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May
24
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Last night I went to see Seth Godin talk about his new book "The Dip" - I haven't read (heard) the book yet - it's in my queue and I'm looking forward to it (review to follow). I have read / heard all of his other books and generally like what Seth has to say and enjoy the way he delivers it.
If you are a Seth Godin fan and especially if you're a colleague working at Sun - I have 5 copies of the book to give away. The first 5 commenters to leave their email address (it won't be visible and won't be shared) get them.
NB. This isn't a competition and nothing to do with my Employer (Sun Microsystems) - these are books I own that I'm giving away and paying for the postage myself.
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Apr
21
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I just noticed that Seth Godin (Marketing Guru) is extending his "The Dip" roadshow to the Bay Area - I'm a big fan of Set Godin; have read most of his books but have never had the pleasure of hearing him speak in person - so I'm looking forward to it.
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Mar
9
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Via Seth Godin's blog I just discovered the Freakonomics blog (and subscribed). If you haven't read the book - it's mostly about turning conventional wisdom on it's head through the rigorous application of facts; all delivered in a very entertaining way. One of the areas that I've certainly ranted about on this blog is the airline industry's reaction to 9-11 which demonstrates some real exuberant irrationality. Anyway - here's a very funny blog entry about travel; at least if you have your sarcasm receptors wired-up - sorry North America 
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Dec
31
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I started this last year and though I'd do it again.
Best Moment
Last year it was a toss up between Jack learning to use the potty and England qualifying for the World Cup. This year - the kids win again - this year (over the course of a long weekend) - my five year old daughter Lilly learned to ride her bike without training-wheels. Watching her cycling off into the distance made me feel very proud. If anyone needs advice on teaching kids to loose the training-wheels - leave a comment.
Worst Moment
Watching England's performance in the World Cup and realizing we were going to blow it.
Best Blog
I still read many of Sun's bloggers but the one blog I have read consistently is Seth Godin's.
Best Gadget
Last year it was my (very inexpensive) GPS receiver for my Treo - something I still use a lot of the time - and something I find invaluable when travelling. This year it's pretty tricky. The two contenders are my home SunRay (something I use every day and I still think it's one of those game-changing products that way too few people are aware of); the second is the Logitech Harmony 880 Universal Remote (a Christmas present) - five remote controls was driving my wife crazy - harmony has been restored. I think the Harmony wins.
Worst Gadget
I had to think hard about this one. This is tough - it's my beloved Treo650 that I've ranted about over the last couple of years. Here's why. I recently had to replace my Treo (having dropped it too often) - before I shelled out $300 I looked at a couple of other smartphones and they all make the Treo650 look really dated. The reason I stuck with the Treo is that I have 3 or 4 applciations I use a lot that aren't all available on other (newer) models and makes. Unless Palm gets their act together - it's probably the last Palm I'll buy - the competition looks too good. My initial infatuation with the Treo meant I tollerated the crashes and out of memory errors - not any more.
Best Book
Last year this was easy - this year I'm struggling between Blink and Freakonomics - looking at my Audible library - I gave Freakonomics 5 stars vs. 4 for Blink - so Freakonomics gets the prize this year.
Best Film
No films really stood out this year - though I've enjoyed watching TLOTR trilogy again - now in HD (OK - upconverted DVD). I'm going to break the rules a bit and vote for Lost - over the Autumn we watched the entire Season 1 & 2 on DVD (via NetFlix) and season 3 on HBO - I can't wait for it to restart in February.
Worst Film
Da Vinci Code - I enjoyed the book and decided to get the DVD as my wife hadn't read it. Great story, great actors - what happened ?
Best Application
I've been using Google calendar for the last six months and have completely given up the various other calendars I'd been maintaining. It almost rocks and I have high hopes for it continuing to improve. I just hope Google doesn't become big and evil - I'd hate to have to look for place to park my appointments.
Biggest Disappointment
World Cup 2006 (Soccer / Footie). England had some of the most hyped and over-paid players in the game and played like a bunch of guys who hadn't played together before. Overall - the tournament was great - and England's part was pretty minor.
Have a great new year, Rich.
