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Facebook and MySpace are like chalk ‘n’ cheese

Carl Setzer

Facebook and MySpace are like chalk ‘n’ cheese

 

Steve O’Hear does an excellent job of breaking down the differences between the two popular sites. He really brings out the somewhat subtle differences (at least the MSM hasn’t caught them yet). After reading this, I’m breaking down and looking into Facebook.

Junior Boys Godard Mashup

Carl Setzer

The way this blends music with the film snippet is amazing. Plus, I love this 80’s-esque electronica.

Cars

Carl Setzer

As a “true” American, I have a deep love for the automobile. However, I’m a bit urban in my love. Though I have a deep respect for the historical American auto (watch my head turn after a Hudson or Packard), for my Modern car passions, I turn to Europe.

German cars, mostly Volkswagen, garner my focus (It is important to note that I currently drive a Honda Accord; necessity, not passion). (I don’t know if I would have a wider range of loves if my wallet were fatter.) Comically, my favorite VW has been the van. Though discontinued in the US, the Multivan still exists. The fact that I covet one of these, and would be willing to ship it to the States (with a few years of saving my pennies, of course) marks me as a geek (as if I needed another marker). I guess I’ll need to put the Linux penguin on the back window.

What I find fascinating is the “why”. I can’t put my finger on a particular wow factor. Some of it comes from my cyclist/outdoorsy days, where the VW van was so cool…I could transport my bike and not need to pull the wheels off! I get to my destination, pull out bike and ride. Woo hoo! Perhaps it’s the link between the hippie and the bus. I think that it’s pretty deep, deeper than the cool lines and advanced design. Because, let’s face it, even the Multivan is not radically designed.

Well, who knows. I do love the things, though. And, yes, I’m planning my trip to the holy land of Wolfsburg someday.

Spice Girls spark speculation of comeback

Carl Setzer

Spice Girls spark speculation of comeback

If we can’t have a Beatles reunion…

 

 

Yahoo! Go

Carl Setzer

I was just perusing the Yahoo Go website (Cingular section) and was quite surprised to see every single phone on the “coming soon” list. As I clicked around on the other carriers, I saw every phone with every carrier was “coming soon”. Then, bright guy that I am, I went to the main Yahoo Go page and saw that Yahoo Go 2.0 is coming this Friday (aka: tomorrow). We’ll see what comes.

 

Also, though the 750 is on the “coming soon” list, the 680 is not on the list, which bugs me. I’m not going to be in the market for anything as upscale as the750 for sometime. Oh well, I guess I’ll need to find another app to play with.

China overtakes United States as world’s biggest polluter

Carl Setzer

Well, China has been working hard to catch up to the US in many areas, why not this one? As a response to Zou Ji’s comments (he of Renmin University and quoted in the article below). "When we become richer and richer, and feel safer and safer, then people will have more time and more resources to pay attention to something not directly linked to themselves", you need to realize that the costs of retrofitting your economy to both stop polluting as well as clean up your mess will be prohibitively expensive. China, both as a state and its citizenry, would be far better served by its leaders being more forward thinking. Additionally, the long-term health of their eco-system, of which their bodies are mere extensions, is something that’s hard, and expensive, to buy back. This attitude is much like, knowing you have cancer, to wait until you’re richer so the financial bite is less painful.

 

Anyway, as is so often the case, Grist says it so much better than me.

 

 

And They’re Off
China overtakes United States as world’s biggest polluter, agency says

The United States is no longer the world’s biggest polluter. That honor goes to China, which emitted some 8 percent more carbon dioxide in 2006 than Bushland, according to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. But on a per-person basis, Americans pollute roughly four to five times more than folks in China. And while the emissions surge is tied to a booming industrial landscape — China opens the equivalent of two coal-fired power plants each week — that growth is spurred in part by Western consumers buying goods made in China, and by outsourced manufacturing. So: still your fault. While China‘s leaders work on a climate plan, observers say residents are more worried about their immediate environs: "Most people in China are either unaware of or uninterested in climate change," says Zou Ji of Renmin University. "When we become richer and richer, and feel safer and safer, then people will have more time and more resources to pay attention to something not directly linked to themselves."

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straight to the source: The Globe and Mail, Reuters, 20 Jun 2007

straight to the source: The Guardian, Jonathan Watts and John Vidal, 20 Jun 2007

straight to the source: BBC News, Roger Harrabin, 19 Jun 2007

straight to the source: The Guardian, John Vidal and David Adam, 19 Jun 2007

 

Work with me, people!

Carl Setzer

On my drive in this morning, I watched a Krispy Kreme truck twice start to merge right with a line of cars where he wanted to be. Even if the driver’s eyes didn’t work, fortunately, the ears did. Part two of my saga: the fellow who tries to pass me on the left…when I’m in the left lane! Then the fellow just zips over several lanes without the slightest awareness of the wee little stick on their steering column. Then there was the several miles where I was stuck behind 3 cars, all in a row, dawdling along the highway. 30 in a 45 in the left lane…sigh…at least I made it in.