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See also Webfolio, Whimsy, + I Art Wert
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WEBLOG
March 31, 2000
Mmmm... cholesterol.
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March 30, 2000
Interview with the Search Engine. This reminds me of the computer psychologist Eliza from another era.
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March 29, 2000
Join the fun! Activate the one-day-only Make David Happy Email System. (Works belatedly.)
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Musicians on Napster and MP3s. I agree with both sides of the whole Napster argument, but it's important to see how it affects the artists themselves.
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Interesting: Is Yahoo! turning into a mutual fund? (From Tomalak's Realm.)
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March 28, 2000
Full confession: I think the new Hanson single, "This Time Around," is great.
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Rafe Colburn points today to an article by Jon Carroll on society's responsibility for an increase in diabetes patients.
I have to disagree with Carroll's assessment, and his logic. He seems to believe that corporate America should be held accountable for society's ills. Unfortunately, such accountability cannot be granted so ambitiously. It is no more accurate to blame McDonald's and Pepsico for making Americans overweight and susceptible to illnesses than it is to condemn all the fat, lazy Americans who use the drive-in for their Quarter Pounders with Cheese because they're too sedentary to walk the ten paces from the parking lot to the counter in order to buy their calorie-rich foods.
A Quarter Pounder with Cheese Extra Value Meal (large fries, medium Coke) has 1280 calories and 56 grams of fat. I don't think a finger can be pointed at either McDonald's or its patrons -- one wants, the other sells. Gluttony is gluttony.
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March 24, 2000
I bought stock in ILNK on a recommendation yesterday. Today I tried I-Link's Internet telephony system. And it rocks. Free phone calls anywhere in the contiguous 48 states for now, and they'll be licensing their system and patents in the near future. This is phenomenal.
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"Even if it feels bad, it's just that it's something that feels different. There's just this urge with kids my age to derange your senses."
-- Peter LaBier, student at Vassar College
I had a hard enough time being the non-drinker in my college fraternity in the '90s -- imagine what a square I'd be in this environment.
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March 23, 2000
Project for a film student: watch all the films "by" Alan Smithee. I wonder if this qualifies as an inside-the-industry tally of the worst movies ever made.
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March 21, 2000
More from New York magazine: Michael Wolff presents an excellent overview of the economics of selling a magazine at the supermarket. The whole article, about Jann Wenner's attempt to re-create Us as a weekly, is interesting, but for the fun financials, skip to page two and start reading at "Okay."
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March 20, 2000
The men's mag Details is getting the axe. It's about time. I was once a devoted Details reader, but it's been a complete dud since they switched to a "Let's beat Maxim at its own game" format last year.
Interestingly, the magazine is going to be relaunched as a men's fashion magazine in October. Fashion is something Details covered pretty well before Mark Golin took over. Funny how things all come around in the end. (Note to Fairchild Publications: Bring back Glenn O'Brien!)
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March 17, 2000
When I was in college I had a great toy for my Macintosh called Rapmaster, which let me play DJ with a boombox and a turntable. The beats were fun, the sound samples clever, and if I scratched poorly the game would laugh in my face.
Rapmaster worked less and less well with each new version of the Mac OS, and I haven't touched it in years. So I was thrilled when I was shown scratch it, a Shockwave DJ stage. Boom boom boom! I've been playing turntablist all morning. Stand back, Mixmaster Mike, DJ Dave is on your ass.
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Really old web pages. (from Hesketh's WD listserv)
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March 16, 2000
BlowTheDotOutYourAss.com.
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March 15, 2000
New York magazine has an article this week on the city's "poverty elite" -- twentysomethings making next to no salary who get ridiculous job perks and hobnobbing opportunities. There was a time not long ago when I wanted to be a media wag myself, when my salary was meager and my reliance was on free T-shirts and CDs and -- if I was lucky -- the occasional Rangers ticket or celebrity run-in.
Now, though, I find it annoying, and a little sad. A man in the story is quoted as saying, "I started at $24,000, but it would be more like $100,000 with what I get." Personally, I'd rather be making $100,000 and spending like I only had $24,000 than have it the other way around. Freebies are always great, but to live your life on the expectancy of them is to live a lie. And whether they like it or not, these media darlings should not be at all impressed with themselves simply because they talk on their cell phones right next to Julia Roberts talking on hers. Like Julia even notices you. Like it _matters_ if Julia notices you. Get over yourselves.
I actually think I'm more annoyed at the article than the people in it. This story comes two weeks after New York's profile of Silicon Alley veterans, which managed to offend and misrepresent an entire industry. I'm well aware of New York magazine's propensity for sensationalism, but now my peers are the ones being exploited, and I'm getting tired of it.
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Aphorism by Carl Steadman: "Addiction is for people with nothing better to do."
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March 13, 2000
Free movie rentals at Urban Fetch all day today. Don't know why. I don't think they're sending cookies today, but hey -- free movie. I ordered "Summer of Sam" just because.
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This week's New York Times Magazine has a great article on the runaway nature of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. James Gleick provides excellent insight as to what is happening to the patent office and why.
The article includes commentary on equally nutty non-technology-related patents issued recently, including "technique for measuring a breast with a tape, to determine bra size; and one for executing a tennis stroke while wearing a kneepad" (the diagram of breast measurement technique has been thoughtfully reproduced online). I think I'm going to patent the way I lay on my side with my arm in the air holding the remote control while I watch TV.
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I'm published once more. See the new sidebar for links to all my external writings.
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March 10, 2000
Urban Fetch is a good service and its staff does a great job -- I got my 4-5 p.m. delivery at 4:10 this afternoon, right on schedule.
But someone stiffed me on my cookies today! What incentive do I have to use Urban Fetch over Kozmo.com if I'm not getting munchies with my movie?
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Heavy metal musicians' penises. File this one under "humor" and not "personal interest," thank you. (from Memepool)
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March 9, 2000
Finally took the plunge and installed Napster at work today. Didn't want to clog my employer's T1, and I have a Mac at home, so I was stuck. Fortunately, I found the "Remove from Library" feature, so I don't have to reverse-share my tracks during regular business hours.
Oh, lord, do I love Napster.
No more running around borrowing CDs to burn one track. No more $12.99 bad buys. No more "Gee, I really want to hear that song right now, too bad I can't!" Instant gratification, instant music collection embellishment.
You know, a portable MP3 player would be a nifty birthday present.
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March 7, 2000
I knew "they" loved me, but I never knew how much. (from Evhead via nursing 'n surfing)
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I'm published again.
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March 6, 2000
That is one big freakin' cat.
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I'm teaching again, starting tonight. I am an instructor for Open-i Media, a web shop in Tribeca. I teach HTML (level 1 and 2) and tonight am making my first foray into Photoshop for Multimedia. I enjoy teaching -- it gives me a chance to practice numerous interpersonal skills, and I get use my web knowledge on a freelance basis without using my hands.
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March 3, 2000
Today's history lesson: Californication was a term for urban sprawl term long before the Red Hot Chili Peppers turned it into a quasi-sexual album title. (Eighth paragraph down.)
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I love the stock market paradoxes occurring these days, like 3Com's situation: they own 94% of Palm stock, which is worth around $40 billion right now, but 3Com itself has a total valuation of around $30 billion including its own businesses and assets. What a strange era this is.
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March 2, 2000
Trebuchet MS is a handsome font. So, for that matter, is the printable version of Verdana. Verdana looks good on a screen -- it's the default on this page, if you're not familiar with fonts -- but it looks even better in graphics and on paper.
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March 1, 2000
I just ordered my <body> tag shirt. The geek in me is really looking forward to it. (Thanks, Jason. I think.)
I ordered it from Copyleft, which was a fairly straightforward ecommerce site, sort of cool in a geek-chic sort of way. After I paid, I got this on the thank-you page:
"We generally get orders out within two or three days ... we will occasionally have to go to the press with stuff that we run out of. Plus, every now and then we have a tendency to goof off."
Honesty with a touch of self-deprecation is a nice pairing.
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Read February or see netWert home
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