October 2007 Archives

Another day and another fine example of mainstream journalism, this time from FOX News. FOX anchor Steve Doocy reported on his Fox & Friends show yesterday that FOX News has learned that an old FBI memo suggested Al Qaeda ties with the recent catastrophic wild fires in California.

The folks at News Hounds discuss FOX's rather pathetic attempt to scare public:

"According to Steve Doocy, they [FOX News] learned that "police officers in a hovering helicopter saw a guy starting one of these fires." An "ominous" FBI memo from early this past summer has "popped up," and "an Al Qaeda detaineee" has said that the next wave of terrorism could be a series of wildfires."

Via Consumerist / Oprah.com:

"This lady who appeared on Oprah lives the life of a big house in the burbs, new cars, six beautiful kids, and spending way beyond her husband's $5,000/month salary. Felice drops $400 a month on Starbucks, $240 on tans and manicures, and her children have no health insurance. When money runs dry, as it often does, she takes out cash advances. She handles the family finances and hides receipts from her husband underneath a baby blanket in a drawer."

Honestly, this woman represents pretty much everything that's wrong with America: Excessive spending on stupid shit, tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt and pretending that they're entitled to everything. You know, credit cards are fun - until the bills start coming. However, what's even more troubling about this particular case is the very sad example she sets for her kids.

Via PC World/Yahoo News:

"Timothy Scott Short, 33, is facing felony charges for possession of "document-making implements," in connection with the theft of a Digimarc printer used by the state of Missouri to manufacture driver's licenses. So what do you do when you have a stolen driver's license printer, but can't use the PC that goes with it? Enter Digimarc's tech support line. [...] Short was charged on Oct. 11, and is facing 10 years in prison and a US $250,000 fine, according to court filings."

Dumbass.

Ten Reasons Gay Marriage is Un-American by Bill Weinman. Wow, so funny and sarcastic at the same time. I found this gem on Digg yesterday and have been emailing it to all my friends and contacts since then.

Exciting news for Mac fans and Apple (AAPL) shareholders today: The company announced financial results for its fiscal 2007 fourth quarter ended September 29, 2007.

The New York Times has the totals:

"Apple reported fourth-quarter profit of $904 million, or $1.01 a share, up from $542 million, or 62 cents, in the quarter a year ago, an increase of 67 percent. Analysts had predicted profit of 85 cents a share. Sales rose to $6.22 billion, from $4.84 billion. Gross margin also surged, to 33.6 percent, from 29.2 percent a year ago. Apple said it sold 2.16 million Macintosh computers worldwide in the quarter, an increase of 400,000 over the previous record. It does not break out domestic and foreign sales."

Wow!

On today's (October 22, 2007) edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Glenn Beck stated the following:

"I think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today. There are a few people that hate America. But I don't think the Democrats are those. I think there are those posing as Democrats that are like that."

Beck's shocking comment came as forest fires ravaged parts of Southern California, leaving one person dead, four firefighters wounded, according to The New York Times. Man, what a douchebag! Could somebody get this asshole finally off the air, please?

[Via Media Matters]

This eBay user, tryork5ifp, is crazy. The feedback he left for other sellers is f'kin hilarious and full of gems such as "that night in Reno '87? God!— my left nostril still bleeds from to time to time," or "Seller sent package via JEHOVA'S WITNESS. Jerk Wouldn't leave till I converted!"

See here. You'll have to read it to believe.

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

The Onion does it again. How f'kin hilarious is that!?

Via New Scientist:

"Geoffrey Miller and his team at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, compared the earnings of lap dancers who were menstruating naturally with those of dancers taking the hormonal contraceptive pill. During the non-fertile periods of their menstrual cycle, both sets of dancers earned similar tips. But when naturally cycling lap dancers entered their fertile period they earned significantly more in tips than their co-workers on the pill."

Shocking? I don't know. I don't patronize strip clubs.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) stock hit a new record high today as the price per share climbed over $600 for the first time ever. But the question remains unanswered: how high can it go before the bubble bursts?

Via STLtoday.com:

"Then one man's sweet tooth got the better of him. He stole a doughnut. A single doughnut. Authorities called it strong-arm robbery. The "doughnut man," as the suspect is now known, faces five to 15 years in prison for his crime. And Farmington, a town of 14,000 people about 70 miles south of St. Louis, has been buzzing about it ever since."

Are you kidding me? 15 years for stealing a SINGLE doughnut!? Please.

As many of you know, Google offers a large selection online applications and services (such as Gmail, Google Reader, Google Calendar etc.) that could easily replace traditional desktop. That's a fact. However, when it comes to actual integration between them, we've got a problem.

Yes, you can set up your own customized tabs using iGoogle - but that just won't do.

Like each and every day, I visited Resident Advisor earlier today. A review of Pantha Du Prince's second LP This Bliss immediately caught my eye. I rarely read music reviews on RA (maybe once or twice in the past) but I had to check that one out just because I simply love the album. I gave up reading after the first paragraph. Not that there was anything wrong with the actual review... I just couldn't stand the dark background and the bright, almost fluorescent, typeface.

So the question is: Why do some web designers still use dark - especially black - backgrounds with bright fonts? Do they actually care how fucking hard it is to read content on such sites? I guess they don't. I can deal with it in some cases (presentations, portfolios, etc.) but using such color schemes on blogs and news sites is stupid.

My fellow web designers out there, here's what I'm asking for:

Stop sabotaging your websites with stupid color schemes. Don't forget the fact that usability is one of the most important factors when it comes to success of any website or blog. Readers are gold. Your site's nothing but waste of time and effort without them. So please: stop losing you readers (and visitors) because of such lame mistakes.

TechCrunch recently reviewed a new "social" website that allows users to vent their everyday frustrations by issuing a "jihad" against the things that annoy them. Jihad On You claims to be a satirical website and its creators apparently do not condone any kind of violence.

TechCrunch sums it up:

"It’s a well designed site that is pleasing to look at, but the taste has much to be desired. [...] Jihads are not a funny business by any stretch of the imagination. I suppose some will like the site, for others it’s just downright offensive."

I have to agree with TC on the actual design, however, the idea itself is pretty wrong and stupid IMHO. Please kill it. It's not funny at all.

I think the time has come. I'm dead serious. Now I really want to. I feel worse than ever because of smoking. I've been waking up in the morning coughing like crazy. It's disgusting. I had my last cigarette about an hour ago. I'll keep you updated on how am I doing.

Here, here, here and here.

There's been a lot of talks about what exactly will Web 3.0 look like. Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, co-founder of Weblogs, Inc. and the GM of Netscape, has his own definition:

"Web 3.0 is defined as the creation of high-quality content and services produced by gifted individuals using Web 2.0 technology as an enabling platform."

According to Calacanis, Web 2.0 services are now the commoditized platform, not the final product. Web 2.0 services like Digg, YouTube, even Wikipedia, will evolve into Web 3.0 services with an additional layer of high-quality content, individual user excellence and focus:

"Web 3.0 is a return to what was great about media and technology before Web 2.0: recognizing talent and expertise, the ownership of ones words, and fairness. It's time to evolve, shall we?"

Not so fast here. In my opinion, Calacanis' definition of Web 3.0 fits in with where Mahalo, the user-powered search engine he's trying to build, is heading.

So, is there a personal interest involved in such claims? Of course there is. Both Web 1.0 & 2.0 were all about technology and leveraging data standards. Web 3.0 should focus on accessibility, improving the user experience and, just like Calacanis points out, high-quality content.

We all know those pointless and not very funny ads promoting Ketel One vodka. You know, stuff like "Dear Ketel One Drinker: If you meet our new drinker, Mike, at the bar, please say hello" or "Dear Ketel One Drinker: Can we just say you looked great the other night" and shit like that.

Unfortunately, you can see those pointless ads pretty much everywhere.

Washington Post thinks that the most urgent question raised by this ad campaign is: "What can be done to make it stop?" Now finally somebody has decided that enough is enough and the result is, well, to your left (you can click on the image to see full size).

For the record: I have nothing personal against Ketel One — it has been my favorite vodka for years — but their marketing department is doing a terrible job indeed.

[Via copyranter]