Monday, June 30, 2008

State Of The Blog



Well, there are some days that I actually don't have anything to either write about or that I want to write about.

This has turned out to be one of those days.

I did the prior post just to show that I haven't disappeared.

Today is the last day of the sixth month.

This blog is hurtling towards its death, six months hence.

There. That brightened your day, didn't it?

911 Sixty Years Ago











Screensnaps from the 1948 movie, The Naked City, which was filmed on location in New York City.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Doctor Who: The Stolen Earth

So, after showing you screensnaps here, what else can I show you?

This is all I can safely show you:









I'm not being cheeky.

1) I didn't see any of season three, so I don't know what strands from Martha-as-Companion have been pulled in

2) I haven't yet seen all of season four, so I don't know all the strands being pulled from that

3) I think anything beyond that would be a spoiler

As for the script ... it's all set-up. All of it.

Whatever is going to happen will be in the next episode.

Davies had little humor here, little humanism here. It was about 98% action.

I can't fault the script, even though I felt disappointed by it.

Like I said, it's all set-up.

To Be Continued.

I Can See The Doctor Now

It didn't show up last night. But I had to leave the PC a bit early. Plus, there's something going on with um, a certain service, that I hope is only a passing bug, concerning timestamps of added video.

I'm not spoiling anything by showing this:



























Now that does look exciting or what?!!?

Back after I've seen it and selected relevant screensnaps.

Ralph Nader On ABC's "This Week"

I haven't seen it myself yet. Here's how to find it if you didn't catch the broadcast.

Click this link.

Look for what I've highlighted in red here and click on it to view the video:


Click = Big

ABC also has a deal going with Veoh. But I haven't found it on Veoh yet. If I do, I'll add the link in a separate post -- the video too, if that's possible.

Vote Nader 2008 website
Vote Pact

Previously here:

Ralph Nader On ABC's "This Week" Sunday
Twelve Thousand Dollars An Hour
Obama-Nader 2008? Never, I Say!
Ralph Nader In NYC Tonight, June 18, 2008
Ralph Nader On Democracy Now!
Chronicles Of Depression 2.0: #126
The People Have The Power
John McCain: Fascist For President
He's Not Spoiled. Our Political System Is.
Jive-Ass Turkey
And People Are Going To Vote For This Eejit?
The Final President Of The United States
There's Only One Choice For President
Meet, Support Ralph Nader For President!
The Deserved Fall Of General Motors
Chronicles Of Depression 2.0: #112
Ralph Nader: Activist Presidential Candidate
Why Democrats Lose
Ralph Nader Now Has A Merch Store
Wordless
East Coast Corporate Liberal
A Civics Quiz
Vote For Ralph Nader To Take Back America!
Ralph Nader: The President We Need
Chronicles Of Depression 2.0: #017
Another Reason To Vote For Ralph Nader
Lincoln, FDR, Nader
Ralph Nader Tomorrow, March 9 2008, In PA
Just Say Yes: To Ralph Nader!
Ralph Nader On The Daily Show Tonight
Nazicrats
Weasels, Part Three
Weasels, Part Two
Ralph Nader’s Big Birthday
Exxon Can’t Hide
Happy Birthday, Ralph Nader
To Name Three: McCain, Hillary, Obama
Now I Can Vote This Year: Nader Is IN!
The Presidential Candidate You Laughed At

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Right Now On eBay: $299 Cloudbook


Clickness = bigness

Here's the link.

There aren't many there. And this one is discounted.

The usual disclaimer: I have no connection to this nor can I vouch for the seller.

Update: No bidders.

Everex Has Been Acquired

And yet this news wasn't mentioned on any subnotebook site!

Cloudbook Maker Everex Snapped up by Newmarket
Low-cost PC maker Everex this week said it had agreed to be acquired by systems integrator Newmarket Technology for an undisclosed sum.

Newmarket said it will buy 75 percent of Everex's shares from parent company First International Computer, a Taiwan-based PC vendor.

And:
Newmarket, which provides systems integration and technology infrastructure services, said Cloudbook's ability to offer high-speed WiMax capabilities will be at the center of the company's effort to offer new mobile technologies to customers, according to Philip Verges, CEO and founder of Newmarket, in a letter to shareholders on Tuesday.

Newmarket is interested in bringing ultramobile products, especially the WiMax-enabled Cloudbook, into emerging markets, said Paul Kim, director of marketing at Everex.

Hey, how about some USA in-store presence for the Cloudbook?

Just not at freaking US$450.00!

Storm Aftermath Minutes Ago







Yeah, you can get 21st-century fiber-optic FIOS here on Satan Island.

But it comes to your home on 19th-century wooden poles!

ULCPC/Subnote News From J&R

I stopped in to J&R this morning.

The Asus 900 is back in stock. But it's only in white.

They don't know if they will be carrying the MSI Wind.

The definitely will not be carrying the Acer Aspire One! That was a surprise.

And there was a new subnotebook I'd never even heard of before: from Sylvania, of all brand names!





Those are crappy pics taken with the Philips crapcam. As you can see, it's point-and-pray.

The big white logo you can't make out underneath the screen is SYLVANIA in VERY LARGE LETTERS SO IT CAN BE SEEN ON GOOGLE EARTH.

Speaking of Google, a search there shows it on sale at TigerDirect, from which I have swiped these better photos:






Anyone who is familiar with the Everex Cloudbook can immediately see this is an improved model. Gone are the mouse controls at the top sides; they've been moved below the keyboard. They are tiny, but respond well.

Right next to it was the Asus 900. Closely inspecting the keyboards of each, I'd say the Sylvania keys are a touch smaller than the 900. The other thing, the Sylvania's keyboard had some bulgey flex to it. However, if you can get accustomed to the small keyboard, typing shouldn't otherwise be a problem.

Plastic quality and build are good. It didn't feel cheap, there were no rough edges.

The lid was shiny black plastic with a honking big lower-case G on it. Interior plastic is matte black.

Size and weight were good.

I was a bit taken by it until I heard the J&R price: $450.00!

Yeah, just $50 less than the MSI Wind. The MSI Wind that has a larger screen, larger keyboard, larger hard drive, and built-in Bluetooth.

Which now makes me wonder about the fate of the original $399.00 Asus EeePCs too. How can someone justify going $100 less and getting so much less compared to the Wind?

And what about the current Asus 900? J&R has it for $549.00 -- $49 more than the Wind.

I think Asus is going to have to do some real price adjustments. But does Asus realize that?

Just as Asus came in and shook up the price equation, so has MSI come along to shake it up again.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I didn't mention what gOS was like on the Sylvania, I couldn't get into it! Some knob put a login password on the demo unit and none of the J&R staff know what it is! But, gee, the screen was still nice, sharp, and bright.

Previously here:

A Note About Tech Posts
The Key Buying Factor Of Cheap Subnotes
Micro Fondle: Lenovo U110, Dialogue Flybook, Asus e900
Update 4: Subnotebook Dimensions
Asus EeePC e900 Vs. Everex Cloudbook: XP
Micro Fondles: hp Mini, HTC Shift, Asus EeePC
Well, This Says A Lot!
Cheap Subnotebook Rule Of Thumb
Which? Asus EeePC? Everex CloudBook? hp Mini Note? MSI Wind?
Everex CloudBook At Circuit City?
CloudBook Notes For March 3 2007
CloudBook Notes For March 1 2007
Wal-Mart Does Not/Does Have CloudBook In
CloudBook: Almost Here …
CloudBook News For Wednesday Feb 20
Two People With CloudBooks
Some More CloudBook Notes
Some CloudBook Updates
Everex CloudBook Delayed Again?
It’s CloudBook Day! Feel The Regret!
It’s CloudBook Eve
Some CloudBook News: Too Big Screens
Everex Nears The FAIL Rail
CloudBook Rains On Our Parade
CloudBook: February 15th Is New Date
Cloudbook: Very Last-Minute Delay
The Cure For Gadget Envy
Everex Cloudbook: The Guy Behind The OS
Macbook Air Vs Everex Cloudbook Vs Sony Reader
Everex Cloudbook: The Asus EeePC Killer?

Gasoline On June 28, 2008

Photos taken Saturday, June 28, 2008 on Satan Staten Island, NY:





Super is up to $4.55-$4.57/gallon. (That's the first time those signs have been out of price sync!)

Diesel is steady at a whopping $5.25/gallon.

So, do you think it'll hit the predicted $5.00/gallon by July 4th?

Educate yourself!

Previously here:

Gasoline On June 21, 2008
Gasoline On June 12, 2008
Gasoline On June 8, 2008
Gasoline On May 31, 2008
Gasoline On May 26, 2008
Gasoline On May 21, 2008
Gasoline On May 18, 2008
Gasoline On May 18, 2008
Gasoline On March 15, 2008
Oh. My. God.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Speakers UP! For Lou Christie

NBC News Overnight - Beyond the Blue Horizon
A favorite piece of video from the greatest tv news program ever, Overnight. The Singer is Lou Christie. Preserved for 23 years in BETAMAX format. Take that, crappy VHS!

I. Loooooove. The. Internet!!!

Zero Hour

WordPress's tracker changes days at 8PM EDST (7PM EST).

And the stats for the blog go to zero.

Hence Zero Hour.

Probably no blogging Saturday.

And no, I haven't caught up on season 4 of Doctor Who, dammit. But that won't stop me from watching the next one. And maybe even posting about it. Maybe.

Now let me go find some music to post for you to play over and over.

There's Something Wrong Here

WTF? Has P2P experienced a meltdown?

This Is A Depressing Day



I'm waiting for a friend to decipher some math for me so I can make some sense out of what I suspect are very, very disturbing statistics.

And while contemplating that, I just got hit with even worse news that the digital future might be just as fucking rotten as the analog past.


Welcome back to The Village. Did you think you could escape?

Chronicles Of Depression 2.0: #138

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard again:

Barclays warns of a financial storm as Federal Reserve's credibility crumbles
Barclays Capital has advised clients to batten down the hatches for a worldwide financial storm, warning that the US Federal Reserve has allowed the inflation genie out of the bottle and let its credibility fall "below zero".

"We're in a nasty environment," said Tim Bond, the bank's chief equity strategist. "There is an inflation shock underway. This is going to be very negative for financial assets. We are going into tortoise mood and are retreating into our shell. Investors will do well if they can preserve their wealth."

Emphasis added by me.

And:
Mr Bond said the emerging world is now on the cusp of a serious crisis. "Inflation is out of control in Asia. Vietnam has already blown up. The policy response is to shoot the messenger, like the developed central banks in the late 1960s and 1970s," he said.

"They will have to slam on the brakes. There is going to be a deep global recession over the next three years as policy-makers try to get inflation back in the box."

Emphasis added by me.

This is the second warning to come roaring from across the Atlantic this month.

This was the first.

Chronicles Of Depression 2.0: #137



Oil reaches $142 on view dollar will keep falling
Oil futures climbed briefly to a new record above $142 a barrel Friday on expectations that the weakening dollar, a major factor in crude's stratospheric rise, will extend its decline and add to oil's appeal.

Retail gas prices inched lower overnight, but are likely to resume their own trek into record territory now that oil futures have broken out of the trading range where they had been for nearly 3 weeks.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose as high as $142.26 a barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange before pulling back to trade up $1.19 at $140.83. On Thursday, the contract shot past $140 and rose more than $5 to a new settlement record.

Oil rose Thursday in part on comments by OPEC officials; the organization's president predicted prices will rise further, and a top Libyan oil official suggested his nation may cut production.

Emphasis added by me.

Well who were the eejits who thought the U.S. Dollar would rise? Those are people who can now lose their jobs. Cause: gross incompetency.
"When money has nowhere to go, it is parked in commodities as it is one of the few investment instruments that actually rises the more money you pour into it," said Oliver Jakob, an analyst at Petromatrix Gmbh, in Switzerland in a note.

Which means higher food prices, higher raw material prices, which means inflation, you greedy bastards. You will kill us all.

Quote: Rod Serling


"The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices -- to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own -- for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone."



The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street (one of the first-season episodes CBS does not offer on the Net)

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Ralph Nader On ABC's "This Week" Sunday

Holy cow!

Nader mentioned in his Democracy Now! interview that the late Tim Russert had the courage to put him on Meet the Press but that Stephanopoulos and the rest were shutting him out:
AMY GOODMAN: You don’t have much access to the corporate media. Why do you think that is?

RALPH NADER: Well, I think the blackout has been exceptional in the last three, four months. Stephanopoulos was heard to say that the Tim Russert show was about the most publicity I would get for the whole campaign. And, of course, he hasn’t had me on, and Wolf Blitzer hasn’t had me on, and Bob Schieffer hasn’t had me on. It’s rather sad to see, because they get higher ratings, there’s more excitement—Tim Russert said he heard from people all over the world after my announcement on his show. And the networks, of course, have almost blacked out all third party independent candidates, except maybe Ron Paul.

What changed?

Come on, this is the dinosaur "press."

I know exactly what's going here and so does Team Nader.

Nader will get called out for saying Obama was "talking white."

He pre-emptively addresses that in the email that announces this ABC appearance:
By the way, there are many definitions of "talking white."

Here's our definition, from the Nader/Gonzalez dictionary:

Talking white means telling the white corporate power structure what they want to hear, rather than calling them out and telling them what they need to hear.

We must please the Smiley Nazis.

The hell with that!

Stephanopoulos will probably try to get all over Nader. It will be interesting to see if Nader will actually be able to develop his thoughts completely without repeated interruptions.

Click here for a PDF file that lists the ABC affiliates and the airtimes for This Week.

Vote Nader 2008 website
Vote Pact

Previously here:

Twelve Thousand Dollars An Hour
Obama-Nader 2008? Never, I Say!
Ralph Nader In NYC Tonight, June 18, 2008
Ralph Nader On Democracy Now!
Chronicles Of Depression 2.0: #126
The People Have The Power
John McCain: Fascist For President
He's Not Spoiled. Our Political System Is.
Jive-Ass Turkey
And People Are Going To Vote For This Eejit?
The Final President Of The United States
There's Only One Choice For President
Meet, Support Ralph Nader For President!
The Deserved Fall Of General Motors
Chronicles Of Depression 2.0: #112
Ralph Nader: Activist Presidential Candidate
Why Democrats Lose
Ralph Nader Now Has A Merch Store
Wordless
East Coast Corporate Liberal
A Civics Quiz
Vote For Ralph Nader To Take Back America!
Ralph Nader: The President We Need
Chronicles Of Depression 2.0: #017
Another Reason To Vote For Ralph Nader
Lincoln, FDR, Nader
Ralph Nader Tomorrow, March 9 2008, In PA
Just Say Yes: To Ralph Nader!
Ralph Nader On The Daily Show Tonight
Nazicrats
Weasels, Part Three
Weasels, Part Two
Ralph Nader’s Big Birthday
Exxon Can’t Hide
Happy Birthday, Ralph Nader
To Name Three: McCain, Hillary, Obama
Now I Can Vote This Year: Nader Is IN!
The Presidential Candidate You Laughed At

Call It "Direct Publishing"

Oddly, when rock musicians offered their music on the Net, no one called what they were doing "self-publishing."

Everyone saw it as a harbinger of the future. They were engaging in disintermediation. The Man was being cut out of the equation. Artists would reap the reward of their art.

But when it comes to writers of words, it's called "self-publishing" and there's a stigma attached to it.

Some of that stigma is justified.

I've seen such work and it's been easy to see why it was rejected by commercial publishers. Too often, people think "anyone" could write a book, so why not try it? I've even seen work by people who were brilliant with words in a commercial sense -- where they were paid large amounts of money to assemble collections of words to produce specific marketplace ends -- produce utter crap when it came to fiction.

On the other hand, there's the example of writer Philip K. Dick, whose non-SF work was rejected by publisher after publisher and is now being put in print posthumously. One could argue that Dick's best work was his SF, but could anyone argue that Dick was any less of a writer because the mainstream refused him entry? Confessions of a Crap Artist is as close to mainstream as Dick's work got during his lifetime. Would anyone argue it was amateurish or outright unpublishable?

There are also tales told in the mainstream publishing world of best-selling authors whose names everyone would immediately recognize handing in manuscripts that are, charitably, described as "a mess," requiring editors to virtually rewrite them. This is done because the author has become a commercial brand name and the publishing house isn't about to stop milking that cash cow until sales -- or the author -- drop dead.

All of these things come into play when "self-publishing" is mentioned.

I propose a new term: direct publishing.

I think that's the term that will be used as professionals writers who have been published in print find their work no longer being welcomed by their publishers. They are good enough to be published -- but their sales are disappointing to international conglomerates who are pimping books as if they were Hollywood hundred-million-dollar-plus blockbuster escapist movies.

Such writers won't want to be seen as "self-publishers," so I propose calling them direct publishers.

I bring up all this because of a post over at Teleread called Top ten self-publishing myths.

It's a very good post overall. I do, however, disagree with:
#6 - Self-publishing is expensive, because you have to pay for professional services.

Since I proof and edit my manuscripts using checklists acquired from various books on grammar and usage, the proofing tools provided in my word processing program, and the usual rounds of peer review, by the time the manuscript landed on the editor’s desk it was pretty clean. The draft came back with so few corrections I decided not to pay for professional editing on any of my subsequent books.

People who have more money than time will still choose to pay for professional services, but for an author with basic computer and Internet skills (in other words, anyone reading this), along with the willingness to learn, it’s optional. If I can do it, how hard could it be?

Emphasis added by me.

Two important points:

1) It could be it came back with so few corrections because it was a poorly-done job. I'm still shocked by the number of typos I find in some books. Within the past two months I had to email a writer about his novel because words were missing from the book. He didn't know that til my email -- because the words had been there in the galleys. There have been some books I've read where entire freaking sentences didn't make any sense. Don't be lulled into a false sense of competency by one experience. It says nothing.

2) Pay for those professional services! How many typos and poor sentences have been thrown onto the Internet? Even with spellcheckers, typos still get through (hey, just look at this blog!). Poor sentences run riot (you need go no further than this blog for some hideous examples!). I don't delude myself with this blog that what I am putting here is 1) something anyone would pay for, 2) indicative of my ability to write, and 3) anything even on the fringes of the neighborhood of good writing. This is mostly attack-first-think-later text. This would be an entirely different type of blog if the text first went through the mediation of other people. If you want to write as a profession, you need that professional support. This is non-negotiable for anyone who wants to do fiction.

I'll keep trotting out this example until it sticks in everyone's head: Self-Confidence Vs. Self-Delusion.

Now go to that Teleread post.

Who?

I'm listening to a BBC Radio program about H.P. Lovecraft (found via Warren Ellis) and at 4:54 into the first segment, I hear this:
Kelly Link is one of the most important new writers in American fiction. Her work crosses boundaries between science-fiction, horror, and mainstream.

That's news to me.

So I went to wikipedia: Kelly Link.

And there I found a link to a free ebook (scroll down for the free part), Stranger Things Happen. (It also raised a question in my mind: Why the hell hasn't anyone converted it to Sony Reader format?)

Anyway, I still don't really know who she is. I guess that's because she's done mostly short stories and I tend to stick to novels.

But I've got her ebook. Well, the Endless Unarranged Backlog does.

Someday.

Today’s Oprah: Women And Money Is Repeating!

Previously: Today’s Oprah: Women And Money



The free Suze Orman book offer is back again today.

If you missed it last time, go go go now.

Note: My screensnap is from the original airing. The free book download ends the evening of June 27, 2008.

Previously here:

Oprah Uses Skype
Memo To Steve Jobs: People DO Still Read!
Oprah, Get A Sony Reader!
Reminder: Free Suze Orman eBook
Today’s Oprah: Women And Money
Today’s Oprah Is Worth Watching


This is not happiness.

The Limewire/Frostwire tubes are just about dead. At least 60% of the supposed files there are either fake or infectious. And the quantity of files have dropped by at least ninety-percent.

And I haven't used eMule in months. I called it up for Leverage and was shocked at the server list I saw. Aside from the number being vastly decreased, I could also, um, sense (let me use that word) that it's been infiltrated by the CopyNazis. I quit it and used a different set of tubes.

Refreshing the eMule server list has been an active search term for several days now. That's very unusual.

I think it's a very bad sign too.

I'm glad I'm not relying on it any longer.

TV Networks Are Using A Leaking Service

Since the cat has been let out of the bag by NewTeeVee, I can now publish this:


Click = big

It's interesting that these leaks are all coming from one source.

I now think there is a company -- if not a division of an ad agency -- that's putting all of these up on the Net.

As a network-approved professional service.

I've also caught and seen Raising the Bar -- Steven Bochco's new lawyer drama -- which was also placed outside of BitTorrent access. (Which really is the best way to go; it's faster than P2P.)



(No, I won't be posting about that. Leverage is special. Raising the Bar is ... good, just not special. It has great music, though.)

How long do the networks think they can count on this leaking to inspire Net chatter?

See this post about how war is being declared on BitTorrent.

You Suits had better all get together and decide just what the hell is more important: a Net that can generate buzz or one that's locked down and works against your best interests?

ICANN, You Eejits!!!

Internet overhaul wins approval
A second proposal, to introduce domain names written in scripts, such as Asian and Arabic, was also approved.

Hey, thanks there, you dimwits.

Everyone will just love encountering links that look like http://www.??????.???

You've taken something that worked and was universal and broken it into pieces.

Bastards!

Previously here:

ICANN Gets Stupid

Sony's Strange Strategy

Sony Group Corporate Strategy Update FY2008 - FY2010
"To be the leading global provider of networked consumer electronics and entertainment"

That link leads to a page that contains a three-page PDF statement issued by Sony.

One item stands out:
Ensure that 90% of our electronics product categories are network-enabled and wireless-capable by the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011 (“FY2010”).

How did they arrive at that 90% figure? Did they do a census of their "electronics product categories" and determine that only nine out of ten devices can be made "network-enabled and wireless-capable"?

Another point:
Sony intends to maintain a leading position in its “trillion yen businesses” (LCD TVs, digital imaging, game and mobile phones) and will focus on expanding its PC, Blu-ray Disc-related products, and component/semiconductor businesses into “trillion yen businesses” by the end of FY2010.

Where does that leave ebooks? Where does that leave the Sony Reader?



There is no mention of the Reader or ebooks at all in this statement.

What exactly does that mean?

It's nearly the middle of 2008. Is the Reader going to be updated this year and be "network-enabled and wireless-capable"?

And why doesn't Sony consider ebooks an area that can become a "trillion yen business"?

Why hasn't the PlayStation 3 platform been seen as an additional outlet for ebooks? Why can't every PS3 come pre-loaded with Sony's eBook Library software to entice people into ebooks? Why can't PS3's act as Sony Reader hosts for ebook storage and syncing? Has anyone over there even considered that?

Yes, I've declared e-Ink ebook readers dead, but there's still some good Sony can do while it's still in the game.

Is Sony still in the game?

Or is the invisibility of the Sony Reader in Sony statements an indication they already plan to shut down that business, as they did with the Sony CLIE PalmOS PDA business?

Previously here:

A Gadget Too Far
eInk eBook Readers: They’re All Dead, Jim!
More Bad For Sony Reader: Kindles Coming
Borders Catches Cold, Sony Reader Gets Pneumonia?
Sony Reader Can Be Bought In Spain!
Oprah, Get A Sony Reader!
Ken Kutaragi: Your Vindication Nears!
Oh, NOW He Believes Me!
Macbook Air Vs Everex Cloudbook Vs Sony Reader
Does Borders Know The Sony Reader Exists?
What’s Going On With Sony And Its Reader?
Sony’s Got Something Big For Their Reader
Will New eBook Readers Finally Change The World?
Has Sony Just Lost Its eBook Battle?

The Internet Of Bullshit



CNet -- which really should embrace Open ID because why the hell would anyone really want to set up a separate account for them just to Comment -- reveals that the Corporate Grab of the Internet continues:

Inventor of the Internet takes aim at BitTorrent
Roberts claims that the Anagran devices also ensure that high-priority traffic, like VOIP and video streams, can be guaranteed better performance.

Emphasis added by me.

WTF?

Since when has VOIP been deemed "high-priority" -- and by whom?

You're going to tell me that two nitwits chattering about utter bullshit over Skype is more important than other traffic on the Net?

And what's this about streaming video being "high-priority" too?

You mean some mouth-breather catching last night's repeat of Deal or No Deal is more important than data traffic on the Net?

Who the hell says so?

It's this kind of raping of the Net for corporate interests that's going to keep the pirates and the hackers and the system subversionists around for decades and decades.

And I say good!

The sooner the Anagran devices are deployed, the sooner they can be busted.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Speakers UP! For Moby

I've got some digital housekeeping to do. This should keep all of you rockin'

'Bourne Identity' track by Moby




Another:

Extreme Ways (Bourne's Ultimatum)



Yet another:

extreme ways ( music video ) Jason Bourne

I'm Stumped For A Headline Here

Is it safe to come out?
Today I’m going to blog about why it’s a bad idea to blog.

It's novelist Tess Gerritsen writing that.

Mobile Blogging App For PalmOS Phones?

CellSpin Mobile Blogging App for Palm OS

It also runs on WinMob and certain phones of the Finnish AntiChrist.

It popped onto my radar finally because of the PalmOS version.

CellSpin site

CellSpin Presenting at Demo 08



The CellSpin site doesn't have an easy way to query them. It seems they want people to create an account in order to do anything. I'd like to know if they have an iPhone version in the works. I'd also like to know if they'll be supporting the free WordPress service I use (not the self-hosting WordPress). They already work with Blogger and TypePad support is also planned.

Video: eBooks On iPhone/iPod Touch

First up is an ebook overview for people who haven't explored them yet. Yeah, I know most of the people who pop in here are tech savvy, but if you know someone who isn't, point them to this video.

GreenerBusiness 13: Ebook Readers



Books - eBook reader for iPhone/iPod Touch



RasterBook demo - read eBooks on iPhone



iPod touch as a book reader



This one is sideways and in German, but it shows a different and longer list of settings:

Books.app



And this is a tutorial that actually taught me something:

"How To" Create a FREE eBook (Using Gmail) Wolf pack



Update: Another video.

iPhone and Ebooks: A Flirtation Continued

Has Microsoft Heard Of A Flowchart?

Full text: An epic Bill Gates e-mail rant

This is epic.

Bill Gates confronted Microsoft's retarded online systems and found out what millions and millions and millions and millions of people have known for years and years and years and years.

My question: Why hasn't it been fixed?

And, by the way Gates, that Nobel Prize Submissions Committee?

They probably remember their indignities trying to use it too.

And Microsoft = Bill Gates

Now all you annoying Microsoft ass-kissing fanboiz and MVPs -- why don't you all shoot off an email to Bill Gates telling him that his head was up his ass and that what he encountered is what all of you love and love and jerk-off about when thinking of Microsoft?


Proposed Interface For Microsoft Toilet

Globalizing Copyediting

OC Register to outsource some editing to India
An Indian company will take over copy editing duties for some stories published in The Orange County Register and will handle page layout for a community newspaper at the company that owns the Pulitzer Prize-winning daily, the newspaper confirmed Tuesday.

Orange County Register Communications Inc. will begin a one-month trial with Mindworks Global Media at the end of June, said John Fabris, a deputy editor at the Register.

Mindworks' Web site says the company is based outside New Delhi and provides "high-quality editorial and design services to global media firms ... using top-end journalistic and design talent in India."

Professional writers who for whatever reason eventually decide to bypass entrenched corporate print publishers and go to self-published ebooks are still going to require the kills of professional copyeditors and proofreaders.

I never imagined such services could be outsourced to India. I always envisioned domestic professionals.

Mindworks Global Media

Update: To prove my point, there was a bad typo in there. Fixed.

Scum Sham Government #2

Supreme Court ruling:
The Supreme Court on Wednesday also cut the $2.5 billion punitive damages award in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster to $500 million.

The court ruled that victims of the worst oil spill in U.S. history may collect punitive damages from Exxon Mobil Corp., but not as much as a federal appeals court determined.

Justice David Souter wrote for the court that punitive damages may not exceed what the company already paid to compensate victims for economic losses, about $500 million compensation.

Exxon asked the high court to reject the punitive damages judgment, saying it already has spent $3.4 billion in response to the accident that fouled 1,200 miles of Alaska coastline.

A jury decided Exxon should pay $5 billion in punitive damages. A federal appeals court cut that verdict in half.

Emphasis added by me.

We the people say, you've fucked us, now pay up.

Meanwhile our alleged government tells us, fuck you.

And all of you wonder why I'm voting for Nader?

You think McCain or Obama give a shit? Really?! You morons!

Previously here:

Exxon suxx. McCain duxx.

Scum Sham Government #1

Vote Theft For Idiots
Are they going to Steal 2008? Don't worry: it's already stolen. But you can steal it back. Ted Rall and I have teamed up for one of the first ever series of hard-edged investigative journalism - in 'toon form. Steal this strip ... and pass it on: VOTE THEFT FOR IDIOTS - PART 1

VOTE THEFT FOR IDIOTS - PART 1

I'm Stunned

Bookkake

"Oh, look at this. It's published by Book Cake."

Um, no.

Reference: For Writers, For Readers

Are You an Author? Want to Follow Your Book's Rank on Amazon?
Once you've signed up with Booklert, you can start tracking books. Any books that are in Amazon's catalogue. Your books; your competitors' books; your favourite books; the books you hate... Booklert doesn't care. It will send you the rank of whichever books you're tracking at the times you've chosen, and tell you whether each book is climbing the chart, or falling from grace.

If (how much I want to write when!) Apple starts selling ebooks, I wonder if such a tool could track iTunes (ebook)Store sales?

bkkeepr
Track your reading and bookmark on the go. Here's how.

Well, that's why I have a Reading category in this blog.

-- via Russell Davies (not the one[s] you think)

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Quote: Rob May

My Business Magazines Lied to Me
Business magazines that don’t cater to what people want will go out of business. The result then, is that business magazines (and books and blogs) tell us what we want to hear. Then we go off and implement that bad advice, and when it doesn’t work, we make up some other excuse. Or, if we come to realize the advice was wrong, but it is still popular, we keep it to ourselves, because speaking out about it is a quick way to get chastised and be labeled (negative, luddite, sour grapes, etc). People want to believe what they want to believe, and if you try to show them a truth that conflicts with that, you will most likely fail.

Emphasis added by me.

Oh yeah, the Smiley Nazis will come after your ass for melting their rainbows and strangling their pretty unicorns.

This is an excellent post. It's long and well-reasoned and, dammit, so honest.

Naturally, they're probably burning him at the stake, ripping out his fingernails, and sticking their tongues out at him in the Comments. Which is why I didn't read them.

Immediately related:

Quote: Diogenes
In Praise Of The Cynic

At the old blog:

The Secret: I Can’t Finish Reading It!

That Foul Day Has Arrived

Me eyes ...



... are no longer up to the task.

I must now wear glasses at the PC screen!!!

I feel like such a frikkin girl.



Yeah, that's what they looked like in elementary school. Then they grew up, had LASIK, and now live -- and see! -- glasses-free.

Me, if I tried LASIK, my eyeballs would boil and explode!

I'll save that fun for later.