Off-topic, of course. Just stating the facts. Humpy’s had the last of their Oktoberfest feasts, and we survived it. Stuffed ourselves silly, we did:
Oktoberfest Menu, 2011
I’m still not hungry, and it’s been nearly 24 hrs…
off-topic
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Oktoberfest 2011 is officially over (for me)
Monday, October 24th, 2011Things I Hate: Multi-Level Marketing
Monday, April 19th, 2010Up there near the top of my list right now is multi-level marketing. Just a hair of a step below pyramid schemes and just this side of being illegal. Usually. Let’s start by getting on the same page – or better yet, Wikipedia’s page.
The main things to take away:
[Distributors] are awarded a commission based upon the volume of product sold through their own sales efforts as well as that of their downline organization.
and
Independent distributors develop their organizations by either building an active customer base, who buy direct from the company, or by recruiting a downline of independent distributors who also build a customer base, thereby expanding the overall organization
“To Serve you Better”
Monday, April 19th, 2010If there’s one phrase I hate coming from *anyone*, it’s the title to this post. No one ever changes how they do things to serve you better – they do it to serve themselves better.
That’s it. Period. Click to continue »
For the record
Sunday, April 18th, 2010If I complain, gripe, or criticize anyone on this blog, it is purely my opinion. Nothing else.
Further, if I comment on anyone or complain about anyone’s actions, do not expect me to post their names or give links. It’s not a matter of fearing lawsuits (although some might consider it stupid *not* to). Rather, I wouldn’t do them the favor of giving them the free advertising.
The Tax Man Cometh
Monday, April 12th, 2010Don’t fear the Tax Man. Fearing his auditors? That’s OK.
In a couple of days, those of us with U.S. Citizenshipt (and U.S. residents) we will get the privilege of paying for the service that government provides. It is traditional for most of us to bitterly complain about this, for it always hurts to see one’s money wasted away on the bureaucracy.
Every year, I think of a man. I do not know this man, mind you. My father spoke of him (OK, fine, I don’t remember who he said it about). That man always paid his full amount of taxes. Never a deduction, never a credit. Full amount, always.
He considered it a privilege to pay his taxes. A privilege to live in this country, to pay for roads, and schools, and police, and fire departments, and libraries, and emergency services.
Yes, it could be argued that we’re also blowing wads of money on two wars and Obamacare (sorry, you’re already paying for the uninsured – just ask Mitt Romney, he admits it. He just doesn’t like *how* the new Health Care bill covers the people). But we’ve always blown giant wads of cash on meaningless endeavors. Today is no different.
Given a choice, I’d rather that we all thought just a little bit more like the man in my memory.
April 2nd is Superior to the 1st
Friday, April 2nd, 2010I hate April Fool’s day. It irritates me. The deliberate falsehoods, the blaming the victim for falling to outright lies, the deception. The effort it takes to pull it all off.
It just really chaps my rear. Thus nothing yesterday, and I’m still on strike today.
(The bastards got me)
Change in Website Trends
Thursday, February 4th, 2010A Photo Editor popped up on my radar again. Seems this happens weekly. This time it was just a quote, about how blogs will drive more business to photographers than websites.
This is certainly true, if not a bit obvious to many of us. And as I alluded to in a comment there, it’s not a black-and-white cutoff: static pages are fine for static information. Reference sheets, historicals – all good. But the freshness of a blog? Static sites can’t compete.
Something I’ve noticed, though – as the owner of my own business where I provide a certain amount of web-based services: a lot of my recent work has involved setting up blogs. Not just for business clients, but for personal uses as well.
The future is here, which means it’s passé. What next?
Minor Flickr Favebrowsr update…
Thursday, February 4th, 2010It now starts by loading my personal most recent favorites. After only a few days, I came to the conclusion that starting with a blank entry was… Um, lame.
So this is the new it. Such as it is.
On Cats and Dogs
Sunday, January 24th, 2010Completely unrelated to anything photography, other than the source. A commenter on a lovely young lady’s photostream pointed out the difference between cats and dogs (in response to the idea of cats having delusions of grandeur):
if dogs were 5 times their size, they’d still lick us.
if cats were 5 times their size, they’d eat us.
it’s not so much delusion as a problem of proportion (but then that’s exactly a delusion of granduer)
I found the observation both witty and likely accurate.
Check out her pics – she’s doing some interesting things with self portraits!
A List Apart Survey
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009For the third year in a row, A List Apart is doing a survey of those in the tech sector. Are you a programmer, graphic designer, web guy, or similar? If so, they’re asking for your participation. In the end, they’ll publish the results, too – but they’re only valuable if you contribute.
For the record, one of the hats that I wear is that of a freelance all-purpose tech guy, and I filled it out, too.