A Barbara Woodhouse Quote

“There is no such thing as a difficult dog, only an inexperienced owner.”

Barbara Woodhouse

A Barbara Woodhouse Quote

“There is no such thing as a difficult dog, only an inexperienced owner.”

Barbara Woodhouse

[tag]quote, barbara woodhouse, dogs[/tag]

Google Home Page Becomes Colorful

Google’s home page is a tribute to minimalism. It is simple and to the point. Some would call it bland. Well, now art meets Google:

“SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc.’s once-austere Web site is turning into an eclectic art gallery.

Hoping to spur more customization of its home page, the Internet search leader has unveiled a lineup of colorful graphics dreamed up by a mix of creative souls, ranging from fashion designer Oscar de la Renta to the rock group Coldplay.”

link: Google unveils eclectic mix of designs by prominent artists

Now the user can personalize with ’skins’. Google can be colorful. A good portion of Google users will stay with the old form. It has become Google’s signature. Bland can be cool too.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]google, home page, art, minimalism[/tag]

Avery Johnson: Fired

Most sports columnists had this story written earlier in the month. When the New Orleans Hornets started winning games from the Dallas Mavericks in the first playoff round, it was inevitable that Avery Johnson would be fired:

“DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks fired coach Avery Johnson on Wednesday, the first of what’s likely to be many offseason moves after the league’s highest payroll produced a second straight first-round knockout from the playoffs.”

link: Mavs, Johnson part ways after team’s playoff ouster

It should be remembered that, in 2006, Avery Johnson was the NBA’s Coach of the Year. - The NBA: Where Unemployment Happens!

Catherine

The Internet and the Next Wave

The BBC has an article where prominent people in the development of the internet look back and look ahead. For example, Sir Tim Berners- Lee says:

“…The future is always in the past and for the web particularly. In a hundred years, 15 years will seem to be just the infancy of the web, when the semantic web wasn’t even completely deployed.”

link: Luminaries look to the future web

What constantly strikes me is the tremendous need for people to connect to other people. Individuals may not know their next door neighbour but there is an online connection to someone many time zones away. Undoubtedly, the internet is such a powerful tool. However, it seems that it is also such a reflection of the human condition. My perception is biased though dealing with internet security issues. Nevertheless, it is disturbing that so many talented people use their skills and intellect for the sake of harming others. That there is some pathological satisfaction in doing harm online still bewilders me - constantly. It is harm for ‘harm’s sake’, not profit or financial gain. Were it not so in ‘the next wave’…

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]internet, the next wave, security, personal perception, pathology[/tag]

The NBA Should Apologize to The Phoenix Suns

During the 2007 NBA playoffs between the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs, Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for one game for leaving the bench. Steve Nash had been knocked down. Stoudemire and Diaw had stepped away from the bench area. Many argue that the one game suspension altered the course of that playoff series - and subsequently the NBA championship.

Now, in the 2008 playoffs, there is an incident between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks:

“…Williams and Celtics center Kendrick Perkins both admitted stepping onto the floor to see what was happening — a no-no in the NBA, especially with commissioner David Stern in the crowd. But they were not punished under the rule designed to keep incidents from escalating into bench-clearing brawls.

Said Perkins: “I didn’t realize it until I watched the tape.”"

link: Celtics, Hawks escape punishment for skirmish, leaving bench

For this 2008 incident, there are no fines; there are no suspensions. - The NBA owes the Phoenix Suns organization and fans a huge apology.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]nba, phoenix suns, steve nash, amare stoudemire, boris diaw, boston celtics, atlanta hawks, suspensions, apology[/tag]

Record Gas Profits

Every day the gas prices fluctuate. On occasion the price drops but the usual trend is upwards. For the oil companies, this means huge record profits:

“…Trouncing analysts’ expectations Tuesday, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s largest oil companies, delivered record profits for the first quarter of 2008. Anglo-Dutch firm Shell netted $7.78 billion in the first three months of this year, up 12% over the same period in 2007. Profits at rival BP, meanwhile, swelled by almost half to $6.59 billion. Shares in each firm climbed almost 5% on the news.”

link: BP and Shell Downplay Record Profits

The record prices - and the record profits - are hurting the economy. There will be a backlash. Consumers know why there are record profits. They see it with every trip to the gas pump. Truckers are approaching a thousand dollars ($1,000.00) to fill up. There will be a price to pay for the greed.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster

Annika Sorenstam: She’s Back

It seems like a long time since Annika Sorenstam won a golf tournament. Injuries and recovery have slowed her on the tour. However, she’s back:

“…Sorenstam’s par on the lone extra hole Sunday was good enough to beat Creamer and win the Stanford International Pro-Am, her 71st career victory on the LPGA Tour and one where she rallied from a one-shot deficit in the final two holes of regulation.”

link: Sorenstam stays calm in playoff

This is part of the process for Paula Creamer. She is an exceptional talent and learning how to win. The playoff cost was thousands of dollars to Ms Creamer. It is the price of tuition. The next playoff will be completely different for Ms Creamer.

Catherine

Windows XP and the LifeCycle Confusion

Steve Ballmer says one thing. And Microsoft appears to refute it in its next public statement. It leads to confusion and Microsoft customers are left wondering. Jared Proudfoot from the Microsoft lifecycle group attempts a clarification:

“…Windows XP will remain in what Microsoft calls “mainstream support” to April 14, 2009, and continue in “extended support” though April 8, 2014, said Proudfoot. The former delivers free fixes — for both security patches and other bug fixes — to everyone. During the latter, all users receive security updates, but non-security hotfixes are given only to companies who have signed support contracts with Microsoft.”

link: Microsoft: June 30 not end of Windows XP support

The obvious question is ‘why not make the non-security hotfixes universally available?’. That certainly would be the most customer friendly approach. If the concern is that everything must be done to nudge customers to Vista or the ‘next latest and greatest’ operating system, then let the quality of the product lead the way.

It may seem a bit ‘old fashioned’ to think that quality is profitable but it seems to work. It always has.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster

Self Deleting Text from Xerox

This is a ‘James Bond-ish moment’. The printed text is there and, later, it vanishes. Poof! It’s gone:

“…Scientists demonstrated paper that can be reused after printed text automatically deletes itself from the paper’s surface within 24 hours. Instead of trashing or recycling after one use, a single piece of paper can be used a second time, and reused up to 100 times, said Eric Shrader, area manager at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC).”

link: Xerox paper deletes text after 24 hours

The technology certain has implication for privacy and security, as well as saving paper by recycling. It’s just plain cool - and a perhaps a boon to those who do not want to make a long term commitment to an issue.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]privacy, security, recycling, xerox, the next wave[/tag]