This Blog Now has a Picture

It seems like I'm... ahm... obsessed? :)

Why I Blog

Kit's musings prompted me to also question myself why I keep blogging.

Two main reasons:
(1) So that I can look back to the stupid / brilliant things I might have said x years ago
(2) Because of the few 'returning users' from all over the world


Other Nopes and Yeaps
(Nope) not for the money --> This blog never generated a dime in cash, despite the fact that I'm keeping 2 google ads (ever noticed them? :D ).

(Nope) not for boosting visibility --> Just type my name in Google :)

(Yeap) This blog helped me in fulfilling a professional goal. It was through brandlyyours.ro's contact form that the guys at Brandient called me for a job interview. While I'm now with another company, the time spent in Brandient remains both a dream-come-true and a personal proof that I can accomplish my goals.

This is Not Yet Another Caustic Verbal Attack on Apple

There are some voices telling us that Apple has "lost its mojo", that it screwed up with launching iPhone 3G and that it lied about mobileMe "push" technology.

"The handful of recent stumbles by Cupertino is just a temporary rough patch, right?" full story here

None of this is either wrong or vicious. I think there are many consumers and mavericks loosing hot steam about recent Apple glitches.

My 2 cents: Apple is playing a profitable but somewhat dangerous game of escaping the niche - player status.

Reasons why these are great times to do this include:
(1) Microsoft is having troubles with Vista --> good time to attack it
(2) Telecoms are trying to boost data revenues --> good time to push iPhone 3G
(3) PC manufacturers only offer incremental performance upgrades to existing form-factors --> good time for product innovation in personal computing

Things Apple should pay more attention to appear to be:
(1) Manufacturing

(1.1) Volumes --> better anticipate demand
(1.2) Product life cycle in reference to pricing policy --> expensive products should resist moral and technical obsolescence more than 6-9 months

(2) Global Distribution channels --> reviewing channel partners is recommended

PS: This post should be in no way considered a bitter man's scream. I've seen lots of these kind of articles and posts in the last 12 months. Apple is a business, a sound one. It has a great marketing approach but I think the time has come for this company to also do some internal work.

Stress and the Immune-System

Stress& Immune-System
Originally uploaded by brandlyyours

Stay stress-free. It has been scientifically proven that stress generates aging and a shaky immune system

"When the body is under stress, it boosts production of cortisol to support a 'fight or flight' response"

via science daily

View This Data (ep. 3)

Cinemas in Romania
Originally uploaded by brandlyyours

(1) Romanians don't go to the cinema. This is often said and written when talking about spare time activities in Romania.
However,
(2) there are less and less cinemas in Romania.

I can't say for sure which of these two facts is the resultant and which is the cause. Cinemas either went bankrupt because people did not go to the movies or... they became banks, fast-foods and / discos because of their location and dubious privatizations.

I guess reality beats the crap out of movie fiction.

iTunes Store Romania?

iTunes Store Romania?
Originally uploaded by brandlyyours

Is it coming soon?
I managed to complete all registration steps until "payment" when I keep getting an error. The error text reads something like: " Error, please try again later"

Does anyone know more about the iTunes Store coming to Romania?


Update: Legal terms on apple.com are available for Romania. It appears that only AppStore will be available in Romania. Click for legal terms in Romanian

Update2: Apple appears to be operating the iTunes Store Romania through
iTunes s.à.r.l., in Luxembourg - as it does with other EU countries as well.

EU and My Mustard

Could a guy like me just have breakfast without reading labels? :-)

This Vama Veche mustard is Bulgarian.

I now wonder where the accompanying delicious sausage comes from...

EU messed with my food.

View This Data (ep. 2)

For those of you buying a widescreen HDTV, you might be soon looking for a bigger home :)
It appears that you can calculate an optimal couch to TV distance by multiplying the TV's width in inches with 1.8664.
For visually inclined mathematicians, the picture below should help.

Help or Company Needed

After some 100 questions, I now know for sure that I'm a total geek.

Should I seek help or company?

The reference table from innergeek.us

+ Geekish Tendencies................................≥09%

++ Geek.............................................≥15%

+++ Total Geek......................................≥25%

++++ Major Geek.....................................≥35%

+++++ Super Geek....................................≥45%

++++++ Extreme Geek.................................≥55%

+++++++ Geek God....................................≥65%

+++++++! Dysfunctional Geek.........................≥75%

Economic Turn-Offs

People respond to incentives, right?
But what about turn-offs?

An Albanian refinery entered a restructuring program and decided to only keep employed one member of each family. So... a few couples working at this company decided to ... get a divorce in order to keep both jobs.

Via capital.ro, liberation.fr

Attack of the Giant Pins

Ruuun! Giant pins are coming to town!