Ramblings… nonsensical ramblings… wildly nonsensical ramblings…
Brilliant! Whocalled.us is a new website where you can report those pesky telemarketers who don’t respond to the do-not-call list, and who hang up when you challenge them on who they are.
Hopefully someone can use this to fight back in appropriate ways…
Had I been more on top of things, I might have found this sooner:
For TiVos purchased before January 21, 2000, you get a one-time exception to the rules, allowing you to move your lifetime subscription to a new machine you purchase as a replacement (such as a bigger unit). This was done because there was so much confusion, and the wording before that date was more vague.
But as it is now, I have my very old TiVo that is suddenly worth an awful lot becuase I can transfer the lifetime service… Hellow Series3 TiVo!
I like what I’m seeing in the return of science fiction to big movies this year. I particularly liked the trailer for Children of Men. Clive Owen is the man. Like all good SF, the technology or dystopia is just the setting for a compelling story about people.
Lottery winners are getting smarter… here’s some news from www.powerball.com on a recent winner:
The Oklahoma Lottery announced on August 2, 2006, that the $101.8 million jackpot winner of the drawing on June 17, 2006 has claimed the prize through a trust.
“The trust format was also used because the beneficiaries wish to maintain their privacy, and they kindly and respectfully have requested that all honor their desire for privacy.”
Apparently it takes a while to set up a trust… it took the winners 45 days to claim their prize.
Just read this interesting piece on Waste-to-Energy over at the Rude Awakening. They profile a company called Covanta who have a pretty good business converting trash to energy.
Some quotes:
The Environmental Protection Agency has declared that the
waste-to energy process has “less environmental impact than
almost any other source of electricity.” A combination of
strict regulations and mature technology have made waste-
to-energy plants both green and efficient.The United States turns roughly 12?15% of its solid waste
into electricity each year ? that’s more than 100,000 tons
per day ? and generates enough energy to serve 2.8 million
homes.
Found this amusing but poigniant comment:
Steven, a young web wiz, has just celebrated his bar mitzvah. He received a dozen gifts and must write a dozen thank-you notes. Being webbish, he creates an on-line ?Thank-You Note Generator.? Steven shows the site to his friends, who show it to their friends, and soon the site is getting traffic from recipients of all sorts of gifts, not just bar mitzvah stuff.
If Steven created the site with CGI and Perl and used tables for layout, this is the story of a boy who made a website for his own amusement, perhaps gaining social points in the process. He might even contribute to a SXSW Interactive panel.
But if Steven used AJAX and Ruby on Rails, Yahoo will pay millions and Tim O?Reilly will beg him to keynote.
I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes today:
To every man there comes a time in his lifetime that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered a chance to do a very special thing, unique to him and fitted to his talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour.
-Winston Churchill
I recently read this commentary about what the heck is going on in the Matrix trilogy. My favorite quote from the articles:
Don’t read metaphors as facts. It’s bad for you.
Be sure to check out the Second Empire 5k Fun Run as well as the entire Second Empire Grand Prix race series. They give out cash to the top finishers, and it can be very competetive if you want a good race. They also make it fun for those of us who aren’t running at a competetive pace…
I volunteered last year as one of the race administrators, and it’s a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon in downtown Raleigh.