World Trade Center movie
Amy and I went to the movie “World Trade Center” last night. It’s been nearly five years since that dreadful day in September 2001. I questioned if I really was ready to see it.
The movie brought a quiet hush over the theater. We all left sober and reflective.
I thought of C. Chandler, a firefighter that lives in our neighborhood. The service the fire and police render is something I admire. Could I ever provide the same service that they provide? What causes these men and women to have the bravery and willingness to sacrifice so much for other people?
In the end, the movie shows the power of the human spirit. The strength of John McLoughlin to lead his team. The willingness of a Will Jimeno to support his supervisor. And finally, the hundreds and later thousands of volunteers who put their skills and training to use find survivors.
MacBook Pro going in for work
I thought my co-worker was joking when she said that my battery my burst into flames like one of those Dells. I learned that the battery on my MacBook Pro was authorized for replacement. When I learned this, I took this as a sign that I should send my machine into Apple for service. I called AppleCare, and they are sending a service package to send in my machine. I dread the thought of being without my computer. Now I’m off to prepare a backup of my disk.
Technorati Tags: Apple
Wish computer was as easy to use as my phone…
This was all too close to hitting home for me when I read it, so I had to post:
“I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.”
– Bjarne Stroustrup, the designer and original implementer of C++
My MacBook Pro “portable computer” cooling system
I couldn’t take the heat coming off from my MacBook Pro any longer. So I paid a quick visit to the local WalMart. Picked up this little $10 fan and life is good again with my non-laptop, portable computer — as the online support agent I spoke with and the user manual clearly points out ;-).
As the guy from the genius bar recommended, I really need to send it in since it’s one of the very first serial numbers. I hear that things have gotten better.
Technorati Tags: Apple, MacBook Pro
Introduction to Gulf Cooperation Council…and oil profits
This morning on the local radio talk show, Doug Wright introduced me to the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC as it’s called. Basically GCC is the collective economies of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar. The thing that caught my attention is when I learned that the GCC will generate 40 percent of the world’s oil exports, resulting in approximately $500 billion for the GCC states.
This information was highlighted in an article in the Desert News written by Kevin G. Hall for McClatchy Newspapers. Mr. Hall pulled his information from a report published August 15th, 2006 by The Institute of International Finance (IIF) — see press release for summary.
In full disclosure, the report points out that these large profits in times of plenty result in an influx of investment here in the United States and other economies. However, after reading these articles tonight, I couldn’t help but think of two questions:
ONE: How much money is going into the War on Terror from the regional economies of the GCC? As Mr. Hall points out, the $10B losses in Lebanon from the Israel and Hezbulah is ONLY TWO PERCENT of the total profits from this year’s profits.
From article in the Desert News:
“Consider that the damage to Lebanon’s infrastructure and economy in general after a monthlong conflict with Israel is broadly estimated at about $10 billion. That’s about 2 percent of the GCC nations’ projected oil earnings for this year. Their oil earnings are greater than the combined export earnings of the developing economies of India, Brazil, Poland and Turkey.”
TWO: When will Congress, President Bush, and we as American citizens realize that our insatiable appetite for oil? What will it take to drive us to innovate alternative energy sources? When will we be able to capitalize on world-wide economic demand that we can use for core infrastructure investment?
From the IIF press release announcing GCC summary report:
‘IIF Managing Director Charles Dallara stated, “The oil windfall has supported increased government spending, and lifted domestic confidence, resulting in an investment boom. Projects worth over $1 trillion, mostly in infrastructure, are either under way or planned which aim to diversify the economic base and generate greater value added from hydrocarbons.”‘
Technorati Tags: Alternative Fuel, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Oil
PDA blast from the past
I was going through an old box of gadgets and found my Palm VII. I couldn’t resist snapping a quick picture to share next to my Nokia E61 (with GSM / GPRS / 802.11g / Bluetooth / 16MM colors / 320 x 240 pixel screen / Email / Web / IM / miniSD / more).
I was so excited the day the PalmVII arrived at the Scottsdale BestBuy back in October 1999. I was at SalesLogix at the time and bought all seven units that arrived at the store. I signed up for the PalmNet service at $30 a month for unlimited data.
I thought the idea of my PDA connecting to get email was going to revolutionize my life. Being able to get driving directions from Mapquest. Being able to check flight info.
Well, the Palm VII wasn’t the device to do it — it was too slow and clunky (almost industrial in retrospect). It really took the Blackberry and the Treo 180 to finally get something close to what I had dreamed about. But we’re talking about 1999, just 7 short years ago. Miniaturization, wireless advances, data over cell networks–this and more has moved things along.
What’s coming…more of the same, but smaller, faster, better. WiMax and SIP clients will let you take “desk” calls on your 802.11x supported device (that’s here now). Support for 40 GB memory chips. Video capture and publishing that will offer just-in-time reporting from millions of “average-Jos,” the modern-day journalists in the field with fast data uploads to blogs or the next socially connected CMS solution (watch out CNN).
This will get fun.
Competition Poll in BusinessWeek
With all there is to read, I’ve found Podcasts as a great way to keep in touch with publications that I just love, that I’ve subscribed to, and then let the magazines pile up on a table because “someday” I want to read them.
One of the podcasts I subscribe to is BusinessWeek’s cover story. It’s a great Podcast that adds a personal dimension to the writer and the thoughts that went into the final published story. This week, BusinessWeek delivers a great issue with a collection of articles on competition. It’s a must read.
I loved “The Poll,” a 22-question survey checking the competitive pulse of 2500 US managers. I really like this question:
Which of the following things have you done?
• 28% yelled at a referee or umpire at a child’s game.
• 27% had thrown something at the TV while watching sports
• 7% had yelled at a child’s coach.
Subscribe to the BusinessWeek Cover Story Podcast here:
Technorati Tags: Podcasting
Wiki.com more proof of a business build around open-source technology
Many of us have played with Wikis. If we haven’t played with one directly, then we’ve likely used one at Wikipedia.com.
After reading the news today about Wiki.com, I think we’re seeing the real productization of technology developed in the open source community that will strike out at collaboration and content management systems like Microsoft Sharepoint. As I’ve read, sales of Sharepoint Servers and VARs servicing Sharepoint installations inside the corporate space is a burgeoning business. True there are integration points with Outlook and other Office integration that are nice, but certainly these are add-ons to the core offering of content and collaboration.
As I look at the education space with their course and learning management systems, the Wiki solution provides 80 percent of the needs for content delivery and inches into collaborative solutions. Wikis miss on assessments. But the average teacher looking to deliver a syllabus, due dates, readings, etc. can use a wiki to get things up and running quickly.
Technorati Tags: Education, Instructional Technology, Wiki
Time for PodUtah
Cyndi Tetro, the VP of Marketing at Nextpage and close friend of mine, contacted me on Friday and let me know I have a new bradATpodutahDOTnet email address. Hopefully the first step toward something bigger and cooler.
I’m looking forward to doing some interviews of local Utah-based technology companies. I can finally make my long-time fantasy to be a NPR correspondent / National Geographic field photographer a closer reality.
Stay tuned for more!
Technorati Tags: Agilix, Nextpage, Podcasting, Podtech
Brad Baldwin…the technologist or Porn Star
Well last night I learned that I share the name with a porn actor. I guess my domain registry was a good thing many years ago. Of course perhaps it’s more “marketable” now that I know there is another potential buyer ;-).
At least I’m number 2 on the google search. Time to kick in and do a little more SEO work.
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