I have a bookmarklet that comes with my minimal blogging tool that populates a dialog with information about the story I'm reading. The bookmarklet works much the same way the Instapaper Read-Later bookmarklet works. Most of the time it's okay, but some of the sites put up such a shocking interstitial ad that I pretty much refuse to pass links to their posts. Computerworld comes to mind, as does Salon and the Economist. I make exceptions for all of them if the story is compelling enough. I know this is questionable, but I'd like to combine this with Instapaper. To basically publish a Read-Later link for all the people who follow me.

Wondering if they have anything like that.

Seems you guys would know...

 4/12/2011; 7:28:01 PM.   .

I've done big layoffs twice in my career, and it's the worst experience ever, but sometimes you don't have a choice.

But if you do it right, it can have a positive effect on the organization. Here's how that works.

You prepare for the layoffs quickly and quietly. Then one morning you do them. All of them. And then have a company meeting and you tell the people that that was it. No more layoffs. You're on the team. And then have a good story about how you're going to lead them to prosperity.

If you let the right people go, everyone will know. There's always fat in an organization and the people know where it is. The question is, do you know. If you cut badly you probably just blew your chance for recovery.

And you don't want to do what AOL is doing. Week after week cutting off limbs. So that everyone inside the company is thinking they're next. So the smart ones look for new jobs in earnest. By the time you get around to looking for the next place to cut, all you'll find are the ones who didn't get offers elsewhere. You just lost.

You gotta do it quick and you have to be right about who you let go.

Dragging it out is no good.

 4/12/2011; 12:59:21 PM.   .

A bunch of people have figured out how to plant viruses into the news system.

An example. Get a celeb or pol to suggest that candidate (or President) Obama might not have been born in the United States. Vary the story over time. Get a new celeb. Or a new pol. Every variance must be reported by ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox, MSNBC. Each saying of course to the best of our knowledge it's not true. Because of course we're objective. And we have to admit it's possible that Obama wasn't born in the US. As the virus suggest might be true.

Jake Tapper, on Twitter, asks what they should do. Says it's a double-edged sword. He's a smart dude, and he should get to use his brain in his work. Instead of being a robot, he should say "Wait -- that's a virus. I'm not that dumb!"

You know it's not a news story, it's a virus. Have a rule. We don't pass on viruses. Done.

Some people are themselves a virus. Donald Trump. Have a nightly show called "Here come the virus!" -- They get their air-time, and people who like viruses are happy. And everyone understands very clearly that what they're hearing does not stand up to any kind of scrutiny. So don't even bother saying it's not true. It wouldn't be on the Nightly Virus if it weren't complete utter bullshit.

People would fight to get on that show it would be so popular.

It would be like LOST but for news. Great entertainment.

 4/12/2011; 12:35:04 PM.   .

With the help of Ted C Howard I am setting up a Linux server to play with and maybe to server scripting.com on.

 4/12/2011; 12:01:16 PM.   .