May 2010

There were 22 posts published in May 2010 (this is page 2 of 3).

Fumbling with Salesforce for Nonprofits

Well, some people seem to speak highly of it. But it seems to require a highly trained staff – or at least a staff who are competent with software systems. So I’m wondering if I get into it, will anyone else in our small organization follow me into that territory? And, although I never thought of our organization as being much different from others, I see that it does not so easily fit the mold of Salesforce. Would it be better to adopt a simpler or more flexible solution? It’s still hard to say.

May 24 – 11:30 made some progress – understood how to link Opportunities to Products. phew.

Journal 2010-05-22

Spent some time fiddling with social networking software like TweetDeck. None of the existing arrangements make me completely happy. I have a feeling that the best system for updating status is not so much a continual interaction with the web bit a once a day digest of significant thoughts or learning from that day, condensed from a logging of these – which could be kept in the phone or computer in draft form till later.

Umm Burj on Nakba Day

Just a car ride into oblivion
At the end of asphalt roads.

To a park whose signs demark
A history too crowded for meagre lives

They built their homes among ruins.
We walk among their graves.

The last of them are buried elsewhere
Their story almost silent now.

We briefly populate the hilltop,
With our talk and picture taking.

These thornfields once were gardens
Kept by water from the well.

The hilltop bloodied now
In sunset rust,

The only green is found in niches
Hewn deep into the earth

Where broad-leaved fig trees
Dream a shady coolness
Safe again for children’s song.

Twine and the ephemeral nature of web services

Twine – another web service that I used for a while – has been closed by its purchaser, Evri. Web-services are fine to use, as long as we don’t become dependent on them. Meanwhile, Sarah Perez says on Buzz that her husband’s gmail account was disabled suddenly without warning. “Wow, had no idea this could even happen. Google just disabled my husband’s Gmail account. No idea why. Maybe it was hacked? Used to send spam? Too bad he just put it on all his business cards. I guess this is what you get for using a free service.”

Journal 2010-05-12

Yeah so today I became more certain about going to India again over summer. That happened after taking Elizabeth to the airport. Somehow my brain is wired to associate travel to India with happy thoughts – there isn’t much logic to it.

It was great seeing Emily again. We had already some interesting conversation. It’s amazing how people interact with us in our lives in ways we hardly suspect. Like when we were talking about children she said that her first really strong desire to have kids was one day when babysitting in our house. She had slept over. Yonatan had woken up crying and made his way to her bed. She said that just being there for him and being able to ease a baby’s needs had made her realize how good that felt.

In another conversation I had today, with a village person, I realized how important it is, once again, to keep a record of experience and discussion, otherwise everything is so easily forgotten. That happens because experience needs to be processed and considered. Otherwise much of what we do becomes a jumble. It doesn’t help that our brains are growing old. I wish I could write everything down.

This has been a year of meeting up again with old friends, and it’s nice to see a trail of people coming through, and staying a few days.

The other day at Coral’s memorial I thought again about that extraordinary woman who even at the age of 60 took her life in a completely new direction. Sometimes we take everyhing for granted. It is better to view life as something completely dynamic, since that is closer to the truth.

2010, rather than earlier years, may be the definitive year for social networks.

Just as before Google there were Alta Vista, Excite and all the others, but web search really came into its own with Google, I think we are seeing something similar in the field of social networks, and I don’t think the current players are showing us what these networks will eventually look like. Now that high profile figures are quitting facebook, and there is an appeal for an open distributed social network, I think we are witnessing the birth of a real revolution in this field. Or it may fizzle.

New website for Haaretz newspaper giving me trouble

Letter to Haaretz.com: “Your new web site causes Google Chrome to lock up when accessing articles. I’m running Chrome on Linux with plugin Flashblock (since I don’t like flash commercial content). I have managed to overcome the lock up by disabling cookies and javascript on your site.”

I’m wondering, though, if this is a conscious attempt by the news site to make it uncomfortable for viewers who block their ad content.