Clearing the mental attic of some odds and ends... A little bird told me that Fisher Communications is up for sale. I have no idea if this is true. But interestingly, Fisher filed an 8-K on August 24, notifying the SEC of changes in its top executives' Change of Control agreements. From its preamble: The … Continue reading Tidbits: Fisher Communications, TechFlash, Snow Leopard, etc.
A review of “Plone 3 Theming”
I recently read Plone 3 Theming, a new book by Veda Williams. Although not presently working in Plone, I like to keep up with the Plone ecosystem. Should I find myself working on a new CMS, Plone will be one of my preferred technologies, so I need to nourish what few Plone neurons I've got. Obligatory … Continue reading A review of “Plone 3 Theming”
How to Argue
Starts with a Bang!'s Ethan Siegel posted a nice summary of a 2008 Paul Graham post about different argumentation levels. At the hierarchy's bottom is name calling ("Jane, you ignorant slut!") and at the top is substantive reasoning that focuses on the point being made. He used a dandy graphic to summarize the hierarchy: I … Continue reading How to Argue
Clear Sky Charts’ Seattle page
When I lived in Massachusetts, I enjoyed an amateur astronomy hobby. At night, I could walk out to my central Mass backyard and easily see the Milky Way. And that was without any dark adaptation. I sold all my astronomy gear (an SPC-8 with the de rigueur slew of stuff) after moving to Seattle. The … Continue reading Clear Sky Charts’ Seattle page
Blogging vs. Tweeting
I've noticed that active tweeting has resulted in fewer potential blog topics. Why? In Twitter, I can comment on something very quickly. Composing a blog post takes much more energy. For example, I love Python Essential Reference, and I pre-ordered the fourth edition. (David Beazley is The Man!) I recommended PER on Twitter (and even had … Continue reading Blogging vs. Tweeting
Susan Hutchison: Know-Nothing for King County Exec
BlatherWatch questions Susan Hutchison's temperament for public office. It's a must-read for King County residents. Money quote: Hutchison, 55, looks good on paper and great in front of a mirror or a teevee camera, but substantively, and temperamentally, we found her, er, wanting. She couldn't answer policy questions, and wouldn't answer fundamental political questions, like … Continue reading Susan Hutchison: Know-Nothing for King County Exec
NetNewsWire: A Review
NewsGator has released a Beta update (3.2b6) of NetNewsWire, which is their Mac syndication feed reader. I've used NetNewsWire for over a year, and before that I used their FeedDemon syndication reader on Windows. I've been very happy with their readers, so when I received the notice of the new version + impending change to … Continue reading NetNewsWire: A Review
CrashPlan and CrashPlan Pro, Revisited
An update from my prior post about CrashPlan: Code 42's Matthew Dornquast generously helped me resolve the kinks in my CrashPlan installation. I misunderstood how the consumer edition handled NAS drives. Matthew also explained the firewall changes needed for CrashPlan Pro. The consumer edition (CrashPlan) can backup to a NAS folder. The folder simply has … Continue reading CrashPlan and CrashPlan Pro, Revisited
CrashPlan Pro vs. Retrospect 8.1
UPDATE 7/27/09: Since writing this post, I've made additional discoveries and corrected a misunderstanding about CrashPlan's operation. Rather than changing this one, I wrote another post about CrashPlan. —— I bought Retrospect 8 in March. It's been a disaster. We customers are doing the QA that EMC should have done. The two support forums contain complaints … Continue reading CrashPlan Pro vs. Retrospect 8.1
“Microsoft sales, profits plummet”
When talking about revenue or profits, "plummet" isn't a word you want to see in the same paragraph. Two weeks ago, I predicted another Microsoft layoff this year. Today, TechFlash's Todd Bishop reports that Microsoft reported fourth quarter revenue down 17%, and profits down to 34 cents/share. Every division had a revenue decline. Windows Clients … Continue reading “Microsoft sales, profits plummet”
Seek Nuance 