Boy I hope I never come accross like one of those aging poser hypster types. Please be brutally honest if I do.

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Good project managers are hard to find.

Good project managers are hard to find.
The truth is, most people can't manage their workload. A project manager has to manage multiple, concurrent projects for various clients being done by different people with different responsibilities. To do this they have to have a constant high level view of everything going on in all projects, going deeper frequently as time permits, and monitoring milestones.

The ability to see into the future doesn't hurt, either. After you've been a PM for long enough you start to get funny feelings about projects before they go south. You'll just know it's a death march. Even better PMs will know to be insistent when they have the urge to add developers or retrench and document and other players on the project (developers, account managers, clients, etc) will want to just blaze ahead, convinced that changes at this point won't help.

Do you know any good PMs? I'm seriously considering hiring one, but it's a big step for me and my business. If you know someone, let me know.

If you're new to tornado country, there's one coming if it's light and dark, warm and cold, all at the same time.

I just blogged on suspicious Iranian & Chinese naval activity related to Somali pirates: http://ping.fm/2CSlT

China and Iran sending naval ships to Somalia seems suspicious

Pirates off the coast of Somalia are fairly well known now. What was once a poor and war torn country has deteriorated into a government-less land where warlords and pirates can operate without concern.

Numerous countries have decided to send naval vessels there to protect their cargo. I was surprised to hear that Switzerland apparently has such ships. Then I heard that China would be sending ships, as well. This is the first time China has sent naval ships outside of the Pacific. The claim is that they are going to protect Chinese shipping concerns. Iran is sending ships, too.

There was another story involving China and the Somali pirates that I find to be a bit too coincidental to not be related. The Times, of South Africa, reported in "Pirates die strangely after taking Iranian ship" that a ship run by the a shipping line owned by the Iranian military, with a history of falsifying it's shipping manifests, was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia on route to Rotterdam after picking up iron ore and "industrial products" in Nanjing, China. The pirates have been dieing of symptoms reminescent of radiation sickness. The cargo was originally reported to be crude oil. Interesting comments from a site The Truth Will Set You Free say that China is an importer of iron ore, not an exporter, and that iron ore is not transported in the type of ship that was hijacked.

It's not possible to use an iPhone as a tethered modem? Wow...

Collecting materials to finish up clothespin Nutcracker

Need to choose a rock formation we'll make for the class lizard's Christmas gift.

Planning on crafts and activities with my 5 year old daughter.

You know you're using Twitter/Facebook/FriendFeed a lot when you need to follow more people because you're not getting enough updates.

Had a very pleasant experience with HP phone customer service. And past warranty, mind you!

To all of you who got cool espresso machines for Christmas, now is the time to invite me over. In case you were unsure when would be appropriate.

How many of you factor in the type of plastic when buying bottled water? Is water in glass more appealing?

Christmas seemed to come and go quickly this year.

I find people calling my beliefs a tradition obnoxious. Implies its hollow gesturing.

I have to make a confession - I like High School Musical. My 5 year old daughter is a good front.

Who is going to SXSW interactive (http://ping.fm/MBcow) this year (3/14-3/17)? Considering going...

InteractiveQA launched the remade in Drupal site http://www.petstyle.com last night. Pet lovers, converge!

I hate crowds and the cold. For some reason people think because I'm from NYC I'd love both.

I hate when people slow down Christmas carols till they're snoozy, spoken word things. Tempo, people!

Had 2 bites of a sweet potato and some water. Going to get 2 hours sleep before dropping 1 person off at the airport and picking another up.

Cleaning my office desk - not fun. Finding a $20 bill - fun.

Just heard a piece on govs protecting their vessels from pirates in Somali waters. Who knew that Switz. had ships to protect?

6 Flags - the rides, the smells, the people.... I hate that place.

Just found out my neighbor has been out of work for 8 weeks. Oil/gas deal sales guy. Any leads for serious phone sales types, please pass along.

Scotty P's burgers in Allen, TX - where the emaciated go if they want if they want to be on The Biggest Loser in a week.

The netbook/ultraportable/UMPC categories seem to be completely confused and mushed together. Don't think articles like this help: http://ping.fm/P8MaG

Proponents of personal efficiency methodologies who don't follow through show the gaping holes in those systems.

At my daughter's elementary school, just heard a teachers Back in Black (AC/DC) ringtone. Cool...

Google Docs Spreadsheet quickly did exactly what I needed that I just couldn't figure out how to do with OpenOffice.

Need to buy a webcam.

My local supermarket, having taken me to the brink of madness by moving the bread 5 times during recent rennovations decided to seal the deal with a celebration complete with caricaturists and jazz bands in the aisles. Its open 24/7. I'm thinking of coming in one night and putting everything back "where it belongs."

Off to see my daughter in The Nutcracker ballet.

Economic Indicators

You don't have to go far to hear news of the faultering economy. The growing deficit, foreclosures, layoffs, tightening credit.

Here are some things I've heard where I live in suburban Dallas.

My banker told me when the banks were failing people pulled out their money in a Depression era style bank run, despite penalties in the thousands.

The day after Thanksgiving our outlet mall was so packed cars were at a stand still at the exit from the highway that led to it. My wife felt pretty sure this was not a sign that there was no recession, but rather proof there was. I later heard a story on NPR backing that up. People intent on saving as much as possible for Christmas gifts and regular clothing purchases took advantage of Black Friday sales and outlet deals, along with lower gas prices and drove for hours to shop at outlet malls. Some of the people in the NPR interview had been unemployed for a long time.

The guy selling shoes at my local Macys told me they've seen a big increase in people using cash for purchases. They're apparently trying to budget their resources more.

Took my dead Blackberry to the store. They pulled the battery, put it back, it came on. Now wearing "I'm with stupid" shirt with arrow pointing up.

Doing my weekly volunteer work at my daughter's school stuffing folders. Very therapeutic. :)

I was really touched by all the birthday wishes I got through IM, email, Facebook, etc. I appreciate it a lot! Thanks everyone.

Right after cancer and world hunger are eradicated, we need to put the worlds top scientists on to printing out spreadsheets. Help is needed.

Did I really agree to daily 6am status calls? It does feel nice to get the day going right away...

Here in Texas, at least, Sports Authority sells coffin sized safes to hold your 20+ guns. Awesome...

Black Friday crowd at 5:50am in rainy Dallas suburbs makes the word "recession" have a question mark after it.

To my friends in Thailand - do what's right, but try to be safe.

I'm looking for Black Friday deals for a TV (40" or smaller) and a laptop (4GB of RAM and good battery life). Suggestions?

Any clkient call that ends with a conversation about lol cats is a success. I can haz website?

Any client call that ends with a conversation about lol cats is q

Figured out today I'm on the phone 40 hrs a month. Interactiveqa operators (me) are standing by!

I moved south to Dallas for warm weather. Its like 40. Pack'r up. We're moving out. Yah!!

Mexico, I'm sorry I bad talked your watermelons previously. I had one tonight, and it was great.

My 5 year old daughter Julia pointed out to me that nutcrackers are neither made of nuts nor crackers. Discuss...

Watching the news makes me want to work 27 hours a day instead of my slacker 16.

thankful I figured out how to make text I type into my Blackberry be in US English again and not arabic. Lovely language, I'm sure, but....

Super glue accident might have permanently affixed my wedding ring to my finger. Glad she's a keeper.

Dropped my Blackberry 8800 on the pavement, and it seems dead. Anyone have a data capable phone without contract attached with keyboard that would work with AT&T they'd like to sell? Just want to see my options.

The World is Flat

I'm probably the only person left on earth who is just reading this book, but I'll give my opinion on it anyway. Thomas Friedman's bestseller The World is Flat is an approximately 500 page rambling, conversational tone book on how small the world really is. In fairness to Thomas Friedman, the book was published in 2005, so some things in it that seem painfully obvious may not have been at the time. It might also be that I run a web development company that is operating in a 'flat world' sort of fashion, so what the book has to say just isn't so revolutionary to me. To be brief, I found the concepts obvious and the writing rambling. I think I might give one of Friedman's books a try when they're fresh from the olive tree. If his others are like this they have a limited shelf life.

I think my favorite part of my newborn's 2 wk doc visit was when we were asked her ethnicity. I enjoy my hand in complicating the world by making those questions difficult.

Feeling bad for all the people important to me that I didn't tell about our new baby. Sorry, truly sorry. :)

Trying out Digsby.

The VP debate has helped everyone who watched it feel even more strongly in favor of their side.

is thankful our livelihood is based on a diverse base of satisfied clients, not dependent on a line of credit or one company. These are interesting times.

Bringing Valerie and Ella home from the hospital.

Josh and Valerie welcome Ella Joo Hee McCormack. 3:48pm, 19.5 in, 6 lb 11 oz. http://ping.fm/SGb7E

A two day past due visit to the obgyn has turned into an inducement at the hospital. Its time! Please pray for Valerie and the baby.

Cold buckwheat waffles feel like elven bread when you're watching Lord of the Rings.

I'm enjoying the look on people's faces when they ask my wife when she's due and we say yesterday. :)

What this country needs is not Obama or McCain. We need Bill Pullman. And I don't mean his character in Independence Day. I mean Bill Pullman.

Electric outlets are the new wifi. Letting people juice up will bring in business.

The cover of sept/oct WebMD magazine looks like a website, with left nav (toc). Very cool to see web design influencing print design.

must set aside time and resources to get my own sites up and running. Nothing to encourage diversification like the threat of a depression.

Would the US government bail you out?

The stable, leading companies of the US are one after the other failing or being bought out, resulting in massive layoffs. One of the causes being pointed to again and again is the failure of so many mortgages, resulting in securities based on those mortgages to be worthless and expected revenue to be non existent. The situation is so bad in Nevada that more than one in a hundred houses are in some state of foreclosure.

When giant companies are failing the federal government tries to help by extending credit, taking over failing companies, or brokering and financially supporting buyouts. The logic of this is the failure of massive companies will hurt confidence in the economy, and that America's largest most venerable companies are important parts of the economy, supplying jobs and using materials.

Wouldn't helping out mortgage holders and other individuals and families fix this situation closer to its source? Giving people payment holidays or slower repayment could lower foreclosure rates and keep companies that rely on mortgages for income and value from failing.

since my computer found out I could quadruple it's RAM for under $100 it has been slowing down and greying out applications.

HP & EDS

It's not surprising that HP was interested in buying EDS. Companies need to grow regularly to keep shareholders happy, and IBM has shown that profit in the IT industry is in services, not in making equipment. HP is itself something of an amalgam of various companies - Compaq, Bluestone, Mercury, Snapfish, VoodooPC, etc. (see a list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HP_acquisitions). I didn't list those companies by market cap, but by companies that I remember that produced or continue to produce products I use. I'm not a shareholder in HP, but as a user of technology I have not been very happy with HP's use of acquired companies. At best they seem to continue on doing pretty much what they did before. All too often they seem to disappear, their names might survive in marketing, but no other traces of them.

But my concern with the HP/EDS merger isn't really what HP will do with EDS or the state of innovation and development of hardware in America, though those are really important issues. Mine is a local one. HP is a major player in the Dallas area where I live, and EDS is based out of Plano, which is part of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.

This site's comments are a play by play of effected EDS employees worldwide documenting being laid off: http://advice.cio.com/stephanie_overby/hp_and_eds_let_the_layoffs_begin

I don't know how many people will end up being laid off, but I'm fairly sure it will be a lot and will have a local impact on this area that many here seemed to think was free of the brutal lay offs of the telecom days and somewhat insulated from the recession hitting a lot of the rest of the country so hard.

Blackberry Skype app

I previously tried out the IM+ Skype app, and found it worked well. I spoke to a potential contractor in Italy who was on Skype while I was driving in Dallas. Pretty slick stuff.

When the I was invited to a Skype conference with someone in New York and someone in Croatia, and it was likely I would be away from my desk, I looked into my Blackberry Skype options, in case something better or cheaper than IM+ had come along.

I downloaded iSkoot. While I have yet to actually use it for a call, I have used it quite a bit for chats, and it works great, and it's free. I'll update this after I use it for a call, but as with all mobile phone Skype applications, it seems, whether you're calling another Skype number or not, you are charged for Skype out. A small price to pay, I suppose, and a much less expensive option than trying to make international calls the old fashion way. With a wifi enabled phone it could be an interesting way to save money when abroad, as well, rather than international roaming charges.

Blackberry IM clients

I use a Blackberry 8800. I tried out a few free IM clients and found they didn't work for me. They only worked on one service each typically, they sent messages via SMS instead of through data channels, and they constantly went on and off line and pestered my connections letting them know as much.

I tried out IM+ and decided on that. I invested some time and figured out how to configure it as best as I could. Some nice things about it are it seems to be moderate in battery consumption, and you can start typing someone's name and it jumps to them in the list of buddies. On the downside, I couldn't configure the display of text in IMs to be as simple as I wanted, and scrolling up through an ongoing IM was laborious. A much greater problem, which I thought must really have just been a problem accross all phone IM programs was the interrupted connection. Unfortunately, with IM+, it sometimes looked like it was online, but in fact was not. I could see people were online, I could send messages, but in reality, I was not connected and my messages went nowhere.

I decided to give JiveTalk a try. It's battery consumption is pretty serious, comparatively. It does not have the easy way of getting to people in your buddy list. And it's notification of new messages isn't quite as nice as IM+. With IM+ an AJAX style display of a new message comes up over the application you're in. With JiveTalk it's usually a model dialog which must be clicked on to go away. On the plus side, the interface for the buddy list is really nice, I can make the text display as minimal as needed, and when it says it's connected, it is, when it's not, it's not. And it reconnects much better than IM+. With IM+ I found myself rebooting to get it to work, which was painful.

Neither program has terribly good chat history. Looking at a history you'll notice a number of missing entries, and the only way to get decent ones is if you were chatting via Gtalk and you can get them from Gmail.

I've decided on JiveTalk, as I think it's a big improvement over IM+. I'm really happy that I can do so much on my Blackberry, but I'm hopeful the development of these sort of application continues.

Summer of Science

Summer is coming, preschool is coming to an end for my nearly 5 year old, and I want to continue her learning and take advantage of the extra time I can have with her, when she won't have all her activities going on. I'm thinking a bunch of science experiments could be a lot of fun.
Right now I'm thinking of:

• Diet-Coke/Mentos explosion thing
• Dissolving a nail in coke
• Making crystals on a string out of salt
• Making a terrarium in a soda bottle
• Making an electromagnet (credits to my friend for that idea)

My wife just so happened to teach our daughter the word hypothesis recently, so I think we're off to a good start. We'll keep a notebook, find plans, explanations and videos on the Internet, and find relevant books at the library.

Already a recent visit to a park revealed an aphid infested tree covered with lady bugs, including a pupae, all of which we had seen in a book we took out of the library. Exciting stuff.

Japanese Suicide

Japan has long had a close relationship with suicide, both historically and in modern times. Reasons are thought to be honor and pressure, and as increasingly it's becoming apparent, as one person quoted in one of the articles below, it's not forbidden by law or religion in Japan. Things are going to a disturbing extreme, with people organizing and encouraging each other over the Internet, and finding easy, relatively non gruesome and painful ways to end their own lives.
Japan Detergent Suicide
Japanese Internet Suicide Clubs