Tripod: Messages from the Staff

<body bgcolor="#CCFFFF" link="#FF0000" vlink="#990000" text="#000000" background="../../../tripod/letters/img/www_subdomain/bg.gif"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="TOP" align="CENTER" width="178">  <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="170"> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/logo-map.html"><img src="../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/logo.gif" alt="Tripod Map" border="0" height="58" width="170" ismap></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/universal2-map.html"><img src="../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/universal2.gif" alt="Member Services Map" width="170" height="59" border="0" ismap></a></td> </tr><tr><td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="170" bgcolor="#999966"> <img src="../../../img/www_subdomain/tripod_zones.gif" alt="tripod zones" width="81" height="17" border="0"></td> </tr><tr> <form 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value="/entertainment/">Entertainment</option> <option value="/fun_games/">Fun&Games;</option> <option value="/health_fitness/">Health/Fitness</option> <option value="/home_family/">Home/Family</option> <option value="/jobs_career/">Jobs/Career</option> <option value="/money_business/">Money/Business</option> <option value="/shopping/">Shopping</option> <option value="/society_culture/">Society/Culture</option> <option value="/sports/">Sports</option> <option value="/teens/">Teens</option> <option value="/travel/">Travel</option> <option value="/women/">Women</option> </select><input type="IMAGE" src="../../../img/www_subdomain/go.gif" width="24" height="20" border="0" align="ABSMIDDLE"> <img src="../../../img/www_subdomain/trans.gif" width="1" height="3" border="0"><br><img src="../../../img/www_subdomain/p_member_comm.gif" alt="pod member communities" width="146" height="11" border="0"><br> <a href="../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/pods-map.html"><img src="../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/pods.gif" alt="Pod Map" width="170" height="18" border="0" align="top" ismap></a></td> </form> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" width="170">  <tr><td></td></tr> <tr><td align="CENTER"> <center> <a href="#"></a> </center> </td></tr> <tr><td align="CENTER"> <center> <a href="#"></a> </center> </td></tr> </table> <center><form name="FreeShop"> <table border="0" width="120" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr valign="TOP"> <td align="center" valign="TOP" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="120"> <a href="/"> <img src="../../../freeshop/120x60/ads_subdomain/fs120101.gif" alt="FreeShop - Over 100 Free and Trial Offers!" width="120" height="38" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr valign="TOP"> <td align="center" valign="TOP" nowrap bgcolor="#ffffff" width="120"> <select name="FreeShop" onchange="self.parent.location.href = "http://www.tripod.com/bin/accipiter/tripod_adclick?CID=000023270000033200000000&overrideURL=" +this.options[this.selectedIndex].value;"> <option value="">FreeShop <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00013.htm">Computing <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00013.htm">-& Electronics <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00019.htm">Entertainment <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00022.htm">Travel <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00014.htm">Software <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00015.htm">Style & Image <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00016.htm">Personal <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00016.htm">-Finance <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00017.htm">Business <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00017.htm">-& Career <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00018.htm">Lifestyles <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00018.htm">-& Interest <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00020.htm">Hobbies <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00021.htm">Family <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00023.htm">Auto <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00024.htm">Home & Living <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00025.htm">Health, Fitness <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00025.htm">-& Sports <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00029.htm">Completely <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00029.htm">-FREE Offers </select></td> </tr> </table> </form> </center> </td> <td valign="TOP" width="100%"> <basefont size="3">   <p> <p> <img src="../../../tripod/letters/img/www_subdomain/letter.top.gif" alt="from tripod..with love.." width="401" height="124" border="0"> <br> <p><blockquote> <p> <b>From Bruce Ludemann, Tripod Controller:</b> <p> Greetings Tripod members and guests! My official title is Financial Controller of our ever-expanding Internet and media ventures, but most of the folks around here affectionately refer to me as "the Beancounter." I was the first "thirtysomething" to join our wacky little family, way back in November of 1995. <p> Many people have asked me what I do at Tripod, and how I go about doing it. That's an interesting question. My objective at the 'Pod is to efficiently use every dollar of investment capital. Most of the members of our family will tell you that I roam the halls of Tripod with my calculator, green eye-shade, and pocket protector, savagely wielding a rejection stamp for any and all purchase orders. During my early days here, this was mostly true -- except for the eye-shade. I look terrible in green. <p> It took me a while to learn about the Tripod family and the things we do. A perfect example of my initial challenges concerns my dealings with our core tech group of <a href="/">Ethan</a>, <a href="/">Jeff</a>, <a href="/">Jon</a>, and <a href="/">Nate</a>. These guys were particularly intimidating at first -- primarily because they could talk circles around me. Ethan would come at me with server issues, Jeff with database issues, Jon with software issues, and Nate with a crazy hodgepodge of all three. Of course, all of them had purchase orders in hand. <p> At first, ignorance was bliss -- but after I learned the ropes, ignorance didn't cut the mustard. While I knew we needed, in time, the items they requested, I needed a tactic that would slow them down and allow growth to occur at a reasonable pace. My "temporary brake" came to me as I was watching a "60 Minutes" repeat which delved into the notorious $600 toilet seat that the Federal government bought. The competitive bid! Armed with my new tactic, I began pushing away all POs until the guys came to me with proof of several reasonable bids. <p> I now take full credit for developing the most business-savvy tech crew in the industry. Now, when they come onto the "Beancounter's Court" they are fully prepared and I am helpless. CEO <a href="/">Bo</a> feels that the torture I put those guys through was worth it, but I can't help suspecting that I've created a four-headed monster. Only kidding: the tech group -- and the rest of the Tripod family -- are the best team players I know. So I made them learn a little fiscal responsibility. The long and the short of it is, that's my <b>job</b>. <p> <img src="../../../tripod/letters/img/www_subdomain/brucehead.jpg" align="right" width="100" height="106" border="0"> Enough of work. I'm actually writing you all from the Albany airport, where I am administering some nerve tonic -- I don't fly well. <a href="/">Randy</a> is the editor in charge of cracking the whip and making sure these letters get written every week -- and he wasn't about to let me get away for a vacation without taking my assigned turn at bat. But hey, that's <b>his</b> job. <p> I'm off to Seattle to go fly-fishing in the Snake River with my friend, Tripod member Stu Jensen. As you may have read in the <a href="../../../www_subdomain/planet/insider/index.html">Tripod Insider</a>, a bunch of us took fly-fishing lessons this Spring. Now comes the trial by fire -- I look forward to seeing just how much I really learned! The next time I write to you folks, I'll let you know how I did. Until then, come back often to visit our fast-growing community...and CHEERS!! <p> Kindest regards,<br> <a href="/">The Beancounter</a> <p> <hr width="330"> <p> <center>Read more "Letters from Tripod" in the <a href="../../../www_subdomain/tripod/letters/archive.html">archive</a>.</center> <p> <hr width="330"> </blockquote> <br> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </body>