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"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion." – Henry David ThoreauArchive for January, 2009
Awesome 1981 video about the creation of online newspapers
I just noticed that this video was mentioned at BoingBoing.net and wanted to post it because it is such a classic. This was a news story in 1981 about a pilot program for San Francisco newspapers and their efforts to try to get the news online. There are great visuals of early 80s computers and facts about that time. My favorite highlights are when it was mentioned there were only two to three thousand home computers in the Bay Area in total and that each newspaper took two hours to download. Little did anyone know that this would be responsible for totally changing the newspaper industry forever, making the printed copy a much more difficult product to sell at a profit.
Superbowl of advertising
Even with the economy struggling more than Kurt Warner trying to scramble, the Superbowl remains a force in reaching the most viewers for advertisers. I am not really that excited about the match up this year but will watch the game for the commercials. Here is a funny new E*Trade ad to get you in the mood for 4 hours of commercials, oh yeah, and the game.
Top 5 most chilling public service announcements
The public service announcement can be both informative and boring at times. They can also be scary. During yesterday’s snowstorm I was watching some of these on YouTube. Here are the top five that I found that freaked me out!
Dead children in their morgue drawers equals a spot in the top five.
Mr. Yuk causes me to shiver when he sings “sick sick sick.”
European PSAs are longer and more disturbing to me. I may never speed again after watching this.
Go buy another frisbee kid. Please!
I didn’t rank the five but feel this is the most chilling PSA I have ever seen. ”I am the spirit of dark and lonely water.”
Please let me know if you have other examples you feel should have made the list!
Where do we put all this snow?
We are receiving another foot of snow today in what looks to be a record setting winter! About three weeks ago I snapped a photo and asked if I should move to a warmer climate, remember the Baywatch video? I just snapped a photo a little while ago at the same location so you can get a sense of what is happening in every parking lot, on every sidewalk, and in every driveway in Maine! I lined up the American Flag under the left hand corner of the Bank of America sign to make the comparison as close as possible. The images would be much more dramatic if I went to a Wal-Mart or a mall parking lot.
North Korea unveils ambitious plan to lasso the moon and bring it to earth
The Onion just reported that Kim Jong-il’s moon plan is now public. The details are amazing!
It is surprising that the North Korean leader believed that George Bailey’s promise to lasso the moon was real and possible!
“Few things are as democratic as a snowstorm.” – Bern Williams
I needed to find a quote that made me less upset about the continued pummeling that Maine is about to take on Wednesday. I am just going to get into the mindset that I am participating in the democratic process. I don’t know where we will put all of this snow though!
Here are the expectations courtesy of WMTW.com.
Tumbleweeds at the Maine Mall in Portland
I was at the Maine Mall in Portland, Maine this morning to buy some cleaning supplies for my eyeglasses from Lenscrafters. It really hit me how slow everything appeared to be. To be fair it was a Monday morning at 10:30 so most of these stores just opened an hour before. I snapped some photos to give you a feel of the level of activity.
I felt like I just left a hospital thinking about people that were in pain in their hospital beds. These stores are in major pain. Maybe this is the bottom. JCPenney had 75% off on stuff that was already marked down 50%. I have never seen so many 50-75% off signs in my life. It had the feel of a going out of business sale that nobody knows about. Let’s hope that is not the case.
2.7 billion to 1
This clip is not new but I wanted to share it for anyone that hasn’t seen it. It is from the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event. In this hand a royal flush beats four aces. According to the announcers the odds of seeing this happen are 1 in 2.7 billion. I think it is safe to say we will all never see this hand again if those odds are correct. This is a bad beat of the atomic level.
The funniest thing is that final ace came out on the river which means the guy that hit his four of a kind did not stop for a micro second to consider the final three cards on the board were three cards to a royal. Why think about this, after all the odds are 2.7 billion to 1?! This guy was trying his best not to explode in celebration as you hear him say “let’s gamble!”
Top 5 most annoying terms used in sports broadcasting today
With the Superbowl and March Madness in the near future I thought I would highlight the most annoying and overused sayings that sports broadcasters use and why these just are not appropriate. I am sure there are many others, let me know!
Dagger - This one is used almost once a game these days and it doesn’t matter what sport. When a team has built up a large lead all the announcers get overly excited and blurt out “there’s the dagger!” and “it’s dagger time!” A dagger is a double-edged blade used for stabbing. Have we become so violent that we have to use this term when one team has a game wrapped up?
Swagger – Like many overused sports terms this one was never used at all just a few years back. These announcers jump on terms like dogs on raw meat and swagger is one that red hot right now. Swagger means that a team is very confident to the point of arrogance. My problem with the term is that it is used to the point of overkill. A team will lose its swagger, get its swagger back, and on and on. If you watch any football or basketball game today I assure you this term will be used at least once, if not many times.
Blue collar – Usually this term is followed by the word lunch pail and hard working. I understand how this term probably was first used. A player that doesn’t get much notice because his position isn’t as glamorous as the other positions. This person would perform his duties well, work very hard, and not get much credit. This is all fine and good but announcers today use it for everyone basically that they think are hard working. In reality there are no blue collar professional athletes.
Garden variety – In football when the difference between a 5 yard and 15 yard face-mask or roughing/running into the punter penalty is being discussed the 5 yard penalty is always described as being of the garden variety kind. I don’t know how this term ever cornered the market but is used constantly in this context.
Mass of humanity – In football if there is a fumble or if a play ends with many offensive and defensive linemen falling on each other this term will make an ugly appearance. I have news for the announcers, a group of like 10 guys does not equal of mass of humanity.
These are the five that I thought of above all the others. I look forward to hearing about any others you may think of.
