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When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the fire department usually uses water.

Your Neighbors’ Criminal Activity Presents a Business Opportunity

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America is the land of opportunity. While some Americans sit around whining about 1 Percenters, rising young innovator Matthew Creed of Kansas has figured out how to turn publically available data into a money maker: post the names, mug shots and addresses of arrestees on a web site and offer to remove the information for a $200 fee. And by the way, he’s only operating in Johnson County, Kansas, so the market is wide open for other budding entrpreneurs who want to apply the same business model in their own area. Read more →

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Divorcing

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“Kate has filed for divorce and Tom is deeply saddened and is concentrating on his three children,” said a statement from Cruise’s rep on Friday. “Please allow them their privacy.” — Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes divorcing – TODAY Entertainment Again the press release asking for privacy. ATTENTION EVERYONE! A LITTLE PRIVACY PLEASE! If not for the press release, who would know or care about this? I’ve got my own problems, thank you. And it’s another blow to the theory, believed by many, that having a lot of money, free time and famous friends is a guaranteed ticket to happiness. No one’s life is a fairy tale, no matter what it looks like . . . Read more →

An Egyptian Trojan

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Mohamed Morsi, the new president of Egypt, has a graduate degree from USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering — just like me! I feel a personal connection with events in the Middle East. Related articles Mohamed Morsi Is Elected President of Egypt (mashable.com) Read more →

Satan on Rodney King

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Rodney King’s fiancee was not invited to his funeral?! This is too much! I’m still dealing with the shock of learning that he had a swimming pool. I saw Al Campanis this morning and he said to me, “I hate to say I told you so . . .” Read more →

Two of the Strangest Mental Disorders Ever

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Cotard’s Syndrome – The patient believes he is dead. Capgras Syndrome – The patient believes that a friend, spouse, parent, or other close family member has been replaced by an identical-looking impostor. The second one reminds me of the old Steven Wright joke: “Last night somebody broke into my apartment and replaced everything with exact duplicates … When I pointed it out to my roommate, he said, ‘Do I know you?’” Read more →

More Fun at Border Crossings

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“Where are you folks from?” the border agent asks. “Irvine, California.” “How long were you in Canada?” “About half a day.” “Why such a short stay?” “We’re staying in Seattle for a few days and just came up for a visit.” “How do you like this cold weather?” “No big deal. I grew up in cold weather.” My son makes a sputtering noise in the back seat. “Is he okay?” the agent asks. “Well, unfortunately he’s got irreversible brain damage to his frontal lobes. We still love him though.” “Is anyone in the car carrying $10,000 or more in cash?” “American dollars or Canadian?” “American.” “I wish.” “Is that a yes or a no, sir?” “Sorry. No.” After we pass through the border check, the boy says in a mocking tone, “‘I grew up in cold weather.’ In La Mirada.” “La Mirada is subject to extreme temperature fluctations,” I reply.… Read more →

A Timeless Message

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He that goeth about to persuade a multitude that they are not so well off as they ought to be, shall never want attentive and favorable hearers. — Richard Hooker, 16th-century English theologian Read more →

Customer Discovery and Customer Validation

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Ask yourself these questions: Do these users in your user stories exist and have you ever spoken to them? How are these features helping your customers achieve their goals? Are these benefits based on any quantitative or qualitative data? — The Product Owner’s Dilemma | Scrumology Read more →

In America, Anyone Can Be President … Uh, Not So Fast There, Mr. Antichrist

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While more than nine in 10 Americans would vote for a presidential candidate who is black, a woman, Catholic, Hispanic, or Jewish, significantly smaller percentages would vote for one who is an atheist (54%) or Muslim (58%). Americans’ willingness to vote for a Mormon (80%) or gay or lesbian (68%) candidate falls between these two extremes. — Atheists, Muslims See Most Bias as Presidential Candidates I fear that I won’t live to see a gay atheist in the Oval Office. In other findings, far more Americans are open to voting for a black presidential candidate (96%) than for a Mormon (80%). Blacks also poll higher than women (95%), Catholics (94%) and Jews (91%), although those percentages are within the margin of sampling error. Read more →

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