Tretakoff Musings
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
A Treo, a blog, and a decompressing airplane
In some ways, blogging is a fusion of diary writing, watercooler discussion, and Andy Warhol's 15 minutes of fame. I like being able to share my observations and experiences here, but some people clearly take it too far.
Take, for instance, Jeremy Hermanns. A proud owner of a Treo 650, including the integrated camera, and a blogger. Jeremy experienced one of the nightmares I dream of: a plane, at 30K feet, suddenly having a hole in the fuselage and explosively decompressing. Faced with panic, fear, and his fiancee elsewhere in the plane, what did Jeremy do in the heat of the chaos? He whipped out his Treo and started snapping pictures for his blog, including a self portrait with his oxygen mask on.
Jeremy, I don't know whether to salute you, or use you as a cautionary tale for others. What I do know is, with your insights, as well as your non-union stance, my friend Pete clearly wants to be you someday. He's flying shortly; let's see what he comes up with!
Take, for instance, Jeremy Hermanns. A proud owner of a Treo 650, including the integrated camera, and a blogger. Jeremy experienced one of the nightmares I dream of: a plane, at 30K feet, suddenly having a hole in the fuselage and explosively decompressing. Faced with panic, fear, and his fiancee elsewhere in the plane, what did Jeremy do in the heat of the chaos? He whipped out his Treo and started snapping pictures for his blog, including a self portrait with his oxygen mask on.
Jeremy, I don't know whether to salute you, or use you as a cautionary tale for others. What I do know is, with your insights, as well as your non-union stance, my friend Pete clearly wants to be you someday. He's flying shortly; let's see what he comes up with!
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Mobile Life Tips: sync your Palm's clock
If you are reading this, you know I cannot live without my Palm. One annoying thing: when you sync appointments, you sync reminders as well. All good, right? Except when your Palm clock runs faster than your PC. Thus, every minute, your computer or Palm is reminding you. AAARGH!!!
Keep them in sync, for free, with TimeSync XT v1.0, It adds a conduit, and, every time you sync, you sync your Palm's clock to your PC's clock. Since Windows lets you keep your PC's clock in sync with the Atomic Clock, you'll never be out of time! ;-)
Keep them in sync, for free, with TimeSync XT v1.0, It adds a conduit, and, every time you sync, you sync your Palm's clock to your PC's clock. Since Windows lets you keep your PC's clock in sync with the Atomic Clock, you'll never be out of time! ;-)
Monday, December 26, 2005
Trillian - Sending Text Messages to a Mobile Phone
A nice tip on using Trillian to send Text Messages to a Mobile Phone. I'll definitely be adding this.
The Ultimate Xmas lights: a farewell
Ok, I'll admit it. I've been a bit obsessed with the Internet phenomenon of the ultimate Xmas light diplay. As we say goodbye to Xmas 2005, it seems only fitting to see the ultimate collection of the truth about this amazing display, including an interview with the man himself, his family, and even another video.
Carson, my thanks for bringing such a great thing to the world. I hope Miller Lite helped you recoup some of that $10K investment and your electric bills for the commercial they used your house for. Thanks again...and happy holidays!
Carson, my thanks for bringing such a great thing to the world. I hope Miller Lite helped you recoup some of that $10K investment and your electric bills for the commercial they used your house for. Thanks again...and happy holidays!
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Blogger Web Comments for Firefox
Now this is potentially a world changer. You know blogs, of course; after all, you are reading mine! Imagine coming across a web page that seems interesting. A small icon pops up, and you can see excerpts of what bloggers have been saying about that page!
This is truly what blogs were made for. It's the Wikipedia-izing of the entire web: no page exists in a vacuum. Imagine a page that looks like it's talking about a charity, and the blogs point out it's a scam! Or an eBay auction that looks legit, but the blogs tell you your money is about to be stolen!
If you use Firefox for a web browser, you need this. Now.
Read more at www.google.com/tools/fi...
This is truly what blogs were made for. It's the Wikipedia-izing of the entire web: no page exists in a vacuum. Imagine a page that looks like it's talking about a charity, and the blogs point out it's a scam! Or an eBay auction that looks legit, but the blogs tell you your money is about to be stolen!
If you use Firefox for a web browser, you need this. Now.
Read more at www.google.com/tools/fi...
Top 50 gadgets of the last 50 years
Year end, time for year-end lists. But this one is pretty good: the top 50 gadgets of the last 50 years. Overall, I think they got it right. Towards the end, there are a few I'd quibble with, but this is a gadget historian's dream.
Now, where did I put my old Sharp Wizard OZ-7000...
Read more at www.pcworld.com/news/ar...
Now, where did I put my old Sharp Wizard OZ-7000...
Read more at www.pcworld.com/news/ar...
Saturday, December 24, 2005
A Random Bag of Crap: A Christmas Miracle?
OK, maybe I am starting be a believer. Not only is my query on the mysterious radar facility now definitively answered, but is seems Woot has finally allowed me to win a random bag of crap! After several tries with massive failures, it appears I have won!
WOOT!!!!!
WOOT!!!!!
Mysterious Communications Facility: mystery SOLVED
Thanks to the power of Google Earth and the Google Earth Community, the Mysterious Communications Facility mystery has been solved!
Merry Christmas to all!
Merry Christmas to all!
Konfabulator & Salesforce: how hard could it be?
It started as a simple idea: make a widget for Konfabulator so that I could see my schedule in Salesforce, updated as often as I update in Salesforce. No, I am not a programmer, but armed with enthusiasm I waded in.
First stop: documentation. Have I mentioned how much I hate PDF files? They are bloated, hard to maneuver, and really only good for printing. Loading Yahoo’s guide crashed my Acrobat copy several times. Instead, I made do with the smaller Tutorial. Basically, widgets are collections of JavaScript: to access the JavaScript, you just drop the widget on the converter, and voila: files.
Ok, next stop: a scheduler widget. The Yahoo Day planner seemed up my alley: it reads your schedule from your choice of sources: Yahoo, Outlook, or an iCal file. Couldn’t be too hard to convert it to look at Salesforce, right?
Finally, was there anyone who had done a Salesforce widget before? Yes: a task oriented one, like this. Even he made it seemed simple.
Armed, I waded in. I was looking at the JavaScript, which kinda made sense. I understood the Salesforce API calls, which seemed to make sense. I converted the widget in question. I was ready. And then, I learned of the showstopper.
The API is only available to Enterprise users. My license is Professional. No API, no widget. Dead in the water.
At my company, we offer API access: we actually are considering making that the entry-level of access. Why? No work for us! Puts the onus of work on the client, and they can integrate with whatever resources they want. No additional impact to us. Why the heck would Salesforce want to restrict access to their API’s to higher-paying clients? I’m sure they have their reasons, but web-based applications are growing every day.
Heck, SugarCRM is even offered for free as open-source. Why not differentiate, by allowing a thriving community of third party people developing add-ons for your application, at no cost to you? Salesforce has clearly embraced that idea, with the AppExchange, but why not just open the doors up? Let Salesforce be the dial tone, and the 3rd parties make the new features?
Alas, my brief programming foray has come to a close. Someday, I hope someone changes things…I’ll work on it from my end.
First stop: documentation. Have I mentioned how much I hate PDF files? They are bloated, hard to maneuver, and really only good for printing. Loading Yahoo’s guide crashed my Acrobat copy several times. Instead, I made do with the smaller Tutorial. Basically, widgets are collections of JavaScript: to access the JavaScript, you just drop the widget on the converter, and voila: files.
Ok, next stop: a scheduler widget. The Yahoo Day planner seemed up my alley: it reads your schedule from your choice of sources: Yahoo, Outlook, or an iCal file. Couldn’t be too hard to convert it to look at Salesforce, right?
Finally, was there anyone who had done a Salesforce widget before? Yes: a task oriented one, like this. Even he made it seemed simple.
Armed, I waded in. I was looking at the JavaScript, which kinda made sense. I understood the Salesforce API calls, which seemed to make sense. I converted the widget in question. I was ready. And then, I learned of the showstopper.
The API is only available to Enterprise users. My license is Professional. No API, no widget. Dead in the water.
At my company, we offer API access: we actually are considering making that the entry-level of access. Why? No work for us! Puts the onus of work on the client, and they can integrate with whatever resources they want. No additional impact to us. Why the heck would Salesforce want to restrict access to their API’s to higher-paying clients? I’m sure they have their reasons, but web-based applications are growing every day.
Heck, SugarCRM is even offered for free as open-source. Why not differentiate, by allowing a thriving community of third party people developing add-ons for your application, at no cost to you? Salesforce has clearly embraced that idea, with the AppExchange, but why not just open the doors up? Let Salesforce be the dial tone, and the 3rd parties make the new features?
Alas, my brief programming foray has come to a close. Someday, I hope someone changes things…I’ll work on it from my end.
Feed Icons - Help establish the new standard
Notice the new RSS feed icon in the right column? It's part of the new standard, to try to create a consistent icon for RSS feeds, across the web. Even Microsoft has endorsed it!
Got an RSS feed on your site? Grab the free icons, in a variety of sizes and formats, and wear the new badge proudly.
Read more at feedicons.com.
Got an RSS feed on your site? Grab the free icons, in a variety of sizes and formats, and wear the new badge proudly.
Read more at feedicons.com.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Firefox and my philosophy
If you haven't been using Firefox as your browser, you're missing out. This Wired article says it all: "To fully experience Firefox, click on (the Get More Extensions link) and continue downloading add-ons until your browser stops working." :-)
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Validation: Radar Detector nirvana
A few years ago, I started working for SHOP.com, in Monterey, CA. I commuted a few days a week from my home in Marin, a trip of about 125 miles each way. Obviously, I wanted to make the trip as short as possible: that meant driving slightly faster than the speed limit. Hence, I needed a radar detector.
I looked at all of the ones I could find, and could not really see much of a difference between the ones at the usual consumer electronics companies. Then, a co-worker asked if I had seen the Valentine One? I hadn't even heard of it. I checked it out, and did my own research on the reviews: this thing was head and shoulders ahead of anything else: in most reviews, on a scale of 1-100, the most all other radar detectors score is 70; this was a 98.
Bloody expensive though. But, what price that against a ticket for doing 110 in a 65 zone? I decided to try by buying one on eBay first; saved $100. WOW. This thing was GREAT: no false alarms, notice MILES away. I sold my used one on eBay (for a profit!) and bought a new one: they are even upgradeable for the latest in threat detection. Since then, I have not received a single ticket while using the detector, and my commute to Monterey, including through traffic in both San Francisco and San Jose, was usually under 1 hour and 45 minutes each way. You do the math. :-)
Now, one of my favorite gadget blogs, Gizmodo, has done a piece on the world's greatest Radar Detectors. No surprise, but the rest of the world just learned the secret that has saved me literally thousands of dollars: good luck to Valentine on keeping up with the demand!
P.S. The folks at Valentine are SERIOUS. They don't sell Radar Detectors; they sell "total threat detection systems." I purchased a remote display for mine, and they called me the next day: they would not fill the order unless I gave them the serial number of my unit. "This is only for true ValentineOne owners," they said. Don't mess with total threat detection!
I looked at all of the ones I could find, and could not really see much of a difference between the ones at the usual consumer electronics companies. Then, a co-worker asked if I had seen the Valentine One? I hadn't even heard of it. I checked it out, and did my own research on the reviews: this thing was head and shoulders ahead of anything else: in most reviews, on a scale of 1-100, the most all other radar detectors score is 70; this was a 98.
Bloody expensive though. But, what price that against a ticket for doing 110 in a 65 zone? I decided to try by buying one on eBay first; saved $100. WOW. This thing was GREAT: no false alarms, notice MILES away. I sold my used one on eBay (for a profit!) and bought a new one: they are even upgradeable for the latest in threat detection. Since then, I have not received a single ticket while using the detector, and my commute to Monterey, including through traffic in both San Francisco and San Jose, was usually under 1 hour and 45 minutes each way. You do the math. :-)
Now, one of my favorite gadget blogs, Gizmodo, has done a piece on the world's greatest Radar Detectors. No surprise, but the rest of the world just learned the secret that has saved me literally thousands of dollars: good luck to Valentine on keeping up with the demand!
P.S. The folks at Valentine are SERIOUS. They don't sell Radar Detectors; they sell "total threat detection systems." I purchased a remote display for mine, and they called me the next day: they would not fill the order unless I gave them the serial number of my unit. "This is only for true ValentineOne owners," they said. Don't mess with total threat detection!
The ultimate Xmas lights go dark
Just an update: the ultimate Xmas light display has been turned off, because of the traffic (and subsequent accident) it caused. All the details on this amazing guy in the link; see my previous post on it for the video.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
What's on YOUR desktop?
I’ve really gotten into using Konfabulator more, with the new desktop. If you have the screen real estate, and want to see elegance, check it out. The modules I am using:
X-a Info. CPU, memory usage, and volume controls, all packed into a sweet Tron-like interface.
NFL Ticker. Catch the scores, updated in realtime!
NFL team Schedule. Customize to your team, see the games, when they are on, and more.
The Venice Webcam. Live rotating shots from a variety of webcams around Venice. Ah, Venice...
Gas Prices. Keep an eye on the cheapest gas in YOUR area.
Keep an eye on what’s in your Netflix Queue with this handy widget.
Living on the West Coast, can’t be without an Earthquakes monitor.
And finally, gotta keep tabs on The Weather, as well as the moonphase and the forecast with this one! Comes with the application.
As always, Konfabulator is free, and both Apple and Microsoft are chasing after it in their OS releases.
X-a Info. CPU, memory usage, and volume controls, all packed into a sweet Tron-like interface.
NFL Ticker. Catch the scores, updated in realtime!
NFL team Schedule. Customize to your team, see the games, when they are on, and more.
The Venice Webcam. Live rotating shots from a variety of webcams around Venice. Ah, Venice...
Gas Prices. Keep an eye on the cheapest gas in YOUR area.
Keep an eye on what’s in your Netflix Queue with this handy widget.
Living on the West Coast, can’t be without an Earthquakes monitor.
And finally, gotta keep tabs on The Weather, as well as the moonphase and the forecast with this one! Comes with the application.
As always, Konfabulator is free, and both Apple and Microsoft are chasing after it in their OS releases.
Yahoo 360: an interesting idea
I use social networking sites mostly for business, but Yahoo 360 is making me rethink it. A great execution: blog, links, even flickr photostreams all in one place. And elegant Yahoo integration. I'm impressed.
Like the best of Blogger, combined with Orkut and flickr. I'd have expected this from Google, not Yahoo.
Like the best of Blogger, combined with Orkut and flickr. I'd have expected this from Google, not Yahoo.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Linguistic entertainment
DORMITORY
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM
PRESBYTERIAN
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER
ASTRONOMER
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER
DESPERATION
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT
THE EYES
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE
GEORGE BUSH
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE
THE MORSE CODE
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS
SLOT MACHINES
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME
ANIMOSITY
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY
ELECTION RESULTS
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT
MOTHER-IN-LAW
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER
SNOOZE ALARMS
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z'S
DECIMAL POINT
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE
THE EARTHQUAKES
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE
ELEVEN PLUS TWO
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE
AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:
PRESIDENT CLINTON OF THE USA:
When you rearrange the letters
(With no letters left over and using each letter only once):
TO COPULATE HE FINDS INTERNS
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM
PRESBYTERIAN
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER
ASTRONOMER
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER
DESPERATION
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT
THE EYES
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE
GEORGE BUSH
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE
THE MORSE CODE
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS
SLOT MACHINES
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME
ANIMOSITY
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY
ELECTION RESULTS
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT
MOTHER-IN-LAW
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER
SNOOZE ALARMS
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z'S
DECIMAL POINT
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE
THE EARTHQUAKES
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE
ELEVEN PLUS TWO
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE
AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:
PRESIDENT CLINTON OF THE USA:
When you rearrange the letters
(With no letters left over and using each letter only once):
TO COPULATE HE FINDS INTERNS
Loyalty Lab: looking for an email stud
Our email business is getting bigger, so we need to add resources. Anyone you know? They can come join the fun!
Job Title: Email Operations Consultant
Company: Loyalty Lab
Summary
Loyalty Lab Inc. is a growing San Francisco venture-funded supplier of hosted retail multi-channel loyalty systems. Loyalty Lab’s suite of powerful SAAS (software as a service) marketing solutions allows retailers to create and manage loyalty and relationship marketing programs without any commitment to software or hardware.
This is your hands-on opportunity to make an impact at a top tier venture funded startup. You will be responsible for email campaigns for our top customers. This requires working with our clients, partners and internal groups to guide successful implementation of email programs and delivery best practices.
Responsibilities
Maintain high deliverability rates for client campaigns.
Manage relationships with ISPs (including white listing process)
Enforce privacy and anti-spam policies.
Monitor list uploads for potential problems.
Setup and monitor feedback loops.
Review email delivery logs for problems.
Consult with clients on email deliverability and optimization best practices. Review bounce logs and provide support/education as needed.
Manage penalties for non-compliance if required.
Regular reviews with product and client services team for resolution, feedback and product improvements
Assist sales team in communicating email best practices to prospects.
Requirements
• 5-7 years of experience as a product or implementation manager at a top tier email ISP.
• Bachelors in Computer Science or Business (with technology experience).
• Excellent project management, analytical, multi-tasking, written and verbal communication skills.
• Highly customer centric, well organized and articulate.
• Self-starter, able to deliver projects independently on time and with high quality.
• Able to work with client services, customers and product teams to translate functional and technical requirements into product solutions.
Personal Profile: Creative, Analytical, Team Player and Detail Oriented
Job Title: Email Operations Consultant
Company: Loyalty Lab
Summary
Loyalty Lab Inc. is a growing San Francisco venture-funded supplier of hosted retail multi-channel loyalty systems. Loyalty Lab’s suite of powerful SAAS (software as a service) marketing solutions allows retailers to create and manage loyalty and relationship marketing programs without any commitment to software or hardware.
This is your hands-on opportunity to make an impact at a top tier venture funded startup. You will be responsible for email campaigns for our top customers. This requires working with our clients, partners and internal groups to guide successful implementation of email programs and delivery best practices.
Responsibilities
Maintain high deliverability rates for client campaigns.
Manage relationships with ISPs (including white listing process)
Enforce privacy and anti-spam policies.
Monitor list uploads for potential problems.
Setup and monitor feedback loops.
Review email delivery logs for problems.
Consult with clients on email deliverability and optimization best practices. Review bounce logs and provide support/education as needed.
Manage penalties for non-compliance if required.
Regular reviews with product and client services team for resolution, feedback and product improvements
Assist sales team in communicating email best practices to prospects.
Requirements
• 5-7 years of experience as a product or implementation manager at a top tier email ISP.
• Bachelors in Computer Science or Business (with technology experience).
• Excellent project management, analytical, multi-tasking, written and verbal communication skills.
• Highly customer centric, well organized and articulate.
• Self-starter, able to deliver projects independently on time and with high quality.
• Able to work with client services, customers and product teams to translate functional and technical requirements into product solutions.
Personal Profile: Creative, Analytical, Team Player and Detail Oriented
