Nick Griffin
Forum Replies Created
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You guys have too much time on your hands if stuff like this is really a concern. Or is it just a slow summer day?
I’m in the thanking them back camp but really don’t mind if someone says “you’re welcome.”
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Wait a minute. You mean it’s not the British guy with the mid day talk show on KABC Los Angeles all those years?
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[Shane Ross] “People who don’t know, don’t know…and those that do know, can’t say.”
In another industry, also rife with rumors, we used to have a saying “The ones who are talking don’t know and the ones who know aren’t talking.”
[walter biscardi] “All depends on whether the QT guys are able to talk to the FCP guys and whether they’re allow to talk to the SL guys and of course whether those 5 or so Beta testers out there actually are able to get a hold of the same combination of software and hardware needed to test…..”
And that becomes an interesting point and something we’re likely to not learn for years, if ever.
I was fascinated to read in Wired that during its development Apple had the iPhone’s software team working with fake hardware and the hardware team working with fake software. That’s the lengths they went to in order to make sure that no one could compromise the secrecy surrounding their new product. In the case of the iPhone it was a very successful strategy. With QT and related products probably not such a good idea.
It’s been almost 20 years since I had inside access with some of Apple’s people and frankly I don’t miss the weekly 180 degree course corrections and the daily 8am to midnight insanity.
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Assuming you’re the same Michael Moser I went to school with, let me know if you need to borrow our DSR-25 so you can capture the footage through the analog outputs.
Also, give me a call sometime so we can chat.
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Our business (multiple aspects of B2B, technical industrial marketing communications — including video production) was going strong in 2008 and then began to soften early this year. Most of our existing clients scaled back which left me with more time to pursue new business. By late spring we had several things, with both new and existing clients, in the talking stages. But virtually no one was pulling the trigger on anything new. Several smaller existing projects kept us alive, however the reserves of cash from a great ’08 were fading away.
Everyone wanted to get the pitch, hear the details and get the pricing then it would turn into “We really like this, but we’re not going to do it just NOW.” Or, “We’re not in position to start anything new right now, but plan to in… Q3… next fall…Q 4… after the year ends… early next year… etc.
Well here it is Q3 and all of a sudden, many of these things seem to be coming to life after all. Our biggest fear is having too many things coming in at the same time with everyone assuming that because it had been slow they’re automatically at the head of the line. I guess that’s a good fear to have.
So the next few weeks will tell the tale and we’ll see what we actually have for Q3 and 4 or if the delay mentality is still prevalent. One thing that has seen a serious delay mentality is collections from some, fortunately NOT all, clients. A few companies that used to pay net 20 – 30 first dropped back to net 45 and then to 60 and recently to 75 days. I’m fearful that this could be like gas prices: shoots up quickly but takes its dear sweat gradual time to drop back to normal.
Life’s not great, but not horrible either. Optimism is the order of the day.
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I’m late to the thread but here goes:
1) [Mike Cohen] “so perhaps you could say I was looking for me.”
Yea. Good luck with that. In 30 years I’ve found one guy who is willing to work as hard as I do and of a mindset to do so day in, day out. I pay him well and treat him as the rarity he is.
2) [Ron Lindeboom] “Good wine, too. Just ask Nick.”
YES! Carmody-McKnight, Halter Ranch, Adelaida Cellars are each mind boggling, but probably not supermarket fare. (Unless you have a REALLY upscale supermarket.) Mr. & Mrs. Lindeboom truly found my weakness for fine grapes.
3) Personally I’m offering Weiss’ new assistant a position here as Senior Editor. (And Mrs. Griffin is putting her divorce attorney on speed dial.)
As to dress code, I prefer a silk tie, custom made oxford shirt, pocket square and hand-tailored suit coat worn over blue jeans and flip flops. Sends the perfect message — I can be corporate, but only to a point.
Common sense is really what’s needed in dressing for an interview. A little more dressed up than normal, clean, neat and looking orderly. Torn T-shirts send the completely wrong message. They scream: “I have no idea why I’m here so I probably can’t be trusted to know what I’m doing and especially can’t be trusted around clients.”
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Damn, Mark! I used to like you. Gotta wonder how our relationship will be affected by the fact that you’ve now revealed that we’re both working for the same client.
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[Ron Lindeboom] “I am sure I can track down some other geezer to handle the board and the set-up.”
Hey, I’m a geezer. I can ride levels and do headphone mixes, etc. In fact, that would get me out of having to play. True story: decades ago when I fancied myself a folkie it was only after some initial attempts at recording that I figured out on which side of the glass I belonged. Then after observing a George Massenberg session (back before he was THE George Massenberg — so responsible for the sound of Earth, Wind & Fire that he was given POINTS in the act — POINTS!) anyway, after watching George Motion in action I decided the control room side was where the real action was.
The Mancave room looks like it will be sweat. I’m looking forward to returning to Paso Robles! Thanks again to you an Kathlyn for a wonderful evening and a great meal!
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Well by providing the correct spelling for Geoff Emerick Ron Lindeboom has put me once more in his debt this week. Thank you, Ron. I’m not worthy.
What took me by surprise Tuesday morning wasn’t that cable channels would feel it necessary to carry the Jackson funeral it was the corruption of what I considered to be one of the few remaining legit news sources: KCBS, News Radio San Francisco.
Driving back Tuesday morning after a wonderful evening in Paso Robles with a truly gracious and generous host and hostess, I was listening to KCBS for their traffic reports (a necessity in the Bay area). I was stunned that they were providing nearly wall-to-wall coverage of the Jackson funeral. Little news, some weather, traffic (thankfully) and MICHAEL JACKSON’S FUNERAL??? ON KCBS??? Is this how low we’ve sunk?
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Once upon a time, long, long ago (I believe in the 1980’s or so) an accounting genius went to his bosses with an idea. It went something like this:
“You know we’re a big, solid company with lots of payables going out every month and when an invoice is marked ‘Payable Net 30 Days’ we’ve been doing just that. So, what if instead of paying our vendors in 30 days we pay them in 60, 90 or maybe even 120 days? That would be just like getting an interest-free loan for those extra months and if we apply this to the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in monthly payables, the amount we would have been paying to have this money in our cash flow becomes quite significant. And remember, this money, let’s call it our ‘float’ will be ours to use interest free.”
“But, ” said one of the bosses, “If we stop paying promptly what are our vendors going to do?”
“Absolutely nothing,” said the accounting genius. “We’re the XYZ Corporation. Everyone knows we’re good for it so if they want to do business with us they’ll just have to learn to live with it. And since our credit rating is more a function of our balance sheet and stock price than anything else, what have we got to lose?”
“But what about the smaller vendors?” said another boss. “You know the little guys like the people who do our video and A/V work. They really need their money and they think they deserve to be paid in a timely manner.”
“Oh, stop, ” said the genius clutching his sides and barely able to speak through his laughter. “You’re killing me. What are you some kind of monologue writer for Johnny Carson?”
The entire room erupted in laughter as everyone got up to go out for a three martini lunch to celebrate the accounting genius’ promotion and bonus.
And the next month when the accounting genius was put on the cover of Accounting A-Holes Magazine all of his peers in other big companies read about this revolutionary technique for providing their companies with free money for their cash flows and the idea spread.
There now. Doesn’t that make it much easier to understand?
But seriously folks… the one way that I’ve found to get paid quickly in big corporations is to have a close relationship at the top.
One of our corporate clients a few years back sent out a letter to its vendors announcing that effective immediately it would be paying “fully processed” invoices net 60. (The term ‘fully processed’ and similar wording means after everyone in the chain is through doing everything they can to slow down the approval for payment of a bill.)
Since I was hired by the company’s president and have many of my dealings with him I called him with a great idea. “Hey, Bob,” I said. “I just figured out how you can save a lot of money: simply tell your CFO that starting this month his paycheck will be delayed one month. Better still delay the entire accounting department. That’ll save the company a fortune.”
His response was to ask me to send all invoices directly to his attention and ever since each invoice has been paid in 7 to 10 days.
Doesn’t work every time, but did in this case.