January 2007

Watch and shake your head in denial:

The german localisation of the new Thunderbird 2.0 Beta 2 is just hilarious:

Please notice the futile attempt to translate “Tag” into “Verschlagworten”. I mean, there are terms that really don’t need to be translated. For the sake of understandability.

Merlin Mann reports about a piece written by Adam Gurno about how drawing a map at the beginning of a meeting helps you memorize names and specifics about the people attending.

What a simple but great idea. Thanks Adam!

You’ll have to agree with me that these are quite smart but yet distressing ads. To be completely honest, it took me a moment to get them. I can only speculate that women are supposed to get these instantly.

This stuff from Defense Tech outright scares me:

Here’s the goal, as another source — U.S. Strategic Command’s deputy commander, Lt. Gen. C. Robert Kehler — later told me on-the-record: “strike virtually anywhere on the face of the Earth within 60 minutes.” (source)

The United States always had imperialistic motives but this is just ridiculous. Here to hoping that projects like those will fail through requiring massive amounts of personnel (read: soldiers).

Janjaap Ruijssenaars air mattress uses a matching set of repelling magnets, built into the bed and the floor below. It supports up to ~2,000 lbs.

Price point: $1.500.000

Link

Apparently this list has been around on the internet for quite some time but it was new to me. Maybe it’s new to you too. It’s worth reading from time to time.

100 Rules for NASA Project Managers

Rule #1: A project manager should visit everyone who is building anything for his project at least once, should know all the managers on his project (both government and contractor), and know the integration team members. People like to know that the project manager is interested in their work and the best proof is for the manager to visit them and see first hand what they are doing.

Rule #2: A project manager must know what motivates the project contractors (i.e., their award system, their fiscal system, their policies, and their company culture).

Rule #3: Management principles still are the same. It is just that the tools have changed. You still find the right people to do the work and get out of the way so they can do it.

Rule #4: Whoever you deal with, deal fairly. Space is not a big playing field. You may be surprised how often you have to work with the same people. Better they respect you than carry a grudge.

Rule #5: Vicious, despicable, or thoroughly disliked persons, gentlemen, and ladies can be project managers. Lost souls, procrastinators, and wishy-washies cannot.

Rule #6: A comfortable project manager is one waiting for his next assignment or one on the verge of failure. Security is not normal to project management.

Rule #7: One problem new managers face is that everyone wants to solve their problems. Old managers were told by senior management—�solve your own darn problems, that is what we hired you to do.�

Rule #8: Running fast does not take the place of thinking for yourself. You must take time to smell the roses. For your work, you must take time to understand the consequences of your actions.

Rule #9: The boss may not know how to do the work but he has to know what he wants. The boss had better find out what he expects and wants if he doesn’t know. A blind leader tends to go in circles.

Read the rest of this entry »

Microsoft Chief Moron Steve Ballmer again shows off his unique talent to be clueless and massively convinced at the same time. It’s like driving into a lake of mud with full speed, being convinced that the lake isn’t there. It’s not even hilarious but rather embarrassing that the CEO of the largest software manufacturer shows absolutely no understanding of what is going on.

Well, it’s clear that a good CEO is expected to push own products over the competition but it’s the way how you do it. You either take the smart route and announce competing products of equal quality or you nervously fake being relaxed about what you just saw because it has taken you unprepared. Ballmer did not even manage to archive the latter, he just acted like a total jerk. This charade was so transparent, it almost made him look pitiful. You want to punch him in the face so he shuts up and them give him a hug, saying: “You poor clueless bastard… But you still have Vista. Everything will be alright soon.”

I won’t even go into detail about all the wrong claims he makes and how ridiculously clear his futile attempts to struggle with the truth are. Look for yourself. It’s sad.

Taking advantage of technological advances since then, “My Cage” dispenses with performer and piano and auditorium, providing an experience technically more perfect than Cage’s live silence in both production and presentation, a clear improvement over the analog original. A remastering, “My Cage” is also a remix, introducing serendipity into the equation, delivering performances unpredictably, whenever calls come unexpectedly. The silence may take place without the listener being aware of it. Or the listener may hear a call - phantom silence - when there’s no one on the line. “My Cage” is  all-encompassing: Even those who don’t use it as a ringtone have the potential to experience it, in the silence of an unanswered call. (source)

Speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

I have been ill for a couple of days now (I guess it’s the flu running its circles again). Plus, I wasn’t able to come up with something decent to post following the Saddam execution video post. So I decided to go with the worst possible of all alternative and put up that very picture which has to be declared »weirdest photo of 2006«. If it’s from 2006 that is. I have no idea where it’s from, who it shows (not even what is shows for that matter) and what the hell the person pictured is doing.