RasterWeb!

Ok, video did not kill the car, but the car is non-functional. I’ve been using alternative transportation all week (feet, canoe, etc.) and working from home, which is good, because I can wear the same clothes everyday, which is good, because the washing machine broke, which is bad.

What is good? Video… More specifically videoblogging. Yes, videoblogging, I’ve been learning and playing and exploring video and videoblogging. I tell ya, this video thing might just catch on…

Some links of interest for those of you interested in videoblogging…

• Vlog (Wikipedia)
• Freevlog
• videoblogging.info
• VLOGDIR.COM
• vlog 3.0 [a blog about vogs]
• Videoblogging Yahoo! Group
• FireANT
• mefeedia

Oh there’s lots more… And I’m still not sure if vlog, vog, videoblog, or vidcast is the proper term. I mean, at least with podcasting we sort of all agreed on the term. Ok, most of us. Ok, well, at least the term stuck early on…

Video, it’s the wave of the future!

Do not expect credit for the work that you do. “Your credit is no good here, we only accept cash…” Expect nothing. Expect to lose out, expect to lose everything, if you break even, be happy. Just create things, create them for the pure joy of creating them, do not expect to be compensated for your work, you won’t be, what you will be is disappointed…

Do not use people, expect people to use you. Get something out of it, learn from it, find some way to benefit from it. Get something out of it, some small thing that you can be satisfied with. Don’t try to change the world, try to change yourself, your view, your position. Make things better, if not for others, than for yourself. Don’t set out to change the world, those who do rarely succeed. Changing the world is not always a good thing. Hitler changed the world…

Adopt our motto of “toiling away in obscurity” and maybe, if you’re lucky, it’ll just be “relative obscurity” or something close to it. What is the difference between famous and infamous? Positives, negatives… All a matter of perspective. Whose side are you on? How many sides are there? Do we have to pick sides? Everybody wants a pony…

Complaining is something that many people like to do, but few people like to listen to… If communication is the key, what is the lock? What is the combination? The meaning of the message will ultimately be decided by the reciever, not the sender. There is no hope…

I think the most important thing of all, the one to remember and not forget, is to keep on truckin’ and by that we mean, keep trying, keep doing, even if you fail on occasion, never surrender, you may have to compromise, you may have to make sacrifices, but even in the face of armageddon, do not give up.

I recently got a bill from a company for 0.31 cents. This is bureacracy at it’s finest…

Consider the costs involved with sending me a bill for 0.31 cents. There is the cost of postage, the cost of the paper, the time it took someone to review it – wait – I wonder if anyone did review it, not to mention the costs to me, as I now have to spend 0.37 cents to put a stamp on an envelope, and use a paper check, and spend my time dealing with it… I suppose if this whole process had been electronic it would have made more sense, what with micropayments and all, but still, even the processing power to deal with all of this probably costs more that 0.31 cents and could have been put to better use…

I mentioned “someone” above, in the thought that perhaps some human was involved in this whole equation… Doubtful eh? And even if there was a human involved, they’d just be following business rules, but would it not perhaps make sense to add something into your business rules that says that if a bill is under a certain amount just forget about it, or if it’s a recurring bill, add it on to the next or, let this one slide, whatever… It’ll never happen you say? Sure it will. It already does. The “take a penny, leave a penny” thing on the counter at the store serves this exact purpose. It keeps things moving, it prevents the wasting of time by customers who dig and dig for that penny they just know they have somewhere, and it allows the store to grab that penny when you don’t have it so they can save the time it would take to give you 0.99 cents in change. This works. It works because in a store they realize that keeping people waiting in line is not worth a penny.

So the next time you’re working on some system that does ridiculous things, consider suggesting that it take the smart approach and not be some dumb computer system that sends out bills for 0.31 cents.

Hey Best Buy, don’t mess with us Wisconsinites!

Wisconsin accuses Best Buy of misleading customers:

The lawsuit accuses Best Buy of promising cash rebates on certain purchases, but instead awarding gift cards for in-store purchases. Consumers who purchased a computer advertised for $1,199, for instance, paid $1,399 and received a $50 manufacturer’s rebate and $150 in-store credit.

Now really, I don’t hate Best Buy… It’s an ok place to browse and touch tech-toys before ordering from Amazon… ;)

In Linux Under the Desktop I had said:

What is Linux under the desktop? It’s the practice of sticking a server under your desk to get the job done…

Over time, these machines become useful, or even critical, and you need to move them into the server room along side all of the Windows boxes…

We just moved two Linux boxes out from under the desk and into the server room… And will probably put one more in there. Progress… it just takes time…