October 29, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-29
 Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 28, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-28
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 27, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-27
- C-Mon And Kypski - SHITTY BUM
( Music Video EyeCandy )
- Wired News Design Documentation
( Documentation WebDev WaSP XHTML CSS PM )
- Bullet Madness: Bullet madness is a list of 200 bullets, arrows and icons uploaded by our users.
( Images Icons Bullets WebDev )
- Thousands of Florida ballots missing?: “It’s highly unlikely that 58,000 pieces of mail just disappeared,” he said. “We’re looking for it, we’re trying to find it if in fact it was ever delivered to the postal service.”
( Fl. Campaign04 Voting )
- Political Design: Graphic Artists Urge Voter Turnout: AIGA asked designers to create original posters encouraging voter turnout. Artists from all over the country submitted more than 200 posters.
( Art Design Campaign04 Voting radio_NPR )
- Allawi Accuses Foreign Troops Of Negligence In Massacre: "A terrible crime was committed in which a large number of the ING were martyred," Allawi said. "We think this shows, in addition to gross negligence on the side of some of the multinational forces, it shows the kind of insistence to hurt Iraq and its peo
( Iraq Military Terrorism people_Allawi )
- Rise of drug trade threat to Afghanistan's security: Top counternarcotics man at the US Embassy, says the industry is "financing terrorism. It's financing subversive activities. It's financing warlordism. ... And if it's a threat to the government of Afghanistan, it's a direct threat to the national securit
( Terrorism AF Drugs )
- Allerca | The Hypo-Allergenic Cat: ALLERCA is working to produce the world's first hypoallergenic cats. These cats will allow some of the millions of people allergic to cats to enjoy the love and companionship of a household pet without suffering from allergy symptoms.
( Cats Genetics Science )
- Mosley meets Wilcox: a creative collaboration design consultancy design commissions furniture design packaging design lighting web design
( Design Art Furnishings Innovative )
- RedStart Design: The Subtle Safety Defensive Ring: Orange whistles are garish and weapons can easily be turned against you. Subtle Safety jewelry is worn and available right where you need it.
( Weapon PersonalSafety Jewelry )
- project concentrated on the development of a hardware/software interface for controlling musical events on a computer using a set of disk-jockey turntables and paper ‘records’ that can be printed or drawn.: These records contain visual markings representing information for synthesis and/or sequencing of music, which is read by a plug-in cartridge (aka spinal cat) for the turntable tonearm. The cartridge then communicates with a host computer via MIDI.
( Music Innovative Gadgets )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 26, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-26
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 25, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-25
- JohnKerryIsADoucheBag ButImVotingForHimAnyway.com: Why it's crucial that you, I, and everyone cast a vote for Kerry this fall... NO MATTER WHAT
( Amusing Campaign04 people_Kerry people_Bush )
- Outlays for Discretionary Programs: in Constant (FY 2000) Dollars: 1962–2009 (Excel Spreadsheet)
( dept_OMB people_Bush Deficit Debt Reference Government )
- Leading indicators down for fourth month: while the weakness in the economy has become more widespread over the last several months, the declines in the indicator are not yet large enough nor have they lasted long enough to suggest that the current economic expansion is ending.
( Economy Jobs Reference )
- Bush's Spending Lie - It's one thing to lie to Democrats, another to lie to your comrades. Bush on Meet the Press:: "If you look at the appropriations bills that were passed under my watch, in the last year of President Clinton, discretionary spending was up 15 percent, and ours have steadily declined."
( people_Bush Deficit Liars Government Op-Ed )
- Why This Bush Lie? Part 1 - It wasn't his first.: dissecting the lies uttered by or on behalf of President Bush. Or rather, for dissecting one lie: Bush's assertion, in this year's State of the Union address, that Saddam had "recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
( people_Bush Liars Iraq Deficit )
- Oops. I Told the Truth: Good jobs are being outsourced to them not simply because they'll work for less, but because they are better educated in the math and science skills required for 21st-century work.
( Education Kids Outsourcing Op-Ed )
- German <-> English 'pillow talk' translation
( Amusing Dictionary Sex Images )
- Bush Pre-senile Dementia Video: "a striking decline in his sentence-by-sentence speaking skills." The reason? One doctor says "pre-senile dementia" a catch-all term for earlier-than-normal cognitive declines (probably "dry-drunk syndrome").
( people_Bush Video Alcholism Cognative )
- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: a thoroughly enchanting story of the early 19th century when Gilbert Norrell tried to bring "practical magic" back to England.
( Books *ToRead Magic History )
- Microsoft's Worst Nightmare, FireFox: Firefox's open platform gives it enormous potential to hatch a new class of applications that live on the desktop but do business on the Web.
( Op-Ed FireFox WebDev )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 23, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-23
- Economics Reporting Review: 4/12-17: The key feature of the 1986 tax reform was that all income, whether from wages, interest, capital gains or dividends, would be taxed at exactly the same rate.: This eliminates the incentive to hide certain types of income. By contrast, the key feature of the President's proposal is eliminate the tax on dividends on stock held outside of retirement accounts, while leaving the tax rate on other types of income una
( Economics Taxes Economy people_Bush )
- Krugman’s Criminal Masterminds: Is it more than a bit of a reach to claim that the real objectives of conservatives and their tax cuts are poverty, illness, and ignorance?
( people_Krugman people_Norquist Taxes GDP dept_CBO people_Bush Economy Economics )
- An Analysis of the President's Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 2004: CBO estimates that under the President's proposals, the deficit in 2003 and 2004 would rise to $287 billion and $338 billion, respectively
( Economy GDP Debt Deficit Report people_Bush )
- Iraq deaths before Saddam: The Documental Centre for Human Rights in Iraq has compiled documentation on over 600,000 civilian executions in Iraq. Human Rights Watch reports that in one operation alone, the Anfal, Saddam killed 100,000 Kurdish Iraqis
( Iraq HumanRights )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 22, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-22
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 21, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-21
- The French vs. the Saudis - Who's worse?: American voters face a dreadful choice on Nov. 2: France or Saudi Arabia?
( Campaign04 Amusing people_Bush people_Kerry FR SA )
- Poisons, Begone! - The dubious science behind the Scientologists' detoxification program for 9/11 rescue workers.: to "flush" poisons from the body's fat stores using an intensive regimen of jogging, oil ingestion, sauna, and high doses of vitamins, particularly niacin. Funded largely by private donations—most notably from celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise
( Scientology MedSci 9/11 )
- Bush's Tax Cuts Are Unfair ... - To the rich.: Thanks to the president, the tax code is more progressive now than it's been in recent memory, and that's a hard sort of change to undo. We got where we are by cutting taxes mostly for the poor and the middle class
( people_Bush Taxes Reference Economics )
- Rice Hitting the Road to Speak: "Rice sounded at times like a candidate" as she received "rousing ovations" in defending the administration's handling of the war on terrorism.
( Politics people_Rice Campaign04 )
- Disruptive Pattern Material: spent 6 years researching the world of camouflage. DPM is a compilation of that research and includes over 5,000 images of military, fashion and nature organized by historical and geographic application
( Books Design Camouflage )
- *bling bling* - Chrome'd BMW
( Autos Image co_BMW Amusing )
- $87,000,000,000.00: $87 billion is an impossibly high number for anyone to visualize. Let's have a look....
( people_Bush Economics Reference EyeCandy Iraq )
- Scientists slash estimated number of human genes: The new estimate is 20-25,000 genes, a drop from the 30-40,000. But the complexity of the human body arises from more than just its genetic parts list, experts said.
( Genetics Science )
- Mambo: Open Source Content Management Systems
( PHP Scripts CMS )
- Watch This Wednesday: the Linux Watch: Starting in 2000 IBM started showing a Linux watch to showcase how great Linux is and where it can run.
( TimePieces Linux co_IBM )
- Hacker hits California-Berkeley computer: computer hacker accessed names and Social Security numbers of about 1.4 million Californians after breaking into a University of California, Berkeley, computer system
( edu_UCB dept_FBI Intrusion Ca. law_SB1386 )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 20, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-20
- Negotiate the best price for a used car: Every used car has several "prices," depending on who is doing the buying and selling.
( Autos Negotiating Tutorials )
- Negotiating car prices: To get the best price for a car, you have to be prepared to negotiate. The most effective technique is to start with the dealer's cost and bargain slowly up from there, rather than starting with the asking price and trying to hammer that downwards.
( Autos Negotiating Tutorials )
- Nevada - Can Kerry beat the odds?: So, who'll win? Were I a betting man, I'd bet on Bush. Default goes to the GOP here, and Kerry will need massive Clark County turnout to score an upset. But real hope still exists for Kerry.
( people_Kerry Nv. Campaign04 )
- Explaining Today's Papers: Readers have requested explanations of some of the terms used in Slate's "Today's Papers" column. Here is a brief glossary.
( Journalism Reference Tutorials )
- Is The "Top 10" Plan Unfair?: "I just hope that they will try to make a decision in a way that it won't discourage kids in high school to not even try," says Torres. She believes that the best effect of the Top 10 plan is that it has "raised the sights" of students all over Texas.
( Education Kids Law Schools Tx. tv_60Minutes )
- The Genius Of Ray Charles: "only time he ever appeared to have a handicap was when a beautiful woman was in the room," says Jones. "Then he started walking into walls. ‘Can I help you Mr. Charles?’ mimics Jones. "He'd get real blind when the pretty girls were around."
( Drugs Music people_QuincyJones people_RayCharles tv_60Minutes )
- A Deal With The Devil?: worried about him getting out? "Absolutely. He has admitted to killing again if he was to get out. And I believe he will," says Aguilar. "I can still remember when I had to ID him, just the way he looked at me: 'You just wait when I get out.' All I rememb
( TV_60Minutes Crime Murder Legal Tx. Mi. )
- The No Skin Zone - Bill O'Reilly's obsession with porn.: When he gets to talking dirty on the air, it's usually in the name of protecting America's youth from "corrupting influences." He says he wants to make sure American parents know how to defend against smut. Yet the topic of porn is a regular tease for his
( people_O'Reilly Sex Porn Hypocrites )
- Nowhere To Run - Why Mac programs don't work on your PC, and why they will soon.: a generation from now, people will not tolerate incompatible breeds of digital devices, any more than we'd accept a Sprint phone not talking to an AT&T one. Java, or another run-anywhere lang, will most likely become the lingua franca of the world's gadge
( Java co_Microsoft Op-Ed Programming )
- Why Wall Street Hates the "S" Word - The real reason there are so few "sell" ratings.: A recent study, in fact, found that "peer effects" were the most important factor in shaping analyst ratings on Nasdaq stocks from 1998-2003. (The same study found that the impact of the banking conflict was not statistically significant.)
( Investing Op-Ed Economics )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 19, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-19
- major design flaw in XP file search: There is a bit of a gotcha! in Windows XP when you do a file search. XP normally only includes registered file types when searching for files and folders.
( ms_WinXP Win32 Tutorials )
- Photoshop Girl: Neat photoshop progression image...
( Art Innovative EyeCandy Image )
- Fact Check: Kerry Goes Beyond Some of Bush Positions: Senator John Kerry has begun criticizing President Bush on Social Security and the draft in a manner that reaches far beyond Mr. Bush's positions.
( Liars people_Bush people_Kerry Campaign04 )
- The Rumsfeld Doctrine: 'Just enough troops to lose': start honestly reassessing what is the maximum we can still achieve there and what every American is going to have to do to make it happen. If we do not, we'll end up not only with a fractured Iraq, but with a fractured America, at war with itself and iso
( people_Bush people_Kerry Iraq people_Rumsfled Op-Ed )
- Schwarzenegger Says Pro-Bush Speech Irked His Wife: speech backing Bush at the RNCresulted in a cold shoulder from his wife." Well, there was no sex for 14 days," Schwarzenegger told former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta in an on-stage conversation in front of 1,000 people.
( people_Schwarzenegger people_Bush people_MariaShriver Campaign04 Sex Amusing )
- Car buyers still shrug off fuel efficiency: Kelley's September survey also found only a minority of those in its own survey ready to "strongly consider" a more fuel-efficient vehicle in the face of higher gas prices.
( Autos Consumers Survey Environment )
- How-To: Make your own photo mosaics: This week’s How-To shows how to take just about any ordinary image you’ve taken with your digital camera (or from the web) and make a photo mosaic.
( Photography Tutorials )
- Starship size comparison chart
( Reference SciFi movie_StarWars movie_StarTrek )
- Outsourcing the Vote - Who the world wants to elect. Thousands of Britons have written, but if the sampling of replies is representative of how citizens of Clark County, the effort may backfire.: One American Democrat summed it up, writing, "Nothing will do more to undermine the Democratic cause in Ohio than having patronizing Brits wander around Clark County telling people how to vote."
( people_Bush Campaign04 UK )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 18, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-18
- Bush Royal Rampage: Flash game, Bush protects the Queen, er?
( Amusing Flash Games people_Bush )
- Galactic Debate: Flash cartoon of Star Wars themed debate
( people_Kerry people_Bush Debate Campaign04 Amusing Flash )
- Mike Ramsay, CEO of TiVo: cornered TiVO CEO Mike Ramsay in a hallway at the Web 2.0 conference, where the head of the pioneering digital video recorder company talked about TiVo DVD recorders, government meddling in new technologies, and what the future of television holds
( co_TiVo DVR Television Government dept_FCC MediaCenter )
- iPodMods is the iPod repair, Parts and modifications Headquarters!
( iPod CaseMods RepairService )
- Open: Open Source Project Management for Windows: Niku, he concedes, wants it all: Those who will use Open Workbench as a standalone tool and those who will want to use it as part of Clarity.
( PM Opensource Software Win32 )
- Open: Anatomy of FreeBSD: Salus goes on to recommend it to anyone running any version of UNIX or Linux, even if they don't run FreeBSD. He also notes that this is especially true if you're running OS X, since FreeBSD is at the heart of Apple's core
( FreeBSD Opensource Books )
- Stage Beauty (2004): Set in the 1660's at a time when in live theatre women's roles were played by men, Crudup is England's most celebrated leading lady. But when Charles II is tired of seeing the same old performers, the ruler allows real women to play women's parts.
( *ToWatch Cinema Theatre History )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 17, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-17
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 16, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-16
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 15, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-15
- Voter Fraud Allegations Headed to Court, additional employee comes forward: She says her supervisors told employees what they should do with any registrations they received from Dems, "Just do whatever you want to with it. Dispose of it or bring it back here and we will dispose of it"
( Voting Campaign04 Fraud RNC )
- On Patrol: Finding Only Shadows in Hunt for Insurgents: of the hundreds of homes here and in a neighboring town, Mulla Fayyad, most were empty when the soldiers descended at dusk and began an overnight search, house by house, for insurgents and their weaponry.
( Iraq Military Mystery )
- Bush enjoys travel advantage on taxpayer-financed Air Force One: of the more than $203 million Bush has raised for his re-election, less than 1% has gone to reimbursing the government for travel costs this year.
( people_Bush Campaign04 Travel CampaignFinance )
- The Toilet Online - Leave It To Bush!
( Amusing Flash Video people_Bush people_Busey )
- Webcamplaza.net: Live Streaming Webcam portal with hundreds of live Webcams online
( WebCam Photography )
- Making of a Brick: How legos are made.
( Legos Reference )
- Voyager record: About the Voyager spacecraft and the 'golden record'
( AeroSpace Space Voyager dept_Nasa History )
- Senator McCain shows spine on IP; defends controlling your own TV/DVR: Americans have been recording TV shows and fast-forwarding through commercials for more than thirty years. Do we really expect to throw people in jail in 2004 for behavior they've been engaged in for more than a quarter century?
( ConsumerRights Law people_McCain )
- JazzMutant: LEMUR is provided with an extensible library of User Interface Objects such as faders, switchs, pads, keyboards, strings, etc. A software editor (Windows, Mac OSX, Linux) allows the user to build easily his own interfaces by dragging and dropping objects
( Music Design HCI Inventive )
- Retropod: Shut Down by Sony: The RetroPod was a handmade iPod case created from a vintage Sony Sports Walkman shell. It was big, heavy, and yellow, and only mostly waterproof.
( iPod Amusing co_Sony Retro )
- Waterless dishwasher scoops the pool: Rockpool: a washing system that uses pressurised carbon dioxide. This process creates a supercritical fluid that acts as a powerful solvent, cutting the grease on plates and cutlery.
( Design House Environment Inventive )
- FDA Approves RFID Tags For Humans: The 134.2-KHz RFID chips could save lives and possibly limit injuries from errors in medical treatments
( dept_FDA RFID MedSci )
- Skinning Gmail with a Custom Stylesheet
( FireFox Hack CSS WaSP Gmail )
- Extension Room :: URIid: Apply User Stylesheet (CSS) rules on a site-by-site basis.
( FireFox Extensions Mozilla )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 14, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-14
- The Bush Record Series: Bush, more than any other president in memory, has been consistent in his commitment to a fiscal policy of tax cuts and higher spending.
( Amusing people_Bush Op-Ed )
- National Journal: When A Rating Becomes A Talking Point: It didn't take long after the ratings were published in February for Republicans and talking heads to start using Kerry's rating as a weapon against him. The shorthand used to describe our ratings of Kerry and Edwards is sometimes misleading -- or just pl
( Liars people_Kerry people_Edwards people_Cheney people_Bush Campaign04 Politics )
- Bush Still Fudging the Numbers on Kerry's Tax Votes: Ad claims Kerry cast "98 votes" to raise taxes, but the total is misleading. Counts non-legislative resolutions and doubles up votes mulitple times (on same bills).
( Taxes people_Bush people_Kerry Liars )
- Michael Young, RIP, British sociologist - coined the term "meritocracy" (pejorative-ly): 1958 satire, The Rise of the Meritocracy, offered an prescient critique of how the cult of IQ measurement would create a smug ruling class and a demoralized lower class, died at 86.
( Author people_MichaelYoung Sociology Books )
- The Rise of the Meritocracy
( *ToRead Books people_MichaelYoung )
- Federal Taxing and Spending Benefit Some States, Leave Others Footing the Bill: Fiscal Years 1994-2003: Adjusted federal expenditures per dollar of taxes over time by state
( Taxes Reference State )
- Fiscal Facts - This release updates the Tax Foundation's annual analysis of federal taxing and spending: patterns w/ the most current tax data available from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
( Taxes Reference State )
- Lay Off Massachusetts - George W. Bush doesn't get to choose which United States he's president of. By Timothy?Noah: Mr. President. When you took the oath of office, you swore to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of all 50 United States, not just the ones that voted for you. We fought a war about this, and the secessionists lost.
( Op-Ed people_Bush Liberals Amusing Ma. Taxes )
- Bush's Big Mistake - ""I truly am not that concerned about him.": Kerry talks about hunting down the terrorists where they live. To Bush, that's not good enough. The subtext of the initial exchange was more illuminating than the entire first debate.
( Campaign04 Debate Terrorism people_Bush people_Kerry Op-Ed )
- OneLook Reverse Dictionary: reverse dictionary lets you describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept. Your description can be a few words, a sentence, a question, or even just a single word
( Reference English Innovative )
- First Look: OQO Handheld PC Fails to Excite: I wanted to like the Model 01. I like the idea of a handheld PC, and I'd certainly be willing to sacrifice some comfort and performance to have one. Unfortunately, OQO's first offering requires giving up dramatically more of each than I'm willing to surre
( Hardware co_OQO Reviews )
- Sex and the walking sleeper: By day, she was a respectable, middle-aged woman who lived with a steady partner. By night, she crept out of their house to seek random sex with strangers.
( Psychology Sex Sleep Weird )
- The backlash against homeowners' groups: a law review commission looking at homeowners' associations is expected to make a sweeping recommendation: that the state create an agency to regulate them.
( Law HOA Ca. Government )
- Open-source Web tools company nets VC funding: Laszlo received $5M in venture funding to pursue its products for constructing sophisticated Web pages. ...released its product as open-source under the Common Public License.
( Venture co_Laszlo WebDev WebApp )
- How To Watch Tonight's Debate - Which of them will do a better job cleaning up the fiscal mess left by Bush?: Identify which candidate recognizes that there even is a mess. Come to think of it, that's not a bad method for sizing up the foreign-policy part of this job, either.
( people_Bush people_Kerry Debate Economy Campaign04 Iraq )
- Mobile phone use and acoustic neuroma: 10 or more years of mobile phone use increase the risk of acoustic neuroma and that the risk increase was confined to the side of the head where the phone was usually held.
( Health MedSci Research Telephone )
- Senate Wants Database Dragnet: To prevent abuses the system will use anonymized technology, graduated permissions & automated auditing, hunting for abuses. "A lot of us were very uncomfortable about data sharing," Farber said. "But all of us at the end felt confident that if recommenda
( Law Privacy DataMining CivilLiberties dept_FBI dept_CIA Terrorism )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 13, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-13
- Why conservatives must not vote for Bush: Sullivan observes: "To have humiliated the United States by presenting false and misleading intelligence and then to have allowed something like Abu Ghraib to happen ... is unforgivable. By refusing to hold anyone accountable, the president has also shown
( people_Bush Iraq Leadership Conservatives Campaign04 people_Kerry )
- Hoodwinked - Why is Florida's voting system so corrupt?: Gallup polls taken yearly since 2000: roughly 50% of Americans believe that the election of Bush was either "won on a technicality" or "stolen." Only 34 percent are "very confident" that the vote will be counted accurately in Nov.
( Voting Blacks Fl. Campaign04 people_JebBush )
- Pushing to Be Counted in Fla.: Four years ago, ballots cast from black neighborhoods throughout Florida were four times as likely to go uncounted as those from white neighborhoods. Nowhere was the disparity more apparent than in Duval County, where 42 percent of 27,000 ballots thrown o
( Fl. RNC Blacks Voting Campaign04 Racisim )
- 1,200 Schools in State Could Face Federal Penalties: about 13% are likely to be labeled failures by the end of this year: How can you "lead" teachers & students while labelling them as "failures" because they didn't meet your aggressive/underfunded goals?
( Education Kids Schools issue_NoChildLeftBehind people_Bush Ca. )
- osx-e - windows to mac emulation resources: Icon and Theme tutorials and packages
( MacOSX Software Win32 Emu Tutorials )
- osx-e - tutorials - Firefoxpc -> Firefoxmac
( MacOSX Tutorials Emu FireFox )
- Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About: Nothing keeps a relationship on its toes so much as lively debate. Fortunate, then, that my girlfriend and I agree on absolutely nothing. At all.
( Amusing people_Mil Relationships Stories )
- MLM #32: immediately everyone thought, "Take me, tie me up, bestride my trembling body and drag me to shuddering, spent ecstasy even if the dark, sin-strung journey costs me my very life!" Though, admittedly, I was the only person to actually shout these words.
( Amusing Sex band_PJHarvey people_Mil )
- Unanswered Questions - The third debate should be about foreign policy, too.: The clear implication is not, as the Bush campaign would have it, that Kerry wants only to reduce terrorism to a "nuisance" while Bush wants to eliminate it. It's that Bush would seek to topple more regimes in his second term, while Kerry wouldn't.
( people_Kerry people_Bush Campaign04 Debate )
- Why Women Vote: Thus unfolded the "Night of Terror" on November 15, 1917 (a mere 87 years ago), when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. The
( WomensRights Feminism Democracy History VotingRights )
- Cherry OS lets PCs emulate Macs: The virtual machine emulated by Cherry OS sports full network capabilities and has complete access to the host computer's hardware resources -- hard drive, CPU, RAM, FireWire, USB, PCI, PCMCIA bus, Ethernet networking and modem
( MacOSX Software Win32 Emu )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
Execution - Getting things done
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By:
It's ironic the same course that required me to read Good to Great (G2G) also required this book. In one of the first chapters of G2G the research indicates what type of leader is required to take a company to "great" status. The author of G2G goes about describing the qualities of a "Level 5" leader. The qualities of a 'Level 5' are almost the exact opposite of those displayed by the 'star' of Execution (the book appears to be written by the co-author, who integrates stories from Larry Bossidy, the 'star'...).
Larry comes off as the type of leader that research shows can probably 'turn a company around' (as he did for AlliedSignal), but who will lead with a style that doesn't embed the traits of 'a great' into the company's culture. It's likely that companies with this type of a leader (a 'level 4') will do well while the CEO is in place, but slip back once he leaves. Larry admits as much in this book and returned to AlliedSignal to 'right the ship'. Unfortunately for AlliedSignal this is likely not a long term solution.
The book's "insight" is mostly derived from the stories of Larry injected into the text. These stories tend to follow the same formula: Spend a few sentences building up context, or just enough lack of context to make certain the storyteller comes out on top. Then, an employee makes a patently moronic statement or worse, does something obviously stupid. Larry (I assume in a suit of shining armor, backlit by the heavens) asks a piercing question that cuts to the heart of the issue, makes perfect sense (within the lack of context) and likely humiliates one or more of the staff within earshot. The stories became so predictable midway through the book, you can start skimming them.
The few nuggets that come out of this book are likely from Ram Charan, the 'co-author'. Certainly the book's title and overall theme is a reminder to all "manager types" that you cannot simply make a plan (or 'have a vision') and disconnect from the process.
- You need to build the process AND you need to build the process of "building processes" into your company's culture. Paying attention to the nuts and bolts of your organization is just as, if not more, important than strategy and "big thinking".
- There's an interesting bit about handling talent, maintaining a skills database of your employees, preparing succession plans if a manager moves up our out (at least 4 layers deep!) and using risk analysis techniques to determine which of your star employees might need special attention.
- Remember to balance the short run with the long run. Don't forget, you need to address what your organization does in-between now and when the long-term strategy takes affect.
- A large section is devoted to how to prepare and challenge a strategy plan on a yearly basis -- concentrating on operational issues is a big theme.
- For all the ego-centric stories in the book, there are sections devoted to hiring and how important that process is (from G2G: "Getting the right people on the bus"). We are reminded to never delegate that task, including calling on references ourselves and not leaving that to HR representatives.
I guess my overall impression was this book rated "average". Perhaps reading G2G at the same time was too stark a contrast or perhaps the personality that came across the pages was to grating on my own. I wouldn't recommend this book necessarily, but if you are looking for some ideas on leadership and operations, you might skim the pages and read the sections of interest.
Posted by ben at 08:30 AM
 Comments (0)
October 12, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-12
- Bullet proof K-9s: Licking County Sheriff's deputies already wear armored vests while on duty, and now their four-legged partners have them, too.
( Crime Weapons Dogs Amusing )
- 39M Americans in Working Poor Families: About 28 million jobs in the United States provided less a poverty-level wage, which works out to about $8.84 an hour for a family of four, the study said. The median wage for a waiter was about $6.80 an hour; for a cashier it was $7.41 an hour.
( Poverty Economy issue_MinimumWage )
- How the Feds Define Poverty - What's food got to do with it?: The Associated Press write-up notes that in 2002, the poverty threshold was $18,244 for a family of four with two children. How does the federal government determine the poverty threshold?
( Poverty Economics Economy Government )
- Millionaires for Bush, Billionaires for Kerry - Why the super-rich favor the candidate who will raise their taxes: The petit bourgeoisie millionaires were passionately for Bush: Those worth $1M - $10M favored Bush by 63-37. Haute millionaires, those worth $10M+, favored Kerry 59-41.
( Amusing Op-Ed people_Bush people_Kerry Economics Taxes )
- The Plot Against America - Is has happened here.: Well, by the time I finished The Plot Against America, I wound up feeling that it was neither sentimental nor allegorical about present-day American politics.
( Reviews Books Jews Blacks Op-Ed )
- The Political Compass: The old one-dimensional categories of 'right' and 'left' , established for the seating arrangement of the French National Assembly of 1789, are overly simplistic for today's complex political landscape.
( Politics Scripts Amusing )
- Security Grants Still Streaming to Rural States: Alaska, (649,000 residents), received nearly $92 per resident in security funds, compared with states like New York, which received $32; California, which received $22; and Texas and Florida, $21 each, according to a recent survey
( Tx. Fl. Ca. Ak. Ny. Terrorism Politics )
- Bush's Domestic Policy Gap: President Bush, going into tomorrow night's debate over domestic issues with the Democratic challenger, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), will be defending the smallest domestic agenda a first-term president has had in at least 44 years.
( people_Bush Op-Ed 9/11 Economy )
- Corporate Tax Revenues At Historic Lows Even Before Proposed Costly New Tax Breaks, Rev. 10/24/03: provides context for the debate over corporate tax-cut legislation now before Congress. It shows that corporate tax revenues have fallen to historically low levels as a share of total federal revenues and of the economy.
( Economy Taxes Law )
- Nuisance Nuance: Bush was for reducing terrorism to a nuisance before he was against it.
( people_Kerry people_Bush people_Cheney Campaign04 Terrorism )
- Roll-up Bridge from Paddington: Paddington Development Corporation has just unveiled, or rather unrolled, a startling new pedestrian bridge
( Architecture Design Innovative Bridges )
- Republicans & Conservatives:: Rice Shines: Condoleeza Rice gives straight forward answers about why the U.S. would still have removed Saddam Hussein.
( people_Rice Iraq )
- Cue Cat Hacks: The CueCat was a promotional barcode scanner distributed for free to magazine subscribers and electronics store customers in 2000/2001
( Software Hack Amusing )
- France May Allow Jamming of Mobile Phones: industry minister has approved a decision to let cinemas, concert halls and theaters install cell phone jammers -- on condition that emergency calls can still get through, officials said Monday.
( FR Telephone Hack )
- Jacket Grows From Living Tissue: members plan to grow a larger jacket as part of developing what they term the "technoscientific body" -- an artificial environment where semi-living entities are grown and cared for with the ultimate aim of creating a victimless utopia.
( Weird Clothing MedSci.Cloning )
- Electron Microscopy Interactive Tutorials: a series of interactive Java tutorials that explore various aspects of virtual Scanning Electron Microscopy (vSEM). Use the tutorial below to discover how specimens appear when magnified in the virtual SEM.
( Java Science Tutorials Microscope )
- Softchaos - Webstractor: Do you need to keep a web page, keep the layout, be able to search all the web pages you've kept?
( Software MacOSX PKB Organization )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 11, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-11
- Pivots of Friday night's debate: persona, resolution, and change: This week, Bush moved to challenge Kerry's claim to be the candidate of change, by arguing that Kerry would not bring significant positive differences in Iraq, but would offer only a weakening of resolve.
( people_Bush people_Kerry Campain04 Debate Op-Ed )
- Discover a smarter and easier way to shop with ScanZOOM: Compare prices immediately while shopping in stores. Automated access to PriceGrabber or Amazon information. 16 camera phones currently supported
( Telephone Consumer PDA PalmOS )
- Baby-Comp and Lady-Comp: recognises your personal cycle by means of a temperature reading in the morning and by data reconciliation.
( Gadgets MedSci Fertility )
- SnapStream - Medusa PVR: How about recording SIX of your favorite shows at the same time? Well, that's what we set off to create using off-the-shelf computer parts and Beyond TV 3.5
( co_SnapStream PVR Tutorials MediaCenter Software )
- Climate fear as carbon levels soar: "Based on those two years alone I would say it was too soon to say that a new trend has been established, but it warrants close scrutiny."
( issue_GlobalWarming Environment )
- Lowercase Tee: Around our house anyhow, what Mommy wants, Mommy usually gets. We hope that holds true through November.
( Kids Politics Amusing people_Bush Clothing )
- Jewelboxing: Super Jewel Box Packaging System - CD and DVD Cases
( Media Containers Cases )
- KL's OOHYEAH Collection (Star Wars and Others): take a guided tour to my study room, which is the home to my movie memorabilia collection!
( movie_StarWars Collections )
- GMail Drive shell extension: a Shell Namespace Extension that creates a virtual filesystem around your Google GMail account, allowing you to use GMail as a storage medium.
( co_Google Software Win32 Gmail )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 10, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-10
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 09, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-09
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 08, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-08
- The Buried Truth - A new book shows that Saddam didn't have nuclear weapons—yet: given an improvement in the economic and political climate, Saddam could and would have done one of two things: reconstitute the program or share it with others. Had it not been for 9/11, it is sobering to reflect, there would have been senior members of
( people_Saddam Iraq 9/11 )
- The Truth About Fannie - The real scandal at Fannie Mae.: While there may be calls to privatize the company or revoke some of its privileges, the smart money is betting no significant changes are in the offing. Fannie Mae's debt have returned to their levels of two weeks ago. Investors are still suspending their
( co_FannieMae Economy Accounting ExecCompensation Government )
- Badboy - Web Testing for the Masses: monitors and controls its actions to provide you with a superior, turbo charged browser for testing and development work. Can record/write JMeter test plans.
( Benchmarking WebDev apache_JMeter Software Win32 )
- Load Testing with Apache JMeter: Using Jmeter, a powerful performance tool from the Apache Jakarta project, you can load test Web pages, Web applications, databases, and several other static and dynamic resources.
( Benchmarking Tutorials WebDev apache_JMeter )
- The Road hits the rubber: JMeter originally began as a simple tool for testing Apache JServ. Since then, the design and architecture has gone through several major changes. JMeter uses the concept of a "thread group". What is a "thread group?"
( Benchmarking WebDev apache_JMeter Tutorials )
- Accurate Theory - Kerry finally grasps what Bush doesn't: reality.: Kerry is now making the point you've been agitating for, Will. But he still isn't saying it strongly or clearly enough—in these ads or elsewhere.
( Op-Ed Campaign04 people_Bush people_Kerry people_Cheney )
- Whopper: Dick Cheney: "The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight."
( people_Cheney Debate Liars people_Edwards Campaign04 )
- Lies, Damned Lies, and Bush's Iraq Statistics: What's really happening—in numbers as clear as day—is that the training of security forces is proceeding way too slowly, the coalition is a misnomer, and reconstruction has barely got off the ground.
( Iraq people_Bush Op-Ed )
- Webserver Stress Tool: By simulating the HTTP requests generated by hundreds or even thousands of users, you can test the performance of your webserver under normal and excessive loads
( Benchmarking Software WebDev )
- RFID Driver's Licenses Debated: Virginia is among the first states to explore the idea of creating a smart driver's license, which may eventually use any combination of RFID tags and biometric data, such as fingerprints or retinal scans.
( RFID Vi. Privacy Security Terrorism IdentityTheft )
- NTS Enterprise Test Labs: Web server load/stress testing allows you to discover the maximum performance for your website, web application or your web servers and/or to uncover anomalies that may only become apparent over an extended period of time or under high load, stress and st
( Benchmarking Software WebDev )
- Validating Web Performance Levels with Benchmark Factory [pdf]
( Benchmarking Software co_Quest WebDev )
- A watch that's smarter than you?: Think of it as a technological string around the finger – one that's smart enough to take the initiative to save you from the inconvenience and embarrassment of forgotten essentials.
( RFID Innovative edu_UW Research Gadget Organization )
- Windows Patch Management, BigFix: our Windows Patch Management series began a discussion of third-party patch management products. We continue in this vein
( Software Tutorials ms_Win PatchMgmt )
- Staying Out of Deep Water: Performance Testing Using HTTPD-Test's Flood: Flood uses an XML document with the necessary settings -- URLs and optional POST data -- to send requests to a given server or range of servers.
( apache_Flood Tutorials Benchmarking WebDev Software )
- Benchmarking with Apache Bench: Apache Bench still around? Not sure...
( apache_Bench Benchmarking Software Tutorials WebDev )
- httperf---A Tool for Measuring Web Server Performance: The focus of httperf is on providing a robust, high-perf tool that facilitates the construction of both micro- and macro-level benchmarks. 3 distinguishing characteristics are robustness, including generating and sustaining server overload, support for th
( WebDev Benchmarking Software )
- The art of usability benchmarking - UIWEB.COM: how usable is enough? This question, and the absence of an easy answer, is often the first defense people offer against investing in usability and ease of use.
( UI Benchmarking *ToRead )
- JMeter - Apache JMeter: a 100% pure Java desktop app designed to load test functional behavior and measure performance. It was originally designed for testing Web Apps but has since expanded to other test functions.
( Benchmarking Software Java apache_JMeter WebDev )
- LG KP8400: What makes the KP8400 so unique is that it is designed for diabetics, being capable of doing blood sugar level tests just as would a dedicated device. Users place a strip of testing paper into the sensor and then get a reading from the phone.
( Telephone Gadgets MedSci Inventive Diabetes )
- Dog Walker: "Over 30% of Japanese pets are over weight. Lack of parks being one of the reasons. Dog Walker comes to the resue allowing pets to exercised in the comfort of your own home."
( Amusing Dogs Exercise )
- How to Scare People with Statistics
( Amusing Statistics Tutorials )
- Brown Recluse Spider Bite
( Scary Spiders )
- Basecamp: Project Management Software, Project Tracking, Online, Web Project Management Tool, Idea Management, Client Extranet, Project Site System, ASP (simple, elegant, powerful, fast, and usable)
( PM Hosted Tools )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 07, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-07
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 06, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-06
- Youceff Torrents, The #1 BitTorrent site!
( Torrents )
- Cheney Drops the Ball - The vice president declines to refute Edwards during the debate.: Does Dick Cheney know that he told voters watching the vice presidential debate to go to GeorgeSoros.com?
( people_Edwards people_Cheney Liars Campaign04 Debate Amusing Op-Ed )
- Conan OBrian - Tech Support: Show writer tries to get his 'pop-up' problem fixed.
( Amusing TechSupport Video Outsourcing IN )
- Zanware In-wall PC Controller: The Zanware PC Controller has a 128x64 pixel graphical LCD, IR receiver for remote control, and control knob for menu navigation. In addition to that, each unit has a temperature sensor, light sensor, status LED, and buzzer. The controller is powered via
( Home Gadget Automation )
- project - mac itx: there was nothing useful to do with my old SE/30 sitting up in the loft. Still, I did want a media server for the living room, and I did want to do a mini-ITX project
( CaseMod co_Apple Amusing ms_MediaCenter )
- Microsoft to tune up Media Center PC: dual tuners, a handheld device that will allow content from a Media Center to be taken on the go, and a set-top box to view content in one room that is stored on a Media Center
( MediaCenter ms_MediaCenter co_Microsoft DVR PVR Television )
- How-To install OSX on XBox: PearPC and Mac OS X Installation
( ms_Xbox MacOSX Hack Tutorial )
- Linksys Dual-Band Wireless A/G Media Center Extender: The Media Center Extender sits by your home stereo and television and connects to them using standard consumer electronics cables. Then it connects to your home network by Wireless or standard 10/100 Ethernet. Using the included remote control and the use
( Gadgets Home MS_MediaCenter MediaCenter NetTech co_Linksys co_Microsoft Television )
- Enable Arts : Projects : SqueezeMe: This device was intended for children who are experiencing stress or anxiety related to an illness or medical condition. Squeeze Me is a squishy toy that detects certain bio-readings and responds to change with visual feedback using light patterns.
( MedSci Kids Toys Relax )
- lowerito.py: Iterates over all your tags and converts to lowercase those, which aren't already.
( Del.icio.us Scripts )
- www.teagames.com - BMX Backflips Flash Game: Collection of Flash games
( Flash Games Cycling )
- Picture Show :: Instant Mess: IM arguement, very funny stuff.
( IM Video Amusing )
Posted by ben at 11:59 PM
October 05, 2004
Notable URLs on 2004-10-05
- Poland unexpectedly says troops may quit Iraq in 2005: DM Szmajdzinski said that the withdrawal of Polish troops should coincide with the expiration of United Nations' Resolution 1546.
( org_UN PL Iraq FollowUp Military )
- Edwards' Table Manners - How much advantage will Cheney gain from the debate format?: Maybe Edwards has a tough time "getting into character" when he is seated at a table with his opponent, instead of roaming free onstage as he would in a courtroom. He's one of those actors who looks great on a proscenium, but who doesn't translate to the
( people_Edwards people_Cheney Campaign04 co_CocaCola Debate Television Op-Ed )
- Bill O'Reilly: 'No Spin' - "That's not an interview," says Wallace to O'Reilly. "That's a lecture.": "Oh, I lecture." says O'Reilly, who is also pro gun control, against the death penalty, and supports civil unions, not just for homosexuals, but "for everybody." And about the environment? "Government’s gotta be proactive on environment,"
( people_O'Reilly Amusing Interesting Politics Journalism tv_60Minutes )
- Dead Or Alive: "I believe he is a serial killer. I believe he is a sociopath worse than -- psychopath. ” says al-Rubaie. “And he is a criminal before he superficially adopted Islam. And to justify his act of killing and his act of terror. So this man is capable of d
( people_Zarqawi Terrorism Iraq tv_60Minutes )
- Sustained Budget Deficits: Longer-Run U.S. Economic Performance and the Risk of Financial and Fiscal Disarray: The scale of the nation's projected budgetary imbalances is now so large that the risk of severe adverse consequences must be taken very seriously, although it is impossible to predict when such consequences may occur.
( Economy Economics Deficit Research )
- Open Debates: The Presidential debates -- the single most important electoral event in the process of selecting a President -- should provide voters with an opportunity to see the popular candidates discussing important issues in an unscripted manner. But the Presiden
( org_OpenDebates Politics Debate )
- Politics & Economy. Election 2004. The Debates: "The CPD violates Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, which forbids such organizations from participating or intervening in political campaigns on behalf of any candidate for public office. Instead of engaging in nonpartisan voter education, the
( Politics Debate RNC DNC people_GeorgeFarah org_OpenDebates tv_Now )
- Politics & Economy. The History of Presidential Debates: The History of Presidential Debates
( tv_Now Debate History )
- Transcript. Rigging the Debates: The American people want to hear and see popular candidates discuss the important issues in an unscripted manner. That's what's at stake. Whether or not we're gonna have the right to witness an important conversation.
( Debate Politics org_CoPD people_GeorgeFarah tv_Now )
- No Debate : How the Two Major Parties Secretly Ruin the Presidential Debates: Farah's nonprofit Open Debates is committed to reforming the presidential debate process. He explains how the two major parties control what should be a crucial aspect of the campaign, and suggests how to wrest it from their hands, turn down the spin, and
( *ToRead Books Debate Politics people_GeorgeFarah )
- Lottery Scam Targets Elderly: Foley says he's been conning people since 1995. "I always wasn't as good as I was now, but I would have to say, $30-40-50 million, perhaps, I coaxed out of people's pockets."
( Fraud Scam tv_60Minutes Telephone Crime CA )
- Home Defibrillators: Philips Medical Systems, maker of the popular HeartStart machine, estimates sales could grow 50% a year over
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