In case you came to this site looking to find the Drill Sergeant Online Flash Card system, here is the link: http://www.landisfamily.org/DrillSgt

Hey, this is probably as close as I will get to a press release - thank goodness for "self-publishing"!

After several months of enjoying the good life, Richard is heading back to work. However, before providing details of my new employment, I must clarify some incorrect perceptions. Many of you think that I just played golf all the time - but that is very far from the truth - actually, I realized that there is a hobby I enjoy more than golf - and that is programming. So, what I have mostly been doing over the past few months is building J2EE systems. Of course, one of these systems was for finding golfers to fill tee times - you can check it out at http://www.landisfamily.org/golf/Login.jsp. Note: since these systems are hosted on a shared server, they can be a little sluggish at times, so please be patient. Also, my systems are tested on the latest versions of IE and Netscape. The system I am currently working on is for helping kids learn arithmetic - ok, technically it provides them with arithmetic drills - hence it's name "Drill Sergeant" - more on that as it develops. Although the pace of development will now be much slower - now that I have a job! And, now without further adieu, to the details.

By the time you read this, I will be working at Action Technologies Inc., a provider of software to manage high-value business processes. Not the clerical, easily automated business processes that workflow vendors automate, but processes that center around commitments that people make to each other. Imagine a system that would track all the "action items" that are created in meetings - and help make sure that everything gets done. Envision the efficiencies gained working in a company that had that software. And, since Action uses their software - I won't have to imagine that world - I will be living it. (And, as a commitment oriented person, I am very excited about that).

My role will be to manage the overall direction of the product line (title=Director Product Management). It is not a technical management role, but I will interact closely with the developers, so I will get my necessary share of "geekdom". And the company is embarking on some new technical directions that are of great interest to me and in which I have recent experience.

Action has been around for quite some time (almost 20 years) and is located in that wonderful city of Alameda! So yes, I have a lovely commute. But sadly, it does mean no golf for a while - and very little programming.

1/1/2003 - Update. I am truly enjoying my work at Action - my boss is a super-smart guy, I have been able to make some important contributions in a short time, and I am even getting to do some programming. Now my challenge is to make sure that I can deliver on all the commitments that I make - since we do track them!

Also known as, "What We Did On Our Summer Vacation". I figure, since Emily has to write these in second grade, I should set a good example.

And, as the author, I get to start with my update first. My summer began a little early this year as my job at NextCard was eliminated in March. My goal has been to improve physically, intellectually, and spiritually. Oh, and eventually, to find a new job. So along those lines, I joined a local gym (later replaced by a more upscale model for the whole family) and have been working out (elliptical trainer, weights, and treadmill) on a regular basis. But probably the most fun has been programming projects, all using the latest J2EE technology - including EJB 2.0 and JSTL (for those that care about acronyms). I have built a system for tracking wine cellars and am about to deploy a Golf Reservation System. Next up on the list is a cool arithmetic drilling program I wrote for Emily in Excel - converting that to web based - and hey, maybe even opening it up for others! Of course, I have also been playing golf - and generally shooting in the low to mid-80s, which, I am told is pretty good. A great author of golf instruction books is Dave Pelz and his books can be found here. On the spiritual side, I have read some books and done some meditation, but I can't give myself too high a grade in this activity. If anyone finds an spirituality instruction manual, please let me know! And finally, if anyone knows of an engineering management position open in Alameda/Oakland/SF - please drop me a line.

For my lovely wife, there has been a big change. For the first time in many years, Molly has no work responsibility (yes, neither one of us is working, so feel free to use the PayPal link on our site to donate money). After many long months (e.g. long hours in standard sized months), "the book" was sent to the publisher in July. The publication is expected in early 2003 - and while Molly will not be listed as an author, she did a very significant chunk of the writing (so she had better get a very nice acknowledgement!). Now that work is over, Molly is focussing on home projects - we even painted a room in our house! Yes, by ourselves. Yes, with real paint. And without even having numbers on the walls to know what to do! Molly also handled one of Alameda's most severe ant invasions - with poise and aplomb - and now everything in our pantry will be forever sealed in its own little ziploc bag should those pesky ants ever return.

Emily had a great summer off of school. Well, at least as great a summer as she could have with still having to do homework every day (yes, I can be quite a pain). Actually, Emily was very proud that she finished her entire second grade math book before even starting second grade - and that she completed over 500 workbook pages during the summer. But mostly she had fun in a variety of camps - including the Crab Cove Camp (Alameda Parks And Rec), Zoo Camp (Oakland Zoo), Girl Scout Camp (I think!), and Do-It-Yourself Camp (Rotating camp through the houses of her Brownie troop). Most impressively this summer, Emily learned to ride a bike without training wheels (see the movie page), and took golf lessons - and her swing is looking very good. Emily just turned 7 and is very much enjoying her second grade class, she is also taking Art classes (MonArt program), continuing her piano lessons (another recital in December) and continues to be a voracious reader and an outstanding speller.

Matthew had a rough time this summer - as we finally subjected him to the concept of school. Sadly we could only get him in school two times per week, and he never did get the rhythm - so he spent the summer hating school days (although once he was in school, he was fine). Fortunately, in September he was able to get a full time slot and things are much better. Matthew's main focus this summer has been to play with Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder as much as humanly possible. Our main focus for Matthew has been: (a) transition from tricycle to bicycle with training wheels; (b) become potty trained; and (c) stop having bottles. (a) is done, (b) is halfway there and, well, ummm... he has had as much success with (c) as I have had with meditation. Matthew enjoys lifting weights (no, we don't really let him do this - but he can bench press 15 pounds (e.g. 1/2 his body weight) and leg press 130 (4x body weight). He still likes golf, but is starting to enjoy other sports - especially ones that have numbers on their uniforms - as he is really into numbers right now (and is on the verge of counting to 100). He is also starting to read a little bit - which is great fun.

Another big change for us this summer is that Mimmie has gone back to Sweden after being with us for about a year. It was great fun having here with us and we look forward to visiting her at some future point). Now that she is gone, our first project was to paint the "nanny room" (we did it ourselves - without ruining the carpet!) and convert it into the "guest room". So, if you ever find yourself in Alameda, needing a room for the night, you know where to go. Also, for the first time in seven years, we are without full time child care (ok, we have two full time parents, so it should be pretty doable - yes, we know). Actually, so far it is working out well, although we know that jobs - should we ever find them - will make things significantly more difficult.

This year we decided to do a "local vacation" this year - and it worked out very well. After all, if this is the destination of so many tourists - why are we going elsewhere? And, of course, there is the tremendous convenience of it all. We visited the San Francisco Exploratorium, The Bay Area Discovery Museum (they had a special exhibit on "Arthur") and Paramount's Great America (where I went on one too many rides with Emily). All worked out wonderfully and are highly recommended.

Hope that you all had a great summer!

On Friday, March 8th, NextCard officially split from NextBank. Reading the press release, you will see that 90% of the jobs were eliminated. However, that number is somewhat misleading, as many of the people whose jobs were eliminted were hired by a contracting firm to continue services to the FDIC (who is running NextBank) for the next three months. However, make no mistake, the cuts were deep. My department, which represented the core software for the company was reduced to 5 people (from the original 20), and with that cut, my position was no longer needed. NextCard will continue to operate (there are sufficient funds for at least three months), probably investigating new business ideas and how to become cash-flow positive.

I am enjoying the time off, continuing to learn new technology (focus on Web Services, WebLogic, and J2EE development). I have also (please sit down) joined a gym, and am even reading about meditation and Buddhism (you know the grow in knowledge, body, wisdom kinda thing). I am not actively pursuing jobs at this point in time, but if one lands in my lap, I won't push it aside. In another surprising move, I am NOT dedicating my life to golf, although I do hope to play about once a week on a social basis - spending the rest of the time in the aforementioned projects. So, in general, life is great and the break is good - although I must say that experiencing an "involuntary termination" for the time ever was a bit unusual.

On Thursday, February 7th, we were notified that the FDIC had taken receivership of NextBank. For those of you unfamiliar with the NextCard structure, here is a brief history (as far as I understand it). In the beginning there was NextCard (along with the Void), acquiring credit card customers online. These "customer accounts" would be sold to a partner bank for handling all the details that go with being credit card accounts. Some time later, NextCard created a subsidiary, NextBank which would handle the banking details. NextBank issues CDs and owns the actual accounts that are created at the NextCard site (this is a slight simplification, but gives you the gist). The FDIC, citing concerns about our on-going operations, has taken over NextBank.

On Friday, February 8th, NextCard closed down all credit card acquisition operations. Thus, no one can get a NextCard credit card any longer (hey, they may become collector's items). So, what is going on now? Several answers to that question:

1. It appears that most of the executive energy is going into sorting out NextCard assets from NextBank assets. Remember, the FDIC owns NextBank, the shareholders still own NextCard. In addition, NextBank needs some operational help from NextCard in order to continue running while the FDIC looks to sell NextBank and the credit card accounts to some other bank (in order to pay off the insured CDs). NextCard will be able to charge some $$ for those services, but probably not enough to keep everyone employed (even at the recently reduced levels).

2. After the split between NextCard and NextBank is effected, the NextCard board of directors may have an important decision to make. If there is any cash in NextCard, should it be returned to the shareholders and the company shut down, or should the cash be used to find a buyer that will pay more for NextCard assets. If the cash will be used to fund a search for a buyer, there are still likely to be more layoffs.

3. From the employee perspective, there is actually very little to do. There are no systems to maintain, no work to be done. Most everyone is either looking for a job or honing their skills or doing whatever comes to mind. Certainly an unusual atmosphere, made even stranger by the presence of the FDIC (more FDIC people than NextCard people, at least where I sit).

To those wondering about the stock, it last traded on Thursday Feb 7th and is halted until NextCard provides more information to Nasdaq. After hours trading on Friday brought it down from $0.14 to about $0.05 although after-market trading is notoriously volatile.

How does this compare to 2Bridge? From my perspective, things are very different. At 2Bridge, we were being lied to about the future of the company, so two camps evolved - the "believers" and the "cynics" (or the "confused" and the "realists" - take your pick). There was an insane CEO who would periodically stir up insanity around him and contradictions abounded. At NextCard, there is much more of a sense of "we are all in this together" and we all believe that there isn't much hope, but "you never know". Much calmer, more helpful for the employees, more accepting of our eventual fate.

So, for now, we just take it one day at a time and consider each of those days a chance to learn a little more, help the company if possible, and look at it as one day of a severance package that we will never get. We all liked the company and are sad to see it come to this end, but I don't think that anyone has any regrets.

To be continued....

PayPal is really neat (or as one of the younger folks at work said - "It's dope dude". Sign up at PayPal and then come back here and try donating some money! (hey, I might be out of a job soon)

I realize that there is no way that this story is of interest to anyone, but hey, a website gives me the power to publish to the thousands, I must take advantage of it. (And yes, I realize that the thousands of hits I get each day are merely the result of search engines updating their tables, so it is to the search engines that I dedicate this story).

As you may know, I have discovered the secret to getting to meetings on time. It is the Timex/Microsoft DataLink watch. With this watch, I can easily download my Outlook schedule to my watch. Then, no matter where I am, my watch will beep for upcoming appointments and display the information about the meeting in a little scrolling marquee on the watch display. The download also sets the watch time to the computer time (which itself is set to the atomic clocks, thus my watch is usually never more than 1/10 of second off, which is accurate enough for most business purposes). This watch is a truly amazing product. Which brings us to our story.

After years of enjoying my Timex DataLink watch, one morning it stopped working. I suspected that the battery was dead, but rather than being patient and taking it to a jeweler, I thought I would open it up and have a look. Don't know what I was expecting to find, but what I did discover was that I could not close it again. Well, this watch had a scratched face and a broken strap, so I thought, no need to worry about a new battery, let's just get a new watch (I know that sounds like a bit of an indulgence for me, but not only do I completely rely on the watch's capabilities, but I had gotten many years of service from it).

So, I search the web and surprisingly find nothing. So I call Timex. They don't make the watch any longer. I call an online distributor who confirms that Timex stopped selling them and, in their opinion, this was the worst decision Timex could make - as this distributor sold 100 a week. Marketing note: Timex blew it by trying to sell this watch at retail locations like Mervyn's - only geeks buy this watch and geeks only shop online - no wonder the online distributor did so well. The distributor recommends the Casio PCUnite (but of course, they are out of stock). I search around the web and find aother distributor. This time I call them to make sure they are in stock. During this conversation, a co-worker overheard me talking about the PCUnite watch - and amazingly enough, he has one that he doesn't use. For each of us, it is the first time we have met anyone else that uses a watch that connects to Outlook. I purchase his for $50, but after using it for a few days, I decide that I really need the features of the Timex.

Since I can't buy a new one and I don't like the replacement, looks like I had better try to get it fixed. So, I go to an Alameda jeweler to get a new battery. He gives me a new battery, but can't get the watch to reset. But at least he gives me the battery for free. I take it home, play with it a little and sure enough, I get the watch to reset. Things are looking good, but not great as I still can't get the back of the watch securely attached. So, the next day I take it to an SF jeweler to get the back attached and a new strap. He warns me that he might break the watch, but he will try. Several trying minutes later he emerges, watch securely attached in one piece. Hooray! Unfortunately, the watch straps are $75 - but fortunately none of them fit - and guess what - no charge for the work. So now, things are looking great. The watch is back together, seems to be working, and everything was free.

But my joy was short-lived. I noticed that I couldn't hear any of the alarms or alerts. So, the next day I called Timex. They told me that if the back of the watch is not rotated to the correct position, the alarm won't sound. They also tell me that the reason I can't close the watch is that a jeweler's press is required. So, that night, I test this theory by opening the watch, rotating the back - and sure enough it beeps again. Now, all I have to do is close the cover. Since I don't have a jeweler's press, I try to make do with a wrench and pliers. I wrap the watch securely and press - in a few seconds I hear a satisfying click. I unwrap the watch, expecting to find it all clicked into place, ready to go. However, what I actually find is that I have completely shattered the face! The watch is no longer fixable.

Can't buy a new one, can't fix the old one, can't find a replacement. Only option left is to brave the waters of eBay. About $75 and two weeks later a brand new watch arrives. In the box and everything. Oh, just one problem. THE BATTERY IS DEAD!! But this time I have learned my lesson. Straight to the jewelers and $5 later I have a working watch. Sure, the strap is a little loose (and can't be adjusted), so if I can't make the watch smaller, I have only one choice - gotta make my wrist bigger - thus I spend lots of time these days working on exercises to strengthen my wrist and grip.

Whew! Not sure which is worse, living through the ordeal or writing about it (I know that you are thinking that the biggest ordeal is reading about it)!

But first, a few words from our sponsor. HEY SPONSOR WHERE ARE YOU?! So, we lost our sponsor last year in the .com crash - which is why this letter is no longer the "Webvan.com Berger-Anderson-Landis Year in Review Letter". OK, so first a few words from the author to explain the resurrection of the yearly letter. Once we put together our first web site, we figured why write an annual letter, people can just come to the web site and they will read what is going on, no need to push information at them. Well, this idea turned out to be as successful as the "Hey, why charge people for our online services, they will come to our site and we can make money off advertising to them". Thus, I realized it was time for a change and we have brought back the annual report. Of course, we won't actually send it to anyone, but we did post it here on our web site and sent you an email with a pointer to it.

And now, more words from our author...

Work Life

Richard began the year in a dream job - being "Systems Guy" for a software company. He started at 2Bridge in September 1999 as VP Engineering, but changed to Systems Guy in June 2000. What, you may ask, is a Systems Guy? Well, the job was basically to build web-based tools to automate all types of processes that occur within companies. He did vacation tracking, expense report approval, time card systems, interview candidate tracking systems and many others. All web based, with real time status and tracking. It was way fun. But of course, 2Bridge was a company run by a lunatic and its end in July 2001 was inevitable and it has since disappeared from the face of the earth (along with our $2000 in Cafeteria Plan savings).

While this was going on, Molly continued her independent consulting work ("Anderson Management Consulting" and no, we have not yet received any threatening letters from Andersen Consulting). Although her projects at Kaiser Permanente ended in January, she has been steadily working on a new e-business book being written by her former employee Deloitte Consulting. Molly has been meeting, outlining, writing, researching, and then meeting some more over the past 12 months to help put together this book. The good news is that the book concept has been accepted for eventual publication by Harvard Business School Press. The better news is that the book isn't done yet assuring us of several months more of income.

After the demise of 2Bridge (Richard actually left in May) and a little golf (finally breaking 80), Richard returned to work as the VP, Application Development at NextCard, an internet credit card vendor (you have probably all seen the ads). To Richard's great surprise, he loves this job. Instead of working in a software company, where he is responsible for product strategy, product management, and product development, Richard is able to focus on the technology and not feel that he is solely responsible for the company's success or failure. Unfortunately, as we are writing this, NextCard is in the process of being sold, so the future here is rather uncertain.

Emily Catherine Landis

Emily turned six in September 2001 and is now in first grade at Bay Farm School (which did very well in the recent California rankings). On Tuesdays, Emily has piano lessons and has already been in two piano recitals. It is truly amazing to watch her gracefully play piano with two hands in a way that we never could (e.g. when she plays she can actually make music, rather than noise). On Thursdays, she has gymnastics and has been making wonderful progress toward a real cartwheel (yet another activity that I was not able to master). And this past year, her Daisy troop has become a Brownie troop (requiring cookie sales), but fortunately for you gentle reader, we have finished selling and this update is not a hidden solicitation for Thin Mints. Emily is already an enthusiastic reader, in fact, her bed is usually so full of books, I can't tell if I am putting her to sleep or shelving her into a bookcase. Emily also enjoys playing chess, doing daily situps with dad (she does 25+ every night) and most of all, drawing (yes, we are skipping a bunch of other things that she enjoys doing, but I am sure all parents already know what those are). Finally, Emily is a fantastic older sister and a tremendous help in taking care of Matthew - for this we are truly grateful.

Matthew David Landis

Whereas Emily is a very sensitive, creative young girl, Matthew far more resembles a superball. You remember those balls that bounce crazily off walls zooming and careening out of control. That would be Matthew. At 2.5 years old, he has the athletic ability of five year old (which is about the same as a 41 year old), is immensely strong, and neither tires nor gets injured. As soon as we can locate the real father, we will let you all know. Actually, it is clear that Matthew has inherited one thing from Richard and that is his obsessiveness with working on something until it is fixed/solved/done. His current obsession is Thomas The Tank Engine and he can play trains for hours at a time (mostly moving around in a squatting position, which may be why he has huge thigh muscles). Matthew also enjoys playing computer games (Jump Start series) and being pummeled in any number of ways. Basically if Matthew is slamming into something, then he is happy (be it a wall, a chair, a couch, the bed, anything). He is also fairly talkative and will launch into long recitations of things that have occurred (e.g. Thomas got stuck in snow and Terence had to get Annie and Clarabel out and then go back and pull Thomas out from snow.... (and yes, there is no punctuation when Matthew speaks).

Travel

Hawaii:

It was 11 days in Paradise! We celebrated Molly's mom's 60th birthday by taking her on a trip to Maui (her first visit to Hawaii). We brought the whole crew, Molly and I, Emily and Matthew, Betty and even Carmen came along for the ride (and to help out with the kids). We stayed in the Wailea Ekahi Village condos in Wailea right next to Keweakapu Beach - a beach with the softest sand you have ever felt - it was actually akin to talcum powder. Of course the kids loved the beach and the adults even tried their hand at boogie boarding and snorkeling in the crystal clear waters. Even more amazing, at least to someone who grew up on the East Coast, is that you can walk into the water and all you feel is soft sand, no 20 foot band of shells and rocks to have to walk through. Water temperature was just a little bit cooler than the "bathtub" water of the Carribean. Emily enjoyed playing with her "noodle" (a funny looking floatation device) while Matthew learned how to dog paddle in a record setting 10 minutes (with the aid of a backpack-like floatation device).

In addition to the beach and the pools of the condo we managed a few fun outings - the most memorable was the infamous "Drive to Hana". And yes folks, you want to make the drive, for it is not the town of Hana that is worth seeing, but rather the sites along the way - a true example of "the journey is the adventure". Beautiful waterfalls, dense tropical forest/flora, sugar cane/pineapple plantations, and a truly remarkable black sand beach were some of the many highlights of this drive. We also toured the nearby shore in a glass-bottom boat, and drove to the Iao Needle - for some starkly dramatic scenery. And then there were the lovely dinners and hotels we visited, far too numerous to mention, but all delightful.

Southern California:

There are definitely advantages to visiting theme parks at the height of a national anthrax scare - they are much less crowded than usual. When we were planning our Disneyland trip, I recalled Dave Barry's advice - "If you want to avoid crowds at Disneyland, the best time to go is October...1964!". However, we were very pleasantly surprised at how reasonable the crowds were at all the attractions we visited. Some of the highlights are listed below - and if anyone is interested in joining us next October, just drop us a line - we would welcome the company.

Legoland - Perfect for the under-8 crowd. The things they build out of Legos continue to impress and this year, the ProjectX roller coaster was open. Dad was too scared to go on, but Emily and Mimmie had a great time. Emily is really a roller coaster champ. Matthew loved the train rides (as he loves anything even remotely related to trains) and Emily had her first drive in the "big kid" cars - sadly Matthew was too young for the "little kid" cars, which he would have loved.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park - Comprises about 2000 acres of open space for many types of animals - and a truly impressive breeding program (89 Southern White Rhinos since the program began and several species have been saved from extinction). The monorail tour was very informative and the park offers some really interesting-sounding hikes (they sound interesting, but we didn't have the time to check them out).

Gadgets

Although we are not particularly gadget oriented, Richard likes to think that he is on the leading edge of home efficiency and important trends. Unfortunately, last year's big trend (Webvan for grocery shopping) is no longer available (we loved Webvan), and it seems that the world has finally caught up to the merits of digital photography, so we must look elsewhere for new vision. Four items top my list:

1. Wireless home networking - Assuming that you are in the 21st century and have one broadband connection to your home (dialup modem users don't need to read this), it is time to share that connection among your multiple computers (you do have more than one computer don't you?). We have had the home wireless network connecting our 4-5 computers and it is wonderful. Everyone can share the cable modem, transfer files, play games - and there are no wires. No real problems either - and we don't even have a router or a wireless access point - just peer-to-peer. Total cost $90 per computer.

2. Digital Video Camera - OK, you have finally make the move to digital photos (right?) and now it is just about time to move to storing your movies on disk. Unfortunately, you need a digital movie camera ($800), a "FireWire" (IEEE 1394) card, a writeable DVD, and some software (oh, and a reasonably capacious computer). We haven't made the switch yet, but it is coming. And, shortly thereafter, we begin the transfer of all our video tapes to DVD (watchable on any computer, portable on the laptop, and virtually Matthew-proof (case in point, Matthew destroyed every single cassette tape that we owned). Also, webcams are kinda cool and a cheap (e.g. less than $100 and only requires a USB port) way to create digital movies (although you are tethered to the computer, so you can't film too much). By the way, webcams can also act as an intrusion detector (of course they can only watch the room the computer is in, and likely a thief would be there to steal the computer).

3. Flat panel monitor - This one is in the works, so we really shouldn't forecast it as a trend, but here goes. Our new machine (slated to arrive in about a week) will have our first flat screen. We did this for very practical reasons, the desk is very narrow and with the current 17" monitor, the kids sit about an inch from the screen, which just doesn't seem right. What Richard likes best is the reduced energy consumption and even he can appreciate that it looks pretty cool.

4. PayPal - Can you imagine money transfer with the simplicity of email? It is here today in the form of PayPal. Sign up for free at PayPal.com and then go to our website and send us some money (you know, just as a test - some small trifling amount would be fine - you know, $5000, just as a test of course :-). Paypal is all the rage for auction sites like eBay and as one of the first users of electronic payments (Richard was using CheckFree in the late eighties), this seems like the way to go.

Sentimental End Thought...

Hmmmmm.... this is hard for a guy with no emotions. To all of our friends, we love you and miss you even if we are out of touch. To everyone else - what are you doing reading this? Unless you are a search engine robot - which, according to my stats is the most common visitor to this site.

This is just my personal view, so take it with a grain of salt. It is true that NextCard must indeed be sold. However, most of the news stories are dramatic distortions of the truth - which is really annoying to me. There seems to be the desire to punish any company that appears to have benefitted from the dot-com boom. Sure, the NextCard pop-up ads are annoying, but that is no reason to distort the truth.

So, what did happen at NextCard. In general, the explanation is pretty simple. We classified certain losses as being due to fraud, rather than bad credit. The difference between NextCard and traditional credit cards is that at NextCard, everything is done online. Thus, there is the higher potential for fraud. In particular, when accounts are first set up through the mail, there is plenty of back and forth for the bank to verify who you are and where you live and what your phone number is before you can start charging. Over the internet, you can get approved instantly. So, we believe that if you charge up a big bill and then don't ever make your first payment you were probably trying to cheat us (i.e. you are a fraud risk). So, we classify those as fraud, rather than as credit losses.

However, the OCC (the regulatory agency) didn't agree with our classification. They don't seem to get the difference that the internet makes (sure they are a government agency and we know time moves a little differently for them). Thus, they decided that we needed to reclassify all the fraud losses as credit losses. This increase meant that we no longer had sufficient capital - as the required loss reserve jumped dramatically and suddenly due to this ruling. This accounted for most of the change in business practices - e.g. the halt to secured credit cards - which the OCC felt were too risky (think about that for a second - how can a secured credit card be a risk to the bank - the consumer deposits all the money in the bank - there is absolutely ZERO risk - but the OCC makes the rules).

Although NextCard can appeal these rulings, it has become clear to me that the OCC just doesn't feel comfortable with a small, not-yet-profitable, credit card company who is trying be quick and innovative (and may not have everything perfectly documented). Thus, our only real option is to sell.

Another angle that is being played up in the press is that NextCard is a sub-prime lender. The company has always targetted prime customers (and believes that the demographics on the web support this). And prime customers generate pretty much all the balance transfers that drive our profits. However, it looks like the combination of the sub-prime story and revenge upon the dot-com profiteers became too much to resist for the journalists.

Anyway, although I have only been at the company for two months, I think we have some pretty neat systems and am hopeful that we will continue to operate at some bigger bank in the future (the company must be sold in 45 days). In the meantime, continue to use your credit cards, but please, I repeat please, pay them off every month - the interest charges and fees are truly staggering.

Disneyland - The classic. Last year, we thought the drive up from Oceanside might be too time consuming, but with the carpool lane, we zipped along just fine. And, with Disney's FastPass, we got to go on all the major rides in one day (with only a few meltdowns from the kids). In case you haven't heard, the FastPass works as follows. You go up to the ride, and instead of getting in line, you get a ticket that grants you admission in a one-hour window, starting in about 45 minutes. So, for example, if you went to Indiana Jones at 10:00, you would get a ticket that allows you to come back between 10:45 and 11:45 and get in the FastPass line. Of course, the FastPass line only takes 5 minutes, so this is a great thing. And, startlingly enough, it's free. What's the catch? Glad you asked. Turns out that you can only have one FastPass "active" at a time. So the question is what to do while you are waiting for those 45 minutes (you can't use the time to collect another FastPass - which would be the obvious strategy). You can try to wait on a different line (e.g. a little kids ride with a short line), but what Disney obviously wants you to do is to spend those 45 minutes in one of the zillions of stores that are always conveniently located next to the FastPass dispensers. Of course, knowledge of this strategy did not seem to diminish its effectiveness.

SeaWorld - Listen, when they tell you about the "Soak Zone" you should understand that you really will get soaked. This was news to Mimmie who thought that it might be "fun" to sit up close. Ten minutes later, dripping wet, she moved to higher ground. However, Emily was very sad because she didn't get to sit in the Soak Zone in our first exhibit. In our second exhibit, we thought we were sitting well out of the soak zone (although not quite so high up as before) - and along came a big tail slam from a killer whale and splashed we were. This time, Emily was very sad because she did get soaked. Ah, the pleasures of childhood - freedom from constraints of consistency.

In addition to our "theme park tour" we also had some relaxing days by the pool (which, unfortunately, was unheated this year) and the beach (which, unfortunately from Dad's perspective, was full of sand this year (again!)). Oceanside, our location is still very conveniently located, although very much of a transitional military town - I have never seen as many uniforms as I did in their local dry cleaners. But it certainly met our needs and the condo that we stayed in was very nice, with some lovely views. For reasons I can't explain (being neither a deity nor a meteorologist) the weather was somewhat chilly (in the 70s, not 80s) - which all seemed very warm to Mimmie - but then again, she is from Sweden.

This year, Emily's birthday was celebrated at Fairyland in Oakland, which is a great place. Provided that you are under 7 of course. Emily was crowned as a special birthday girl and given a magic key to Fairyland - her favorite part. The party was attended by Emily's 1st grade buddies and all had a wonderful time. The preferred present this year appeared to be books - as is aptly demonstrated in the accompanying photo.

Those of you who are long time visitors to this website will recall a similar article two years ago - in fact, it was the last new article to our web site for a long long time (due to the pressures of the job). However, with our new XML based website architecture, I hope to be able to continue adding new information even though I have a new job.

After many many years in the software industry, I am shifting gears a little bit to work in what I consider applied technology. I am excited about being able to provide technology that people will be using in-house, technology that is critical to NextCard's business. Although working in the financial sector is new, the job of managing Java developers is pretty much the same as my role at 2Bridge. While I did strongly consider the idea of becoming an software developer, I am happier with the management role that I am about to take on - especially since there are many good developers out there looking for work.

For those of you who are not familiar with NextCard, we are the leading provider of credit cards on the Internet (that's right, we don't kill trees to send you junk mail on a daily basis - although we do clutter up your screen with many banner impressions). Online applications are clearly the way to go - instant approval (presuming our systems approve you) and even photo cards (free with balance transfer, just upload your jpg). Some nice shopping tools as well. But, even though I have joined the credit card industry, I will still stress the obvious - using credit cards for your spending is great (much better than untraceable cash) but you MUST, I repeat MUST, pay off the balance every month (don't worry NextCard will still make money).

Or, if you want more information, check out NextCard.

It was 11 days in Paradise! We celebrated Molly's mom's 60th birthday by taking her on a trip to Maui (her first visit to Hawaii). We brought the whole crew, Molly and I, Emily and Matthew, Betty and even Carmen came along for the ride (and to help out with the kids). We stayed in the Wailea Ekahi Village condos in Wailea right next to Keweakapu Beach - a beach with the softest sand you have ever felt - it was actually akin to talcum powder. Of course the kids loved the beach and the adults even tried their hand at boogie boarding and snorkeling in the crystal clear waters. Even more amazing, at least to someone who grew up on the East Coast, is that you can walk into the water and all you feel is soft sand, no 20 foot band of shells and rocks to have to walk through. Water temperature was just a little bit cooler than the "bathtub" water of the Carribean. The several pools at the condo complex were about the same temperature, a little chilly when you entered, then just right. Emily enjoyed playing with her "noodle" (a funny looking floatation device) while Matthew learned how to dog paddle in a record setting 10 minutes (with the aid of a backlike floatation device).

Of course, we have several hundred photos, all of which are available on ofoto - if you would like to see them, just drop us a line.

Alameda certainly knows how to put on a Fourth of July parade. In an era of spectacle filled but emotionally empty celebrations, the Alameda parade is a throwback to the days of real communities. Groups of all types (about 160) participate in the parade - my favorite this year being the sanitation workers who did a wonderfully choreographed dance routine. But the most enjoyable aspect is how so many of the spectators know so many of the participants (OK that is just my opinion - Emily liked the free candy that was distributed). When everyone is saying hello to their friends and neighbors in the parade, then you realize what a small town feeling Alameda provides.

After many months of lingering, the end came pretty much as expected. Although the CEO had said only one week earlier that "the money is in escrow" that statement turned out to be just one more in a long series of lies and misrepresentations. With only one new customer in the last three quarters and revenues that continued to slide while employee resignations continued to rise, it was an inevitable end.

As of Monday (25 June 2001), all of the offices have closed and Sand Hill Bank (as the unfortunate holder of some 5-6M in 2Bridge debt) now owns the assets of the company. The CEO claims that "the game is not over", but what that means is anyone's guess.

While it is sad to watch any company die, it is hard to think of a company more deserving of its fate than 2Bridge. For me, it reiterates a lesson I learned long ago - the leadership skills of the CEO are the biggest factor in determining whether a company is successful or goes out of business.

Yes Virginia, this really is a completely rearchitected web site and I thought I would take a moment to explain why I did this - in case anyone was curious. The basic idea is that I wanted to make the site easier to update. And then, when I thought about it for a while, I realized that the information in any website should have more structure than just simple text. This led me to choose XML (eXtensible Markup Language) to represent the structure of all the information on the website and then use XSLT (eXtensible Sytle Language: Transformations) to process that XML into various HTML pages that present different views of the data. For example, on the home page only recent information is shown, whereas on the photos page only photo articles are shown (but both recent and non-recent). In addition, we utilize CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to fine tune the formatting, a little JavaScript and Dynamic HTML for interaction and of course, an intro written in Flash by the world's least visual human being (me).

Updating the site is now a matter of adding information to the XML structure (using a freeware XML editor) running an XSLT processor to convert that XML into the various HTML pages that constitute the site and then FTP'ing the newly created pages to our web site.

There are other ways to provide multiple views of data - the simplest being to store all the information in a database and then dynamically construct the pages with that information. However, my ISP (@Home) doesn't allow database access and besides, I do believe that the right way to store structured information is through XML.

In fact, I want to leave you with one thought. XML is the only way to store any information. Unstructured information should eventually vanish from the earth (along with paper - yes, including paper money).

As you may have noticed, we have recently added movies to our web site (see the "Movies" tab at the top of the screen). This is actually just the beginning of our experiment into digital movies and since this appears to be an interesting topic to many, I will outline the overall plan and some of the current issues.

First Step - Getting a Digital Video Camera This is a pretty safe first step. Our old VHS videocam was about 7 years old, bulky, heavy, and of course, produced low quality VHS tapes that won't stand the test of time (due to both the nature of video tape and the presence of the Matthew - the tape unspooler). So, for Molly's birthday, we got the Sony DCR-PC9 (since replaced by the DCR-PC101) - although it listed for $1299, we found it for $949 at dbuys.com.

So far, we have been very happy with this video camera - the size (small) is wonderful and it is a marvel of packaging. In addition, the quality of the video is noticeably superior. The recorded movies are stored on miniDV tapes.

Second Step - Getting Video to a Useful Place That is to say, a PC. For yes, you read correctly above - the movies are stored on miniDV tapes - which really aren't much different than any other tape. But the key thing is that the camera has a digital output port (known as iLink, or FireWire, or IEEE 1394). But, to use this, you must purchase a $30 card for your computer that will provide you with one or more 1394 ports. Now, you can easily connect the digital camera to the computer and transfer the movies from the miniDV tape to the hard drive. This works just fine out our computer (1.8GHz P4) - we can capture the movies in real time and editing is fairly straightforward (currently we simply trim the video clip to an appropriate duration).

Third step - Dealing with Formats - Saving to the Web After we have the clip we usually save it two formats - MPEG2 for viewing on the computer and WMV for viewing on the web. The difference is the quality and size. Uncompressed analog video is 27MB/sec - that's right, 27 megabytes per second of video - e.g. a 60 minute video takes up almost 100 GB of space! Digital video is about 5MB/second, and MPEG2 is about 0.4MB/second. But that is still a lot - and far too big to deal with over most internet connections (0.4MB would require a 3.2 Mbit connection, about 2-3x most DSL/cable modem speed - and dialups - fuggetabboutit!). The WMV format that we use seems like the right compromise - the quality is fairly poor - but viewable - and the size is about 50x smaller than MPEG2, or about 10-20k/second, so the movies we have are between 100-600K.

Fourth Step - Saving to DVD While it is nice to have movies in digital format - and very much in line with the theory that "Analog Must Die" - it doesn't resolve the original problem of "tape". But the next step is very close to reality - namely, the recordable DVD. The concept is simple, transfer the video to the computer, edit out what you don't want, write it to a DVD - and you have the perfect solution. Of course, there is a problem - there is no unified standard for DVD writing. A good reference site is here and the basic situation is that there are two camps: (1 - "The Dash") DVD-R, DVD-RW and (2 - "The Plus") DVD+R, DVD+RW. The "Dash" standard has a bit more compatibility (especially with older DVD players), the "Plus" standard has some newer capabilities but has slightly less compatibility. Of course, nothing works with our ancient DVD player!

So, the big question is what type of DVD writer to get. You have to choose either the "dash" or the "plus" approach. The main thing is to get one that works with your DVD and the DVDs of your relatives to whom you want to send videos. Eventually, the standards will coalesce and be interoperable - but no telling when. In addition, writable DVD drives are about $400 now - and of course that price will drop too as this concept becomes more popular (Phillips (a "plus" vendor) has been heavily advertising this capability). For now, we are holding off, but expect a purchase some time in the summer/fall.

Fifth Step - Finally - What About Old VHS Tapes? Steps 1-4 solve the problem for all new video - but how to transfer the old stuff. Remember, it won't look so great because VHS simply doesn't look as good as digital video, but hey regular TV doesn't look as good at HDTV either. Well, you can pay about $40-$50/movie to an outside vendor to make a copy, or using the setup above, you can try to do it yourself. There is only one thing to watch for - how to get the video from your old VHS camera into the computer. While there are a number of reasonable devices (e.g. check out www.dazzle.com) we found that we were able to connect our old VHS video camera into our new digital camera (a friend suggested the idea) and go from there through the 1394 connection into the computer. Seemed to work just fine, although we didn't do much more than test it. We will be doing more of this once we solve the DVD writing issue mentioned above.

Just what nobody wanted - another web site from me. Here's the deal. This site is very limited in what it can do, because it is hosted by AT&T and basically, there is no programming allowed. Sure, we can have little scripts to expand/collapse and show pictures - but as many of you have noticed, these client-side scripts are pretty flakey and don't always work. Furthermore, there is no database acccess, no form submission, no e-commerce. Well, there is a neat little company (stress is on the "little", not the "neat") called WebAppCabaret that offers a powerful server development environment for only $5/month. I have built a few little applications that you can get to by clicking here. If you can think of an application that you always wanted to see on the Web, please let me know - and I will see what I can do.

Eventually we will get Molly's resume updated and online, but for now, all we have is Richard's. Click here to view it in HTML format (just basic HTML, nothing interesting). Downloadable Word version available here .

I know that you might have expected me to have thoroughly researched all the golf websites - but sadly I have not. The only site I have consistently visited is http://www.golfdigest.com , which has a nice handicap calculator. Instead of spending time visiting golf sites, I have been trying to play as much golf as possible, although it is generally only about 2x per week.

As you may know, I play at the Chuck Corica courses in Alameda ( http://www.ci.alameda.ca.us/golf/index.html ). That's right, there are TWO golf courses approximately 5 minutes from my house. Better yet, it is only $75 per month for unlimited golf Mon-Thursday. There is no better deal in town (or in any other town for that matter). The North course is a bit more interesting and is usually the preferred course. The South course is a little longer and sunnier (for those interested in achieving the perfect golf-tan).

I don't have any golf books or videos to recommend, but there is one audio tape - http://www.ronmann.com/zone.html - that has really helped me with the mental aspect of the game, it's a bit corny, but I recommend it.

I figured that we would be the last family in the US to purchase Tivo. After all, we don't have any TV shows that we can\'t live without - except for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - and that is on so often it is really impossible to miss. And, remarkably enough, I actually enjoy programming the VCR.

Well, Tivo turns out to be a big boon in an unexpected way - controlling children's television watching. In the past, we were held hostage by the TV schedule. If DragonTales is on at 5:00PM, then trying to do piano practice at 4:55 causes a near riot. And then television drags on and on and chores and homework are done when the children are tired.

But no longer. Tivo has changed all that. Now that we know that the shows are being safely recorded, we can easily make sure that all the homework and other must-dos are completed before television begins. And now that we have broken the daily cycle, TV watching has dropped from 2 hours/day to about 15 minutes. As the Visa commercial might go: Tivo Recorder - $199, Lifetime programming - $249, 87% reduction in television watching - priceless.

Some of the key benefits from Tivo include: (1) Season\'s Pass: Allows you to set up Tivo to record all instances of a particular show, even if it changes time slots; (2) Large capacity: Even the least expensive model can record 3x more than the usual video tape; (3) Automatic deletion of old shows - so you never run out of space for the newest recordings; (4) Ability to upgrade the disk to a larger size; (5) Extremely easy to use interface and (6) Works with satellite, cable, settop, even the basic antenna (in contrast, Microsoft Ultimate TV requires DirecTV satellite system).

As you may know, I love word games of all kinds, but my favorites are Anagrams and Crossword puzzles. Crossword puzzles are available at Yahoo!Games (see "Online Games at Yahoo" above) and a fun site for making anagrams can be found by clicking here . You can enter some text and it will generate many anagrams for you - lots of fun for those who like word games. Here is an anagram story for our family: One day, my Normally Nosed (Molly Anderson) wife asked me to watch our little Silly Maiden (Emily Landis) for a bit. She was asleep, so I paused to Regard Her Crib (Richard Berger) to make sure that all was well, but in the meantime, I didn't notice that our new little one had run off and was now Amidst The Lawn (Matthew Landis).

My favorite site for crossword puzzles is www.oneacross.com.

Contrary to popular belief, the puzzle about "the third word in the English language ending in -gry" is NOT a hoax. It is just a somewhat tricky puzzle. The statement of the problem is as follows: Think of words that end in -gry. Two of them are hungry and angry. There are three words in the English Language. What is the third word? It is a common word and, if you read carefully, you will see that I have already given you the answer.

The following puzzle is brand-new, in fact, as far as I can tell, I created it. There are three (and only three) common words in the English language that have a somewhat unusual property. If you take the word and split it in half, then each of the halves is a common English word and the two halves are anagrams of each other (and the two halves are different). One of the words is "noon". Both "no" and "on" are words and they are anagrams. Curious about the other two? One can be guessed, but the other is very tricky. Email me for the answers.

These may be the perfect vehicle for saving for your child's education. There are no income limits, you can contribute enough for college (up to $10K/year or the projected necessary amount, which is currently set at about $115K), all income and capital gains are tax-deferred until they are used for college - and then they are taxed at the child's rate. Even better, the new 2001 Tax Cut has a provision whereby the withdrawals will not be taxed at all! Furthermore, until the money is used for college, it remains under your control. California set up the ScholarShare program in 2000 and all of Matthew's college funds are in the ScholarShare program and any new money for Emily will also be going into ScholarShare (just as soon as we can find some new money :-) ).

ScholarShare - Overall description of California's ScholarShare program

http://www.savingforcollege.com - Describes section 529 plans in general

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