This is good: The Cluetrain Listicle. Very good. It’s true. The Cluetrain Listicle sets out a sequence of 121 new ideas–clues–about the Web. And about us. And how the two are related. The new clues remind us of the incredible, world changing power of…
Author: F. Andy Seidl
F. Andy Seidl is a serial entrepreneur, software innovator, and technology business advisor with over thirty years of experience. Most recently, Andy is a founding partner at Advantary LLC, a full-service management accelerator that provides interim CxO services to early/mid-stage companies. He also teaches a course on Digital Product Design at the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering, Center for Entrepreneurship. Andy is passionate about building software to last, playing guitar, mountaineering, backpacking, hiking, running, and critical thinking. He is Dad to a son and twin daughters with his incredibly accomplished best friend, business partner, and wife of 36 years.
Sink or Float? Sailors Dive Training Riddle
A couple years ago, when my kids were in elementary school, I coached their school’s “Sink or Float” team for the Science Olympiad. The objective of the Sink or Float competition was straightforward: Students must demonstrate their ability to determine which objects will sink…
Pattern Matching using Mensa — A Quick Overview
Since first writing about the new open source Java project, Mensa, I’ve received a number of questions asking who is the target audience, what specific problems Mensa solves, and how it might actually be used. In this post, I address those questions. I…
Torture and Religion: A Curious Correlation
Torture and religion. That’s sort of an oxymoronic sounding phrase, isn’t it? But in fact, a recent Washington Post poll suggests that torture and religion are not entirely unrelated. Specifically, the poll shows that one’s religion–or lack thereof–is correlated with one’s view on…
Open Source Java–Mensa: Dictionary String Matching
I have been developing commercial software for more that thirty years. Now, I’m pleased to announce that, for the first time, some of my software has been released as a new Dell/Quest open source Java project, named Mensa. Mensa is a generic, flexible,…
RIP: Evernote Clearly Text-to-Speech
As every writer or blogger knows, proofreading your own work is difficult and error prone. Some time ago, I published 7 Tips for Proofreading Your Own Work. In that post, I described how Evernote Clearly text-to-speech capabilities had become one of my favorite…
Under God in The Pledge: Why should we care?
I was recently forwarded a chain email message (“Under God in the Pledge” Chain Email | PDF) with the subject A Shock to NBC. You can follow the link to browse a PDF version of the message, but here’s the gist. It is…
Things that Happened Today
Whew! Today’s been quite a day, and there are still several hours remaining. Here are just a few of the things that happened today: Michigan offers Jim Harbaugh huge deal, 6 years, $48 million — If this comes to pass, Harbaugh will be…
The Summerland Bear Incident
[I wrote the initial draft of this account on August 9, 2014, on my way home from Seattle. I’ve finally gotten around to proofreading and publishing it here on FASTalk.] As I sit in SEA-TAC, returning home from another great trip…
Shine On
“Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun.” — John Lennon (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) Thirty-four years ago today, I remember walking into the co-op where I was living in college,…