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Even though The Flangy News has been operating for over a year, I just found out about it in the last few days and made my way through the archives, finding a very interesting glimpse into the life of a random Microsoft person, Adam Vandenberg. It's beautifully written, reminds me of Microserfs, simple and personal and programmerish. Vandenberg doesn't want his documents stored in the cloud, he's not awed by the celebrity of Microsoft's leaders, and wonders out loud if they have a clue about anything. I sent an email yesterday asking if he was concerned if I point to his site, and he said go for it. BTW, welcome to the new world, I hope. When people ask what's next, I quote last Sunday's Times Magazine article where they talk about hierarchies vs pancakes. In the next rev of business, it's going to be less hierarchic. Do I see it returning to "normal" after the dotcom mess. No, in my heart, I don't. The weirdness isn't over, if anything it's going to get even more weird. Sean Gallagher: "Adobe's behavior is, while within its legal rights, reprehensible from a human rights standpoint and demonstrative of how big software companies plan to use the DMCA to let loose the power of the state on smaller companies that get in their way."  John Robb thinks he understands why people protested the war in Vietnam in the 60s and 70s, he thinks it was plain and simple, but it was not. "We all remembered Kennedy then, who even if he wasn't perfect, got us to think about big ideas. He was a big influence on my generation. We were raised to think this country could be GREAT. We really believed it. When it started coming out how awful our country really was, that set a lot of things in motion."JFK: "And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Tevye: "Lord, who made the lion and the lamb, you decreed I should be what I am. Would it spoil some vast eternal plan if I were a wealthy man?" Random question. Which was more interesting, AI the network of fake websites, or AI the movie, starring Haley Joel Osment. Isn't it weird that you can ask a question and omit the question mark. A Doc-rant on venture capital in the Valley during the boom with a link to this Dave Barry article with a Jeff MacNelly cartoon that's as good a bookmark for the lunacy as any I've seen. The Talking Moose's post-dot-com Marketing Manifesto. Something changed at the NY Times. Look at all the ads. Now look at the articles. Reuters, Associated Press. Old boring articles in the right margin. After the recent redesign, the quality is really suffering. I can get the same stuff anywhere. I have a sinking feeling that there's some new original content in today's print edition. Oy. I smell a premium service coming, which sucks, because I can't point into premium services. One year ago today, a great essay from ex-Softie Joel Spolsky. It's also worth noting the huge high that was coming one year ago, from the newly accesible music thanks to the now-virtually-defunct Napster. "When the music industry comes to its senses, and decides to like their users again, they can make it up to us by shipping CDs with MP3s on them. Help the hardware industry transition to the new format. Sales will double. What a relief, we're not at war anymore." Simon Fell: "Obviously, Dave is the Talking Moose." Brent: "It turns out that Simon Fell is the Talking Moose!" Without much fanfare Microsoft released the source code for Windows CE. As Jake said when I got my new cellphone, I wonder if hell has frozen over too. The license, which is quite short, and makes no mention of the GPL (I was surprised about this) provides a clue to the motive behind Microsoft's new "shared source" policy -- patents. "If you sue anyone over patents that you think may apply to the Software for a person's use of the Software, your license to the Software ends automatically." Men are from Mars..  I'm re-reading Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. It's certainly a thought-provoking book. Mostly a how-to, but buried between the checklists is a bit of wisdom. Martians run in cycles of wanting intimacy and not wanting it. This is disturbing to the Venutians, who have a different cycle, for a while they feel good, then they don't feel good, but they want intimacy all the time. It can be hard for a Martian to listen when the Venutian is feeling bad, largely because we don't understand how they use the language. Feelings hurt, to the core, the Martian goes into his cave and the Venutian drops into her well, neither feels appreciated, trusted, cared for, supported or loved. Enough times through this loop and each gives up and accepts a normalcy which is dull, isolated and unhappy. Now here's the wisdom. There's a lot of this going on. Anyway, it's a lovely book, a reminder of how imprecise language is, and how raging feelings of insecurity are underneath our masks, at times. It's admirable to desire independence, for sure, but we are, realistically, dependent on others for a sense of self-esteem and self-love. We seek out mirrors to tell us that we are visible and deserving of love. This book is such a mirror. Now men may be from Mars and women from Venus, but John Gray's website is from hell. It's one of the most over-designed dotcom-boom-era tragedies of popup windows and useless hierarchy. I feel unloved. I'm going into my cave now.  
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