Weekend Tidbits

Some interesting sites I stumbled upon today, to occupy (I.E. waste) your time.

The first is an interesting concept albeit a bit too focused on the MySpace generation. Share2me is a site that lets you add your contacts from email, IM, and other places. Then, if you have something interesting to share with people, you can automatically add them from a list of contacts and send it to all at once. Regardless of whether that means it sends by IM, email, or posts to a MySpace page. I dig the concept of send once, regardless of mechanism. Go check out the demo on their page.

Second, is something even more tailored to me. A site that exists simply to allow for debating various topics. There are 3 different methods for presenting and arguing a topic. You choose one, make your case, and then attempt to with the debate. I know at least one person who reads this blog fairly regularly should be as interested in this as I am. I smell a new time waster...

Ah, less clutter

Update: Ryan pointed out that my code got eaten

This one should have been obvious to me, but then again, my mucking level on my blog hovers at or around 0. This tip cleans up the overall page, lending itself very much to my goal of letting content (hopefully) rule this blog, rather than lots of formatting or clutter.

Here is the simple way to do this, that doesn't involve editing your stylesheet at all:

1. Go to the template tab on blogger.
2. Click "Add a Page Element".
3. Choose the "HTML/Javascript" type.
4. Cut and paste the following snippet:
   <style>
   #navbar-iframe {
   height:0px;
   visibility:hidden;
   display:none;
   }
   </style>
   
5. Click "Save Changes".
6. Rejoice as the top of your page is now uncluttered.
   

Fun Task for the Day

Music by color.

Go into your iTunes collection, type a color into the search box, and hit play.

Tonight's playlist for me: Green.

Tired. Dog Tired.

Yes, I am. I have actually wanted to get some posts out here several times already this year. Just too tired to make it happen until now.

However, I'm not nearly as tired as a technology/idea that I realized today I want to see die off much quicker then is currently happening. Voice mail. When I say voice mail, I'm using it as a general term to refer to answering machines, and any kind of voice mail such as those at offices, or used by cell phone providers.

They are all flawed. Steve Jobs obviously (to anybody not hiding under their rock) pointed out in his keynote that navigating in a sequential fashion is horribly outdated. That is just the start though. How much time each day do you waste listening to the following:

"I can't come to the phone right now, please leave your name and number after the beep and I'll get back to you"

Were you really wondering what to do when that person didn't answer and this mystery device started talking to you? Multiply that times each person you can't reach per day and you are just burning away minutes of your life. Put the 2 previous examples together, and now both parties are wasting double the time just trying to achieve asynchronous communication.

Why? We have already defeated this problem. It is called email. While not perfect, it is hands down better than anything voicemail has done.

So, we need smarter phone systems. Do like Vonage and send messages as audio clips via email (or optionally do speech to text as well). Then you don't need Job's iPhone, you simply need a phone that can do IMAP/POP.

Next, the stupid greeting has to go. Let your phone display a status on the screen, just like IM. You can quickly find out that I'm away, busy, screening, running from the plague, etc.

Make it so.

Sensationalism

I may have actually posted about this before. It bears repeating though.

I am disgusted and tired of sensationalist journalism. It along with media saturation are why I have almost completely eliminated traditional media from my life. I now almost solely get my news from aggregated sites online such as Google news. I like to get as wide of a variety of news as possible, in as quick to digest of a form, and available when I decide, not on any other schedule.

This article represents most of what I find wrong with the news currently. News is no longer about just reporting events of substance, it is now about filling all available time and senses with anything that can pass for a story.

How is this story relevant to me reading the HawkCentral website at all? Why is the fact that this guy once played for the Hawkeyes years ago even a part of the story? Shouldn't they mention that at one point he used to eat baby food and wear diapers too? I think that is equally relevant. Moreover, why do they need to mention that the injured party was an airman who served in Iraq? Is that any different than if he was a pimp from Oakland? Seriously, the only story here is local policeman potentially used unnecessary force on another local person. It is only relevant to that location, and only to those concerned about their local police force. Nothing more.

Blech, I need more of the tasty Bud Light in the cool aluminum bottle (yes, you read that right) to get the nasty taste of this story out of my mouth.

Childish

Often my blog is far too serious and preachy, you are no doubt saying. Fear not, today you will find none of that.

I decided not long ago (or remembered more likely) that people need to spend time occasionally doing something stupid and pointless, just because it is fun or makes them laugh. That's a necessity.

I have a week off, so here and there I have been doing such things. Yesterday, I made myself a new iPod holder. Nearly everyone else says, "What is the point of that?" I say, "Who cares, it is cool!"

Today I found something even dumber to make me laugh. Here are the steps, in case you are inclined toward silliness like me.

1. Sign up at one of the bajillion free trade magazine sites out there (if you are a member of somewhere like MyPoints, you can actually get points for this as well).
2. When you fill out your address, they will usually ask for an occupation, to be printed on the label. I elected to fill out my occupation as "badass".
3. Laugh every month when your address label on the magazine says "Mrs. Chanandler Bong, Badass". I just guaranteed myself at least one laugh a month in perpetuity...
   

Oh smart phones, why do I hate you so?

It has been said far too many times, but I have expressed dislike for cell phones in the past. Unfortunate in some regards, as I do occaisionally see some value in having one. If I wasn't averse to paying money for them, or if they were cheap enough, I would actually still have one. The problem is that I have complained about some aspects of them often enough that I nearly seem hypocritical if I did.

Crackberrys and other smart phones though, that's pretty much a different story. I still find them to be a useless annoyance dragging people down. Apparantly, I am not alone.

I really want to reach through my monitor and give an ass-whooping to a few of these parents. When, oh when, will that technology be created?

Now, a few of my favorite comments from this story (RTF story first...):

• "His dad, private banker Ross Singletary, calls it "a legit concern." He adds: "Some emails are important enough to look at en route."
  
  "No. No, no emails are important enough to look at en route. Period.
  Get a life, and pay more attention to things around you instead of work. There's a whole world outside, and your kids mental well being is more important than your job no matter what you might think."
  
  
• "The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men." -- Charles De Gaulle
  
  
• "I suppose kids aren't reading this, but if you are, smash your parent's blackberry. Blackberries are expensive. They might get another one, but after you smash three or four, they won't get more. If their blackberries are issued by their employer, your parent will be fired after you smash two or three. Again, problem solved. Don't be afraid. Your parent my yell at you, make scary faces and noises, and send you to your room. But that's attention, and any attention is better than none. And they'll get over it an a day or two and love you again, without a blackberry."
  
  
• Maybe the best comment of the whole thing (too long to list it here)

I realize bad parenting isn't new, and neither are clueless companies. It does seem like both are increasing lately though. I would like to see an active effort to reduce both.