Danny Sullivan about Google. Here's the things he hates, here the ones he loves...

The articles are about a month old, but I just found them today.

I'm off to Marocco for the next couple of days. Have a nice Easter Weekend!!!

Here are some impressions of my last trip to Marocco in 2005:

After 819 days of total anonymity (well, more or less), I thought the launch of my new project might be a great opportunity to write a little about myself and my blog. So here is a short Question and Answer session:

Who the hack is Maximus?
Maximus was born in Klagenfurt / Austria and studied International Business Administration in Vienna at the WU Wien (1999 - 2005). There, he specialized in International Marketing and Management and wrote his master thesis about Tourism in Guatemala. I also have a CEMS Master in International Management which I did at the WU and the Bocconi University. For his entire CV please click here. Maximus is currently working and living in Madrid.

What is Maximus Design?
Maximus Design is NOT a company, it's just a synonym I use when I do creative stuff like this.

If you do creative stuff, why do you have such a lame logo?
This is an interim logo, a person that is more talented than me is currently working on a better logo.

What is this weblog about?
I have a strong interest in pretty everything that has to do with marketing, product management, the internet (especially the blogosphere), technology and business in general. Naturally, most articles will revolve around these topics. I also write about travelling, music, movies, food, sports and all the other things I like.

Do you think you are a future handsome millionaire?
Well, let's say I hope so ;-)


For any other questions, you can contact me at: mmadile [at] gmail.com

As a passionate backpacker myself, the story of Katharina and Peter who were murdered on their world trip in Bolivia affects me a lot. I'd like to offer my condolations to everyone involved and I sincerely hope that the resposible person gets caught soon.

Here is an interesting article about privacy in the web2.0 with all the Social Software around. It's also worth taking a look at the comments.

I personally also think that it is a bit scary how much information you can find about yourself in the internet, but I am also convinced that you can use this for your own good. I will specify this thought in a later post.

If you are a blogger and more importantly, passionate about reading blogs, some things occur that would not have happened otherwise. Some things are things are subtle and some of them more obvious.

For a start, if it weren't for blogs, I would not have known about Sierra's trip to Madrid and therefore would not have met up last night with him and some of the other guys from Knallgrau. It was a very pleasant evening and at this occasion I also found out about a restaurant I'll definitely come back to. It's called La Tragantúa, it's tiny, the food is very good and the service is outstanding by Madrid standards (a bit slow, but still outstanding). After all, it's a very recommendable restaurant, I think.

It is also because of reading blogs, that I discovered the band Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. I read about them ages ago and downloaded their CD "Shake the Sheets" on Itunes and loved it immediately. A bit later I bought their earlier album "Hearts of Oak" and was frankly a bit disappointed....then. In the meanwhile I find it great, even better than "Shake the Sheets", and just today I had to think "If it weren't for blogs, I maybe would never have heard of good old Ted Leo and his folks".

My passion for weblogs is also responsible for my latest project which is still in the works. However, I am pretty excited about it, so much that I practically do it for free. But i hope I will be paid in products then ;-)

Thanks to the relatively new services like Google Video or Youtube, I take the chance to finally publish the video I made after a legendary skitrip to Zell am See in winter 2004/2005. I would have enough material and ideas for some other videos, I just hope I will find the time and energy for realizing them soon.

maximus kitchen reloaded....

I haven't cooked in a while but this week i was quite busy preparing all kinds of stuff. I tried this recipe (Eggplant with mediterranean filling) but it did not quite work out as I wished. Today I made my first Yellow Chicken Curry; quite tasty and not as difficult as i imagined. However, I'll have to prepare more sauce the next time.

The dish that turned out best, was my adaption of this recipe (which is an adaption of another recipe). The good thing about Arroz con Pollo is that there are no rules. Everything is allowed.

The recipe:
Arroz con pollo with Chorizo and Red Pepper

Ingredients:

ca. 800 g of chicken breast
1 medium Chorizo (picante), cut in slices
1 medium onion, hoed
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 big Red Pepper, cut in slices
Thyme, Caraway, at discretion
2-3 leafs of laurel
Pepper, Salt
2 cans of tomato (400 g)
1,5 dl beer
1 dl consomme
140 g long grain rice
some olive oil

Preparation:

First, I fried the slices of chorizo in a pan for some minutes. After that I pored away the fat and put the chorizo on a plate. Then, I cut the chicken into small pieces, salted and peppered them and fried them in some olive oil for a while. Before the chicken is well done, I put it aside (on a plate like the chorizo), because afterwards it will boil for a while in the sauce anyway.
For the sauce I sweat the onion and the garlic with some caraway for a while. I extinguished them with the beer and then I added the tomatoes, the chorizo, the red peppers, the laurel leafs, the thyme and the consomme. The sauce needs to cook for a while, say about 20 min, and before it has reduced itself too much you put in the chicken and leave it for another five minutes. At that point, the dish is practically ready but it might need some salt and pepper still. The dish is served with cooked rice and some fresh parsley if you have. Done!