... people want advice!

OK - that may or may not be a good theory but it's the one I am running with.

People have often asked me to share some ideas on careers and surviving in the complex world of business. So, I have created a podcast on the subject. The thought is to give 'career advice for the digitial age.'

I think that means less than three minutes!

To that end, its called The 3 Minute Mentor and you can find the site here.

Now I am going to see if I can get it on iTunes.

So, let your friends know.

Or if you think it is horrific - we will never mention it again. In theory, anyway!

... I was right after all!

Interesting offer from NYNY in LV today. Looks like someone is trying to fix the airline ticket issues.

There is another theory that states ... that doesn't happen that often.

… Vegas has a problem with airlines.

And I am not just talking about McCarran – the worst bag-handling airport in USA (although it is getting better). What I am talking about is our broken airline business. To make my point, let us discuss a trip to Sin City this Easter (for non-Christians’ this is not a sign of the apocalypse).

When you plan a trip to Vegas you think about the following costs: flights, hotels, meals, drinks and the amount you can afford to loose. Let’s consider the trip at Easter for two (let's say you take the wife!).

Hotels: I am pretty sure you could get two or three free nights in most strip hotels for free but let's do a quick check on hotel.com. For the Friday through Monday you can get the Sahara or another hotel of the same quality (!) for $45 a night on average. Let’s say $150 for three nights.

Meals: Well, you can do three at all-you-can-eat buffets for around $20 a day but let us says you want at least one nice night out (which means $50 per head). That is around $220 including drinks.

Drinking: Done while gambling it is probably free but coffee that morning coffee can cost, so lets budget $30.

So far the trip for two has cost: $400 and you have yet to play a nickel in the slots.

According to Wiki answers, an average player looses $500 on their trip to Vegas. For two that’s $1000. Let’s hope we come out winning but few do. That makes our total trip $1400 so far – and we have not yet booked a flight.

Now flying depends on where you live but I check expedia.com. We live in Austin and with a change of planes its about $270 each on AA. If we go direct on Southwest it is nearer $350 each. Both are pretty unsocial times to fly - if I pick decent times to fly (which I would) on AA they want $750 each. Bad times normally means arriving late on your first day and leaving early on your last - three days become 1 day pretty quickly.

Our $1400 trip has just become $2000 trip at the very least – which less than 50% is gambling.
In reality, we will probably pay $0 for our hotels and stay somewhere nicer. We also will take more money to ‘win’ with and hope to come home with some of it still in our wallets.

Bottom line: what stops us going to LV this Easter is not the gambling, the meals, the drinks or that hotels – it’s the flight prices. Maybe instead of free rooms – the hotels should offer us free flights – although that’s real money to them and they are not getting enough of that.

There is a theory that states we are not taking a quickie weekend in Vegas till the flights sort themselves out.

Lake Charles anyone?

... competition is a good thing

Feel free to check my work blog for some thoughts on competition.

http://blogs.amd.com/nigeldessau/2009/03/16/%E2%80%9Call-that-is-necessary-for-evil-to-triumph-is-for-good-men-to-do-nothing%E2%80%9D/

... Objects in the Toolbar May Be Further Away Than They Seem

Please check my work blog for inside into the battery life discussion: http://blogs.amd.com/nigeldessau/2009/03/12/objects-in-the-toolbar-may-be-further-away-than-they-seem/

... the face has it!

OK - people have spoken, well voted, and the face wins. I have updated twitter to match. Personally, I voted for the cartoon - but it didn't win. Theory has it that it maybe a self image issue!

Thanks for all those that voted. This is democracy without tax increases.

... i need a new picture for my twitter id.

Please vote using the POLL on the right.

.… Alex should take a H-I-T.

Today A-Rod meets the press in Tampa for what I expect is going to be a long day. In case he needs it, here is my advice. Take a H-I-T and don’t mean from Phelps’s bong – although from what people have told me it might help him relax.

A couple of times in my work life I have been in companies and situations where things were tough. They were embarrassing and messy. Pride is often a good thing but as we know, it comes before a fall. Some marketing managers and less experienced PR people tend to want to ‘sugar-coat’ the story and use ‘weasel words’ to try and find a way through the mess.

Don’t do it.

It always comes back double (at least). For me, I always suggest H-I-T.

For me H-I-T stands for Honesty-Integrity- Transparency and it’s my advice on how to handle his press conference this afternoon. It sounds like ‘tough love’ and it is. He will not like it but if he wants this thing to end anytime soon, he should follow these rules.

With one exception.

Don’t confuse the transparency with blaming others. Offer what proof you have of your innocence and if you have none for your past, offer it for your future. I wouldn’t say ‘trust me’ (that’s one that can come back to bite!) but you can offer to be tested and publish results.

Unless of course he is still cheating, in which case, there is a theory that states … nothing can save him but his millions.

... that this could be big news.

After a long and detailed, some what or completely unscientific, poll on Twitter - I have decided to change my Twitter id to @nigeldessau.

I tell my team at work we should operate with honestly, integrity and transparency. I was worrying that the 'legin' handle had the chance of making it look like I was hiding behind something. Thus the change!

… you always get caught in the end.

As I sit here in my Yankees t-shirt reading A-Rod drug stories, I have to admit that I want this theory to be a fact. Not sure Alex Rodriguez would feel the same way – unless he is of course innocent, in which case he should sue SI and become even fabulously wealthy.

Problem for A-rod is this - if he’s on the list then he’s on the list. Putting him on the list, he may argue, was wrong – but he’s there. Sad to see him do what The Rocket did and go down in flames.

The interesting bit for me here is not if he did it or not do it (I can guess) but how he’s now managing the reaction. I think Mike Lupica’s piece in the NY Daily News makes the point really well when he compares A-rod to Phelps.

Michael Phelps got caught this past week in a different kind of story and a different kind of headline, involving a college party and Phelps allegedly smoking dope.

It is a sports misdemeanor compared to what A-Rod is now charged with, and had nothing to do with the records Phelps set in Beijing. But when the picture of Phelps with that bong began to circulate out of London and around the world, here is what Phelps finally said:

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect of me. For this, I'm sorry. I promise my fans and my public it will not happen again."

Sports Illustrated went to Rodriguez for a comment and he said, "You'll have to talk to the union."

I remember when I made my first mistake at IBM (I made many) and I quickly told my supervisor. I was nervous but he was not worried. A mistake quickly fixed is not a problem. It’s the cover-up that kills you (eh, Martha?).

From a PR point of view I also think A-rod is making a real mess here. The truth out is always the best strategy. Say what you know. Come clean. Sit through the press conference and the world will move on. There is always another JonBenét Ramsey story around the corner - sadly.

Back to baseball: I am pissed that A-rod is on this list and Torre’s book isn't helping either. These are distractions that the Yankees don’t need. But NY has never loved A-rod and I have never been a great fan. Jeter is there when the action is hot. A-rod is somewhere practicing him swing.

As one of my Twitter buddies tweeted to me yesterday “Arod never understood why New Yorkers love 250 hitters who hit 500 in the World Series and not 320 hitters who go 063 in the playoffs.”

Pitchers and Catchers report for duty in less than a week. There is a theory that we should just let them play ball. I suspect lots of other stuff will be tossed around before we get to that.

… that planes arrive on time.

I have always wondered if flights are as really on time as airlines say/think they are.

We are used to hearing airlines say that a majority are, but my experience was very different. With that in mind I decided to keep track of all the flights I did last year – all 110 of them. There maybe some debate as to when we leave and arrive, as well as what control the airlines has over those times (actually, I don’t really care if it’s the airline or the airport) but I am still the traveler and I am still on time or late.

To give as much flexibility as possible, I noted the following times on every flight I took last year:

- Official departure time
- Pushback from gate
- Take-off time
- Original time of arrival (ETA) – what it said when I booked
- Landing time
- First person off the plane
- My bag off the belt time (if I checked luggage)

During a long flight back from the UK this weekend I finally looked over my spreadsheet and here are my results. I am giving percentages but that’s pretty close to the actual numbers.

Of the 110 flights only 36% of them arrived on time.

In other words, the first person got off the plane on or earlier than the ETA only 40 times over the 110 flights. Not really surprising when you consider only 9% of the flights took off before the departure time. Some would say that was unfair because there are ATC and all sorts of weather delays to blame in this number. Maybe, but when only 35% of flights even leaving the gate or on before departure time, I am not so sure. A majority of these are from Austin where the plane if often early.

These delays mean that on average you should expect to push-back from the gate an average of 11 minutes late and you will not take off until, on average, 24 minutes after your departure time.
The good news is that you will land only 6 minutes after your ETA and could be off the plane only 14 minutes later than ETA as shown. If you have bags you should wait about 15 minutes for them (unless you are in Las Vegas – when it can take for ever).

This was better than I had expected but I think moving to Austin really helped. If you fly in and out of bigger hubs I expect it is not this good.

Only two flights were canceled and American is better (maybe Austin effect) than United.

So what did I learn from this effort?

Not much, it was something to-do for 110 flights. Also when I was really delayed (worst delay was 210 minutes) I knew if no-one else cared – at least my spreadsheet would.

There is a theory that states on a plane my spreadsheet could hear me scream.

... its bettter for me if they talk in German.

I am sitting here in the audience of a Handelsblatt Conference in Munich, Germany. I am third up to talk today and that means I have to listen to the two speakers ahead of me. I don’t like this - not that they are bad but they are going to be in English. Strangely, I don’t like that.

If the speakers were talking in German I would have no idea what they were saying. I would also not be listening to them saying exactly the things I was going to say. With them using many of ideas I want to talk about. I am left feeling like Elizabeth Taylor’s last husband on their wedding night. I know what I need to do but the challenge is to make it different.

If I tell you I am going to talk about eco, virtualization and clouds and how they intersect with X86 you will see my issue unfold...

First up is Lindsey Armstrong VP of International from Saleforce.com (and Brit, so she has a partial pass from me). She’s standing in for Benioff who couldn’t make it (I can’t complain about that, I am a stand in here after all). Her message is around cloud computing more specifically their cloud computing. Looking at the audience I wonder if she is talking to the right people. Always tough to talk about IT out-sourcing to the IT Department. While many modern CIOs and CTOs are business people rather than IT managers - you have to believe this is a struggle for them. Reminds me of the old joke - if you wanted to get there, you shouldn’t start here.

If I may be so bold, her message should be more around how salesforce.com can extend their capabilities not replace them. Still clouds are coming but people will need to talk about intra-clouds the same way we talked about intra-nets.

Next up is Padmasree Warrior the CTO from Cisco. She is starting with the way people work - I was expecting X86 server entry - maybe this will come later. I can’t help but think she is also talking about how to survive the next five years. Maybe I should talk about how to five months!

Having said that, she is making some interesting points about flow between enterprise and consumer. I think I can build on this point in my second section - given that I am typing on consumer laptop which I would rather use than my work machine. Enterprise laptops do have a huge amount of security and manageability in them but now with the cloud that will change. Devices are becoming disposable - no point spending more to manage than replace. It’s the data that needs backing up - not the device. More clouds.

Now Padmasree is moving onto the Next Internet (just heard an eco point). Her definition of the Next Internet sounds like something I was saying 5 years ago. As they say in the House of Commons, “I refer the Right Honorable Gentlemen to answer I gave 5 years ago.” See the Stages Of e-business Adoption - if you can still find this on the web.

So to virtualization and this completes all the points I am about to make. Not much about their new servers. Surprising - it's the perfect audience for them.

OK now me … “X86 at a crossroads“.

Actually, first coffee. There is a theory that states people will come back.


Two points to note:
1. I can’t do this on-line as the room has no free internet access and access on t-mobile is very expensive
2. As I look around the audience of around 300 people - not one PC open (other than this HP dv2) and I am willing to bet no-one will be twittering on their Blackberrys.

... that you should see to believe.

Someone asked me to post video of the MacBook Air vs HP dv2. Short video included. The sound of our house phone is just a bonus effect!



Theory has it that I need both.

... you can never have enough batteries.

I made a decision a few years ago to separate my work and personal life – PC wise that is.

If you change jobs every so often it’s a major hassle if you don’t – moving email addresses, links, tools and the like. Also, many companies are sensitive about not using company equipment for ‘non business reasons’. Best way to manage this is separate out ‘Church and State’. That means two PCs - I can live with that.

Problem is, I am heading to Europe next week and I am trying to decide if I have to take four!

Let’s start with the basics – everyday stuff.

1. Work based AMD Turion based laptop

2. Personal MacBook Air

Both machines are OK and do their job. I should point out that the Air pre-dates my current employer and it runs OS X – all my video stuff is Mac and I live the iLife. They both fit well in my bag and security is easy at the airport.

Now on this trip I am taking with me a new HP dv2. That’s PC number three.

It’s the hot new thing and we want to show it off for HP. In due course I may replace the Air with a dv2 (as long as it has the right chip in it) and then go Windows all the way. I have many concerns with this – some of which may be resolved by Windows 7. Best case would be running OS X on the dv2 but I am thinking that’s not going to happen any time soon.

Three PCs through security maybe a little more challenging.

It’s also a heavy load but I have a great ‘flight-bag’ so I am willing to give that a go. Problem is someone gave me a mini-notebook to play with too.

Is this a PC too far?

The HP mini-notebook is cute and seems to work ok. Problem is the screen is so small not sure what I would use it for. Maybe as a movie player. It’s also XP, which I know makes lots of people happy, but I can’t be bothered to relearn XP networking – bad enough I have to use Vista’s.

Four PCs at airport security and TSA may think I am running an import/export business.

I will update the blog with my experiences.

Of course, if the upgrade to business class doesn’t come through, I may need 4 machines just to have enough battery life to make it to Munich. There is a theory that states in the economy section the movies are really going to suck.

... that Che had something to say.

I have always liked the following lines that Che sings in the musical Evita.

"Juan always picks the easy fight
Juan praises fools
Juan smothers light
Juan shifts from left to right
Politics the art of the possible"

It struck me that this is not only politicians but sometimes business people too. I have to say I maybe as guilty as many.

Case in point, this is the 25th anniversary of Apple’s famous Super Bowl advert.

• In 1984 I was at school in Nottingham – so I rather missed the whole thing Mac vs PC thing.
• Between 1984 and 2005 – I worked for IBM, so Apple was generally a bad thing (Microsoft was no friend either), Intel became a partner.
• Between 2005 and 2008 – these are my StorageTek/Sun years. So Microsoft and IBM bad, Apple OK (but mostly because they are not IBM or Microsoft), Intel became a partner.
• From 2008 to today – IBM and Sun friends. Microsoft BFF. Intel – no comment.

Funny to think we need to remember who we work for to fully understand how we feel for someone.

... there are 7 things you (probably) don't know about me.

So I see a number of people are doing the #7things – for your delectation, here are mine:

1. I usually think in threes.

Whenever anyone asks me a question I usually answer with 3 things. What three things they are, are never the same but I can almost always think of three. It’s such a habit that I often start by saying there are ‘three things’ even when I don’t get to three. Only today I ran out at two and that was to a question I can usually think of three things for.

You can normally spot my work because it is in three parts – occasionally it is a ‘four-parter’ but I spend lots of time typing to get it to three. I am OK with one part having two sub-parts. Strangely, I don’t think of that as four. I even broke this list into three parts: facts, desire and secrets. You can work out which is which.

By the way – the number that most repeats in my life is 113. Another use of the 3?

2. I was born in Nottingham.

For the Americans, that’s Nottingham, England – not Nottingham, PA (yes there is one). Specifically, I grew up in West Bridgeford just south of the city.

Nottingham is quite a big city for the UK with about 700,000 people – which makes it a small town in the US. It is about 120 miles north of London and is typically described as The East Midlands. After a rather rocky time at school (see next section) I studied at what is now called Nottingham Trent University – named after the River Trent that flows through the city. In those days we called it Trent Poly. At Trent, I got a High National Diploma in Business Studies.

My parents still live in Nottingham, a short walk from the statue of Robin Hood. They live near the Castle – the place where Charles 1st raised his Standard in our Civil War – and we all know how well that worked out for him.

3. I have Developmental Dyspraxia

When I was young I was lucky enough to be tested and was originally described as Dyslexic. My sister, who knows these things, thinks that today it would be called Developmental Dyspraxia. It is all about the two halves of the brain not working well together. The end result is that if I spell, write or type things wrong, unless someone points it out to me, I will not see it.

In some ways, I am what I am today because of it – not in-spite of it. God has given me different skills to help me and I tend to focus on the verbal not the written. I am very lucky that many people have helped me over the years - from the extra lessons I did at school to the people who help me proof-read things today. I owe them much.

I would love to write a book but each time I sit in front of the keyboard, my insecurities about my skills hit me. Or it could be laziness.

4. I am Jewish

By birth, if not by practice I am an Orthodox Jew. Given the challenge of learning English, Hebrew seemed a step too far for me. Being Jewish is different in the UK than in the US. Outside the very Jewish areas of London, Jewish people are more hidden and quiet. No one wants to draw attention to themselves. I went to Christian Schools and probably know more of the New Testament than the Old.

When it comes to Jewish laws and traditions – I am more into the traditions. My father and his immediate family escaped The Holocaust but most of his family did not. The few traditions I follow (an occasional fast and a Passover supper) I do to honor his family to make it a part of mine.

When I am asked if I believe in God, I tend to say that Pascal's wager was the right idea.

5. If I could be anything, I would be a film director

If I could be born again, I wonder if Steven Spielberg would mind me being him?

Failing that, I spend too much of our discretionary income on video and computer equipment. Not sure how many other families have the home video edited to broadcast-quality standards. For Christmas (should that be Hanukkah?) we got a Blu-ray writer and player and we can now finally watch the 1080i HD movies I have been making since I bought by Sony HD1 four years ago.

The closest I ever really got was a part time job at BBC Radio Nottingham as a student. I did some film reviews and helped produce a Saturday Morning show – one of the best jobs of my life. I think I saw 100 movies in 1984 – even today, the thought of going to the movies makes me happy.

6. My favorite city is Las Vegas

I know lots of people hate Vegas but I love it. Got married there and spend as much time as we can afford (in both ways).

The moment we leave McCarran airport and head to our hotel, I start to relax. We never stay on The Strip unless it’s for work. We tend to look for deals in the off-strip local places. We love the shows and we love the restaurants. Our holidays there are often the time we actually go shopping for clothes and personal stuff. Who has the time in real life?

Best shows are Ka and Love. Whatever you do – don’t go and see the Criss Angel show.

Best restaurant: The Bagel Cafe. Chopped liver on a toasted poppy seed bagel. Does life get better?

7. I have two fictional heroes: Tony Hancock and Zaphod Beeblebrox

I discovered Tony Hancock through a friend’s recording of ‘The Missing Page’. I didn’t know who he was but I fell in love with the writing (Galton and Simpson) and his comic timing. In his best times, before television, he could empty the pubs. People still can recite sections of ‘The Blood Donor’ today. His life story is not a happy one and ends when he committed suicide, by overdose, in Sydney on 24 June 1968. He felt unloved and misunderstood. According to the Wikipedia entry on him – “In a 2002 poll, BBC radio listeners voted Hancock their favorite British comedian.” Guess he never knew.

Hancock’s TV work is on YouTube – an example is this excerpt from his version of Twelve Angry Men. However, if you really want to hear him like I did, then you need to find the original radio series. The BBC still sell them and you can download them from Audible.

The same way Hancock is better on the radio, so is the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. If you have only ever seen the TV show (or God-help-us the movie) then you don’t know the series. Even if you have read all the books! Something about the radio series talked to me and still does. The Christmas Edition, typically viewed as today as episode 1 of series 2, is the best. I so much wanted to be as cool as Zaphod. Hey, and he was President of The Universe.

If you follow the last link you will also see where I stole the title of this blog from.

H2G2 was of course written by the late Douglas Adams. I met him a few times and was starting to work on a charity committee with him when I moved to the US. When he died on May 11th, 2001 (aged 49) in Santa Barbara I was 25 miles away. Still get tears in my eyes today if I think about it.

... you can say it all in 40 one words.

So I have been thinking, untagged, of doing a #7things. This it seemed to me as much cathartic sharing as I could take. Can too much sharing be harmful?

Well, I am yet to put my #7things to bed, when I am tagged by @jonathaneunice to do ‘40 one-worders’ for all to enjoy. Here is my list. #7thing to follow. What did happen to question 15?

1. Where is your cell phone? docked

2. Your significant other? facebooking

3. Your hair? greying

4. Your mother? shuttling

5. Your father? jazzing

6. Your favorite thing? playing

7. Your dream last night? forgotten

8. Your favorite drink? Lagavulin

9. Your dream/goal? independence

10. What room you are in? cube

11. Your hobby? movies

12. Your fear? ignornace

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Vegas

14. Where were you last night? eating

16. Muffins? chocolate-chip

17. Wish list item? recovery

18. Where you grew up? DPD11

19. Last thing you did? meeting

20. What are you wearing? logos

21. Your TV? Cooking

22. Your pets? Inga

23. Friends? closer

24. Your life? happy

25. Your mood? fussed

26. Missing someone? yes

27. Car? indulgent

28. Something you’re not wearing? hat

29. Your favorite store? B&HPhoto

30. Your summer? Vegas

31. Like someone? closer

32. Your favorite color? yellow

33. When is the last time you laughed? always

34. Last time you cried? #7things

35. Who will resend this? @PatrickMoorhead

36. One place that I go to over and over? Vegas

37. One person who emails me regularly? Viagra-suppliers

38. My favorite place to eat? China

39. Why you participated in this survey? @jonathaneunice

40. What are you doing tonight? Mexican

I tag: @jtmcarthur56 , @PatrickMoorhead, @DanShine, @johnvolkmann, @carmenoshea, @vgtero and @JTRex.

I know some of you don’t have blogs. Maybe a time to start? I will link to those I know of and post for others who cannot find a blog to call their own.

Now back to the #7things - that should make some people think - in theory.