Wall Street.

Seriously, folks.  I’m buying up all the stock I can afford in case he wins, because whether you believe in him or not, he’s spent huge piles of cash ($600 million?) selling change. American consumers have a knack for believing marketing and advertising, no matter what.  The people who buy and sell stock on Wall Street - if there is one thing that they want, it’s change.

I predict that if Obama wins Tuesday, the Dow will go up 1500 points Wednesday, and another 1000 on Thursday.  If McCain wins - I bet it just stays flat.  Does anybody really believe McCain represents change, even his own advisors? Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday, Renee and I went to the Arizona State Fair with Cady.  I was really suprised how expensive it was - $12 just to park!

Which brings me to the story:

Because the rides were so expensive, we had to pick carefully what she got to ride, and of course - no rides for us.  Not at that price.

We saved what we thought was the best for last - a kiddie roller-coaster.  I asked the guy running the ride what time the rides stop and he said he didn’t know…in other words, he didn’t speak English.  I guarantee you, if he did, he’d know.  I used to work at the fair.  Anyway, we convinced Cady to ride by herself and told her she’d be okay.  So, like the trooper she is, she got on.

Not long after the ride started, Renee said she thought Cady looked scared… and she did.  She’s been on bigger roller coasters before, but never with strangers.  I guess it just didn’t occur to me how she’d feel.  I felt so hopeless.  As a father, I can’t stand to see my little girl upset at all… there’s like this primal thing in me that wants to protect her.

But, I couldn’t do anything.  I wasn’t going to ask the guy to stop the thing - after all, he didn’t speaka the English anyway.  So, I just kept saying, loudly, “it’s okay honey” whenever she came around to us.  Renee, the genius that she is, was saying “wee!” and “isn’t it fun.” It seemed to help, so I did the same.  I remember counting how many times it went around - 10!  Before the ride started, the cynic in me was sure it would be only 4.  She was okay when she got off, though she was clearly scared.  I felt bad…but what can you do.

That’s when it occurred to me… sometimes, you just have to say “wheee!”

Like maybe with the economy.  Our savings are nearly half gone thanks to Wall Street, and it just keeps getting worse.

Or maybe when I was just recently diagnosed with Sjogrens Syndrome.  Until then, I felt hopeless - so I was relieved to know.  But then when I looked it up on my iPhone, the symptoms don’t match what I’ve been going through.

Wheee!

I have been working on a new web site, and like many designers, I like to use grids.  I looked at Khoi Vinh’s presentation on grids, which is very good, if you haven’t read it.  He makes a lot of good points; for example how a 12 column layout is ideal in many circumstances because it’s divisible by both 3 and 4.  Ultimately he comes up with a 14 column grid… however, he bases his grid on the assumption that users have only 960 X 650 pixels of usable space in a browser on a 1024 X 768 screen.  He also comes up with a column width of 62 pixels and a 7 pixel gutter…

In my opinion, 7 pixels is too tight for a gutter; and I hate odd numbered pixels in gutters.  You can’t center the edges of two rectangles (the right edge and left edge respectively).

In my experience, the true usable, horizontal space in a browser (based on the lowest common denominator of a 1024 screen) is 1002 pixels.  I came up with that number using just about every browser and OS combination.  Practically, though, I just round it down to 1000 pixels.

After a few hours of noodling, I came up with a 1000 pixel, 12 column grid with 66 pixel units and 16 pixel gutters.  I layed out a design with it and I have to admit, it’s pretty freakin sweet, which is why I’m sharing my new grid recipe with the world.

GIF version

Photoshop CS3 version

UPDATE: Believe it or not, Microsoft sent me a new disc!  They were super nice about it, in fact.  I guess you just have to be a squeaky wheel.  I got Vista installed.  I messed around with it a lot, and I have to be honest - it’s not bad.  But…. the things I liked about it are the things they copied from Apple.  There isn’t anything innovative about it.  It’s pretty, and it’s fast on the Mac… but what about it is better than OS X?

Still, point is, thank you Microsoft for making things right.  The old Microsoft would not have been so accommodating, so it looks like there is some positive change going on.

I sent the following dispute to Microsoft today.  If they don’t do anything, I will have basically lit $200 on fire… two days of phone calls and countless hours trying to install something all so I can do a high-resolution render of a single image.  Sigh.

…turns out it’s not empty after all.  Obviously, this post is of a more personal nature…

Last night, my tongue felt like it was numb.  I didn’t think much of it.  When I woke up this morning, it still was, but again - I figured it was nothing.  Then, this afternoon, I tried to whistle (something I do when I’m driving sometimes) and noticed that only the right side of my lips curled up.  I tried taking a drink of my soda, and it dripped right out of my mouth…embarassing.  I also noticed my eyebrow seemed kind of droopy; I’ve had that before but it went away.  I just chalked it up with edging closer to 40, before.

Part of my day involved getting about 7 vials of blood drawn for a battery of tests for Lupus, after waiting nearly a month dealing with getting referrals, dealing with insurance, and getting more referrals.  Meanwhile, it seems to be taking over more of my body - first my ankles, then my knees, elbows, and…

By about 5:00, I was stuck in rush hour traffic, and I saw something odd in my rearview mirror.  My left side of my face was totally limp and “hanging” there, and I couldn’t shut my left eye all the way.  Weird!  So, as much as I hate going to the E.R., I felt that I had no choice - at this point two different people I know told me I could have had a stroke.

I went to John C. Lincoln, which to be honest, is not my favorite hospital, but it was close and I know they take my insurance.  They were much better this time; I think they have improved.  Service was better, and I got out in only 5 hours including a CT scan.

So, it turns out, no stroke, but I do have Bells Palsy.  It’s a non-life threatening condition brought on by several different things.  One of the first things the doctor’s assistant asked me was if I had Lupus, which is a common cause of Bells Palsy.  Great.  I guess that pretty much wraps that up.  (Oh, by the way, a few famous people with Bells Palsy: Pierce Brosnan, George Clooney, Joe Montegna, and Katie Holmes.  I hope it has the same effect on me!)

I hope it’s not Lupus, but then, I really just hope that someone can figure out what the hell is wrong with me.  I’ve had chest pains, leg pains and everything else.  It’s embarassing, for example, going to the hospital, getting $50k bills for a week stay only to be sent home without a diagnosis (that happened last Christmas).  Especially being a guy - being weak and complaining about pain and weaknesses is not exactly a guy thing. 

I’m fine with having something.  I just want to know what it is.  Having an enemy you can’t see or even name makes it hard to kick their ass.

I have been very busy the last few weeks.  I kind of feel like George Lucas right before 20th Century Fox gave him the green light for Star Wars.  I have some really big ideas that I’ve had for years, and it looks like I’m finally getting some traction.  Of course, I can’t really say a whole lot about it until I have the team and the resources in place.  I can say that I am launching a new company that focuses on local advertising and media distribution for the web, that it’s about community, and I’m working like mad on version 3 of my business plan.

The big question I’ve been trying to answer since I first got involved in the web is: as our lives move online, how do we continue to have a life that’s rich with meaningful friendships and offline activities?  Social networking sites are a step in that direction, but how different are they, really, than email?

I am convinced that electronic communication needs to bring us together to have real conversations, in person… not lock us away in the dark.  The web is a place, but it’s not a real place.  It’s a tool, a utility.

As technology makes people more “productive” and grows our GDP, it’s also putting us in front of a computer or mobile phone 24/7.  What if the web could anonymously introduce you to a neighbor two streets over who has the exact same interests as you?  There are ways to do this now, but it’s not easy.

I have been a community organizer before.  Back in the 90s I started a group called Parasol in Columbus, Ohio, that was about alternative medicine and alternative spirituality.  Think Birkenstocks, Yoga, and vegetarian restaurants.  Back then, it was a monthly, printed magazine.  Times have changed.

The Internet has long enabled guys in Texas to meet girls in Australia, and business partners in Madagascar to meet business partners in Canada.  I think it’s time that the web gets local, connecting people in Tempe, Arizona with other people in Tempe, Arizona.  That, in essence, is exactly what I hope to achieve.

I worked for a startup in the 90s where our boss came to us one summer, and said, “look, I have to be honest. Times are hard. In a few weeks, I’m not going to be able to pay all of you. So, you have two choices:

1. We shut down today. I pay you each for the next few weeks pay, and we close up shop. No questions asked, no pressure.
2. You each take a cut in salary, approximately 1/2 of your pay, or however much you can afford to cut. We keep working on making a sale, and if we do, we probably won’t be able to pay you back.”

What happened next..

We sat in a conference room, about 10 of us. Generally people said they wanted to bail. But I stood up and I said “look, we are this company. We make it what it is. We know we’re the best in this business, so why go work somewhere else that, at best, will be mediocre? Most likely it will be one of our lame competitors, with their shareholders and Wall Street goons. So I’m not saying I’m not going to freshen up my resume, but I for one am taking the pay cut.”

The Result

Everyone stayed. In about a month, we got a new contract and our doors stayed open. The next spring, we all got a huge check out of the blue. The boss called a meeting and with a tear in his eye he said “you guys make us what we are. You took a risk and believed in each other, in our sales department, and me, and not one of you came to me about those wages. Therefore I have repaid you all today plus an additional $2000. Thank you.”

The company is still in business, in a larger facility. It’s a little smaller these days, but the soul of the company is still there. I left for other reasons eventually, but I’ll never forget the lesson I learned: companies are people, and the future of a company is in the hands of those people. So… treat them right. If not because it’s the right thing to do, because it’s good for business.

Yesterday I was “let go” from my job at Bonneville Phoenix. Not because I was bad, not because I don’t know what I’m doing, but because of the economy. Which I find particularly offensive since I only have said Good Things about The Economy. I never called it’s baby ugly. I never even flirted with its’ whiny wife, The Government.

Seriously, though, I am really sad about this, but I’m not angry. Bonneville is the best company I’ve ever worked for, and it will not be easy to find another company like them. No other media company contributes as much to their community as they do. No one treats their employees as well. They give you a 401k and a pension for crying out loud. Plus, they are arguably the most innovative company in radio, practically giving birth to HD Radio themselves despite representing only a blip in the industry. Of course their New Media initiatives are innovative as well, easily more than any other radio group. (it seems the only other innovative New Media initiatives in radio, take place in Canada. I have no idea why. Must be the clean air.)

KTAR has the finest journalists in Arizona, possibly the entire United States. And of course The Peak, the best radio station in Arizona, hands down..and some of the coolest people you’ll ever meet. I am so proud to have worked with them all.

I think an even better question is, were they ever?

Just read an article in Fast Company about how Microsoft just took another “$300 million risk” on a new campaign from Crispin Port + Bogusky.  The really have their work cut out for them… how do you make a nerdy narcissist lovable again?  These are the guys behind several genius campaigns like the Burger King turnaround, and Bogusky is famous for his anti-smoking Truth campaign.  I think Bogusky is more likely to pull it off than anybody else in the business, but I think he’s likely to fail.

There’s only one thing that can make Microsoft cool again: more death.

Think about it - the vastness and arrogance of Microsoft is the very thing that the hip world loathes.  Most people like to root for the underdogs, not the bureaucrats.  Yet the xbox division is doing quite well despite the loss to the blu-ray standard in HD optical discs.

Microsoft should focus on Enterprise solutions and Office, and splinter everything else into separate brands.  Take the name Microsoft out of it completely.  Did you know Boston Market is owned by McDonalds?  I didn’t.  Totally different industry, I know, but the point is… there’s a reason I didn’t know that, and you probably didn’t either.  

Why not make a separate, consumer OS (xbox OS?) that’s fast, slick, and breaks new ground in UI?  ”Start” over.  Create a compatibility layer, like Apple did in OS X to transition operating systems and then processors - if Apple can do it, why can’t Microsoft?  Arrogance, that’s why.  They truly think they have the best product because they are stuck in a world of numbers - most desktops, most dollars.  That doesn’t necessarily translate to best products.

Don’t get me wrong - I don’t want Microsoft to completely fade - the worst I’d wish on them is to become an Enterprise only provider of software. As much as I love and admire Apple, their “genius bar” attitude pisses me off too.  I have to pay $100 a year for the right to “schedule” dropping off a faulty product to be fixed?  You have to be kidding…but I digress.  I hope the new Microsoft is one that embraces innovation while not wielding it’s power in an almost Communist way to crush competitors.  Monopolies are not good for technological innovation.

We are seeing an unprecedented period where large net companies are gobbling up smaller ones or merging with other big players.

There have really been three phases of the net, and I believe we are witnessing the fourth, which, in a few years, will lead to a fifth that will span a century or more.  Before I go into the fourth and fifth, let’s first briefly cover the first three:

1. 1980s & early 1990s: Invention and Discovery. Ethernet, email, and other key technologies were invented in the 70s, but it was in this time period when we first starting putting it together.
2. Mid 90s to early 2000: Build Up and Speculation. Once Wall Street caught up with the power of the net, and companies started seeing significant savings from networked applications, everyone wanted to get in early on this great new technology.  At the time, many thought it was a greater invention than practically any other.  Y2K spending also drove late century investment.
3. 2000 to 2003: Adjustment to Reality. Since Y2K didn’t end the world, the world woke up to the reality that we had other problems to solve, and that the profits weren’t really there.  To some degree, I think there was an over-adjustment, but it was very necessary.  There were a few great technologies invented in this time period, but generally it was a period in which paper millionaires became paperboys (and girls) again.

The new buzzword is “social networking” (actually that’s two!) and suddenly investment dollars are flowing that way, almost to the extent that it did in the second phase. It’s no surprise to me or anyone who’s paid attention to the growth of the Internet over the last 20 years - of course social networking is big!  That’s what the frickin’ Internet was (largely) created for! 

After years of observation, I believe that this is just a part of the thing that is the Internet.  There will always be a “latest thing,” but there is an important difference: now, the “latest thing” is just a normal part of the business.  It’s like any other business - new products come along, and either they survive the market or they don’t - but regardless, they get a lot of press up front.  So, no, the fourth stage isn’t about social networking.

The fourth stage I call the Cooling and Coagulation phase.  I call it this because I liken the metauniverse of the Internet to the creation of a new place, like our precious Earth or Moon.  The creation of cyberspace; whatever you want to call it, this thing that pervades our culture…it’s here to stay.  The corporations and civic leaders who shape our history, our safety, and our future, know this.  It’s becoming a part of our daily lives, and investors are simply claiming their flag on the moon like everyone else, with a serious eye for the future. One of the best ways to grow that stake is to simply combine your assets with another.

Read the rest of this entry »