Apt5b

VP Math

2008-08-29T14:37:00.002-04:00

I can't take credit for this, saw it somewhere else, but can't remember where. Enjoy!

The torture of online reviews...

2008-08-14T11:21:00.004-04:00

So I'm in the market for a good camera, a DSLR. Being a photography novice, I had to do a lot of research online, and read different reviews about different cameras, and what to look for.

Reading online reviews is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they provide first-hand accounts from normal people, which can be helpful in making a decision. Provides a lot of relevant information without the bias of marketing copy. On the other hand, there are always very negative reviews mixed in. These are also helpful, giving you the downsides of a product too. But they also usually contain some very biased opinions, which put thoughts in your head. Or they really reflect a rare experience, rather than what the average consumer will experience (this is especially true with hotel reviews. Can make you doubt staying anywhere ever again).

It's easy to get caught up in a never-ending research process, but at some point, you have to bite the bullet and make a decision. But, for me at least, there is always some shreds of lingering doubt.

This is basically why I have given up on movie reviews. I feel they taint me too much going in. I get stuck sometimes looking for what the reviewer saw, instead of just sitting back and enjoying the movie.

On the plus side, I did finally decide on a camera.

I'll post photos as I start taking them...

Great domains for a Fire Island wedding...

2008-07-24T11:39:00.003-04:00

When I setup the wedding site for me and Leah, I wanted to find a good domain name. Every possible combination of our names was already taken, so we decided to look for something specific to the event.

Since we are having the wedding in Ocean Beach, Fire Island, I started looking for something around that name. Surprisingly, both FireIslandWedding.com and OceanBeachWedding.com were available.

We decided to use OceanBeachWedding.com for our site, as we wanted it to reference the town, which is important to us. However, having gone through the experience of planning a wedding on Fire Island, we have talked about creating a site to help other couples plan a wedding there. With information about finding a venue for the wedding reception, where to have the ceremony, how to get everything over to Fire Island, etc, it could be very helpful...

Our Wedding Website has Launched!

2008-07-22T18:52:00.005-04:00

Leah and I are getting married at Ocean Beach, Fire Island on September 13, 2008.

We posted a website with some details, feel free to check it out: OceanBeachWedding.com

Walgreens won't hire Teddy Pendergrass...

2008-07-07T01:19:00.004-04:00

I know it's ridiculous, but reading through this article, I was waiting for some reference to the other Teddy Pendergrass, but....nothin'

The Trouble with Background Checks

"Theodore Pendergrass was shocked in November, 2006, when the Walgreens (WAG) pharmacy chain rejected his application for a store supervisor job."

Replied Pendergrass, "If you don't know me by now..."

We're famous Pig Roasters...

2008-07-05T02:01:00.003-04:00

It's official - Aaron and I are now part of the Pig Roaster's Hall of Fame (about halfway down the page)

We only planned this pig roast a few days in advance, and it went off without a hitch. I can't wait until the next one...

Pushed to the edge

2008-06-27T18:02:00.002-04:00

Was on the phone with a Customer Service Representative this afternoon, who was clearly based in India, and spoke broken English.

I pushed and pushed and pushed until I finally got what I wanted, at which point she said "I'm going to put my ass on the line and..." I don't think she fully grasped what she said.

When you can get a little slang like that out of an Indian Rep, it's a job well done.

Cindy McCain and her twin...

2008-05-13T14:14:00.003-04:00

We already know that I had a twin when I was born, but apparently, I'm not the only one. Cindy McCain also seems to have been separated at birth from her other half.

<2008>

2008-01-02T03:54:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year...

21. The answer is 21.

2007-12-20T21:03:00.001-05:00

Just for the record...

21

Remember, remember, the fifth of November...

2007-11-05T01:29:00.000-05:00

It was more than just a movie.

The Kingdom Rocks

2007-10-02T12:54:00.000-04:00

Went to see the Kingdom this weekend, and have to say, it's one of the best movies I've seen recently.

I love war movies so I wanted to see it anyway, but to be honest, I had mild expectations. But it was much better than expected. It had a great pace throughout, and then they really blow out the last 30 minutes. It was literally an edge-of-your seat action sequence for the last third. Highly recommended.

Also, as a design nerd, I thought the beginning of the movie was clever. To really appreciate this movie, it was important to understand the recent history of Saudi Arabia, and the US's tangled relationship with the Kingdom. So the first few minutes was a graphic timeline of events, to set the foundation for the story. It was a novel and interesting way to present this to viewers who don't know the history. Check it out.

Overall, highly recommended...

Joost is finally open!

2007-10-01T11:37:00.001-04:00

One of the main reasons for my lack of blogging in the past year, Joost, just hit a major milestone.

Starting today, Joost is no longer invite-only. Which means anyone visiting Joost.com can download it. Which means we can really start to blow out our marketing activities. Which means I'll probably be much busier, and blogging even less!

All kidding aside, this is a very exciting, long-awaited day. I'm glad it's finally here.

If you're not already using Joost, make sure to download it. You'll also notice a fancy new version of Joost.com.

Here's one of my recent favorites to get you started: Yoga4Dudes.

Not everyone is a fan of the iPhone

2007-06-28T18:30:00.000-04:00

In an IM from Aaron on Thursday, June 28th, 2007, at 4:48pm ET:

aaron: i know im a hater
aaron: but
aaron: if someone had an iphone
aaron: the first thing id say to them is "you use cingular?"
aaron: and id make sure to say cingular
aaron: not at&t
aaron: in a holier-than-thou tone, might I add

Targeted Advertising

2007-05-03T11:57:00.000-04:00

While I was flipping through WIRED'S gallery of HD-DVD code Photoshopped images, I got the following banner ad:

Dangerous New Spam Tactic

2007-02-08T15:47:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, spam has become commonplace online, with each of us being sent more spam than actual emails. While filters and anti-spam software do their best to grab obvious pieces of spam, some of it does still get through. Many of us have become savvy enough to tell what is spam and what is legit.

Spam is a constant arms race, and spammers are constantly trying new tactics to see what works. One common tactic is to send email from a normal looking name, and a normal looking email address. I admit I occasionally fall for this, since opening a piece of spam every now and then isn't worth the risk of missing out on legitimate emails from someone I might not know.

However, today I got a troubling email. The email came from "Yogi Hamden" but it wasn't the name that concerned me. It was the subject line:

"Libby defense to challenge Russert's credibility"

Now, unbeknownst to "Yogi" I have actively been following the Scooter Libby trial. For those of you who have as well, you'll know that news commentator Tim Russert testified in the trail yesterday, and provided some interesting (and newsworthy) testimony.

So though I didn't know the name, I did open this email, since the subject was newsworthy, and more importantly, seemed "non-spammy." Upon opening the email, I discovered it was promoting some penny stock, a run of the mill "pump and dump" piece of spam.

Now, granted, many people who got this email aren't following the trial, and would have tossed it. But what worried me is that the email used such a recent, specific headline for it's subject. If this was adopted in a widespread way, it would be another big blow to email users, as it would lead to even more legitimate emails being placed under the suspicion of being spam. It would also lead spam filters to pick out more and more legit emails, as seemingly innocent keywords and terms became part of their filters.

Spam is no doubt a way of life, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. But it's saddening to think that a new tactic like this could continue to undermine the usefulness of all of our inboxes...

Wal-Mart Loves Firefox

2007-02-06T13:38:00.000-05:00

Wal-Mart launched their online video download service yesterday. Link

Here's a screengrab of the homepage in Firefox. (click image for full-size)

Nice work, Wal-Mart....

Bush is not "doubling down" in Iraq.

2007-01-21T18:18:00.000-05:00

In mid-December, the LA Times ran a story (reg required) regarding the idea of a troop 'surge' in Iraq, referring to the military plan as a "double down" strategy.

As President Bush weighs new policy options for Iraq, strong support has coalesced in the Pentagon behind a military plan to "double down" in the country with a substantial buildup in American troops, an increase in industrial aid and a major combat offensive against Muqtada Sadr, the radical Shiite leader impeding development of the Iraqi government.

This term has taken on a life on it's own, and has appeared in countless news pieces and media stories. Some politicians have adopted the phrase as well, and have been using it in floor speeches and comments to the press. And as we know now, this was the strategy that Bush chose.

But I have a problem with the improper use of the term. When you "double down" in blackjack, you double your bet because the odds are favorable, and you are attempting to maximize your win. Most of the time, this is done when the dealer is at their weakest. That's doesn't characterize the situation in Iraq at all.

First, this gambling metaphor refers to our troops as 'bankroll' and equates how many lives we put at risk with how much money you are willing to gamble. But let's assume one is callous enough to make such a metaphor.

What this troop surge is doing is putting MORE at risk in an attempt to make up for what has already been lost. Gamblers refer to this as "chasing your losses." And any experienced gambler will tell you that chasing your losses in the quickest way to increase your losses exponentionally. In fact, once you start to get emotional, rather than rational, about your betting is exactly when you should leave the table altogether.

Sadly, chasing our losses in Iraq will only lead to more casualties and a weakened foreign policy. It's time to accept the losses, walk away from the table, and stop gambling altogether.

Goodbye The Venice Project, Hello Joost!

2007-01-16T13:56:00.000-05:00

It's official!

Today the company formerly known as The Venice Project relaunched as Joost (pronounced "Juiced".) We also launched the new brand identity.

Overall, I was a big fan of our brand launch strategy. Working under a codename gave us a skunkworks vibe to the outsider, and internally, there was a bit of a thrill working on a 'secret project." It also cut down on some of the pre-alpha, alpha, pre-beta naming stages. Of course, we've all known about the Joost name for months. Nothing is more fun than being in on a secret.

We're doing a lot of cool things over here, and have put together an impressive team. I have never worked with a bunch of people who work this hard, but more importantly, are so happy to be here. I have yet to run into one bad attitude in this place. Not to gush, but definitely the most fun I've ever had at a job.

Hopefully I'll have some time to write more about it. In the meantime, take a look at some of the screenshots, and see what all the hype is about...

He's got quite an eye for detail...

2006-12-05T13:26:00.000-05:00

Found on Craigslist:

----Painter---Reilable------Fast-----Clean
Artist with crisp eye for detail

Painter with more than 8 yrs experience.

Attnetion to Detail. Free Estimates

Screenshot

I guess we know why they closed...

2006-10-23T15:54:00.000-04:00

Photo taken of a closed Blockbuster in Spain. Basically sums up what I'm all about these days.

FantasyMoguls has launched...

2006-10-19T18:53:00.000-04:00

For those of you who don't know, FantasyMoguls.com has launched.

FM is a freelance project I've been working on for the last few months. It's similar to fantasy football, except instead of picking players, you start a fantasy movie studio, and pick movies to add to your roster. How these movies do in real life determines how well you do in the game. Here's a quick guide on how to play FantasyMoguls.

The game is a lot of fun and best of all, it's free. Head on over and start a league. The game starts on October 27.

The Venice Project revealed...

2006-10-06T14:02:00.000-04:00

Well, that's convenient timing.

So, I'm leaving Kintera this week to be part of an exciting opportunity called The Venice Project. The company has been working in secret for almost a year, and even what the company actually plans to do has been a big secret, leaving me to be somewhat mysterious when telling people what my plans are.

However, the company revealed it's plan yesterday in Businessweek. So the cat's out of the bag.

I think we're about to see a revolution in online video, and I truly believe it's going to be led by the Venice Project.

I can't wait to start...

Two Guys Crash the Set of Lost

2006-08-31T16:34:00.000-04:00

If you're a fan of the show Lost, you'll agree this has to be the coolest group of photos on Flickr.

Two guys on vacation in Hawaii crashed the set of Lost, and took a ton of photos. I was struck by two things:

-That everything is basically sitting there, unguarded. Even the cans of food.

-That is doesn't look like a set at all, just looks like the survivors wandered away for a few minutes.

So cool. Have a look...

Link

If Digg were a real community, I wouldn't want to live there.

2006-08-04T12:52:00.000-04:00

A man walks into the general store of a small town, and greets the shopkeeper...

Man: "Hello Fred. How you doin' today?"
Shopkeeper: "It's DO-ING, with a G on the end. And you asked me that last week. Lame! Thumbs down."

There has been a lot of talk around all of the new "social" sites out there. These sites are driven by the participation of their users and are experiencing their share of hype lately.

But this post is going to focus on Digg. Now, I love Digg. Digg is built on a great concept, allowing users to submit content then having the 'community' vote (or digg) to push certain pieces to the front page. Granted your average Digg user is a bit more tech-oriented than myself, so while I may not have much of an interest in the latest release of GNOME, I do stop by the site a few times a day.

When talking about Digg, there is heavy use of the words social and community. And that's where we get to the headline of this post. The Digg community operates fairly well together, in that they produce interesting and valuable results. But underneath that cooperation is an undercurrent of insults, rudeness, and general negativity. Sadly, you need to go no further than the comments section of almost ANY post to see this.

For example, today someone submitted pictures from the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, which contained some early photos of what one can expect at the upcoming conference (they were really just some photos of a banner that had been set up). Now, if you believe in the very concept of Digg, this was of interest to a lot of people, since it got 721 Diggs and made it to the homepage. (I use an Apple example here, but this isn't about Apple users, or Linux people, or Microsoft fans. You can find these types of comment in almost any Digg post.)

But looking at the comments, the haters seize upon the post right away, and the whole comment section just descends into pointless arguments.

The very first comment is:

"And we care becuase....?"

At which point people jump on the commenter for spelling "because" incorrectly. Many Digg users love nothing more than to point out spelling mistakes, for no apparent reason, like those annoying people who interrupt and correct other peoples' language when someone is trying to tell a story.

Another helpful commenter asks:

"If you can't be bothered to capitalize correctly (sentences and proper names) then WTF should we digg this?"

Again, why get caught up on the spelling? And this comment brings up another attitude you see often. The question is posed from a you/we viewpoint. As if this one commenter is part of some "we" that the submitter needs the approval of. Doesn't this go against the whole idea of Digg? There is no you and we, only us. The submitter is just as much a part of the community as the commenter (definitely a more productive part). And of course, this just leads to a bunch of other submitters pointing out the incorrect use of WTF.

I'm sorry, what were we talking about? Photos of something? I got distracted...

This type of behavior is definitely not just a Digg phenomenon and, honestly, has been going on since long before there was a true Internet. But with all the talk of social and community, it would be nice to see Digg be more, well, social, more like a true community.

Right now, Digg is a mean and nasty place. It's like a small town full of people who hate each other. Why not let it be a more productive and positive place, especially considering Digg users probably have more in common with each other than users on most other social sites.

The next time you're on Digg, and you have the urge to write a pointless, mean-spirited comment, resist the urge, both for your own online karma, and for the good of the community...