Women's Independence Day
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Texas declared August 26th to me Women’s Independence Day. I guess I didn’t realize this was a big issue… at least not something that needed to be addressed before our education system.
But before you break out the lighter fluid and brassiere, the law does not kick in until September, 2005 (just one week late). So I guess the chains remain for one more year.
posted by Russell @ 10:31 AM,
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Congratulations Miss Texas, 2006
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Lauren Lanning, Houston
posted by Russell @ 8:35 PM,
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Houston Parking Meters on Engadget
Let’s be clear: I am not against this technology.
I am against turning the meters into a public-accessible municipal wireless network.
I am against the expenditure at this time.
C’mon, we’re talking about a city that can’t afford police officers… We have traffic and transportation issues that have to be addressed…
It’s a matter of priorities. To put it in terms for my two-year-old: wifi parking meters are an “I Want” not an “I Need”.
And besides, we’re talking about a city that cannot promise their new high-tech 911 call center will be on-line at any given moment… I sure don't trust them to keep a wireless network up and running, and secure.
posted by Russell @ 8:09 PM,
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Why not 4.9?
Here is a nice summation from the folks over at Podnova as to why one might not use iTunes 4.9. And before you think their reasoning to be bias, keep in mind that their system is open - so much so in fact that you can even continue to use Podnova's great on-line features with 4.9.
posted by Russell @ 1:57 PM,
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about:blank
I'm sure you are aware of "about:blank", the very annoying adware/spyware program that has been plaguing Windows for quite some time now. It's only there to deliver ads and contributes nothing but aggravation to your on-line experience...
Do you think the Houston Chronicle knew this when they named their blog "about:chron" ?
posted by Russell @ 10:46 AM,
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06/28 "Golden Rule" TPC
Thanks to all who sent emails this week:
- Jay: Houston Podcaster's Group – let’s do it
- John: update on PAR 3.0
iTunes 4.9 Came Out Today
- Apple re-writes feeds
- "Game on!"
- The democratazation of radio? well, yesterday perhaps…
Go.blogger.com – great new service for blogger that lets you blog and moblog from a phone
Headline of the week: Houston gets head! (thanks Eric!) – The Houston Rockets took Luther Head of Illinois with the 24th pick in the NBA Draft.
Houston Wireless - wifi parking meters – yea. ‘cause there’s nothing else this city needs to be spending it’s money on.
podcastingpodcasting treo houstontexas
posted by Russell @ 12:36 AM,
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iTunes not ready for podcasts
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
I guess I’m not the only one trying to fix their iTunes feed…
posted by Russell @ 3:58 PM,
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Apple Releases iTunes 4.9
Apple released their iTunes 4.9 with podcasting support this morning. I’ll have more information on this in today’s podcast. Once thing that struck me right away, is of course the omnipresense of the Podfather himself all over the site…
posted by Russell @ 9:55 AM,
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iTunes 4.9 coming tomorrow?
Monday, June 27, 2005
That’s the rumor… full support for podcasting. I wonder if Badfruit’s little iTunes hack had anything to do with the timetable shift.
posted by Russell @ 4:22 PM,
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stop the press!
if you are about to write, speak, or print on a topic that is less than 100% fact - theory or speculation - think again. it seems from this post that doing so is wrong. apparently the bbc reported on an emerging theory in quantum physics, and john doesnt like it. so i ask, why stop there?
you reporters should stop practicing your black arts on any speculative story... no more stuff on longhorn... no more stuff on the future of podcasting... heck, no more stuff on tomorrow's markets or the next election for that matter.
and what about evolution? with as much science as there is to back it up, everyone still calls it the 'evolutionary threory'. no more on that nonesense either, all right?
just walk away. go home, grab a margarita, and don't report back until you have successfully tunneled you cat through a brick wall. (you have to throw really hard; and if the cat doesnt make it, borrow your neighbor's cat and try again)
mmmm.... margarita's....
posted by clyde @ 12:09 PM,
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Adam Curry on "One Click Subscriptions"
Get 'er done!
(sorry Jimmy)
posted by Russell @ 9:40 AM,
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The hype
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Whether you buy in to all the hype about podcasting or not, you have to love this comment from MySpace.com CEO Chris DeWolfe. Quoting from this on-line article:
Podcasting is probably more hype than people are using it, particularly since the majority is talk radio or bad talent, but it's a good fit for MySpace because of the personal connection
So, over-hyped bad talent is a perfect fit for MySpace.com. That’s a little funny…
Funny too is when you go to MySpace.com and click 'browse' to check out the blogs, the default search it performs is for "women, age 18-35, only those with pictures." Was that 'personal' connection, or "personals"?
posted by Russell @ 11:43 PM,
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The search continues...
So I went back and did a wildcard search on eBay and made sure that it checked both titles and descriptions and came up with a lot more listings. I am not sure which I think is more odd, the auction for a booklette from “host of the hit podcast Seduction and Strip Clubs” or the numbers of copies of Podcasting, by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.
I only find Todd’s book listings interesting because the “auctions” have it for anywhere from $10.57 to $17.95 while Amazon has it for $13.59. And Amazon even has three used copies for sale as low as $12.38… didn’t this thing just come out?
posted by Russell @ 11:31 PM,
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Need voiceovers?
A quick search on eBay came up with two auctions that mention ‘podcast’. One is for a microphone stand, and the other is for some voice overs…
I don’t know if I expected to find more auctions, or less. Just interesting I thought.
UPDATE:
I missed the 'Podshack' auction thanks. It helps to do a wildcard search I suppose...
posted by Russell @ 8:56 PM,
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MP3 Capsule revisited
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Engadget has posted an article about the Music Capsule that I talked about a while back. Not really a review – more like they are poking fun at it for copying the Shuffle. I don’t know when the Capsule was first released, but the Shuffle came out in January which is what prompted me to shop for competitive products in the first place.
No, the Capsule does not have any memory – you have to supply the SD card. But you can buy both the unit and a 1gig card for $79.99. I have found it to be far more useful as a pocket SD card reader and only occasionally insert the card from my Treo to listen to podcasts.
posted by Russell @ 10:29 PM,
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Dynamic OPML
Friday, June 24, 2005
If you like the idea of having your feeds stored and served to your client when you sync or changing your subscriptions from any web-enabled computer (and I know that not everybody does) but you also really like your iPodder Lemon client. Well now you can have your lemon and eat it to. Version 2.1 of iPodder Lemon supports OPML such as the type served up by Podnova. And the explicit instructions on how to configure it have been posted on Podnova’s blog…
“And there's more coming, much more... :)”
posted by Russell @ 1:13 PM,
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Testing go.blogger.com
From deep, deep, deep in the heart of Texas... Using nothing more than my phone. I'll expound a little later on Blogger.com's new mobile blogging service: go.blogger.com.
Go check it out now if you can't wait. And after that visit audioblogger.com. That's their audio blogging service which, when paired with something like feedburner.com, let you create instant podcasts simply by making a phone call.
And it's all free...
posted by Russell @ 12:34 PM,
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Clearchannel Podcasts
I have heard a lot of talk about this, but had not seen anything real information until now. Here is a list of about 10 or so links to Clearchannel’s podcasts.
posted by Russell @ 8:01 AM,
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One-Click Subscriptions
Thursday, June 23, 2005
I’ve really been hip on Podnova’s one-click subscription feature. Personally I feel that this is one standard that has to be defined for podcasting. I have also heard that the PWSG is going to release their specification soon. But has anyone heard of the USM Client? It seems that Feedburner has implemented the standard:
But the link does not seem to work with any of the podcatching clients I have installed…
posted by Russell @ 10:22 PM,
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Here's a thought: let the people decide
First there was talk of legislation to ban municipal wireless networks. Now there’s a proposal to forbid such bans. Here’s a thought: how about a law that forbids municipal wireless networks without a vote? I mean, it is our local tax dollars we’re talking about. And weather your in favor of such action or not, should we not vote on it?
Personally, I am not in favor of it. The local government has no business in my opinion competing with local industries. My taxes would be used to provide sub-par service at below-market costs, basically killing any competition. (And yes, I’m sure the service would be sub-par – I pay extra for trash pick-up and I still can’t get it from the city reliably).
But to me the real issue is: aren’t there things people need more than free wireless access? How about free electricity? or phone service? or heck, this is Houston – how about free air conditioning?
posted by Russell @ 10:11 PM,
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Funny Parody of Fox News
Actually, it’s described more as a “parody of monopolistic corporate media” by Adrants, rather than of just Fox. Pretty funny though.
And yes, the website on the picture (www.shoxnews.com) is real.
posted by Russell @ 3:16 PM,
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PSWG Looking for Hosting
The Podcasting Specification Working Group is asking for someone to step forward and help by donating some hosting services. If you think you can help, check out their request and give them a shout. Like it or not, podcasting needs to have some defined standards, and this is our opportunity to do so before Adam and Apple write the book.
posted by Russell @ 12:08 AM,
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Disposable Printers
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Dell started selling a new laser printer for $99. And it’s your basic laser printer: 15 pages per minute, 600x600 resolution, small…
People have joked about disposable printers for a while. But at $99 (lease for $3/mo) this thing is getting pretty darned close. Especially when you consider that a replacement cartridge is selling for $65.
Notice too that you can lease the cartridge for $2 a month…
posted by Russell @ 9:51 PM,
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Full vs. Partial Feeds
Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chroncile posted a blog entry yesterday citing a Scoble message regarding Microsoft’s lack off RSS feeds. The point was to say that Microsoft is clueless for not providng RSS feeds for all of their sites.
So, for the first time in my life (really) I decided to post a comment on his blog. The message was:
Clueless? Careful... glass houses and all. Not providing an RSS feed is only slightly below providing a useless partial feed...
Well. That sure started something. After calling my point of view a “pointless geek religion” and calling me a “feed snob” I decided to give up, seeing as how the conversation really was not going anywhere. But not, of course, before sending one last final comment:
Referring to one’s point of view as a “pointless geek religion” is an insult no matter how you slice it. So I am sorry if I took your comment about being a snob the wrong way after the first volley. The whole “discussion” started when you quoted Schoble on the necessity of RSS feeds. To me that indicates he is some sort of authority on the subject in your eyes. I wonder what he would have to say on this topic…
From Schoble’s blog on 05/25/2005: “Yes, Tris Hussey I'm unsubscribing from Chris Pirillo's and any other feed that isn't full text. I'm tired of reading feeds that treat me badly. I have more than 1,300 full text feeds. There's one or two exceptions. The New York Times. CNET. Slashdot. But, sorry, Chris, I'll visit your site once in a while or whenever one of the bloggers that I read tells me you've written something interesting (which is quite often).”
I suppose that makes him our honorary high-priest.
That was the end of my participation in the “conversation” – or so I thought. Then a new entry appears in my Bloglines which read:
Full vs. partial RSS feeds
By Dwight on RSS
In case you're missing it, there's an interesting exchange going on in the comments for the "Cool, yet RSS-clueless entry from yesterday. Click on the above link, then start with the first comment from Russell H. and read down. Please...
So I click over to the new entry, which simply links me to the old entry, where I find that my final comments were not posted. You see, all comments to the blog have to be personally approved by Mr. Silverman before they will appear on the site. And of course, he chose not to approve my final message. So I thought I would post it here just in case there is an overalp of readership I’d like people to know that I have been cencsored for making a valid point.
UPDATE: 4:20pm CST
So the comments have been posted... thank you, Dwight. He said it was just because he was too busy at the time... I guess I jumped the gun a little there. That's certainly never happened before.
posted by Russell @ 2:48 PM,
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Palmloyal.com Launches First Podcast
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
From their website:
In the cast, Carl Brooks discusses the importance of HotSync, 3rd Party Backup applications, and the recent Treo 650 Updates. The first podcast covers the importance of Palm OS owners to sync their handheld with their desktop. It addresses the need to backup your handheld on top of the Hotsync process. Additionally, it mentions the new updates that are available for the Sprint Treo 650 and the palmOne Unlocked GSM Treo 650.
But can you really call it a podcast when the announcement is followed by:
We will launch our RSS script for the feed as quickly as we are able.
posted by Russell @ 8:09 PM,
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The Broadcast Flag is not dead
As a matter of fact, it might be voted on today. It's been tacked on to the end of a spending bill. Which means no hearing, no debate, no nothing. If you are from Texas, give Kay a call and let her office know how you feel: (202) 224-5922. And if you are from any of these states, please give your Senator a call and express your opinion.
posted by Russell @ 10:25 AM,
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Some people "get it"
Monday, June 20, 2005
and some people don’t…
posted by Russell @ 9:26 PM,
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Senate Republicans to Offer Weekly "Podcast"
State Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill (R-Lebanon) announced today that the Senate Republican Caucus has begun offering a weekly "podcast" on its website to expand its coverage of news affecting the lives of Pennsylvanians.
Here’s the site, the feed, and of course
a Podnova ‘one-click’ subscription button…
posted by Russell @ 1:23 PM,
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New Skype Phone Adapter
Friday, June 17, 2005
I’ve been testing out a new Skype phone adapter and I thought I’d go ahead and mention it here in case anyone is in the market. This unit was purchased from this eBay store for $44.99. It shipped overseas to Houston in about 4 days, which was unexpected. What makes this unit a little unique from the others that we have tested is the fact that it combines a standard phone line and your Skype account and uses them over the same phone.
It’s a USB device that attaches itself to your computer (PC only) as a new sound card. No drivers were necessary for Windows XP, but you do have to load their software to make it work with Skype.
Once connected, it works great. Incoming phone calls or Skype calls both ring on a standard telephone, and the conversation quality is good. To make a call, simply pick up your phone and hit the * button to switch between Skype and your regular telephone. It totally supports Skype-out as well as speed-dial numbers for your Skype contacts.
There are a couple of down-sides to this unit. First, if you have a Skype contact assigned a speed-dial, then you have to have them shown on the screen for it to work. What this means is, you must ‘show offline contacts’ if you want it to work all the time. Otherwise, when you dial, you just get nothing. And since I use this with a cordless phone, I am never by my machine to see who is on-line and who isn’t. But that's not to say that Skype has to be active on the screen at all times - when you pick up the phone, Skype opens on your screen, and when you hang up it minimizes.
The second issue, which is probably the biggest, is the fact that it activates both interfaces at the same time when you pick up the phone. So if you make or receive a Skype call, incoming calls on the POTS line will get a busy signal.
All-in-all, though, I am going to keep this one…
posted by Russell @ 10:41 AM,
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06/15 "Chef Boyarpod" TPC
Thursday, June 16, 2005
My apologies for the delays in getting the show notes up…
There was of course the massive power outage here in Texas this week, but that’s all pretty much cleared up now. And for those who listened to the show and still don’t understand what disclosing tablets are, well I guess they are still being used but this is all I could really find on the internet.
PODCAST ISLAND
- Money for podcasts or ads
- Unsubscribing from podcasts - Geeknewscentral
- Geek News Central vs. George Jefferson
Adam Curry on Michael Jackson – “I just knew…” – well, there you have it then. But just for the record, eventhough I really don’t have an opinion on MJ, “not guilty” in a court of law does not mean “innocent”. And to say that you met MJ once, and “he didn’t seem like that kind of a guy” is a silly arguement. The whole point of being a serial anything is that people don’t know you are a serial whatever…
And some new podcasts to check out:
Awaretek – Ron Stevens provides a great personal podcast about a whole lot of very interesting things. You just have to hear it…
Palmaddict has a new podcast out…
And of course, the second annual Duct Tape Festival will be podcasting their festivities from Avon, Ohio this Father’s Day weekend…
And just an FYI – the bar owner I mentioned last week that was getting sued by Starbucks over his brew “Star Bock” (which he does not even sell anymore) closed his bar down last week after the sudden death of his wife… so he is not even in business any more, but still in court… yeah Starbucks!
podcastingpodcasting treo houstontexas
posted by Russell @ 2:50 PM,
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No Wednesday podcast
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Sorry... there has been massive power outages all over Houston tonight. And although my home is not effected, I do have relatives over and some of them are bunking in my office. So I am off to the bar... maybe I'll podcast from there...
posted by Russell @ 9:49 PM,
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GoDaddy gets a little love
I don't know if I mentioned it before, but when I used GoDaddy for the very first time I had the exact same experience as Adrants... (it was a good experience)
posted by Russell @ 8:58 PM,
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Would you like "American Pie" with that?
When did McDonald's start renting DVD's?
posted by Russell @ 8:39 PM,
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Not getting enough Palm information?
PalmAddict has started a new podcast. Quoting from the show notes from their first episode:
Tyler Faux who is the developer of the excellent SharkCache has put together the first of what I am sure will be excellent Podcasts on behalf of Palm Addict...
posted by Russell @ 8:30 PM,
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Public Education
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
In case you were wondering how you ended up at that strip center mentioned in the previous post in the first place, Planned Parenthood has released this cute little animated video explaining how a woman gets pregant. Warning: this may not be work-safe or child-safe material... (I felt I should warn since they do not)
posted by Russell @ 3:42 PM,
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I guess if one fails...
Sunday, June 12, 2005
You can always go next door.
On Friday I went to take my ‘defensive driving’ class to have my speeding ticket dismissed and saw these two businesses side by side in the parking lot: Pregnancy Center and Gymboree. Just thought it was a little humorous. (In case you don’t know, Gymboree is a sort of playground center for toddlers…)
posted by Russell @ 8:42 PM,
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BBQ = civilization
Friday, June 10, 2005
It's always been my personal opinion. But now it seems I am getting a little back-up...
posted by Russell @ 6:34 AM,
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Clearing the air about Podnova
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
If you have been listening to the TPC for the last couple of weeks, then you know I am a fan of what they are doing over at Podnova. And in recent weeks, I have speculated about Adam Curry’s involvement in the endeavor – if any.
My musings came mainly from a set of circumstantial evidence. For instance, there is some connection between Curry and iPodder Lemon, and between iPodder Lemon and Podnova. Secondly, Podnova utilizes dynamic OPML which Curry has been podcasting about almost from the beginning. Also, too, is the fact that Podnova’s potential for collecting accurate distribution data on individual podcasts is a tool that Curry’s company Podshow will have to have to realize it’s mission statement; and Podnova arrived on the scene just about the time that Podshow would be developing such a system.
And of course there is the fact that no one has disputed this open speculation, until now:
- Russell from mobilepodcast.org talks about iPodder Lemon in combination with PodNova, the fragment starts around 12 minutes. He sees the right things in terms of the functionality we offer, glad you like it Russell!
However, you (among others) seem to think that PodNova is an 'Adam Curry production'. There you are wrong. We did contact him several times to inform him what we are doing, even before we released. He never responded to anything (e-mail, skype, voicemail), and never mentions us in his Daily Source Code. Odd you might think, as we're doing pretty neat things for the podcasting world.
Anyway, we have our own views and plans for the future. We will keep adding functionality for podcasters and listeners. Non-evil win/win situations is what we are looking for, good for podcasters, good for listeners, good for the technology.
Contact us if you have more unanswered questions!
Robin en Erik
So there you have it: offical confirmation from Podnova that Curry is in no way associated with nor will benefit from Podnova’s service or the statistics that they collect. (That is what it says, right?)
But that still leaves the question open of what is going to be done with all that data…
posted by Russell @ 11:38 AM,
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06/07 "Not-So-Treo" TPC
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Podcasting temporarily on a new portable device: Tascam’s Pocketstudio 5
PODCAST ISLAND
POTKAST.com's new search feed
iPodder now supports dynamic OPML
Dave Winer vs. Feedburner – what’s really his goal?
Apple, Intel, and DRM – Engaget report
The David Lawrence Show, his 10 Quick Steps, and Podcast Design
NEWS YOU CAN LOSE
Player’s Run – the “Cannonball Run” of this decade?
Star Bock vs. Starbuck's – Glen Larson needs to get in on this
Michael Jackson – no, I don’t really talk about it… just trying to get a few more Google hits.
Police Say Man Stealing Gas Used Lighter
Woman Charged With Smuggling Fish in Skirt – If convicted of smuggling wildlife, she faces a fine of up to U.S. $83,617 and could also get a prison sentence of up to 10 years. I just want to know: what did the custom’s agent say exactly when he smelled the fish?
posted by Russell @ 10:12 PM,
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Business Week Online Names Curry #1
Friday, June 03, 2005
Not surprised to see Curry's show in the #1 slot, nor Winer's in the #2. But John Edward's #3? I have not received an Edward's show in a long time... and I have only received 2 or 3 in total. Maybe my podcatcher is broken.... You can read the article here.
UPDATE:
I was wrong. The listing are the results from a poll they are conducting. The poll choices are Daily Source Code, Morning Coffee Notes, One American Committee Podcast, Indie Feed, Insomnia Radio, In Our Time, Voices from the Vault, and IT Conversations. Currently (11:25 06/03) IT Conversations is kicking butt.
posted by Russell @ 8:46 AM,
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National Doughnut Day
Thursday, June 02, 2005
At first I thought this was the result of a Hallmark employee gone postal. So I checked with Snopes, and sure enough June 3 is actually National Doughnut Day.
National Doughnut Day was established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to raise much-needed funds during the Great Depression and to honor the work of World War I Salvation Army volunteers who prepared doughnuts for thousands of soldiers. National Doughnut Day is celebrated annually on the first Friday in June.
"National Doughnut Day is a perfect time for us to give a little something back to our loyal customers throughout the country," said Stan Parker, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Krispy Kreme. "It's also a great opportunity to build awareness and acknowledge the continued good work of the Salvation Army."
And to celebrate, it seems that Krispy Kreme will be giving them away...
posted by Russell @ 1:24 PM,
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Re-Writing History
Forget Dave... forget Adam. Seems as though at least one person in the media is crediting Podcasting to the already established blogger community.
Welcome to the world of podcasts, the latest invention by the pajamahadeen to spin off and head for a computer near you. Why "podcast"? Because it's not broadcast; you have to hunt out the files, then download and listen to them on your iPod. And pajamahadeen? That's the crusading mass of bloggers who reckon they are gaining the upper hand over Big Media in the US because they can fact-check the news outlets into the ground. They christened themselves thus after the CBS News executive Jonathan Klein said: "You couldn't have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of checks and balances [at CBS] and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing."If this gets picked up and repeated enough times, soon we'll be back to asking ourselves the same question we were asking about this time last year: "Adam who? You mean that MTV guy with all the hair?"
posted by Russell @ 1:09 PM,
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The Democratization of Radio
Am I referring to Podcasting? No. Although it has been discussed time and time again, Houston’s local public radio station has decided that the “Democratization of Radio” will come in a different form. In short, they feel that this will come about by eliminating the traditional DJ and replacing it with a listener’s iPod. Wow.
Think I am exaggerating? Check out May 31st’s Future Tense Podcast. I’ve also placed this particular podcast in our ‘addendum’ feed in case you are not a subscriber.
posted by Russell @ 11:13 AM,
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Texas Cops
Nothing really to say… just thought it was funny.
posted by Russell @ 6:11 AM,
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