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June 29, 2004
It's a slippery slope to evil marketing guy
I'm having some conflict with a 'guerilla marketing' person at work. She's a traditional marketing type and wants to collect all kinds of user information that I find invasive, like age/gender/income/occupation/etc. Marketers traditionally love this stuff.
Am I alone in objecting to surveying users for this kind of info? Personally I hate it when businesses ask for it and I think it hurts the long-term customer relationship. Breean thinks I'm just strange about privacy issues like this. Is that true?
Posted by sam at 07:32 PM
Registered Travel Program
Registered Traveler Program Takes Off [from /.]:
The designated checkpoint won't open in Minneapolis for a couple of weeks, and only travelers who consider it their home airport will be able to use it. In turn, Minneapolis passengers won't get special access at the other airports.When does this go national?
For the 90-day pilot period, the government is limiting participation to business flyers who are on the road at least once a week.
Posted by sam at 01:42 AM
June 28, 2004
Gmail
Breean won and got a gmail address before me. I signed up tonight though, for allnet@gmail.com.
This is really ingenious marketing by google. By making it 'invitation only' half the internet has been trying to get an account. People even paid real money for them on eBay.
I also signed up for Skype today. I've run out of cell phone minutes this month and every extra minute I use before 9 pm Pacific costs 40¢ each.
9 pm Pacific is of course midnight Eastern, way past Breean's bedtime. As the household telecom manager I need to investigate cheaper options. Skype is a free voice calling application that runs on your pc, supposedly the sound quality is better than normal telephones.
Posted by sam at 11:44 PM
June 27, 2004
Identity theft
I think someone is stealing my identity.
I woke up early Saturday morning when the credit card company called to verify a few suspicious charges. Most were mine or Breean's but there was one at an Oakland gas station on Friday. I didn't go near Oakland on Friday. Cancel the card.
Now I'm worried.
Posted by sam at 04:35 PM
June 25, 2004
Farenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11 is going to be huge. It's the most-requested movie on Moviefone.com right now and yesterday morning I heard Howard Stern plugging it. Even Fox News called it a "really brilliant piece of work.
It's trading at $53.82 on the Hollywood Stock Exchange right now, which predicts a weekend gross of $53.8m. It'll be interesting to see how close they are.
Sorry Disney, you missed out.
I haven't seen it and after reading this review for some perspective I probably won't.
Posted by sam at 04:13 PM
Bill Gates to blog
Bill Gates could join the ranks of bloggers [from scripting news]: "Bill Gates has a reputation for coming late to the party, then making a big splash when he arrives."
Posted by sam at 12:28 PM
June 23, 2004
And my job is not bad at all
Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep.
I think I miss school already.
Posted by sam at 11:57 AM
Low-carb diets
Low-Carb Fad Seen as Unhealthy and a Ripoff:
Popular low-carbohydrate diets are leading Americans to poor health and spawning a rip-off industry of "carb-friendly" products, health experts and consumer advocates said on Tuesday. They announced a new group, called the Partnership for Essential Nutrition, to help educate Americans about the need for healthy carbohydrates such as vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains.
Posted by sam at 10:54 AM
June 22, 2004
More Wal-Mart news
Wal-Mart Faces Class Action In Sex-Discrimination Case. Bad news for Wal-Mart, good news for Wal-Mart News:
A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that a gender-discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. could move forward as a class action, allowing the lawsuit to apply to as many as 1.6 million current and former female employees who worked for the company since Dec. 26, 1998.
The move makes the case the largest civil-rights action ever brought against a private employer in the U.S.
Posted by sam at 11:44 AM
June 18, 2004
Stolen from the LA Times
Posted by sam at 12:07 PM
June 16, 2004
Pistons Win
From the Blog Maverick, We now have all the answers... not. Got me to thinking... Did the Pistons do to basketball what Billy Beene and the A's did to baseball (read that book, btw)?
That is, rethink which player characteristics are truly necessary to win and buy those those players on the cheap from sucker teams. Their payroll this year is $52,942,639, or 14th in the league (Knicks are # 1 at $84.5m).
They don't have a single star on the team. Do they have a statistician on staff? I smell a Billy Beane...
Posted by sam at 01:05 PM
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to me! Meagan, you'd better make it out to Berkeley tonight.
I just heard on the radio that Tupac was born on June 16, 1971. Too cool.
Posted by sam at 10:09 AM
The two things
"The two things [from Marketing Playbook (which yes, I am reading)]: For every subject, there are really only two things you really need to know. Everything else is the application of those two things, or just not important."
Okay, here are the Two Things about economics. One: Incentives matter. Two: There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
...
The Two Things about Writing:...
- Write what you know.
- Be as short and simple as possible.
The Two Things about World Conquest:
- Divide and Conquer.
- Never invade Russia in the winter.
Posted by sam at 01:24 AM
June 15, 2004
Bono becomes a VC
Bono Brings Star Power To Silicon Valley Fund: "The 44-year-old rock star is joining Elevation Partners, a new Silicon Valley fund set up earlier this year by veteran technology investor Roger McNamee and John Riccitiello."
Huh? Does he have time for this between being a rock star and saving the world?
Posted by sam at 11:11 AM
June 14, 2004
Doctor Proposes Not Treating Some Lawyers
Doctor Proposes Not Treating Some Lawyers: "A doctor's proposal asking the American Medical Association to endorse refusing care to attorneys involved in medical malpractice cases drew an angry response from colleagues Sunday at the annual meeting of the nation's largest physicians group."
What was the problem?
Posted by sam at 04:49 PM
June 07, 2004
No more fixed-rate student loans
Proposal May End Fixed-Rate Student Loans:
Rates on federal student loans have fallen to around 3 percent — a 35-year low. Even better, students can lock in those rates, potentially saving thousands of dollars by ensuring their payments won't increase even if interest rates do.
But a proposal in Congress could shut down the party. The measure would end the fixed-rate option, making all federal student loans issued after July 2006 subject to variable rates. Repayments would then rise and fall each year in sync with interest rates.
NOOOOoooooooooooooooo!
Posted by sam at 05:12 PM
World Series of Poker
I watched some of The World Series of Poker on ESPN tonight. You'd be surprised but it makes for great tv.
Posted by sam at 01:22 AM
June 06, 2004
Business schools
But can you teach it?: "No form of education is more commercialised than management education. But are business schools teaching the right things?" [from bubblegeneration]
(Some business schools have) launched new courses that encourage students to learn to collaborate with each other and work in teams; they offer executive coaching rather than just lecturing; they create ambitious new courses in leadership. All are attempts to bridge the gap between the academic classroom on the one hand and the more practical, hands-dirty approach of commercial management development.
Posted by sam at 09:53 PM
June 04, 2004
Enron
Enron traders gloating about screwing California
Posted by sam at 12:48 PM
June 03, 2004
CU in the news
"Enuf is enuf:" Spelling-bee protesters 'thru with through':
Members of the American Literacy Society picketed the 77th annual spelling bee, which is sponsored every year by Cincinnati-based Scripps Howard.
The protesters' complaints: English spelling is illogical, and the national spelling bee only reinforces the crazy spellings that they say contribute to dyslexia, high illiteracy and harder lives for immigrants.
"We advocate the modernization of English spelling," said Pete Boardman, 58, of Groton, N.Y. The Cornell University bus driver admitted to being a terrible speller.
Posted by sam at 01:42 PM
June 02, 2004
Trying to fit in
I rode my skateboard today for the first time in oh ten years. Just wanted to have a look see around the neighborhood.
Telegraph is an easy downhill from the apartment. I made it there (and to Whole Foods!) in about two minutes.
I think my high school friend Kam lived on Telegraph close to here but I couldn't find his place.
Posted by sam at 11:14 PM
Expensive weddings
WSJ.com: Four Weddings and an Empty Wallet: "For Young Adults, Friends' Nuptials Can Increase Expenses, Sap Budgets". Yeah, sorry about that.
Posted by sam at 12:29 AM
June 01, 2004
Historians vs. GWB
Historians vs. George W. Bush [from Scripting News]. I don't care what the score is, I'd say GWB is winning by a large margin.
Posted by sam at 06:27 PM