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March 31, 2003
I'm feeling sick. I've got
I'm feeling sick. I've got a horrible sore throat and I hardly slept last night. This is no fun.
Posted by sam at 07:59 PM
Dave Barry may have been
Dave Barry may have been in Orland at the same time I was. Wonder where he stayed.
Cornell reaches Frozen Four in dramatic fashion. Cornell advances to the final four of NCAA men's hockey.
Posted by sam at 12:05 AM
March 28, 2003
SAP Rolls Out Small Business
SAP Rolls Out Small Business Apps:
Small and mid-sized businesses looking to automate office functions got another option to evaluate as SAP AG on Thursday introduced its Business One software suite in the United States.Business One is already in use by 1,300 customers in Europe. I'm curious to see how it will sell here.
Posted by sam at 08:31 PM
Turns out I had good
Turns out I had good reason to be scared of the food at the Disney Coronado Springs. Not that it made anyone sick, just that it was really, really bad. This resort is a $15 taxi ride away from anything else so we were stuck with the two on-site restaurants. I decided that Disney's strategy is to keep the kids happy at all costs and not spend any effort on parents.
My other complaint is that the resort gym is "membership based", meaning it costs $15 per day or $25 for your entire stay. For $15 I expect a huge gym with a full spa and a masseuse. Three treadmills, a few machines and some dumbells were all I got.
On Wednesday morning I was scheduled to co-present on web services at SAP. 15 minutes before the start time my laptop croaked. First it crashed and I had to do a hard shutdown. Then it absolutely refused to start back up. Fortunately they had a spare laptop ready with our presentation available, I just couldn't do the online demos we had planned.
Posted by sam at 08:04 PM
March 24, 2003
On CNN Headline News this
On CNN Headline News this afternoon they asked what I thought was a very odd question: "Are reports from embedded journalists detrimental to the war effort?" The question was based on the assumption that these journalists provide an "inside scoop" into coalition troops. CNN wonders if these reporters somehow provide too much information, possibly giving Iraq additional insight into U.S. military strategy.
Posted by sam at 02:24 PM
March 23, 2003
Critics Blast Cuban Crackdown: "Cuba's
Critics Blast Cuban Crackdown: "Cuba's move to arrest more than 70 dissidents this week was timed to coincide with the focus of worldwide media attention on the Iraq conflict, U.S. government and media watchdog groups charged Friday." The government issued a statement accusing the detainees of being traitors and paid agents of the U.S. government.
Posted by sam at 12:56 PM
FYI, United now has
 |
FYI, United now has a 50 lb. limit on checked baggage. Anything over that limit will cost an extra $25. Supposedly the old 70 lb. limit still applies on international flights. If this is meant to get UAL out of bankruptcy, good luck. Fortunately I came in at 48.5 lbs. SFO has finally installed wireless internet access points throughout the United terminal. The cost is 10 cents per minute with a minimum of 60 minutes. Unlimited use plans are also available at $29/month with a 12-month commitment and $39/month without any commitment. I didn't have time to try it out. |
Posted by sam at 11:50 AM
March 22, 2003
Maybe Bush really does have an economic plan
Gotta go catch my flight to Orlando.
Dow's Week Is The Best in 20 Years. Dow gained 8.4%, the S&P 500 7.5%. As a Vanguard 500 shareholder I can't complain. But this still seems a more than a little twisted to me.
Posted by sam at 11:56 AM
Hopefully we won't have any meetings on the teacups
I'm flying to Orlando tomorrow today for the SAP BW and Portals conference. Trust me when I say that I know as much about BW and Portals as you, dear readers, are likely to know. Yet somehow I'm on the hook for two presentations.
The last estimates I heard were that around 1,500 people are signed up and only 10-20 had canceled due to current events. With 5-8 sessions per time slot we're looking at 200-300 people per session. The largest audience I've spoken to is about 80 people. This will definitely be an experience.
I'm staying at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort, which is proudly "themed to regions of Mexico and the American Southwest." Never mind my feelings about Disney - should I be scared to eat the food?
Posted by sam at 04:22 AM
March 21, 2003
1,400 protestors arrested in SF.
1,400 protestors arrested in SF. Cost to the city was $500,000 in police overtime.
Posted by sam at 11:52 AM
March 20, 2003
Daer Raed is the weblog
Daer Raed is the weblog of a young man in Baghdad. [from Scripting News]
Posted by sam at 11:45 AM
March 19, 2003
Scott Rosenberg: "we have a
Scott Rosenberg: "we have a leader who behaves like he has the Mandate of Heaven."
Sending 'Liberal Media' Truism to the Fact-Checker. NYT book review of "What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News" by Eric Alterman
Spy Devices Found at European Headquarters. They still don't know where the devices came from.
Posted by sam at 05:56 PM
Is the Bush doctrine the
Is the Bush doctrine the right doctrine?:
In a few hours we are going to see the second major test of the Bush doctrine as we invade Iraq. Its first test (a vote in favor of war in Iraq by the UN) failed miserably. Amazingly, most people don't even know about the Bush doctrine and what it entails.
This is something I want to see from the administration. The world has yet to see a clear outline of the long term Bush strategy. If we're expected to blindly support the administration on the assumption that they know more than we do (and this seems to be the message from the White House), I think we at least deserve to see the strategy.
My guess is that most of the country would not like what they saw.
Posted by sam at 03:09 PM
March 16, 2003
Male sweat brightens women's moods:
Male sweat brightens women's moods: "Biologists said they found male perspiration had a surprisingly beneficial effect on women's moods."
Posted by sam at 11:56 PM
Leaders Declare That Diplomatic Effort
Leaders Declare That Diplomatic Effort at U.N. Ends on Monday:
President Bush and the leaders of Britain and Spain issued an ultimatum to the United Nations Security Council today, declaring that the diplomatic effort to win support for disarming Iraq would end on Monday. They made it clear that they were ready to start a war to depose Saddam Hussein, with or without the endorsement of the United Nations.
...
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell openly suggested that the French government had been influenced by its long history of "commercial relationships" with Iraq, and that in the short term, the American-French relationship had been damaged.
Posted by sam at 11:43 PM
Fish Talks, Town Buzzes: A
A 20-pound carp about to be slaughtered and made into gefilte fish for Sabbath dinner began speaking in Hebrew, shouting apocalyptic warnings and claiming to be the troubled soul of a revered community elder who recently died.
Posted by sam at 10:49 PM
March 15, 2003
Doctored R?sum?s, Poisoned Applicants: "Berkeley's
Doctored R?sum?s, Poisoned Applicants: "Berkeley's Haas School of Business has had to rescind invitations to some newly admitted students due to lies about their job history"
No wonder I still haven't heard back from Berkeley - they're still trying to track down all the bankrupt dot-coms I worked for.
Posted by sam at 04:13 PM
Feel-Good Story Ends Unhappily for
Feel-Good Story Ends Unhappily for U.C.L.A. Bruins lose 75-74 to Oregon in the Pac-10 semis. Sorry Van Anh! Dude, where's UCSD?
Posted by sam at 03:10 AM
March 14, 2003
The Pentagon's New Map: It
The Pentagon's New Map: It Explains Why We're Going to War, and Why We'll Keep Going to War
Show me where globalization is thick with network connectivity, financial transactions, liberal media flows, and collective security, and I will show you regions featuring stable governments, rising standards of living, and more deaths by suicide than murder. These parts of the world I call the Functioning Core, or Core. But show me where globalization is thinning or just plain absent, and I will show you regions plagued by politically repressive regimes, widespread poverty and disease, routine mass murder, and - most important - the chronic conflicts that incubate the next generation of global terrorists. These parts of the world I call the Non-Integrating Gap, or Gap.
Posted by sam at 01:50 PM
CivilCity.org: a "constructive way to
CivilCity.org: a "constructive way to confront rude strangers without creating further conflict." [NYT]
Posted by sam at 12:59 PM
March 13, 2003
Breean is getting me hooked
Breean is getting me hooked on CSI.
Posted by sam at 09:11 PM
Update: SAP confirms rumors, Kagermann
Update: SAP confirms rumors, Kagermann to become sole CEO.
SAP CEO Plattner to step down. We've seen rumors of this several times in the last few months and SAP always denied them. He's been in charge of the company for 30 years. I hope this doesn't hurt our stock too much.
The big question now is who will replace Plattner. There's one obvious answer but he's young (would piss off other board members) and not even German. But in my time at SAP I've never seen Shai Agassi lose a single battle. Then there's the safe answer, Henning Kagermann. But he's almost as old as Hasso and not as comfortable with the press and analysts.
Posted by sam at 11:27 AM
whatever
So later, I'm at the poolhall
And this girl comes up and she's all like, awww,
And I'm like, yeah, WHATEVAH!
Cuz this is my United States of Whatever
And this is my United States of Whatever
And this is my United States of Whatever
Posted by sam at 01:05 AM
March 11, 2003
Good news: Cornell asked for
Good news: Cornell asked for an interview. Bad news: it's in Ithaca, NY. Not sure when I'll make it out there. Okay, there is no bad news. I can do an alumni interview out here. Still no word from Berkeley.
Posted by sam at 05:49 PM
March 07, 2003
> A while back,
> A while back, in preparation for the Earth Summit that was hosted by > South Africa, the UN conducted a world-wide survey. The only question > asked was as follows: > > "Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food > shortage in the rest of the world?" The survey was a huge failure... > In Africa, they didn't know what "food" meant. > In Eastern Europe, they didn't know what "honest" meant. > In Western Europe, they didn't know what "shortage" meant. > In China, they didn't know what "opinion" meant. > In the Middle East, they didn't know what "solutions" meant. > In South America, they didn't know what "please" meant. > And in the USA, they didn't know what "the rest of the world" meant.
Posted by sam at 02:00 PM
Recap of Bush's press conference
Recap of Bush's press conference last night. We're on track to alienate every major ally we have. Clearly this can't be a sustainable strategy.
Posted by sam at 12:52 PM
Poll Shows Bush Would Lose
Poll Shows Bush Would Lose to Democrat in Election So what? He lost the first time around also.
Clinton, Dole to Debate on '60 Minutes'
Former President Bill Clinton and his 1996 election opponent Bob Dole will debate the wisdom of a tax cut in wartime as "60 Minutes" revives its old "Point-Counterpoint" feature for them on Sunday.
The two retired politicians have agreed to 10 mini-debates over the next few months.
Posted by sam at 12:10 PM
March 06, 2003
After I received a strange
After I received a strange email from Cornell today ("You can visit the below web address at any time to check the status of your application") I checked the status of my application.
The status says incomplete because they have not yet received my official GMAT results. They have my self-reported results though, and their instructions say:
Offers of admission are not binding until official test results are verified.What do you think? Does it mean anything? I can't imagine they would ask for my official scores just to shoot me down.
Hopefully they don't just want me to solve all the technical problems they've had lately.
Posted by sam at 11:34 PM
March 04, 2003
Nicholas Kristof has an NYT
Nicholas Kristof has an NYT column today on the rise of Evangelical Christianity in America:
President Bush has said that he doesn't believe in evolution (he thinks the jury is still out). President Ronald Reagan felt the same way, and such views are typically American. A new Gallup poll shows that 48 percent of Americans believe in creationism, and only 28 percent in evolution (most of the rest aren't sure or lean toward creationism). According to recent Gallup Tuesday briefings, Americans are more than twice as likely to believe in the devil (68 percent) as in evolution.
Posted by sam at 10:55 AM
March 03, 2003
Everybody wants to know how this differs from her official version
It was interesting to read a journalist's unofficial take on the World Economic Forum:
- I was in a dinner with heads of Saudi and German FBI, plus the foreign minister of Afghanistan. They all said that at its peak Al Qaeda had 70,000 members. Only 10% of them were trained in terrorism -- the rest were military recruits. Of that 7000, they say all but about 200 are dead or in jail.
- But Al Qaeda, they say, is like a brand which has been heavily franchised. And nobody knows how many unofficial franchises have been spawned since 9/11.
- The global economy is in very very very very bad shape. Last year when WEF met here in New York all I heard was, "Yeah, it's bad, but recovery is right around the corner".
- Not surprisingly, the business community was in no mood to hear about a war in Iraq.
Posted by sam at 08:29 PM
Blair on Climate Change
Tony Blair gave a significant speech yesterday on sustainable development. May (sic) analysts have pointed out that his fine words have not been adequately reinforced by the energy white paper that was also released yesterday.
"It is clear Kyoto is not radical enough. But it is at the moment the most that is politically achievable. And even the Kyoto targets have proved controversial with some countries, notably America. Many see it as a threat to the pursuit of economic growth. I believe this needn't be the case. If we harness new technology the evidence is mounting that we can achieve a target of 60% -- and at reasonable cost." [Davos Newbies]
Posted by sam at 08:20 PM
Advisors tell Bush climate plan
Advisors tell Bush climate plan is useless:
George Bush's strategy on global warming suffered a setback yesterday when a panel of scientists convened at the request of the White House condemned it as lacking vision, and wasting time and money on research questions that were resolved years ago...
The 17 environmental experts, assembled by the National Academy of Sciences at the president's request, said in their report that the president's strategy "lacks most of the basic elements of a strategic plan: a guiding vision, executable goals, clear timetables and criteria for measuring progress", and misses the opportunity to cooperate more with other countries on research.
Posted by sam at 07:21 PM