I wear too many hats and carry too many business cards. One possible solution: http://LeoNotenboom.com I guess you could call it my “disambiguation page”.
When your conference room has only 6 power outlets for over 35 laptops, the power octopus or “powerpus” is born: That’s only the most obvious part of the electrical mayhem. Among other things, we had a squid hanging from the wall too. Why two of the power outlets were 8′ off the ground is beyond … Read more
I have mixed feelings after reading TWiF. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s
an excellent book, and as you’ll see in a moment, I believe it’s an important
read.
The problem, if that’s what you want to call it, is that it didn’t really
challenge me. I pretty much agree with everything that the author is saying. I
found myself thinking, “yep, yer right” over and over again.
The premise of the book is simply that due to our advancements in technology
– most notably the internet – the world is getting effectively “flatter”. More
people in more diverse regions of the planet are being empowered to
collaborate, and compete, in the global market.
And it really hurts me to walk away. Unlike most customers, who’d probably have walked away long ago, I have an emotional attachment.
I worked on Expedia. When it first went live, I was the guy who installed the “final bits” in the MSN datacenter where it was housed at the time. My account is one of the first on Expedia. Somewhere within the bowels of Expedia, it’s quite possible that some of my code remains.
And yet, no matter how hard I try, Expedia refuses to take my money.
February 16, 1916. That’s 90 years ago, and the day my dad arrived on planet
earth. Actually, to be more specific, a small farmhouse in The Netherlands.
90 years and many miles later, he’s living comfortably in a nursing home
about 20 miles and 30 minutes from my home. He’s a long time victim of
Alzheimer’s disease. We joke that he has the “good kind” of dementia, because
he’s content, even happy at times, and still has a positive outlook. “We keep
on trying” is something he’s said for many years, and told me once again
today.
I’m on the board of a local non-profit agency, Hopelink. There’s a surprising amount of poverty and families in crisis in what most assume is a very affluent community. Just because you don’t always see it doesn’t mean it isn’t here.
So, what is Hopelink? The one-sentence version:
Hopelink helps homeless and low-income families get out of crisis and become self-sufficient.
In recent months I’ve come to believe, strongly, that it is communication, or rather the lack there of, that is the real cause of 80% if the world’s conflict. Time and time again it seems like the inability to communicate an idea clearly, or the inability to truly hear and understand what’s being said, leads to problems. Be it between family members or nations, in my opinion it’s failed communication of ideas, more than ideological differences, that lead to conflict.
Communication is difficult.
I originally picked this up on the strong recommendation of several entrepreneurs that I work with. The original goal was to learn more about marketing techniques. I ended up walking away with a lot more.
What’s interesting about reading this book is how often I found myself saying “oh, that’s why!” – it explains a lot about human behavior and why we do the things we do. It explains a lot about not only how we are influenced, but why … and why it makes sense that it might be so. And of course, what you might do once you recognize it.
Light, fun. I never go into Spider Robinson’s “Callahan’s” series with high plot expectations. Rather, much like the folks in the story itself, it’s good enough simply to rejoin characters that I’ve enjoyed in previous books. The story’s light and enjoyable, and a fine summer read.
The Amazon reviews are scathing. I can understand. I started the series when I expected only 10 installments. There’s going to be more? Yikes. But I do think I need to see how the story ends. Sigh. Finishing 10 implies that I finished this one earlier: (Aside: rather than try to keep this previous post … Read more
A sampling of some of the funny, odd or not-so-technical questions I’ve received in the last year on Ask Leo!. All questions are complete and unedited – this is exactly the way I get ’em, folks.
The “answers” here are what I wish I could reply with. (I typically do not respond to these types of questions at all.)
I have a 14′ v shape boat. It has a crack in the front, along the seam in the middle. Would HTS 2000 brazing work or is there something else that i should be using?
Two words: Duct Tape (Hey, you ask a computer guy about boat repair, you get what you get, ok?)
Updated in April, 2020.
It comes up from time to time, so in addition to Ask Leo!’s Who is Leo?, and my very out-of-date resume, here are a few words covering what I’m about.
I’ve been in the personal computer and software industry for over 25 years, as a software engineer and a manager of software engineers since 1979.
Spent the last two days at Chris Pirillo’s Gnomedex. Yes, even though my comments last year might have indicated otherwise, I did attend. Chris was nice enough to move it to Seattle for me, so how could I not go? Some of the speakers, in my very subjective order of value/quality/excitement included: Julie Leung on … Read more
On my home page you’ll see what I’m reading (or listening to via audio books) right now. All well and good, as far as a snapshot goes, but I figured it would make some small sense to record here what I’ve read. Dates underneath, if present, are the dates I finished the book, mostly for … Read more
Podcasts: Adam Curry The Chris Pirillo Show Contentious David Lawrence’s Personal Netcast The Dawn and Drew Show Future Tense Leo Laporte Morning Stories on WGBH The Roadhouse: “The finest blues you’ve never heard.” Speechless: Instrumental Music Staccato a Creative Commons music show Though not technically “podcasts” I grab these shows also, using Replay Radio for … Read more
A couple of people asked what I was up to lately, so here’s a snapshot. Not surprisingly, most can be found on the web… Ask Leo!: besides almost daily posts answering people’s questions, a new initiative to “link to Leo!”, and a new weekly podcast. Dolls and Friends: various bits of work such as an … Read more
A friend just got a Treo 650, and asked what additional software might be useful. Well, I’m incredibly happy with my Treo 600 (via Verizon), so here’s a list of what’s on my Treo:
But, sadly, apparently many people believe it is. After a particularly divisive campaign, it’s all come down to this: George W. Bush is our president for four more years. Prior to the election I heard people say that they would be scared, should Bush win. I took that to be common political rhetoric and assumed … Read more