the FAQ OpenDocument is owned by OASIS, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the open development of public XML standards. and here OpenDocument is royalty-free. It can be used without charge by anyone..

Now, since the file format is free, how does Mr. Prendergast's comment make this new file format to burden taxpayers with new costs? The latest version of Open Office version 1.1.5 allows one to download the office suite for free and open any OpenDocment at will!! How does that increase one's cost?

Worse, the policy represents an attack on market-based competition, which in turn will hurt innovation

As if market-based competition is the ONLY game in town? Riiigghhttt!! I don't think that Prendergast has ever heard about what Thomas Jefferson did with his Plow Moldboard of Least Resistance? He designed it and did NOT patent it. Was this what Jefferson was thinking when Predergast stated Massachusetts’ citizens and government agencies have been well served by a competitive, merit-based procurement process for technology services? So free fails to innovate? Riiiggghhhtt!!!

But for now, the policy simply promises enormous and unnecessary migration costs to Massachusetts’ taxpayers. The mandate forces the entire state government to acquire new technologies, train personnel, and contract for new services and support.

And you don't think that Microsoft's future Office 12 will force the entire state government to acquire new technologies, train personnel, and contract for new services and support?

I could go on, but this is too ridiculous to keep commenting on.

Mapping the Wireless Jungle

Here are a few sites that discuss wireless networks for people.

Wigle.net has a web map of most of the 70% or so of free wireless access points, or hotspots, across the US and elsewhere that you can access from your wireless laptop.

Freepress has a link to the local governments that are putting up whole town hotspots for people to use.

Or, you can take a look at WiFiFreeSpot to find an easier locate for free hotspots.

I wonder if someone could like Google Maps with this info to produce a great looking map.

Only time will tell.

Will proprietary file formats raise your taxes?

"The Commonwealth of Massachusetts says legal worries helped drive it to open standards, but Microsoft has lambasted the move."

So imagine this: your state or local government uses a proprietary (i.e. Intellectual Property, IP) file format from a company and begins using it. At some point either the company goes out of business, and your local government is stuck with it, or the company begins pressuring your local government for more money. Now, you not only have to pay taxes to your state or local government but your taxes were just raised because of the proprietary nature of this technology.

Is this something in which you want your state and local officials to intangle your tax dollars with? And not only does your hard earned tax dollars go to IP but now you as a citizen have to purchase this proprietary format to deal with you governments.

Is this something which you want to be locked into?

Is your boss a psychopath?

It makes you wonder how many more of them are out there like the likes of WorldCom, Enron, etc?

Is it creativity or control of the market?

After reading this ariticle, it make me wonder how our capitalistic society has grown from a collaboration to a "win at all costs" sort of mentality. I believe in the Free Enteprise system, but this system needs moral and ethical choices to be made. Crushing the competition means that you can't or won't innovate for your customers. With Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) you, as the customer, no longer are "locked in" to a vendors decisions, but you hold the cards. Control means you limit the amount of creativity that can be done with your product and service, but if you're creative you outdo your competition.

While most are against new government taxes, what about Microsoft "taxes"

Ok, now I've heard all of it. Now Big Business, such as Microsoft, costs our governments plenty of money, albeit discounted per license, but when a government wants to be more inclusive toward it's citizens, Microsoft balks? Hmmm, me thinks this is the wrong approach by Microsoft and I think that this is the break in the Microsoft money dike that will erode their dominant position.

Is Microsoft pricing itself out of the world computer market?

When Microsoft's Vista comes out late next year or early 2007 you'll need a 3.0 GHz CPU with lots of other energy loving parts. But based on the story about Ghana in Africa because of their weather conditions they can only use 386s and 486s. Why? Because the heat generated from the new CPUs (and I have an AMD 64 3200+) would probably be too hot in that heat.

Open Source will probably be the slow death of Microsoft, or could it possibly increase global warming because of the energy needs of new computers and operating systems? Is that why Intel has started it's power per watt marketing and technology strategy in order to cool Microsoft down a bit? We'll give it some time to get the answer.

Measurements: for profit or for customer satisfaction?

How many of you trust your gas gage on your car that when it reads 1/2 a tank that it means 1/2 a tank? How about a 1/4 of a tank? Talk about bad measurements!! While it is not a huge issue, it's probably a "image" thing rather than an accuracy thing. Probably most cusotmers want the gas gage to look symetrical rather than to be accurate in how much gas is left in the tank.

In this article about AOL Fined for Making it Hard to Cancel Service it makes you wonder why some businesses are in business. But guess what, as the saying goes What gets measured gets done is just as accurate here. But the real question is: would you do business with a business that does that?

What should be happening from the Board room is not "How can we keep their money" which is nothing more than a short sighted approach to fixing the problem but a "What issues are occuring that we're not aware of that we need to fix?" But my most people's accounts, this costs money? Oh really? And how much did it cost you in reputation and current and potential customers when these people sued you?

Personally I'm tired of the bigger companies with the CSRs (customer service rep), and it's not their fault because they're following management's policies, that are more concerned with keeping my money than asking what can we do to fix the problem? No wonder the Dilbert comic strip just keeps on going.

Profit is a measurement of success, but it comes after People!

1 Cor 13:1-3 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have {the gift of} prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed {the poor,} and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

When you look at the origina Greek of 1 Corinthians 13:3 and read Vincent's Word Studies about the passage that is bolded above you see that the picture here (see SOP in verse 26) is of a mother laying with her child and chewing food to pre-digest it for her baby (especially in third world countries today) and giving it to them to eat. Even something as touching as this scene when done without love is worthless.

Why do you think this is stated? Why is it stated that performance without love is worthless? Would love without performance be just as worthless? Do big businesses and venture capitalists do the same thing? How do you fit into this scene?

Beyond Oil

Just saw Kenneth Deffeyes speak on CSPAN tonight about his new book Beyond Oil. Bottom line: we've reached the most amount of oil that we can get out of the ground, or we've found about 94% of all of the oil that is in the world and we don't have anything lined up to take care of our energy needs once this runs out. Take a look at the Summary of the oil production and use over the course of it's discovery.

Conserving won't extend it to the degree that we use energy.

This message needs to get out to the public.

Getting computer spare parts for "out of warranty" computers

I was talking with a COO of a computer consulting company this week and he stated that he will never buy Brand X again. It seems that because he didn't get the extended warranty for his computer that his now broke computers, two of them, do NOT have spare parts for them and he couldn't buy the parts on eBay. It seems that the manufacturing company will only purchase spare parts for those that have extended warranties!

The interesting part is that the computer is less than two years old and the COO is now purchasing new parts to build his own computers because he said "I'd rather spend a little more and have them last 4 years or so that break just after a year and the warranty expires.

That's good advice coming from someone who's in the trenches.

Open Source, where to begin

As a business owner when you've decided to begin using Open Source (or Free and Open Source Software/FOSS), there are a numbers of places to begin, but this is the first place that I'll catalog. I'll add more as I find them.

Alone with my book; Linux distro comment

OK, it's Sunday and I normally go to church but have decided not to today. Today I need to get back to my book so I sit here with my iTunes streaming Sky.fm jazz, my Firefox browser, Thunderbird email client, and Open Office office suite with my book opened up and ready to go.

With this setting, I'm off to do some work.

After half heartily working on my book yesterday it seems that I may have to do a major reorganization of the information. While I think my first organization of the information was correct, it does not lend itself to quick answers that people need. The nice thing is that it will take some work to cut and paste, it's still easier than rewriting the info all over again.

I got Fedora Core 4 in a magazine from the book store last night and installed it. It recognized my SATA hard drive, but was lousy at recognizing my monitor. Decided to drop it and reinstall Ubuntu Linux which had no trouble finding it and makes it easy to reconfigure my hardware setting. However, it did not recognize my SATA hard drive, but I still like how easy it is to move forward with it.

Well, now to work. Oh, at 32,000 words.

My ISP deleted the domain name, so I have to get a new email address

Oh boy, now I've got work to do. My ISP, I guess because of all of the spam and the trouble it takes to administer a number of acquired companies, has deleted the domain name (orci.com) and I now have to get a new email address. It didn't take so long to get it, but the repercussions with getting the new address to my contacts will take a while. Getting my new address to my friends, family, business contacts, etc, updating my various emails lists that I belong to, and getting back to normalcy is not something I like to do since I had that email address since the first day I got onto the Internet. I would expect that some will not be able to get to me at all at some point. But I guess the upside is that my SPAM will be reduced. So what's a person to do to prevent this?

From what I'm thinking you would need two email accounts on separate domains names as well as web home pages that are placed in your email signature spot. This would allow those that you want to continue to contact you to be able to go to the second site when your deleted email account starts bouncing emails back and to locate your new email address.

Such is the modern way of technology

Update 08/21/05: My wife states that this is the time "to get your own domain name, it'll never go away then." I'm her "IT guy" and she comes up with that, I must be good for my thoughts to rub off on to her. ;-)

Ideas in the making: saving energy or using it wisely

I was talking with a friend of mine today who has been going to Africa twice a year and he told me about the level of poverty there. He also stated that there are problems with keeping food.

Well, I told him about this idea called Pot in Pot which allows for a limited refrigeration in rural Africa.

But more importantly, the site called World Changing discusses many changes that are occuring that save energy. Now I'm not a environmentalist, but I am a conservationist. Why? If I can save so many gallons of fuel that means that the unknown amount of oil in the ground will last that much longer.

Hope this helps get the word out.

Ben Franklin Quote

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." - Benjamin Franklin

Amen to that. I've passed the 31,000 word mark, that means I've got 56 pages in 8.5 x 11 or 75 in 6 x 9 format.

I'm keeping on truckin'

Hire talent first, then experience

What I have found recently in various discussions with people is that the labels of job titles, previous job experience, and other such items causes others to pin hole you into your history, never into your future.

During a recent job fair I overheard a job applicant state that they wanted to head in a certain direction for their career but the HR person took one look at their resume and said "I see you have sales experience, you'd be great at our company in sales!" The person stated flatly that they did not want to be in sales any more and for the HR person to think that the HR person was only just doing their HR job. The HR person was not thinking like a business owner becasue they would probably have to rehire someone in a number of months because the person left to find other work.

In discussing the idea as to how to hire, an HR Director stated it the best, "Hire talent first, then experience." The reaon: talent is engrained in a person much like Michael Jordan has talent at playing basketball, it just flows from them. If you hire based on experience you may not get a Michael Jordan and miss completely those things that people LOVE to do and would do it without getting paid. If you pay for performance, then those that love their work because of their talent will be paid hansomely by the right company. If you read the book "Now Discover Your Strengths" you'll get the picture.

In talking with a small business owner over lunch one of the things that stuck in my mind was his comment that most people will work 40 hours a week for someone else but over 60 for themselves. It's a shame that "The Joy of Work" does not get practices much in corporate American. All hail the Dilbert comic.

Look at a world's view of Linux

The one thing that I discuss with people is the spread of Linux throughout the world. For Americans it means getting our eyes off of ourselves and see what others are doing, sort of like to tortise and the hare, we'll be left behind soon if we don't watch out. And it's not an either or to software between Windows or Linux, but an AND where Windows will play alongside but lose it's dominance over time.

I foresee that both Linux and Mac will grow substantially over the next few years because of Open Source and at the expense of Windows even with it's Trusted Source.

Bottom line: global reach needs to start happening in America more than it is.

Linux deployed: where you least expect it.

One of the local governments in my state, Jefferson county, has migrated to use Linux and Open Source, in areas where it works the best. What you may not realize is that some companies may not tell you that they're using Linux because it's being used in a strategic fashion and may want to keep it hidden from prying and curious ears and eyes. So while you may think that no one is using Linux in their operations, don't be so naive. Even other local governments such as Kenosha, Wisconsin are using Linux.

Bottom line: When you least expect it, it just might be there.

Origin of the Species: God or Evolution?

What I find so interesting about the article Evolution revolution? regarding President Bush's comment about Evolution and Creationism be taught side by side is that the "Freedom from Religion" groups don't want creationism taught while the "God said it, that settles it" group doesn't want evolution taught. Both side are wrong. Why? Did not Charles Darwin write Origin of the Species? And would not a defining of the "origin of the species" try and determine whether or not God created the earth and the stars OR that there was not God in creation? I do not propose that through evolution that we can become like Gods in the Mormon religion or that evolution denies there is a God. Personally, I see Him and (minor) evolution at the same time.

Bottom line: God started it by creation, set up the laws (physics, etc) in which it was to be run, which we're still trying to figure out, and let us decide based on the evidence whether or not we see Him.

Start Ups: Learn from the Big Boys before you play

The one thing that I learned a number of years ago is that you either learn from your mistakes or learn from others and their mistakes. Learning from other costs them, not you! So it was nice to read that some of the SMB market is getting the message of process improvement. Those that don't will be in this global market will go the way of the dinosaur and extinction. And for these companies it's not a marketing ploy, although some may believe it is. Some companies even market it, but if you really get down to brass tacks, they're just as phony worth as much as the paper their marketing materials are written on. While I was doing some consulting, a supplier was told by the company president that they were going to a Process Improvement program and they wanted each of their suppliers to come on board to help reduce costs. The president of the supplier company thought they were only using it as a ploy to get a better deal and were not realistic about it. Well, along came a year and their customer asked to see what they had and they didn't provide it. This company then lost their largest customer! Needless to say, they embarked on a program and hired a Big 8 Accounting firm spending big bucks to give them the low down, but it was too much for them. The president never really understood what it was and never believed in it and never fully recovered from the loss.

Bottom line: It just makes good sense to improve your business. It's OK to be skeptical to new things, just don't be a cynic!

Start Ups: How to get started. By Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki, who worked at Apple and has helped over 100 companies get started, has an article called Make a List, Check it Twice which can help start ups get a grip on what they are trying to do. I've read his book "The Art of the Start" and think it's great. His venture capitalist firm Garage Technology Ventures is for those individuals that have a great idea but need more than their family and friends investing in their endeavor. But if you're that type of business, then contact them.

The more you know, the more productive and successful you'll be.

Linux + SAMBA = 2.5 times faster than Window Server 2003

This is not me saying this, this is an IT Director. Does Linux need to be everywhere? No, but there are benefits to your organization when it is deployed. While you may be thinking of the cost factor of running only one OS such as Windows Server 2003, you lose on the performance side, or you have to upgrade your exixsting server to something more powerful to handle the performance. That, once again, incrases your costs. Poor quality ALWAYS costs you more.

Migrating to Macs: Contact Management Software

Here's a great site if you're thinking about migrating away from Windows to a Mac computer. This link shows a lot of software thats available that most people may not be aware of. Enjoy the info and happy migrating.

Open Source: you gotta learn from it!

I really enjoy Paul's articles, he writes about many things. But one thing that struck me is his commment in this article is:

"The same happens with writing. As we got close to publication, I found I was very worried about the essays in Hackers & Painters that hadn't been online. Once an essay has had a couple thousand page views I feel reasonably confident about it. But these had had literally orders of magnitude less scrutiny. It felt like releasing software without testing it.

That's what all publishing used to be like. If you got ten people to read a manuscript, you were lucky. But I'd become so used to publishing online that the old method now seemed alarmingly unreliable, like navigating by dead reckoning once you'd gotten used to a GPS.

As I'm writing my book and I'm just over 27,000 words, I'm wondering about what Paul states. What should I do? Open Source my book? Put things online for others to view? I'm at a loss at the moment, but maybe over time it will become clearer.

One thing I will say, I'm doing what Paul says to do here about Star Ups Here's what Paul states that I'm writing about

to start with good people, to make something customers actually want, and to spend as little money as possible.

I'm hoping my book is a best seller then. With over 150,000 businesses just in the state of Colorado, you just never know.

Software quality: higher quality IS better productivity!

As I stated in a previous post the higher quality is better, this article certainly agrees with my premise that higher quality is more productive. But only you can be the judge of your own endeavors.

But the premise still stands. In my job, I tackle customer issues that not only I make but everyone that affects what I work with. That means that each time I have to address a mistake, problem, or trouble spot from FEDEX to Accounting to Tech Support it takes away from my primary job: making sales! So the next time you see a mistake, just consider how many sales are lost because of that one mistake. You don't have to be perfect, but you have to be close.

Along this same line, it's been shown that Linux is still high on the quality index compared with other operating systems, per Linux Code Grows as Defects Decline article.

Vector Graphics apps (like Adobe Illustrator) compared

This site does a good comparison about programs such as Adobe Illustator and others. Great job. It also shows a lot of the Open Source applications that are available, not that they are up to par with the professional version of the software, but they are great for those just starting out or need it for the one and only project that they need it for. Thanks for the work done, Ed.

Update 08/12/05 Ed has increased the number of apps from 29 to 65!! What a savings for consumers.

Buy Macs now before Mactel happens in Jun 2006

Ok, I really enjoy reading Doc Searls articles, especially his User Management Inside comments which describes Intel's and Apple's (and probably Microsoft as well) focus on Digital Rights Management (DRM for short). This is technology at the chip level that will probably prevent the average computer user to do things with a legal copies of content that they own. Read the article, then you may probably agree that it might be best if you're considering buying a Mac that you buy the pre-Mactel Macs. If you want to know more about DRM, see Free software and digital rights management: Bitter enemies or strange bedfellows? to get a more detailed analysis.

Only time will tell, but be forewarned, I'd seriously considering buying a Mac before the Mactels come to market. The average user will not know the difference or the reasons why, but only the techies can articulate what best to do or not to do. This is a chance for them to speak out what the average computer user should or should not do to things that take away "fair use" of content and the technology that prevents this from happening. Speak up geeks!!

See here for updated comments.

Despite 6-7 times media coverage of Microsoft, Google/Apple have more buzz!

This article shows that while the industry writes about what Microsoft is doing, Google and Apple are the buzz factors now. That says to me that the industry writers and analysts are not listening to what the customer wants but is touting it own technology horn. Complexity is out, simplicity is in.

The Dell Shell

Ok, is this article a real accurate one or what? But I have to quote fully the most important part that Michael Vizard states at CRN.

"The myth is that Dell is the low-price leader. The reality is that Dell is exceptionally good at marketing systems that appear to have a low price to end users, but more often than not, when one actually configures the system with the appropriate amount of memory, drives and graphics cards to be really useful, it winds up costing as much as any other comparable system. In some cases, the price tag may come in at even more than what rivals are charging for the same fully configured system.

I don't know how many people I've talked with that have come under "Dell's Spell" and spout their marketing logic verbatim. The one thing that Dell does have the execution of a process once the process is defined exactly and precisely. But what I have found is that most people get hooked on "the deal" that Dell makes without realizing the trap that Dell has set. Did you know that Dell offers a 90 day warrantee on it's products? While most people would not go for it, guess what it's offered on? Their lowest price products, but after reading a little more and after they've hooked you you read further to see what you really want and end up paying more than the original LOW price.

In fact, one person that I had been talking with stated the she "originally was going to pay $2500 for Dell laptop but Dell got her a $900 saving and she could have the laptop for only $1600." Let me see here if I was a computer salesman how could I get this through someone's head. I know, here goes. How about if I sell you a brand new laptop that originally cost $10,000 just last week, but I'll give you a 80% discount and sell it to you for $2000?! What a deal right? Wrong!

Bottom line: You get what you pay for almost all of the time!

Ontology is Overrated: Categories, Links, and Tags

This is a great article that discusses what I had thought about a number of years ago when I got involved with taxonomy for a documentation project I was working on. It's a great read for those that use Google and Yahoo and the differences between how they view things so you can find things. But, this was done in a much better fashion than I could have done. Simple put, some things can be easily categorized and have a beginning and an end, other are too free form to be concrete about it.

Macs Lose to Dell, but at an increased cost to the customer

Well, it seems that cheapest price may be the undoing of Macs at the local school, but value was not the consideration. Anytime you have cost as the deciding factor WITHOUT value, i.e. TOTAL costs being considered, as an inclusive issue your costs will go up! Once you've been "locked in" by a vendor, your costs will go up because they can charge more. It now becomes a "tax" on your use of their product or service.

As the article points out, Microsoft's Office is the defacto standard in business, but the real question is: why? I've used MS Office since it came out and it does not cease to amaze me that people will purchase expensive things "just to keep up" with the Corporate Jones. In many jobs I had I've had no reason to use 90% of the features of MS Office, but the only reason I'm forced to use it is because of corporate policy. As a Small Business owner, the ONLY reason now to use MS Office is buying one copy to verify the limited documents going out to customers, not for the day to day work that I perform. I use Open Office instead. It's just as good a MS Office and allows me to redeploy my hard earned money to better things.

Linux Goes Global (what it means for America)

What most people in America don't understand or have on rose colored glasses to what is beyond our borders, there are things that are going on that affect us here in America in rather disruptive ways if we're not in tune to the global market place. While most American's don't hesitate to use the Windows operating system for their computers, with Apple's Mac OS X gaining in markshare during the last quarter of 2005 as this article points out Apple doubles industry growth, US marketshare jumps, outside of our borders in Europe, Asia, India (see here for the 3 million open CDs to be distributed to Tamil speakers worldwide), South America and emerging nations they are adopting Open Source software in droves because of the lower barrier to entry into acquiring Open Source Software.

The issue for American companies is not if you use Open Source Software, but when. Apple's Mac OS X is based on FreeBSD which is partly Open Source and partly proprietary while most of Linux is completely Open Source.

As a small business owner, do you want to be left behind the global market place because you fail to adopt Open Source Software?

What CIOs should know about the open source revolution

Bottom line: No longer is the vendor in charge of your computer budget, but you can now take charge of how you spend your hard earned cash. Let the revolution begin and continue.

Quality, not expensive, always wins

Having been involved with process improvement and the Baldrige efforts for a number of years I see this all of the time in business and in life. As the quote states "The University of Northern Colorado's Monfort College of Business says applications have been on the rise since it became the first business school to win the prestigious Baldrige Award late last year." For those that have their game hat on and understand the significance of this, this is a no brainer, but for those that have not learned what this is about, they'll either continue to suffer or ask for "favoritism" or "a break" in the issues because of their failure to change. You see this all the time for businesses when they ask for the governements help in stemming the tide of competing products. Does this mean that all product are fair that come for overseas? No, but to give the illusion that overseas is always the problem is bad for business.

The one thing that most people are not aware is the Linux kernel has better quality than proprietary ones. This article Linux Kernel Software Quality and Security Better than Most Proprietary Software tells the whole story about why Linux is better. When quality is better, over time your costs go down, buy poor quality and your costs will go up. While my grandfather always said "Pay enough to get the job done," sometimes it can be short sighted. With that said, for small businesses always buy good value, never on price, for either cheap or expensive will cost you money.

If you hit the tree, you missed the forest

As I begin my quest of building my own business and writing my book documenting this growth and the computer use involved and needed, my good friend Triche Guenin's skills and talents may be above the needs of the normal SMB of under 10 employees, but as you begin growing you can't lose site of your vision and the necessary changes that may need to occur in which her experience will undoubtfully come into play.

Why do I state this? Because as another entrepeneur Roger Denton of SharePlan fame, a project management software that less complicated than Microsoft's Project and is great for the SMB market, notes that most tools that are simple can get the job done just as well as the more expensive ones.

As an SMB owner, don't feel that you have to pay through the nose for good stuff. Keep it simple and make sure that you keep your vision in front of you instead of the tree.

OOo Off the Wall: What New Users Need to Know About OpenOffice.org

As one who enjoys using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) I really enjoyed this article explaining the differences between Open Office (OO) 1.1.4 and the new version 2.0 due out soon. This is a great article for those that are considering OO instead of Microsoft's Word or Excel. For the SMB market with companies of one, OO is a great alternative to paying hundreds of dollars just to do simple letters and such.

For more information about Open Office click on the link. For parents that want to give their middle or high school a greater chance of getting good software, this your chance to get good stuff for free.

Walt Disney, failure, his views and my thoughts

As I've been writing my book, I've always heard that Walt Disney had difficulties with his business, but now that I've read about what he went through, I don't see it as bad. Or, at least I can see some of the light at the end of the tunnel I'm going through. It's nice to know that Walt was not immune to things and that those in leadership positions need to communicate with those below to help understand the issues involved with running a business. Walt's dealing with his strike means that while he considered his employees his family, they considered it a job. When you let other become "part owners" in your vision, not only are the failures felt by everyone, so are the successes. I particularly don't like entrepreneurs who state "It's MY business," and while it is true, they fail to see that they bring on others that are helping them along and it's their career their staking on the entrepreneur's vision as well.

It was also good to read that Walt Disney has faith in God (Walt Disney on Faith, Church, Bible Study, Prayer & God), it's a shame that today you can't mention God without offending others. He wasn't offensive at all, but believed that there is good in people.

My Book is coming along

Well, I've passed the 22,000 words on my book about the SMB market with computers. Whew! As I was reading "The Millionaire Mind" by T. Harv Eker the one thing that he states hit home. He states that rich people are bigger than their problems while poor people are smaller than their problems. Good stuff! I need to keep reminding myself of this while I write this book. I'm bigger than this book, I'm bigger than this book.

The other part I liked was his quote of Richard Kiyosaki's comment that Richard is recognized as a best SELLING author, not a best WRITING author. Same goes here. My writing is to show my thinking processes, not my writing skills. Thinking from a process point of view is my talent, writing is a skill.

Saw on CSPAN Thomas Freidman discuss his new book "The World's Flat" oday during the National Governor's Association Conference which discussed education and technology and about how the various technologies and events in the world's history have flattened the world so that we're now at a global tipping point that there, in my view as
well, is now going to be an new economy this century that will be far and away the most dominant compared with recent growths. After reading Eker's book, I want to be at that point as well.

Off the take a rest from writing and reading for more research.