Betterness by Kawika Holbrook

Napa Wine

Cheers From Napa

links for 2007-09-29

• CEO Puts Profits Second
  No meetings, ever. "I find them stupefying and useless."
  (tags: business)
• On Capitol Hill, Google and Microsoft spar over DoubleClick
  What? Politicians actually listened to different sides of an issue without grandstanding? How can this travesty continue?
  (tags: internet economics)
• Airlines Mull Spinning Off Mileage Plans
  I didn't realize that airlines sold the miles, in bulk, to different award programs -- such as credit card companies.
  (tags: marketing)

links for 2007-09-28

• Apple releases iPhone update 1.1.1
  Louder speaker and receiver volumes are my favorite improvements.
  (tags: apple iphone iphoneapps)

Oh, About That Marathon...

Bad News: I may not be running as fast in December as I thought. Let's just say that training for the marathon while running the dog doesn't work well when a squirrel gets involved. The cast will come off in four weeks, with another three to four weeks of rice-paper gentle walking, before I can attempt a jog.

Good news: a) only one bone, the fifth metatarsal, fractured; b) no surgery necessary unless I exacerbate the break exercising; c) no permanent affects expected; d) don't need a wheelchair, only crutches or a cane; e) my wife sympathizes; f) the dog and the squirrel are fine.

links for 2007-09-27

• Steve Case Backs New Internet-Based Credit Card
  Maybe he should have bought out Discover or some other card already accepted by more than seven merchants.
  (tags: econ)
• Gates Seeks $190 Billion for Wars
  The Iraq War has to be the worst return on a security investment in history.
  (tags: iraq)
• Through a Lens, Darkly
  Fascinating profile of the two women immortalized in Little Rock's desegregation struggle 50 years ago.
  (tags: race civilrights)
• The Missing Ingredients in Organic Cereals
  The discussion of this article is far more interesting than the article itself. I like this time of participatory journalism, even if I don't have the time to always read every comment.
  (tags: food journalism taking.responsibility.for.your.own.fat.ass)
• Amazon Launches a Music Store, Not a Service
  Another example of the conversation adding to the journalism.
  (tags: apple itunes amazon music journalism)

links for 2007-09-26

• As the Fall Season Arrives, TV Screens Get More Cluttered
  I'm willing to buy a season pass to my favorite shows to avoid the commercials and on-screen ads. Until then, some series will have to wait for Netflix and Handbrake.
  (tags: tv)
• Stream programs to your Mac
  My wife has no idea which networks run what shows. That's TiVo for you.
  (tags: tv)
• GM's sorry little strike.
  On how little the automaker matters to the economy these days.
  (tags: cars)
• Why Ahmadinejad wanted to speak at Columbia.
  Again, is it better to engage or isolate leaders like Ahmadinejad. Then again, the real powers that be are still at home denouncing the Great Satan.
  (tags: iran)
• Manage All Your Email and Social Networking Messages in One Place?
  Fuser purports to be up to the challenge.
  (tags: web2.0 smallpieceslooselyjoined)
• 41 days in Iraq vs. insuring 10 million children
  "vs." being the key word in this headline, unfortunately.
  (tags: education war iraq politics)
• The Amazon MP3 Store and Amazon MP3 Downloader
  Costs less, sounds better, and only mildly more of a hassle than going through iTunes directly. I'm sure the labels don't want variable pricing to favor consumers forever, so I'll be watching for more expensive singles soon. Meanwhile, 256kbps VBR....
  (tags: music itunes web2.0)
• Drastic Fantastic
  So I'm just about to buy a $9 MP3 album from Amazon from KT Tunstall when I decide to look in iTunes. There's several versions there, including a $15 one with 11 DRM-free songs, six music videos, one documentary and two digital booklets. Hmmm. Competition
  (tags: music amazon web2.0 apple itunes)
• Exploring the Amazon
  Now, if only someone would make a plug-in for iTunes that searched and displayed MP3s for sale in line with iTune's offerings, then I would always make the most informed choice and never have to leave the app.
  (tags: itunes apple amazon music)
• 1234
  Amazon sells the Feist song used in Apple's iPod nano ad. In fact, it's the number-one seller today.
  (tags: amazon apple music itunes)
• Does Exercise Really Make Us Thinner?
  The author drew controversy in 2002 for a New York Times Magazine article on high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets. What really determines how fat or lean a person is has more to do with the body’s own internal programming, he writes.
  (tags: taking.responsibility.for.your.own.fat.ass)

links for 2007-09-25

• U.S. Attorney in Minnesota Faces Probe
  Another Bushie, another investigation.
  (tags: law politics)
• How to avoid sounding like an monkey
  Social network = social graph
  (tags: smallpieceslooselyjoined)
• Morning monkey roundup
  I wonder if there's anything different to a social graph than a social network other than marketing.
  (tags: smallpieceslooselyjoined)
• Burmese military threatens monks
  What a lovely country. I can't imagine what an Orwellian nightmare a place like this is.
  (tags: Burma)
• Should tourists go to Burma?
  Engage or isolate? No easy answers.
  (tags: burma)

links for 2007-09-24

• Raiders 26, Browns 24
  I had a chance to go to this game. I didn't. I'm glad. I would have suffered a heart attack and died. I don't want to die. I just want the Raiders to win.
  (tags: football)
• Broncos convert in OT after Raiders' second-chance kick fails
  Again, I am glad I didn't watch last week's Raider game either. I think I have a health heart, but it wouldn't have survived this. At least Kiffen learn the lesson well.
  (tags: football)

links for 2007-09-23

• Canada Is Giddy About the Loonie And Twitting U.S.
  the Canadian economy is surging on the back of record oil prices. Mr. Campbell suggests the U.S. could learn a thing or two from its neighbor.

  "I should not presume to tell the U.S. how to manage its fiscal house," he says with characteristic Canadian

  
  
  (tags: economics)
  
  


• 
  
  The plague of cast overpopulation on Heroes, Lost, and Grey's Anatomy
  
  
  Amen
  
  
  (tags: tv)
  
  


• 
  
  The Times Interviews Tina Fey of '30 Rock'
  
  
  How lazy of me not to notice that the show's premise and characters are taken straight form "Mary Tyler Moore."
  
  
  (tags: tv)
  
  


• 
  
  You Are What You Watch
  
  
  I'm not sure I'm comfortable with everyone knowing exactly what's on my TiVo season passes or iPod playlists, but it seems like a quick if superficial way to get a read on someone.
  
  
  (tags: tv)