There is a lot of talk about MTV today, and for good reason.  MTV turned 30 years old today.  If that makes you feel old, you’re not alone.  If not, look at it this way; if Marty McFly jumped into a time-traveling DeLorean today and went back 30 years, he would not end up in a time where Coca-Cola came in bottles, all cars were made in Detroit, and dorks walked around with 3D glasses, he would land in a time where Ronald Reagan (yes, the movie actor) was President, Disco was dying, and he would witness a group called The Buggles kick off Viacom’s MTV with a weird “music video” declaring that Video Killed the Radio Star.  

I have many found memories of MTV.  I remember when I decided I would marry Martha Quinn.  I remember watching the World Premiere Video, with much anticipation, for Tom Petty’s “You Got Lucky” video.  I grew up watching Madonna shock parents in a way Laddy GaGa will never match, and Prince and Michael Jackson introduce the world to a whole never style of pop music.

Over the years MTV and I grew up together, we had many changes.  At 12 I was able to go to awesome New Years eve parties with amazing musicians, like The Divinyls and Charlie Sexton, thanks to MTV’s New Years Eve party.  At 15 I was able to tap my inner teen angst and explore new music with Andy Warhol’s 120 Minute show.

In my later teens years, things changed up a bit, but I went with it.  MTV had party shows from Florida during the summers, which would be on in the background while I had my own parties.  And at 19 I was introduced to The Real World and got to see a show about how people my age, but a little slower, lived in a big, very cool house.

I always felt like the perfect age for MTV, like we really had grown up together.  But that changed at one point.  I’ll admit to liking Beavis and Butthead more than I should have, but that wasn’t the problem.  The real problem was the reality television.  No disrespect to Kurt Loader, who I always relied on for my authentic music news, and I really appreciated his work on Tina Turner’s bio, but all of a sudden these special reports with his voice, that were really just early versions of reality television started to appear.  MTV was looking for more, but cheaper original content.

MTV made a division for us Gen X people at VH1, but it wasn’t the same.  I wasn’t a grown up, I was still cool.  But evidently “cool” changed.  Over the next 10 years MTV started playing videos only at night, or when part of another show.  By the time TRL (Total Request Live) with the talentless Carson Daly, I wasn’t sure how they picked these videos.  They didn’t seem to play videos at any other time, so how would they know which were the best?  I’m guessing the record labels helped them out with that part.

In 2004 a member of the MTV family, JJ Jackson died.  He was always like the older RA to the cool college-type kids of the original VJ’s.  I remember that day well.  I put on MTV to see what was airing, and it was some douche bags playing out some drama.  Keep in mind that this was before MTV discovered that the Jersey Shore was the optimal place to find douche baggery.

It occurred to me then that reality TV killed the video star.  On behalf of Gen X, I offer up these cross-generational lyrics as an olive branch to the new MTV generation.

Bring back…

Springsteen, Madonna

Way before Nirvana

There was U2 and Blondie

And music still on MTV

I have XM in my car, so I enjoy listening to Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter, Mark Goodman and Nina Blackwood.  They are like the cool older siblings I never had.  Except Martha, she is my first love, and I will forever measure a girlfriends cool factor next to hers.  And no one has bested her yet!

Now I’m off to play some J. Geiles Band “Centerfold” on of my favorites from the early days.

Politics is the art of the possible.

-Otto von Bismarck, 1867

The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.

-Mitch McConnell, after the midterm elections of November 2010

In the wake of the 2008 electoral victory by Barack Obama and the Democrats, there was much discussion about what this meant for the Republican party. Was it inevitable they would have to become more liberal to keep in touch with changing demographics? Even the Conservative commentator Fred Barnes suggested post-election that it may be time to “elevate moderates to positions of leadership.”

Subsequent to the election, moderates have been largely rejected by the base of the Republican party. Michael Steele was chased out of his seat as head of the RNC, even as Republicans rode to victory in the midterm elections. House and Senate leaders John Boehner and Mitch McConnell have often been derided as too lenient to Obama by right-wing bloggers and talk radio.

Instead of trending to capture Hispanics and young voters, the GOP decided to embrace their Ayn Rand-loving ideological roots. The Tea Party evolved as a protest movement against spending, taxes, healthcare, and, most of all, Barack Obama. While it’s obvious that the genesis of this movement is riddled with a healthy layer of corporate-financed Astroturf, it cannot be denied that it does represent the purest distillation of popular Conservative political thought that we’ve seen in our lifetimes. The economic realism of Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon has been purged from their history books to the disappointment of some Conservatives. But to today’s most prominent voices, it is Conservatism uncensored–and the message led to their sacking of the House of Representatives.

The Tea Party itself is not a bad thing. It is very good for Republicans to have this debate within their party and with moderates and Liberals. Ron Paul’s small-government anti-war Libertarianism is an intellectual movement that deserves to be considered and should be welcomed within the political arena.

But sober, reasoned voices of the Tea Party that genuinely want to have a back-and-forth debate about the future of this country have been drowned out. They’ve been drowned out by the likes of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh, who have hijacked the movement and turned it into a personality-driven article of faith that is both rigidly uncompromising and emotionally charged.

Fast forward to the debt ceiling debate. Under previous presidents, Bush and Reagan included, the debt ceiling has been raised with a moderate amount of consternation.

This country now possesses the strongest credit in the world. The full consequence of a default–or even the serious prospect of default–by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate….The risks, the costs, the disruptions, and the incalculable damage lead me to but one conclusion: the Senate must pass this legislation before the Congress adjourns.

-Ronald Reagan, 1983

Republicans today argue that times have changed. Reagan’s “principles” would support their agenda, even if his actions didn’t. George W. Bush and the Republicans who ran both branches of Congress weren’t to blame because “9/11 changed everything.” Indeed, the debt has reached dizzying levels and it needs to be addressed. But why now? Why pick this battle when the economy is “cratering,” as John McCain might say? Why put a gun to the head of the United States’ AAA bond rating when higher interest rates could result (even the S&P favors the Reid plan over Boehner’s)? Why remain so intransigent on tax hikes for the wealthy when their share of America’s riches has risen so dramatically in the last 30 years?

There is no seriousness in the way Republicans are approaching this issue. There is, as Conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks noted, “no sense of moral decency” on the part of Republicans in Congress. The offers made by President Obama and Democrats in Congress average about 3 to 1 in the ratio of spending cuts to revenues. It is the deal of the century, and by any classic definition of “Conservative,” it is a gigantic victory for the Tea Party and for Republicans.

But Republicans are less interested in getting a good deal than they are at breaking the will of Barack Obama, and they are willing to take the American economy hostage to do just that. Mitch McConnell himself, as well and scores of other Republicans, have stated that the most important thing for them to accomplish is the ruination of President Obama. Being elected to office brings with it a responsibility to govern, and the act of governing necessarily includes the need to compromise, especially when your party only holds one branch of Congress. It is as if there were three people negotiating over how to divide a cake and one of them insisted on taking it all as a matter or principle.

McConnell floated the idea recently of allowing Obama to raise the debt ceiling himself while Congress passed an opposition bill that Obama would inevitably veto. Rather than take a great deal for his party, lowering the debt by trillions, he believed it more important to save political face and have the debt limit raised without any Republican support behind it so he and his cohorts could shirk any responsibility. It is one of the most craven, cynical acts in the history of politics, and tells us all we need to know about what the Republicans in Congress are about.

What is it in the heart of today’s Republican that drives them to such a level of inflexibility? Is it merely rigid idealism or is it a deep-seated political urge to destroy Obama at all costs? In fact, the two are one in the same, and it is especially accentuated by the fact that Obama ran as a uniter and an admirer of Ronald Reagan. By their definition, ANY act of compromise with Obama is a concession to him and is by definition an expansion of government–another step toward Socialism. If they are completely unwilling to compromise, why not go all-out? If every statement or offer is just an act of Kabuki theatre designed for political expediency, why show restraint? Restraint is suicide in the current Conservative echo-chamber, and these people want to keep their jobs and get re-elected.

For all of the criticism the mainstream media receives from the Right, no political group is more heavily influenced by their cadre of media elites than the Republicans.

It’s worth noting that for all the conservative obsession with the dreaded Mainstream Media, it is really the Republican party that is far more in thrall to its pet media organizations. A Democratic plan proposal can survive the disapproval of the New York Times. But Rush Limbaugh has veto power over the GOP as now constituted.

It’s incredible, it’s self-defeating, it’s absurd … but it’s the way it is.

-David Frum, Frum Forum

In a remarkably titled blog post by Erick Erickson of Redstate.com, he states:

In the past 48 hours I have had call after call after call from members of the United States Congress. They’ve read what I’ve written. They agree. But they feel the hour is short and the end is nigh.

So some are calling looking for alternatives. Some are calling looking for energy. Many are calling looking for absolution.

And so I address them and put it here so you can see my advice.

-Erick Erickson, The Absolution I Cannot Give, RedState.com

Why are members of Congress calling a Republican blogger on the phone to seek “absolution?” Could you ever imagine a Democrat doing this with Markos Moulitsas? Or Moulitsas having the balls to actually publish this fact? It is absolutely incredible, and the “lamestream media” would have a field day if a site like Daily Kos displayed even a fraction of the obvious influence that right-wing bloggers have.

So here we are. Obama and Boehner have made their speeches to America on this evening, the 25th of July, and the thought cannot be ignored: the best way to reduce the size of government is to run it like a crackhead and then point to the carnage as evidence. The small-government movement prospered under Bush thanks largely to his failure of leadership. For many, moments like Katrina only confirmed the Conservative view that government was useless. And to drill this idea even further into the heads of the American people, their behavior regarding the debt ceiling is appeasing their zookeepers like Limbaugh and Erickson while significantly eroding the foundations of America’s trust in their government.

I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.

-Grover Norquist

The role today’s Republicans play in government is akin to letting Casey Anthony teach Kindergarten. If the American people speak loud enough, the Tea Party will ultimately fail. But if Republicans continue to work unfettered from the inside to sow the seeds of our government’s destruction, the consequences may be difficult to undo.

Spotify, a legend in the U.K. and now available in the U.S. has the features a good music service should have; unlimited streaming, a large catalog, a music storage locker, social features, offline mode, mobile apps for iPhone, Android, etc… and high bit rate sound quality.  So Spotify is a winner, right?

A Brief Look Back

I’m old enough to remember when people used records and cassettes.  In my early teens, we got the CD, which was a nice step for most.  A decade later I was occasionally downloading music, and five years later that became my near exclusive means of acquiring and dealing with music.  Aside from the occasional purchase at a concert, I haven’t purchased a packaged CD in years.

Napster is credited with the technology that changed everything.  I always felt it wasn’t just the free aspect of Napster, but the insane ease of use.  I could just type a name of a song, artist, album, whatever, and get the music I wanted.  For something so illegitimate in nature, it had a better user interface than many services even today.

It was around this time the iPod came out, and it seemed the circle was complete.  I ripped all my CD’s, downloaded stuff through Napster, put them to my iPod, and the world was great.  Except of course for the musicians.  The RIAA hired an army of lawyers and went after everyone they could.

One sad side note on this time.  I think we can all agree that Metallica has done well for themselves.  With their album sales and concerts, one can only imagine the fortunes they have amassed.  And since they are a metal band, I’m sure they consider themselves cool.  But when a group puts together a list of fans who downloaded their music from Napster, and hand it over to the RIAA lawyers, and law enforcement, they stop being cool.  Being part of Gen X, I understand our rules of cool, one of which is “the only thing worse than a thief is a snitch”.  Fans are fans, even if they didn’t pay for a download.  And a snitch is a snitch, Metallica.  And now back to the story at hand.

After the legal carnage of Napster, a few other services like Limewire, Bearshare and others popped up.  But most of these software packages came with extras, like spyware and viruses.  It got to the point where only the most dedicated and courageous music thieves would download anything.

Then along comes iTunes, the could be savior of the record labels.  At this point it was clear that the RIAA was asleep at the wheel, not thinking much about technology when Napster came along.  And now they were awake, and cranky.  They pushed back on Apple to try and get what they thought was the best deal.  And in the end, we ended up with a decent service, that worked well with our portable players.  We have seen Microsoft make laughable attempts at this market, only to crash and burn because Microsoft is not a consumer electronics company.  Sony, who is a consumer electronics company, has also made attempts, but the are not a computer company.  Apple has the rare advantage of keeping a foot in both the consumer electronics, and computer worlds.

Napster was acquired and re-launched as a music subscription site, and Rhapsody sprouted up with their service.  For $60 – $120 per year, you could get unlimited music streamed to your desktop, and mobile devices.  A couple years ago, they even started allowing you to download for offline listening.  These were great services, but the lacked  a few key elements.  First off, the sound quality wasn’t as good as an iTunes download on your iPod.  And second, these services were not well marketed.  Just a few days ago I mentioned Rhapsody to someone in the tech space who had never heard of it.  When I explained what it was, they were shocked they never heard of it because it sounded like a great service.  This smells of bad leadership and lack of marketing focus.

The Current Trend

I used Rhapsody for about 18 months, and a couple months ago switch to MOG, based on a recommendation from Leo Leporte.  And I purchased a Napster account for my mother to go along with her iPad and Sonos system I set up for her.

My personal set is iTunes and MOG hooked up to a Sonos system, connected to speakers in my ceiling.  It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to use your iPhone as a remote for music.  I play anything I want from my iTunes, and if I don’t have something new I’m interested in, I just play it through MOG.  MOG comes through at 320 bit, so the sound is good.  And all this coming from invisible speakers is even better.

Google and Amazon have been pushing out their new services, which I considered, but decided I don’t really need.  Which is a shame, because they are essentially free.  But why would I need to store my music on their servers?  I have them on my computer and phone already.  And eventually they will charge a fee for this service.

Add this to the fact that many younger people are getting used to the idea of not owning music.  I’m betting that less than 10% of teenagers under 16 have ever purchased a CD, and are now highly unlikely to do so.  Having their music through a service, like their mobile phone, won’t be an unusual idea for them.

One service I, like every other user, love is Pandora.  It fits perfectly into my Sonos setup.  I just wish the sound quality was a bit better.  But the personalized radio feature is one of my favorite new technologies.

And this brings us to Spotify.  Spotify has an emphasis on sharing music through social networks, and along with a large catalog of music, allows you to upload your music to your mobile devices wirelessly.  This is not the true cloud solution of Google and Amazon, or that Apple will push out.  But it’s a nice thing to have.

The catalog is decent, not the best from my personal tests.  And you can push up to 320 bit rate for good sound quality.  But Spotify is a few features short of being a killer app.

First, there is no radio functionality, like Pandora.  And no selection of Internet radio, which is surprising.  The mobile app is pretty bare bones.  And how none of these companies seem to have the ability to design a mobile app worth a damn, Spotify is especially lackluster.

So far the only thing I like about Spotify over MOG is the social features, but I don’t really see using those.  So I will put Spotify through the paces for the next month or two, and then make my decision.

One advantage to Spotify is that there is a free option.  Right now you need an invite, so feel free to leave a comment if you need one, and I’ll send one out to you.

Where It’s Going

Apple has yet to roll out their music locker service.  But I can already tell it’s going to be extremely easy to use and and well integrated into iPhones.  And I have a lot of faith in Apple’s Airplay plans.  I think it’s likely Apple will move into the music subscription space within the next year or so.  It would instantly be the most successful option in the market.

I also see Pandora getting into this space, as well as potentially a music locker service.

In the end, I get the feeling we will not be talking a lot about Spotify in a couple years.  What do you think?

The first thing you’ll notice about this beautiful piece of art is that it’s an iPhone 4, which is in part why it’s so beautiful.  I know I’m an Apple fanboy, but I don’t think I’m being biased when I say there is currently no more elegant design in a phone that the iPhone 4.

But what Gresso did is add something to the design, specifically 6 small mechanical Swiss watches to the back, representing the times in New York, London, Paris, Moscow, Hong Kong and Tokyo.  Which will be great for you alcoholics, because it’s always happy hour somewhere, right?

It’s mind blowing to me that they were able to fit the watches into that space, but I guess that’s what these guys do.

The Gresso iPhone Time Machine is selling for $6,000.  How it’s highly unlikely I would decide to purchase a phone like this, especially since I upgrade phones every year, often the very day Apple begins selling them, I will admit that it’s very beautiful and elegant.  If this modification was 1/10th the price, which would still be significantly more than I pay for the phone, I would consider it.  The other problem of course is that you couldn’t really have a case that covers the back.

But I have to say that Gresso iPhone Time Machine makes a lot more sense that the typical Vertu phone, or the Tag Heuer.  What do you think?

This very cool yacht is being built by West Sussex, England based John Shuttleworth Yacht Designs, but is actually being built at McConaghy Boats, Zhuhai, China.  The client, a Chinese couple, Anto and Elaine Marden (not particularly Chinese names) has put down some serious cash to make this design into a reality.

The super yacht doesn’t just look space-age, the materials of which is contracted include carbon fiber with a Nomex honeycomb core, while the hull is made of a glass/Kevlar foam.

The amount of work that goes into something like this is unreal.  Most every hatch and hinge have to be completely custom made from materials that are durable and lightweight.

The custom yacht can hit speeds of 22.5 knots, and has a range of 4000 miles, while accommodating nine guests and a crew of 6.  The master cabin is located at the aft, with two guest cabins forward of the engine compartment below deck.

How this yacht would be great fun to cruise in, the real excitement must be for John Shuttleworth who spent 5 years designing it.  When I see concepts boats like this, I usually think it’s great, but will likely never be made.  It must be a dream come true for a shipbuilder to get the opportunity to make some so extraordinary.  So congrats to John Shuttleworth on this deal.

Jim’s QuickBooks Dilemma

Jim was in his 60’s, so I knew there would be some challenges in porting him over to a new way of doing things.  A new style of word processor, a new spreadsheet application, and even a new way to send and receive emails.  But I was confident that he would pick up these more intuitive programs quickly.  Then came the big problem… QuickBooks.

I should mention that Jim is the type of guy that likes to keep his finances tight, and close to home.  He was an active investor, and because he was a quick study, learned to handle most of his financial transactions on his own.  These were not simple checking or 401k accounts; I’m talking dozens of real estate transactions, hedge funds, stock investing, and loans, on top of his own personal finances, which, because he was wealthy, were beyond most people’s financial issues.

So when this guy says he needs QuickBooks, there is no way to talk him out of it.  He had learned the intricacies  of the software and was probably more proficient than most CPA’s.  But there was a problem, QuickBooks didn’t play well with Mac OS X.  They had an OS X version, but it was very poorly rated on every website, and lacked the functionality of the Windows version.

So we had to do the unthinkable, we used Bootcamp on OS X, and installed Windows as a secondary operating system.  He would now be able to use the beautiful OS X interface for his daily needs, except when he had to switch back to the ugly, bug riddled Windows to do his finances.

QuickBooks Continued Hatred of Mac Users

This was not my first issue with QuickBooks not being Mac friendly.  Running a company, I would like to have used QuickBooks, but not to the point of having to move from my beloved Mac.  So I just went without.

That was around 2005.  Since then Apple has become the second biggest company in the world, and by far the biggest technology company.  Every year since 2005, Apple has increased their market share in the computer industry significantly.  If you purchased a laptop today, you are more likely to have purchased a Mac over any other type of computer.  If you’re someone who makes over $250,000 per year, and you purchased a laptop, you almost certainly purchased a Macbook Pro.

QuickBooks on the Mac

So where does Intuit, the incompetent makers of QuickBooks stand on this? They don’t seem to care.  Below are a couple Amazon reviews of the latest QuickBooks for Mac, QuickBooks 2011 for Mac, which gets 2.5 stars.

“My PC was dying, so I switched to the Mac version of QB, figuring it would be great on my new Mac. WRONG! It would have been better to buy an inexpensive PC laptop just to run QB than to buy this terrible product. I don’t know how they botched it when the PC version is so good. They said that they built it from the ground up for MAC, but they forgot all the features that make the PC version so good. I strongly recommend keeping your PC version of QB if that’s what you already have!”

and

“My conclusion for now after spending perhaps 20 hours testing QB2011 on my former QB2007 file (using a separate computer running Snow Leopard): For my business, the upgrade to QB2011 will allow me to finally start running Snow Leopard on my main business Mac. That’s the ONLY reason I’m considering the upgrade. I would continue using QB2007 if it ran OK on Snow Leopard, but it does not. So, I will probably, reluctantly, upgrade soon. If you are just starting out with a business finance program, and are considering Quickbooks 2011 for the Mac, my advice is to 1.) carefully read the reviews here and elsewhere on the internet from Mac/QB users; 2.) take a good, long look at the alternative business/finance software out there before making your decision. As you’ll read here and elsewhere, few people seem to REALLY LIKE Quickbooks and Intuit, but some of us are stuck with them to varying degrees as our systems have been running QB for years. A lot of us wish it were otherwise. The commendable efforts of Mr. Lynes aside, Intuit as a company seems to have really ticked off a large percentage of its Quickbooks/Mac customers.”

I should note that these are the more thoughtful reviews, compared to the rants most people launched into out of pure frustration and scorn.

So this is how Intuit treats Mac users.  But hey, this is 2011, we’re in the decade of mobile and web apps.  Let’s take a look at those.

QuickBooks on Mobile Devices

Let’s start with mobile.  The good news is, they now have an official iPhone app.  The bad news… well I think this review from the Apple app store will say it best:

“WTF??? What about Mac users?

I was so excited to finally be able to have an app that will allow me to do an estimate right on the spot.It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for because I really want something that will allow me to see my prices, but I figured if I could do an estimate then it should work.  I sign up for the $9.99/mo plan only to find out IT DOESN’T WORK WITH A MAC!  WHY?? Why do we get excluded?? You are missing out on good business!  This app is coming off and the subscription will be cancelled. “

That’s right, the geniuses made an Apple iPhone app, that doesn’t work with an Apple computer.  And to be honest, the app looks like crap anyway.

QuickBooks Online Review

But hey, this is 2011, and it’s still the time of Web apps.  Let’s take a look at the QuickBooks Online.  First off, up until 2 years ago, Intuit didn’t even support QuickBooks Online for Mac users.  So I guess that we should feel honored that in 2009, they finally allowed us that option, which is when I started using it.

So we have a QuickBooks product that I can finally honestly review myself.  I won’t bore you with a long description, let me just say that it sucks.  I means really sucks.  I mean sucks like a collapsing star sucks.  I mean if one of my developers were to push out something this crappy, I would fire them instantly, and may even try to deport them to help save our country’s web development reputation.  This thing is so bad.  Forget Web 2.0, this is computer network from 1997 design bad.

And their iPhone interface…let’s just say it’s not any better than the rest of the crappy product.

QuickBooks iPad App

But wait, this is 2011, the year of the iPad!  Surely Intuit can make an amazing QuickBooks app on such an amazing platform.  I mean the iPad seems like a natural for this type of “quick invoicing” idea, right?  And obviously even the Intuit management sees the revenue potential of hoping on the fastest selling consumer electronic device in history, right?  Well… no.  Intuit is truly dumber than we could ever have imagined.  There is no iPad app, and there doesn’t seem to be any plan to create one.

The Future of QuickBooks

But wait, this is now, what about the future.  Obviously Intuit sees the trend, like every other company sees that Apple is reigning supreme for computer sales.  Clearly they are planning on changing their ways to keep better pace with Apple, right?

This morning, I saw this post on TUAW, letting me know that Intuit Quicken will not be supported on OS X Lion, the new Mac OS being released by Apple this month.  So no, it doesn’t appear that Intuit is learning any lessons from the past.

Now Intuit has made some moves to keep relevant.  I mean they made a crappy iPhone app that does’t work with the makers of iPhones.  And they did purchase Mint.com, a very popular and growing personal financial platform, and then basically stalled the thing.

FreshBooks Kills QuickBooks

So what is a business owner to do about invoicing and simple financial book keeping?  Well first off my bank has been making their own attempts at proving some value here.  And how they seem a bit lackluster and primitive, they are infinitely better than QuickBooks.

But the real savior here are services like FreshBooks.  I have switched to FreshBooks and have been pretty happy with the service.  It’s fast, easy to use, about half the price of QuickBooks Online, and even works with other systems that plug in.

The only real issue I have with FreshBooks is I’m not in love with their iPhone app, but it’s good enough for now.  And I really, really wish they had an iPad app.  As much as QuickBooks is not servicing their audience, I would bet that well over half of FreshBook users own an iPad.  They should really be servicing their market with one.  I would be willing to pay $10 for an iPad app, to help cover the work that went into it.

Recommendation on QuickBooks for Mac Users

My recommendations for anyone looking for small business financial software, check out FreshBooks and don’t look back.  But do send them an email asking for a better iPhone and iPad apps.

And my recommendations for Intuit, I won’t waste another breath on the losers.  The management team will come to represent the biggest squandering of a brand in software history.  Intuit, you guys just suck.

Mercedes-Benz has announced that they have sold more cars in the first half of this year than the entire last year.  Between the months of January and June, Mercedes-Benz has sold 610,531 cars.  At his pace, they should be able to hit their year sales record of 1.3 million vehicles.

So this must mean that Mercedes-Benz is taking market share from competitors like BMW and Audi, correct?  Nope.  BMW is actually stealing market share from Mercedes, and Audi is on the rise as well.  Even high-end Volkswagens are selling like preverbal hotcakes.

Maybe you’re thinking that the foreign markets are making up for a weak United States market.  Well, that wouldn’t really be true either.  While Mercedes numbers do show their biggest gains to be in developing countries like China, the United States also significantly increased their luxury auto purchases.

Don’t get me wrong, China did increase purchases of a Mercedes by 52% this past few months, which is pretty amazing.  It’s good time to be Chinese I guess.  At least if you’re in the top 1% of the Chinese that can have anywhere near the funds to purchase something like this.  Something tells me that the nice people assembling my iPhone 5 at Foxconn are not pulling up to work in their new S-Class.

All this talk of a new German vehicle has me thinking about getting a new car.  I’m thinking a Mercedes M class, but I do think the BMW Gran Turismo looks very interesting.  Do you have any plans to purchase a new Mercedes, BMW or Audi in the next year?

Most Panamanian’s have gone their entire life without setting their eyes on a Trump erection, but no longer.  Donald Trump (I refuse to call him The Donald, because that is how I refer to Donald Duck) is proud to open The Trump Ocean Club, a $430 million resort designed by Colombian architecture firm Arias Serna Saravia, which is the most lovely sounding architecture firm name I have heard.

The Trump Ocean Club features include a 900-square-meter terrace with an oceanfront pool, a casino, a marina (for parking your canoe), 47 suites, 37 elevators (which seems excessive), personal butler service, a spa and convention center.

Oh, and one more small item… it has it’s own island with a private beach.

Believe it or not, this represents the first Trump project outside the United States.  It will be joined by new projects (erections) in Toronto next year.

The building itself is quite beautiful.  It’s a sail-like design that looks more like something you would see in Dubai, where every building looks like this.

The fact that over a thousand people work at the Trump Ocean Club is a great boon for the Panamanian economy, which having the three tallest building in Latin America, is already being called the mini-Dubai.

I have the unfortunate experience of having to see the Trump tower in Las Vegas often, and the thing is just flat out hideous and uninspired.  I can’t wait for Trump’s friend Phil Ruffin, and his beautiful wife Oleksandra to build something in front of it.

Louis Ferrante was an associate (those of us who saw Donnie Brasco knows what this means) of the Gambino family for years, and ended up serving an 8 1/2 year prison term for his involvement.  During his time with the Gambino family, he helped pull of some of the jobs most of us can only dream about while playing Mafia Wars on Facebook.  Mr. Ferrante is now an author of some of the most well read books about organized crime, including Unlocked: The Life and Crimes of a Mafia Insider and Tough Guy.

Here are some of the lessons Louis Ferrante goes over in his new book:

• Go get your own coffee!: Respecting the chain of command without being a sucker.
• The walls have ears: Never bad-mouth the boss.
• Is this phone tapped?: Watch what you say every day.
• How to bury the hatchet-but not in someone’s head.
• Don’t split yourself in half: The wrong decision is better than none at all.
• Don’t build Yankee stadium, just supply the concrete: Spotting new rackets.
• Leave the gun, take the cannolis…and beware of hubris.

And the reviews are pretty darn good.  The London Financial Times says, “Useful lessons for entrepreneurs and even middle managers.”.  Pretty high praise from a prestigious source.

The Ferrari FF, which stands for Ferrari Four, is a ground breaking vehicle for Ferrari as it is the companies first four-wheel drive vehicle and is made to allow traditional Ferrari like performance in non-traditional environment like snow and rain.  Along with being four-wheel drive, the FF is also one of the few Ferrari to come in a four seat grand tourer.

The big event was organized by Ferrari to provide not only financial relief, but reenforce exposure to the need for further relief efforts.  The full $724,000 will be donated to the city of of Ishinomaki to further their efforts to rebuild.

Even Luca di Montezemolo, the Chairman of Ferrari was in attendance and presented the amazing car to the winner, Tokyo based architect, Masaharu Seno.

Also in attendance were Japanese Minister of Industry, Banri Kaieda and Italian ambassador to Japan, Vincenzo Petrone.

Masaharu Seno should enjoy his new toy, which can hit 208 mph, with it’s 6/3 L V12 engine, and go from 0 – 60 in 3.5 seconds.  The Ferrari FF has the largest capacity Ferrari engine ever produced.

The disaster in Japan was horrible to witness, even from afar.  I can’t think of a more fun way to help the country.  Congrats Mr. Seno, and to Ferrari for making such a generous contribution.  I have to admit that I’m surprised how much a Japanese architect can spend on a car.  But then again, I  imagine architects are going to be high demand as the city rebuilds.  So maybe Mr. Seno is just planning on getting a lot of work in the near future.