What happens when people stop watching sitcoms?

Gin, Television, and Social Surplus

This essay by Clay Shirkyon has been making the rounds in the last few days.
In short, he argues that people will continue to spend less time watching sitcoms and more time creating and sharing information. A "cognitive surplus" that was wasted on passively watching television, is being used to generate gains for all of society.

I'm not sure I agree, but an interesting article nonetheless.

Can a musician survive with 1000 dedicated "True Fans"?

The Reality of Depending on True Fans

What is the future of the music industry?  Kevin Kelly has a theory that an artist can survive with 1,000 dedicated True Fans that support the artist with $100 of support per year.

 

Long-time ambient artist, Robert Rich, responds with the story of his influential career as a struggling musician.

 

How Ikea makes things so cheap

Anatomy of an Ikea product | Crave : The gadget blog
Http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9923315-1.html

After a 3.5 hour visit to Ikea in Coquitlam today, this seems like a really suitable link.
Find out how Ikea manages its cheap prices by focussing on efficiency and eliminating waste.
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Trapped in an elevator

The longest smoke break of Nicholas White’s life began at around eleven o’clock on a Friday night in October, 1999. White, a thirty-four-year-old production manager at Business Week, working late on a special supplement, had just watched the Braves beat the Mets on a television in the office pantry. Now he wanted a cigarette. He told a colleague he’d be right back and, leaving behind his jacket, headed downstairs.The magazine’s offices were on the forty-third floor of the McGraw-Hill Building, an unadorned tower added to Rockefeller Center in 1972. When White finished his cigarette, he returned to the lobby and, waved along by a janitor buffing the terrazzo floors, got into Car No. 30 and pressed the button marked 43. The car accelerated. It was an express elevator, with no stops below the thirty-ninth floor, and the building was deserted. But after a moment White felt a jolt. The lights went out and immediately flashed on again. And then the elevator stopped.

read more | digg story

How to Store Parsley, Cilantro, and Other Fresh Herbs | Simply Recipes

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007215how_to_store_parsley_cilantro_and_other_fresh_herbs.php
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Masai warriors run London Marathon

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/athletics/story/0,,2273114,00.html

From the Guardian newspaper, the daily diary of a Masai chief from Tanzania who goes with 3 tribe members to London. They ran the London Marathon to earn a clean water pump for their village.
It's really interesting to read about the many new experiences they had in their first time out of Tanzania.

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12 Ways To Prepare For The Next Great Depression

Our economic future could be even bleaker than you expect — and last year was the moment to unleash your inner survivalist. If the financial system suffers any more crises of confidence, credit gets even tighter, and the fed falls into a liquidity trap, we could be in for several hardscrabbling dystopian years.

read more | digg story

Nintendo Wee

Super Pii Pii Brothers

A virtual pee video game from Japan

What to do with Twitter?

A Guide to Twitter:  What it is, how to use it and Twitter Tools

From Lost Art of Blogging, why people should care about micro-blogging and how to wield it powerfully.

Running Man in Wales vid

Incredible! from kwest on Vimeo.

Go Running Man Go!

Via Kottke

Copyright and Powerpoint video

How to create a great PowerPoint without breaking the law - TeacherTube

A video that starts with exploring all kinds of potential copyright violation scenarios that shows just how murky the interpretation of copyright law can be for teachers and other members of the public.

Half the time is on copyright, and the other half is on how to make a fantastic Powerpoint deck.

Moving Checklist

Moving Checklist - Real Simple (.pdf)

 

I’ve been pretty busy with my Playoff Fantasy Hockey site recently, so the Linkjockey site hasn’t been getting the regular updates.  Oh yeah, I’ve also been getting ready to move into a new place.  There’s a lot to accomplish when you’re getting ready to move: packing, the mortgage, the legal paperwork, and any upgrades to the new place.  It’s just so easy to forget to tell the post office to change your address or get insurance.

 

With this comprehensive moving checklist (which seems like the best of the batch that I found online), hopefully I’ll remember to take care of everything.

 

PS

RIP Vancouver Canucks 2007-2008.  There’s always next year.

The $40 Billion Mesothelioma Scam

Asbestos and Mesothelioma Lawsuit Scam:  Manufactured for Money - Reader's Digest

From Reader's Digest, the story of how American lawyers turned a health care crisis involving asbestosis and silicosis into a huge scam.

10 Best: April Fools' Gags (the Web Is Closed for Spring Cleaning)

2003 Bill Gates is dead, shot by a lone gunman at a charity event in Los Angeles. After three South Korean networks broadcast the story on local TV, ensuing panic triggers a 1.5 percent drop in the Seoul stock exchange — a value loss of $3 billion. Just another Windows-related crash.

read more | digg story