Never trust a man who doesn't shine his own shoes...

I just finished talking with dear h & was preparing to go to sleep. Having remembered that I was wearing khaki's to work tomorrow I glanced at my brown dress shoes & realized they needed to be shined. I walked over to my closet & retrieved my old dirty sock(shoe polish on it), the old dirty t-shirt(ditto), the long brush & the short brush as well as the brown polish.

Now I was never taught by anyone what the proper way to shine a shoe, but having watched my father do it many times over on a Sunday morning when I was a small child, I had gleaned enough information off of the experience to get the gist of it. I also, through life experiences, have seen many other instances where people have shined shoes. I am, by no means an expert, but do think I do a reasonably good job.

Somehow shining one's shoes is an immensely satisfying experience. Out of all of the chores in life, including laundry, dishes, &c &c, I find this chore to be one that I do not mind doing. It doesn't take long and its actually a bit of fun for me. Being a tech geek my entire life, I've only recently (in the past 6 or 7 years) come to appreciate the creative side of myself. Whether its Photoshopping a picture, designing a web page layout, or putting a good polish on my shoes - I like being creative/productive. Furthermore, shining one's own shoes says something, I think, about the person. I think it shows that no small menial task is beneath themselves - no matter what their station in life. It just seems honest, if you can understand that.

Never trust a man who doesn't shine his own shoes.

Pirates take over anti-piracy website

The Pirate Bay scores another victory over the music biz

Rob Mead

15 Oct 2007 07:30 GMT
Software pirates have launched an astonishing smash 'n' grab raid on the music biz, stealing the domain name of one of its foremost anti-piracy bodies.

The Pirate Bay has now taken up residence at IFPI.com, a domain once owned by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The Pirate Bay now says the site will promote the International Federation of Pirates Interests.

The Pirate Bay is, of course, infamous for being the world's largest BitTorrent tracker with over 630,000 torrents that comprise illegal rips of audio CDs, TV shows and movies, as well as software and video games.

When asked to confirm how they got the domain name, Pirate Bay administrator Brokeup told TorrentFreak:

"It's not a hack. Someone just gave us the domain name. We have no idea how they got it, but it's ours and we're keeping it."

tech.co.uk

RIP: Roy Rosenzweig, digital historian at GMU

BB reader Sarah says,

Roy Rosenzweig, founder of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, died on October 11, 2007. He was a pioneer in digital history and pushed for open access and for use of digital material in historical scholarship.

Link to Washington Post obit. More here. Image: Jon Goell -- Gmu Center For History And New Media.

(Via Boing Boing.)

This caught my attention because, having went to GMU, I had helped to contribute a number of photographs & videos that I took of GMU's trip to the NCAA final 4 in 2006 I met this brilliant man on one fine saturday in late May of 2006 while delivering my files on a dvd to the dept. for archiving. His personality & cordiality was such that it stuck in my mind to this day.

Solar Decathlon Shines on the Mall This Week

We may write all the time about our developing neighborhoods, but one D.C. block is getting super-developed as we speak. Stroll down to the National Mall between today and October 20 and you'll find yourself in the middle of the Solar Village, where twenty universities have descended on the strip with their brilliant innovations costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, to compete in Solar Decathlon 2007. The entire event is open to the public with tours, workshops, and awards ceremonies for the most promising and practical showings.Developed by the Department of Energy five years ago, and now part of Pres. Bush's 2006 Solar America Initiative, the Solar Decathlon challenges engineering and architecture students to create "the most livable, energy-efficient, completely solar-powered house." Each team is given a grant of $100,000 -- though most projects use significantly more, raising the rest themselves through gifts and fundraising -- and two years to design and build their project. The teams arrived in D.C. last week to begin assembling their 800 sq. ft. units, outfitted with technology that allows the house to produce as much or more energy than it uses.A true decathlon, the teams compete in a battery of ten tests for certain points. Each house must be well-rounded to score high, not only maintaining a successful energy balance, but also by being a truly practical house that's easy and comfortable to live in. A new trial this year tests market viability, urging teams to think about the real people who might want to buy such a home. And not content to leave the competition at the garage door, more points are awarded based on how many miles they can drive their electric car, using "leftover" energy generated by the house.

Before visiting the solar village, the teams want you to focus on the following:

>> Approximately 86 percent of the energy consumed world-wide comes from fossil fuels.
>> The U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world's population, but uses 25 percent of the world's energy.
>> A typical U.S. family spends around $1,500 a year on utility bills.

With that in mind, the Director of the Solar Decathlon, Richard King, told DCist:

The Solar Decathlon has three goals: first, to educate students, professionals and the general public that energy efficiency pays off and that solar energy really works; second, to support a new generation of energy and building engineers that will help transform the way we build and power homes; and third, to be a complement to the Solar America Initiative, which seeks to make solar energy cost competitive with conventional forms of electricity by 2015.

With prior competitions in 2002 and 2005, this year's batch of 20 teams is the biggest yet. Reigning champion -- of both Decathlons -- University of Colorado remains the Goliath to beat. Despite past successes, team member Chad Corbin told us they're embracing the events' innovative ideal and taking a "radically different" approach this year. Inside their house you'll find their secret weapon: a "core" that runs along the central axis of the house, containing the mechanical, electric, and plumbing systems, along with the utility-heavy kitchen and bathrooms. The genius? Engineering the essential components into one -- and this is the key word -- removable core unit means that it can be manufactured en masse and shipped anywhere relatively easily and quickly. Buyers can then design their own home around it, to their own personal tastes. Even better, the unit can be sent to disaster areas, allowing residential housing to be built up quickly where it's needed most, in areas where gas and electricity may be unavailable.

One important aspect of these houses is that, although they may include incredible feats of architecture and engineering, the designers don't focus as much on creating new inventions as they do using easily accessible, off-the-shelf products in more efficient ways. Meaning, you might just come home with a few ideas to use in your house right now, particularly with the slew of accompanying workshops, such as "Energy Efficiency for the Homeowner." In fact, the houses aren't usually torn apart as businesses seek to patent items, but instead, put on display for as many people as possible. Colorado's and Carnegie Mellon's houses have already been slated for permanent display, and the 2005 entry by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid will be on display in Beijing during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

While Team Colorado may be in it to win it, Corbin notes that they "don’t really win anything. This is all about educating people and changing habits and minds. Very few [team members] get compensation or school credit. We do it to show people what we can do with today’s technology. You can produce as much energy as you use."

The Solar Decathlon takes place on the National Mall until October 20. The opening ceremony for the Decathlon is Friday at 10 a.m. Public tours of the houses will run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekend, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the weekdays. Workshops will also be available during certain hours. See the entire schedule of events here.

Images from the 2005 Solar Decathlon, courtesy the event web site.

(Via DCist.)

Enterprise Software’s Youth Drain

By M.R. Rangaswami, publisher of SandHill.com and co-founder of Sand Hill Group

They say that youth is fleeting. In the enterprise software industry, the youth are fleeing.

One need only look at the hairlines of today’s software leaders. The current wunderkinds are not looking to create the next wave of corporate computing applications, but are instead gravitating toward emerging fields, such as web 2.0, biotech, and anything “green.”

Bill Gates was 19 when he founded Microsoft (MSFT). Steve Jobs started Apple (AAPL) at 21. Even Marc Benioff was in his 30s when he founded Salesforce.com (CRM) — and at 42, he remains one of the industry’s youngsters.

Software companies need to do more to attract the next generation of business leaders who will drive the evolution of the industry for decades to come.

Software’s Aging Leaders

Here’s what opened my eyes. I looked around at the attendees of our Enterprise 2007 conference this summer and was pleased to see many of the enterprise software industry’s leaders represented, including CEOs, VCs, professionals and analysts.

But then I did a double take: The average age of this elite group (including yours truly)? 50 years old!

Steve Ballmer, Larry Ellison, Henning Kagerman, Dave Duffield…all of them are solidly in middle age. A tremendous brain trust to be sure, but who is going to take the reins and lead the industry into the next era?

The next eye-opener? In a survey given out at the conference, these highly-successful industry leaders were asked whether they would advise their college-aged kids to start a career in the software business. More than half said they would, but nearly a third said they wouldn’t!

So where are all the Gates and Jobs of today? Many young entrepreneurs continue to receive venture backing for software companies –- in fact, software regained its title as the leading venture investment category during the second quarter. Notably, however, nearly as many are receiving backing to go into biotech or greentech or other emerging fields.

And within the software space, young business leaders are choosing web 2.0, open source, SaaS or consumer applications over traditional business apps. These are all attractive fields, to be sure, but the enterprise software elephant in the corner is a $600 billion industry waiting to be fed.

The new guard of software leaders operates differently than the old guard, usually with far less capital. And they are tuned into the online culture like no 50-year-old can be: they’ve grown up with it, and as such will be able to bring the consumer online experience to the corporation with ease.

Before I get too much hate mail about age discrimination, and in light Google’s recent legal troubles, I want to be clear that I’m not advocating hiring younger people over older people. I’m talking about the need for people with new skills and new ideas who are young enough (in years) to ride out the next 10 or 20 years of industry fluctuations.

The fact is that unless the software industry receives an influx of new talent, it will be difficult for the 50-year-olds to keep their companies’ relevant in the next era.

How to Rejuvenate the Industry

It is time for enterprise software companies and their investors to take steps to make the industry a more welcoming and attractive place for young workers. Here are some of my thoughts on how to attract the next generation of leaders:

• Make Room at the Top – It may be time for many longtime software company leaders to simply step aside. The same goes for members of the board. If Bill Gates can do it, anybody can.

By making a gradual transition (such as the one taking place at Microsoft) and tapping the right successors, software companies can receive the benefits of a fresh strategic perspective and a new outlook.

• Mentor Young Executives — Much of the brain trust of the enterprise software industry is rapidly approaching retirement. The only way to recapture this collective knowledge is to impart it to the next generation of executives.

While it is nice to think that today’s young execs can learn by watching, the pace of today’s business environment may make it difficult. Companies seeking to preserve this insight should consider a mentoring initiative – either formal or informal – to impart to its younger execs.

• Re-establish Entry-Level Positions — As the software industry evolved over the past 10 years, a wide variety of entry-level jobs in both business and engineering disappeared. Some jobs were outsourced, some were offshored, and some simply dried up during the economic downturn, never to be re-established.

There is no way that today’s software vendors will be able to promote from within and tap into next-generation thinking if they do not slot a significant number of entry-level jobs for new workers. These positions should be on both the technical and business side.

• Step Up Marketing to Universities — There is a perception among college graduates that all technology jobs are moving overseas. Anyone who has recently tried to find an engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area knows that nothing could be further from the truth.

The job market for software developers is almost as tight as it was during the dot-com boom. Engineering graduates will have their pick of companies, and industries, to choose from.

The software industry associations and the major companies themselves must raise their profiles in graduates’ minds. Efforts such as job fairs and promotions at universities can help achieve this.

• Develop Cross-Industry Recruiting Tactics — Recruiters are famous for tapping consumer packaged goods leaders to run tech companies – and for convincing former tech execs to run “green” or biotech companies. It is time for the software industry to expand its recruiting pool.

As other industries work to recruit the up-and-coming leaders that the software industry used to attract, the software industry needs to fight back. TCS is trying to overcome some of the talent crunch in India by recruiting talented non-engineers from other scientific fields for training as developers or other much-needed staff. The ramp-up is longer, but the results so far have been positive.

• Make the Industry a More Attractive Place to Work — In many ways, the software industry has always been one of the best fields to work in. Today it’s even better.

The business environment is fast-paced and rapidly evolving. There is the opportunity for international travel, rapid advancement, telecommuting and financial rewards. The faster the industry can get the word out about these benefits, the better.

• Set Up Internal, Innovation-Driven “Startups” — For many established vendors, incorporating the energetic and fast-paced climate of a startup is difficult to maintain as a company grows to have hundreds and then thousands of employees.

Many vendors, such as Motorola (MOT), have created internal innovation centers to foster the growth of new ideas, products and businesses. The atmosphere is more likely to attract a new generation of leaders.

I believe the software industry can do more to prevent the “youth” drain that I see happening today. What do you think? Is the software industry “older” than any other fast-growth industry? Is the entire concept of enterprise software fading away? Can vendors do anything more to attract new college grads? I welcome your feedback.

(Via GigaOM.)

Carmen Sandiego finally found! // pic

Jeez, it's been a loooong time, Carmen.

read more | digg story

And The Walls Came Tumbling Down: Madonna Dumps Record Industry

Source for this post is Techcrunch:

Since reporting Monday that Nine Inch Nails had dumped its record label and was to offer future albums direct to the public, Oasis and Jamiroquai have also joined the move away from the record industry, but the biggest announcement of all is news today that Madonna has dumped the record industry.According to reports, Madonna has signed a $120million deal with L.A. based concert promotion firm Live Nation to distribute three studio albums, promote concert tours, sell merchandise and license Madonna’s name.

Whilst the deal differs from Nine Inch Nails in that Madonna is not offering direct-to-public albums, Live Nation isn’t a record company. The deal shows that even for a world famous act, a record company is no longer required in the days of digital downloads and P2P music sharing.

The only real question now is how fast will the music industry model come tumbling down. When Radiohead led the way in offering their music directly to fans many predicted that the move was the beginning of the end; Madonna may well be the tipping point from where we will now see a flood of recording artists dumping record labels and where todays model will shortly become a footnote in Wikipedia.

Update: More over at Techdirt:

Next Up To Ditch Record Label: Madonna
from the quite-a-week dept

It's been quite a bad month for the record labels, huh? Kicked off by Radiohead's ditching record labels in order to embrace the new business models that the record labels insisted were dangerous to the industry. In retrospect, it looks like they were just dangerous to the record labels (gee, who could have predicted that?). The latest huge name to ditch a record label appears to be Madonna, who is apparently siging a huge deal with a concert and merchandise promoter instead for over $100 million. She'll still be putting out albums through the promoter rather than the label. There's no indication if she's going to use this to free up some music, but the point should be pretty clear. The money is in concerts and merchandise -- the stuff that the music makes valuable -- not in the music itself. While EMI's new owners have made some noises that maybe they understand what's going on, there's a good chance that it's way too late for the old labels. They had their chance to embrace fans, new technology and the music itself -- and they spent 8 years suing the fans and the technology instead. It's reached the point that college kids are now organizing to protest the RIAA. It's becoming increasingly clear that the labels weren't helping musicians very much either -- and now it appears to be payback time. This isn't the "fault" of piracy. This is the fault of shortsighted recording industry executives who had every chance to understand the economics at play and instead chose to attack everyone (and there were lots) who pointed out to them where the market was going.

Darth Vader Being A Jerk