The Index

A compilation of facts regarding the Bush administration.
Interesting to say the least.

The Darwin Awards

The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally remove themselves from it...

Needless to say, the images seen below were sent to me by a very good friend with a wonderful sense of humor. Enjoy.

The 2008 Contractor Awards:

And the winner is...

Houston, we have a problem. :)

Why is this man smiling?

"Even before word came on Tuesday that Citigroup might split into pieces to shore up its finances, an unpleasant message was moving through Congress and President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team: the banks need more taxpayer money.

In all likelihood, a lot more money.

Mr. Obama seems to know it; a week before his swearing-in, he is lobbying Congress to release the other half of the financial industry bailout fund. Democratic leaders in Congress seem to know it, too; they are urging their rank and file to act quickly to release the rescue money. And Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, certainly knows it."

Of course we don't know where the 2 trillion dollars the Fed gave to parties unknown but that's ok, printing money is something the Fed knows how to do all too well. Note: the two trillion was fungible monies under direct control of the Fed.

"Strange as it ever was" - Talking Heads

It's a Start

"In the report, “The Digital Road to Recovery: A Stimulus Plan to Create Jobs, Boost Productivity and Revitalize America,” ITIF provides a detailed analysis and estimate of the short-term jobs impacts of spurring investment in three critical digital networks: broadband networks, the smart grid (making the electric distribution system intelligent) and health IT, and outlines policy steps to spur this investment."

This report makes sense, something that cannot be said of the monster bailout to parties unknown.

W - The Black Hole Man

A must read from Salon about W, the Master of Disaster.

Sad But True

There's a new website consisting of headlines delineating the death of traditional publishing, something that's inevitable due to the ever accelerating pace of tech. Like many who grew up analog, I too will miss the touch and feel of newspapers, books and magazines when reading up on what's happening on this crazy planet called earth. Radio will live on but for all the rest, the clock is ticking.

History of the Internet

History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.
Pocol's take on design & Open Source rocks as well.

Tiny Assassin

"Based on extensive field studies, the work challenges six decades of salt marsh science. Ecologists have long thought that stressed soil – too much salt, not enough oxygen – was the main killer of this critical marine habitat.

But Brian Silliman, a Brown University research fellow and a University of Florida assistant professor, said drought-stressed soils pave the way for predatory periwinkles that spread fungal disease as they graze on cordgrass. “Snails can transform healthy marsh to mudflats in a matter of months,” said Silliman, lead author of the Science paper. “This finding represents a huge shift in the way we see salt marsh ecology. For years, scientists thought marsh die-off was simply a ‘bottom-up’ problem related solely to soil conditions. We found that the trouble also comes from the top down. Drought makes the marsh vulnerable, then the snails move in.”

"The findings, the authors argue, underscore the interplay of climate and consumers in the worldwide collapse of coastal systems. While an overabundance of snails may fuel southeastern salt marsh destruction, they point to other examples of habitat destruction that may be caused, in part, by a plethora of grazers: sea urchins wiping out California kelp beds, sea stars devastating Australian coral reefs, snow geese decimating marshes along the Arctic Sea, bark beetles killing off Arizona pine forests."

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men (snails, sea urchins, sea stars, snow geese, bark beetles etc., etc.) ? Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh! The Shadow knows...") :)

Search Me

Unlike Brando, who said to Rod Steiger in On the Waterfront,
"I couda been a contender", Search Me actually may become one to Google. Elegant visual interface that works is a new wrinkle in the search game, something whose time has come if you ask me.

Y2K for Zunes

Happy New Year from Microsoft Corp.: Your Zune is dead.

Another reason why Microsoft no longer rules