From the Inside Influence at Work Blog:
Reciprocity
People are more willing to comply with requests (for favors, services, information, concessions,etc.) from those who have provided such things first.
Commitment/Consistency
People are more willing to be moved in a particular direction if they see it as consistent with an existing commitment.
Authority
People are more willing to follow the directions or recommendations of a communicator to whom they attribute relevant authority or expertise.
Social Validation
People are more willing to take a recommended action if they see evidence that many others, especially similar others, are taking it.
Scarcity
People find objects and opportunities more attractive to the degree that they are scarce, rare, or dwindling in availability.
Liking/Friendship/Attractiveness
People prefer to say yes to those they know, like and find attractive.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The next step in online IP management: Zmags
Interesting white paper about how to manage your brand image by preventing your content from being pulled apart by bloggers .
Zmags Social Media Whitepaper Series
As you can see below, it's not completely foolproof.
I really didn't like the blinking bullets embedded in the white paper.
Zmags Social Media Whitepaper Series
As you can see below, it's not completely foolproof.
I really didn't like the blinking bullets embedded in the white paper.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Honoring fallen military and keeping facts straight
I first saw this on facebook and then found it replicated all over the web, where it has been re-posted thousands of times in the last few days. I agree with the sentiment, but found the facts less than 100% accurate.
I rarely re-post something like that, but I felt this was compelling so I checked it out in more detail. It turns out that all 12 were killed serving in Afghanistan between July 10 and 16, not this week, all were Americans except Brett Linley, of Birmingham UK, who served in the 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment,The Royal Logistic Corps. Nine of the 12 served in the US Army, not the Marines. Extensive searching found no record of Justus Bartett, but I was able to find an obituary for 27 year old Marine Staff Sgt. Justus S. Bartelt , of Polo, Ill, and I concluded that his name was likely transcribed incorrectly at some point.
Here are more details on each individual with references. God Bless them and their families for their courageous self sacrifice.
Justin B. Allen, 23
Sgt. Justin B. Allen, 23, of Coal Grove, Ohio, died July 18, 2010 in Zhari, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was shot by insurgents while conducting combat operations. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.
refs: Warriors' watch Riders Forums
militarytimes.com database
//////////
Brett Linley, 29
Staff Sergeant Brett George Linley of Birmingham, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment,The Royal Logistic Corps, serving with the Counter-IED Task Force, died in Afghanistan Saturday 17 July 2010.
Staff Sergeant Linley was 29 and from Birmingham. He and his team were working to clear Improvised Explosive Devices from a vital route in the Nahr-e Saraj District of Helmand Province when he was killed by an explosion.
Sources BBC: July 22, 2010
http://www.thisisannouncements.co.uk/5913068
////////////
JACKSONVILLE - Staff Sergeant Matthew W. Weikert, 29, of Jacksonville was mortally wounded on Saturday, July 17, 2010, while serving with the U.S. Army near Orgun, Afghanistan.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in August of 2001 serving three tours in Iraq over four years. He later joined the U.S. Army serving with the 101st Airborne completing a tour in Iraq and was currently deployed in Afghanistan. As a military team leader, Matt was adamant that his personal mission was to properly prepare the soldiers under his command and keep them safe from harm.
refs: legacy.com/obituaries
http://militarytimes.com/valor/army-sgt-matthew-w-weikert/4716077/
////////////
Justus Bartett, 27 >> extensive searching produced no results for Justus Barett; however, there was a Marine Staff Sgt. Justus S. Bartelt, who Died July 16, 2010 serving in Afganistan
Marine Staff Sgt. Justus S. Bartelt 27, of Polo, Ill.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
The Associated Press
Justus Bartelt was born on the Fourth of July and decided roughly a dozen years later that he would to serve the country whose independence that day celebrates.
“He was a best friend to those who knew him as a friend,” she said. “He was a true and loyal family member and he was a true and loyal marine.”
Bartelt joined the Marines after graduating from Polo Community High School in Polo, Ill., in 2001.
When he was deployed in February, he instructed his mother not to worry.
The 27-year-old died July 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province during his third tour of duty. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.
ref: militarytimes.com
////////////
Dave Santos, 21
Marine Cpl. Dave M. Santos died July 16, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
21, of Rota, Marianas Islands of the Pacific; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Ref Military times database
////////////
Army Spc. Chase Stanley died July 14, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
21, of Napa, Calif.; assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 14 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Army Specialists, Stanley, Reed, Johnson, and Fisher were killed in the same IED attack on July 14.
ref: Military times database
////////////
Army Spc. Jesse D. Reed died July 14, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
26, of Orefield, Pa.; assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 14 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
ref: military times database
////////////
Army Spc. Matthew J. Johnson died July 14, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
21, of Maplewood, Minn.; assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 14 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
ref: military times database
////////////
Army Sgt. Zachary M. Fisher died July 14, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
24, of Ballwin, Mo.; assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 14 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
ref: military times database
////////////
Army Pvt. Brandon M. King died July 14, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
23, of Tallahassee, Fla.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died July 14 at Combat Outpost Nolen, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with small-arms fire.
ref: military times database
///////////
Army 1st Lt. Christopher S. Goeke died July 13, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
23, of Apple Valley, Minn.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 13 in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire.
ref: military times database
///////////
Army Staff Sgt. Sheldon L. Tate died July 13, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
27, of Hinesville, Ga.; assigned to the 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 13 in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire.
ref: military times database
///////////
updated : Sept 27, closing the loop. Further searching seems to confirm my conclusion that the name of Justus Bartelt was misspelled somewhere along the way. Here is a very similar comment posted July 26 on a TMZ website. This version has 10 of the 12 names, with the correct spelling of Bertelt's name, and no reference to which branch of service they served.
Lindsay Lohan, 24, is all over the news because she's a celebrity drug addict. While Justin Allen, 23, Brett Linley, 29, Matthew Weikert, 29, Justus Bartett, 27, Dave Santos, 21, Chase Stanley, 21, Jesse Reed, 26, Matthew Johnson, 21, Zachary Fisher, 24, Brandon King, 23, Christopher Goeke, 23, and Sheldon Tate, 27 are all Marines that gave their lives this week, no media mention. Honor THEM by reposting.
I rarely re-post something like that, but I felt this was compelling so I checked it out in more detail. It turns out that all 12 were killed serving in Afghanistan between July 10 and 16, not this week, all were Americans except Brett Linley, of Birmingham UK, who served in the 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment,The Royal Logistic Corps. Nine of the 12 served in the US Army, not the Marines. Extensive searching found no record of Justus Bartett, but I was able to find an obituary for 27 year old Marine Staff Sgt. Justus S. Bartelt , of Polo, Ill, and I concluded that his name was likely transcribed incorrectly at some point.
Here are more details on each individual with references. God Bless them and their families for their courageous self sacrifice.
Justin B. Allen, 23
Sgt. Justin B. Allen, 23, of Coal Grove, Ohio, died July 18, 2010 in Zhari, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was shot by insurgents while conducting combat operations. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.
refs: Warriors' watch Riders Forums
militarytimes.com database
//////////
Brett Linley, 29
Staff Sergeant Brett George Linley of Birmingham, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment,The Royal Logistic Corps, serving with the Counter-IED Task Force, died in Afghanistan Saturday 17 July 2010.
Staff Sergeant Linley was 29 and from Birmingham. He and his team were working to clear Improvised Explosive Devices from a vital route in the Nahr-e Saraj District of Helmand Province when he was killed by an explosion.
Sources BBC: July 22, 2010
http://www.thisisannouncements.co.uk/5913068
////////////
JACKSONVILLE - Staff Sergeant Matthew W. Weikert, 29, of Jacksonville was mortally wounded on Saturday, July 17, 2010, while serving with the U.S. Army near Orgun, Afghanistan.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in August of 2001 serving three tours in Iraq over four years. He later joined the U.S. Army serving with the 101st Airborne completing a tour in Iraq and was currently deployed in Afghanistan. As a military team leader, Matt was adamant that his personal mission was to properly prepare the soldiers under his command and keep them safe from harm.
refs: legacy.com/obituaries
http://militarytimes.com/valor/army-sgt-matthew-w-weikert/4716077/
////////////
Justus Bartett, 27 >> extensive searching produced no results for Justus Barett; however, there was a Marine Staff Sgt. Justus S. Bartelt, who Died July 16, 2010 serving in Afganistan
Marine Staff Sgt. Justus S. Bartelt 27, of Polo, Ill.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
The Associated Press
Justus Bartelt was born on the Fourth of July and decided roughly a dozen years later that he would to serve the country whose independence that day celebrates.
“He was a best friend to those who knew him as a friend,” she said. “He was a true and loyal family member and he was a true and loyal marine.”
Bartelt joined the Marines after graduating from Polo Community High School in Polo, Ill., in 2001.
When he was deployed in February, he instructed his mother not to worry.
The 27-year-old died July 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province during his third tour of duty. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.
ref: militarytimes.com
////////////
Dave Santos, 21
Marine Cpl. Dave M. Santos died July 16, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
21, of Rota, Marianas Islands of the Pacific; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Ref Military times database
////////////
Army Spc. Chase Stanley died July 14, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
21, of Napa, Calif.; assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 14 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Army Specialists, Stanley, Reed, Johnson, and Fisher were killed in the same IED attack on July 14.
ref: Military times database
////////////
Army Spc. Jesse D. Reed died July 14, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
26, of Orefield, Pa.; assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 14 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
ref: military times database
////////////
Army Spc. Matthew J. Johnson died July 14, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
21, of Maplewood, Minn.; assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 14 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
ref: military times database
////////////
Army Sgt. Zachary M. Fisher died July 14, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
24, of Ballwin, Mo.; assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 14 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
ref: military times database
////////////
Army Pvt. Brandon M. King died July 14, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
23, of Tallahassee, Fla.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died July 14 at Combat Outpost Nolen, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with small-arms fire.
ref: military times database
///////////
Army 1st Lt. Christopher S. Goeke died July 13, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
23, of Apple Valley, Minn.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 13 in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire.
ref: military times database
///////////
Army Staff Sgt. Sheldon L. Tate died July 13, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom
27, of Hinesville, Ga.; assigned to the 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 13 in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire.
ref: military times database
///////////
updated : Sept 27, closing the loop. Further searching seems to confirm my conclusion that the name of Justus Bartelt was misspelled somewhere along the way. Here is a very similar comment posted July 26 on a TMZ website. This version has 10 of the 12 names, with the correct spelling of Bertelt's name, and no reference to which branch of service they served.
Lindsey Lohan who? I cant believe the news coverage being given to a spoiled 20-something yr old. Here are a few 20 yr-olds worth knowing about: Justin Allen 23, Brett Linley 29, Matt Weikert 29, Justus Bartelt 27, Dave Santos 21, Chase Stanley 21, Jesse Reed 26, Matthew King 23, Christopher Goeke 23, & Sheldon Tate 27. These 20-somethings gave their lives for you this week. Repost if you support the Military
Saturday, September 11, 2010
MS XL Index & Match functions
I needed to reference the column heading for each row based on the max value of a series of columns. This post on the Ozgrid Excel Help & Best Practices Forums provided the quick answer using the INDEX & MATCH functions. http://www.ozgrid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67827&page=1
Shows how to reference the value of the row (or column) headings in a matrix at which a maximum value in each row (or column) of the matrix is located.
Shows how to reference the value of the row (or column) headings in a matrix at which a maximum value in each row (or column) of the matrix is located.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Recovered lost password for MS Outlook 2007 .pst file with pstpassword 1.12 from nirsoft
I had success with pstpassword 1.12 recovering my lost password on an Outlook 2007 .pst file!
How I got in this situation in the first place: My backup program was generating errors related to an Outlook email archive, so my system admin advised me to close the archive to try to resolve the problem. Oops! I didn't think to reset the password on the pst file before closing it.
With a company policy that requires changing passwords every few months and at least one upper case, lower case number and special character, and being admonished, don't write down your passwords, the odds of me remembering the password on an email archive I created over a year ago were slim and none. So there I was stuck with all my 2010 emails through July locked just out of reach.
I went looking online for a freeware password recovery tool for Outlook and found plenty of commercial offers and dubious looking claims, but pstpassword 1.12 from nirsoft.com seemed to stand out from the noise. After extensive searching, I couldn't find anything really bad about it. There were some discussion on a PCReview forum in the UK about it being tagged as a false Trojan. The discussion made sense to me, so I downloaded it (on my home PC). I made a copy of the .pst file on my portable USB drive and was able to run pstpassword against it (after extensive scanning the download with antimalware and antivirus programs).
It quickly gave me three passwords to try against the file. The first one looked like part of an old password that I might have used, but didn't work. The 2nd didn't work at all, but the third opened it right up. I copied the emails out of the old archive to a new one and I'm back in business. And now that I know how easy it is to crack the passwords on an email archive. Don't think you can hide something in there that you don't want found out!
So I'm satisfied. I wanted to document this so hopefully people will find it assuring that a real person found pstpassword 1.12 performed as described for me.
How I got in this situation in the first place: My backup program was generating errors related to an Outlook email archive, so my system admin advised me to close the archive to try to resolve the problem. Oops! I didn't think to reset the password on the pst file before closing it.
With a company policy that requires changing passwords every few months and at least one upper case, lower case number and special character, and being admonished, don't write down your passwords, the odds of me remembering the password on an email archive I created over a year ago were slim and none. So there I was stuck with all my 2010 emails through July locked just out of reach.
I went looking online for a freeware password recovery tool for Outlook and found plenty of commercial offers and dubious looking claims, but pstpassword 1.12 from nirsoft.com seemed to stand out from the noise. After extensive searching, I couldn't find anything really bad about it. There were some discussion on a PCReview forum in the UK about it being tagged as a false Trojan. The discussion made sense to me, so I downloaded it (on my home PC). I made a copy of the .pst file on my portable USB drive and was able to run pstpassword against it (after extensive scanning the download with antimalware and antivirus programs).
It quickly gave me three passwords to try against the file. The first one looked like part of an old password that I might have used, but didn't work. The 2nd didn't work at all, but the third opened it right up. I copied the emails out of the old archive to a new one and I'm back in business. And now that I know how easy it is to crack the passwords on an email archive. Don't think you can hide something in there that you don't want found out!
So I'm satisfied. I wanted to document this so hopefully people will find it assuring that a real person found pstpassword 1.12 performed as described for me.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Clayton M. Christensen article on personal success
Clayton M. Christensen wrote in Harvard Business Review about allocating personal time, energy, and talent to ultimately shape your life's strategy. He asks his students use management theories to find answers to three important questions of life: How can I be sure that I’ll be happy in my career? How can I be sure that my relationships with my spouse and my family become an enduring source of happiness? How can I be sure I’ll stay out of jail? Here are some highlights. The full article is a must read. Access to the article is free for the month of August.
1. Know your purpose: Christensen promises his students that if they figure out their life purpose, they’ll look back on it as the most important thing they discovered at Harvard Business School. If they don’t figure it out, they will just sail off without a rudder and get buffeted in the very rough seas of life. Clarity of purpose trumps many any other kinds of knowledge.
2. Allocate resources: Your decisions about allocating your personal time, energy, and talent ultimately shape your life’s strategy.
3. Build a culture: There comes a point when parents wish that they had begun working at a very young age to build a culture at home in which their children instinctively behave respectfully and choose the right thing to do. Families have cultures, just as companies do.
4. Avoid the marginal costs mistake: It’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time.
5. Remember Humility: If your attitude is that only smarter people have something to teach you, your learning opportunities will be limited. But if you have a humble eagerness to learn something from everybody, your learning opportunities will be unlimited.
Quoting from the conclusion:
1. Know your purpose: Christensen promises his students that if they figure out their life purpose, they’ll look back on it as the most important thing they discovered at Harvard Business School. If they don’t figure it out, they will just sail off without a rudder and get buffeted in the very rough seas of life. Clarity of purpose trumps many any other kinds of knowledge.
2. Allocate resources: Your decisions about allocating your personal time, energy, and talent ultimately shape your life’s strategy.
3. Build a culture: There comes a point when parents wish that they had begun working at a very young age to build a culture at home in which their children instinctively behave respectfully and choose the right thing to do. Families have cultures, just as companies do.
4. Avoid the marginal costs mistake: It’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time.
5. Remember Humility: If your attitude is that only smarter people have something to teach you, your learning opportunities will be limited. But if you have a humble eagerness to learn something from everybody, your learning opportunities will be unlimited.
Quoting from the conclusion:
The metric by which God will assess my life isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives I’ve touched. I think that’s the way it will work for us all. Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people. This is my final recommendation: Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success.
Christensen is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Read more on Success by Bessie Anderson Stanley of Lincoln, Kansas
Best,
Chuck
Saturday, March 27, 2010
TurboTax price games just get better....
After my last post, I decided to look further to see if I could find a better offer on the TurboTax State edition. I thought I was on to something, when I found a link to a 35% discount on TurboTax available through Bank of America. (see below).
Turns out when you arrive at the TurboTax - Bank of America Portal, the prices are marked up so much, that even with BOA's discount, the end cost of TurboTax Deluxe is 41% higher than what I paid through Amazon. Just in case you can't read the prices on the 2nd picture below. TurboTax Deluxe is shown for $69.95 marked down to $52.46. Now, if you do the arithmetic, taking $17.49 off of a $69.95 price is a 25% reduction, not 35%. If you took 35% off the inflated $69.95 price, it would still be 22% more than I paid at Amazon. Go figure.... Not a way to instill confidence or customer loyalty in either Bank of America or Intuit.
Turns out when you arrive at the TurboTax - Bank of America Portal, the prices are marked up so much, that even with BOA's discount, the end cost of TurboTax Deluxe is 41% higher than what I paid through Amazon. Just in case you can't read the prices on the 2nd picture below. TurboTax Deluxe is shown for $69.95 marked down to $52.46. Now, if you do the arithmetic, taking $17.49 off of a $69.95 price is a 25% reduction, not 35%. If you took 35% off the inflated $69.95 price, it would still be 22% more than I paid at Amazon. Go figure.... Not a way to instill confidence or customer loyalty in either Bank of America or Intuit.
TurboTax state -pricing funny business is not funny
I've been working on software pricing for over 5 years, and was very disappointed with the pricing to add an additional state return to TurboTax Deluxe. I shopped around for the best price I could find on TurboTax. I bought a downloadable distribution of TurboTax Deluxe which includes 1 state and efile from Amazon for $37.17. Because VJ, my wife, works in neighboring Massachusetts, I need to file two states. We've always done the MA non-resident return by hand, which is kind of a pain, so I thought I would splurge and do the extra state in TurboTax this year. However, Turbotax is asking more to add a second state to my return than I paid for the TurboTax Deluxe package, which includes the Federal, one state, plus efile. Not only that. If I order the extra state through the application, the price is $44.95, and if I download it from TurboTax.com, the price is $39.95, 11% less than downloading it from the application. Just to add the icing on the cake, the feds tell me that my tax preparation software is not deductible, because my miscellaneous expenses are less than 2% of my adjusted gross income.
Now granted, Intuit tells me I can file as many state returns as I like with the "extra" MA copy. I only need to do one. Yes, they can charge whatever the market will bear, but it doesn't seem reasonable to me to charge more to add one state than they charge for the complete bundle. And it seem even more unreasonable to charge 11% more if I order the extra state through the application vs. from their website.
Supporting details:
From TurboTax 2009 when adding another state:
From http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/cd-download/state.jsp
From my Amazon download confirmation
Now granted, Intuit tells me I can file as many state returns as I like with the "extra" MA copy. I only need to do one. Yes, they can charge whatever the market will bear, but it doesn't seem reasonable to me to charge more to add one state than they charge for the complete bundle. And it seem even more unreasonable to charge 11% more if I order the extra state through the application vs. from their website.
Supporting details:
From TurboTax 2009 when adding another state:
From http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/cd-download/state.jsp
From my Amazon download confirmation
| TurboTax Deluxe Federal + State 2009 + efile [DOWNLOAD] [Software Download] , Price: $37.17 Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc. |
Monday, March 22, 2010
MS Excel 2007 Pivot Table Quick Reference
PivotTable I: Get started with PivotTable reports in Excel 2007
Overview of PivotTable reports and PivotChart reports
Design the layout and format of a PivotTable report
Select different source data for a PivotTable report
Group items in a PivotTable report
Connect to (import) external data
Connect to (import) an OLAP database
PivotTable II: Filter PivotTable report data in Excel 2007
Overview of PivotTable reports and PivotChart reports
Design the layout and format of a PivotTable report
Select different source data for a PivotTable report
Group items in a PivotTable report
Connect to (import) external data
Connect to (import) an OLAP database
PivotTable II: Filter PivotTable report data in Excel 2007
Friday, February 26, 2010
Elicitation in Competitive Intelligence
Many research professionals invest a lot of of time sifting through electronic resources in search of meaningful information. Search engines fall short when it comes to efficiently delivering deep insight. The information primary researchers seek often doesn't exist in databases or accessible online repositories. It exists in the gray matter between the ears of other human beings.
Skilled primary researchers can glean tremendous insight through conversations with key industry participants, information that might otherwise never be found or is not available through secondary research. This is the main reason why primary researchers prefer to go to the source, and recognize the need for a deep dive into the watery recesses of other minds.
For skilled researchers seeking specific data or opinions, there is no faster path to current information than direct communication with a well-informed source.
Professionals within corporate Competitive intelligence departments are often constrained by the nature of their own employment arrangements. It is considered improper for a corporate employee to pick up the phone and elicit sensitive information from an employee of a competitor. This can raise contentious legal issues.
Read the full article by David Carpe from his drinking from the fire hose column in Competitive Intelligence Magazine here.
Skilled primary researchers can glean tremendous insight through conversations with key industry participants, information that might otherwise never be found or is not available through secondary research. This is the main reason why primary researchers prefer to go to the source, and recognize the need for a deep dive into the watery recesses of other minds.
For skilled researchers seeking specific data or opinions, there is no faster path to current information than direct communication with a well-informed source.
Professionals within corporate Competitive intelligence departments are often constrained by the nature of their own employment arrangements. It is considered improper for a corporate employee to pick up the phone and elicit sensitive information from an employee of a competitor. This can raise contentious legal issues.
Read the full article by David Carpe from his drinking from the fire hose column in Competitive Intelligence Magazine here.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Amazon EC2 pricing, billing, use cases
Here is an overview of Amazon Elastic Computing EC2 pricing, billing and use case info.
Annual Cost Comparison (100% utilization)
35 m1.small & 10 m1.large instances Linux/UNIX instances at steady state for 1 year.
__________Do-It-Yourself___EC2 On-Demand___EC2 Reserved___EC2 Reserved
________________________________________(1 Year Term)___(3 Year Term)
TOTAL COST ____$ 81,305________$ 57,951________$ 38,878.50_____$ 30,566
m1.small = 1.7 GB of memory, 1 EC2 Compute Unit (1 virtual core with 1 EC2 Compute Unit), 160 GB of local instance storage, 32-bit platform.
m1.large = 7.5 GB of memory, 4 EC2 Compute Units (2 virtual cores with 2 EC2 Compute Units each), 850 GB of local instance storage, 64-bit platform
Annual Cost Comparison (100% utilization)
35 m1.small & 10 m1.large instances Linux/UNIX instances at steady state for 1 year.
__________Do-It-Yourself___EC2 On-Demand___EC2 Reserved___EC2 Reserved
________________________________________(1 Year Term)___(3 Year Term)
TOTAL COST ____$ 81,305________$ 57,951________$ 38,878.50_____$ 30,566
m1.small = 1.7 GB of memory, 1 EC2 Compute Unit (1 virtual core with 1 EC2 Compute Unit), 160 GB of local instance storage, 32-bit platform.
m1.large = 7.5 GB of memory, 4 EC2 Compute Units (2 virtual cores with 2 EC2 Compute Units each), 850 GB of local instance storage, 64-bit platform
Friday, January 29, 2010
Conjoint Analysis (Pricing) - Introduction
Conjoint Analysis is a market research technique that looks at how people make buying decisions and what they really value in products and services. Conjoint analysis helps answer questions like "Which should we do, build in more features, or bring our prices down?" or "Which of these changes will hurt our competitors most?"
The approach breaks a product or service down into it's constituent parts then tests combinations of the parts to determine what customers prefer.
more details at dobney.com a marketing research consultancy
The approach breaks a product or service down into it's constituent parts then tests combinations of the parts to determine what customers prefer.
more details at dobney.com a marketing research consultancy
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Critical Thinking Resources
The Headscratcher model is a working framework for Critical Thinking consisting of 3 components - Clarity, Conclusions and Decisions, surrounded by Discovery, Information and Ideas.
FastCompany article: A Plea for More Critical Thinking in Design, Please BY John Barratt Aug 2009
FastCompany article: A Plea for More Critical Thinking in Design, Please BY John Barratt Aug 2009
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