Was out and about last week so posting fell off a bit. Will be back in gear this week.
Month: March 2008
Profits are easy
Thanks to the folks at South Park for making clips available (via Brad Feld). The attached clip is the underpants business and the "brilliant" plan to make a profit from it. In classic South Park humor, it points out the absurdity of not thinking through the details of a business.
http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:southparkstudios.com:151040:
Spending some time at SaaSCon today in Santa Clara
If you’re at SaaSCon today and want to connect, drop me an email robertcpease at gmail dot com.
Fly Virgin America
Traveling a bit this week and had the opportunity to fly Virgin America down to San Francisco from Seattle. They just started the route mid-March and I was looking forward to trying something different from the habitutally late and crowded Alaska and United flights. I actually found myself looking forward to this flight.
First impressions were very positive. From the somewhat groovy decor and lighting to pleasant announcements and crew interactions, they have done their homework.
Although my 5pm-ish flight was not full, it was less expensive than the alternatives and assume will soon be in high demand as word spreads. I enjoyed it and they will get my return business.
It’s official
Too much email and text messaging are signs of insanity (via Drudge). Do you have any of these
four symptoms?
- Suffering from feelings of withdrawal when a computer cannot be accessed
- An increased need for better equipment
- Need for more time to use it
- Experiencing the negative repercussions of [your] addiction
If you do, then it is time to get a life. Turn it all off, put it away, and try talking to people for a change.
End of Q1 upon us
How’s it shaping up for everyone? Just thought you might want to be asked that again…
Predatory lending or personal accountability?
I suppose you fall on one side of this or the other in reacting to the end-result of easy mortgages and access to capital. I can’t help but fall on the personal accountability side. Maybe that says a lot about me but I really believe people must be accountable for the financial decisions they make. If you have ever bought a house, there are already way too many "sign this" forms put into place to ensure you understand what you are doing. Even for someone comfortable with numbers and financial concepts, there are lots of moving pieces in a real estate transaction.
I agree with Paul Kedrosky here and his view on this story from the Washington Post. It was shady..no doubt. But it was shady on both sides of the transaction. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should and it is not the role of government to protect you from yourself. Right or wrong, we live in a free market/capitalist society where having access to capital carries a level of responsibility.
No one should lose their home and there is no shortage of bad actors involved both in this story as well as the broader debacle but this is as much the fault of the buyer as those that facilitated the transaction.
One undeniable maxim that holds true here is if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
China wake up call
The US State Department came out with this dandy little notice for US travelers to the Beijing Olympics – be aware that you will be monitored, your room may be entered, and really without saying it that you are about to visit a totalitarian regime that will pretty much do whatever it wants.
I saw a couple of news articles around this and a post by Jeff Nolan on it, so thought I would join the fray.
I am as big of a China fan as the next free market capitalist and admittedly have yet to visit. They love our treasuries, we love their stuff, and the middle class boom that giant nation is experiencing is good in many ways. Although there are some concerns around currency manipulation, environmental damage, and general human rights abuses, China is a what we want it to be – more trading partner than competitive nation state. We’ll see how that works out for all of us going forward.
The eyes of the world will be on China for the 2008 Summer Olympics and we need to be prepared for what we will see.
Drudge highlighted this story about the US State Department’s warning:
"All hotel rooms and offices are considered to be subject to on-site or remote technical monitoring at all times. Hotel rooms, residences and offices may be accessed at any time without the occupant’s consent or knowledge"
Welcome to China and show off that Olympic spirit while you’re here – we’ll be watching…
This plus blocking live video feeds from Tiananmen Square as well as that little brouhaha in Tibet are the types of things that will get increasing attention as China receives the international focus it wanted by hosting the Olympics.
It will be interesting to see the evolution of a nation steeped in profound history trying to control its re-emergence on the global scene. Our 250-ish years as a country and awkward role in the world as a lone superpower make us a mere pup compared to the thousands of years of Chinese history and more than one go at being the powerful nation on the block.
It will certainly be interesting to watch.
Moss control
This is something that had never even occurred to me before moving here. Like many of the unique aspects of the Northwest, killing the moss in your yard is part of the annual process here. Now, I am not the most obsessed yard guy in the world and use yard work as a way to burn stress in most cases. Although my neighbors may think this quaint, I am firmly in the camp that a long, hard day’s work outside is both truly satisfying and rewarding. Must be that agricultural heritage.
It occurred to me last year that this was something that is done here when I walked into Lowe’s and saw the giant display of gear and products to address it. As reluctant as I was to remove anything green from the yard, I bought in admittedly due in no small part to the marketing efforts of my nearby Lowe’s.
What is really interesting is that in the span of a few hours you can actually see this stuff work. This is a function of 1) just how much moss is in my yard and 2) the iron component of the spread that immediatly attacks said moss.
Rest assured that any bare spots will be rapidly covered because there are very few things that won’t grow when they hit the ground out here.
Made in Seattle
There are many things you know Seattle for but one you may not – Filson. You could call it the LL Bean of the Northwest but not sure that would do it justice. First founded to support the Klondike Gold Rush, the clothes and gear have evolved over time but maintain their rustic charm.
I traded in my disappointingly fragile Tumi briefcase that I basically shredded after a couple years of heavy travel for a Filson bag and have been duly impressed. It’s not the cheapest stuff around but it is guaranteed. The folks at the store are always super nice and through the big windows in the store you can see the sewing room. Check it out if you find yourself downtown around Safeco & Qwest fields.
Venture Vice 