Thanks Bush 

I watched the presidential press conference at 7AM Pacific this morning. It was tough to watch before coffee. That man has no goddam personality, charm, or ability to seduce.

Anyway, if I were a Democratic strategist (the president often drops the last syllable, pretty disrespectful) here's what I'd recommend:

1. Pass the bill, send it to the president.

2. He vetoes it, as he's promised to.

3. Pass the bill without the withdrawal bit he objects to.

4. He signs it. (One can only hope.)

New Democratic talking point: Okay Mr. President, you can have it your way. We tried, for now. In the fall we're going to look at how you're doing, and if the "surge" isn't working, we're going to ask the Republicans in Congress to get with us and pass a new Iraq withdrawal plan that's veto-proof.

Of course, both parties are using the troops as a political football, leaving the American people wondering how we're going to get out of Iraq. The Republicans, by August, should be completely fed up with Bush. Let him have his victory now, without continuing the fight, let him run around saying how he saved the troops from the Democrats. While he's fighting a war with the other party, it'll become clear to everyone else that he's not taking responsbility for the war in Iraq, which of course, the Republics (sic) started.

One more thing, schedule another Bill Clinton appearance on Fox, asap.

OPML Editor updates 

I think we're ready for a few changes in the OPML Editor.

1. There's a new official way to get updates. This has been well tested and there have been no problems. This update is recommended for all OPML Editor users.

2. There's a new test version of the full Mac download.

3. And one for Windows. This one has been most problematic, because there's probably a crashing problem with Vista, but it's hard for me to tell because there's been limited testing, and I'm not running Vista myself.

If you have data to share please either post a note on the mail list or in a comment.

There is a known workaround for Vista, if you write-protect background.html in the Appearance folder, the program should launch without a problem.

Joshua Allen uses the OPML Editor on Vista. Hmmm. I guess that's not the problem.

Fun at 10 

The most fun thing about this blog turning 10 is seeing other oldtimey blogs that are still up and running.

Like Bill Humphries. Now there's an original!

BTW, there's no such thing as "belated" when the matter is 10 years of blogging. I figure you got at least a couple of years left before it's belated.

It's also nice to get kudos from people I used to work with but don't work with any longer.

Le Monde blog post about "dixieme anniversaire."

Not that I care 

Over the last few months I watched as the Technorati rank of this weblog sank precipitously.

A long time ago, it was #1. Then it was in the top 10. Then, at the behest of Jason Calacanis, they changed they way they calculated rank, and it fell consistently to the bottom half of the top 100.

By the middle of March it had dropped below 350.

I told myself "No big deal, that's not why you write."

True.

But then why I am I enjoying the resurgence of this blog, when viewed through Technorati?

This morning, on the rise, it broke the 200 barrier, at 199. Who knows where it will stop!

Heh.

Okay, maybe I do care.

Just a little.

Rick Segal 

Rick, as always, has good advice for entrepreneurs.

Rule #1: VCs never say no.

Rule #2: And entrepreneurs tend to hear yes when the VC means no.

Rick says you should pin them down. And never tell the VCs which other VCs you're talking to, until you get a term sheet. Good advice. Financing is a negotiation. If you were buying a car, you wouldn't tell a dealer which other dealers you were talking to, would you? Remember, they do this for a living, they know a lot more about it than you do. And they know when you're bluffing, maybe even when you don't!

I go further in my advice to entrepreneurs. Even after you get an offer from a VC, very carefully find out if their vision of the company agrees with yours. If it doesn't there's a pretty good chance you're either going to end up working for the wrong company (the one that agrees with the VC's vision) or out on the street looking for a job, with your idea tied up in a company whose vision you don't agree with.

I've seen this happen too many times -- the entrepreneur feels his or her vision has been ratified because the money has come in, but the VC was thinking something else. The VC often wins this struggle. Better to figure this out before you become partners.