caeron

Creating cool in marketing really isn't that tough, though it does require some discipline. That's the sizzle of marketing. I'm more talking about the marketing of product marketing. Figuring out what you need to do to make your product absolutely compelling. Apple in the computer space has only ever been lackluster at this as you might note by their marketshare. They've clearly found themselves as a consumer toy company, but then they lack the depth and breadth of Sony, so it's hard to call much of a record from an ipod and an iphone.

Personally, I think Gates biggest strength as a business leader was doggedness. He just never let go and never gave up. It was windows 3.1 before anybody used it. He just kept hammering at it. That's something I can respect. I agree, though, that Jobs did really get that it was the user experience. He just wasn't great about the business/marketing. Years ago I was on the team that offered to license the Apple interface for all UNIX systems. Apple could have really become a player. They weren't interested.

I guess he isn't on his deathbed after all. Too bad. I have an iphone and I like it quite a lot, but the cult of apple built around a guy whose ego has always outstripped his talent is inexplicable to me. I'm an old school tech guy, and I remember what a joke his company next was. The mac is great because it doesn't have to interoperate with anything. The ipod and the iphone are great products, but seriously.

Thanks for the warning about revolutionary road. I'd been interested from the preview, but will take a pass. A depressing story about a guy trapped in a middle management job that ends badly sounds too close to home :-) Here's Stanley Fish's list of top 10 movies from the ny times: http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/t...ican-movies/?em I thought it was funny that only two movies on the list were after 1958: Raging Bull and Groundhog Day. Groundhog day is brilliant though.

Fair enough. She is at least a real new yorker.

Does anybody else find her late discovery of interest in politics a bit perverse? I'm not a fan of the whole 'I'm an amateur who knows nothing about Washington so vote me in" school of campaigning in general. I want a politician who has a clue, and preferably one who has done enough to warrant my vote. Other than her name, does she really bring anything to the senate that thousands of other new yorkers who would probably like to be senator wouldn't?

I may be cooking when I get some, but I'm not sure I want to cook with it....

Saw slumdog millionaire last night and recommend it. I feared it would be too cute and contrived, but didn't feel that way. I thought it was heartwarming without being saccarine. Gritty but sweet maybe is a better way to describe it. And the flashback mechanism for telling the story I thought really worked well.

I'm hoping I'll get to pop my Rio cherry this year. If not, it is high on my list. Sounds like tons of fun.

I'm saving my pennies. Looking for a new Job, trying to come up with an excuse to go to Rio for the first time, and trying to lose about 40 pounds with my personal trainer. I'm hoping I manage at least 2 of these :-)

The movie poster I saw with kirk and spock was Waaaay homoerotic.

Wow. That's just stupid. I saw the CD cover and found that really counter-productive, since it was once again about "people who hate america". That bullshit isn't getting the republicans anywhere.

I don't know, for McCain, Warren might be a moderate choice. I wanted Obama because I wanted an end to the 8 years of ham handed stupidity, but I don't think Obama or Hillary would have been a great friend to the Gay community. ENough of one to keep our votes, but not enough to really take a risk on our behalf. We'll see, but I'm not expecting much from Obama. An end to "don't ask, don't tell" which I think the military is ready to abandon anyway is about as much as I'd hope for.

I've been trapped in the house for 3 days now, and starting to get a bit stir crazy. Fortunately, It's raining now, and with luck the drive will melt enough by the afternoon that I'll be able to get out.

Maybe his wife is a lesbian and just figured this model comes with a built in dildo?

I've had a few of those over the years. The more they talked, the less hot they got, so you just want to gag them before all the magic is gone.

I get this, but I think in the end it does more harm than good by validating that position. It's like the days when every gay rights story had to have some raving lunatic in it talking about how we were all mentally unwell. By including them, you just tell everybody its a reasonable point of view to hold.

I just got back from the airport here in Portland, and it took better than an hour for a normal 20 minute trip. The ice was thick on our road, and our driver wouldn't dream of getting up our drive so we had to climb up through the snow to get in. Fortunately, the cats are blissfully unaware of the weather, and greeted us with joy.

The turtle egg story made me laugh. I probably would have tried it and regretted it. My partner and I walked into a Malaysian place here in Portland OR, and noticed pig intestine on the menu. "Oh, chitlins" we thought, and decided we'd try it. When it arrived, I scarfed a piece up and put it in my mouth. The flavor was appalling. I didn't stop to think, and spit it into my napkin. My partner hadn't noticed this, so I gamely told her, "Wow, this is interesting, you should try it." She's way too polite for her own good, and the expression on her face was priceless. She hadn't noticed I'd spit mine out, so she managed to choke down a piece, tears coming down her face. She wasn't very happy with me later when she found out that I'd spit it out.

I commented to friends throughout the campaign that I wasn't a good Obama supporter. I'm a cynic. I wanted Hillary, but in the end pulled the lever for Obama because I believed that it was time to end an era and try something new. But I'm not a dreamer. I don't believe the we can find a new, friendlier tone in american politics. I don't believe the religious right bigots who make big money off of hating us are going to change. I hope to hell I'm wrong.

Zombie ads are the death of many of those kind of sites, though they never seem to figure that out. I don't want to see a ton of ads, but find most of them aren't current. Give me a site that makes sure the ads are current, and I'm there.

I can so relate. My first boyfriend gave me a tshirt with "everyready" on it. Those times are way too far in the past...

Blind Riders! Who would have thought? How many hours a day are you spending on the bike? Sounds like you've actually got some free time every day.

I agree. I was pretty disappointed that he'd pick a bigot for this. Does he really need to pander to these people?

Amazing story. I don't think my ass could handle sitting on a bike seat for that many hours a day, but I applaud you for it. please keep up the story, and we're cheering you on to the finish.