Adam Kalsey

Thanks O'Reilly

2009-06-30T04:55:33Z

Signing up for OSCON today, I was asked by the O’Reilly site to prove I was human. Of course, it required super-human effort to get it right.

It took me three tries, and all three captchas were as annoying as this one. This is the one I finally got right. That second character? That’s a seven.

Tip: if you have a case-sensitive captcha, don’t include characters that could be mis-interpreted in your image. The letters W U O P S K Z C V all look the same uppercase or lowercase, especially when distorted as captchas are. I could be the number one, a lowercase L, or a capital I. O might be a zero. Even the capital and lowercase J look fairly similar.

Tagged as: captcha oreilly oscon signup usability

BarCamp Sacramento today

2009-04-26T22:58:07Z

I’m at BarCamp Sacramento today. There’s a great crowd and BrickaBracka’s space is fantastic. About half the presentations are good barcamp presentations, but the other half are basically just 30 minute product pitches for local companies. Some interesting companies and products, to be sure, but sitting through product pitches is not what BarCamp is about. The entire event is in one big room, making the law of two feet pretty much impossible to follow.

I kicked things off this morning with a presentation on home coffee roasting, as you can see from the fantastic photo above by Jerad Hill.

My son came with me this morning before heading out to a friend’s birthday party. He says most of the presentations were over his head, but it was nice to get him started in the open community culture.

Tagged as: barcamp coffee sacramento

Barcamp Sacramento

2009-04-17T05:52:52Z

In northern California next weekend? Come join us at SacBarCamp April 25th and 26th in downtown Sacramento. SacBarCamp is an informal event where you will network, learn, and share with other Sacramento techies, helping to create a local community for our industry. The organizers are trying to emphasize the Sacramento region by getting as many local companies and individuals involved.

What’s BarCamp? It’s a conference where the participants are the speakers. Show up, sign up to give a session, and get going. There’s lots of networking, food, great conversations, and you’ll even learn a thing or two. For more information, see the BarCamp web site. I also described the first Sacramento BarCamp in a radio interview a few years ago.

Want to come? Register for free at the SacBarCamp site.

Tagged as: barcamp event

Daily Reading from April 02, 2009

2009-04-02T08:00:00Z

Links to what I’ve been reading recently.

Jeremy Epstein: Deployment and migration: hot at DrupalCon DC
Tales of data pirates: Opting out of Verizonâ€™s open-ended sharing — "A small legalistic pamphlet from Verizon arrived today telling me that I have 45 days to opt out of “agreeing” to let Verizon share Customer Proprietary Network Information, i.e., “information created by virtue of your relationship with Verizon Wireless,” including …"
How NOT to build an advisory board. . . — "Thinking about building an advisory board for your startup? I think there are a couple of important lessons on ‘what NOT to do‘ to be learned from Obama’s Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry. Rule No. 1: Ensure that …"
Valve Exec: Pirates Are Just Underserved Customers
Twitter / Adam Kalsey: My NY resolutions are to s … — "My NY resolutions are to start smoking, gain weight, and begin procrastinating. "
Lay Low to Avoid Being Laid Off: Don't Be These 6 Guys | Primer — "In situations like these, the squeaky wheel gets the pink slip. Obviously problematic employees get canned first, followed by the under productive and overpaid. After the bulk of the gristle is trimmed, otherwise upstanding employees may find themselves on the …"
All about Google - SlideShare

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Chrometa in Inc

2009-01-15T05:40:26Z

Congrats to my friend Brett Owens and his Sacramento area time tracking startup Chrometa for getting some press in an Inc magazine article about working with angel investors.

Keeping potential investors in the loop without asking for money has changed the dynamic of his relationship. Owens says investors have taken a much more active interest in his success; indeed, now they call him with business advice.

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

Tagged as: brettowens chrometa inc sacramento