K-Cup winners

If you’re going drink the damn things, here are some K-Cups recommeded by baristas:

  1. Green Mountain Kenyan AA – ” I would actually pay for this at a coffee shop.”
  2. Eight O’Clock Colombian – “This would definitely crush in a consumer taste-test.”
  3. Café Escapes Café Caramel – “reminds me of Werther’s Originals”
  4. Wolfgang Puck Jamaica Me Crazy – Supposed to taste like buttered rum.

Whoa. The depths some financially desperate people will sink to.

A couple of years ago I received the following LinkedIn message from the account of Suzanne Witmer, a contact from my days at the AKC.  She was selling ServerTech power distribution units at the time.  There was more to the message but I cut the screenshot short because, well, you’ll get the point…

I was genuinely concerned but skeptical at the time I got the message.  Never seen anything like it on LinkedIn before.  Of course I didn’t call or send money.  I imagine her friends on FB got a similar message.

Flash Forward… Time Travel… April 2013…

04/05/2013: North Middleton Township Police are requesting assistance in locating Suzanne WITMER, 41, formerly of the Pike Motel, Middlesex Township. WITMER is wanted on charges of THEFT BY UNLAWFUL TAKING, RECEIVING STOLEN PROPERTY, FORGERY, IDENTITY THEFT and ACCESS DEVICE FRAUD. Anyone with information is asked to phone police at 717-243-7910.

Three days later…

“North Middleton Twp brought Suzanne WITMER into custody today, April 8th, 2013 w/ the help of Harrisburg City PD. WITMER was located in Harrisburg City and checked for warrants. Currently she is being held on $50,000 bail at Cumberland County Prison on charges to include: misdemeanor and felony Theft, Identity Theft, Forgery, Receiving Stolen Property and Access Device Fraud. WITMER awaits a preliminary hearing scheduled for DJ FEGLEY’s office on Monday, April 15th”.  http://nmtpdpa.crimestopperswanted.com/announcements.asp?page=&int_announcementid=7896

That looks like the face of someone who drove into a tree on meth alley.  Crystal meth is not your friend girl.  It will make you do things like try to steal from every professional contact you’ve ever had.  I hope you’re in jail because it’s likely the best place for ya right now.  You took your children through this with you and that part is unforgivable, earning you one solid CRAZY BITCH.

If Net Nuetrality Does Not Prevail

In my 20’s I was part of a small dial up, ISP modem bank team in the mid 90’s run out of a warehouse in Raleigh, NC that eventually became NandoNet.  I managed teams for Covad installing DSLAMs in Bell South central offices during the roll out of DSL. I’ve spent a career building private, corporate networks all over Research Triangle Park from the ground up.  If the FCC doesn’t declare ISP’s a public utility and maintain net neutrality I will work diligently to create a company with broadband infrastructure that guarantees customers equal access to all websites through a NO THROTTLING policy.

I will undercut AT&T, Verizon and Comcast’s rates and pad early termination fees to draw customers away from them in droves.  Would it cost millions, maybe billions for the infrastructure? Yes.  Would investors see the value in the superior, unrestricted product offering?  Absolutely.

I am completely serious about this.  Others are too.  Many of them very wealthy.  Companies like Google stand ready to invest in maintaining an open internet where all traffic and websites are treated equally.

Xerox is destined for failure.

Investors always search for information regarding company and product health.  I don’t know how in the hell anyone could hold single share of Xerox.  Just look at the problems this company is facing.

  • Being sued by states of failure to secure medical records per Medicaid legal requirements.
  • Losing lawsuit attempts aimed at Yahoo and Google a few years ago.
  • Ongoing software failures, some involving security issues that I demonstrated myself.
  • Replenishment software failures leaving them unable to fulfill consumables contracts.
  • Slowing sales.

Seems like a sure loser to me.  Xerox seems to be on the path of the dinosaurs, reminding me of Kodak.  I started to throw up a little about Xerox when I found out they called police before laying off 500 people just before Christmas in 2013.  They worship at the altar of the unearned dollar and can’t even get that right.  Once the proud inventor of the mouse, Xerox is now nothing but an embarrassment in the office.