Day: August 7, 2008

And away we go – Day 1 housekeeping

Here it is, 8-8-08, an auspicious number in Chinese numerology. So get out there and play a lottery ticket as fast as you can. Tonight the place goes nuts at the Bird’s Nest – the gorgeous National Stadium – but not me. That’s a tough ticket and I’m laying low. I heard a rumor of a $20,000 scalp price being offered. Seems off the charts, but hey, what do I know?

The Games actually have already started. Some events are rolling along and I’m looking for a thumbtack to stick up the full page schedule that the New York Times published on Monday. I am at a serious disadvantage to my American comrades in that I don’t have any way to watch the Games in English on television (I know, ironic, fly to China to the Olympics, and then watch them on television). NBCOlympics.com – where we are advertising – has a Microsoft Silverlight enabled stream but guess what? IP block on non-USA traffic, so unless one of you geeks knows how to IP spoof from inside of Great Firewall, I am going to have to content myself with CCTV.

We’re also doing a sponsorship at the European Broadcast Union, but as my blogging colleague Carina told me yesterday, we can’t see it because we’re not inside of the EU. So, message to family – clear out some Tivo space and save me all the rowing, baseball, weightlifting, and track and field you can.

Other Lenovo bloggers in Beijing include Kevin Walker and Geri Kan. I’ll to get their blog addresses and show them some link love. Other Lenovo bloggers – don’t be shy. I’ll open up a blogroll and update it as additions come in.

Randomly:

  1. If you need tech support or any kind of assistance and you’re in Beijing. Ping me. I am on my US cell phone but also have a China number which I’ll disclose if you email me at david AT churbuck.com
  2. Starting Monday I’ll be stationed during the day on the Olympic Green at our Olympic Hospitality Center. If you’re on the Green, phone me, or find me online.
  3. I’ll be dumping photos into my Flickr stream http://www.flickr.com/photos/churbuck/ randomly
  4. Organizing a Lenovo-Ogilvy blogger meet-up on Sunday night, 7pm at the Bookworm in Sanlitun with Rohit Bhargava and Kaiser Kuo. Ping me, or tweet me if you’re coming.
  5. Looks like things are getting “interesting” in the city center with traffic restrictions due to the big Olympic banquet at the Hall of the People for the foreign dignitaries. So … I may not go mobile this afternoon and may do a photo/video walk around Haidian and a march up to the Summer Palace.
  6. Athletes – if you need help at the International iLounge, ask for Kevin Walker. Best time to seek help with posting problems, hardware, etc. is after 4 pm. Ping me for his cell phone and stand by for an email from us inviting you to lunch, a meetup on Sunday night, and other info and offers of assistance.
  7. There is a cool hashtag campaign being organized by Chinese twitter users – tag with #080808

More later.

From the mall under the Grand Hyatt, there were a few of these wild mannequin displays.

Malware Attack on Facebook – CSO Online – Security and Risk

Somehow this news from CSO Online that Facebook is a possible malware venue doesn’t surprise me. The number one annoyance in my experience is the incessant app downloads that ask a user to spam their friends to enable it for themselves. The app Lenovo is using during the Olympics from Citizen Sports is not malware, but, any perceptions by users that applications are risky is going to quickly injure confidence in the Facevok platform. IMHO.

“August 07, 2008 — CSO — The popular networking site Facebook is the target of a new attack that is spreading messages with malicious links.

Boston-based IT security and control firm Sophos is warning users about the problem. Sophos said Facebook user’s computer can be infected after they view a video that is infected with the bad code.

According to Sophos, messages left on Facebook users’ walls are urging members to view a video, which appears to be hosted on a Google website. But users who click on the link are taken to a site which urges them to download an executable file to watch the movie, according said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. The file downloads malicious code and displays an image of a court jester sticking his tongue out.”

Sophos: Facebook Malware Attack Puts Work Computers at Risk – CSO Online – Security and Risk.

It’s not a team without a uniform

Onanistic photography isn’t the easiest thing in the world to pull off, especially when you’re goofy from two Tsingtaos, jetlag, no dinner, and the most perspiration filled day in your life.

Beijing is crazy. Our hospitalty center is hopping, the Olympic Green was just stupendous. Tomorrow …. opening ceremonies. I’m not attending. Tickets are very, very hard to get. I intend to lay low and work with the bloggers and get some photos uploaded. Lunched with the good crew from Ogilvy, sat in a lot of cabs, tried to figure out the subway system, and did an utterly insane Crossfit workout-of-the-day which nearly did me in. Way too tired to be intelligent right now.

So, nice uniform, hey? I so called the jaunty visor a mile away. I especially like the cuffs on the sleeves — green on my right left arm for starboard. Red on the left right for port (If I walked backwards, thx for pointing P.Kim).

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