Connecting the dots ...
Several posts (Steve Rubel, BL Ochman ..etc) picked on how President Bush acknowledged Blogs as increasingly powerful media. The video is available here.
The story is already widely discussed, I don’t want to echo it, rather pick a un unusually candid moment – or just a slip of the tounge? – when the Pres. acknowledges he’s just rambling:
“WOMAN: … and I’m sorry I’m rambling on like I have –
BUSH: So was I though, for like an hour –
[laughter]” 
Related posts:
“Remember the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints? Chances are he grew up to be a conservative…The confident kids turned out liberal and were still hanging loose, turning into bright, non-conforming adults with wide interests“
Read the full story at the Toronto Star. It’s an interesting piece, my only comment is that I don’t think a sample of 95 kids, especially from one area is representative enough.
Others on the subject:
Tags: politics, conservatives, liberals
Wal-Mart is trying to be Costco. It is targeting upscale shoppers in a new, experimental store in Plano, Texas with an expanded selection of high-end electronics, more fine jewelry, hundreds of types of wine ranging up to $500 a bottle, and even a sushi bar.
Wal-Mart says it won’t duplicate this format anywhere else. But if plasma TVs, microbrewery beer and fancy balsamic vinegar sell in Plano, those items could be added to stores in other affluent communities. (full article here).
No wonder Wal-Mart is desparate: since the beginning of 2005 it’s stock dropped 6%, while Costco climbed 16.2%. “Costco’s stock is starting to get pricey, but I think it definitely deserves a premium over Wal-Mart since it’s one of the few retailers out there that competes head-on with them and, quite frankly, beats the pants off them,” says Morningstar analyst Anthony Chukumba. “They’re incredible merchants. Their customer service is pretty much the best out there in all of retail. They treat their employees better. They pay them more. Their benefits are better, and the company still has room to grow both at home and abroad.” (via “Wake Up Walmart”)
Tags: retail, wholesale, wharehouse, shopping club, wal-mart, costco
Another SVASE VC Breakfast Club session is coming up on Thursday, March 23rd in San Jose. It’s an informal round-table where up to 10 entrepreneurs get to deliver a pitch, then answer questions and get critiqued by a VC Partner. We’ve had VC’s from Draper Fisher, Hummer Winblad, Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield, Mohr Davidow, Emergence Capital …etc.
Thursday’s featured VC is John Stockton, Venture Partner, Mayfield Fund. The Zvents post has all the info and a map, but please remember to click through to register either from zvents or directly here.
These sessions are an incredible opportunity for Entrepreneurs, most of whom would probably have a hard time getting through the door to a VC Partners. Since I’ve been through quite a few of these sessions, both as Entrepreneur and Moderator, let me share a few thoughts:
See you on Thursday! 
Tags: Venture Capital, VC Breakfast, Funding, VC Funding, Startups, Entrepreneurship, SVASE
Oh, this is bad: the lawyers reached the Blogosphere. I received an invitation to the “The First Comprehensive Conference On Blog Law & Blogging for Lawyers”.
Is it time to look for “malblogging insurance”? 
Update (3/30): Vinnie coined the term of Blawging 
Tags: Blog Law, blogs, blogging, blogosphere, lawyers, blawging
The Scobleizer leaked photos of a supersecret meeting between Bill Gates and Michael Arrington.
According to sources close to Bill he was seeking advice on how to leave the Big Bad Corporation behind and launch an exciting Web 2.0 startup.
Michael agreed to help him launch on TechCrunch.
Tags: scoble, scobleizer, techcrunch, microsoft, Bill Gates, web 2.0, startup, humor
STRANGE though it seems, a typical microwave oven consumes more electricity powering its digital clock than it does heating food.
Leaving our appliances – DVDs, computers, etc, – in stand-bye mode costs energy worth $3 billion and causes pollution equivalent to 18 million cars.
Read the Economist article for details.
Everyone who speaks a language, speaks it with an accent. When people listen to someone speak with a different accent from their own, they notice the difference, and they may even make certain biased social judgments about the speaker.
Browse 500+ sound clips from all over the world. Released under a Creative Commons License.
I suppose I can now officially declare my test a failure. My “Zoli 3.0 Launched” post resulted in a spike of traffic, but few responses, and some of those were quite surprising.
Inspired by a Scoble post and a few cases where I’ve seen it work, I wanted to test how effectively I can find a job by posting it on my blog, vs. the traditional route of sending out resumes. (More then just a test, I am actually looking for a job or consulting gig). Trying to stand out, I announced my availability as a mock product launch. I thought it was a humorous approach, that still left my intent clear – especially since the detailed product specs pointed to my professional profile.
Apparently some (many?) of my readers took it literally. Imagine my surprise receiving responses like these:
So, other than it did not really work, I’m not sure what conclusion to draw:
Update (4/20): Tom Raftery tries the same: (good luck, Tom!)
Tags: blogs, blogging, resume, jobsearch, humor, product launch
This is cute: The Oracle FAQ site OraFAQ runs on… MySQL! (via Zack Urlocker). Oh, the “r” in the title? That’s just for 2.0 compatibility.
Tags: Oracle, MySQL, databases, Open Source, Humor
Publisher / Editor of CloudAve and Enterprise Irregulars.
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