The Linking Verb: See
MORE: Apocalypse • Drink • Eat • Family • Hear


Photo Friday: Tacky -- Sagamore, Mass. (12.22.2004)

The Spanish Inquisition Sketch -- I won't bother to explain how I happened upon this today.... Suffice it to say that it is even funnier reading it than it was watching it. Or maybe that's an indication of the kind of day I'm having. Either way, I found it to be great fun for a moment. (12.2.2004)

Browser test drive -- I began giving Firefox 1.0 a whirl yesterday, and for the most part am pleased. I know in the long run that I will be much happier with it as a development and design medium. However, some things require acclimation -- tabbed browsing being chief among them -- after so many years as an IE-aholic.

Criticisms thus far:

All in all, most of these are minor nuisances. I give the experience a B+ so far. (11.20.2004)

I didn't realize it had been so long since my last confession. So here's some cool things I ran across last week, in no particular order (6.12.2004):

Boomerang -- DirecTV called me over the weekend, and tried to sell me on subscribing to either the Sports Pack or the Starz Super Pack. They picked a bad month. Not only do I get my weekly sports fix from the NFL Sunday Ticket -- a fantasy football godsend if ever there was one -- but this month is all Looney Tunes, all the time on Boomerang, the throwback offshoot of Cartoon Network. I was in TV heaven this weekend, especially because the kids were perfectly happy to join in the Looney fest. I don't need to add to the ridiculous amount of TV already available to me, thank you very much. Not only that, but I have tried the Sports Pack previously, and find it a waste. Yes, it affords me the chance to catch USC football and basketball games on Fox Sports West, but those games are often too late for me anyway. I'd be much happier if satellite and cable companies -- or the networks... I'm frankly not sure who to blame -- allowed a la carte pro and college sports purchases, just as they do for pay-per-view movies, boxing, etc. The only way I could have watched the USC-UCLA game Saturday would have been to buy the entire $119 college football package, and that's not worth it to me. I'll never spend that for college football. I'd rather buy one or two games a season. The capability has to exist. In fact, DirecTV would likely get more money out of me that way. Better than getting no college sports sales from at all. (11.24.2003)

Jump The Shark - Chronicling the Moments of When TV Shows go Downhill -- I heard Dennis and Callahan use this phrase in reference to 24 this morning, so I went in search of an explanation.

It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it "Jumping the Shark." From that moment on, the program will simply never be the same.

Some great TV nostalgia at this site. I loved the different categories. I sampled the Law & Order entry, and agree with the 231 people who voted that it has never jumped. But the "Other Thoughts" section at the bottom provokes more thinking on the topic than I'd ever thought possible. (11.18.2003)

Book Review Blog - BaseballBooks.net -- Lo and behold, a baseball book blog. Not a lot of meat to it, but I like the concept, if not the execution. (11.5.2003)

Stroud's CWSApps -- It's the mother lode! In need of various browsers to test that latest Web design? I am, but I actually happened on this quite by accident while looking for some CSS-editing alternatives to Dreamweaver and Notepad. In addition to a page of links to various Web development applications, this site also offers a page linking to every browser I could imagine (and some I'd not yet encountered). Lots of other apps, too. I'm not sure which manic fit of hard-drive purge caused me to get rid of my multiple versions of Netscape, but I am now burning up the DSL lines dowloading the installers so I can troubleshoot my latest project. (8.28.2003)

Screen grab -- I was in the midst of a freelance project tonight, when I suddenly needed stats on screen resolutions. Seems pretty evenly split: Roughly 40 percent use 800x600, while another 40 percent use 1024x768. But that's not all I learned. I've always known that 800x600 doesn't really mean you get to use all that width and/or depth. You must account for default browser configurations. Mine is pretty slimmed down, so it's never been a good test for this, which is OK, because Adrian Roselli and Steve Mulder beat me to the punch. Roselli writes a two-part case study for evolt.org, first showing how to track screen resolution, and later analyzing what he learned. Mulder writes a well-crafted guide on Webmonkey, which on the second page shows some granular detail on browser windows, and breaks down the safest bets for canvas size. Later, if you want to see massive amounts of stats, go to TheCounter.com. Click a month. On the next page, there's some links tucked into the right side of the page that allow you to see breakdowns of browsers, resolutions, etc. The site is not a paragon of usability, but the stats are worth the trip. (8.22.2003)

"Hidden treasures: All underrated list" by Jim Caple -- He had me riveted until he got to Parker Posey. Parker Posey?! She's the leader in the clubhouse for All Annoying (a list I will have to write myself soon). I'll also have to ponder my alternative nomination for most underrated actress. So far, Linda Fiorentino comes to mind, but that is also because I recently watched The Last Seduction. But back to the original point of this entry. Special kudos to Caple for this one:

Underrated seat location: The bleachers

Let the overpaid CEOs sip wine in their luxury suites while pondering layoff numbers. Give me the cheap seats in the outfield, where I can catch a home run and enjoy a beer with fans who aren't afraid to show their passion.

The bleachers at Fenway Park always get panned. The seats aren't the epitome of luxury, but I'm still a big fan of catching a game from there. Granted, I've not tried the new Monster Seats, yet....

Even when I was living in California, I attended every Angels game when the Red Sox were in town -- before the renovations and renaming to Edison Field. The bleacher seats in right field were $5 (Good Lord, I sound like an old fart!). There wasn't much better than that on a college budget. Heck, there's not much better than the $20 bleacher seats at Fenway now. (8.4.2003)

CLAMS -- No, not the shellfish (though we had some mighty tasty ones along with corn right off the backyard grill over the holiday weekend). This is probably neither new nor amazing to anyone but me. I was trying to see if a book I recommended to my grandfather -- The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky -- was available at Snow Library in Orleans. It is, and also available at several other Cape libraries. The CLAMS system -- a computerized federation of all Cape Cod public libraries -- has been around since I was a child. Really neat to see the concept translate well to the Internet age. "This Internet thing... it'll never last...." (© Jay Small) (7.9.2003)

CD Baby -- In addition to the Alexi Murdoch CD, we found ourselves ordering another from this site: thunderstruck by floron. Artist is someone Brandy works with. We liked what we heard from the samples, so we added it to the cart. A few site visits later, I also saw that Boris McCutcheon, recommended by Bill O'Neill in his Sunday CD column, is selling his wares on CD Baby. I've not yet had a chance to listen to the samples, so not sure if we'll be buying that too. Regardless, nice to see a site catering to independent music. (7.9.2003)
7.10.2003 addendum: All that, and a sense of humor. This was the fine print I received on my e-mailed shipping receipt:

Your CDs have been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.

A team of 50 employees inspected your CDs and polished them to make sure they were in the best possible condition before mailing.

Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CDs into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.

We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved 'Bon Voyage!' to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Thursday, July 10th.

I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as "Customer of the Year". We're all exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

TigerTrap ad on GolfServ -- You may have to register/log in to see this.

I was on GolfServ last night, and while reading about ways to improve my beleaguered golf swing, I heard faint noises coming from my computer speakers, and thought I'd somehow managed to pick up a radio signal through my computer (worrisome, to say the least). I turned up the speakers, and the chatter stopped (turned out to be a coincidence, but that added to the confusion, to say the least).

A few golf tips later, I finally saw the source in the upper right corner of the page: A Buick ad featuring a short snippet of the a TigerTrap TV spot (on further review today it turns out to be a piece of the new IAB super banner, something I'd not realized last night. The video distracted me from the rest of the ad's creative message).

Now, maybe this is only is indicative of the creative impact of this specific ad. Or maybe it's simply that I've already tuned out the super banner. Regardless, there's no denying the multimedia drew me back in, despite my initial confusion. Ad folks have to consider that a win. (6.27.2003)

CSS Layout Techniques: for Fun and Profit -- Along with A List Apart (see earlier entry), Eric Costello's CSS design samples and explanations have been among my most frequently visited sites after hours. That might not say a lot about my social life, but the resources have been invaluable to a couple of freelance projects. Of course, no CSS resource list would be complete without a link to Eric Meyer, but I find myself using the other two more at this stage in my CSS knowledge development. (6.22.2003)

10 Questions for God -- There's no hint at who is writing or producing this, but it is entertaining reading, regardless of your religious persuasion. (6.4.2003)

TouchGraph Google Browser -- Vin Crosbie highlighted this on E-Media Tidbits. He explains it better than I could. I'll just add that it is a blast to play with, even if you don't understand how it works. (5.22.2003)

B.B. Wolf (A.K.A. Big Bad Wolf) v. Curly Pig -- Sure, it's a good lesson for kids, but it's also pretty funny for adults when reading this rendition and format. A friend noted that someone must have too much time on their hands. It was not clear if he meant the authors for writing it or me for finding it. (5.19.2003)

MagnaMagic -- Featured on "Chronicle" tonight, which I was able to only partially watch before a "Thomas" viewing was requested. Neat stuff. Perfect for a kids room. (5.6.2003)

Modern Drunkard Magazine -- Finally, a publication for the masses. (5.6.2003)

USS Mason -- So Mason is a destroyer, eh? We could have told the Navy that! Kidding aside, the ship was commissioned Thursday, and Florida Today's video tour is worth a peek. Stars & Stripes has a quick, interesting historical synopsis too. (4.14.2003)

Google Hacks -- Use Google as a phone book, dictionary, movie review finder and more. No disputing that Google is king, but Tara Calishain turns it into an uber emperor. Credit to Hiawatha Bray's column today for turning me onto this. (4.7.2003)

TheManShow.com Periodic Table -- All things male explained. If only chemistry class had been this entertaining. Thanks Joe, who found it at fark.com. (4.7.2003)

A List Apart -- I've been getting a crash course in CSS and XHTML both in my day job and freelance work this year. This site gave me a major assist over the weekend, explaining CSS lists/menus in a way that was very easy to understand. Coming soon to a client's Web site near you, after which I'll have fun here playing with what I've learned. (4.6.2003)

GrillLovers.com -- This catalog arrived in the mail today. Move over, Sharper Image. Then I checked out the Web site... nirvana on a stick! They have an online wish list! Spring is coming, and Daddy's going to need a brand new grill and accessories (once all this bleeping snow stops melting into our basement...)!

Another grill find tonight: Woodbridge Vintage Barrel Chips. The site's aim is to peddle wood chips for the grill made from recycled (I prefer to think of them as retired) wine casks. Sounds like an overdue idea to me. I'm game. But the site is more than e-commerce, with recipes, tips, trivia, food features and a wine guide. (3.5.2003)

newsQuakes -- I found this site thanks to Al Tompkins Morning Meeting. It inspires. Done right on the local level, it would provide a unique and interesting method of interacting with the news. I've long contended (well, OK, maybe it's only been a couple of years) that we need to make the news more accessible and entertaining in order to further breed audience loyalty and build online communities. Doing so, though, requires a good amount of resources, training and imagination -- all of which are intertwined and consequently depleted at most news sites. newsQuakes is a good stepping off point, and at the outset should be fairly low hanging fruit. (2.20.2003)

Guinness.com -- Downloads -- Need I say more? (1.30.2003)

IFILM's Super Bowl Ads 2003 -- Missed a Super Bowl ad or three because of munching, gabbing or chasing after a kid or two? IFILM does a nice job on the presentation, organizing according to genre. In reading the list, I missed more than I realized. Of those we did watch, the Sierra Mist commercial featuring the baboons was a favorite. (1.27.2003)

The WildMonk Iraqi-War Personality Test -- Link comes courtesy of Sheila Lennon's Subterranean Home Page News. I scored a 58 on the anti- or pro-U.S. scale, and an 8 on the rationality scale. My green bar is right smack dab in the middle of Center-Right.

Related: Later in the day, I came across AmIAnnoying.com, thanks to Steve Klein on E-Media Tidbits. Took one of their quizzes, and learned I am "tolerable, if not pleasant." More fun to peruse their lists of annoying celebrities, and read the writeups of why someone might get on your nerves. They're equal opportunists, though, also noting for each celebrity -- no matter how annoying -- some redeeming qualities. (1.23.2003)

Bachman Pretzels -- I suppose I shouldn't knock it until I try it, but I'm a little frightened by the prospect of Baked JAX-A-RONI and Cheese. (1.13.2003)

Porsche Cayenne S -- Saw this advertised on TV yesterday. The ultimate mid-life crisis vehicle! Suddenly, I have a new dream car (not that I wouldn't still want a 928S). (1.6.2003)

Frontline: Much Ado About Something -- Brandy was watching this last night while I watched USC trounce Iowa in the Orange Bowl. She noted that if it weren't for the football game, I'd have loved watching this instead. She's right, of course. And anything that gets my wife to seek more information on the Web (I noticed this site called up on my computer this morning) is absolutely worth a second look. This site is thorough and intriguing. (1.3.2003)

Bob the Builder -- So far, Mason just likes to hear the intro song over and over (and over and over...). Sam, though, enjoyed the interactive games, despite the trouble he was having with the mouse connected to my laptop. Confession: I had fun with the maze where Scoop picks up packages. It's tricky! (10.27.2002)

Emailreplies.com -- How to send effective e-mail replies and why e-mail etiquette is necessary, it says. After reading through many of the 32 tips, I -- more than most I know -- could use the refresher course. My suggestion for Tip 33? Never let emotion get the better of you. If an e-mail upsets or frustrates you, walk away from the computer for a while. Perhaps let it sit overnight. Another piece of advice I picked up at this summer's National News Leadership Workshop: Praise in writing, criticize in person. Something else I need to heed more often. Ever notice how difficult it is to heed your own advice? (10.22.2002)

The Political Compass -- Picked out from among Al Tompkins' daily offerings. Find out where you stand in the political spectrum. And they don't limit it to left and right. They simultaneously gauge authoritarian versus libertarian viewpoints too. In the interest of full disclosure, I am slightly conservative economically, and slightly libertarian (Economic Left / Right: -0.25; Authoritarian / Libertarian: -1.44). No surprise, in the end. I'll be interested to see how that changes as the years blow by. (10.16.2002)

PubCrawler -- Bills itself as the "online beer search engine for beer bars, brew pubs and microbreweries." Say no more! Not the prettiest site you've ever seen, but it's a tremendous resource. I've run across it more than a few times in my Google searches for the restaurants and watering holes listed here. Allows for reader reviews, too. (10.9.2002)

The Phrase Finder -- A friendly debate at work today over the origin of OK (and a previous debate over the origin of "one fell swoop") led our intrepid programmer, Joe Alba, to discover this site. Suddenly, all of life's little etymological mysteries lay open to us. Later in the day, I discovered a similarly interesting site: Wilton's Word and Phrase Origins (10.3.2002)

museumofse[x] -- Never mind the subject matter, although its certainly enough to get your attention. The use of Flash, particularly for the "1001 Nights in Manhattan" online exhibit, is phenomenal. The best use of Flash interactivity I've seen to date. The "NYC Sex: How New York City Transformed Sex in America" section is also fascinating. (10.2.2002)

   August 30th seemed to be an ordinary day at home. I had the day off from work, so I intended to devote my full attention to Mason while Brandy worked at the store.
   Boy, was I in for a treat.
What is heretofore known far and wide as The Great Yogurt Incident seemed harmless at first (The Great Incidents always do). Brandy and I had both noticed that Mason of late was keenly interested in operating a spoon by himself. The time had come to cut the umbilical utensil.
   And he started well. He'd stick the spoon into the plastic container, and shovel whatever glommed onto the plastic into his mouth. It was more of a dip than a scoop.
   But then came the hands. He decided the texture on his tongue was not enough of a sample for his scientific experimentation. He had to feel the yogurt -- be one with it -- oozing it through his fingers as he squished fistful after fistful of Yo Baby organic vanilla.
   He didn't stop there, of course. The pictures speak for themselves....
   Some advice to the parents among you: When deciding to allow your child to experience independence with a spoon, do not come in too close with the camera. I narrowly evaded a yogurt-splattered lens. (9.17.2002)

LarryStone.com -- Speaking of DT alumni, checking out Larry's site brought back fond memories of Dijon the Armadillo, who lives on in Zeno's Paradise. But the real reason I went to Larry's site was to peek in on the Comic Strip War! (7.1.2002)

102 Minutes: Inside the Towers -- Depressing, outstanding and riveting. Because I'm not a regular nytimes.com visitor (though really I should be), I learned about this from Steve Outing's entry in the E-Media Tidbits blog he writes with several others. Exhaustive research went into this interactive, multimedia presentation that chronicles from the point of impact -- and above and just below -- at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 to the towers' collapse. The project shows real journalistic imagination while also showing how compelling and virtually three-dimensional Flash can be as a story-telling tool. (5.29.2002)

stinkfactor.com/challenges.cfm -- We had a lengthy discussion at our staff meeting today about Web logs. Coincidentally, there was some discussion of these on the Online-News listserv today (spurred by a NYT article this week). Those simultaneous events indirectly led to me finding this site, which speaks for itself in daredevilry and hilarity (2.28.2002)

Garageband Records -- THE coolest unsigned band site I've encountered. (11.1.2001)

The Magic 8-BallŪ -- An Unofficial Home Page -- The best part of this site is the dissection of the famous 8-Ball. Lots of other treats too. (10.30.2001)

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine -- The history of the WWW at your fingertips. My favorite section is the one that looks back at he sites that started it all. (10.29.2001)

Sydney Opera House -- The best Flash site I've encountered. (9.21.2001)

MORE: Apocalypse • Drink • Eat • Family • Hear

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