I’m moving the blog today. Around noon, I’m going to pick up the directory and move it from its current home at jbwr.net/web/bp/billblog to jbwr.net/evileyebrow, a much more convenient url.
I’ve never done this before; I don’t know what’s going to happen.
If things seem to be squirrely for a while, that’s why.
1245 Update! Totally not doing this today. There are a few tasks that will require me to screw around with my database. I’ll maybe get to that this weekend.
NPR Morning Edition had a story today concerning the cleansing of your computer keyboard. Most manufacturer’s recommendations that I’ve seen have involved wiping the surface down with mild disinfectant and/or using canned air to blow the crumbs/dust/hair out from between the keys (holding upside down and vigourously shaking, as is the practice by yours truly, is discouraged).
However, the NPR story was about washing your keyboard in the dishwasher.
Though an entertaining piece to listen to, I think they’re all insane. Well, wait. Maybe they’re not. Our household has experience a few keyboards awash in drink, with no lasting adverse effect. The only funkiness was when only a few drops of fluid were in the keyboard, causing odd short circuits between keys, resulting in a sdentewcve thwat lookewsd likwe thisa. So, maybe washing (and drying!) a keyboard isn’t such a bad idea.
This topic has apparently made a big dent on google.
I’m adamantly convinced that though this might not kill your keyboard, it has got to shorten its lifespan by a large fraction. And really, the only reason to do this is to have a clean looking keyboard, not necessarily one that is sanitary. So, if you can put up with a keyboard that is a bit grimy (better yet, buy a black one) you’re good to go.
For four days last week I attended Project Management Training at my coporate headquarters in Laurel, Maryland (Exit 33 off of I-95, in case you care). It was pretty intensive with two full days and a half day on Wednesday and Saturday.
“Yeah yeah yeah, so what?” you ask. “Who cares? That’s boring corporate crap!”
You’re right. So stop reading. (more…)
If you read this blog, like Tom, you might wonder why I’ve been in MD two weeks out of two. Last week I was here for a company Technology Conference. This week I’m here for Project Management Training.
The training is for, obviously, project managers, and it is half procedure, half motivational seminar, half good practices, and half leadership training. That’s a lot of halves to pack into 3.5 days. And truthfully, after the first intensive day of training, I think I can state that this is a brief patina of the skills that must be nurtured and developed in order to be a good project manager. I’ve already taken about 15 pages of notes, probably about 1/3 of which I’ll get good info out of. Applying all of this knowledge will be a challenge.
More later. We’re meeting upper management at Outback for dinner and drinks, and I’m late.
OhCash.com dropped into my feedreader this morning and caught my attention with this first sentence.
Traffic is the single most important thing when you build a website, even more than content itself.
What?! Huh?! What a minute…
Of course, if you read the rest of the article, which I wrath-righteously did, you notice that the person also makes the point that without the content, you’re unlikely to see the traffic. The post was not as useless as my knee-jerk thought it might be.
In a post about the current regulatory environment around medial care today, In The Pipeline is maintaining the the NYTimes seems to be adopting a conciliatory attitude toward big pharma.
I have no idea.
I personally find this post interesting because of the quotations he digs out of the original NY Times article.
Q. Wouldn’t your solution require a dramatically different regulatory environment?
A. It differs state by state. In Massachusetts, nurses cannot write prescriptions. But in Minnesota, nurse practitioners can. So there has emerged in Minnesota a clinic called the MinuteClinic. These clinics operate in Target stores and CVS drugstores. They are staffed only by nurse practitioners. There’s a big sign on the door that says, “We treat these 16 rules-based disorders.” They include strep throat, pink eye, urinary tract infection, earaches and sinus infections.
These are things for which very unambiguous, “go, no-go” tests exist. You’re in and out in 15 minutes or it’s free, and it’s a $39 flat fee. These things are just booming because high-quality health care at that level is defined by convenience and accessibility. That’s a commoditization of the expertise. . .
Keep in mind that I am a medical industry noob. I know nothing. Yet, this strikes me as emininently reasonable! It doesn’t take a M.D. to diagnose your flu or sinus infection. Even if your horribly deadly disease were something that initially presented “flu-like symptoms” I have reservations that a doctor would be likely to pick it up without first treating you for the flu. Occam’s razor and all that.
I personally would love to see the mentioned clinics, staffed by trained professionals, available to the public without having to go through the rigamarole of a doctor’s office visit or, god forbid, the ER.
I’ve never jumped on the “Wal-Mart is Evil!” bandwagon. I agree that Wal-Mart pursues some disappointing business practices, but they are hardly the first, or only, large company to do so. They get more crap because they are so close to the consumer.
But! Wal-Mart is pushing an eco-friendly way to light our communities! They want to sell 100 million compact fluorescent lightbulbs by mid 2007. I applaud this move. Even if their motives are horribly self-serving by trying to ride the green wave, it will still save millions of kilowatt hours of electricity and reduce greenhouse emissions during production. Go Wal-Mart!
If you don’t have any of these in the house, I strongly recommend that you put some in. They don’t do well in bedrooms or bathrooms or places where you need instant light—they take a minute or two to warm up to full potency. But for garages, and basements, and outdoor applications where they are on all the time, you can’t beat them.
I heard about the book Play Money
I was fascinated by the interview and picked up the book on Friday. I just finished it this morning and I’m still as fascinated by the man’s journey as I was when I listened to him on Fresh Air.
Like any other business, the one he embarked on required dedication, savvy, and contacts; it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme.
Fascinating. I won’t be sitting at my computer and quitting the day job any time soon, but like reading how other people succeed, this is a worth read.