Thinking aloud: Azure, AWS, DevOps, cars and opinion from Alex Neihaus

  • The sweet smell of retaliation, or how a great blog can really mess you up

    At work, we use Clicky web analytics to supplement our web statistics. It’s a great service, and Sean at Clicky has always answered my questions quickly and personally. In short, they’re exactly the kind of people you want to work with. So, I can imagine how furious he must have been when he had to…

  • A nasty surprise: FiOS and HDTV on demand can crash your Internet connection

    You know all those commercials Verizon is running with a young boy talking about “30db hot” and in which in open-mouth wonderment, he seems to be awash in light? Well, fudgedaboutit, at least when it comes to multiple HD video on demand streams and high-speed Internet. Not many people realize that FiOS uses a hybrid…

  • Never one to let an Internet fad go by, it’s my turn to say…

    Ha ha! You’ve been Rickrolled!

  • WordPress 2.5 rocks

    I know I’ve been very lax about blogging here because launching a whole new category of enterprise application development software is taking up all my time. Still, I am compelled to stop for a moment and give WordPress 2.5 maximum love for being a killer upgrade. Installation was a snap, and the single problem I…

  • Hey, guys, want to know what a feminist writing in the The Atlantic thinks of you?

    In one of the worst examples of misandry posing as journalism I’ve read in many, many moons, Lori Gottleib writes in The Atlantic that women should just “settle” for men they don’t necessarily love in order to get married. Guys, you gotta read this article. Initially, you get the feeling that you are being given…

  • Learning to love square wheels

      I’ve been busy working on my third totally new web site in less than a year — and that doesn’t count the sites I simply helped update. The one thing I’ve learned: no matter what technology you use, whether you use a CMS or you code the thing by hand, it’s an astonishingly complex…

  • TIAA-CREF to Alex: we’re reading your blog about us

    Have you ever wondered if your blog reaches the people you hope it will? People beyond the immediate friends, family and business acquaintances that you are primarily blogging for? Have you heard people say that blogging is a flash in the pan…something that influences nobody…that has no impact? Are you one of my former blogging…

  • TIAA-CREF to customers: Please read the letter (if you can)

    I hate obfuscation. This week, TIAA-CREF sent my wife the letter I’ve attached to this post as a PDF. It’s unsigned, unaddressed and clearly written by an attorney…but the marketing guys got into the act as well. The letter is a notice of a price increase….but it never says TIAA-CREF is raising prices. It only…

  • I can’t resist programming in the large

    After over a year of consulting, I’ve taken on a new role with Active Endpoints which returns me to my roots in application development. For many years before I went into marketing, I developed applications using what was then considered leading-edge technology. What amazes me is that leading-edge developers today face the same problems as…

  • The death watch for GM is over: the ’08 Cadillac CTS is a used Buick

    There’s a very entertaining series on one of my favorites blogs, TTAC, entitled “General Motors death watch“. I am sure they are much hated at GM, but, frankly, I think the bloggers there have been evenhanded. GM has been a mess so long, I can now officially be excused for buying a new, manual three-speed…

  • Apple, take my $20 please, or someone is finally paying for Google Maps?

    Please forgive my non sequitur in the title of this post. But I think it’ll make sense as you read on. I’ve been raving lately about what a transformational device my new iPod touch is. And I’ve been struggling to put into words exactly what’s why that’s so. At first, I wasn’t convinced that it…

  • Alli: a “chocolate rain” you wish wouldn’t fall

    I am very late to the Chocolate Rain phenomenon. In case you are one of the remaining 50 people who don’t know about Tay Zonday’s famous (>13M views!) music video, I’ve embedded the YouTube video below. Be sure you also watch the related videos, including the Chad Vader spoof and Tay’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel…