Archive for Jim

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Dave Ramsey’s Momentum Theorum

Tonight I drove out to Nashville to hear Dave speak at a local real estate investor’s group called ‘REIN’ (Real Estate Investors Nashville). I had wanted to record it, and had my digital recorder going until some guy next to me was nice enough to reprimand me for it. I honestly don’t think that Dave [...]

12Jan2010 | Jim | 0 comments | Continued
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like unicorns, only more rare.

I don’t know when I’m going to learn that customer service is like the fabled creatures of old. It does not exist. The goblin hunters of the witch of ‘bottom line’ have broken the horn of that unicorn long ago. I am infrequently surprised when I come across a company that treats it’s customers well.
Today [...]

13Oct2009 | Jim | 0 comments | Continued
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Let me pray about that.

This well meaning phrase parrotted by Christians has always annoyed me. It is usually an easy way out for folks who just don’t want to say ‘no’. I always wonder if they are really going to sincerely take the question to the Lord, or if they are just buying time to make a decision, which [...]

4Apr2009 | Jim | 0 comments | Continued
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Is Dell 4 hour on-site service worth it?

For this evaluation, we’ll be comparing:
PowerEdge R200
Intel® Celeron® Processor 430 at 1.8GHz, 512K Cache, 800MHz FSB, No Operating System. I also included 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB single SATA HDD.
Hardware Alone:
Starting Price        $749
Instant Savings        $210
Subtotal        $539
Hardware and 3 year 4 hour on-site 7/24 IT mission critical hardware / software support:
Starting Price    [...]

1Apr2009 | Jim | 2 comments | Continued
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Why the perception of compliance certification is not always reality.

I’ve toured several data center facilities since I’ve been involved in IT. I’ve also been a direct and indirect customer of many of them. First let me say that I am happy that there are standards available that help us to measure quality control and accounting practices. Without these standards, there would be no chance [...]

1Apr2009 | Jim | 0 comments | Continued
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The Internet Killed The Radio Star (or why i think that traditional media is dead)

I think it is pretty obvious that CDs are soon going to be all but replaced by downloadable digital content, and it’s only a matter of time before the format war in this space is settled. Digital downloads are too disruptive to the traditional media marketplace for them not to be placed on top. Physical [...]

31Mar2009 | Jim | 0 comments | Continued
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Why In Person Customer Support Is More Important Than Ever, Or How Hastings Book Store Lost My Business

Even with all the options available to me online, I still enjoy going into a book store and holding a book in my hand before buying it. This is unfortunately becoming more and more difficult for me to do. Sites like Amazon and Half.com consistently beat brick and mortar bookstores on price and customer service. [...]

22Feb2009 | Jim | 1 comment | Continued
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Amazon EC2 ‘WARNING UNPROTECTED PRIVATE KEY FILE’

playing around today with Amazon’s EC2 web service… and got this error ‘WARNING UNPROTECTED PRIVATE KEY FILE’ while trying to connect via ssh using the ‘ElasticFox’ firefox addon. Apparently ElasticFox assumes that you have your file located in /Users/youruser/ec2-keys/ … (i’m on OSX), and EC2 requires that directory to be CHMOD 700, and the .pem [...]

2Nov2008 | Jim | 0 comments | Continued
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Parker Dam, Quehanna Natural Area

One of the most beautiful places we’ve been to take pictures… this one is in the middle of no-where near State College, PA …the trees were amazing. I think we got them just about at their peak. Güenther was in heaven, with so much to smell! I can’t blame him… the cool air smelled [...]

15Oct2008 | Jim | 0 comments | Continued
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Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

We headed out to Pennsylvania last Saturday morning… arriving in Mannheim, PA late Saturday night… stayed in one of the crappiest hotels i think we’ve ever stayed in. That night, my sister, brother-in-law and I went to a small pub called ‘Farmer’s Hope’, where i had 5 shots of Patron Silver (mmmm… nectar) and sat [...]

15Oct2008 | Jim | 0 comments | Continued
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