Ken Wiesner's Blog

FedEx Payroll

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:16:12 -0500

Check out Changing How The World Does Business — a book about the history of FedEx, by Roger Frock. Frock was one of the founding executives at the company

On page 101 of the book, Frock says:

By mid-July our funds were so meager that on Friday we were down to about $5,000 in the checking account, while we needed $24,000 for the jet fuel payment… When I arrived back in Memphis on Monday morning, much to my surprise, the bank balance stood at nearly $32,000. I asked Fred where the funds had come from, and he responded, “The meeting with the General Dynamics board was a bust and I knew we needed money for Monday, so I took a plane to Las Vegas and won $27,000.” I said, “You mean you took our last $5,000— how could you do that?” He shrugged his shoulders and said, “What difference does it make? Without the funds for the fuel companies, we couldn’t have flown anyway.” Fred’s luck held again. It was not much, but it came at a critical time and kept us in business for another week.”

Sammy along for the ride in Erin’s bag.

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 22:09:00 -0500

Sammy along for the ride in Erin’s bag.

YouTube - Ethernet 2kWtest

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:11:22 -0500

YouTube - Ethernet 2kWtest

Google Voice, Skype Get Unified Caller ID - PCWorld

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Google Voice just got a lot better by adding additional Skype support. You can make calls using Skype and have the recipient see your Google Voice number on their Caller ID.

via pcworld.com

Read PCWorld’s tips on how to set your Google Voice number as your outbound caller ID on Skype.

The Oregon Trail - Official Trailer

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500

via youtube.com

Ah sweet MECC memories.

Modern Family producer doesn't understand online media and consumer choice

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500

What is wrong with you old media people?!?! I want my content delivered on my terms when I want it and how I want it. You are creating awesome content and you want to get as many people to watch it as possible. Don’t limit choices! It didn’t work for the WB, it’s not going to work for ABC either.
http://newteevee.com/2010/08/02/are-hulu-and-the-ipad-killing-modern-familys-…

Entrepreneurs can change the world

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500

via youtube.com

Was shared today by some talented young entrepreneurs.

Corn Boil Fireworks

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

via youtube.com

We enjoyed watching the fireworks from our neighborhood last night!

Storm Bunker

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Loki found himself a fallout shelter to hide from the storms.

MSNBC: Citizen’s guide to fixing America

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

AMERICAblog News: BP photoshops fake photo of crisis command center, posts on main BP site

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

via americablog.com

The sad part is that I’m really not in the least bit surprised. Beyond Pollution.

Baby eating Watermelon

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

via youtube.com

LOL

Clear is coming to Sugar Grove!

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

According to the new coverage maps, Clear is coming to Sugar Grove very soon!!! I can hardly wait for the day when I can call MediaCom and cancel their poor substandard service!

Finally, An @Arrington We Can Stand. An Arrington We Can Unplug

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

via techcrunch.com

Expensive but very cool!

Our iPhone 4 Vacation Video

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

via flickr.com

Robert Scoble posted this video of their family vacation. What’s incredible is that he shot, edited and published the entire video on his iPhone 4!

New Apple Friend Bar Gives Customers Someone To Talk At About Mac Products | The Onion - America's Finest News Source | Onion News Network

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

New Apple Friend Bar Gives Customers Someone To Talk At About Mac Products via theonion.com

I agree, the Sugar Grove Library is in danger!

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

I agree with Mr. Hartman’s concerns of the Sugar Grove Library Board of Trustees. Like Mr. Hartman I too am a former trustee and share much of his insight.

The thing I find most troubling though is that it appears the current board believes that materials are more important than being open and providing quality service. During the last few board meetings, trustees have pushed the concept of “working within our means.” I agree! So lets work with what we have and make sure that funding is appropriately allocated to staffing so that we can keep the building open and patrons can use the materials that we already have. For me, the most troubling part of being a Sugar Grove Public Library user is pulling into the parking lot of the brand new building, realizing that you are the only car there and that it’s Monday or Friday afternoon hence the library is closed.

During the planning of the new building, the library hired Leo A Daley, a consulting firm specializing in construction of libraries, at great expense to come and work with us to design the new library. Over and over the experts told us that the dynamic of the library has changed from what it used to be and continues to change. Instead of having shelves of books and old ladies in hair buns going around shushing people, the libraries of today are town hubs that facilitate information exchange and community networking powered by knowledgable staff ready, willing and able to answer questions and help patrons. This is why we built a new building with community meeting rooms, study rooms, a cafe, a teen area, computer lab, etc. all fully covered with free flowing WiFi.

I don’t check out books from our library. The library doesn’t have the business and technical books that I read. I have an Amazon Kindle that. But if I didn’t have a Kindle, I could very easily borrow those materials from one of the other libraries in our system. The trained library staff is really good at helping patrons do that! Regardless of how I consume my published content, I still use this Library, I pay taxes that fund this library and from time to time I even volunteer for our library. Why? Because the library is more to me than just a collection of books, it’s all the other value added services that are offered through our facility that keep bringing me back. Once the board’s patron surveys are tabulated, I’m sure we’ll find that I’m not alone.

To the current Sugar Grove Library Board of Trustees I ask of you please do not cut funding from the staff. If anything, allocate MORE funding to the staff so we can be open on Mondays and Friday afternoons.

In closing, I will echo Mr. Hartman’s call to action and encourage everyone to please come to tonight’s meeting and voice your opinion during public comment. If you are unable to attend, you can listen to the meetings at http://www.sugargroveonline.com, download the Events Podcast and send your thoughts to the trustees via email at trustees@sugargrove.lib.il.us.

Dear Bell & Yellow Pages...

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

via jasso.me

Lovely shot of the driveway

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

I tested out the tripod rig today and took a quick shot off the patio. Very pleased with the outdoor pics on the iPhone 4!

There's a rig for that!

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

So now that I have my iPhone 4 which is capable of shooting HD video, I wanted to try to use it to record some video for Sugar Grove Online. Not sure how well it’s going to work as I’m limited to the 32GB of onboard flash memory for recording but I’m going to give it a shot! The only problem though is how to hold the iPhone for such a long period of time during recording. I did some searching online and found a case that has a 1/4 inch connector for mounting on a tripod. The problem though is that this was for the iPhone 3G not to mention the fact that it was $50. So I gave it some thought and came up with my own rig using $20 in parts from Best Buy and Lowe’s as well as some nuts and bolts my dad gave me. It’s not perfect but I think it will do the job. In hind sight I should have used a hard plastic case instead of a silicone case.

See and download the full gallery on posterous