If you have made a financial contribution to the Red Cross or other official charitable organizations for the victims of Katrina, forward the payment receipt to donate@speerio.net and let us know your username on Speerio.net. We will add an amount equal to your donation as a credit on the Speerio Online Store. The credit is good for current or future purchases.

People in New Orleans have lost everything and will need a lot of help in getting their lives back together. Prayers and thoughts are needed, but money is also necessary. So please give generously. If the thought of giving Hope to those whose lives are shattered is not enough incentive, I hope the thought of getting current and future Speerio products discounted by the amount of your donation will provide some motivation.

You can contribute to the Red Cross here: http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate/

I look forward to the opportunity to give up significant amounts of my future income in the hope of making a difference in somebody's life today. Please give if you haven't already done so. 

Most foreigners I encounter know all about Tintin and Asterix, my two most favorite comics, but most Americans have no idea who they are. I am always puzzled by this.

Spielberg owns the movie rights to Tintin and is reportedly working on a trilogy.

This Optimus keyboard is pretty cool. Each key is an OLED display. This would be fantastic for usability. Imagine having the key icon change based on the shortcut depending on which application you are in.

I hope the production release is more ergonomic than pictured, but I am buying it anyway.

Set Godin made an excellent point about the difference between urgent and important in his blog post today. My takeaway was this gem:  You will succeed in the face of change when you make the difficult decisions first.

Quite insightful. Made me think of the Microsoft Solutions Framework which advocates completing the highest risk elements of a project first to increase the chance of success. Although I do not follow the process, it has become almost second-nature for me to start with the most difficult and challenging aspects of a task first. Then, come crunch-time, the going is a lot less difficult than it would otherwise have been and quality is not compromised.

I am going to PDC05 in Los Angeles. Will you be there?