week 16, 2002 archives
hey, joe versus the volcano is finally out on dvd! i was just complaining about this a week ago, and didn't find it when i made the mistake of searching for “joe vs. the volcano” a few days ago. (thanks to the esteemed mathowie for spotting this.)
here's a shocker: cash cards (like from starbucks) aren't a good deal for you. of course, companies love them. why shouldn't they? people give them money, only some of them get anything back for some of that money, and they don't even have to give them any sort of discount. it's about as close to free money as you can get, except for issuing stock options.
from eweek: apache 2.0 beats iis at its own game.
eweek has been giving open-source projects some pretty incredible reviews lately (like the database comparison that put oracle and mysql on top).
mark cuban (founder of broadcast.com, owner of the dallas mavericks, chairman of hdnet), besides being a bit of a goofball, is really right on the mark when he says to ignore hollywood. hollywood has a miserable track record when it comes to being able to see how much they benefit from technology.
“the growing and dangerous intrusion of this new technology is to the american film producer and the american public as the boston strangler is to the woman alone.”—jack valentia about the vcr in 1982! (here's a source for the quote. another source points out that the home video market now generates three times the revenue of the theatrical market.)
art of money getting (or, golden rules for making money) by p.t. barnum is amazingly timeless, and a revelation for someone who only really knows barnum through his “a sucker is born every minute” quote. i would say these twenty rules are just as relevant today as they were in 1880.
since the osbournes is a raging success, finding an answer to the question of how to do another show just like it has, of course, become a top priority at mtv. how about sean “stupid nickname” combs or brandy? at least the brandy idea has a hook (following her pregnancy). a series featuring that other guy would be lucky to garner a tenth the ratings that the osbournes is pulling in.
but hey, bring on a second season of the osbournes! i do think it's hilarious that there's a third osbourne kid that refused to take part. reportedly she's the marilyn of this munster family.
wow, mci is going to offer flat-fee local and long distance telephone service for $50-60. in 2061: odyssey three (the second sequel to 2001), arthur c. clarke had (international) long distance charges abolished on december 31, 2000. his timetable was too aggressive, but he'll be right eventually. (here's the site for the new service.)
after a long lull of all you suckers not spending money on me, happygofun finally came through and has claimed the coveted sponsor position at the bottom of the page. now go enlist their services to design the website (or whatever) of your dreams. as they say, everyone could use a little happygofun in their life.
here's my review of the best carbonated banana-flavored soft drink i've ever had. also the only carbonated banana-flavored soft drink i've ever had, so the competition wasn't very fierce. there's reportedly a coconut flavor by the same company (who is supposed to have a website, but there's nobody home). something to look for on my next grocery store trip.
a very short story about the first time i bought some bana-nina tropical (yes, there's been more than one time):
as i was checking out, the person in front of me asked what it was, and i replied “i really have no idea. it just looked interesting.”
she said, “you shop like i do! that's why i'm not allowed to do the shopping any more!”
“you moron, you're standing in the checkout line of a grocery store with a bunch of groceries,” i replied.
okay, i didn't really say that last bit. but i thought it really loud.
former los angeles mayor riordan is talking about starting a newspaper. the coolest part is that he's talking with ken layne and matt welch, two local journalists and bloggers who also run laexaminer.com. it sounds like a crazy suicide mission, but i'm jealous.
ev says he'd like to learn how to draw. i can absolutely relate. i have always been in awe of people who can draw.
someone has recommended drawing on the right side of the brain to him, but the reviews at amazon.com seem a bit mixed. keys to drawing seems to have gotten more consistent reviews.
the subtitle of drawing on the right side of the brain is “a course in enhancing creativity and artistic confidence.” i think confidence is what it is really all about: there's so many things in life that people say they are “bad” at (singing, drawing, math, sports, writing), when it really is a matter of confidence. they think they are bad, and the prophecy fulfills itself. not that i don't think talent exists—i've met way too many talented people to believe otherwise. but i don't think a lack of natural inclination precludes anyone from being above average at any of these things. before practice makes you perfect, it makes you better, and more confident.
(i also think that simply chalking up an ability for something to talent undersells the amount of effort and learning that goes into it. it is hard work making it look easy.)
and one thing i ran across at amazon while looking at these books: so you'd like to... design and create your own personal tarot deck.
john jeavons knows how to grow all of the food that one person needs in a year on 4000 square feet of land. very cool. (via boingboing.)
ilohamail is a neat looking webmail application written in php, without requiring the uw imap library.
this classic post from poul-henning kamp to the freebsd-hackers list talks about the problem of “bike shed discussions”, as well as general open-source project etiquette. good stuff.
