I had gotten so used to being reactive at Intuit. The phone would ring, the email would arrive, the meetings would be scheduled. I only had time to "work" in between these hectic moments. So much so, that I had to avoid some meetings (Like the dreaded PELT) to actually…
Yesterday, I went to get some bread. I said, "A two and a half pound sourdough, sliced please." Matthew was in my arms and pointed out his index finger high in the air and yelled, "SCUSE ME ONE MINUTE! SCUSE ME ON MINUTE!"The lady smiled at him and said, "Yes? …
I made a deal with one of the most talented designers I know. He asked that his name be changed, to protect the innocent. We shall call him Kedalsen Sirhc. (aka CBOT) The Deal: Whoever makes 20 million first has to give the other 1 million dollars. Can’t use the money on…
In my previous ‘2 weeks’ post, I neglected to mention Eric Yeh and Steve Lam. I probably forgot them because I am still emotionally scarred from them making fun of my clothes, hair and gut. However, I just want to let them know, I liked working with them better than…
Ethan got his report card. Even though he is reading at a 2nd-3rd grade level he only got the equivalent of a B in reading. He wants to get better at Math. I have been working with him on multiplication using pen and paper. He seems to get the gist…
I gave notice to Intuit yesterday. It is a sad moment for me. There are some people there that I will miss terribly. There have been a few people throughout my career that I have just loved working with.Ben Nadel, Tom Quaile, Sean Zimmerman, Florence Tang, Bill Mirbach, Chris Nesladek.…
Thanksgiving was a gala event at the Lipka house. Scott, Rachel, Jim and Penny were over. We had turkey and stuffing and lots of yummies. I am so stuffed. I must have eaten 40 lbs worth of food. Katie asked us all to make Haiku’s before dinner. You can read…
The Jets beat the Chicago bears, but lost the game. They outplayed Chicago. Two critical interceptions in the red zone took away the victory. My heart sank. I felt queasy. Stress. Stress is all around us. We are disappointed all the time. It is important not to let this dominate…
In many ways, I feel the theme. Make or Break. I am reading in my book on Lyndon Johnson how he stole the 1948 Senate election. (Stole, bought, whatever). I feel professionally that theme in my head. And of course, the Jets are about to meet their destiny in a…
The Jets Win! The Jets Win! The Jets Win!
Quicken just launched their new site. I had nothing to do with it. Sapient did pretty much all the work. As an optimist, I wanted them to succeed, but looking at the site, I have trouble getting over some significant issues. Task completion was definetely not a major part of…
Some of my work launched today on Intuit.com. All of the account management features have had an overhaul. Some improvements: New design makes a frame around account management to clearly identify it Dynamic error messaging/field validation. Better Credit Card Info Management. Order Status/History page redesign. Email template enhancements. Better workflow.…
That is my new nickname for Matthew. He is so happy and he doesn’t shut up. He is Happy McTalkAlot. He is literally manic. He just BIT Jared this morning! The three of them are going to beat the living hell out of each other for sure. But in general,…
We just got back from my mom’s wedding in Boca. It was a nice backyard affair. Who knew corn beef, pastrami and potato pancakes could work with Sushi and spring rolls? It was hot for October in Florida so we did some swimming. We went to the beach once, but…