I love this quote. It really sums up a lot of my approach to business.

"...there is no bullshit factor due to the inherent tangibility of their medium; unlike a glossy PowerPoint deck, a milled piece of aluminum is either it, or is not."

- from "MetaCool"

My biggest challenge lies with staying focused on the important things. There are so many details to worry about and I often find myself worrying about the wrong things. I'm getting better at it, which should help me ensure that more things are "it".

Microsoft Responds to Google Apps with Office Live Workspace:
There's a memorable scene in Crocodile Dundee where a would-be mugger pulls a switchblade on the hero Mick and his girlfriend Sue:

Sue: Mick, give him your wallet.
Mick: What for?
Sue: He's got a knife.
Mick: [chuckling] That's not a knife.
Mick: [draws a large Bowie knife]
Mick: That's a knife.
A similar scene is playing itself out between Google, Microsoft, and the Web 2.0 pundits:

Pundits: Microsoft, give Google your users.
Microsoft: What for?
Pundits: They've got an Internet-enabled office suite.
Microsoft: [chuckling] That's not an Internet-enabled office suite.
Microsoft: [pulls out Office and Office Live Workspace]
Microsoft: That's an Internet-enabled office suite.

Matt Cutts Goes Catty for Halloween: Doesn't he know that Catmus was four weeks ago?

Neat-o costume. I got stuck in a hotel for Halloween this year, but this video sort of makes up for missing it.

- via college humor...

Man who had sex with bike in court - Telegraph:

A man has been placed on the sex offenders’ register after being caught trying to have sex with a bicycle. "The accused was holding the bike and moving his hips back and forth as if to simulate sex." Both witnesses, who were extremely shocked, notified the hotel manager, who in turn alerted the police. Mr. Stewart was placed on the sex offenders register but his sentence was deferred until next month.

I really don't quite know what to say about this. I mean, I like my bike and all, but...

The really big celebration is over at catmas.com.

Did you know that Tucows.com is older than Netscape, Yahoo and many of the other original internet heavyweights?

Since 1993 Tucows.com has been a popular directory of shareware, freeware, and demo software packages available to download.

- Tucows Gets Social

Tucows.com launched in 1993, I started with the company about six months before the site launched. Our original homepage was actually a Gopher page, not a Web page.

Good thing we went live with the Web version and not the Gopher version, although there might be something to be said for getting out in front of Gopher 2.0 - aka "Gopher-space for the People, by the People". I'm not sure that we could cram enough ajax-y goodness into it to get people excited though.

I think Greg and his guys did a great job of the redesign. If you are interested in the evolution of Tucows.com over the years, check out Tucows.com circa 1996 over at archive.org. Ouch.

Tucows just announced its acquisition of Innerwise, a domain registrar with a killer affiliate program, an amazing set of customers, outstanding technology and a great set of people to back it all up.

Net, net, this adds approximately 700,000 new customers to our existing base, but more importantly, it brings us together with over 2,500 affiliate partners that we will be working closely with to build an even greater business.

Of course the Tucows blog has a ton of detail about the deal that didn't make it into the formal press release. I'm really excited about taking on this project.

Way cool. Hats off to everyone here at the farm that pulled this off for us.

More details on Monday when the real work starts. Now, I'm sneaking out to the company picnic which started about 2 hours ago.

That makes four.

This is a Miele fixed gear. It was converted from being a regular road-style bicycle to being what riders affectionately call "a fixie". This means that it has one gear and it can't coast - when the wheel is moving, the gears force the chain to move, which forces the pedal to move.

Hopefully I can pick it up later today, get some pedals on it and take it out for a spin before dark. I'm really excited about this bike because I've never ridden a fixie before, so I'll have a lot of new things to learn. This will be my new commuter bike.

Updated: This bike is amazing! I took it out for a quick spin, and boy is it fun riding this thing. I will need to make a few adjustments, but it really is cool riding this thing. Here are the spec's and description from the eBay auction for the sake of posterity:

Miele Fixed Gear road bike conversion. Chromoly steel frame 55cm top tube, 54 cm seat tube, powder coated yellow. Good condition with a few small nicks and scratches. Shimano RX-100 170mm cranks with 48t TA Alize chainring. Mavic CXP-33 700c clincher rims mated to Miche Primato "Flangia Grande" hubs with DT spokes. Miche quick-change rear gear carrier with 17t gear. Also included is 16t and 15t gears. Shimano square taper bottom bracket. Campagnolo front brake with cyclo cross lever and standard road brake lever actuation. Echo J-12 cycling computer with cadence indicator. Campagnolo aluminum aero seat tube. This is an excellent bike looking for a new home.

There are some more pictures here.