20 rules for an Entrepreneur

1. It’s rare when someone is their word; treasure it in others, cultivate it in yourself

2. Call AND email – the squeaky wheel does get the grease

3. Hold yourself to a standard of behavior and business

4. Pay attention to detail

5. It truly is win/win – don’t work with folks who think about it any other way

6. Focus

7. Don’t bang your head against the wall – go with what works, but that doesn’t mean you don’t continue to innovate

8. Be kind but firm

9. Adopt the Cindy Crawford motto and never point out your flaws but do admit to your mistakes

10. FEAR: False Expectations Appearing Real

11. You always have a choice

12. People will fight you on everything – stick to your guns

13. Perception is reality - you’re always creating an impression

14. Everything is a negotiation, even if you don’t think it is

15. People hear what they want to and usually only remember the negative

16. Generosity looks good on

17. Have the difficult conversations – they’re always worth it

18. It goes by fast and your health is the most important thing - take care of it/make it a priority

19. Those old business axioms are true, e.g., take time to hire and be fast to fire

20. The path to hell really is paved with good intentions

Taken from 20 Things I've Learned as an Entrepreneur

Viva Las Vegas

I just returned from Las Vegas. The last time I was there was almost 20 years ago. Either vegas or my self has become a little more upscale. I highly recommend the Aria. From an architecture standpoint the strip is amazing. It is best described as an assault on the senses. The remainder of the city is simply urban sprawl. The food is top notch.
Over all very entertaining but the city has no soul. All though I am not in a hurry to go back I would like to get back before the next 20 years.

Justifiable Homicide ?

I was in tuscon earlier this week and it was hot. It was insanely hot. My questions is if someone one says “yes but it is a dry heat” am I allowed to shoot them?

Awa the smugness …

I am amazed at the sense of self superiority that comes from finding a spelling mistake in others work.

I have never been a good speller and I have always been turned off by the arbitrary and inflexible nature of the rules that under lie the rules of modern English.

If the only meaningful criticism that you can offer is a misspelling. Recognize that you are announcing to the author and perhaps the larger world. I myself am lacking in creativity and do not have the ability or desire to produce anything meaningful on my one. What is more I do not have the intellect or insight necessary to understands or criticize your work as a whole or its component parts. I am going to claim what glory I can by demonstrating my knowledge of and adherence to an arbitrary set of rules. This arbitrary set of rules was originally established as a concise of monks. None of whom had more than four years of what we would call formal education.

see Spelling Bee Champs: Where Are They Now?

A digital regret.

It is a shame. When I went to school I made a decision that I did not want to be a computer guy. I did not realize that all on the interesting problems in genetics, biology, chemistry, medicine, physics, and geology are all being approached by computer models. The interesting problems in history, economics, psychology and sociology are all dependent on analysis of mammoth quantities of information. Now we are all computer guys and I do not have the skills to back it up.

How can you tell when someone is lying to you?

I have a list of 10 conversation starters from http://www.gettoknowu.com/


How can you tell when someone is lying to you? I would like to say it is a gut reaction but I am terrible at telling when I am being lied to. It is usually a cognitive process where I notice what the person is saying is contradicting something else they have said.
Not counting your religion, which religions do you find interesting? Why? The thing I find interesting is these prosaliting atheist. There is a who group of atheists that are militant about converting anyone to their why of thinking. They are more aggressive than even the most hardened evangelical.
What makes you jealous? As I get older I need to jealously guard my time.
Do you feel you have a purpose or calling in life? I am still trying to find it.
Who taught you to cook? My mother and television.
Who do you admire as a leader? Churchill
What story from history inspires you? The Mormon Pioneers
Do you believe in God? Very much so.
When was the last you where caught in a lie? “let me call you back”
If you could repeal one law what would it be? Tax Laws, need I say more.

How We Spend Our Money

Over the last two years we have all taken another look at how we spend money. Being thrifty has become trendy. The thing I have noticed is anyone who is more frugal that I am is “insane” while anyone who is less frugal than I am is wasteful.

Why is abbreviation such a long word?

So Why Am I At My Best When I Am Reacting? (part two)

Viktor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist who survived the death camps of Nazi Germany. While in the death camps, Frankl realized that he alone had the power to determine his response to the horror of the situation. He exercised the only freedom he had in that environment by envisioning himself teaching students after his release. He became an inspiration for others around him. He realized that in the middle of the stimulus-response model, humans have the freedom to choose.

Animals do not have this independent will. They respond to a stimulus like a computer responds to its program. They are not aware of their programming and do not have the ability to change it. The model of determinism was developed based on experiments with animals and neurotic people. Such a model neglects our ability to choose how we will respond to stimuli.

Balance In A Conversation

It is all too easy for me to plough through and dominate a conversation. Likewise it is just as easy for me to sit back and be dominated in a conversation. Neither option results in an enlighten or edifying conversation. I find myself relying on the question to balance out a conversation. Asking the right question gives me the opportunity to steer the conversation in areas I am interested in while giving the other member of the conversation the opportunity to express themselves. I like question like “What smell reminds you of home?”, “Is there a sport you love to play but hate to watch?”, “When was the last time you really laughed?”, “Who is there in your life that you would take a bullet for?” and “What do you feel strongly enough about to protest?”

So Why Am I At My Best When I Am Reacting?

A unique ability that sets humans apart from animals is self-awareness and the ability to choose how we respond to any stimulus. While conditioning can have a strong impact on our lives, we are not determined by it. There are three widely accepted theories of determinism: genetic, psychic, and environmental. Genetic determinism says that our nature is coded into our DNA, and that our personality traits are inherited from our grandparents. Psychic determinism says that our upbringing determines our personal tendencies, and that emotional pain that we felt at a young age is remembered and affects the way we behave today. Environmental determinism states that factors in our present environment are responsible for our situation, such as relatives, the national economy, etc. These theories of determinism each assume a model in which the stimulus determines the response.

For not trying to say anything they are saying it loudly

The USS Ohio, USS Florida & USS Michigan all surfaced with firing range of mainland China on July 4th.

U.S. officials deny that any message is being directed at Beijing, saying the Tomahawk triple play was a coincidence. But they did make sure that news of the deployments appeared in the Hong Kong–based South China Morning Post - on July 4, no less. Read the entire story

The art of faking interest.

Whether it is a business meeting, a job interview, or a first date, there are times that it is vitally important to be perceived as paying attention. The secret to be seen as interested is to be interested. The best case is to both feel and show genuine interest, If you are feeling it you will not have to worry about what you are presenting. The best way to have real interest in what some one is saying is to gently steer the conversation. A few will placed questions center on the other persons feelings, perspective and experience can steer a conversation to topics that are of actual importance and relevance to you.

"Leprechaun" leaping in lot; police called

I Love Boulder

Police responding to reports of a man leaping between cars in a Boulder supermarket parking lot didn't need a detailed description of the suspect.

Boulder police Sgt. Fred Gerhardt said witnesses on Wednesday reported a man was dressed as a leprechaun and pretending to shoot at people with his fingers.

Witnesses told police the man may have made obscene gestures.

Officers did not find anyone matching the description of the leprechaun.

Liberity

“Every election is a sort of advance sale of stolen goods.” — H.L. Mencken

Before there was Change There was Hope

General McChrystal Called to the Principals Office

How not to complain about colleagues

It is always chancy to speak out aginst your boss.

Some of Alexander the Great's officers were unhappy when their leader began to adopt enemy customs - like proskynesis, or bowing down to the king - as the army conquered the Persian Empire.

But one officer, Cleitus the Black, took his complaints too far. Annoyed at being appointed to a marginal command, he badgered Alexander in front of other officers at a drunken banquet. Fellow officers warned him to be silent, but he refused and an incensed Alexander killed him with a spear.


But if i had to go against Alexander The Great or Obama, i am picking Obama

"it is a complex formula that never made it into the fliers"

Xcel's complicated rate changes jolt some customers

Turns out Xcel decided to prorate June usage in a complex formula that never made it into the fliers or onto its website telling customers about the two-tier structure and how it will work.

"I think what we did was give (customers) a good idea of what was to be expected in the first full month," Xcel spokesman Tom Henley said. "Let's face it, explaining the proration in a system that's already complex enough was probably one of those things we pushed to the back burner."

That quickly became the front burner when the first of the new two-tier bills started showing up June 2 and consumers saw a lot of numbers that didn't jibe with Xcel's explanation.

"It's crazy. They print on the bill nonsummer and summer rates, but in the end, it's not how they described it," said Judith Close of Denver, whose bill had a single day of June.


My take :
It is just a stepwise defined function using reverse cost averaging. Come on people it is not that hard. The important thing is you do not have the information to prove you are right. We don’t have the information to prove were wrong? So pay the bill and shut your cake hole.

And the little guy gets the shaft

Take Law Into Your Own Hands Pakistan Style

By RIAZ KHAN Associated Press Writers

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – An American armed with a pistol and a 40-inch (102-centimeter) sword was detained in northern Pakistan and told investigators he was on a solo mission to kill Osama bin Laden, a police officer said Tuesday.

The man, identified as 52-year-old Californian construction worker Gary Brooks Faulkner, said he wanted to cross over into the nearby Afghan province of Nuristan because he had "heard bin Laden was living there"

... Californian more than their fair share of crazies.

Wouldn't you like to know?

Some random Questions

In what way are you irrational?

I believe that washing my car causes it to rain

How important is it to you that you are on time?

I am border line obsessive compulsive about being on time. Additionally it annoys me when others are late. “Come on you are 28 years old by this time you should reasonable expect to encounter traffic if you need to be anywhere by 8:00 in the morning”

What gossip do you like to be in on?

I am a man, I do not gossip. But seriously I seek out the rumor mill at work.

When are you most generous?

With my food

What "red-neck" activity do you like to do?

In spite of being born in the ‘burbs I like a good Rodeo

Where do you like to get your news?

AM Radio – Ouch I am turning into my father.

If you had a ton of money how would it corrupt you?

I think it would be tough to trust people. I would always be wondering what are they trying to get from me.

one of many from GetToKnowU