Notes From the Road | Official blog of the future. Or something.

Posted by Mike Seidle on Jan 12, 2012

Congress Wants to Unplug the Internet with SOPA and PIPA

Next week, congress will vote on SOPA (House version) and PIPA (Senate version). Both SOPA and PIPA will break both the Internet and your Constitutional rights by enabling private companies to jail you for up to five years for posting something they think might infringe on a copyright. Update: Even the SOPA author US Representative Lamar Smith would run afoul of his own law. If passed, SOPA will give...

Posted by Mike Seidle on Jan 4, 2012

Couple of Quick Updates

I’ve been pretty busy lately and not had time for the blog… I’ve released several new open source packages via the DirectEmployers Foundation… and in speaking of the Foundation, we now have a website which explains exactly what we do. The first package is a URL shortener and click server for Django. Click servers (sometimes called URL routers) are important because they give a...

Posted by Mike Seidle on Dec 25, 2011

Merry Christmas

When someone wishes you well for the holiday that matters most in their life, take it as the compliment that it is – best wishes on a favorite holiday. So when I say Merry Christmas, please don’t politicize, prothlesize or use it as an opportunity to tell me that my beliefs are wrong. Understand that what I’m saying to you is simple: Best wishes to you, your family and those...

Posted by Mike Seidle on Nov 11, 2011

Veteran’s day

I served in the Navy. I never once felt like I was doing a thankless job. Here is why: It’s easy to serve when the you are working for the greatest people defending the greatest country in the world. Although it is nice to hear, “Thank You” from time to time, I would much rather you keep on making America worth fighting for. ”Thank You” is common and empty. If you are...

Posted by Mike Seidle on Nov 6, 2011

Open Source is Winning. Get Used to It.

Companies are making a killing with open source. Google hasn’t done bad with it’s web services and Android OS. Apple has built their entire empire on BSD Unix (it’s what is underneath OSX and iOS) and used open source tools like Webkit to quickly build new offerings like the Safari browser that powers iPhone and iPad. So why don’t IT people get it? It’s simple: Open source...

Posted by Mike Seidle on Oct 31, 2011

If You Will Not Listen, Don’t Ask For Input

Ever wonder why leaders don’t often ask for input more often? Leaders don’t often ask for input from their followers very often because unless you are willing to listen, asking for input is dangerous. Most leaders don’t listen very well and believe strongly in Sir Phillip Dormer Stanhope’s famous maxim: Many a man would rather you here his case than grant his...

Posted by Mike Seidle on Sep 15, 2011

How to Predict the Future

Trying to accurately predict the future is hard to do. Most who try their crystal ball do so get it so totally wrong that it's embarrassing. Some people perpetually get it right, like Steve Jobs. What's the difference? The people who are wrong are on the outside looking in. The people who get it right are cheating. Don't believe me? Here's what Alan Kay (one of the people who your grandkids will learn about in American History and tell you about) has to say:

Posted by Mike Seidle on Sep 13, 2011

Why the B2B Sales Model is Broken

I spent the last week in Portland at Djangocon, which is a conference for people who are making really cool web apps with a toolkit called Django. I haven't been surrounded by as many really, really smart people since Nuclear Power School in the US Navy. One of the presenters, Brad Fitzpatrick, casually mentioned his disdain for dealing with

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