One More Thing

Google Docs Continues to Disrupt

The unnamed CIO works for what Whitehurst described as a “big industrial logistics company.” A few months ago the CIO was asked by the chief marketing officer to provide a way for marketing employees around the world to share and build documents together, and perform other collaborative tasks.

The CIO discussed the project with his application development group, then went back to the CMO and said “we can do this, in nine months at a cost of $14 million,” according to Whitehurst.

“The CMO says ‘what are you talking about? I was describing my daughter’s high school science project.’ And they were on Google Documents, sharing information, jointly editing documents, and they’re doing it for free…”

via Google Docs creates expectations CIOs can’t meet, Red Hat CEO says ( – Internet – Software – Operating systems, non-Windows ).

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Inoffensive

“No people in history have ever survived who thought they could protect their freedom be making themselves inoffensive to their enemies.”

Dean Acheson, Former US Secretary of State

Posted in Quote | No Comments »

Deep Water

This graphic provides some amazing context for why BP is having some much trouble containing the oil spill in the gulf.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Astronomical Numbers

I love this:

There are 10^11 stars in the galaxy.  That used to be a huge number.  But it’s only a hundred billion. It’s less than the national deficit!  We used to call them astronomical numbers.  Now we should call them economical numbers.

Richard Feynman
US educator & physicist (1918 – 1988)
via The Quotations Page

Posted in Quote | No Comments »

Beef Stew

I got a new Crockpot for my birthday and it came with some great recipes.  I made this yesterday and, as usual with slow cooking, it tasted better the second day:

4 lbs beef chuck stew meat
1/2 cup flour
Salt and pepper
3 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
6 small potatoes, quartered
2 onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced
Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for six hours

I cooked it on high for six hours and the meat was very juicy.

Posted in Food | No Comments »

Shot of the Day

National Geographic Shot of the Day: Meadows Park, Scotland

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Parenting and Product Management

Cranky PM has a great post on Product Management and parenting.

So, YEAH.  Product Management is JUST LIKE parenting.  JUST LIKE.  Especially if:

1. You go around asking everyone about your baby’s strengths, but especially his weaknesses.
2. You do win-loss analysis after play dates.
3. You actively seek market problems that your toddler can profitably solve.  For example, maybe Judd Apatow’s next film could use the CrankyKid’s cursing and new-found toileting skills?
4. You send out surveys to relatives, friends, members of the local mother’s club, and those “Mommy and Me” Pilates people (or do we only have these in California?) about how well your child is meeting their needs, and what their perception of your child’s brand is.
5. You maintain a 10-year roadmap for the child, in PowerPoint format.
6. You conclude that after two years of being a drag on your household’s finances, that you need to shoot your spawn in the head.  Or at least “desupport” him/her by refusing to further feed, clothe or educate him/her.

I love #5. I’m definitely maintaining a 10 year roadmap on my kids.

Posted in Product Management | No Comments »

Individual Actors

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Super Bowl Squares

The drawing for the office Super Bowl pool was this afternoon and I came away with two lousy squares. I have Colts 2 / Saints 6 and Colts 4 / Saints 5.

That got me to wondering which numbers had the best odds and, as always, the Internet had the answer at hand. Someone compiled the data on all the NFL games since 1994 and determined the odds of each final score.

My two boxes are definitely bad at 0.35% and 0.50%, respectively. I shouldn’t complain though. The guy with 2/2 is looking at only a 0.04% chance of winning.

Not surprisingly, 0/7 has the best odds at 3.8%.

I can always hope for a shoot out with the Colts scoring 42 on 6 touchdowns the the Saints scoring 36 with 5 touchdowns and a two point conversion. With these two teams it’s not that far-fetched.

UPDATE: This data is much better. It shows, in percentage terms, the frequency of score at the end of each quarter for every Super Bowl.

Posted in General, Sports | No Comments »

Shepard’s Pie

It was cold, wet, and generally miserable on Long Island today. Perfect weather for one of my favorite meals, Shepard’s Pie.

Here is the recipe I use:

3 cups chopped meat
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon rosemary
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup of beef broth
Salt and pepper
4 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed
Cooked corn and / or peas

Preheat the oven to 375. Combine beef, garlic, onion, and rosemary. Melt butter in skillet and stir in flour. Cook for a few minutes until smooth and blended. Slowly add beef broth. Stir and cook until the gravey is thickened, cooking at least 5 minutes to get out the raw taste of the flour. Add meat mixture, salt and pepper to taste, and cook until the meat is done.

Spoon the mixture into a casserole dish and top with the corn and peas. Spread mashed potatoes on top. Bake for 40 minutes or until meat is bubbling and potatoes are browned.

Some people like to add shredded cheese on top.

I drank a Blue Point Ale with this tonight but it is also great with a red wine.

Posted in Food | No Comments »