Get Firefox
The people over at Mozilla released a new version of my favorite browser (Mac/Win) today: Firefox 0.8. Download it and have fun. Still a few bugs, but it’s a technology preview anyway – it’s all good.
Thank God for TGIF
It’s hard to really describe the TGIF jazz series at the Union. I’ve tried before, but it’s something you have to hear. To help, here’s a 30-second clip of what I hear as I sit here listening to Karel Lidral and company. Granted, the quality’s not very good (internal PowerBook microphone), but it gives some idea. Recorded with GarageBand, of course.
Union Central Ambience – 468 KB MP3
Go and download a book
Cory Doctorow of the EFF has published his second book, Eastern Standard Tribe. Just like his first book, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, you can download it for free… or, of course, you can buy a “dead-tree” version instead. If you’d like to support him but don’t need a paper copy personally, he suggests that you buy one and donate it to a local library or school.
The OfficeMax / UPS combo rocks (take 3)
MoreStuff4Less is one of the best sites on the Internet.
Last April, I ordered a USB switch along with three free after rebate offers. I had no idea then that my obsession with rebates would continue.
In September, I bought the following:
- Belkin 10-Piece Tool Kit
- Iconcepts 100 Quick Cleaning Wipes
- Cyber Acoustics Lapel Microphone
- Stanley 6′ Extension Cord
- Western Digital 80 GB Hard Drive
- Caller ID Telephone
- 3M Document Wedge
- Dazzle CompactFlash Card Reader
- Dazzle SmartMedia Reader
- Belkin 6-Outlet SurgeMaster Home Series Surge Protector
…all for about $40 total, after rebates (all of which I’ve received).
At about 12:30 yesterday morning, I ordered:
- Belkin 1-Outlet Wall Surge Protector
- Khypermedia 100-Pack Black Slim Jewel Cases
- Fellowes 100-CD Wood Rack
- GE 8-Device Universal Remote
- Art Explosion 200,000
- Executive High-Back Leather Chair
- Digital Concepts CompactFlash Reader
…all for just about $10. Yup, $10. I received them this afternoon – again by UPS – and they’re all really great products. It’s amazing what you can do when you go bargain hunting. You might just wind up with a really comfy new chair that doesn’t squeak.
A cookie a day
“How’s the site? Well, it was feeling down this morning, but I wrote to it and it felt better by the afternoon… I had to give it a cookie, too.”
- Me, while re-coding my blog
Screw it
“We don’t want a story to have the train say, ‘Aw, screw it.’”
- Dr. Colin Martindale, Psychology of Aesthetics (spring 2003), putting a new spin on The Little Engine that Could
Wikipedia 200k
Wikipedia – the encyclopedia in which anyone can edit literally anything – recently reached 200,000 entries. I don’t think there’s any better proof that a completely community-driven site can succeed.
Don’t listen to the professor
“Don’t listen to Professor Judd… he’s a crazy, left-wing environmental historial. Well, so am I, but that’s beside the point.”
- Brian Payne, History of Maine TA
Somebody please define ‘controversial’ for me
MoveOn.org is a step in the right direction with political activism, but it’s definitely not perfect. While I encourage the collaborative nature of their “Bush in 30 Seconds” campaign, it’s extremely biased to one side because if it’s pure attempt at activism. Nonetheless, the campaign proved that a collaborative campaign such as “30 seconds” can be successful – even though in such an open campaign, a wide variety of personal opinions, no matter how extreme, are inevitable.
Let’s get this part out of the way, just if you’ve been living under an activism rock for the last few weeks. Liberal activism site MoveOn.org sponsored a contest that encouraged activists to make a thirty-second television spot criticizing some aspect of the Bush campaign. The winning ad was to be played during the Super Bowl… that is, until CBS rejected it along with an ad from PETA.
There was nothing overly explicit about the ad; “Child’s Pay” shows several young children in industrial settings doing the work of adults. The message: children will have to pay for our current national deficit. Well, rather, children will have to pay for Bush’s national deficit. CBS’s rejection was based on the “controversial” nature of the spot. The network ran ads from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and from truth, but granted, these could be classified as public service announcements even though their content was somewhat controversial.
Then came MTV’s attempt to follow up on the escapades at the 2003 Video Music Awards. The halftime show, produced by MTV (a network owned by CBS’s Big Huge Corporate Owner Viacom), featured a small “mishap” involving Janet Jackson’s clothes and Justin Timberlake. The incident was apparently approved by CBS and/or MTV but was not approved by the NFL, as a concise yet timely statement points out.
I never really had a problem with CBS censoring/rejecting the MoveOn ad. CBS is a private company, and though they control a large percentage of airtime, they have the right to establish policies. My problem comes with the double standard of controversy held by the network; should the ads on the Super Bowl be regulated any differently than the content of the show itself? CBS… knowingly, at some level… definitely crossed the level of controversy in the MoveOn ad tonight. Why bother rejecting it?
