Disqus - Friends of mikeschinkel

Re: PR Profiling

lknobel — Sat, 01 Jan 2000 05:00:00 -0000

In addition to perpetuating stereotypes of your industry, I thought that article peddled an outdated, stereotype-ridden view of Silicon Valley. If it had been a short, cute snippet it would have been one thing, but it was the lead article in the Business section, breaking to a full page inside.

Really poor judgment on the part of the NYT.

Re: UK blogger sacked

lknobel — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 18:34:25 -0000

I certainly think you jumped the gun on this one, Robert. If you read her blog it was innocuous about her employer. They certainly over-reacted.

As far as the employment law is concerned, I'm glad there are many parts of the world where employees have greater protection than in California and Washington. The American model isn't necessarily right for everyone.

Re: Why did Boeing’s wifi service die?

lknobel — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:53:09 -0000

I agree that it's sometimes nice to get off the grid.

On the power problem, British Airways offers a neat power point (only business and 1st class, sadly) that requires an expensive little adapter, which is well worth it if you fly a lot. Virgin Atlantic also provides power at every seat in Upper Class. So when your start-up is a huge financial success…

Re: Richard Edelman calls…

lknobel — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:12:10 -0000

Richard is one of the straightest, most no-nonsense people you'll ever encounter. He does more than anyone can imagine to change the reality and perception of his industry.

BTW, he's not the founder. His still active father, Dan, is that.

Re: Housekeeping: Please Update Your Feedreaders!

lknobel — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 23:28:44 -0000

The feed you provide through Feedburner doesn't work. It returns error code 500.

Re: How To View A Home 101

lknobel — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:36:35 -0000

Another idea: take a walk around the neighborhood, preferably at different times of day and night.

Re: FSBOs: If It Can Happen In Madison, Why Not Berkeley?

lknobel — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 13:52:55 -0000

Shouldn't that be FSBO: For Sale By Owner?

Re: Real Estate The Best Investment? Some Sellers Are Banking On It

lknobel — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:34:10 -0000

Be careful with your language. You're not describing return on investment. You're describing merely the capital appreciation of the asset.

To know the return on investment you would need to know what the purchaser's downpayment was, what the terms of their mortgage were, and what the transaction costs were. The world of housing is filled with people who will claim houses are great investments in all circumstances, but don't take into account all the factors that truly determine investment return.

For a recent debunking of this notion see http://www.portfolio.com/vi...

Re: Notes On A Neighborhood: Oakland’s Buzzy Temescal

lknobel — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:29:21 -0000

One crucial point on gentrification was made by the great Jane Jacobs: "When a place gets boring, even the rich people leave." The trick for Temescal -- or other gentrifying neighborhoods -- will be to retain their diversity and (very '70s word, sorry) funkiness, while many of the residents come from further up the economic ladder.

Re: All You Buyers Out There: Maybe Beggars Can Be Choosers

lknobel — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:39:47 -0000

The owners of 118 The Uplands didn't make 6%. They lost something like $200,000 when you adjust for inflation based on the consumer price index. A 20% increase over that period, which on the face of it looks pretty good, means you're just treading water when inflation is taken into account.

Re: This could be a nightmare (Scripting News)

lknobel — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:15:17 -0000

I don't think the Democrats are split down the middle. It just looks that way, as it would at any point when you have two strong candidates remaining. Twice as many people are voting in the Democratic primaries as in the Republican. Obama and Clinton each received just about as many votes on Tuesday as all the Republicans but together. Once a candidate is chosen, however acrimonious the next six (!) months might become, you'll find the vast bulk of Democratic and independent voters coalescing around the Democratic nominee.

There's a convincing case to be made, in fact, that the continuing battle for the Democratic nomination will be good. McCain will largely disappear from the radar screen until the convention. We'll have wall-to-wall Obama/Clinton for months on the news.

What about senator Clinton's famously high negatives? Although I'm supporting Obama and I think he'll both be a better president and a better candidate, Clinton will eviscerate McCain in the debates. He'll look old. His professed ignorance on the economy will be a millstone. His 100 years of war will be frightening. Of course there will be a media love fest around him, and there will be endless media vilification of the Clintons. But I don't think that's going to sway most voters.

Re: This could be a nightmare (Scripting News)

lknobel — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:16:03 -0000

I know. That could really get ugly. But I agree with Mike Bach that in the end most (not all, but most) will rally around the nominee.

Re: United States 2.0? (Scripting News)

lknobel — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:22:06 -0000

I agree completely about Jim Webb. Such an impressive figure, and an absolute clincher on any national security issue.

Re: United States 2.0? (Scripting News)

lknobel — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:23:08 -0000

I agree completely about Jim Webb. Such an impressive figure, and an absolute clincher on issues of national security.

Re: Can My Loyalty to Cody’s Stretch to Downtown Berkeley?

lknobel — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:53:54 -0000

The exciting aspect of the hotel project is that it has been awarded to the people behind The Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That's one of the best run and most stylish -- in a wholly original way -- hotels I've stayed in. I'm sure they'll have the right spirit for something special in Berkeley.

And it will provide desperately needed competition for The Claremont which coasts by as the only business-class hotel in Berkeley.

Re: House Prices: Pay Less, Or More, But Not What They’re Asking For

lknobel — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:45:54 -0000

Several of the percentages don't seem to work.

Looking at Blumberg's site, he is taking the difference between the original listing price and the sale price. So, confusingly, the left-hand price column on the chart isn't necessarily the divisor used in the calculation.

Note, for example, 26 The Uplands. $1,225,000 is 96% of $1,275,000. But, if memory serves, it originally listed at $1,395,000. Hence the right-hand column result of 88%.

Re: HowTo: A feed reader for pictures

lknobel — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:43:52 -0000

I've installed the OPML Editor on my Windows machine (running XP Professional), and I can see that photos are being saved into the FlickrFan folder. But how do I get the FlickrFan photos running as my screen saver? I can't figure that out.

Thanks.

Re: HowTo: A feed reader for pictures

lknobel — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:11:42 -0000

It works! But you're right, the "transition effects" in Windows pale in comparison to the Mac.

Re: HowTo: Welcome to the idea of BearhugCamp!

lknobel — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:46:56 -0000

I'd definitely want to participate. I'd juggle my schedule to be there.

Re: If the Republicans lose (Scripting News)

lknobel — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:55:52 -0000

I think PacificPelican has it right. You're assuming that whoever seizes the leadership of the Republican party will be rational. That could happen, but I wouldn't bet on it. I think the likelihood when they lose is that the cry will be that McCain was always a RINO (Republican in name only), and that they need to return to the true conservative doctrine if they want to return to power.

The delightful consequence is that they will be consigning themselves to a long time in the political wilderness.

Re: If the Republicans lose (Scripting News)

lknobel — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:28:50 -0000

You're right that they need to come around to the truth if they want to become electable again (not least because the country's demographics are shifting heavily in favor of the Democratic party). My point is that I think it will take time -- perhaps even two election cycles -- for the Republicans to come to terms with that reality.

Re: If the Republicans lose (Scripting News)

lknobel — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:03:13 -0000

Of course I agree. I do think, however, that for the long-run health of democracy it helps to have at least two responsible parties. And it's in the nature of democracies to insure that it happens.

The 1993 Canandian federal election reduced the previously ruling Progressive Conservatives to two seats (how's that for a complete wipe out). That party vanished, replaced by the Conservative party. Similarly the Thatcher years all but wiped out Labour in Britain. It was only after considerable retooling -- under Kinnock, Smith and then Blair -- that Labour became electable. In turn Labour's multiple victories under Blair forced the Conservatives to overhaul their identity and philosophy.

I wrote about this the other day: http://www.davosnewbies.com...

Re: Campbell Brown on the Daily Show

lknobel — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:07:28 -0000

She was very good, but how is it credible that Olbermann is approaching things from the "far left"? Is the political spectrum in the US really skewed that far to the right.

Olbermann is leftish, certainly, but only a notch to the left of center.

Re: Sometimes it hits you...

lknobel — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:32:11 -0000

The photo you post is part of an amazing series taken behind the scenes by the Obama campaign photographer. He's posted the entire set on Flickr. Be prepared to well up in tears once again:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/sets/72157608716313371/show/

Re: Cutting some Slack for the AR

lknobel — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:10:56 -0000

The new AR looks pretty good, but I'm particularly gratified that you're memorializing the legacy of Bill Slack.

One of the consequences of Bill's modesty (production editor didn't begin to describe his role), was that he was perpetually put upon by his superiors. I particularly remember the strutting peacock Sherban Cantacuzino sketching every single spread of his Paris issue of AR, and grandly handing it to Bill to execute.