Failed Success

An open letter to politicos about the “Palin Effect”

2008-09-14T04:16:00-06:00

As a right leaning middle american male, I have observed that the Palin effect on Digg is astounding. Sarah Palin has taken the country by storm and it doesn’t stop at the ideological border. Ms. Palin seems to have not only have rallied the base of the Republican party, but she has stunned and raised the ire of the left.

Stories about Ms. Palin have not only besieged the main stream press, but have littered the left wing blogs, newspaper commentaries, and television programs. Her nomination has made more than a ripple in the political landscape, it could be more closely compared to a tsunami. Just as an example of this effect, Digg has seen an average of 1 Palin related story hitting the front page every 3 hours in the past week ending September 13, 2008. (A large number of these marked as inaccurate). Ask Keith Olbermann if this a ripple or tidal wave.

This was no Tropic of Cancer case

2008-01-27T04:57:00-06:00

Jerry Seinfeld has nothing on the person who checked out a book from a Wisconsin library in 1950. It seems that a book mysteriously reappeared in the book deposit box after a 57 1/2 year absence from the shelves. Thankfully there were no library investigations officers around to track down the perp of this hanus act of thievery. There is no doubt that Bookman would have solved this case.

Back in 1950 the overdue fine for a book was a whopping $.01 per day but due to inflation has crept up to $.15 per day. Lucky for this unknown culprit the maximum fine is only $10. It can be summized that the person who forgot to return this undoubtedly, captivating piece of literature, is either a slow reader or very forgetful.

So what was this great novel that was missing for so many years and finally was returned out of sheer conscience? This was no mere “Tropic of Cancer”. This was a French novel by Roger Vercel. Yes, THE Roger Vercel! It was his novel, called “Norther Lights” translated into English. Yes you read it correctly, that literary colossus, “Northern Lights”. Bet the library is glad it finally showed up again. They were probably looking for something to hold down all the paperwork on the Librarian’s desk.

This actually happened. Here is the link to prove it! http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/24/ap/strange/main3750814.shtml

MacBook Air, Apple’s Big Bet on Notebooks?

2008-01-17T16:30:01-06:00

At the annual festival of all things magical and Mac, came the big announcement everyone had been waiting on, the Macbook Air (yes, that’s really its name). Billed as “The World’s Thinnest Notebook”, Steve Jobs, excellent showman that he is, not only mentioned that it could fit inside an envelope, but actually unveiled it for the first time from an envelope. So what is with all the hype?

The Great Potato Play

2007-09-02T15:53:01-06:00

The great potato incident of 1987 has become legendary. Like something you would see in Bull Durham, this story of a career minor-league catcher and a potato is getting national and international recognition. Baseball is a very serious game not known for its on-field antics and celebrations. Dave Bresnahan , the player who planned and executed one of the greatest gags in baseball, is having some fun as a living legend of sorts, to a generation of players who play with such conviction and intensity that they sometimes forget that it’s a game.

It’s a shame that a game has become so serious that it’s impossible to have fun just because you lose. What ever happened to playing for the love of the game and just enjoying the fact that you get paid to play a kids game for a living. Whatever happened to players who would be gracious enough to realize that they playing baseball and not curing cancer or ridding the world of hunger and poverty. That is why it is so refreshing to hear stories about players who “play” and have fun doing it.

Yahoo sports writer, Jeff Passan, takes a look at the the man, the myth, the legend, Dave Bresnahan, 20 years removed from the incident that made him..............famous.? Read his article on “The Tater Toss”.

The Magical World of Joomla Templates

2007-07-28T14:56:01-06:00

It really does seem like everyone and their brother’s aunt’s uncle’s best friend’s roommate has some type of website these days. If you’ve seen some of the horrid abominations of invalid xhtml horror that I have, it is quickly apparent that many lack the skills to create a magical website experience. Thankfully, there’s Joomla and the Joomla templates system.

The Iraq Truth

2007-06-13T01:23:49-06:00

Hello, my name is PFC......lets call me Fedup. Anyway, I’ve been in Baghdad, Iraq for over 6 months now and I can tell you one thing. This isn’t a war. We may have the makings for one, and the death tolls are sure looking like one, but when you get down into the mechanics of it all. All you have is a BS police action that consists of Teaching incompetent Iraqi law enforcement agentcies techniques that they forget about a half hour later and dodgeing Terrorist attacks that you really can’t counter attack, because of new EOF rules and all the political BS that goes on over here.

Life saving Beer Belly?

2007-02-09T15:42:53-06:00

A man being car-jacked may have been saved by his spare tire. A British milkman, Andrew Creed, chased down the thief of his Ford delivery van and grabbed on to an open window. The thief then started weaving to shake the him loose. Mr. Creed finally fell from the van and was summarily run over by the hijacker.

Mr Creed suffered many injuries including broken bones and cuts to his face, but commented that his big belly probably saved him from further injury as it probably cushioned the blow.

U.K. Sun article

Too much salt!

2007-02-01T20:44:38-06:00

The most common source of our sodium intake is SodiumChloride (table salt). Salt is the cheapest and most widely used preservative on the planet. We use it everyday to add flavor to our foods. Table salt is about 40% sodium. One tablespoon of salt contains 2300 mg of sodium. Sodium is an essential mineral or micronutrient which along with potassium helps to regulate the body’s fluid balance. Sodium is present throughout the body even in the blood.

The Western diet is very high in sodium. The average intake in the United States is between 4,000 and 5,000 mg of sodium per day. Which would translate to 10 - 12.5 g of salt.

DEMO could be a window into the future

2007-01-31T22:39:00-06:00

DEMO is a Bi-annual confrence which invites the companies with next big ideas in a variety of areas which could possibly shape our future. Companies such as Palm an Trend Micro have highlighted confrences in the past. It gives companies an opportunity to show off their technology to investors and consumers simultaneously.

Organizers review hundreds of companies and invite the companies with the hottest ideas in a number of different genres. Unlike other big technology shows, DEMO is very exclusive in attendees as well as companies demontrating their products. With demontrations under 100 and ateendees under 1000 it is one of the most exclusive technology events around.

DEMO’s official website

Videos of the latest DEMO conference demonstrators.

Sleeping on the Job

2007-01-31T22:02:01-06:00

If you thought a 35 hour work week and long vacations were enough rest for the French, you were wrong. The French will spend $9 million to determine if taking a nap at work should be mandated.

France suffers from very high unemployment. If companies are forced to give nap time to employees, that would force them to hire more employees to get the same amount of productivity. If you want to study the difference between American and French culture you don’t have to look very deep to see some big differences. The United States has low unemployment, high productivity, and no nap time. France could end up the complete opposite.

Here is a link to the AP story.