Holy Cash Flow, Batman

Scott Hoag pointed out that Bamboo Solutions has released this very interesting SharePoint price calculator:

http://community.bamboosolutions.com/blogs/sharepoint-price-calculator/default.aspx

We stuck in everything for our four farms and it spit out an estimate of the list price of the SharePoint implementation. It is somewhat staggering - list prices.

I have been a long time Microsoft stockholder. To me, this is further evidence that the stock is way undervalued (in case their outstanding earnings weren't enough)! Buy some stock today.

Dogfish Head 120

Those of you who have known me for a while know that I have this thing about Dogfish Head brews. They are my favorite, even though I come from a town where we have one of the best craft breweries - Great Lakes - and I worked with the people who started the very large creative brewery, Crooked River (I think it was mostly software money that financed that company in the beginning). I probably told far too many people about the beer aging in my basement. There is a big pile of it. It's an investment! After you drink with me, you may think that I am this huge beer snob (snob is so cruel, I just appreciate the good stuff). I'm just a connoisseur for crying out loud.

So today I finally popped open one of the "holy grail" beers. A Dogfish Head 120 that had been aging for a couple years. Here is my review from BeerAdovcate.com:

"If anyone asks, Dogfish Head 90 is my favorite "everyday" beer. That's not to say that it isn't special, it's just that it is readily available and I wish I could drink it every day (but of course that would cause health problems). I have always loved it, and I have never aged any of it.
At first the Dogfish Head 60 was a disappointment to me. But I later realized what a dope I was. It was just something completely different. Now I love it, especially on tap.

"A few years ago (when my son started at Purdue) I was able to procure a few bottles of 120 in Indiana (they can't sell it in Ohio - too much alcohol). They were around $10 each. I just let the suckers sit in storage until today, when I finally had one (I have been meaning to do this). I had good reason, I wanted to relax and enjoy something special - I deserve it. 120 did not disappoint.

"I had an opportunity to buy preaged bottles of 120 at their brew pub in Delaware last summer but for whatever reason I passed (I am pretty sure the price was in the $15 range and I was already spending a bundle there). But the one I am drinking is one I aged myself. It's over two years old. Everything seems to be settling in on it.

"It is sweet, hoppy, well balanced. There does not seem to be a boozy smell whatsoever. The alcohol is definitely there, but the smell is not. The smell actually is a bit weaker than I would like. Everything else about this beverage is what I would expect from a well aged, over hopped, over malted ale. Smooth.

"It was worth the wait and the $10. Now I have to think about (1) when to drink the rest of them and (2) how to get some more to put up for later. And how the hell do you follow that act?"

The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law

I can be a curmudgeon. For me it's "acting my age" (and settling in to the years ahead). I have a right to act this way. An example of curmudgeonly behavior in public might be insisting on being addressed as "Mr. Klass." At work or at home it might include niceties and protocols just "because I say so."

Our lawyers have an (at least partially deserved) reputation for curmudgeonly behavior. Many of them demand respect in a way that is difficult for the uninitiated (and especially IT persons) to appreciate. This has always worked OK with me since I naively give everyone credit for having made it this far through evolution. The fact that they are here at one of the biggest law firms in the universe must mean something. Never mind the amazing academic and professional accomplishments of these people.

This lawyerly curmudgeoness is amplified (exaggerated, at times) in Mark Herrmann's The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law. This nifty little legal best seller is required reading for new lawyers wanting to make their way through the ranks at a major law firm.

As a long time law firm IT person, I also think it is useful for non-lawyers to get the curmudgeon's pointers about quality of work, his basic rules for writing, etc. It is a quick read (more like a big pamphlet) and the humor makes it fun. So I declare it required reading for anyone who works in this environment.

"It's a shame that they waste licenses to practice law on people who ask questions like this."