Month: September 2004

sorry – wrong number…

By sbsfaq

I’m based in Sydney Australia, and since about 8:30am this morning (Monday morning), I’ve been getting calls redirected through to my mobile phone from some guy called Ian who runs what would appear to be quite a successful pool and pool fencing business in Queensland.  So far I’ve received over 32 phone inquires for pools and pool fences.  Unfortunately he does not seem contactable, so I can’t even ask for a commission for handling his phone calls.  I’ve sent him a fax quite nicely suggesting that I hope he redirects his phone soon or else I may be tempted to … Continue reading sorry – wrong number…

SMB Nation 2004 – The pictures got out….

By sbsfaq

Ok – so Harry’s latest newsletter has the pictures of the various speakers at SMB Nation in …. Now here’s the challenge – come up with the funniest caption for each of the speakers. Here’s a few to get you all started… Susan Bradleys – “YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN PATCHING – wheres my 2×4” Thomas Shinder – “well these 2 nuts walk into a bar….“ (you had to be there) Jeff Middleton – “gee it really is high up here“ Anne Stanton – “My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety-seven now, and we … Continue reading SMB Nation 2004 – The pictures got out….

How to create big documents real fast.

By sbsfaq

I don’t know where I found this tip, but today one of my guys was troubleshooting a printing issue and needed to create a 30 page document easily.  He did this with a simple copy and past of a one line and quickly had the document.  Later he was telling me about it and I recalled this cool “Easter Egg” in Word that has been there for some time.  Basically if you type in “=rand(99,9)” into word (without the quotes) it will generate about 11 pages of text.  Do this a few times and you have one heck of a … Continue reading How to create big documents real fast.

MS knows best for my customers?

By sbsfaq

Ok – I’ve got to vent here – one of my largest customers got a phone call today from a lady at Microsoft.  This customers Software Assurance was due at the end of August and we have already taken their order and placed it with Microsoft.  So we’ve done well all round – both for the customer, ourselves and Microsoft.  The problem is though that according to the records, Microsoft have not recieved the order, furthermore this lady on the end of the phone proceeded to tell the customer that an MS Select Licensing agreement would be best for them … Continue reading MS knows best for my customers?

What makes a community leader?

By sbsfaq

So today we received the news that one of our SBS MVP brethren has been retired from the MVP program.  This person was in fact the first ever SBS MVP and his retirement leaves us all with a hole in our hearts.  Being the first, this man set the tone for the community, both in the public newsgroups, and mailing lists that he started.  He set the standards unofficially about the way we worked with each other.  To me he will always be the grandfather of SBS.  This has gotten me thinking though.  How do you measure the contributions of … Continue reading What makes a community leader?

Home now – thanks Qantas

By sbsfaq

After a 14hour flight from LAX to Sydney I am home.  Whilst it’s lots of fun to travel and visit new places, see old friends and so on, there is nothing like jumping into your car and getting back into the swing of things.  I’ve got to say that I love using my flyer points to get upgrades – and on this trip I was fortunate enough to get upgrades to Business class on both to and from the USA which is real value.  Qantas has installed these new seats into their business class sections called the Skybed – these … Continue reading Home now – thanks Qantas

Dinner with geeks

By sbsfaq

Last night (my last in Seattle) I was fortunate enough to have dinner with a few of the SBS Dev team Alan Bilharz and Sean Daniel – both product managers for various sections of SBS and a few other people.  We went to the Icon Grill which was an excellent restaurant.  What amazed me the most was the deserts – I had this enormous slice of Texas Funeral Fudge Cake and I swear I was going to die just trying to get through it.  The cake was about 7-8inches high and rich chocolate.  I would seriously recommend a visit to the … Continue reading Dinner with geeks

So this is my blog…

By sbsfaq

OK – I never really got blogs until the last few days. I’ve been in Seattle, WA since before the Labor day weekend.  I had decided earlier this year that I was tired of going to conferences and just seeing the inside of the conference venue and the hotel, so this time I took some time to go relax and look around Seattle.  I had originally planned to only come in a few days before the conference (SMB Nation 2004) and then leave a few days after it.  Luckily I was told that the Monday was the labor day holiday … Continue reading So this is my blog…