We are going to release a business version, MozyPro for Mac, later this summer. And we have a lot of performance improvements and interface changes we want to make. There is a lot of work ahead of us, which is great.

So while I was taking some deep breaths, I got a chance to read up on some of what people are saying about Mozy. iDrive, one of our competitors, just released a beta version of their Mac software, so I thought I’d take a look.

They seem to have done some pretty cool things with their software, but it’s clear that they don’t understand the word unlimited. iDrive includes this disclaimer in small text on the bottom of their homepage:

The concept of ‘Unlimited Storage’ is subject to fair usage of the service. This is to facilitate a low one-price plan to backup a PC’s critical data that meets requirement for high majority of consumers; there may be some limits based on what constitutes fair usage. The current limits include 150GB of total storage and 100GB of bandwidth utilization per day. Do refer to Conditions of Use. Pricing structure for business use varies from personal use.

So you get “unlimited” storage for whatever they decide is “fair.” Not really unlimited. I really like that Mozy’s unlimited service has no restrictions on space.

MozyHome does have a bandwidth cap to limit how fast files are uploaded, but in practice very few people have upload speeds that reach this limit. We are always open to customer feedback, however, and reevaluate this decision from time to time. MozyPro does not have this limitation.

In addition to the whole unlimited thing, iDrive’s comparison with Mozy is incorrect in several places.

Still, they have some good ideas in the design of their software. And it’s good for Mozy to have competition. Keeps us all working hard at listening to our customers.

Tyler really got into the spirit of April Fools’ Day and played several jokes on his parents and siblings. We found books in our pillow cases, stuffed animals in our toothbrush drawers, and various missing articles of clothing. He liked it so much he kept playing jokes on his parents over the next few days. I also uploaded a picture of one of his jokes on me that made me laugh.

Just a few clicks to get it all up there. I like it.

So, here you go Mom. Enjoy.

If you were by any chance wondering why mortgage rates were not following the Fed’s slash and burn policy of lower rates, the…short answer is rising default risk.

But let’s not be too gloomy here.

Other than overleverage, bad debts, sinking home prices, no jobs, shrinking wages, cash strapped US consumers, rising oil prices, a sinking US dollar, $500 trillion in derivatives not marked to market, rampant overcapacity, underfunded pension plans, looming boomer retirements, no funding for Medicaid, no funding for Medicare, and no Social Security trust fund, everything is just fine.

The fact that (I believe) we’re heading into a recession has made me reconsider many of my investment strategies. I know that in the very long-run, the market will do well. But why take the hit of staying in the market during a stock market crash if you know one is coming?

There aren’t many types of investments that do well in a recession. I believe silver will be one of them (up over 33% year-to-date). Others include CDs and Treasuries.

I’m also going to be saving up as much cash as I can, for two reasons:

1. In case I lose my job, and
2. To be able to buy investments for cheap when things are really bad.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Now, I really like Ron Paul. He voted for military action in Afghanistan directly against the Taliban. But he voted against going to war in Iraq. So, if elected, I expect him to be strong against terrorism and to be extremely cautious about using our military to interfere in foreign countries. In hindsight, it seems obvious that working with the legitimate government of Afghanistan has gone better for us than invading countries that weren’t involved in 9/11.

The only complaint I have so far is with some old newsletters published under Ron Paul’s name several years ago that are very racist. Paul says he did not write them and disagrees with their content, but has not indicated who did write them. There’s an in-depth article in Reason Magazine investigating the identity of the author that concludes Paul didn’t write the material.

Supporting him, several black people who have known Paul for decades, including the head of the NAACP, have stated that Paul is not a racist and has never been one. That doesn’t stop the media from repeating the lies though.

I believe Paul when he says he did not write the material and has never agreed with it. The thing that bothers me is his hesitation in explaining why those newsletters went out with his name on them and who wrote them. Honestly though, this isn’t a big complaint.

Of course, it’s easy to find problems with politicians. For example, Mitt Romney promised Michigan voters that he’d spend billions of taxpayer dollars on reviving the Michigan economy, which essentially means subsidies for the big American auto manufacturers. Thanks for promising to spend my tax money to buy Michigan votes. Romney is still my second choice though. The other candidates are even worse.

So basically, I think Ron Paul still has a fair chance to win the nomination. Less than 10% of the Republican primary delegates have been allocated at this point. With Fred Thompson dropping out and Mike Huckabee running out of money, the Republican race may soon be down to three choices.

The time to stop talking is when the other person nods his head affirmatively but says nothing.

It’s an hour, but was very informative and enjoyable to watch. Highly recommended for anyone who loves WWII history, technology, or both.

Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.

I wanted to write a quick update to let everyone know we are still getting the finishing touches on our newsletter. Well, actually, we’re still writing parts of it. Last years Christmas letter became a New Year’s letter, and this year it’s looking like we’ll have to rush to avoid it becoming a Valentine’s letter.

We also closed on our first “for keeps” investment property. It’s a fourplex in Payson about 20 minutes from our house. It’s a bit of a fixer-upper, but the price was low and the numbers worked out, even counting some needed repairs. And the best thing is that I find I enjoy being a landlord. I like talking to the tenants and hope to make the building a great place to live. Of course, I haven’t had any calls in the middle of the night yet. So we’ll see how things go.