More on the Wright Controversy

Great posting today by Fred Wilson

The Lessons of Rev Wright

Like many (but not all) of you, I've been attracted to Barack Obama's message of unity and inclusion.

I didn't vote for Barack because I was afraid of what has now transpired. I went for the devil we know over the devil we didn't. But I've been rooting for him.

The notion of a post-boomer political realignment around the challenges that face us instead of the issues that divide us is seductive and powerful

Of course, that message has now been tarnished and we (or at least many of us) are asking 'was it just talk?'

I don't believe it was just talk and I don't believe Obama is a snake oil salesman telling us what we want to hear so he'll get elected. I believe Barack Obama wants to lead this country to a new place and tackle the important problems that our nation is facing in the 21st century.

But the whole Rev Wright fiasco tells me that our country is not yet willing to move behind the racial hate and anger, the religious divisions, and the bitter resentments that cynical politicians play upon to attain and retain power

I am not sure even Shakespeare could have concocted such a potent tragedy. A good and kind man who attempts to unite a divided land is stabbed in the back by the preacher who married him and baptized his children. And then the man of god calls him a "a politician" just to throw some salt in the wounds.

I believe in god but not in relgion organized by man. And I think the men (and women) who have cloaked themselves in the name of god have often done great harm. Religion is not the root of all evil but the people who traffic in it sure can be..

And Rev Wright is just one more in a long line of them.

Apple vs. IBM

CNN needs to get a clue

Today the only thing CNN has been looping over and over is the coverage of Obama's friend Rev. Wright and his crazy comments that he made at a NAACP convention. I am sorry, but in the midst of a national election is this the information CNN really wants to spend hours covering. There are so many more important issues that need to be fleshed out before we choose the next President of the United States. Just another great example of the how the hyper looney media is trying to shape public opinion.

Happy Birthday Ryan

IMG00042.jpg, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Birthdays are precious. Remember each one because they grow up fast.

Leveling the playing field....

Great post today from James Siminoff, Founder of SimulScribe (soon to be PhoneTag)...

When I was flying back to LA last week there was a guy sitting next to me who is some famous guy in the “Buy US/Pro Union” movement. I am not sure who he was but people kept coming up to him and telling him thanks for “helping America”. What made me laugh is that every-time someone came up to talk to him he had to take his headphones out from his Chinese made iPod and look up from his Lenovo (Chinese company that bought IBM’s notebook business) to talk to these people. I loved the irony. The way to fix the trade issues is to create an even playing field for manufacturing. If you want to bring goods into the US they need to be made in factories that uphold to our standards of environmental, OSHA, etc. Doing that would balance things out very quickly and American factories would be able to compete in market where the base rules are the same. Its like taking the steroids out of sports.

When I was flying back to LA last week there was a guy sitting next to me who is some famous guy in the “Buy US/Pro Union” movement. I am not sure who he was but people kept coming up to him and telling him thanks for “helping America”.

What made me laugh is that every-time someone came up to talk to him he had to take his headphones out from his Chinese made iPod and look up from his Lenovo (Chinese company that bought IBM’s notebook business) to talk to these people. I loved the irony.

The way to fix the trade issues is to create an even playing field for manufacturing. If you want to bring goods into the US they need to be made in factories that uphold to our standards of environmental, OSHA, etc. Doing that would balance things out very quickly and American factories would be able to compete in market where the base rules are the same. Its like taking the steroids out of sports.

What would you do without the internet?

L Street Lofts Night

L Street Lofts Night3 2008-02-04 sm, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Great Photo!

Cingular now ATT

I have to say I am really disappointed with Cingular (and Apple)....

Have you ever tried to get a telephone off the Cingular (now ATT Wireless) website? Impossible.

Then you find it and you call it. "We're sorry, please call back during business hours." Lame.

When are these guys going to realize that Skype and Gizmo and Google are coming for them, and just like Toyota took over the car industry, the mega smart companies are going to squash ATT, T-Mobile etc unless they get their product, customer service and deliverables on point.

I own a blackberry and an iphone, both with ATT and I can't stand the customer service or the rate plans. Its a joke. Here's what I want: a phone that works and a rate plan that doesn't cost me an arm and a leg to have even if I travel 200+ days out of the year.

Google hurry up with the gphone.

Highway Patrol

There is never a cop when you need one.

Too bad you couldn't send an sms message to 911 or the CA Highway Patrol notifying them of a crazy driver on the freeway.

It would be simple, just SMS:

"White Ford Mustang doing 105 mph on 680S near Danville"

Create an army of citizen officers with just a cell phone.

Presidential Election

The more and more I watch B-roll on CNN of Clinton and Obama fighting it out over who said what, and who did what a hundred years ago, the more and more McCain looks like a winner.

Getting a Scholarship

What's more important: getting an athlete scholarship or going to a college that is the right fit for you socially, athletically and academically?

Gmail

I will admit it. I was wrong.

I went from being the biggest basher of GMail to their biggest fan. It took me some time to get used to the interface (I used outlook for like ever) but once I took the time to label everything, Gmail has been a lifesaver.

Now my day start with checking my Gmail and gCal. It has been great to have everything integrated together. Makes my day so much easier.

Thoughts on the economy

1. With this liquidity crunch we are seeing that those with cash are once again king.

2. People are going to forgo big purchases until after the Nov 2008 election and wait to see what happens this summer with the economy.

3. Growth seems paralyzed by negative media and a continued re-structuring in the credit markets.

4. Someone really smart is going to figure out a way to capitalize on this down economy (and I don't mean buying forclosures) and it is going to be something so simple that we will all be saying "why didn't we think of that."

My Top 5 Reasons to start your own business...

1. You are in control.
2. You get to be more creative.
3. You become a better business person once you understand what it is like to be in management/ownership.
4. How much you make depends on how hard (or smart) you work.
5. Its fun to build and scale an idea.

Marketing

Everyday I think about how to grow our business and how to market and scale what we do, and then I realized that some businesses, like ours, aren't meant to be scaled.

We are providers of intellectual capital and people want to work with us because of the way we conduct business. The best way we grow our business is to have our clients tell others what a great experience they had working with us and that we got the job done. Period.

Old vs. New

IMG_1985, originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

I snapped this photo in Athens. Really underlines the fact that Greece is in a old world vs. new world mentality. They very much have one foot stuck in the past, yet are making strides to embrace a more global persona.

This photo says it all.