Joe Sheehan from Baseball Analysts writes this great piece about keeping the ball on the ground.  He notes two things:

"...What was a little surprising to me is how the groundball percentage of every pitch decreases at almost the same rate with increasing height."

And that sinkers have a "...huge advantage... in generating grounders compared to any other pitch. "

Best part about a sinker?  It won't wreck a young arm, because you don't twist your wrist.  Here's how Jake Westbrook does it.

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Who invested?  Who joined the board?  Find out here.

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Thanks Marc!

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There, I said it.

Apple just "came to an agreement" with Nick from the ThinkSecret blog--you know, the one that a 13 year old started in 1998 about Apple product rumors.  He wound up getting one too many rumors (truths) out before Apple was ready to make it public, so they sued him.  They settled... meaning that Apple will drop the suit and Nick will shut the site down.

Remember... this is a guy who liked Apple so much he started a website dedicated to the company. 

They shut him down... a college student.

What is it going to take from this company for people to stop drinking the Apple kool-aid?  Seriously, folks, its just another company.  Let's take an inventory:

iPod...  They charge people a license to make products for it... like those iPod home stereo things.  Plus, they insist on selling drm music.  "Don't blame us, blame the record companies."  Yeah, because I'm sure the record companies wouldn't budge if the company that has a near monopoly on online music distribution decided they wouldn't sell DRM music anymore.  Oh, and you can't replace the battery on your own without voiding the warranty...  and video Ipod screens... yeah..   do I need to go on?

iPhone...   One carrier gets an exclusive deal.   People build apps for it and then Apple crushes the apps in an upgrade.  Screen?  Cracks.  Battery.  Can't replace it.

Safari...   The browser caching problem means that it will display the version of your site that it sees fit, not as it sits on your server. 

I own an iPod and that's the only Apple product I use.  I had no urge to own an iPhone.  Hey, Windows products may suck, but at least Microsoft doesn't tease me and make me think they're my friend.  By the way, how many of you know someone (maybe you) whose iPhone has cracked already.  I think I'll buy a Zune or something next time. 

Hell, they don't even buy anyone.  Google may be the borg and Microsoft may be evil, but at least they spend a few bucks from the coffers filling the pockets of entrepreneurs once in a while.

Yeah... Apple makes beautiful things... that break... and that hurt you when they violate you with them. 

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Because if you are, you saw the first drafts of the look and feel of our real front end design.

And some ideas around our logo.

And, if that doesn't entertain you enough, the world's most boring web TV:  Our live webcam.

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Over the last couple of weeks, I've had the same conversation with three different startups.  They were all started by businesspeople and they were frustrated over the fact that they couldn't find a great tech person to build their dream into a reality.

So I asked them if they were willing to actually make it a partnership and give them an equal share of the business.

They all balked.  Didn't even hesitate.  No way.

Well, if I was a tech guy capable of building your application, then I wouldn't work with you either.   Good luck, buddy.

One of the reasons people work at startups to begin with is because they feel like their work will be a lot more rewarding versus working in a big company.  If their work isn't highly valued by the people that start the business, then what's the point of even working for a startup?  No one's going to join a business team as the CTO for a 5% stake in the company or if your first thought is, "I don't want to give that much away."

I've never had that thought, when it comes to making offers to people, of "That's too much to give away."   (My angels have talked me down to reasonable numbers, not to worry...)  But, I'm always thinking, for the right person, that this person makes my business worth that much more... so why wouldn't I give away more equity?  If anything, it's the financing rounds you need to be careful about giving up equity on, not people costs (within reason).

The right CTO can make all the difference.  It's not just getting the site built...  it's making sure the site scales appropriately, and in a cost effective way, too.  A partner is going to care about not overbuying hardware, because his or her stake is tied to how much cash is left in the bank.  They're going to spend the late nights solving some untraceable bug and not charge you by the hour for it.  A contract lead developer?  Meh.

And best of all, they're not going to walk away right when you need them the most... at least, not if they're properly incentivized.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard of nightmare scenarios of contract developers that not only flake out, but maliciously break code or leave startups in a jam.  It's fine to do some outsourcing, but if you don't have a founding partner who can build, I think you're up a creek. 

And if you don't realize that it takes more than just a business idea and a little cash to make a successful business, I'd have no interest in coming to work for you if I was a CTO or even just a great developer. 

If you find the person who can not only build your idea, be committed to it for the long haul, and that you can get along with, give 'em an equal share (with proper vesting, of course... 1 year cliff...).   Trust me that you'll thank me later.

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• evhead: Will it fly? How to Evaluate a New Product Idea
  (tags: ideas products)

"Our architecture is also based on a reliable template - lightweight caching reverse proxys in front, proxying to the heavier app servers, which in turn are driven by the databases. We will aim for a shared-nothing architecture - decouple everything, push the state out to the client, compress, minify, and cache the static content, eventually pushing it out to a CDN."

I made a last minute trip up to Boston to go see Mere (@ptrain) because we hadn't seen each other in a while. We weren't planning on seeing each other after Christmas and we were both insanely busy, but I made time to go up anyway.

So, when she brought up the fact that I wasn't doing some of the little things, like asking her how her day was enough or wishing her good luck on her finals, I was kind of thrown. In typical male fashion, my first response was, "But I drove all the way up here!" and "But you don't even care about your grades...you're not going to law school...you don't need the ranking!"

I totally didn't get it... not until I compared it to my own experience with our angels, who are pretty good at this kind of thing. A week or two ago, Pete and Josh just "checked in" to see how we were... not to pressure us, but just to see if there was anything they could do for us and just to catch up. When the Silicon Alley list came out, I got a note from Fred saying that he was more excited that I got on it than being on it himself.

Little emails...they just take two seconds to write, but sometimes they feel just as important as any money we got from these folks, introduction they could make, or strategy they could advise on.

When you're in any kind of relationship, be it dating or an investment, its easy to mark time with big events--board meetings, anniversaries, vacations, launches... but what does the relationship feed on in between? Neither startup life, or, in my case, long distance relationship life, is easy. Sometimes you need a little quick fix to keep you going... cheap love.

I'm generally no good at cheap love in relationships. It feels too easy... a text message, a rote "How was your day?" I'm a big things kinda guy, but now I get it. You just want a ping every now and then just to let you know that the other person is still out there, still thinking about you, and still excited to be part of this relationship.

Send your significant other or angel investment some cheap love today!

• Cisco I-Prize Contest Overview - Cisco Systems
  (tags: cisco contest entrepreneurship startup)

AdReady just got funding from Bain and Khosla Ventures for "do it yourself" display advertising on websites. 

They have "...developed an online library of about 600 prefabricated display ads in categories such as real estate, education and travel. Customers choose an ad, customize it and then -- with AdReady's help -- launch it into the ad networks from Google and Yahoo's Right Media."

Clickable "makes creating and managing search advertising simple and effective."  They can recommend keywords and ad copy for you and manage all your search campaigns in one place.

Hmm...   imagine a place where small businesses could go to create and manage ALL their online campaigns, both search and display.  These two things are very different from each other, so to combine two companies that have expertise in each area seems like a natural fit.

So many companies would love to go to search engine marketing shops, but don't have enough traffic to make it worth the time of those shops.  And forget display... I don't think anyone's really helping small businesses with display advertising.  There's a huge, untapped market for both of these services and since they serve the same customers--customers who want to sign into one place to manage their online campaigns--I think it would benefit everyone to see them work together.

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Boston got 7 inches of snow this morning, but it was light and fluffy when it first fell.  I was able to clean my car out pretty quickly with just a broom.  I had a little help from a Harvard facilities plow as well.

Supposedly, its going to turn to rain, so I should be able to get home ok tonight.

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• Political Dashboard - 2008 Presidential Election on Yahoo! News
  Full news coverage and opinions on the 2008 presidential election. Find photos, audio, video, and related sites about the 2008 election on Yahoo! News.
  (tags: 2008 election politics)

• BBC NEWS | Business | Bill Gates: The skills you need to succeed
  In the information economy, communication skills and curiosity about the world is as crucial as an interest in science, says Bill Gates.
  (tags: careers skills)

At first, we weren't sure if we were going to do a holiday party, because there were so many going on, but we had so much fun last year and it was such a great turnout that we decided to do one again.  The best part is that it coinsides with the ITP Winter Show, and so you can go to that, and then meet us for drinks at Apple Bar right around the corner.

Here's the RSVP list... you can show up anyway, but its always nice to let others know you're coming.

Monday, December 17th.  7PM - 10PM

Apple Restaurant and Bom Bar:
http://www.applerestaurant.com/
located at
17 Waverly Pl. Between Green and Mercer

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• Both make a person look fake
• Both provide a physical advantage in the entertainment industry
• Both are tied to serious medical side effects
• Both are influencing younger and younger kids to have unhealthy self-images and seek out enhancement
• Both don't really fool anyone

And please, no jokes about stiff penalties.

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So, here's my dilemma:

Given:

• I use Gmail for my personal mail.
• I use Gmail apps for my Path 101 domain for corporate mail.
• I'm very particular about my address book.  I have 2000+ contacts and I try to keep them to people I actually want to remember, not just anyone I've ever e-mailed.
• I need a calendar on my phone.
• I have a Windows Mobile 6 based phone.
  

• I'd like use GCal for my calendar, because I get calendar invites to these Google addresses
• Also, I share calendars with @ptrain, so we can see what weekends I'm coming up to Boston, figure out when to call each other (even though we're not big phone people), plan dinners with other couples, etc.  This is easily done in the GCal interface.
• I want over the air syncing.

• Sitting in a browser all day with your calendar and e-mail open, if you're using Firefox or Flock, is a good way to fist the memory hole and make the leak even bigger. 
• Outlook is big, bloated, and slow.  It eats memory and is unwieldy to keep flipping back and forth to.
• Google contacts suck.  It takes everyone you've ever e-mailed and records them.
• Google doesn't normally play nice with mobile phones for syncing calendar and contacts anyway.

So, first thing I did was to download Thunderbird, at the advice of Gina Trapani, who is just awesome.  Now that Gmail supports IMAP, Thunderbird makes for a really lightweight and easy to use desktop e-mail client. 

However, that's all it is, until you start adding extensions.  I added a couple key ones.

First, I added Lightning.  Lightning is a Thunderbird extension that adds calendaring functionality to your application.  If you're using gmail calendars, you're going to also need the Provider extension.  This allows bidirectional access to Google Calendar.

What's neat is that you can get more than just access to your own calendar.  You can add any calendar you can see in GCal... just by going to File>New>Calendar>On the network and providing the address of the Ical URL.  (in GCal, My Calendars>pick the calendar>Calendar Settings) and add it.   Here's a tip... if you subscribe to a calendar someone shares with you, it will ask you for their e-mail and password.  Just use whatever e-mail and password you use to login to the account that can see this calendar.  You don't need theirs specifically.

Ok, so now I've ported my e-mail and calendar into a lightweight desktop client.  Still much work to do.  How do I get my contacts from Exchange to Thunderbird.

Here's where you might have a bitter taste in your mouth... but I say you need to bite the bullet. 

Enter Plaxo.

Plaxo has a Thunderbird toolbar that works quite well for syncing contacts.  So put your contacts on Plaxo, sync them with the Outlook Toolbar, and sync them right into Thunderbird.  Plaxo 3.0 makes connecting all the dots on the back end really easy.

Now my desktop experience is complete...  E-mail, calendar, and contacts... but what about syncing?  I'm still syncing to my hosted Exchange account for mobile calendar and contacts.  

On paper, Plaxo Premium is supposed to help with both of these things.  They just realized a Windows Mobile app for syncing exactly these two things.  The trouble is, there's a missing link that makes only one of them work.

Let's start with what does work.  Unlink the ActiveSync connections to your calendar and contacts on your phone.  That will erase all those contacts and cal entries, so I'm assuming you still have them on the desktop somewhere.   What does work is Contacts.  This has always been Plaxo's strong suit...  keeping all your contacts in one place... and now you can plug directly into your Plaxo contact database using their WM6 app.  Sah-weet... worked on the first try.

But syncing to my Plaxo calendar... wait...  that could work, but my Plaxo calendar is no longer synced to anything else.  If I'm disconnecting my hosted Exchange, and the Thunderbird toolbar is only for contacts, how do I make sure Plaxo always has my latest calendar.

Well, they do have a Sync point for connecting to Google Calendar listed, but the damn thing just doesn't work.  So, the Thunderbird toolbar won't sync your calendar to Plaxo, and Plaxo won't sync to your underlying GCal.  

So, I went out and got a second application for the phone--GooSync, and paid for that one, too.  GooSync promises to sync your Calendar and Contacts to Google, but I only keep my calendar on Google, because as I said before, Google contacts sucks.  So, I turn off Plaxo's calendar sync, and I turn off GooSync's contacts sync.   I let Goosync just sync directly to my Google Calender.  So this way, thanks to Provider, I can change things on my desktop, have it write directly to Gcal, and then have Gcal always syncing to the phone with GooSync.

Results:

• Lightweight calendar and e-mail app
• Viewable and writable shared calendars
• Over the air syncing for e-mail, contacts, and calendaring for Windows Mobile 6
• No Exchange or desktop Outlook

I'm going to hold on to that hosted exchange account for a few weeks just in case, but then I can just toss it.

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YO BRO IT’S ME LITTY » Blog Archive » The Steroid Name Game

My faves:

Pudge
He slimmed down, to the tune of 30lbs, during one off-season. Someone switched from peaches and cream for breakfast to just peaches.

Glenallen Hill
He didn’t swing. He flexed his chest and the bat moved.

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What is Your World View? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Cultural Creative Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational. Cultural Creative 88% Existentialist 63% Postmodernist 63% Modernist 56% Idealist 56% Materialist 50% Romanticist 31% Fundamentalist 25%

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Scott Karp isn't using Twitter anymore.  That's the biggest story on Techmeme right now.... and now I'm perpetuating the problem by linking to it.  I'm sorry.

Scott's a smart guy and I've been reading Publishing 2.0 for a while now, but when I see all Web 2.0 pundits jumping into a social app way after other people, opening it up to the world, and then point out all the issues with it, it makes me think of a conversation I used to have when I was 5...

"Sssssssstttttooooooooooop!!  Gimmmeee it baaack!  You're gonna break it!!!  Gimme!!"

You know the drill.  You hand one of your favorite toys to a family member who proceeds to completely mishandle it.  Ugh!  

If you're connected to people on Twitter and you have high signal to noise, perhaps you should just disconnect to the noisy people.

A simple suggestion to Scott from John Zeratsky:

"It seems like people have lost sight of the simplest Twitter use-case: Follow a bunch of your friends so you know what they’re up to.

That’s what I do, and I love it. Then again, I only have about a dozen friends "

Why, Scott?  Why fill your phone with meaningless fluff about kayaking, Fordham, softball, and my lunch habits?  There are like 6 people on the face of the earth who should care about such things and they've all met me. 

It's the same with Facebook, like when Jason declared Facebook bankruptcy.  I'm sorry, but who has 2800 friggin' Facebook friends?  

Seriously guys, just put the social apps down before you hurt yourselves.  If you can't learn how to play nice with them, then maybe you need to take a little timeout.

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