Social Networking Wars // Current

This is a really funny video - shout out to Evan for sending it to me. The point of it: social networks are cyclical and have become lame...but, so apparently has the real world (hold for the kicker at the end). The most interesting part of the video is that it does a good job of painting our current thinking - that being out in the real world is inherently exclusive of social networking and being digitally connected. I think this is fundamentally changing, and a very quick pace. Sunday, I went and bought myself a new iPhone. It's shiny and new and fun, but more importantly, it has built in GPS. I downloaded the "Yelp" application (Yelp, for those that don't know is a user driven review site for restaurants). Wherever I happen to be, I can click on the "Yelp" app, and using the GPS it tells me the restaurants closest to me, as well as the ratings other users have assigned to it. This is powerful. This is something I used to do at my computer - now I can do it on the fly, no planning necessary. Now, imagine you can see where your friends are.. oh, Evan is around the block, I'll see if he wants to come with me to lunch. Don't try to imagine this, it's already happening (http://www.enterprise2blog.com/?p=686). Now it's just that simple matter of adoption (sarcasm alert..it's why most products fail). Either way, enjoy the video.

Think your gas prices are the worst? Find out now!

Nifty little map that color-codes the country based on the level of gas prices (right down to zip code). Love to see that Stamford, CT is right in that deep, deep red area.... fantastic.

Fuel Prices Shift Math for Life in Far Suburbs - NYTimes.com

This NYT article is interesting because it documents a trend which could have far reaching ramifications on how we live: The re-consideration of the logic and value of the far flung suburbs developers have been putting up like crazy. Suddenly, commuting and heating costs are enough of an issue that these outposts of suburbia don't make quite as much sense. Long story short: The article concludes that housing in cities will get far more expensive and the decline of housing prices in far flung suburbia is likely more than a cyclical phenomenon. Maybe the world won't be so flat afterall.


Fuel Prices Shift Math for Life in Far Suburbs - NYTimes.com: "Suddenly, the economics of American suburban life are under assault as skyrocketing energy prices inflate the costs of reaching, heating and cooling homes on the distant edges of metropolitan areas."

See the creator of Dyson Vacs beat the crap out of his own product

As anyone who knows me knows, I'm a big fan of beating the crap out of my things. I test them, usually until they break. My main complaint about my MacBook is that it feels incredibly fragile.

That's why this video caught my attention... I really haven't seen the creator of an elegant product beat the crap out of it live in front of a third party video camera. Its impressive stuff.

The Economics of the Surfers' Commons

This looks like a very cool article that has recently washed up from the archives of the Deakin Law Review (2004), The Tragicomedy of the Surfers' Commons. Props to Marginal Revolution for tracking this one down (and additional props to whoever their original source was).

Comedy legend, George Carlin, dies at 71

I've got to say that this is a devastating loss for the world of comedy. Carlin, along with others like Sam Kinison and Richard Pryor, always went out of his way to push the envelope and change the world's (well anyone with a sense of humor anway) view toward many topics that a lot of people take far too seriously. A perfect example is one of my favorite Carlin skits ever, 7 Words. In order to avoid being scolded by blogger for posting "obscene" material, I'll just ask that you go to youtube (or your clip-viewing resource of choice) and search "george carlin 7 words"... it's probably the first result.

If you haven't seen one of his comedy hours, I highly suggest you go to the video store, youtube, limewire, or wherever and see one in entirety. They are all excellent. He will be missed.

Op-Ed Columnist - The Two Obamas - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

Sometimes, when we fall in love with a politician, we tend to overlook their faults and pay more attention to what we like about them. It makes sense...when we pick a politician to believe in, if that ever happens anymore, we are investing a bit of our identity in that person. We are taking an action which fundamentally puts to test our ability to make character judgments, to see through the bull shit...But, as it turns out, most people suck at this. Bush, after-all, did have two terms didn't he?

I'm a supporter of Obama. He's the first politician who I've ever donated money to... the only one whose speeches I have watched, completely entranced. I'll admit that I fundamentally believe in the guy. But lately, I've noticed myself doing something that I don't like... When I see a headline pop up on Google News which doesn't seem to be postitive towards Obama, I don't click it. If I do, it's with great hesitance. Why? Well, I've made an investment. A character judgement. And to be wrong, sucks.

Anyways, that's a long way of saying, I'm going to try my best to listen to both the positives and the negatives and evaluate them both. Here's an article which takes a look at what Obama says versus the way he operates which I think does a good job of showing both sides. Fair and balanced... ;)

Op-Ed Columnist - The Two Obamas - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

Distribution: St. John Brewers - U.S. Virgin Islands

Note to self Try this beer.

Distribution: St. John Brewers - U.S. Virgin Islands

Hippopost Lets You Send Free Postcards From Facebook

This looks pretty awesome, though I haven't tried it out yet.

Hippopost Lets You Send Free Postcards From Facebook: "Who says Facebook apps are useless? Hippopost has launched a new Facebook application that allows users to send their friends customized postcards free of charge. For now the service is limited to recipients in the United States and Canada, though we can expect the range to expand if Hippopost catches on."
-http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/16/hippopost-lets-you-send-free-postcards-from-facebook/

Fail. And fail often.

In a recent blog post titled "Is it worthy?", Seth Godin failure, hard work, and the time and place that each of us has been blessed enough to live in. It's a brief post, but still a pretty inspiring note with application to all areas of life. Take a read, leave your comments, and then go out and fail (in a constructive manner, of course).

NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58 - U.S. news- msnbc.com

As I was on the phone with our IT guys in India, a news bulletin flashed across the screen. "NBC's Tim Russert, dead at 58". My heart literally dropped. He has been such a staple of my political news junking that I just couldn't quite believe it. This is one of the first public figure deaths that I can remember which has had this type of affect on me.

NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58 - U.S. news- msnbc.com

The Healthiest Supermarket Foods in America

Summer is here.. and if you're feeling like a big old fatty (like I am), this article may be of interest:

Men's Health - Eat This, Not That - The Healthiest Supermarket Foods in America

Firefox 3: Firefox 3 to Drop on Tuesday

Beautiful day outside. Just got done hanging out at the park (doing some work) and getting some sun. Just a heads up that if you're a Firefox user, a brand spanking new version drops Tuesday... or so the rumor goes.

Firefox 3: Firefox 3 to Drop on Tuesday

ESPN Page 2 - Simmons: C's and the city: Both looking very good

So, I am totally wiped. I've been at the Enterprise 2.0 conference here in Boston since Monday, and it has literally been morning to night for three days straight. I finally have a moment to collect myself.

I just wanted to share a really cool article about Boston, and how it has turned around in the last few years by Simmons. He looks at it from the perspective of Game 2 of the Finals, but I think he does a great job of summarizing how Boston has changed. Here's the full article: ESPN Page 2 - Simmons: C's and the city: Both looking very good

And a quote:
"Once upon a time, Boston was a pretty easy place to understand. Things never changed and, more importantly, we liked it that things never changed. Life revolved around the weather cycles (often brutal), the sports teams (often disappointing) and those occasionally fabulous days in April or October when the sun was shining and there wasn't a prettier place to be. We dealt with traffic, snow, construction, parking problems and sports letdowns year after year, and that's just who we were. Everything was symbolized by the Big Dig, a project that promised to rejuvenate the city and put our highways underground, only it fell years behind schedule and bled billions in cost overruns, rendering Boston impotent for a number of years. I graduated from college in '92 and spent the next decade living in the city (mostly in Charlestown) dealing with jackhammers and detours the entire time. After a while, you stopped thinking about it and assumed that's the way the city would always be -- mangled, ugly and messed up. Nobody could conceive of life after the Big Dig. It just seemed incomprehensible. Well, the project finally ended two years ago."

Annual Summer Concert Tour

Thanks, Vlad, for the welcome to our blog. Love the title, as "no worries" is probably one of my top 10 most utilized phrases.

This post is loosely related to the title... since we're all going to die someday, we may as well live it up while we've got it. One of my favorite ways to do this is to make it a point to attend several concerts a summer, which range in genre from country (Kenny Chesney, Pat Green) to blues (B.B. King) to metal (Ozzfest) and everywhere in between. This year, I've got Bon Jovi and Pearl Jam on the intinerary so far, and I'm on the lookout for a few more. A recent post on Salon.com, provides some great detail on the best of the summer music festivals, including which acts you can skip when you finally decide to break the seal.

If you live within comfortable driving distance of Stamford, CT, there is a whole series of FREE (with the exception of $5 beers from the heineken stand) concerts held downtown. The concerts take place every Thursday night throughout the summer, beginning at the end of June. This year's lineup is particularly good, including 90's greats such as Blues Traveler, Blind Melon and, the coup de gras, Boyz II Men, as well as some lesser known but usually very entertaining acts. Check out the Stamford downtown website for more info.

"Honestly, who doesn't think Vlad is going to do this at some point?" - javed

Emailed to me:

"Honestly, who doesn't think Vlad is going to do this at some point?"

My response:

"Give me a little more credit. I'd at least wait till we were at the bar."

-v




Office Worker Goes Absolutely Insane - Watch more free videos

Ryan: Check out this song - From the new Coen Bros. movie

Welcome, Ryan!

I'm not exactly sure who I'm welcoming you in front of, given the fact that no one reads this blog yet, but welcome none the less!

Ryan and I have decided to launch a joint blog, since in all likelihood each of us individually won't be able to blog often enough to make it worthwhile to check out day to day. And, as Ryan rightly put it, "Yet another step toward our eventual conquest of the world..."

Look for amazingly entertaining posts the likes of which the world has never seen.

Facebook birthdays

To all of my loved ones who's birthdays I have missed many times over... don't blame me. Blame Facebook. There are only so many times a week I can log-in to check on upcoming birthdays. However, a new day has come...

Don't log into Facebook every day? Wish there was a way to get all of those Facebook birthdays into a calendar program you actually use? Check this new Facebook application out: http://www.fbcal.com/

I just used it and it works very well.

Beer Reviews

We all know the nerve raking feeling as one stands in front of the fridge at his or her local liqueur store and is overwhelmed by the sheer number of beers available. "What seems more trust worthy, an Eagle or a Shark?"

Take some of the gamble out of the experience by checking out ratebeer.com. Seems like a pretty solid user driven site to help you pick the perfect beer for the perfect night out.

Ratebeer.com