This is a rare Wheels post that does not talk about either of the BMWs. Gabriele and I just sold our 2007 Hyundai Sonata, and purchased a 2005 Nissan Murano. So I thought I’d share some thoughts about how we tackled the process. It all stems from doing your homework — financial, vehicle, trade-in. Arm […]
Fundamental elements of Internet infrastructure have been in the news lately, and it hasn’t been a pretty picture. Last month a serious security problem with the Domain Name System (DNS) was described by Dan Kaminsky at the Black Hat/DefCon show. I took at shot at describing the vulnerability here when the news first broke in […]
If you’re Mark Zuckerberg, you’ve got to find a way to monetize the huge traffic Facebook attracts, which they recently claimed has grown to 100 million active users. Advertisers want to reach this mostly young, tech literate demographic. Last week Facebook announced a new beta program that could work for some companies but not many, […]
Most of us enjoy expensive wines for special occasions, but most of us have mortgages as well. My wife Gabriele and I are always on the look out for wines that deliver value as well as enjoyment. This weekend we found two such wines. Saturday we had dinner at Rustico, one of the restaurants of […]
I read a Peter Whoriskey Washington Post article on web radio provider Pandora this weekend that had me shaking my head. The company has over one million users and is one of the most popular iPhone applications, but it may have to cease operations: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081503367.html Pandora founder Tim Westergren admits the company isn’t making money, […]
Thought leadership is very important in public relations. It is incredibly powerful when your client is seen an an expert in his or her field, and it makes earned media coverage much easier to secure. But sometimes clients assume that thought leadership is simply a process PR pros have mastered, when it really starts with […]
Dan Kaminsky has had quite a month. Early in July, it was announced that months earlier he had discovered a major security problem with DNS, the addressing system of the Internet. But he didn’t make the news public. Instead he worked for months behind the scenes with major technology providers so patches could be programmed […]
This weekend my 2001 530 got a lot of attention. It was a very productive day — a vibration issue related to new rims purchased in late April was finally resolved, and I replaced both front ABS/speed sensors. Before I dive into the details, a word about owning a BMW out of warranty. Unless you […]
Really interesting article from Tim Lee of Ars Technica about customer owned residential fiber. Yes you read that right — a pilot program in Ottawa ran fiber to 400 homes, and the residents own the last mile. Sure gives Fiber to the Home (FTTH) a whole new meaning: http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/customer-owned-fiber.ars While this could insert a fascinating […]
Last night I attended a very interesting presentation by Dan Pink, best selling author of “A Whole New Mind” and “Free Agent Nation.” Dan is a definite free agent himself, with his last “real” job being chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore. The event was held at Merrill Lynch’s HQ on K Street and organized […]
This weekend Gabriele and I got back from a short vacation at Whistler Mountain, in British Columbia. It was a bit of a family reunion, with a lot of aunts, uncles and cousins I don’t see enough of — can’t wait until next year everyone! We flew into Vancouver, and then drove about 2.5 hours […]
For a couple of years Gabriele and I have frequented a cheese shop in the Del Ray area of Alexandria. I lived in Del Ray from 1993 to 1998, and the neighborhood has undergone quite a renaissance in the past few years: http://www.weta.org/community/neighborhoods/delray/ The cheese shop we like is Cheesetique, a place that offers a […]