Posted by dj as Commentary at 11:59 PM UTC []
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January 31st, 2010
Protected: Type Daddy’s Name 7
Jan. 31, 2010 Blumbers
Hard to believe it has been fifteen years since my first website. I wonder what the next fifteen years will bring.
The irresistible desire to simplify our lives that has been dragged down by the complexity of information technology. I think the appeal of social networking sites is that people can have an online presence and yet do not have to worry about running a website. Of course they give up privacy and intellectual property but they gain visibility and time. Text from DJCline.com
After seeing the new Apple iPad, I think the day of a computer “for the rest of us” is near. Every minute we waste fiddling with a computer keeps us from doing what really should be doing. I chose the Macintosh because I wanted to spend years creating and not coding. The result is that I became productive, prolific and profitable. Text from DJCline.com
The day will come when running your own website will be as quaint as making your own clothes. We will become the HAM radio operators in a world of cell phones. Text from DJCline.com
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
Posted by dj as Blumbers, Commentary at 4:50 PM UTC []
January 30th, 2010
The Profit By Kehlog Albran
Many years ago there was a book called “The Prophet” by Kahil Gilbran. It was so serious and ponderous that a wonderful parody came out called “The Profit” by Kehlog Albran published by Price/Stern/Sloan in 1973. It is out of print but I highly recommend it. Below are some excerpts:
“I have seen the future and it is just like the present, only longer.”
“The crowds gathered at the foot of the Valley.
Thousands pushed their way through.
The ominous rumbling was heard for miles.
Is he down yet, a merchant selfishly cried.
Where can I see him, an old woman shrieked.
I have waited for him for over one hundred years, a withered man murmured.
The crowd hushed in unison as a glimpse of a figure appeared in the clouded distance.
He is here, they whispered.
He looked almost young yet his age was impossible to guess.
He was not tall, yet he had many tall ways.
As they stared, he sat upon a rock.
Quietly folding his arms, he began to speak:
I am here.
I am tired.
But I will answer your questions.
Bring me food, drink, and don’t forget a little gold.
A little silver for an answer.
A drachma for a doubt, a penny for a thought.
For I am The Profit and what I have learned has cost me ten lifetimes.
What you are about to learn has cost you two dollars and fifty cents.”
NOTE: The book cost $2.50. Ha ha.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
January 29th, 2010
J.D. Salinger Dead
J.D. Salinger is dead at the age of 91. He was driving a 2009 Toyota Camry through a field of rye when the accelerator stuck and he plunged off a cliff.
He left several unpublished novels, all of which will be used to torture high school literature students for centuries.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
Posted by dj as Humor at 11:16 AM UTC []
January 28th, 2010
Right About Mr. Wrong
They called him Nick The Neck. I called him Mr. Wrong. Text from DJCline.com
He was a guy I knew many years ago. He worked out and developed quite a neck. Today you would suspect he was using steroids. While he was not particularly likeable, I found him to be a great barometer because he was always wrong in the long run about everything. It did not matter what it was, sports, politics or the stock market. Nick always lived in the present and thought things would remain the same. He fought the future and always lost. Text from DJCline.com
I thought of him as I looked at Apple stock this week. You see, Nick hated Apple Macintosh computers. It was an irrational, inexplicable position. He did not like Steve Jobs and became furious at the idea that he would return to Apple and save the company. As unlikely as he thought it was, that was exactly what happened. Text from DJCline.com
My people check his web presence every so often to see how disastrous his life became. I wonder what his life would have been like if he had bought Apple stock instead. Listen to people who disagree with you, it makes you check your judgment. Learn from their mistakes and you will make fewer of your own. Text from DJCline.com
Update: Mr. Wrong was last seen speeding away in Toyota Camry. Not kidding. :-D
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
Posted by dj as Commentary at 4:06 PM UTC []
January 27th, 2010
Jan. 27, 2010 Apple iPad
On January 20, 2010 at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, Apple’s Steve Jobs released a new tablet computer called the iPad that will be available in two months. Made of recyclable plastic and aluminum, it weighs 1.5 pounds and is half an inch thick with a ten inch LED display, full-size touch-screen keyboard, accelerometer, compass, speaker, microphone, thirty pin connector, ten hour battery but no camera. To me it is a laptop without a physical keyboard behaving like a big iPhone. Text from DJCline.com
The iPad comes in six versions, ranging from a Wi-Fi only 16GB version for $499 to a combined Wi-Fi and 3G version with 64 GB for $829. Apple makes the fast 1 GHz processor A4 chip itself. This is a departure from going outside to buy the old Motorola or Intel chips. Text from DJCline.com
It looks like it is meant to be mainly a media consumption device for the web, games, newspapers, magazines, movies, music and TV. You will be able to download from the AppStore, iTunes or the new iBook Store in the ePub format. Apple cut deals for content with Penguin, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins and Hachette. You touch a picture of the book to open it. Tap on it to turn the page. You can change the font size for those who have trouble seeing.Text from DJCline.com
You can create your own content. The new version of their office suite iWorks may make creating slide shows and spreadsheets more fun or at least less tedious. Each iWorks app will cost $9.99 at the AppStore. Text from DJCline.com
The iPad comes unlocked using new GSM micro SIMs. If you want 3G they have deal with AT&T but don’t need a contract and can bail at any time. You can go with an unlimited plan of $29.99 per month or $14.99 for 250 MB per month. WiFi at an AT&T hotspot will be free. Text from DJCline.com
I know people who are going to love being able to see bigger Google Maps when they are out and about.Text from DJCline.com
Accessories include a cover for it as well as a physical keyboard that acts as a docking port.
Do I need an iPad? No. Do I want one? Yes.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
January 26th, 2010
Jan. 26, 2010 SDF PWC
On January 26, 2010 at Pillsbury Winthrop in Palo Alto, SDForum held the Quarterly Venture Breakfast Series in collaboration with PWC. Allison Leopold Tilley of Pillsbury Winthrop moderated panelists Steve Bengston of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Winston Fu of USVP, Ryan Sweeney of Accel Partners and Ann Winblad of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. Text from DJCline.com
The changes over the past decade from the dotcom bust simply accelerated over the past year. From 2002 through 2008, U.S. venture investing stabilized between $22-30 billion annually. In 2009, VC investing was about 18 billion. Steve Bengston believes that too much money in a boom market inevitable cycles through to a bust that is fifty percent off the peak. He thinks 2010 will be as flat as 2009. Of course, less money invested means less coming out in exits. In 2000, most exits were IPOs. By 2010 most were mergers and acquisitions. With IPOs, fewer people want to be CEOs responsible for signing Sarbanes Oxley forms that could put them in jail. Mergers and acquisitions are safer but don’t pay off as well. Text from DJCline.com
For VCs and their startups, the first part of 2009 was a period of shaking out and locking down from the collapse of 2008. Allison Leopold Tilley said the tourists left the industry. As new government policies took hold in the second half of 2009, deals cautiously came out of hiding. Lots of VCs, limited partners (LPs) and angels have been badly shaken and are just keeping the lights on. Even more established VCs with deeper pockets are looking for capital efficiency for early stages and wanting serious revenue in later stages in the seven to nine year cycles. Ten years ago you might have seen a different VC involved in each round. Now you will see a VC stick with a company through C series. If you want to know if a potential VC is serious ask them when was their last big deal. If they can’t tell you, keep moving. Text from DJCline.com
IPOs and and M&As are not the only options. VCs like to hear a plan for a profitable independent company. The downturn is forcing lots of companies to take stock and rethink how they do business. Now is great time for a startup that can disrupt existing structures. Startups that become standalone game changers like Apple or Google are ultimately the most profitable investments. Ann Winblad said a good company is bought not sold. Go to meetings with developer communities and look for opportunities. Is there a large new market? Why is no one in it yet? Text from DJCline.com
Ryan Sweeney sees an economic recovery in 2010 from enterprises but not consumers. Winston Fu sees promise in green ideas that demonstrate dramatic efficiencies for limited investment. Look for an increase in IPOs as sign of recovery. New companies mean new jobs. Text from DJCline.com
The room was packed with entrepreneurs. They were advised to do their homework, get a good law firm, a good accounting firm, a good VC and most importantly, a good idea. Text from DJCline.com
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
January 25th, 2010
Wonder Makers
An Anthology Of Classic Science Fiction
Edited By Robert Hoskins
Science fiction that borders on steampunk. Fascinating. I wonder if Star Wars will look and sound as awkward as some of this? Be prepared for some major political incorrectness. The Jack London piece is most disturbing. Text from DJCline.com
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
January 24th, 2010
Jan. 24, 2010 Blumbers
Time Slot Versus Good Content
How bad is the economy? Even Conan O’Brien lost his job.
I don’t think he’s hurting much, though I do wonder about all of his staff who moved across the country. Are they now stranded and jobless in Los Angeles? I hope they got a similar deal.
I think NBC choosing Jay Leno over Conan O’Brien shows how out of touch the network executives are. They picked Jay Leno over David Letterman because Jay’s humor was safe and not too “weird” for mainstream audiences. They made the same mistake with O’Brien. They kind of missed the point that mainstream audiences disappeared with cable and the internet.You have to grab individual viewers not broad demographics.
They also seem unable to disengage from the obsession with time slots. Thirty years after the time shifting of VCRs, DVRs, downloads and YouTube, they still think it is important WHEN a show appears. It is more important that the show is entertaining. Johnny Carson succeeded because audiences back then had few choices. I doubt even he would be able to compete with the content now available. If you aren’t funny I’m not watching.
I did enjoy watching it all blow up in the executives faces. It is well documented how Jay Leno manipulated the situation to force David Letterman out of NBC. I guess Jay thought Dave would disappear. Instead, Dave outlasted him. If he wasn’t good at what he did, he would not be on the air. The sad part is that Jay did it again and management fell for it. At any sane company Jay would lose his job. Instead executives say his show was “well received.” Whenever I hear that phrase it is a sign of a dysfunctional organization betting on the wrong horse.
The good news is that Conan made his ejection as slow and embarrassing for them as possible. Sadly, his reputation and competency was ironically brought into question by the spin doctor who forced him out. Now Conan has to fight to prove himself to the public again. That last week was a great example of what NBC will miss out on.
What next? Well he could go to another network and fight for that ever shrinking audience. I wonder if he has considered just doing the whole show on the web. He is already an established brand. Forget the networks. Sell your ads on your site. Sell it on iTunes. Reduce your overhead. Don’t worry about network executives or local affiliates. Just be funny and online anytime you want.
At the end of the movie Oceans 13, George Clooney tells the bad guy why he will prevail. It’s because he is more fun to be around. “We know the same people, and they like me better.” We like Conan better.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
Posted by dj as Blumbers, Commentary at 4:50 PM UTC []
January 23rd, 2010
Native American Books
Illustrated Atlas Of Native American History: Traces The Movements Of North America’s Native Peoples From Prehistoric Times To The Present Day
Edited By Lorraine B. Myers, Richard Carlson, John S. Bowman, Glenn O. Myers, Samuel Willard Crompton, Barry Pritzker, Luoise Minks, Robin Varnum, Rosamund Dauer, Anne Elliot Crompton And Winslow Eliot Text from DJCline.com.
Native Americans have been pushed all over the map. To keep track you need this atlas.
The North American Indian
By Edward S. Curtis
A classic. This is kind of a family album of sorts. If you ever resented having your pcture taken, remember it might be the only picture that exists of you for future generations. Smile. Text from DJCline.com.
Jeff Davis’s Own
Cavalry, Comanches And The Battle For The Texas Frontier
By James R. Arnold
Many Civil War Confederate generals got their experience fighting Indians in 1850s Texas. I don’t know how to feel about a book about killing one group of people so you can expand the base for enslaving another. A complex tale. Text from DJCline.com.
Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis Of Form
By Bill Holm
Loved every page. These tribes would have made great circuit designers. Text from DJCline.com.
Looking At Indian Art Of The Northwest Coast
By Hilary Stewart
A rather dry look at art from a very wet place. Still recommended. Text from DJCline.com.
Chiefly Feasts
Edited By Aldona Jonaitis Text from DJCline.com
Stunning photographs of authentic pieces. A great coffee table book. Text from DJCline.com.
A Guide To Navajo Rugs
By Susan Lamb
Find a Navajo. Buy a rug. Repeat. Warning! Authentic Navajo rugs do not have pictures of dogs playing poker. Also there is no such style as Shiprock Shag. Text from DJCline.com.
Navajo And Hopi Dyes
By Nonabah G. Bryan
If you want to green with your clothes this is a place to start. You will find that a lot of the colors are not colorfast. You might do more damage if you have your organically died clothes have to be dry cleaned. I learned lots about color. Text from DJCline.com.
Working With The Wool: How To Weave A Navajo Rug
By Noel Bennett And Tiana Bighorse
This takes great patience that I no longer have. Besides it itches. Text from DJCline.com.
Weaving Of The Southwest
By Marian Rodee
If you have the time and want to learn to weave, start with this book. Text from DJCline.com.
On The Edge Of Magic: Petroglyphs And Rock Painting Of The Ancient Southwest
By Salvatore ManciniForeword By Eugenia Parry Janis
Introduction By Polly Schaafsma
A kind of spooky book about petroglyphs. Heed their advice. Text from DJCline.com.
North American Indian Designs: For Artists And Craftspeople
By Eva Wilson
No dramatic breakthroughs here. Seen it. Text from DJCline.com.
Indian Designs For Quilt Patterns
By David And Jean Villasenor
A slim book with few examples. My quilt expert says the designs are complicated. Text from DJCline.com.
Indian Designs For Jewelry
By Connie Asch
You could use these designs for than just jewelry. Some are not practical but jewelry does not have to be. Text from DJCline.com.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
Posted by dj as Commentary at 11:17 PM UTC []
January 22nd, 2010
Jan. 20, 2010 Personal Medicine World Conference
On January 20, 2010 in Mountain View the Computer History Museum hosted the Personal Medicine World Conference. Dr. Hank Greely of Stanford University talked about the million dollar genome become the cheap or even free genome and the effect that will have on medical research. A number of biotech companies like Arrayit, DNAdirect, DNA Guide and Palo Alto Medical Foundation exhibited their cutting edge approaches to the tailored treatment of disease for specific individuals. Dyyno webscasted the event.
Copyright 2010 Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
January 21st, 2010
Jan. 20, 2010 SDF Australia
On January 20, 2009 at the Microsoft in Mountain View, SDForum and Austrade held the fourth annual “Australian Innovation – A Shoot Out”. The keynote speaker was Dan’l Lewin of Microsoft. Mark Anderson of Strategic News Service moderated judges Allison Leopold Tilley of Pillsbury, Deborah Magid of IBM Venture Capital Group, Prashant Shah of Hummer Winblad and Chris Shipley of Guidewire. The six Australian State finalists presented were: Text from DJCline.com
Digisensory (www.digisensory.com), DigiSensory combine smart imaging devices with their web-based real-time distributed intelligence system to deliver an end-to-end security and surveillance solution.
Intelliguard (www.intelliguardit.net), a provider of DDoS protection for online enterprises and Internet service providers.
Mid-Comp International (www.midcomp.com.au), a supply chain management infrastructure provider.
MultiTrode (www.multitrode.com), a specialist in lift station control and monitoring for water and wastewater facilities around the world.
Solar Gem (www.solar-gem.asia), a creator of affordable off-grid energy based on clean solar technologies.
Synengco (www.synengco.com), a provider of technology that helps companies assess and reduce their greenhouse gas and other emissions.
Zarloc (www.rosterwithross.com), creator of the ROSS web-based employee scheduling software that brings sophisticated workforce management software to the small business owner.
There was also a drawing for a free trip for two to Australia. Text from DJCline.com
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
January 20th, 2010
Dragon Hunter
By Charles Gallenkamp
The story of Roy Chapman Andrews, the real Indiana Jones. He started out as a janitor for New York City’s American Museum and wound up leading expeditions around the world. He is best known for his travels in Korea, China and Mongolia discovering fossilized dinosaur eggs and more. My favorite story was when his camp was overwhelmed by a swarm of poisonous snakes. He hated snakes. Text from DJCline.com
The deteriorating situation in Asia in the 1920s and 30s made it possible for him to take out all sorts of antiquities that I doubt he would be allowed to do it today. It still is a ripping yarn.
Recommended.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
January 19th, 2010
What’s It All About?
An Autobiography
By Michael Caine
Michael Caine grew up in a tough neighborhood in South London. It was so tough that when WWII started and his parents wanted to send him to the countryside, he told them that he didn’t know who this Hitler was, but that Caine and his inner city friends could probably take him on. Text from DJCline.com
Relocated to the country, he got better food and an education that he may not have had otherwise. The old neighborhood was destroyed and after the war the Americans supplied a brand new house. Drafted into the Army he found himself in Korea as the tallest man in the foxholes. He came back to London to start a career as a starving actor with a wife and daughter. He gets a series of lucky breaks including the movie Alfie. He works to this day and never turns down a job.
There is a disturbing surprise in his family history that comes out at the end of the book.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
January 18th, 2010
Loitering With Intent
By Peter O’Toole Text from DJCline.com
O’Toole’s colorful childhood with a gambling father. I am surprised he reached adulthood.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
January 17th, 2010
Jan. 17, 2010 Blumbers
The Ferguson Perspective
There has been a big deal about late night talk shows. NBC wants to put Jay Leno’s show back in its original time slot and push Conan O’Brien back a half an hour which bumps Jimmy Fallon back too. At some point someone named Carson Daly becomes the new host of the Today Show. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel and CBS’s David Letterman have had a field day as the public forgets about their respective problems. The one person who has kept some reasonable perspective about this is Craig Ferguson. Text from DJCline.com
It is true that funny people come from unfunny places. If you read Craig Ferguson’s autobiography, his life is a mix of Oliver Twist, Clockwork Orange and Lost Weekend. We have crossed paths and he is what he appears to be. He counts himself lucky to be doing what he loves and Friday night he said so. He reminded everyone that there was an earthquake in Haiti which is more important than anything celebrities do.
He then admonished Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson for using political and religious excuses not to help the people of Haiti. These are the sorts of folk who visit third world countries, see people in trouble and then head back to their nice hotel and eventually their suburban monster mansions. They do not realize they are part of the problem and not the solution. If you see someone in trouble you don’t turn your back on them. As history shows, the problems of other people inevitably wind up on your doorstep. Help them now. As Martin Luther King said “The time to do the right thing is always NOW.”
Otherwise Rush and Pat, don’t expect much sympathy when things go bad for you.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
Posted by dj as Blumbers, Commentary at 4:49 PM UTC []
January 16th, 2010
Haiti Earthquake
I haven’t commented on the Haiti earthquake because I’ve been trying to help friends find family members in that country.There needs to be a more resilient robust global communication system than what we have now. Ideally every cell phone should be able to recharge by itself and have at least some limited satellite text messaging ability. Text from DJCline.com
If you know somebody from Haiti or even rescue staff going there, volunteer to look after their jobs, homes, pets, etc.
Help those who help others.
More thoughts later.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
Posted by dj as Commentary at 2:18 PM UTC []
January 15th, 2010
Jan. 12, 2010 SVC Wireless Monetizing Mobile Markets
On January 1, 2010 in Palo Alto at Pillsbury, SVC Wireless presented “Monetizing Mobile Internet Market – Shared Visions of CEOs from the Great Wall Club and Companies in the US.” Speakers included Yiqun Bo of Great Wall Club, Jason Feinsmith of Silicon Storage Technology, Jovan Hsu of Chinese Founders Fund, Benjamin Joffe of Plus Eight Star, Michael Mace of Rubicon Consulting, Satya Malla of France Telecom, Jeff Merkel of AdMob, Barrett Parkman of Great Wall Club, Ying Song of Talkweb, Rob Trice of SK Telecom Ventures, Victor Tong of Web Plus, Qiangyu Wang of Duanqu and Ming Zhang of d.cn. They discussed mobile Internet opportunities after 3G roll out in China and the possible outcome of collaboration between Chinese and American companies. They exchanged ideas on how to monetize the mobile Internet businesses.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
January 14th, 2010
Jan. 12, 2010 ASAP Forecast
On January 12, 2010 in Mountain View at Symantec ASAP presented “Forecast 2010: What’s Hot and What’s Not for Alliances.” Michael Fauscette of IDC moderated panelists Toni Adams of Symantec, Venkat Nagaswamy Sr. of Juniper Networks and Alex Rosen of IDG Ventures. They discussed current partnering trends and strategies and what may work in 2010.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.
January 13th, 2010
Jan. 12, 2010 SDF Clean Energy
On January 12, 2010 in Sunnyvale at AMD Commons Auditorium, SDForum held the third annual “State of Clean Energy: Global Challenges and Opportunities” event. This year focused on who is leading in clean energy to create new jobs and sustainable growth while reducing costs.
Dian Grueneich, Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission delivered the opening keynote. Grueneich focuses on transmission planning and permitting, energy efficiency, climate change, renewable energy resources, and low income consumer issues.
The first panel discussed “The Greening of Corporations.” Lynelle Cameron of Autodesk moderated panelists Scott C. Bolick of SAP, Mukesh Khattar of Oracle, Bruce Klafter of Applied Materials and Rich Lechner of IBM.
The second panel discussed “The Role of Public Policy and Research in Private Innovation.” Patrick Bray of PacificVision Partners and Osaka City Investment moderated Hal LaFlash of PG&E, Marc LePage of Embassy of Canada and Dean Arthur Ramirez of UCSC School of Engineering.
Sally M. Benson of Stanford University’s Director of the Global Climate and Energy Project delivered the second keynote. She knows how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing carbon dioxide from power plants and pumping it into deep underground formations for permanent sequestration.
The third panel discussed “Leaders in Innovation: Global Success Stories in Clean Energy.” Brad Rock of DLA Piper moderated Gregg Dixon of EnerNoc and Kate Sherwood of Recurrent Energy discussed who is winning around the world.
The fourth panel discussed “Early Stage Investors: What Does This Mean for Entrepreneurs?” Camille Ricketts of VentureBeat moderated panelists Dan Lankford of Wavepoint Ventures, Bruce Pasternack of CMEA Capital, Dylan Steeg of Intel Capital and Robert Walker of Sierra Ventures.
The fifth panel discussed “Financing the Next Level: Global Investment Climate.” Michael Kanellos of Greentech Media moderated panelists Tim Carey of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Larry Kellerman of Goldman Sachs, Randy Lewis of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Prakash Ramachandran of Nordic Windpower.
Tom Rand of the MaRS Discovery Project gave the final keynote on “Kick The Fosssil Fuel Habit: Ten Technolgies To Save Our World.”
Basically we are in trouble and need get moving. Try everything and see what works best to avoid the worst.
Copyright 2010 DJ Cline All rights reserved.