Another Bull$*!t Poll

The Earth goes around the sun!
The Earth goes around the sun!
The Earth goes around, the Earth goes around,
the Earth goes around the sun!

- A song sung by 4-year-old daughter

Excuse me if I find the latest "poll" hard to believe:

One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth, an idea science had abandoned by the 17th century.

Sorry, I don't believe it.

I do believe that a large number of Americans are innumerate and have problems with scientific concepts. But I don't believe that one in five don't know this simple scientific fact that my own preschooler knows. I chalk this up to yet another poll that is trying to push an agenda. In this case, the agenda is that Americans are stupid and can't make decisions for themselves. The solution to this "problem" is to put specially selected smart people in places of power to make all the decisions for all the stupid people.

In other words, it's a Leftist position. So excuse me if I find this poll B.S.

More Details on Free Airport WIFI

Never say the Window Manager doesn't get results. As a result of this posting where I wondered about the free WIFI from NextPhase Wireless at Orange County's John Wayne airport, I got the following email from Tim at NextPhase about their service:

I came across your blog about SNA WIFI. I was the person who setup and made it work. We are not even IN the airport. We are outside the airport around 3000 feet away. This has been done as a pure promo item.

Will it always be free? That is the talk, but as you know with time, things change. I don't see it changing any time soon. We are basically just trying to get people to recognize the NextPhase brand.

The main focus of the company is fixed wireless, a la Wimax style, which is how SNA gets its service. We operate a datacenter in Anaheim California and are building more and more wireless POPS for Wimax style service in SoCal.

So the next time you are enjoying free internet cruising at John Wayne, thank the good people at NextPhase who made it possible, and give a special thanks to Tim for making it work.

Interesting Web Site for Frequent Fliers

Those of us who have logged a lot of air miles have idly wondered about stewardess uniforms. After all, they're hard not to notice as they hand you your ration of peanuts and pour your favorite beverage. I've wondered about who designed them, why everyone's are different, if the stewardesses themselves had any input on them, and what the goal of the designer was (Southwest's "shorts outfit" seems the most comfortable, Singapore Airline's the best for being eye candy for the traveling business executive).

While these questions aren't answered, there is a website dedicated to tracking down and cataloging the uniforms of every airline possible, including those no longer in business. It isn't 100% current (for example, the Southwest "shorts outfit" is not included), but it covers the vast majority of airlines that ever existed.

The only complaint I have about the site is that it uses mannequins instead of real models for the uniforms. Using real models could make it a really interesting site.

Hat Tip: Am I a Pundit Now?

For the Christmas List: Civilization IV

Roommate Jim introduced me to Civilization back in the stone age of PCs in 1991 (it was a DOS game). A few years later in 1996 I upgraded to Civilization II, and lost countless hours playing that version - and I mean lots and lots of hours. It is generally regarded as the best PC strategy game of all time, and I agree with that assessment.

Civ II was around for half a decade before Civilization III was released in 2001. I tried it out and didn't like it. While the graphics were vastly improved, I felt the game play wasn't as good and had a lot of problems. So I went back to Civilization II with the better game play and crummy graphics.

This Christmas they are going to try again with Civilization IV, whose game designer recently had an interview with Gamespot. I'll go ahead and put it on the Christmas list, hoping that along with the pretty graphics that they'll actually improve game play this time around.

High Altitude Networking

No, I am not talking about a new wireless service. I am talking about using the plane as a business tool.

I am finding that the Orange County-Silicon Valley shuttle is a great networking vehicle (pun intended). On my way up yesterday I sat with a CEO of a nano-tech start-up who was on his way to NoCal to meet VCs. We got into a great discussion and traded business cards. A guy next to us from Panasonic joined in the conversation and then WE changed business cards. Then on the way back I sat next to a CEO of a small software company and WE changed business cards.

This was a few weeks after seeing on the plane the CEO for a local wireless start-up who has agreed to bring me on for some consulting work (although I am still dickering with the VP Biz Dev on when the gig will start).

So the next time I need to drum up more business, or decide I need a full-time job, I am thinking of getting a bunch of round-trip tickets to Silicon Valley and just handing out cards and resumes to everyone on the plane.

More BS on BMI

Ex-Smokers are the worst anti-smokers

What does the above remark have to do with the title? Because as a "born-again-work-out-nut", Mrs. Director accuses me of being to food what an anti-smoker is to smoke.

There is some truth to this. As I wander by the McDonalds at the airport, I think "How can people eat that crap?!" and wonder why there isn't a sushi place there instead. I want to shout out loud "You should NOT be having THAT!" when I see a fat person walking out of a Starbucks with a Frappucino, or a chubby person eating a donut, or an overweight person eating a dessert.

I mean, come on, people know if they are overweight and know what they should and shouldn't be eating. It isn't that hard: all you have to do is spend more calories than you take in, and the weight comes off. If you want to eat more, then exercise more.

So I should be one of the first people to agree with a study that Americans are getting fatter. I see evidence around me all the time. But when I looked at the report and saw that they used Body Mass Index (BMI) to calculate "fatter", I knew the study was bullshit.

To give a real-life example of how this statistic is meaningless, let's take me as a test case before I started my Tae Kwon Do exercise regimen last November and now:
So using the government's own calculations, even after shedding 30 pounds and getting into great shape, I am still classified as "overweight" (the cut-off is 24.9) . Note that "before" I am darn close to being classified "obese", but I would have thought myself only moderately overweight. It wasn't like I needed a seat-belt extender when I got on a plane.

So I am basically skewed one classification off no matter what weight I am because of my general build and bone structure. And there are millions of Americans just like me. So excuse me if I find any "study" that uses BMI meaningless.

But the other thing that bothers me about the "study" is the implication that the government needs to do something about it. As much as I might make mental judgments about what people are eating, the fact remains that it is a free country and people are free to make their own decisions on what to eat. What I think - or what the people who did this study think - is irrelevant. If people what to put on more pounds, then let them - it is a sign of prosperity, after all.

Do Crashes Come in Threes?

I was waiting for the third one:

Crash 1: Cypriot Crash Kills 115 - August 14
Crash 2: Venezuelan Crash Kills 160 - August 16
Crash 3: Peruvian Crash Kills 41 - August 24

Of course the fallacy with this superstition is that it doesn't give a period of time. Given enough time, you can find a grouping of three crashes.

But being logical doesn't mean that I won't breathe a little easier when I got on my weekly flight tomorrow.

BlogAds: The New Way to Job Hunt?

I had read about Citizen Smash losing his job when several big bloggers posted about it. Bloggers have been posting about individual job losses for some time, including me, so I didn't find these posts out of the ordinary.

But using a BlogAd is definitely something new, and it was up on OTB this evening. I don't know how long it will be there, but you can of course find it on Smash's own site:

I don't know if this is a trend or a one-time occurrence, but he gets points in my book for trying something different. When I got the boot I just emailed or called everyone on my contact list, but that is just a little smaller than the number of people participating in the blogosphere.

.....

This talk of being out of work brings me to a side-question. I have been consulting full-time for three months, with a contract already inked through September, so I don't consider myself "unemployed". I first talked to my client two weeks after my layoff, and started work for him two weeks after that. I got my first check four weeks after that, once I gave him my first deliverable. So for the resume, was I ever "unemployed"? If so, for how long?

Bonus Question: If said client pulls me on full-time in October, which I would put at a 90% probability, what goes on the resume as the "start-date": the day I officially start as an "employee", or the day I started working for the company as a consultant?

When Business Travel Was Fun

Jim has a post that many of us professionals can relate to: how back in the salad days of our youth business travel was fun and exciting, but now that we are getting old and crotchety the object of business travel is to get it over as quickly as possible.

I saw this well known youth/travelphilia connection exploited by a senior manager when I was at TI. He would make sure to hire into his group every year at least one raw college grad (and TI hired a lot of them). Then when some trade show, customer visit, or other travel would come up, he would saunter over to me the new guy, and ask him if he would like to go to DFW, BOS, SJC, SLC, SEA, or anywhere in between, which the 22 year-old would pounce on like a dog on a bone. Afterwards the old guy would have a smirk on his face, mentally congratulating himself for suckering someone else to take his trip for him.

Not that the 22 year old ever minded. It meant a company paid trip to a new city, a chance to take in sites, visit some bars, maybe pick up some chicks away from home. It was exciting and glamorous.

I feel pretty much like the old TI manager these days when it comes to domestic travel - I have seen pretty much every city worth seeing in North America. But I still have a little of the 22 year old in me when it comes to international travel. Take Japan. Even after being there over two dozen times, I still find Japan cool. I go every chance I can. Taiwan I could do without, but it is the price I have to pay to go to Japan (most SE Asia trips require the full Japan-Korea-Taiwan triad to get as much done as possible while on that side of the Pacific). Korea really grew on me in the last couple of years, but not to the extent of Japan. China? Every time I go back it is a different experience since it changes so much. And I still haven't gotten to the major tourist sites there, except Hong Kong, which is just...incredible. I would go back to HK in a heartbeat.

And Europe? I actually like going there on business. The people there don't really work, so I don't either when I go. I do what my customers and clients do: I spend my time in coffee shops, beer gardens and fine restaurants eating and drinking. What's not to like about a trip like that? The one problem with European business trips is that if I don't manage to take Mrs. Director along with me there is hell to pay.

Which brings me to a possible overseas business trip for me in a region that is not Europe. Or southeast Asia. Or Australia. Or South America. And it is a trip I am not sure how I feel about - fun or...dangerous. More on this when it looks like I will go for sure.

American Jury Takes Future Drug Treatments Off the Market

The Merck lawsuit decision will end up doing nothing other than keeping future drugs from being developed and put on the market. As noted in today's WSJ (paid link):

The industry and the Food and Drug Administration have put renewed stress on caution, which probably will inhibit the arrival of new treatments to the market. Drug makers are rethinking what sorts of drugs to pursue and develop, based on their anticipation of potential safety and cost problems.

Companies aren't stupid. They aren't going to develop and market a drug that isn't profitable. And this lawsuit just added costs to all future drugs since all drugs have side effects. Even antibiotics kill scores of people each year. The reason they are still used is because their benefits outway the risks.

But this risk/reward ratio has now been skewed to the point that the benefits have to be huge and the risks approaching zero. What this means is that drugs for diseases and problems that looked "marginally" profitable will now be shoved into the "unprofitable" column and not be developed. Those that will be most affected will be those suffering from diseases and conditions with smaller numbers of people. These "orphan diseases" already had problems getting the attention of drug companies, but now the size and scope of the orphan disease list just got a lot larger.

So if you come down with a disease in the future, make sure that it is one that has lots of people suffering from it or has a treatment that has zero side effects. Otherwise you'll find that there won't be a treatment available for you thanks to an American jury.

On-line Banking? Not Me.

Just Procrastinating has an example of why I will never do on-line banking of any kind. Due to a mistake - maybe even his own - his $45 cellphone bill turned into a $4500 deduction from his account.

If he had written a check this wouldn't have happened. If he had used a credit card payment he could dispute the charge.

This is the reason I never, ever give vendors of any kind access to accounts with real money - even PayPal only has access to a credit card. A mistake of any kind results in the vendor having the money. And they return it to you at their leisure, if at all.

Someone else I know had their cable bill automatically deducted from their checking account. Someone managed to hack into my friend's cable account and get their cable charges deducted from his checking account as well. More than a year later my friend still doesn't have his money back.

So if I pay electronically at all, it is only with CREDIT cards (never debit), where I can dispute the charge. In fact, I don't carry a debit card at all since that is another way to give vendors access to my money. Credit card companies (at least mine) automatically reverse any charge I dispute for 30 days while it is worked out. So this policy gives me the power to tell vendors to screw themselves and is an extra level of protection against mistakes. Of course I pay off my cards each month, so I am not paying astronomical interest rates for the convenience.

But the vast majority of my banking is by check and stamp, and I will probably be one of the few people in 30 years still using the "old method".

Looking for Write-Offs

As I enter my fourth month of consulting, I have a problem: taxes. Take a look at what someone who is self-employed has to pay:

Federal Income: 33% (assuming next to highest bracket)
Social Security/Medicare: (2x vs. an employee since you have to pay the employer side): 15.3%
California Income: 9.3% (assuming highest)

Total: 57.6%

That's right. Over half my income has to go to taxes. Of course this doesn't count sales taxes, property taxes, car taxes, phone taxes, utility taxes, use fees and all the other ways the government takes money away from me at a rate that democrats think is too low. And remember that the self-employed don't have 401Ks, health accounts, and all the other ways to shelter income and get benefits tax-free.

So the self-employed have to use the one tool available to them to reduce their taxes: write-offs. The goal is to reduce the top-line revenue number as much as possible to reduce the total tax burden. And when the government is taking over half of every dollar away, there is a real incentive to look hard for all available write-offs:

Entertainment: Obviously I write off every time I take my wife a potential client to dinner or a meal that has a legitimate business purpose. So I save the little tab from the receipt and make up write down the name of the potential client I was entertaining. Let me tell you that Mrs. Director was pissed the evening I blew all that money on a nice meal for a client on our anniversary night.

Travel: I have to travel to meet with prospective clients. This includes the trip to Houston to see my parents a potential energy client and to Northern Cal to see some friends a high-tech client.

Office Equipment: My CPA gave me the okay to write off the furniture I bought for my home office earlier this year. In addition, I have bought an MFP, networking equipment, and a portable DVD player other equipment that I use for the home office. Basically if it can be bought from Fry's I write it off.

Telecom Expenses: My cellphone obviously gets written off, as does my home internet access and my VOIP phone. And I threw in my home local service for good measure. Basically if I can speak on it, it gets written off.

This isn't nearly enough - I need more. So if anyone can send in a few hints, let me know. I could probably get away with writing off blogging expenses as a form of advertising, but I unfortunately don't spend any money on it.

Advice of a Different Sort

From the mailbag:

Dear Director,

I am an associate attorney working in a medium sized firm. I have had a good working relationship with one of the partners for a while, who even okayed me working part-time when my daughter was born.

The other day in court he scribbled something on a legal pad and passed it to me. Thinking it was a note on the case, I quickly read it and was surprised. It said: "You look HOT today!" I looked over at him and he was sort of smiling like it was a big joke to relieve some stress during an idle moment in court.

A few days later we went to lunch together and he made some comment like, "You see that guy whip his head around to look at your ass? Not that I blame him."

Here's the thing: I'm not offended by the remarks at all. I'm just wondering what does he mean by it. Is this just joking around? Is he trying to make me feel better after losing my maternity weight? Or is it something more, in which case I am flattered, but married.

When trying to figure out the motivation of men, there are three rules to keep in mind:

1. Men are pigs
2. Men are pigs
3. Men are pigs

Using these rules, we can safely assume that he is trying to get into your pants.

In your case, he is using the patented Testing the Water Technique^TM. This method requires the users to look for the blush response, pupil dilation and other reactions to double entendres, suggestive remarks, or extremely flattering comments. This is the "toe" in the water.

If the water is inviting, the TTW Technique then progresses to moving the whole leg in. This will consist of touching that is not exactly inappropriate, but not exactly casual. This could be a hand left on the back for an extended period of time as he guides you through a door, moving a hand into your lap as he talks to you in the car, perhaps a hand left on your shoulder for a while as he looks at your computer screen from behind you.

If at any time during the TTW Technique the subject gives out bad vibes, strong antagonistic reactions, a surprising comment, etc. the user can retreat totally without fear of, say, a lawsuit, or even repercussions to a pre-existing friendship. This is what makes TTW a favorite in the office.

If the first two steps of TTW progress without incident, then (to mix metaphors) a full court press is used and the user can attempt to dive in.

Of course, you knew all of this since it was also used in high-school. It's just that when everyone puts on a suit and goes to work, they forget about all the silly high-school dating techniques because everything at work is supposed to be so professional. But all the old techniques are still in play: The Go-Between^TM, Damsel in Distress^TM, Secret Admirer^TM, and all the rest.

So you now know what he is doing. Now you have decide how you are going to react.

Since he is using the TTW technique, a simple "That isn't an appropriate thing to say", or something along those lines should be enough. Assuming you want to stop him. If you want him to make a pass at you, you could always tell someone else to tell him that you think he is cute.

I Guess Memory Isn't Needed to be a Receptionist

I have been consulting for a client for the last three months. As a part of my contract I go into the client's office once a week, which means I have been there a dozen times, week after week.

They have a "controlled access" lobby, meaning that a receptionist greets you, issues you a badge, asks who you are seeing, and then calls them to the lobby to sign you in. So every week for the past three months I have entered the lobby, said hello, told the receptionist my name, the company I'm with ("Myself") and who I am seeing. The answers to these questions - as well as my face - have been the same week after week.

After the first month (4 visits) I figured she wouldn't ask me the questions any more. I mean, how many people does she see each week? This isn't that big a company and they can't get that many visitors. Plus with my good looks she should find me pretty rememberable. But she always asked me the same questions as if she didn't remember me.

After two months (8 visits) I figured that she remembered my good looks, but was just bad with names. So she would at least start remembering which VP I see every week. But this didn't seem to be the case. I still got the blank stare and question: And who are you seeing?

So maybe she was playing hard to get. I started chatting with her. Asking how busy she was. How hard can it be to get a receptionist to remember you?

But after three months (12 visits) I have given up. Maybe she has one of those short-term memories where I am forgotten as soon as the VP fetches me from the lobby. Or maybe, like the movie 50 First Dates, she forgets everything once she goes to sleep each night. It can't be that she just forgets my dashing good looks and charismatic personality after meeting me a dozen times.

I just got an extension to my contract for another month, but I have given up. I have no doubts that on my 16th visit that she will look at me with a blank expression, ask me my name, company and whom I am seeing.

A Better Source for Start-Up Data

A few days ago I posted a link to a site that listed semiconductor start-ups. At a cross-post on my other blog (a technical site), several people commented that they didn't find the list very helpful.

I concurred and I have offered the site author to update the list, which I am doing anyway for another consulting project. So I am taking what he has and making it a little more useful for me, and sending him my results (in return for some other info he is sending me). Here is a small excerpt:



However, I found out there is a much better source for this information: Venture One. Owned by Dow Jones, this has an extensive database on start-ups funded over the past 10 years and allows searches by segment, employee number, location, funding amount, rounds, you name it. The only problem is that it costs BIG. One of my clients has access and sent me material from it (which I cannot post for legal reasons), but it is pretty impressive. So if you are serious about needing data about start-ups, this is the place to go. If you are a hobbyist, a consultant, or poor, you will have to use the free lists that are out there or do the research yourself.

Blogging from Word

Rorschach sent in a story about a toolbar from Google that will allow you to write blog entries in Microsoft Word and then upload them directly into Blogger.

A nice add-on for Blogger users who want to use one place to write both blog and non-blog material, or who don't like the Blogger editing tool.

Work Should be Fun

I was having lunch with a prospective client, who brought up an idea for a consulting company with himself, me and a mutual friend. I thought a moment and replied, "Yeah, that sounds like fun."

He did a double take. It apparently was the last thing he thought I would say.

The bottom line is that work should be fun. It's what we spend our lives doing. And we shouldn't spend that time doing something we hate. Yes, we have to make money and support our families, but - if one can swing it - it should be fun.

And flexible.

And make you a lot of money.

And give you time for other things you enjoy.

Maybe I'm asking for too much, but it's something I have in common with the current wave of workers just now entering the labor force. From Just Procrastinating, who noted the following article about the newest kids graduating college:

Technology has allowed them to blend their schoolwork into their personal lives seamlessly and wirelessly, so they balk at the image of a rigid 8-to-5 office where everyone's tethered to a desk. Still, they seek a balance between work time and free time, so they inquire about vacation plans and lunch hours.

But based on the rest of the article, it looks like this is the only thing I have in common with 21 year olds.

The Window Manager Interviewed by MSM

Well, it's a newspaper, so it counts as MainStream Media. But the circulation of the Daily Pilot (dedicated to Newport Beach and Costa Mesa) is just a little bit smaller than its parent the LA Times. But it is MSM, and it is giving some local bloggers, including me, our 15 minutes of newsprint fame.

The writer, Elia Powers, contacted me a few weeks ago for a story on bloggers in the Newport/Mesa area. We had an initial phone interview, and a few weeks later I met him at the office the Daily Pilot shares with its parent the LA Times Orange County (where Patterico is persona non-grata).

Actually, I found Elia to be a nice guy and a professional in the truest sense of the word. If all MSM reporters had his ability and ethics, I think the uneasy relationship between the MSM and the blogging world would be a lot better. Best of all, Elias "gets it" when it comes to blogging. His article, meant for non-blogging readers, is both educational and entertaining, and a nice roadmap for those wanting to wade into this strange hobby/movement.

Besides yours truly, BFLer SneakEasy is profiled, as are a few other local bloggers in the area. I have only seen the on-line version, but I believe my mug made it into the local print addition. I'm glad I got my picture taken after I lost those 20 lbs.

And, if I may say so, I think I had the best quote in the article. Elia asked me whether blogging would take over MSM. I told him that it wouldn't. What I said about blogging is:

"It's going to be a way. It's not going to be the way,"

Which I do believe. While I think that MSM will incorporate elements of the blogging world, and that its dominance may wane, it isn't going away. The blogosphere is too unstructured and fragmented to ever be a reliable news source. On the other hand, there will be blogs that have experts in one specific area that will become "brands" for that particular topic, which will act as a check and supplement on the news the MSM provides.

When Bloggers Quit

I have run across a couple of blogs recently that either have taken a long hiatus or the blogger has decided to hang up their spurs. The latest is from Oxblog, where one of the three contributors has decided to call it quits:

I've also begun to feel that I have less to write about on a daily basis. And I'm less enthused about the kind of quick-reaction writing that blogging requires. I'm increasingly orienting my writing towards academic pieces--longer, slower, more methodical, and more measured than blogging. That style of writing is, of course, not for everyone. But it is for me.

Brand Mantra, who took a long hiatus off from blogging, notes that a pamphlet is out characterizing this "Blog Depression":

There is a growing epidemic in the cyberworld. A scourge which causes more suffering with each passing day. As blogging has exploded and, under the stewardship of the veterans, the form has matured more and more bloggers are finding themselves disillusioned, dissatisfied, taking long breaks, and in many cases simply closing up shop...We are speaking, of course, about blog depression.

She then notes that part of the frustration is coming up with something to blog about.

For this blog, that is rarely a problem partly because this is what I would call a "general" blog - I blog about whatever is on my mind. However, I have been trying to focus more on business and less on politics lately. There are not as many bloggers on the former subject and way too many on the latter, if you ask me.

But I don't find myself scouring magazines, newspapers and other blogs trying to find something, anything, to blog about. From the torrent of information that comes my way on a daily basis, something will come up that I want to comment on - and that ends up as a blog entry. It is not something I have to force, and for blogging, I left the following advice in the comment section at Brand Mantra:

For my posts, I sometimes have no idea what it will be on as I start my day, but end up with a post anyway. The trick is like trying to remember a name you can't quite remember - DON'T concentrate what to blog on, and then something will come to mind.

And if the day comes that I can't find anything to say on a topic? Then, maybe, I will quit, but I don't see that happening anytime in the near future.

Recurring Nightmares

I have my degree. I have my degree. I have my degree - The mantra I was chanting as I woke up this morning from a recurring nightmare.

There seems to be a handful of recurring nightmares that nearly everyone seems to have. Here are mine:

1. Taking a Final for a Class You Never Been To - I have this once or twice a year. For me, this comes complete with Blue Books (they even use those any more?) and proctors who sit there and explain the test taking procedure. I sit there in a cold sweat wondering what the questions will be for a subject I have never studied for. This one usually doesn't wake me up, however, and just transitions into another dream.

2. Free Falling - I have fallen off cliffs, out of planes, off buildings, down mountains, off radio towers. In fact, I don't think there is a structure - man made or natural - that I haven't fallen off of. This one always makes me wake up, since - as everyone knows - you want to wake up before you hit bottom.

3. Watching a Plane Crash - In this recurring nightmare my own plane doesn't crash - I watch another plane crash. I didn't start having this dream until after 9-11, so that is probably the source, along with my own low-level tension from flying (I am on a plane nearly every week).

4. Back in School - This is sort of an extension of the Finals dream, but with more detail. This one isn't a made-up world, however, but almost a direct flashback to my undergraduate days, which were rather unpleasant for me. I was in an engineering program that had a goal of knocking out as many people each year as possible. So it was hard. And it wasn't enjoyable (which my MBA was). Last night I was running around the campus trying to figure out my housing, what classes I was going to take, and if I would manage to stay in the program for another year. So as I woke up this morning I was telling myself I had my degree; that those unpleasant days were long gone.

What other common ones does everyone else have?


Update: Linked to Outside the Beltway's Sunday Drive

DARPA - A Great Organization with Great People

I attended the last day of DARPATech today, and I have to say that this is one hell of an organization. These people are working on truly incredible technology with one thing in mind: helping our soldiers. When one of the anti-war crowd says they want to "help our soldiers", that really isn't true. Warfare isn't going away. Withdrawing from the world isn't an option. The only way to "help our soldiers" is to give them better weapons, better training and better battlefield information and support. And that is what DARPA is trying to do. And it works with U.S. businesses to do it.

The best part of the conference today was the keynote speech from Marine Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee. This is one incredible guy. He just oozed leadership, charisma and knowledge. After the speech if he had asked me to pick up a rifle and follow him I would have complied.

I cannot find a transcript of his speech, but here are a few notes I jotted down:

- The "Nature of War" is not changing in that we have a thinking enemy that we must not underestimate. In Iraq it takes our enemy only 10 days to change their tactics once we develop a defense against what they are doing.

- Battlefields are still chaotic. There is no such thing as "perfect information" on the battlefield and our soldiers must be able to thrive in that environment.

- There are three areas where the U.S. has absolute supremacy which is not expected to change any time in the near future: Space, Air over 15,000 feet, and the oceans. We must work to improve our status in those areas we are not supreme: air below 15,000 feet, urban areas, and deep inside enemy territory where some of the best systems we have today cannot be brought in.

- The Marines are currently working in several areas of concentration to better engage in future conflicts: Sea Basing, Distributed Ops, and better Education and Training.

- The General's current short-term priorities for DARPA are as follows:

1. A way to counter Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). DARPA has done some work in this area already, having quickly developed and put into the field Gun Truck, which has already saved lives in Iraq. Additional measures are needed. He mentioned low-weight, bold-on, ceramic armor as one idea.

2. A soldier carries 65 lbs. of equipment today. Lower it!

3. Better batteries and alternative fuel cells. He said the original march into Baghdad was nearly halted due to a battery shortage.

4. The soldier's helmet really hasn't changed in 37 years. He would like to see a Head's Up Display (HUD) giving the soldier information, communication, etc. in the field

5. Currently soldiers carry two scopes for their rifle - one for day, one for night. How about one that can do both, giving them less to carry and worry about.

He said he had another few dozen, but those were the first five.

Even if I never directly participate or do any business with DARPA, going to the conference was worth it just for the information and educational aspects. They had on display some very incredible things in development including biomagnetics, thermal electric conversion, scramjets, and other things practically out of science fiction. Anyone who is interested should check out their website.

Semiconductor Start-Up List

Jeremey Donovan posts an annual list of semiconductor start-up companies. This is good for seeing where venture capital is flowing, what sorts of start-ups are out there, even job and client leads.

Since this is posted on the internet, I assume this is a public list, so I will post a link to it here.

Getting Book Recommendations from Blogs

I normally don't have a lot of time for reading except when I travel. I do some work on the plane, but with the hassle of getting out and booting a computer and the cramped space to work in, I rather just pull out a book.

Since I have a few hours to kill in a confined tube at 30,000 feet, I want the books I read to be pretty good - I have nothing else to do if the one I brought sucks. So I have found book recommendations are almost as important as the book itself. I don't want to be disappointed.

A lot of people use the NYT Best Seller Lists, but I have found out from experience that the list - both fiction and non-fiction - is generally filled with crap. Who Moved my Cheese was as the top for quite a while. I think that statement speaks volumes about the quality of the list.

I have had a few successes from reading complete reviews instead of just looking at the list. The WSJ does a book review nearly every day. They focus mainly on biographies and non-fiction, which I don't read a lot of, but every once in a while they review a book that looks interesting. I actually discovered Bernard Cornwell thanks to one of these reviews and ended up reading his entire body of work.

But lately I have been having a lot of luck with books recommended from blogs. Never Eat Alone was a business book I enjoyed thanks to a blog, for example. There have been others, but the most recent was Old Man's War that Instapundit recommended. I added it to my last Amazon order to see if Glenn had good taste.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. Don't look for anything too deep and meaningful, but as an entertaining story that quickly passed the hours, I couldn't have asked for a better book. I think many would consider it perfect "beach reading".

So consider this a recommendation. And I am willing to share it in more than one way. I am willing to mail my copy within the Continental U.S. (parcel post) to the first person who says they're interested in the comment section (a ~$16 book on Amazon!). After posting the first comment saying you are interested, send an email to director_mitch@yahoo.com with your address (don't list any personal information in the comment section) and I'll ship it out to you by this weekend.

Venture Capital Without the Required Return

I'll be attending the final day of DarpaTech tomorrow right in my backyard in sunny SoCal. One of my consulting clients has a pass and is offering it to me for the final day of the event.

I am only vaguely familiar with the organization, but there are a few write-ups available. My client thinks of the organization as venture capitalists that don't require a financial return. The basic deal is they give you money to work on really cool stuff. If it works, they get any military applications. If it doesn't work, everyone just moves on to the next project - no one ends up trying to take over the board and selling off the assets. But here is the really good part: in the event of your DARPA-funded research you find a consumer application, you get the rights to it. The government only wants the military rights.

This is why my client likes it - it is essentially government funded R&D. And much of it overlaps with technical areas that the private sector is very interested in.

And for those of you who might not like the idea of consumer products being invented from military R&D money, keep in mind that the Internet resulted from a DARPA program.

Idiot of the Week Award

I'm busy and posting is going to be light, but I couldn't help posting a quick one on the Idiot of the Week:

FBI agents arrested a San Antonio man Tuesday accused of planting a note on a Southwest Airlines flight claiming there was a bomb on board.
...

Elias Jeremiah Cervantez, 20, of San Antonio, was charged Monday with making a false bomb threat to an aircraft. He confessed to FBI agents that he wrote the note on a gum wrapper...The note read, "There's a bomb on the plane!" Another note asked whoever found it to call a phone number and tell them. It was accompanied by a drawing of a happy face.

My guess is Mr. Cervantez got drunk and thought it would be funny to write the note as he chewed his DoubleMint to get rid of his alcohol breath. Now instead of having a good laugh, he will probably be doing some time.

As a frequent flier (I am heading to the airport now), I can't say I feel sorry for him - idiots like him need to realize the times we live in.

For Those of You with Sushi Questions

A five part series on How to Eat Sushi (the link is to the fifth entry, which has links to the first four).

Even I, who consider sushi one of my favorite foods, learned a few things, although I won't follow them all (for example, I'll keep my gaijin custom of putting way too much soy sauce in my bowl. As a foreigner, they'll never think you're NOT a clod, so you might as well do what you like).

Hat Tip: Due Diligence

Nisco? Ciskia?

Two thoughts came to mind when one of my clients mentioned today the rumor that Cisco was looking to acquire Nokia:

1. That makes no sense at all!
2. What the hell would they call the new company!?

For these two reasons alone I think we can safely say this rumor has no merit.

Don't Make a Call, Still Pay Money

SBC is giving consumers another reason to hate land-line telephone companies.

They now charge a minimum fee per month on your phone bill for long distance service - even if you never make a single long distance call. This is probably a response to people using their cellphones and VOIP for long distance while keeping their land-line for local calls. Instead of offering better service or better pricing than either of their competitors, their response is to screw customers out of money, which will just drive more of them away.

This also goes into the face of flat-fee pricing for unlimited local and long distance calls that both VOIP and cellphones offer. As for me, both of these are still a little too unreliable to go "naked" without a local line, but once either of these become robust enough, I will be dropping the land line.

Sometimes Business is About Luck

Eighty percent of success is showing up. - Woody Allen

He should add "at the right place at the right time".

I pitched a consulting project to the CEO of a mid-size company back in May. I followed up two weeks later and then a month later and never got a response. I pinged the acting CFO - my advocate inside the company and a former colleague - a few more times, but had basically written off the opportunity.

Last week at the airport I saw the CEO waiting in line to board my flight. I walked over, said hello, and shook his hand - it took all of ten seconds. He nodded towards me as he boarded the plane and moved towards his seat. I thought that would be the end of the run-in, but later sent him a brief email saying it was good to see him again after our meeting three months ago.

He contacted me earlier this week and asked to speak with me at his office yesterday. Today he is signing my consulting contract before he leaves for vacation.

The interesting thing I am asking myself is this: would I have this company as a client if I hadn't accidently run into the CEO at the airport and refreshed his memory about me? It's hard to say. It certainly didn't hurt. But it is an indication of how much of business - and success - is just being at the right place at the right time.

Calvin and Hobbs Returns For a Limited Engagement

I stopped reading comics at the same time I stopped getting the local paper. I currently only get the WSJ, a couple of magazines, and get additional news on-line. It's been over a decade since I've had a subscription to a local paper and don't miss it at all. I'm just not interested in reading left-wing diatribes and in-depth articles on local murders.

One item I largely can't get on-line are comic strips. There are exceptions - Dilbert broke through, in part, due to being one of the first internet-distributed comics - but this has never bothered me since 95% of the comics out there just aren't interesting. Reading them is largely a waste of time.

But one of the more amusing ones - Calvin and Hobbs - is returning for a four week special engagement. However, true to form, it will be only in print. Big mistake if you ask me since the whole purpose of the limited run is to advertise a new book, but they didn't ask my opinion.

Hat Tip: voluntary Xchange

An Axis of Another Type of Evil

In discussions with a patent lawyer today, he let me in on the Axis of IP Evil (IP is short for Intellectual Property, meaning patent violations, trademark violation and the like):

1. China
2. Brazil
3. Argentina

Now, I am not knowledgeable enough to tell you why the two South American countries belong on the list, but this is an IP guy who does litigation, and is very, very good at what he does, so I will have to go with his word on those two (Brazil is probably related to their breaking patents on drugs, Argentina I have no idea).

China I am more familiar with, and tech companies for some time have known that there is no such thing as patent protection, trade secrets or any other protection from outright theft of intellectual property in that country. Things are supposedly getting better, and the larger Chinese companies by and large do comply with the rules. Anything exported is easy to clamp down on, but as their domestic market grows, companies will have to keep a close eye on domestically produced and distributed goods.

Surprisingly, Taiwan is not on the list, but I don't know if that is because things have improved there or if the other three are just so bad to knock it out of the top three rungs.

Just something to keep in mind as you run down to the patent office.

Going to Bat for Your People

One marking of a poor manager is the unwillingness or inability to "got to bat" for the people under them. I have seen time and again (and have worked under) managers that are unwilling to support, back-up, protect from senior management, or spend political capital for those that are supposedly "under their wing". Those types of managers are looking out for themselves, are unsure of their ability, and sway to whatever political wind is blowing. You want to avoid these sorts of managers whenever possible; they have no backbone.

For this reason I am giving kudos to President Bush for sticking by Bolton as ambassador to the UN. No matter what your politics, you have to admire Bush's commitment to stand by the person under him and not get swayed by the political winds - that would have been the easy thing to do. And this particular post is not important - ambassador to a failed, worthless organization - and has a job responsibility that basically consists of voting how the president tells them to vote. The president should put in that slot whomever he wants.

As a manager, it's easy to change your mind in the face of adversity. What's hard is sticking with your decisions - and your people - when the going gets tough.