Still waiting for approvals to get the LI Press Release out. Made a little progress... just waiting on one more step!

Worked on LPI stuff today. Got a Level 2 stats spreadsheet set up and requested a copy of the spreadsheet I set up for level 1 (lost it when my laptop was destroyed).

Working with ELC to help them announce their new initiatives at CeBit.

Did some contract work to try and get the family fed, since money is so terribly tight right now... Also tried to line up a second gig for contract work, but I keep winding up in voice mail on the second one. Just bad timing, I'm sure.

Booked my flights to CeBit. Built a list of things that need to be done before I go.

Whew!

Got the BADLY overdue ad done for CeBit, on the 4th iteration of the fourth major foundational idea/concept. As the relationships are cemented and the work gets done, things are changing rapidly. Its fun, but exhausting.

On the phone all day. Good stuff.

I swear there is something about trying to post to advogato that gives me bad karma or something...

I haven't posted anything for a while, but at least twice I've tried and something went badly awry to keep me from it.

Anyway...

Today I got the ad for CeBit together, met with OSDL folks to define the relationship, and caught up more on email (down to about 200 messages in my in-box).

Updated my Press database with LISA Press contacts.

This week, I made some progress on the LI Marketing plan, but it still needs a lot of work.

Frustration of the week: The biggest challenge to working remotely is that I'm a big team-player type of person. I build groups that focus on specific areas and get issues out on the table, but communication by email is bulky and s l o w. A conversation barely gets started in small chunks, which make it readable, but large, deeper, more meaningful email requires longer attention spans from participating team members, and tends to get way off topic too quickly to resolve the original issues. Teleconferencing is the more useful tool for remote work, but tends to be expensive and it is not reasonable to have an expensive teleconferencing solution installed in my house. Where did the day go??? I don't feel like I've been terribly productive, but I've been pretty focused and things are finally congealing into real, tactical programs.

Sent my weekly note to the LI members.

Approved artwork for Linux Journal and Linux Magazine ads through 2002. Will get I/O's in tommorrow when "Electric" Bill returns to the office.

Spoke briefly with Kit Cosper. It's amazing how the absence of one person can leave such a hole. Kit started Linux Hardware Solutions before Linux was such a hot commodity and then sold it to VA in '99 I think. He stayed on with VA until a big round of layoffs caught him. It's a terrible time to be unemployed, but he seems to be faring reasonably well.

Wrote a blurb for the Comdex website on IT Business issues.

Got an invitation to do a presentation at some high-dollar marketing conference in Chicago, so I put some thought into what I might say to them. Created an abstract and sent it about the importance of community building.

Worked on 2002 budgets some more. Trying to build programs without money sucks.