I love this Internet stuff
A Trick to Avoid News Website Registration
posted by Eric J | 3:33 PM

I thought they said BLUE TUESDAY
Why is this site grey today? (kottke.org)
posted by Eric J | 12:23 PM

On Newspapers and Fondue
I'm new to Fondue. It's just something I haven't had a lot of interest in but I'm always willing to try new things so I took the wife to The Melting Pot Friday night for some Fondue Fun.

And it was fun. Nice, cozy little booth. Little simmering pot on the table. Good music playing at just the right volume (too many eateries blare music at concert levels). Lots of cheese, dipping, sauces and all the other Fondue goodies. A very nice evening... for $109.81 (that includes the 20% tip).

I'm not complaining about the price. I've dropped much more than that on a dinner for two before so the price wasn't really an issue except that it got me thinking about what exactly I was paying for. It wasn't the food because that was neither exotic nor artistically presented (nor plentiful). The expense was for the "experience" of Fondue. The atmosphere. The ambiance. All those intangibles that make the dinner something to remember. And it is THAT experience that popped into my mind this morning when I walked down my driveway to find my Sunday Paper was MISSING!

I admit, even though I work at a paper, I don't read it every day. However, I never miss the Sunday Paper. There's nothing better than sipping black coffee in my pajamas while reading the Sunday Paper. And this Sunday was even more important because my Tigers just won their way to the top of Conference-USA last night. I wanted to read those glowing game stats (Sean Banks... please hang around another year).

Now, I could have quickly fired up the PowerBook and read the "Sunday Paper" on the Web but I just didn't want to do that. There's something unsatisfying about reading the Sunday Paper online. I know that's heresy coming from a Web guy like myself but it's a reality that I can't escape. I love the Web more than most but I also understand the value of an inky newspaper. Sort of like my Fondue experience, it's those subtle intangibles (or in the case of a newspaper I guess they are sort of tangible) that make the paper so enjoyable. There's no scrolling with the paper. Maybe a jump-page but I can spatially see EVERYTHING at one glance where I'm much more restricted on the Web. There's also resolution to think about. No matter how good my LCD is, the paper is still much clearer and easier to read (though that may change in the next couple of years with better screens). The list goes on.

This is not to say that the paper is superior to the Web. It's just saying that the paper is different. Just like that Fondue place. It's an experience that can't be substituted by its online counterpart but in the same way, the online version has advantages that can't be duplicated in print.

I say all this just to share my modest epiphany about newspapers. They are great. Still great in this era of online everything. One day they may disappear into history books and antique shops but not today. And yes, I finally did get my paper at around 12:30 p.m. and so all is well in the webraw household.

The End.
posted by Eric J | 2:04 PM

I'm not "getting political" here but...
I love Ralph Nader. I don't love him for his politics or his consumer advocacy but because he's a man of principle (though he and I have many common beliefs). Dave Winer brings up the very same points I've been discussing since I first voted in the 1992 presidential election. Americans should vote for the guy they think will do best for the country, NOT who they think will win. I've heard that tripe spouted from both sides of the aisle since I first began watching American politics and it really pisses me off.

It's that "two party" mentality that keeps us locked into this "two party" nonsense. Nader may have other motives for his presidential run but I'm glad he's running and I think that if people like him, they should vote for him. I said the same thing about Perot in '92 and '96. I just respect someone who votes for the guy they like instead of voting against someone else. That's really the way it should work isn't it?
posted by Eric J | 1:41 PM

Why we're ignoring Mars
Saw a letter to the editor in the local paper basically asking, "Why aren't you putting those Mars pictures on the front page every day?"

As you can see, the letter was complaining about the Media coverage (or non-coverage) of the Mars rovers and pictures. Well, the reason is very simple, all the damn photos are the same. We can only look at so many pics of red rocks (my limit is about 2 per year) before we just quit caring. Now if those pictures were of Janet Jackson's nipple or something, then we'd be seeing those pics every day (my personal Janet Jackson nipple limit is also 2 per year but you get the idea).

Then there's the robots. They're robots. I mean if the robots were cute and chirped and talked then we'd probably care a bit more but they aren't cute and the don't talk. So, we don't care. Or, if the robots fought or something, like if Rover I (or whatever the hell they named it) found Rover II and they whipped out some buzz saws and spiked hammers and started beating each other, THAT I'd like to see.

And all of this is EXACTLY why Bush wants to put people on Mars. Robots can't say cool things like, "One small step for man" but a person sure can. People make things exciting. Even more exciting if those people were women astronauts and showed a bit more skin and maybe even wrestled in that red, Martian Mud. Oooooh yeah. Now we're talking front page baby.
posted by Eric J | 5:30 PM

I heard about this
I like Dennis Miller. I don't love him but I like him. His little "rants" can be a bit formulaic and tiring at times but I mostly like them. I heard that he had a new show on CNBC and caught the last 5 seconds of it while tuning in to see the "Meet The Press" rerun. I now have another reason to watch CNBC on Sunday nights... at least till I get sick of Miller. It will be fun to see how the show is though.
posted by Eric J | 9:03 PM

More on Memphis Blogging
I've always loved hearing the words "more on" used in a sentence. The television news anchorman says, "More on the energy crisis after these commercial messages." I inwardly chuckle because it sounds like MORON. I also love hearing "you're in" because it sounds like URINE. I know, I'm strange and I find humor in the silliest things but that's just what makes me so darned lovable... or so my wife says.

So what about this Memphis Blogging thing?
Well, one of the things we discussed was our "hot-button issue." That one thing that is guaranteed to set us off and result in numerous blog posts ranging from an intelligent examination of the issue to maniacal rants that often end with A BUNCH OF CAPITAL LETTERS FOR EMPHASIS!!!

We went around the table (and yes, the table was actually round) and basically named a few of the traditional hot-button issues. Weapons of Mass Destruction. Religion. Sports. Media Bias. Australian Midget Tossing. RIAA (my "surprise" contribution). All wonderfully inspirational for any good blogger.

However, as I reflected on our conversation I thought about those "other" hot button issues that make blogs so damn exciting and just plain fun. The issues that aren't ordinarily part of the traditional blogger's repertoire. Things like "fear of monkeys" or "the extreme dislike of films starring Adam Sandler." The quirky and unique "minor hot-button issues" that make us laugh, scratch our heads and maybe laugh some more.

So, what is one of my "minor hot-button issue" (aka pet peeve)?
The poor usability of gasoline pumps. I can't stand going to a perfectly good gas station and interfacing with a pump built by the Marquis de Sade. The absolute worst offenders are pumps without a clearly labeled "YES" and "NO" button. Some pumps make those buttons the same color, size and placement of every other button, which inevitably leads to a mad search for the "YES" button after the blurry LED screen asks "Do you want to print a receipt?" There is a finite amount of time available to press the "YES" button after that question pops up and I feel like I'm James Bond racing to defuse the Bomb as the countdown nears 0:00.

To prove my little obsession with poor gas pump usability I've provided two photos of gas pumps I took on various road trips. I take these quite frequently and have quite a collection and most of the pumps are horribly designed. Below I've contrasted a well-designed pump with a poorly designed one. See if you can pick which is which.

Pump A



Pump B

I have a feeling that Jakob Nielsen is sitting somewhere smiling right now.
posted by Eric J | 9:15 AM

Memphis Blogging History

Met up with a few local bloggers at the bar and grill. Our wonderful waitress/photographer left out a couple of folks that were sitting on the left. It was an interesting bunch and good to talk blog... and other stuff. More later. I gotta get to bed.
posted by Eric J | 11:47 PM

Jon W. Sparks is Blogging
Nobody outside of Memphis probably has any idea who Jon W. Sparks is but he's a reporter and columnist (among other things) for The Commercial Appeal. And he's damn good at what he does. I've always enjoyed his wit and writing style and thanks to Technorati I just discovered he has a blog called m e m p h i s . c o o l. How cool is that?

He's also got a link to another Memphis Blog called Half-Bakered. And the Half-Bakered guy is actually talking about a Blogger MeetUp type thing so maybe the whole Memphis Blog Scene is gaining some momentum. Awesome. Just as I was beginning to lose some steam for good ole webraw/blog I discover some new (to me) and exciting blogs about the city I call home.

God I love blogging.
posted by Eric J | 11:28 PM

I'm sticking with Mac
I need a new computer. My PC is circa 1998 and my PowerBook is very functional but aging. The only other computer in our house is an iMac, not the "desk lamp" kind. So I've been toying with the idea of buying a cheap Dell running Windows XP and then saving up for a top of the line Mac (PowerBook or G5 desktop? Still haven't decided). My other plan was to just buy a Mac and run Virtual PC on it for my Windows needs (testing sites and networking stuff). If I go the Virtual PC route I can get the Mac sooner, but I won't have a single PC in the house.

Well, this headline "Microsoft Warns of 'Critical' Security Vulnerability in Windows" made up my mind. I won't be buying any more Windows machines, thank you very much. And I know Virtual PC is running Windows but only when I launch it (which will be rarely) so I'm thinking the notorious Windows security problems won't be so critical when only booting it up once in a while.

This reminds me of a recent conversation I had with a friend. He's NOT a computer guy. Has lots of troubles with his PC. My advice to him: Get a Mac. Part of the reason I advised this was that Mac owners just don't worry about viruses in emails. I know we probably should but most everything is a Windows issue. In fact, I can't remember the last time I've run Virus Scan on my PowerBook. It's just not an issue. And I like that.

So yeah, I guess I'm officially a Mac guy now. Maybe I've been one for a while but I'm just finally sick of reading about Microsoft's inability to properly deal with security problems.
posted by Eric J | 11:01 PM

I admire those comment spammers... in a way
Got some interesting comment spam on one of my other blogs today.

Name: zip code
Email Address: jack1982@hotmail.com
URL: http://www.not linking to dude's site dot com

Comments:
Just curious, I see some weird layout when loading this blog using Mac OSX. Maybe it is only my problem.

Pretty smoothe huh? Much better than the "you make a good point" or "I agree with the author" spams I've seen before. This one looks like it's from someone who is just trying to help out. Only problem is that's it's totally bogus. All my blogs were built on OSX and test fine in every OSX browser that I know of. That, and the fact that dude's name is "zip code" sort of tipped me off.

Anyway, another interesting thing about this spam is that it circumvents MT-Blacklist. The linked site was not a porn site, it was actually some Zip code site and I doubt it's in the Blacklist DB. So, no amount of filtering would have caught this anyway though I read on the MT site that comment registration is coming in a future release of the MT software.

I am not too crazy about the registration idea. I'd rather have a sort of "type the letters of this image" thing that the free email sites use now. This way you can at least know that your comments weren't posted by a bot. And if there's some dude out there who has the time and energy to personally post spam comments then more power to him... though I'd still like to bash his head in ;o)
posted by Eric J | 10:06 AM

No Spam for Hotmail?
I don't know why but I haven't gotten much Spam in my Hotmail accounts lately. My regular POP-3 email accounts have been flooded with Spam, especially from that MyDoom thing. But surprisingly my Hotmail is uncharacteristically devoid of virtually all forms of Spam. Weird. Hotmail is actually a good place to avoid Spam? I never thought I'd see the day.
posted by Eric J | 11:18 PM

ESPN Classic is pretty cool
One of the things I love most about sports is that you never know who will win. The outcome is uncertain. Yeah, sometimes it's easy to guess who will win but the game (or competition) does not follow a script and unfolds before our very eyes, in real time. This is also why I love elections.

Anyway, my TiVo recorded a show from ESPN Classic today. It was the 1982 Sugar Bowl with Georgia and Pitt. I watched most of it tonight and it was amazing. Dan Marino vs. Herschel Walker. Where I thought I'd be bored watching a game like that I instead found myself thrilled with the awesome action. Walker was the greatest. The game was one of the greatest. Knowing the outcome isn't really that big of a deal if the gameplay is stellar.
posted by Eric J | 10:04 PM