I forget the power of words. It's not often. I love to write, and do so frequently, in case you couldn't tell from the relatively long winded and frequent updates to this blog. But, sometimes I forget that the words I choose are so very important.
Words can change the world, and have. Words can sway minds and topple empires. Words and unite, and words can divide.
Of course, you knew that, and I won't bore you anymore with it. I just like to reflect on things like that sometimes. So, without further ado, you may click "Read More..." and have at it.
SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH AFRICAN ECONOMICS EXPERT
"For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!"
That's an actual quote. I've been saying this for years, although perhaps for slightly different, or at least not so well explained reasons. I've never liked the idea of giving money and aid to places that aren't capable of supporting themselves.
To me, it's like the old proverb: "Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for the rest of his life."
Perhaps it seems cruel, being that I also support, to some degree anyway, population control. We are a species quickly over growing our little sandbox. In in-hospitable locales, people aren't able to support themselves, therefore they die. Do I think this is sad? Of course. But, I also feel like it's necessary.
Apart from that, there's also the power problems that come from providing aid to certain parts of the world. The simple fact is that when the developed world starts pouring money into certain places, there's going to be certain people that want it. It monies and food won't be equally disseminated amongst the populace, there's always going to be disparity between the top and the bottom.
I could go on, talking about many of the things that are mentioned in the interview. But, it's probably better if you just read it for yourself. It's nice, sometimes, when you see that someone actually agrees with you.
If it's going to be sink or swim, sometimes it's best not to throw out the life line.
Flick a Day
This is a pretty cool concept. I wouldn't keep up with it, but, it's still a cool concept.
Ask.com is trying....
They are. Trying really hard to be better than Google. It's hard, of course, to beat them, but, I have to admit that Ask.com has always been a solid search engine. They've relaunched with a new interface, one that's a bit more 3D. I like the look, but I have to admit that I'm not fond of the performance from the new interface. It feels just a bit sluggish, and if I have to wait for even a moment just because they want it to look pretty... well, I don't consider that a win. Besides, I don't think they have a-mail, or ask docs and spreadsheets, or any of the other wonderful services Google lets me use for free, yet. So, I'm not exactly willing to dump Google as my primary search engine.
Still, I'll be keeping an eye on them, as I always have.
Shelby GT500 Super Snake
When I think of all the things I'd like to spend $72,000 on, this isn't one of them. However, it's still pretty impressive. Apparently, you start with the $45,000 GT500, with all it's 500hp glory, and then you drop another $28,000 on the Super Snake kit, bumping it up to 725hp!. If this is true, it would make it the most powerful street legal, warranty-carrying Mustang ever.
I don't know about all that. But, it certainly makes my Hyundai look more like a go-cart than ever.
How not to use PowerPoint.
There's a great video of a stand-up act by Don McMillan that revolves entirely around PowerPoint.
I hate PowerPoint. I don't know why I hate things that allow stupid people to think they know something, but I do.
Mind Operated Computers
I remember when I first read about the advances that had been made, a couple years ago a quadriplegic man was using only his brain to play video games. Now, the research has been continuing, and there's a lot to be said on the subject.
I thought the article was an interesting read.
Brilliance in Design
Being who I am, it's not hard to imagine that I'm interested in new and different ways of designing things. I've seen a lot of new "green" designs of late, and I've even seen paper that can be planted so that it will grow into something.
However, I'm pretty impressed by a these designs for a business cards that sprout.
Blueprint: Another Time Waster
As puzzle games go, Blueprint is one of them. It's pretty fun, like playing MouseTrap or something of the like. The concept is simple: rearrange the given elements to make a ball hit a target (both of which are static).
As always, I'm not responsible for your loss of productivity.
MySpace
As much as I hate to admit it, I have one. However much I hate having it, it is a good way to keep in touch with people that have, for some reason, forgotten about email, and can only remember they have friends if they appear in a list half-way down their page.
Perhaps it's a visual thing.
Either way, I have it, and since I don't like the fact that people with zero design skill are allowed assault me with as many flashing, moving, and transparent things as possible, all while paying zero attention to details like contrasting colors and readability, I prefer my page to look as little like a MySpace page as possible.
Enter the DIV Overlay.
Now, this isn't something that I couldn't code myself by hand, but, thankfully, there's a few resources available that make it much less of a nightmare.
First, because I actually think it's a pretty well built site, we have #bbbz.space. This page is a generator, and unlike the dozens of shitty generators out there, instead of adding moving and flashing graphics, it will just overlay your page with something a little more aesthetically pleasing. The main reason I like this is that has an automatic link generator. When working with Cold Fusion db commands, it's a pain to have to copy each link manually, and then remove the tokens and adjust the 'friendid' in each one.
If you'd prefer, there's some pre-built ones at 5thirtyone.com, which is where I went. This is a less 'user friendly' option, because the guy merely hands you some code, and lets you go loose on it. It's fine, if you have a fair idea of how to hand code you're links, but there's no reference in the pack (at least not in the one I chose, perhaps it's a little more friendly with the other options).
Either way, the result is a much better looking page, without all the terrible flash and glitz of MySpace.
And, in the imortal works that is xkcd.com:
(Note, I'm well aware that I've posted this before. Also, I'm well aware that you can't actually SEE my MySpace page.)
I'm done for now...
As usual, thanks for reading, or at least scrolling over, my words. Y'all come back now, y'hear?
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