JohnBedard.com

Exit Strategy

Permalink | Tweet This! | | October 29, 2008 by John in Freelancing, Graphic Design, Web Design

This post, “5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting Another Freelance Endeavor,” on WebWorkerDaily is worth reading just for the last item, which I’m horrible/forgetful at addressing:

What’s your exit strategy? If your new venture doesn’t fare as well as you hoped, how will you get out of it? Will you be able to sell it? Or will you simply change your strategy? Also, how do you quantify if it’s a success or not?

Although I’m glad that I was never in the position to opt for an exit strategy, it’s always an important part of my initial planning. It allows me to have a Plan B if the venture doesn’t turn out to be as profitable or as worthwhile as I thought it would be.

I need to plan (with the prospective client) for my exit after project completion, especially for the positive/successful variety. I usually assume I will hand over a CD and be done with it, but I need to make sure the client understands that. The negative exit is usually/should be described in the contract.

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Descent into Automotive Madness

Permalink | Tweet This! | | October 28, 2008 by John in Auto

“I Am The Guy With A Lamborghini In The Basement“:

I think I have 40K in my project without the equipment/tools I bought. I used to save every receipt until I started getting depressed at how much I was spending. Besides it could be held against me as spousal blackmail, so I eventually got rid of the evidence!

I thought the guy who built the Batman Tumbler from scratch was nuts. Nevermind that last time I checked you could get a spot-on replica Lamborghini Countach, finished, with a huge motor and a race-ready tube frame (not a reskinned Pontiac Fiero), for well under $50k. Looks like you can get the stretched/reskinned Fiero version with a Chevy 350 V8 for mid-30’s.

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Bollocks - More than you ever wanted to know

Permalink | Tweet This! | | by John in Interesting/Trivia, My 2002 Triumph Bonneville America

Regarding the vanity plate on my motorcycle, “Bollox” (usually spelled “Bollocks”):

“Bollocks” is a word of Anglo-Saxon origin, meaning “testicles”. The word is often used figuratively in British English, as a noun to mean “nonsense”, an expletive following a minor accident or misfortune, or an adjective to mean “poor quality” or “useless”. Similarly, the common phrases “Bollocks to this!” or “That’s a load of old bollocks” generally indicate contempt for a certain task, subject or opinion. Conversely, the word also figures in idiomatic phrases such as “the dog’s bollocks” and “top bollock(s)”, which usually refer to something which is admired, approved of or well-respected.

It’s really quite versatile, perhaps more so than any American profanity, which also makes it difficult/tedious to explain when people ask.

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Unbearable Existance

Permalink | Tweet This! | | by John in Movies

I don’t want to live in a world where NASCAR and professional wrestling are the biggest “sports,” evangelical christians are the majority (in prison, too!) and High School Musical 3 debuts #1 followed by Saw 5 at #2, and Changeling doesn’t crack the top 10 (it didn’t make it to Helena yet either). Don’t even get me started on Beverly Hills Chihuahua. I must kill myself now.

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I love guns, but…

Permalink | Tweet This! | | by John in In the News

What kind of friggin moron lets an eight-year-old fire a full-automatic firearm?

WESTFIELD, Mass. - With an instructor watching, an 8-year-old boy at a gun fair aimed an Uzi at a pumpkin and pulled the trigger as his dad reached for a camera.

It was his first time shooting a fully automatic machine gun, and the recoil of the weapon was too much for him. He lost control and fatally shot himself in the head.

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I’m Seriously Tempted…

Permalink | Tweet This! | | October 27, 2008 by John in Computer-Internet, Humor

I’ve got a first generation blue iMac sitting in my garage. It’s not really powerful enough to use for anything I do. I’m seriously tempted to something like this to it: Happy Hallowe’en! Soon.

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What a Maroon

Permalink | Tweet This! | | October 24, 2008 by John in Entertainment, Humor

The 5 Reasons Luke Skywalker Is a Complete Idiot:

We all grew up wanting to be him—learning to use the Force, blowing up the Death Star, saving the galaxy. But the thing is, despite all his badass moments, he actually kind of sucks.

5) Trusting the Force to Help Him Blow Up the Death Star
4) Refusing to Listen to the Only Living Jedi in the Galaxy
3) His Insanely Stupid Plan To Rescue Han Solo from Jabba The Hutt
2) Throwing Away His Lightsaber in Front of the Emperor
1) Not Joining the Dark Side

The last one is especially good, including:

What has Luke had to look forward to after the original trilogy? Mostly trying to start up the whole Jedi Order by himself, which is a ton of work, and watching Han have almost constant sex with Leia. Between that and ruling with Vader, it’s not unlike a choice between working in your local library and becoming President. Not really much of a choice there.

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