Snakes on a Plane

That is all.

Seeing blinder's recent JE concerning the ridiculousness that is Web 2.0, I realized I wanted to immortalize a link to a site which pretty succinctly gels with my feelings on Web 2.0 hype:

Wankr Zeta!

Ah yes, more money than sense.

My thoughts on Web 2.0? Stupid overused buzzword which now makes me run away wretching. Remember, the great sites out there and killer new web apps aren't winners because they're "web 2.0", they're winners because they're great sites and apps. Drop the buzzword people, it's just stupid.

My advice? Sink or swim on the strength of your project, not on your buzzword compliance.

Airline Security Rules enacted since 'an alleged terror plot aimed at airliners flying between Great Britain and the United States'

My favorite from Great Britain:

All cabin baggage must be processed as hold baggage and carried in the hold of passenger aircraft departing British airports.

The only items that may be taken through airport security search points and into the cabin, in a single -- ideally transparent -- plastic bag are:

Pocket-size wallets and pocket-size purses plus contents -- for example money, credit cards, identity cards, etc. Handbags are not allowed.

That's right people, no more laptops or ipods or cell phones on your flights in the UK! Need to call someone to pick you up? Only after you retrieve your phone from your bag from baggage claim. And if you're bags are lost...?

Update: Digg: Notebooks, iPods, mobiles, books banned on UK flights

I Am A: Chaotic Good Elf Mage Druid

Alignment:
Chaotic Good characters are independent types with a strong belief in the value of goodness. They have little use for governments and other forces of order, and will generally do their own things, without heed to such groups.

Race:
Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.

Primary Class:
Mages harness the magical energies for their own use. Spells, spell books, and long hours in the library are their loves. While often not physically strong, their mental talents can make up for this.

Secondary Class:
Druids are a special variety of Cleric who serves the Earth, and can call upon the power in the earth to accomplish their goals. They tend to be somewhat fanatical about defending natural settings.

Deity:


Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy of NeppyMan (e-mail)

Ah, the fun continues!

So everyone's out of town this weekend, and my car calls it quits. My mechanic says the engine block is gone, and it would cost more to fix than to get a new engine. Only thing is, this was supposed to be my POS car for 6 months while I got into the habit of driving every day, and I'm not looking to more than double the amount of money I've put into this car in order to get it working again. The numbers just don't add up.

So I'm going to go look for a new (to me) car.

However, there are plenty of things I needed to do this weekend which I needed a car for. And I've just called every car rental agency within a large radius of me and everyone's sold out. No car anywhere (not even from the really shady places!) until at least Monday. Holy crap.

So now I'm at home, everyone I know is out of town, and I'm stranded until Monday when I can rent a car.

</kvetch_session>

Okay, so this is an odd post for me, but I guess I should just suck it up and ask for advice at this point.

I am in a new City (San Jose) and my only acquaintances are from work. And except for my boss, they all work for me. Not the greatest idea to start making friends with my employees or my employee's friends.

Now, I really suck at making friends. I just don't know where to begin. And I malfunction at events where I don't walk in at least knowing one other person. So I'm at a real loss as to how to proceed.

The best advice I've received is to just go to events alone and learn through practice to go to people and talk to them. Unfortunately, this won't work for me, especially short term. And I need an outlet now.

This journal entry feels relatively pathetic on my part, but I'd rather ask for help here than continue to wallow in my own "I don't have any friends out here" mantra.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Put-downs? All welcome!

Since I've moved out to California a month ago, I've gotten into playing poker with some friends of SlashChick's and some of their friends (almost all googlers).

Well, I first came out and lost a few games, but they were all friendly three or four person games against loose cannons.

So last week I played in the first organized game I was able to make with about 12 people (I was one of three non-googlers, the other two being wives who were brought along). I came in third and won $60.

I played again this week, came in first, and won $160.

Tonight I played in two games and walked out with another $160.

All told (minus buy-ins), I've won $300 in the past two weeks (not taking into account I was down between $60 and $100 for the first few games I played in).

So, what's my problem? I'm now going to lose, hard. And the worst part is, I'll still be up significantly. I'm supposed to learn to STOP gambling, not that I'm damned good at it and should keep it up!

I guess this is how traders feel, even if they lose this one, they've still won.

Damnit, I need to stop gambling!

On the other hand, I've now got $300 to spend on furnishing my brand new place =)

Of course, I was supposed to go to bed early tonight because I have things to do in the morning, but I figure winning $160 will make up for lost sleep :)

</rant>

In no particular order:

• If you are making excuses for an employee's behavior or work, this is a bad sign.
• If you are making the same excuses for the same employee on multiple occassions and you have previously spoken with said employee about the issue, fire this employee now.
• Do not work for friends or have friends work for you. Even with the most professional people possible, the line between business and personal starts to blur and bad things _will_ happen.
• If you are going to work for a friend or have a friend work for you, do it on a contractual basis where it is painless for either party to terminate the agreement with no professional or personal good will lost.
• Be nice and commend people when good work is done. A light tap on the shoulder goes a long way to making someone feel valued as an employee.
• Conversely, don't shirk away from letting an employee know that he or she has screwed up, people generally know it when they've done something wrong, and they'd rather hear about it from you first than have it sit festering to be raised in a meeting three months later.
• Provide an environment conducive to work. Even if you mean well, a dirty office or unclean bathroom will make an employee feel undervalued.
• Don't make promises you can't keep. If you promise someone training, deliver.
• Conversely, if an employee asks for training you can't provide, say as much. People would much rather hear the truth than be strung along, at which point all that gets breed is frustration, not hope.

I could write a book, but I'm going to stop here. I've even removed a few, although I'm not sure why. Umm... I'm done.

Or not. I guess my point is happy employees == efficient, productive, useful employees. If you see someone getting disgruntled, you should probably do something about it before they just don't care and you're paying for a paperweight to sit around and kvetch all day.

Now I'm done.

So an old friend of mine from around here which some of you may remember as LadyGuardian has started up her own gaming podcast series, OpenAlpha. She asked me to help submit a story about her newest episode to Slashdot Gaming, which I have pasted below while it sits in the submission queue.

A bunch of you were good friends of hers way back when, and she has duly authorized this journal post, so go ahead and check out her new project and get back in touch with your old friend.

---

Subject: Jenn Cutter interviews Al Lowe

Jenn Cutter - who some of you may remember from episodes of Call For Help on G4TechTV - has released the newest version of her cult gaming podcast OpenAlpha. In her newest episode, she interviews Al Lowe, the visionary force behind the Leisure Suit Larry game series. Al speaks to Jenn about the series, how he had nothing to do with the latest LSL release, his new game development venture, iBase, and his newest creation, Sam Suede. If all the hyperlinks didn't scare you off, check out Jenn's newest episode of OpenAlpha, you won't be disappointed!

So in February I quit my job as VP at the foreign exhcange brokerage in the Empire State Building.

There were a lot of reasons for this, some personal and some not, but I needed out.

SlashChick and I have been talking shop for some time, and I had been doing some consulting for her Company on and off for the past few months. She told me to get my ass out to the Bay Area, that I should take a position as Chief Operating Officer of her company and see how things suit me out here. So after some negotiations, I am now (as of last week) out here on a three month contract with Simpli as Interim Chief Operating Officer.

As a born and bred New Yorker, Cali is a wee bit different. You need to drive everywhere; people groan when I suggest a two block walk. And things are CLOSED by 10pm. WTF???

All in all, it's nice to get a break from the business suit world, relax out here, help Simpli out, and see what opportunities arise on this coast.

For those of you who are customers of Simpli, you'll be dealing with me a lot over the next few months, brace yourselves. For those of you who are not yet customers of Simpli, brace yourselves more, I'm coming after you!

So wish me luck, or something.

In one of my few bouts of actually watching television, there was a commercial for an upcoming Oprah show, apparently on spring break videos. Oprah's deadpan to one of the female guests was as follows: "Do any of the girls regret what happened after sobering up?"

I laughed for a good five minutes and almost died of tears before jumping online to post this journal in homage to the question.

I guess my question is, am I just a sick deprived person, or is Oprah a lot funnier than I ever gave her credit for?

This is both frightening and amusing at the same time: Fox News, Decaf Help Keep Cheney Happy.

Hey, at least he keeps it real.

Scooter Libby still has him one upped.

Ummm.... yeah... BIOPRO QLink Pendant

The BIOPRO Qlink employs unique technology to provide you with a resource in dealing with debilitating stress. We all know that stress acts as an age accelerator, that stress can compromise your health, your immune system, your vulnerability to negative influences. One of the major external stressors in our environment is Electromagnetic Frequencies (EMFs). Using the revolutionary BIOPRO QLink you can experience for yourself the unique energy enhancement qualities. By giving you resilience to the effects of stress, the BIOPRO QLink works directly with your natural energy field, or biofield, to optimize your well being.

All this can be yours for only $269.00 USD, but don't forget the disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The products and/or technologies listed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Really? But it looked so reputable!

Who buys this crap? Would you?

My poetry sucks, so here goes:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
It's johndiii's birthday
Does this line need to rhyme?

Yeah, not a poetry bone in my body :/ I tried though! Happy happy!

Stuy, I barely know thee any more...

I mean, where were all the aching lesbians who were looking to experiment when I was going there? Gah!

</sexual_frustration>