"Rings" Favorite to Win an Oscar
As much as I loath to link to CNN, my enthusiasm for the topic is winning over: Rings Favored to Win Oscar.

I have always thought that the Academy was going to wait until the last movie - the apex of the series - to award the Oscars for both picture and director. Every time I watch the first two I am just amazed at the breadth and scope of the project. And when I watch the "behind the scenes" extras that come with the DVDs, I am just overwhelmed with the amount of sheer work involved in putting this series together. The vision, drive and determination needed to bring this story to the screen is just amazing, and I think these movies will go down as one of the greatest achievements in cinema. I certainly hope that Peter Jackson takes home the statue for Directing as well as Best Picture this February, and it looks like plenty of people are willing to put money on it.

Less than a week until the opening...



posted by Director_Mitch @ 12:13 PM (Permalink)
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PC on the PC
This caught my eye this morning: Microsoft to Remove Swastikas from Fonts

Now, I understand why MS did this. This symbol - while thousands of years old and used in Buddhism and even by Native Americans (note PC term) before the Europeans (PC term "white slave traders") arrived - just means one thing to millions of people, and that of course is fascist Germany. For example, I remember watching the Nagano Olympics and having the network (ABC?) having to explain to viewers after they received hundreds of complaints that the swastikas on the Buddhist temples were religious in nature and predated Hitler by hundreds of years (I suppose these callers wanted the temples torn down or something).

This is why from a business perspective, it was the right move by MS. The symbol itself has no meaning until it is used in some context, but companies have to assume the lowest common denominator in consumer intelligence and sensitivity, and, to be honest, I really can't think of a business reason why that particular symbol would be needed in a font package. Yeah I suppose the occasional Buddhist monk writing his monthly newsletter might want to use it for a "good" purpose, but MS has enough issues with its image and not offending millions of ignorant people is always a good business decision.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 9:06 AM (Permalink)
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On-Line Christmas Shopping: 0 for 2
I am a fairly regular buyer of goods from the internet, so I thought I would have no problem with on-line shopping this Christmas. Unfortunately, I had two bad experiences: on one I decided to use a "non-brand" retailer, the other I found "seeing and feeling" really are necessary for some purchases.

Consumer Electronics - I have bought all sorts of electronics on-line, and I thought this year's family present of a portable DVD player would be a no-brainer. However, I found a site that carried the model I wanted for nearly $50 less than Amazon, even with shipping. Knowing that I was taking a risk, I decided to go for it (even if one of my best friends works at Amazon).

Well, I got the product, opened it up, and it was obvious it wasn't new. The product was somebody else's return, a floor model, I don't know what - just not new. The good news is that the customer service at this site was actually pretty good. They stated they only sell new products, apologized and offered an exchange or refund. Fearing the worst, I just asked for a refund, so I shipped the product back and got a full refund (verified today). I then re-ordered it from Amazon today (Jim's laughing now). So instead of saving $50 from ordering the first time from Amazon, I ended up spending an extra $15 in return shipping (I still saved on sales tax).

Lesson: Stick to on-line retailers you know and trust, even if you spend a little more.


Jewelry - Again, I knew it would be a risky proposition, but I decided to give jewelry a try this year. As a high-priced item and living in a high sales-tax state, I figured buying on-line would save a bundle in taxes (yeah, I would report it later) and compensate me for the risk.

I bought the product from Blue Nile, which is considered the best on-line retailer for jewelry. I received the product quickly, and it was as described on the site....but it just didn't "wow" me. If I spend that much on a present for my wife, I expect it to knock my socks off, and there were just a few little things that I didn't like.

Like above, Blue Nile was VERY good with its return policy and I sent it back today (another $15 out of pocket). They offered to help me with another selection, but I decided with two weeks left until Christmas that I would buy locally, which I did this afternoon. I ended up spending a little more than I did at Blue Nile, and of course paid sales tax, but I know what I picked wowed me, so I know it will wow my wife.

Lesson: There are just some things you have to see and touch before buying.


Since I am pretty much out of money, I am done with shopping, so I have done my little part to help the economy this Christmas season.


posted by Director_Mitch @ 3:30 PM (Permalink)
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Business Good News Keeps Coming In
At least for the segments I watch. Two headlines that caught my eye today:

IDC Raises PC Forecast for 2003 & 2004

JP Morgan Raises Semiconductor Capital Spending Forecast in 2003, 2004

A few more articles I found today continue the general theme of a broad based recovery in the tech sector. In my particular product category, we are warning our customers to book early for 2004 orders since we are anticipating lengthening lead times and even shortages as we frantically increase capacity (meaning we are ramping capital investment and hiring). I have a meeting on Friday with a company we have never done business with who wants to lock in a long-term supply contract, and my old customers who used to try to renegotiate their pricing down every month are now playing nice and not talking about price - just about getting supply.

These little data points really make me believe that the economy will not be an issue in next year's election. There can be differences of opinion on other matters, but a "poor economy" won't be a legitimate sound bite.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 9:08 AM (Permalink)
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Not PC, but Pretty Funny
So Rorschach sends me a link to the Shizzolator. This site takes a web page, and puts it into - how shall we say - urban street lingo. The first paragraph from the post two days ago came out like this:

Mista." Director 'n I had a conversation last night 'bout da 2008 election, know what I'm sayin'? Assuming Big Baby Bush gets elected in 2004 (gravy bet), tha dude will be ineligible fo' another term." After tha dude's second term, Cheney will retire." Ditto Rumsfeld." Powell ain't going run, 'n might not even be in a second Big Baby Bush administration n' __it.

So go try it on your web page, if you da chance. Note that if you aren't into profanity, you should probably avoid.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 10:12 AM (Permalink)
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Blogger Epitaphs?
One of the things I find interesting is that while my personal, political and BFL links to the right are all right of center, the religious background of my fellow bloggers range from strict atheist to fundamentalist, with everything in between. I just find it interesting that people with such diverse religious convictions would gravitate to such similar political beliefs, even while we might not agree on every single issue (and for the record, I would consider myself "somewhat" religious).

At any rate, no matter what you believe, we all end up dead, so that got me thinking about blogger epitaphs. After all, as Plan your Epitaph points out, a forgettable gravestone is a fate worse than death.

So does anyone have any inputs on bloggers and their epitaphs? Like:

Instapundit: Indeed...

Denbeste: I am not sure what it would say, but it would be LONG

If anyone has any others, feel free to comment. I am just not clever enough to come up with some for Volokh and some of the other major sites.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 9:34 AM (Permalink)
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Who Are the Republicans Grooming for 2008?
Mrs. Director and I had a conversation last night about the 2008 election. Assuming Bush gets elected in 2004 (good bet), he will be ineligible for another term. After his second term, Cheney will retire. Ditto Rumsfeld. Powell isn't going to run, and might not even be in a second Bush administration.

Everyone assumes that Hillary will run in '08. Who will the Republicans put up against her? Senators have notoriously had a very hard time getting elected for the last 40+ years, meaning VPs and governors have the inside track. But the most visible Republican governor, Ahnold, is ineligible.

Daily Pundit noted that Condi Rice will probably be on the 2008 ticket as VP. While I like and respect her, I am not sure she has the charisma to run as a nominee in a national election.

I don't follow politics THAT closely, but as someone who is fairly involved, it is a little disheartening that I can't think of a single national Republican figure who is presidential material in four years. Of course 12 months ago I had never heard of Howard Dean, nor had anyone heard of Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter (who many believe was a miserable failure) 18 months before their first terms, so perhaps one of the large number of Republican Governors I have never heard of will come to prominence some time in 2006 or so.

Does anybody have any ideas?

This assumes that Bush wins. If Bush were to lose, I would predict he would run again in 2008. And there IS one example of a President who had split terms...anyone remember who it was?

posted by Director_Mitch @ 8:57 AM (Permalink)
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In This Week's Carnival of the Capitalists
My article on Headhunters made this weeks' Carnival, a collection of business and economic related posts. This week's host is A Penny For..., who, like all Carnival hosts, did a great job of grouping and summarizing (he even gave a little recommendation for my post! Thanks!)

Update: There is also a Bear Flag League Roundup over at Miller's Time. This takes a lot of effort, so if you are curious, go check it out.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 9:36 AM (Permalink)
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Business Lessons from the Godfather
In Friday's quiz, "I believe in America" is the opening line to The Godfather. While not uttered by one of the Mafia members (it is said by a mortician looking for a favor from the Don), it could have been spoken by anyone in the Corlione family, for The Godfather is a movie about an American success story: Poor boy comes to America. He works hard and starts a business as a young man, which expands and prospers. One of his sons takes over the business when he gets injured, but is ill suited to run it and gets "fired" after a shrewd move by the competition. Another son picks up the reins and is more successful, but gets into some problems with the same competitors, which he resolves with a "hostile takeover".

Like all good American success stories, the movie dispenses some good advice for getting ahead in the rough and tough business world:

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer - Good political advice for all walks of life. If you are trying to get ahead for a promotion, you can bet you aren't the only one with that goal. Part of politicking means dealing with and working with people who you don't like or are even trying to undermine you. The best strategy to deal with these people is to not let them know you are their enemy.

It's not personal, it's business - A hard lesson to learn, but business sometimes means making decisions and choices that go contrary to friendships and relationships. This can mean reprimanding someone in a meeting on Monday after you had dinner with his family on Sunday or kicking off the board a friend who is incompetent. This is the reason why you hear "it's lonely at the top" - making hard business decisions sometimes means making decisions that go against friendships. And if you think this is harsh, I can point to countless businesses that failed since the people in charge were unwilling to make the hard choices due to friendships or perceived personal commitments.

I'll make him an offer he can't refuse - While taking a gun to someone's head during negotiations is frowned on in corporate America, effective negotiating is still essential for getting ahead. If you can't negotiate well, you will have trouble getting ahead, so learn how to do it.


There are other lessons as well, which is why Forbes put both Godfather movies in the top 10 business movies of all time.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 9:26 AM (Permalink)
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