But the real question is: Does it Come with Free Shipping?
It seems that someone is working on copying Dell's build-to-order model in another industry: Cars. Build-to-Order Inc. is hoping to create an on-demand car manufacturing business with low inventory and quick arrival of parts from suppliers.
It works well for computers, but I wonder how well it works for cars?
I'm Mov'in on Up!
Well, now that BlogShares is fully up and running, things seem to be going pretty well. I entered the “non-beta” version with a little over $4k in cash and I past $6k today. Woohoo! Today, a few blogs, tomorrow I shall rule the market!
Seriously, for being completely fake, BlogShares is quite entertaining. I might add that there is only a very limited quantity of asisaid.com shares left at a stunningly good price, so don't forget to get yours before supplies run out…
Update: Oops, sorry, I'm actually fresh out of asisaid.com shares. Put in your buy orders today so I can judge if I need to issue more shares (once I can).
It's not that I have anything against you...
It's just that BlogShares is going to go live in seven days and at that time, only cash will be carried over, so I've sold off most of my non-cash assets (as many as I could sell in one day without paying anything to do so). Not to worry, I'll be buying up your blog shares again after the May 1 launch.
A Squad of American Soldiers
A squad of American soldiers was patrolling along the Iraqi border. To their surprise, they found the badly mangled dead body of an Iraqi soldier in a ditch along side the road.
A short distance up the road, they found a badly mangled American soldier in a ditch on the other side of the road, who was still barely alive. They ran to him, cradled his blood-covered head and asked him what had happened.
“Well,” he whispered, “I was walking down this road, armed to the teeth. I came across this heavily armed Iraqi border guard. I looked him right in the eye and shouted, 'Saddam Hussein is an unprincipled, lying piece of trash!'”
“He looked me right in the eye and shouted back, 'Bill Clinton, Tom Daschle, Ted Kennedy and most of your Democrats are unprincipled, lying pieces of trash too!'”
“We were standing there shaking hands when the truck hit us.”
I'm an Island!
Japan - Viewed as the technological powerhouse of the 21st
Century, it has lived a reletively solemn and
singular history.
Positives:
Technologically Advanced.
Economic Superpower.
Healthy Populace.
Negatives:
Small.
Isolated and Sometimes Ignored.
Unlucky with Disasters.
Which Country of the World are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Rage Against Raging Cow
This is just plain stupid and a case of “astroturfing” at its worst. As such, while I probably wouldn't be that interested in Raging Cow anyway, I am still happy to officially mark myself as a member of the bloggers against Raging Cow. Let's let Dr. Pepper know its wrong to attempt to create an artificial grassroots community, especially by buying off blogs, known to be, as Doc Searls noted, an escape from this kind of stuff.
Brainbench Personality Assessment
For the most part, the results seem — at least, I think — alright… nothing that seems outright unreasonable, except for one little detail. What detail is that? Well, it suggested that I'm liberal minded, a puzzling thing for someone who is constantly looking forward to the latest edition of The St. Charles County Republican or the GOP's High Tide publications. Well, then again it might have figured me against other people with similar answers on non-political topics… after all very few of the questions could be considered strongly political.
Hmm… after doing this, I wonder if this isn't a “light” version of a Personality Inventory such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)? As far as I know, I'm neither psychologically unstable nor a pychiatrist, so I've never taken the MMPI. However, I remember reading a few sample questions from it, so I think it might be similar. Of course, I doubt Brainbench is worried nearly as much with accuracy or diagonsis of psychological illness. Did I mention that I doubt they are worried with diagnosis? Oh, I forgot to mention that I wonder if they are worried about diagnosis…
Dear Timothy Butler:
Here are your Brainbench Personality Assessment Results.
Please review these results carefully and refer to the
interpretation notes at the bottom.
PART 1 — PERSONALITY EVALUATION:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trait |<--|---|---|---- Range ----|---|---|--->| Trait ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introverted |..................X.....................| Extraverted Candid |......................................X.| Considerate Impulsive |..............X.........................| Cautious Excitable |..........X.............................| Relaxed Practical |..........................X.............| Imaginative Concrete |......................X.................| Abstract ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |<--|---|---|---- Range ----|---|---|--->| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Social Boldness: Introverted VS Extraverted
——————————————————————————————
You are slightly introverted. Do you ever say to people,
“I'm really an introvert” and then they look at you funny?
That's because you can be both Extraverted and introverted,
but in social situations people see you as an Extravert.
Your enthusiastic and self-confident personality, plus your
ease at talking to strangers gives the appearance that you
are outgoing, even though you may attribute it to just
being a friendly person. You find yourself at the center of
attention, even though you may not actively seek that
position. You are such a warm person that people like to
follow you. Which is good, since you have no problem
accepting your role as a leader when it is given to you.
With your ability to flow easily from shy to outgoing, you
may tend to easily flow from exciting adventures to
relaxing times at home. This makes you a fun person to be
around, because you do not always have to be on the go, yet
you know there is more to life than reading and watching TV.
Your Agreeableness: Candid VS Considerate
——————————————————————————————
You are very considerate. You are a popular person, aren't
you? Of course you are. You truly value harmony in dealing
with others. People recognize your friendly, generous, and
helpful personality. Your easy-going, agreeable nature
makes you such a joy to be around. This is especially true
in meetings or general conversations. The topic may become
heated, but you are considerate of other's feelings and you
will find a happy medium in order to placate those around
you. This is because you have an optimistic view of human
nature and you realize that if you trust people with their
decisions that they are not trying to hurt you or take
advantage of you. This special and rare quality is also
seen in your altruism. You enjoy helping others. To you it
is not a sacrifice; to you it is fulfilling to help others
in need.
Your Self-Control: Impulsive VS Cautious
——————————————————————————————
You are moderately impulsive. At times you can be
impulsive, but not to the point where you are jeopardizing
work or relationships. You know when to follow rules, but
you also know when to bend rules that are not set in stone.
If your home or work space gets a little messy, you do not
get upset or feel compelled to tidy up. You do not have to
have perfect order in your life to feel good about yourself
or your environment. You tend to be more on the fun side of
spontaneity, and enjoy being flexible with your plans and
your life. In general, you prefer to make short-term goals
rather than long-term goals.
Your Anxiety Level: Excitable VS Relaxed
——————————————————————————————
You are moderately excitable. In trying situations, you
feel somewhat stressed and frustrated. At times you are
able to overcome these feelings, but other times you feel
overwhelmed. This could run the gamut of just being in a
bad mood to experiencing anxiety, anger, or depression. In
general, you prefer a stress-free existence, so that the
possibility of negative emotions would not be a factor. You
tend to be somewhat self-conscious in social situations,
and are worried that people may judge or criticize you. You
may react emotionally to people or circumstances that you
find threatening, because you want to protect yourself.
Every so often you cave into urges or cravings. Sometimes
you feel a little guilty about it, other times you are just
fine with your fun streak.
Your Openness to Change: Practical VS Imaginative
——————————————————————————————
You are moderately imaginative. You are willing to try new
things - and you are good at it! Your creativity, openness
to new experiences, and broadmindedness allow you to
proceed into the unknown with confidence. You enjoy your
individuality. You do not want to be one of the masses.
Your tendency to be nonconforming - in a good way - ensures
that you will never be considered average. Utilizing your
brain is important to you. This is evident in the
activities you seek. You are able to tune into your
feelings and are able to accurately express how you are
thinking and feeling. You appreciate beauty, whether it is
in art or nature, and you like to be aesthetically engaged.
You tend to be more liberal-minded and able to think on a
broader scale.
The way you Think/Reason: Concrete VS Abstract
——————————————————————————————
You are slightly abstract in your thinking. Your thinking
is neither simple nor complex, to others you appear to be a
well-educated person but not an intellectual. You tend to
be intellectually curious and have the uncanny abilities to
distinguish imaginative, creative people from
down-to-earth, conventional people.
PART 2: OCCUPATIONAL PREFERENCE EVALUATION:
Social people seem to satisfy their needs in teaching or
helping situations. They are drawn more to seek close
interpersonal relationships and are less apt to engage in
intellectual of extensive physical activity. The S type
generally likes to help, teach, and counsel people more
than engage in mechanical or technical activity. The S
type usually likes to be around other people, working in
groups and sharing responsibilities. They are good
communicators and are interested in how people get along,
and like to help other people with their problems. They
like nursing, or giving first aid and providing
information. They generally avoid using machines, tools,
or animals to achieve a goal. They see themselves as
helpful, friendly, and trustworthy.
The adjectives most typically associated with the Social
occupational category are:
——————————————————————————————
convincing cooperative
easy-going friendly
generous helpful
honest idealistic
insightful kind
outgoing patient
responsible social
sympathetic tactful
trustworthy understanding
warm
PART 3: BRAINBENCH TEST RECOMMENDATIONS
The categories of Brainbench Certification tests we
recommend based on your personality and occupational
category are:
——————————————————————————————
Computer Software -> Internet Software:
http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/subcatresults.xml?cat1=2&cat2=19
Computer Software -> Office Software:
http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/subcatresults.xml?cat1=2&cat2=24
Financial -> Financial Software:
http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/subcatresults.xml?cat1=4&cat2=17
Health Care:
http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/subcat.xml?cat1=6
Languages and Communication -> Communications:
http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/subcatresults.xml?cat1=8&cat2=7
Languages and Communication -> Essential Skills:
http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/subcatresults.xml?cat1=8&cat2=14
Management -> Sales and Marketing:
http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/subcatresults.xml?cat1=5&cat2=27
Office Skills -> Administrative Skills:
http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/subcatresults.xml?cat1=1&cat2=3
Office Skills -> Customer Service and Help Desk:
http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/subcatresults.xml?cat1=1&cat2=8
PART 4: INTERPRETATION NOTES
(1) The report sent to your computer screen upon the
completion of this assessment is only a temporary web page.
When you exit your web browser you will not be able to
return to this URL to re-access your report. A copy of the
report is emailed directly to you when you complete the
assessment.
(2) Personality traits describe, relative to other people,
the frequency or intensity of a person's feelings,
thoughts, or behaviors. Possession of a trait is therefore
a matter of degree. We might describe two individuals as
extraverts, but still see one as more extraverted than the
other. This report uses expressions such as “extravert” or
“high in extraversion” to describe someone who is likely to
be seen by others as relatively extraverted.
assessment are neither good nor bad. As with any
personality inventory, scores and descriptions can only
approximate an individual's actual personality. Questions
about the accuracy of your results are best resolved by
reviewing and discussing your report with people who know
you well.
Favorite Books?
- Religion On this one I'd probably pick the Case for Faith. It's an excellent book even though it is a bit tough to get through at times.
- Politics
I'd probably pick President Bush's A Charge to Keep (very good!)
although Rush Limbaugh's The Way Things Ought to Be is quite good as well. - Technology
Just for Fun: The Story of the Accidental Revolutionary (Linus Torvald's book)
- Other
Economics in One Easy Lesson by Henry Hazelitt. This is probably the
best piece on economics I have ever seen Hazelitt's work is a masterpiece. - Science The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. It's witty, interesting, and somehow manages to connect the stories behind apples, tulips, cannibus, and potatoes. Very interesting, although it does take an unfortunate pro-evolutionary stance. Still, it's a good “thought book.”
Odds and Ends...
Let's see, lots of stuff to mention, so lets try a Timback (sorta like a Slashback, but only… well, you get the point):
- My friend Ciaran Hamilton has brought his Journal back online at his theblob.org domain.
- I've done a number of interview on Open for Business you may find interesting. Take a look at the interview section on OfB to find interviews with Gael Duval of MandrakeSoft, Andreas Pour of the KDE League, and more.
- I redesigned Uninetsolutions.com with a dramatically different look. Take a look.