Chicago Blogmap
Sections: Uncategorized Jan 25th, 2005 No Comments
What a great idea: [ Chicago Blogmap ]
Archive for January 2005
How Much do I HATE AutoSpies?
Sections: Auto Jan 23rd, 2005 8 Comments
Most discerning auto enthusiasts who read the web know by now that AutoSpies.com is the lowest form of auto news. As someone who runs an automotive website, Autospies tactics are getting increasingly hard to stomach. Here are just a few of things I can’t stand about the site:
- Pass off press releases as Autospies news or features.
- Masquerade advertisements as real news stories (almost a third of their headlines are actually ads).
- Use old or outdated renderings of new cars and pass them off as news.
- Use sensational headlines to recycle old news and photos.
- Steal other site’s scoops and pass them off as their own (painfully evident when BMW’s 3 series brochure leaked on the web last year).
- Link to photos and renderings on other sites without giving any credit.
Worst Local Weather Site Design Ever
Sections: Uncategorized Jan 21st, 2005 3 Comments
weather.com. Now compare that with this.
(via Matt)
N Carolina Gets 1 inch of Snow:
Gov Declares State of Emergency
Sections: Uncategorized Jan 20th, 2005 1 Comment
Weak.
Anti-Seatbelt Advocate Dies
from not Wearing Seatbelt
Sections: Auto Safety Jan 20th, 2005 13 Comments
Sad and ironic. Not only was he not wearing his seatbelt but he was involved in the classic SUV related fatal accident… the rollover:
Capt. Joe Lefler of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said Havermann was driving the Explorer east on the interstate near Northwest 48th Street when the vehicle went out of control on the ice-covered road. He said the vehicle travelled into the south ditch and rolled several times.
Derek, who was thrown from the vehicle, was not wearing a seat belt, Lefler said. He said Havermann and Uphoff were wearing seat belts at the time.
In a column written for the Daily Nebraskan in September, Derek attacked seat belt laws as intrusions on individual liberties and expensive to enforce.
“It is my choice what type of safety precautions I take,” he wrote.
“There seems to be a die-hard group of non-wearers out there who simply do not wish to buckle up no matter what the government does. I belong to this group.”
[ I-80 crash claims UNL student's life (Journal Star ]
The New Beck Album
Sections: Uncategorized Jan 17th, 2005 38 Comments
As a longtime Beck fan I’ve been anxiously awaiting the next album. Specifically I’ve been anticipating a return to the experience of Odelay and Midnight Vultures. Not that I hadn’t loved Sea Changes and Mutations. I mean, One Foot in the Grave is one of my favorite albums of the 90’s. But there’s something about party Beck that is just so irresistible. So the stage was set… a new album by one of my favorite artists that should be aiming squarely for what I was in need of.
As fate would have it I recently was presented with an opportunity to listen to the new album… or at least a rough version. My initial thoughts were rather negative. However, now that I’ve had some time to think about that first listen I’ve come away with a very high regard for the album. Where Odelay hit you in the face with it’s brilliance, Guero seems to sneak up on you. I won’t give away too much but I will say that the fan wanting a return to a more Odelay type of sound won’t be dissapointed.
Disclaimer: If you’ve downloaded this album illegally (apparently it was leaked last month) I urge you to support Beck and buy it when the final version comes out in March. Reportedly the full release will feature quite a bit of bonus material as well available in several different versions.
How the Mac was Born
Sections: Uncategorized Jan 14th, 2005 1 Comment
The New York Times has a great interview with Andy Hertzfeld of the original Macintosh team from the early 80's. It's a fascinating piece that ranges from the early years to what he sees for personal computing 10 years down the road. Here's a pretty interesting bit :
Apple (OSX) is a closed platform — they just opened the part they don't care about. I'd like to see them contribute a lot more, and I think there could be tremendous business gains. I've talked with Steve Jobs about this too, and he doesn't really see it. I had a talk with him about a year ago where I was telling him, “Hey, there's this huge opportunity, things are shifting.” And he kind of said, “No, they're not. Windows is going to be dominant for at least the next 10 years.” I said something like, “Is it going to be the rest of our lives?” He said, “Depends on how long you live.”
[ Read ]
MP3 Ringtones and Bad Taste
Sections: Uncategorized Jan 14th, 2005 No Comments
Note to self: MP3 ringtones give you the ability to see, in seconds, how horrible someone's musical tastes are. Plus the ensuing phone call gives you a nice excuse to stop the converstation a slip away undetected.
Fog Prompts Fatal Highway Crashes
Sections: Auto Safety, Site News Jan 13th, 2005 No Comments
And yet rear foglights (standard in EU countries) are almost unheard of in the US. Why is this not an issue in the automotive press? It’s also sad to see that one of two deaths from yesterday’s incidents was caused by an SUV rolling over.
[ Highway Crash ]
Pitchfork Redesign
Sections: Uncategorized Jan 13th, 2005 No Comments
As you might be able to tell by the little link on the right I'm a fan of the music site Pitchfork. So as a daily reader their big redesign comes with some anticipation from my part. The work was primarily done by Someoddpilot a design firm out of Chicago that's done some great work in the past. Needless to say expectations were fairly high.
The design is a nice change for a site that had totally grown out of it's former interface. That being said it isn't as show stopping in terms of usability as I had hoped. The site has a ton of content to present to users and it's hard to give it a grade after just 15 minutes of use. However my first reactions are a bit mixed.
[ Pitchfork ]
The iPod Shuffle and Mac Mini Are Introduced
Sections: Uncategorized Jan 11th, 2005 4 Comments
And 20,000 wallets open simultaneously.
Seriously though both products hit their particular sweet-spots and both will sell incredibly well. The iPod Shuffle addresses all the concerns one would have in terms of cannibalizing sales of the current iPod line… and it does it in a brilliant way.
