Zoli's Blog

Steal and be Proud of it?

Posted on March 12, 2006 ·

I can’t believe this: somebody created a program to STEAL the layout of other sites, and has the *** to openly call it “layout stealer”:

“Hi Everybody!

I would just like to let you know about an awesome tool that I have created called the LayoutStealer. This tool will revolutionize the way people style their MySpace, Xanga’s or websites. What the tool does is it extracts the HTML style coding, or “layout”, of a persons MySpace or website and returns the HTML code to you for use in your MySpace or Site. This tool is nice because everyone can share layouts with ease, also the tool is very simple, and it works for any website. So please try it out and spread the word about the LayoutStealer”

It even got digged .. hopefully won’t stay up long.

Tags: theft, stealing, thief, IP, intellectual property, design theft

Filed Under: Business, Software, Technology ·

San Francisco Trees – the Green Side of a Businessman

Posted on March 12, 2006 ·

I often write about SVASE, especially the VC Breakfast Club series I sometimes moderate. These session are typically hosted by corporate sponsors, often Law– or Accounting firms. One of our gracious sponsors in the City is Mike Sullivan, Director at the Law firm Howard Rice Nemerovsky Canady Falk & Rabkin (wouldn’t it be nice to have Web 2.0 style names for lawfirms? ) Throughout these sessions I came to know Mike somewhat – or so I thought.

Well, I was wrong, I’ve only known the businessman / lawyer. Today the San Francisco Chronicle introduces the “other” Mike: the nature-lover, tree-expert, tree-hugger one. “On a recent tour through Cole Valley, Sullivan passed a pop quiz with a perfect score — pointing out 10 trees from as many countries on just two blocks of 17th Street.” He knows the stories behind many a tree in San Francisco. “Just outside 1401 Shrader St., the former home of socialite Pat Montandon, is the leftover trunk of the tree, which Montandon commissioned to be sculptured into a nearly 10-foot-tall angel.
“Urban legend has it,” Sullivan says, “that the sculptor was nearly fired when Montandon noticed that the angel’s face was strikingly similar to that of his girlfriend.”

Mike’s book, “Trees of San Francisco” breaks down a list of the best trees in each of the city’s neighborhoods, complete with where to find them. He does more than write about books; he and his fellow tree-lovers at Friends of the Urban Forest plant thousands of trees every year.

SF Trees is Mike’s personal yet tree-focused site. (Perhaps one of my Web 2.0–savy readers will volunteer to give the site a facelift)

Congratulations, Mike, and thanks for doing all this!

Update (3/12) Related posts:

Tags: trees, San Francisco, city trees, tree friends, tree planting, preservation, san francisco trees, nature,

Filed Under: Business, Misc ·

You Don’t Have to be on the Net to get your Identity Stolen

Posted on March 12, 2006 ·

The old-fashioned way still works … junk mail you throw in the garbage can come back an haunt you. Check out the story at cockeyed.com.

They ran a test: tore a credit card application to pieces, taped it back together, changed the address and phone number on it, and still received the credit card!

This is scary … time to get a shredder.

Update (3/13): “Shredding mail and other personal documents is not enough to protect yourself…” says TechCrunch.

Tags: identity theft, consumer fraud, credit card fraud, privacy, junk mail

Filed Under: Business ·

Anonymous Hate Commenter

Posted on March 12, 2006 ·

I’ve received a rather disturbing comment to a previous post of mine. It’s such a “marvelous masterpiece” that I decided to repost it in its full glory… be warned, the anonymous (!) commenter uses strong hate language.

“Re: Our Freedom of Speech Paradox

by Anonymous on Sat 11 Mar 2006 11:42 AM PST | Permanent Link

with reference to the prussian blue crap,

I am an extremely proud white (TRUE AMERICAN)man who happens to be quite educated and well off. My family were among the first from England to settle America. My country means everything to me, so forgive me for my rather strong opinion on this issue. i incidentaly happen to be a proud north-easterner. Listen up carefully all you scumtastic nazi-loving fascist hate-mongering “rebels.” We, and when i say we, i am referring to northerners, allowed you national traitors to fucking live after the great cival war. My great great grandfather personally cut down and sent to hell a veritable truckload of you bastards. Be grateful that you werent all rounded up and drowned in the damn ocean. Through years of struggle, war, and national conference we as American citizens have galvanized and made virtually permanent the values that regulate our society. Values like capitalism, christianity, freedome, liberty, and yes tolerance for our kind, many many of which dont happen to be white, Americans come in many races. Our national strength comes from our unity and adherance to our core values, not from the mindless divisive ignorance pawned off as pride by the likes of your kind. Damn, i kind of wish that a war would break out again, because it just might be time to purge all of you anti-american cockroaches out of our beautiful homeland. This is tha land of Washington, Lincoln, Luther King, Kennedy, and many more. This is not the land of Hitler, Mousillini, or any other sub-human force of medeocraty and national decline. I prey all your days come quickly so that my christian god will judge you good and proper”

Filed Under: Blogging, Politics ·

Former White House Advisor Arrested on Theft Charges

Posted on March 10, 2006 ·

Allen1 “A former domestic policy adviser to President Bush has been charged with theft for allegedly receiving phony refunds at department stores… Allen was the No. 2 official in the Health and Human Services Department when Bush nominated him in April 2003 to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.”

Poor guy made only $161K doing his government job… this is so ridiculous, I am speechless… just read it on ABC News.

Filed Under: Misc, Politics ·

Please Switch to FeedBurner

Posted on March 10, 2006 ·

If you are my subscriber, please change your feed from the default to:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/zoli

This service is more manageable than the one offered my blog host.

And of course if you haven’t subscribed yet, you can always do so by clicking on the button in the upper right sidebar area.

Thank you for being my reader either way.

Filed Under: Blogging ·

The Phaeton Fiasco

Posted on March 10, 2006 ·

I’m not a car expert, not even a marketing guru, but even I saw the disaster in the making. A few years ago at the San Francisco Auto Show I loved the new VW Phaeton. Too bad it will fail, I thought. It was really obvious this car would not sell, at least not in the US.

The car is perfect. In fact it’s a technological marvel full of luxuries. It only has one problem: the wrong badge. Volkswagen happens to mean “people’s car”, but that’s beyond the point. What matters is that VW’s are perceived as good middle-class cars, not more. At $80K people buy luxury cars, not just in terms of performance, but image, too. What were VW thinking ,when they have their own upscale brand, Audi? This car is clearly an Audi, mistakenly labeled Volkswagen.

There is a reason why Honda created Acura, Toyota created Lexus … but I guess VW slept through that class in Marketing.

Paul Kedrosky has more, including a sales chart.

Tags: Volkswagen, VW, Phaeton, Audi, Marketing, Branding, Brands, Cars, Car Sales

Filed Under: Business, Marketing / PR ·

Battle of the Bulge, Round 2.

Posted on March 9, 2006 ·

Tank The first Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II, in December-January of 1944. It was also the largest land battle the United States Army has fought to date. The historic battle has been the subject of numerous films and books, including the Battle of the Bulge made in 1965, starring Henry Fonda.

The second Battle of the Bulge is being fought entirely digitally. The new Superman, 26–year old Australian actor Brandon Routh is apparently … well, super-manly in a certain department down South. This worries studio Exec’s so much, they ordered to reduce the Bulge digitally.

Apparently, we’re still suffering from the wardrobe malfunction syndrome (isn’t it amazing there is an entry for this in Wikipedia?). The Rolling Stones gets censored, Superman (digitally) castrated, what’s next?

Update (3/9): Apparently other parts of the male anatomy need some flattening, too. This is getting scary. (hat tip: BL Ochman).

… and in some places chambermaids take care of the “flattening” (hat tip: Vinnie Mirchandani)

Tags: bulge, Battle of the Bulge, History, WWII, Superman, Wardrobe Malfunction, Censorship, Movies, Culture, Rolling Stones