Hard News by Russell Brown

Read Post

Hard News: Because that's how I roll

54 Responses

First ←Older Page 1 2 3 Newer→ Last

  • Rich of Observationz,

    What do you really learn from sitting through a speaker rabbitting on for an hour that you can't get in 5 minutes by reading the same information?

    I know the real purpose of these events is to network and make contacts, but I just have this massive aversion to standing around with a glass of wine and a plate of snacks (sorry, canapes) in a room full of people I don't know (and in many cases, don't really want to know).

    I guess I don't have the required social skills - not least, the ability to hold a glass of wine and a plate whilst imbibing from either - how do you do that elegantly? Is it taught at Business School?

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Sounds like you're accessorized to be a CEO. You just need a digital shave, and you'll be snorting free coke off 100" plasma screen table before you know it!

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Sounds like you're accessorized to be a CEO. You just need a digital shave ...

    I have my people do that in Photoshop. It's so much more convenient.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I guess I don't have the required social skills - not least, the ability to hold a glass of wine and a plate whilst imbibing from either - how do you do that elegantly?

    Actually, being able to have a good talk to someone over a drink is often the most useful thing. But that would be Foo Camp.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    I guess I don't have the required social skills - not least, the ability to hold a glass of wine and a plate whilst imbibing from either - how do you do that elegantly? Is it taught at Business School?

    Me neither. I believe there are schools in the States where you can learn how to do business whilst pissed, hungry, highly uncomfortable and bored. But I think most of it comes down to natural talent and practice. If the idea appeals to you at all, you've probably got some of the talent.

    Last trade show I went to I actually tried going to some of the presentations, as an alternative to standing at the booth pointing people to the nearest salesman. After a couple I realized the booth was more fun. Talking shit to strangers ain't so bad compared to just hearing it. Someone talking enthusiastically about their business when they don't think you're going to buy anything can be quite deep.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Richard Llewellyn,

    Congrats on your new CEO status, or as Geoff Ross might put it, Chief Blogger Bloke:)

    I'd be really curious to know about the conversation with the good Dr Skilling and the other prominent CEO's on NZ ICT infrastructure (shame about those Chatham House rules). It would be reassuring to know that there is a high degree of consensus amongst business, industry, and politicos around what our future infrastructure will look like, and - more importantly - who is going to pay for it.

    Great to see something decent in the Boiler Room this time - last few years have been missing on that front.

    Mt Albert • Since Nov 2006 • 399 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    I wish I could Photoshop myself every morning. Or better yet, outsource that to my wife and sleep in.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Tze Ming Mok,

    You know, I used the phrase "that's how I roll" just yesterday, after a discussion about my commitment to staying up past 7 pm on Silent Swiss Sunday to put up my IKEA kitchen shelves with power tools. Black people are not going to forgive us for murdering their idioms.

    I think I've got a bit in that Grant Smithies book. Hell, does everyone on this site?

    And:

    Having finally located the UN staff union, I should be able to figure out soon whether I can keep blogging...

    SarfBank, Lunnin' • Since Nov 2006 • 154 posts Report Reply

  • Snelly Boy,

    Also not overwhelmed by BDO announcement. Still, this year's line-up seems a better balanced one overall than past couple and should appeal to a wide audience.

    Don't miss Operator Please. Saw them supporting Arctic Monkeys in Sydney and their punky/poppy sound is a lot of fun live.

    Shame Kate Nash couldn't have dragged her shag out here for a holiday as we would have got the Cribs in on the act also.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2007 • 6 posts Report Reply

  • Andy Turley,

    Ouch! has anyone else here been waiting for slingshot's naked DSL?

    almost two months we've gone without a connection because we need to keep my girlfriend's slingshot address for her work (no option).

    I've spoken to a number of phone folks at slingshot about it in the past 7 weeks about how we were holding off signing up the phone via telecom so we could go nakedDSL and only today, now that the product is released do they mention that you have to have a current phone line running into your place to get it set up. ie pay telecom to set the phone up, and then pay telecom to disconnect so you can switch to slingshot.

    this hurts. and it's lame. did i mention it's lame? wow, it's lame.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2007 • 4 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    heh - after my 4th trip across the pacific for biz this year my bags started coming out first tagged with magic orange tags - a few weeks later a United gold card arrived in the mail - now I can attend the Koru Club for free on my way overseas ......

    this morning after coming in from SFO - hot, sweaty, bearded/ponytailed, unslept and unkempt dressed in a leather jacked, tshirt, jeans and birkenstocks I bowled on in to the one in the Auckland domestic terminal - boy was I out of place - people in impeccable suits gave me wary looks as I stood in line for coffee, no one said "hi"

    I too have been promoted to somewhere wierd

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Nobody says hi to anyone in the Koru club, whatever you wear.

    It's a little hub of English railway etiquette.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    (maybe I should have said "no one smiled" - it was just strangely uncomfortable)

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Oh and on that subject, why does the Air NZ expresso stand (morning rush-hour only) do cappucinos and hot chocolate, but no mochas?

    I would get one from Fuel, but something about me just can't spend money when the KC is free.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Having finally located the UN staff union, I should be able to figure out soon whether I can keep blogging...

    The Dec of Human Rights ought to have something about the right to blog, and maybe a prohibition on murdering idioms.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    From: Faux-Vives, Geneva

    Tse-Ming, is there really a suburb of that name? I think it roughly translates to "Vivid Fakes". Or do you mean Eaux-Vives?

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    The Dec of Human Rights ought to have something about the right to blog, and maybe a prohibition on murdering idioms.

    As I understand it, you're allowed to kill idioms, but only in a humane way that does not inflict unnecessary suffering on the idiom itself.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    as I stood in line for coffee, no one said "hi"

    I got the same. Then some nerdy guy struck up a conversation, we compared PDAs and I could see the penny dropping all around "oooooh, IT guys...that's all right then". The smiles came after that.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Yes, some could argue that it's only because we're allowed to kill idioms that the are not extinct.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    In the course of a longish support call with a pleasant Indian woman at Ihug (yes, I'm the kind of prominent CEO who makes his own tech support calls -- because that's just how I roll) we determined that the DSL connection was faulty, and that the Wired Country was working perfectly, apart from it just not working.

    As an IT support type person, people often ask me what ISP I use, and if they should use it. My response is always, "I use IHUG, and they're good, unless you ever want to talk to them or get useful help." I've been with them for 11 years now, quite happily, but I wouldn't recommend them for doing anything complex, or if you didn't know what you were doing. The couple of times I have had to ring them for technical support, I've felt like they learnt more out of the session than me.

    I was once trying to get a laptop with linux on it online, and it only had one serial port. That's fine, I unplugged the mouse, since it was served no great purpose in the version of linux I was using, and plugged an ancient 2400 baud modem into the machine. I phoned up to get the dialin number or something, and the person flat out told me that there was no point logging into the internet if I didn't have a mouse, as there wasn't anything I could do online without it. Argh.

    Before they put their accounts all online, I once phoned them up to tell them about my change of address. I was talking to the accounts person, and she told me to hang up, fill in a change of address card, and send it to them. Apparently her doing it over the phone was... I dunno. Tricky or something.

    So I don't give them an entirely bad unsolicited review, I find their downloads, accessible modem lines (when I used modem), and uptime really good. And they were often a price leader and they were big on flat rate when it was a new idea here in NZ.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    hang up, fill in a change of address card, and send it to them

    That'd be about right.

    Personally, I'm prepared to pay $10 more a month for Telecom/Xtra to have a single point of blame - if the service doesn't work then it's them or the modem, and I have two modems to try.

    I realise a lot of people are on some sort of crusade against monopoly suppliers and will tolerate a degree of crap to pursue this, but for me, life's too short.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Personally, I'm prepared to pay $10 more a month for Telecom/Xtra to have a single point of blame

    Yeah me too. It's almost my only reason these days. I've given up on file sharing, since they seem to detect it and throttle it. Silly them, since it was my only reason to have a high cap in the first place. So I dropped the cap, and pay them bugger all now.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    Shame Kate Nash couldn't have dragged her shag out here for a holiday as we would have got the Cribs in on the act also.

    Yeah, I was really really really hoping that the Cribs would be on the line-up. There are enough rather good bands to keep me happy with BDO '08, but I hope that the Jarman bros do make it down this way eventually.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    I've given up on file sharing, since they seem to detect it and throttle it

    There's work going on to avoid that through encrypted torrents. Personally I can't be bothered with file sharing either, mostly because I'm not a big watcher of videos.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    Personally, I'm prepared to pay $10 more a month for Telecom/Xtra to have a single point of blame - if the service doesn't work then it's them or the modem, and I have two modems to try.

    IHUG now offer single point of blame service. And actually their phone system has worked perfectly for me for the 5 months or so since I got it. Maybe because I didn't need to talk to anyone to set it up.

    The great joy at no longer receiving a bill from Telecom...

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

First ←Older Page 1 2 3 Newer→ Last

Post your response…

Please sign in using your Public Address credentials…

Login

You may also create an account or retrieve your password.