From the monthly archives:

July 2007

The High Cost of Getting What You Want

07.30.2007

Catching up on the news this morning, I came across Wired’s report on American tech spending. Not surprisingly, we’re spending a chunk of money to stay connected. According to Wired:
the proportion of US household budgets spent on tech products and services—computers, game consoles, cell phone service, cable, TVs—has held steady at about 5 percent for [...]

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Building Worlds Harry Potter-Style

07.29.2007

I hope you’ll excuse my absence the last few days. I’ve been madly devouring Harry Potter since last Thursday (I’m now on book 4). And one of the things that’s stuck out is Rowling’s ability to build this wholly believable world. I’m left wishing I wasn’t such a muggle.
What Rowling does so well and with [...]

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Microsoft, You Missed An Opportunity

07.24.2007

A few days ago, I wrote a post calling attention to the trouble Atlantic correspondent James Fallows was having with Windows Vista. Apparently, even he has had enough of Vista and reverted to XP. This situation leaves me shaking my head. However, Mr. Fallows makes the excellent point that:
Sooner or later, we will all (in [...]

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Rebel With A Cause

07.24.2007

The last few months, I’ve been surprised by conversations I’ve heard between my parents. Neither are overly political; however, recent weeks have highlighted their growing irritation and dislike for both major political parties. In the past, I can’t remember either being quite so vocal. For example, my mother mentioned her disgust over the government building [...]

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Social Apps Mirror Class Reunions

07.23.2007

I went to my 10-year class reunion last weekend. I thought 10 years enough time for most anyone to get over issues from high school. For a good 75% of the class, 10 years was enough time with plenty of laughing and reminiscing. The other 25% seemed more inclined to stick with the same group [...]

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Coming to You Live—News Via Blogs

07.20.2007

Where do you get your news? A year ago, I would have said reading news websites or reading the paper (I hate TV news). Now, I get it from reading blogs. Case in point, I learned about the NY steam pipe explosion via Rachel Clarke’s blog. Later in the day, she posted a video that [...]

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A Whole(some) Apology?

07.18.2007

A follow-up to yesterday’s post…Whole Foods CEO John Mackey has issued an apology for his Rahodeb antics.
“I sincerely apologize to all Whole Foods Market stakeholders for my error in judgment in anonymously participating on online financial message boards. I am very sorry and I ask our stakeholders to please forgive me.”
His apology may not be [...]

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Whole Foods Not So Whole

07.17.2007

I’ve watched the debacle surrounding John Mackey’s pseudonymous antics with growing disgust. Boing Boing has a nice, succinct version of events. Here’s the basics:

Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods, using the name Rahodeb, talked serious smack about competitor Wild Oats, Inc., in a Yahoo stock forum.
For eight (!) years, Mackey spread his “ideas” around [...]

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Pointless Space Saving

07.16.2007

I’m kicking myself for not taking the picture. On July 4th, I ventured with my mother to our local town for the annual parade. Arriving an hour in advance, we were dismayed as we drove up and down the parade route—every spot, both in shade and out was reserved. The irritating part? A good 50% [...]

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Microsoft, Call James Fallows!

07.13.2007

Microsoft is missing a huge opportunity. James Fallows, a national correspondent with the The Atlantic Monthly, has posted in recent days three posts(1, 2, 3) about his aggravation with his new laptop running Windows Vista. Why, why, why isn’t Microsoft contacting him (he’s currently based in Shanghai) and helping him figure out why Vista is [...]

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