A Year Of Crockpot Recipes

A Year of Crockpotting

The author of this blog, Stephanie, decided to use her crockpot every day for 2008, and blogged about the experience.  There are lots of great crockpot recipes, and 

Stephanie's daughter has celiac disease, so the recipes are gluten-free.  There are answers to all kinds of questions in the year-end wrap-up crockpot FAQ.

From Linkfilter

10 Tiny Things for Small Business Owners in 2009

Ten Tiny Things Every Small Business Owner Should Do in 2009

From Guy Kawasaki, and his How To Change The World blog

2008 The Year in Pictures

2008 - The Year In Pictures  - NYT

The New York Times celebrates the wonderful and the tragic events of 2008 in photos.

Best iPhone Apps of 2008

The Best iPhone Apps of 2008 and Gizmodo's 20 Essential iPhone Apps

 and 

Since I received an iPod Touch for Christmas, I've taken a sudden interest in the best iPhone apps, particularly the free apps.  Why not start with Gizmodo's best iPhone Apps for the start of 2009?

Solving common Windows problems

Help Clueless Relatives with Their Computer Problems - Lifehacker
Despite the uncharitable title, this looks like a good start for resolving serious problems with Windows computers.  The article has suggestions to deal with common problems, such as:

• "It takes forever to start up."
• "I keep getting a pop-up saying I need to pay for my antivirus software."
• "When I get on the internet things look weird" or "I keep getting these annoying popup ads."
• "I can't find the digital photos I downloaded last month."
• "I'm running out of hard drive space." 
• "The internet stopped working."

45 Free Modern Fonts

45 Beautiful Free Fonts for Modern Design Trends

Who doesn’t want some new fonts to breathe life into their graphics work?  These are stylish typefaces that will make an impression for all kinds of design work.

Funny video of cats

2008 Urlies - Lifetime Achievement Award: Cats

As part of their 2008 Urlie Awards, Urlesque awarded their internet Lifetime Achievement award to "cats".  For this momentous occasion, they compiled the funniest and most famous cat videos into one hilarious cat video.  I LOL'ed.  Big time.

73-year-old college basketball player

A 73-Year-Old Gives Basketball a Second Shot - NY Times

Retired newspaper editor, Ken Mink, goes back to college, and joins the Roane State Community College basketball team.  This is a heartwarming little story

How to Raise the World's IQ - Hint: It's in the salt

Raising the World’s I.Q. – Nicholas Kristof  NY Times

What’s the most effective solution when providing aid for international development?  It’s Salt Iodization. 

It sounds boring, but according to Nicholas Kristof, it’s amazingly effective at preventing mental and physiological deficiencies.  And who is the world leader in this cheap and effective development program?  It’s Canada.  Who knew?

Singing: The Key To A Long Life?

Singing: The Key To A Long Life – NPR by Brian Eno

Apparently musician, composer and producer Brian Eno is a big fan of group singing, and explains why in this instalment of “This I Believe”, a discussion of core values that guide people’s lives.

 

 

Best films of 2008 - Times Online

The 100 Best Movies of 2008 - Times Online

The critics from London's Times Online list their 5-star and 4-star film picks from their reviews of the past year. I do have some squabbles with the British critics' favourite movies (including movies that were released in 2006 and 2007), it's a great way for me to find new movies and DVDs to add to my Zip list, because Zip.ca has the DVDs you are looking you for. Search our library now.

Where's my cursor?

cursors

Which cursor is yours when you move the mouse?  Confusing, but funny.

The Netflix Conundrum

If You Liked This, You’re Sure to Love That – NY Times

This article, by the fantastic Clive Thompson, discusses the Netflix contest, where programmers try to improve the movie recommendation formula that Netflix uses. Netflix is the popular American DVD-by-mail subscription company (in Canada, I use zip.ca)

While the top researchers keep getting better at making movie suggestions, one of the things that stumps them is the “Napoleon Dynamite problem”.

5 Canadian Financial Blogs (from the National Post)

Yesterday's National Post had links to five Canadian financial blogs, described as the "Investosphere".  While it's easy enough to find American blogs and articles to help you with your personal finances, finding Canadian writing is much more complicated.  Here are the blogs they featured:

Canadian Capitalist

"A Canadian Personal Finance Weblog", which writes about a variety of personal finance topics and aggregates financial news for Canadians

Four Pillars

Focuses on investing, real estate, personal finance and saving money

The Dividend Guy

Describes itself as "one guy's journey to passive income through dividend investing"

ABCs of Investing

Teaches the basics of Canadian investing in concise, readable posts.

The Real Estate Renegades

Any discussion about investing by Canadians needs to include real estate.  This blog claims to be an investing guide to Canadian real estate in normal English.

How to Quickly iPhone-ize Your Website

HOW TO: Instantly iPhone-ize Your Website

Intersquash is a new company that will convert your existing website into an iPhone compatible website quickly, and for free.  Here is a demo Intersquash video from Vimeo.

From Mashable

Run Backups on any Wii Without a Modchip

Run Backups on any Wii Without a Modchip

I haven't tried this with my Nintendo Wii, but apparently it is possible to create and use backup game discs, without having to modify your Wii with a chip.

25 Free Digital Audio Editors

25 Free Digital Audio Editors You Should Know 

As someone that got a degree doing digital recording and composing electronic music, it's great to know that the range of free music production tools keeps expanding and improving.

Don't leave alcohol near your pumpkins

Moosehead. Tecate. Heineken. Wine.

Hmmm… interesting choices.

...but Canucks organization embraces bloggers

Canucks Organization Embraces Bloggers and Podcasters - nowpublic.com
Actually, I'm still waiting for my hug, but it's good to hear that my favourite hockey team tends to be bucking the league trend.
The Canucks hockey team are featuring bloggers, podcasters and Facebook application creators in their promotional posters and on their website. Now, if only the Canucks' players could play more consistently in their new up-tempo, high scoring style...

Bloggers get the cold shoulder from hockey teams

Teams slowly reacting as bloggers hit the NHL
It seems like the NHL under Gary Bettman just keeps getting PR wrong. As media outlets in the US decrease the number of reporters covering NHL teams, hockey journalists and enthusiasts are starting to cover hockey as independent bloggers.

While blog coverage has grown in politics, entertainment and other sports over the past few years, bloggers have been slower in covering hockey. Unfortunately, it seems like the kneejerk reaction from many hockey teams has been to shut the door on this new kind of media coverage.

Michael Pollan's letter to the next Farmer in Chief

An Open Letter to the next Farmer in Chief - New York Times

Michael Pollan believes that the next president of the US will become the Farmer in Chief as the issues of climate change, public health, and international food security will force him to confront the issue of Food. America’s food and agriculture industries and the American diet are such an enormous underlying influence on these more mainstream issues, and Pollan goes into great depth into breaking down the problems and some of the solutions.

Every dish in French Laundry Cookbook

French Laundry at Home: Lists and Menu Suggestions

From the Carol Cooks Keller blog, this is a summary from a woman that has cooked every recipe in the French Laundry cookbook.  The chef at French Laundry is Thomas Keller, and it is supposed to be the best restaurant in North America.  So cooking all the recipes from the cookbook is quite the achievement.

As someone who thoroughly enjoyed a trip to Bouchon on a recent trip to Las Vegas, I can say that it was the best breakfast I've ever had and that I can't wait to visit the French Laundry.  If some of the recipes in the cookbook are easy to make, I'm tempted to give them a try.

From Metafilter

10 Ikea Furniture Hacks

Top 10 IKEA Furniture Mods - Lifehacker

Ten tips from Lifehacker about everyone's favourite DIY Swedish furniture store.

30 best Green websites

The 30 Best Eco Sites on the Web

Green is supposed to be the new internet in terms of business development.  Because of personal concerns about climate change and the environment, I’ve recently found myself wondering where to find best environmental websites for green tips, tech and news.  Here are 30 websites that I’d like to keep an eye on for new developments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't be that woman...

Old people Facebook disasters – Salon.com

In a nutshell, apparently anyone over 30 is old in Facebook years, and these old people tend to be easily bored and embarrassed.  Harumphhh, maybe I’m not alone in being bored by Facebook.  But that accidentally forwarded video…. eww.

What's appropriate on Flickr?

Nasty as they wanna be? Policing Flickr.com

What kind of photos are appropriate on Flickr?  What kind of photos are inappropriate when your rules include:  “No Commerce.”  “Don't be creepy. You know the guy. Don't be that guy.” and "Don't forget the children."

This is an article from the San Francisco Gate about the people that police the world’s most popular photography site.

 

Very Aggressive Pigeon - pic

Aggressive Pigeon (pic)
A great looping picture that illustrates why it's important to obey signage. Trust me.

Why you should care about the 2008-2009 hockey season

10 Reasons to Care About the NHL This Season - Maxim
The 2008-2009 NHL season is just around the corner, and Maxim (yuck) has a guide to why you should care about the new year of hockey. They should have replaced "New Third Jerseys" with "New Chance to Win your Fantasy Hockey League."

Behind the acronyms of the Financial Meltdown

The Fuel That Fed The Subprime Meltdown

The current financial crises are huge in scope and have many layers of complexity.  This article from Forbes Magazine’s Investopedia breaks down some of the alphabet soup, and explains ABS, CDOs, RMBS, ARMs and where they fit in with current crises.

 

Hockey Pool Guide stats

Fantasy Hockey Pool Stats .ca

2008-2009 Hockey Pool Tool Kit: Excel Stats, Projections & Picks, at the best price

My hockey pool stats website has been updated for the 2008-2009 NHL season.  It's my second year selling the best fantasy hockey guide as an Excel spreadsheet for $5.95.

The idea came about 3 years ago when I was preparing for a hockey pool, and was frustrated by the static, outdated statistics and predictions in the fantasy guide magazines.  That year, I put together a fantasy hockey spreadsheet for myself, and I won my hockey pool.  The next year, I figured that if the sortable hockey statistics were so useful for me, that they would be really helpful for others as well in preparing for their fantasy hockey leagues.  I spent a lot of time organizing hockey stats, and figuring out a way to make predictions for everyone in the NHL, and this year, I've improved it even more.

Can you tell I'm excited about hockey season?

Nine Inch Nails video technologo

NIN Dazzles With Lasers, LEDs and Stealth Screens - wired.com

I had the chance to see Nine Inch Nails perform at the Pemberton Festival, and was blown away by their amazing video technology. If you have a chance to see them in concert, I recommend it. Otherwise check out the wired.com story about the technology behind their live visuals.

The Real WWF

Reinventing a Sports Magazine

Reinventing sports on the Web – Salon.com

Salon’s King Kaufman discusses how a floundering The Sporting News magazine is experimenting with the radical concept of bringing magazine design, production values and content to the web with Sporting News Today.  Have a look at the revolutionary design, and maybe stay for the detailed daily sports coverage.   In today’s issue, there’s lots of baseball, football and Olympic coverage, but what I want to know is, how much NHL Hockey are they going to cover?

 

 

 

Weird Olympics photos

Weird Olympic Photos - Guardian UK

Keeping with the recent Olympic theme, the Guardian has 29 weird and unusual photos of the Olympics with some amusing captions.

Beat Usain Bolt

You vs Bolt – Puma running

In honour of Usain Bolt’s second Olympic gold medal in today’s 200m sprint, Puma Running has a button-mashing Flash game where your fingers can run in a race against the Olympic Champion and world record holder of the men’s 100m dash.

Thanks to kottke.

Michael Phelps' closest race

Phelps - Cavic photo finish - kottke.org

Today American Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.  Phelps' seventh race was the 100 m Butterfly race, and it was his closest race and the only one where he "only" set an Olympic Record (instead of the World Record).  

Kottke is on point (as usual) with a breakdown of the race and participants (including Silver Medalist, Milorad Cavic representing Serbia) that is worthy of Metafilter.

The highlights are the underwater photos of the finish, Cavic's blog entry, and Omega's explanation that their timing system is more accurate that the length of the swimming lanes.  Also the NYT article and profile of Mike Cavic.

15 Cool Things to Do with Excel

Because today is the Friday of a long-weekend (BC Day here in Vancouver), here are 15 Fun Things to Do with Microsoft Excel

Law prof and cop agree: never talk to the cops about a crime, even if you're innocent.

Law prof and cop agree: never ever ever ever ever ever talk to the cops about a crime, even if you're innocent - Boing Boing

Two videos from Google Video with two lectures from the Regent University School of Law.  They make a pretty convincing case about why you should talk with a lawyer before saying anything to the police!

Pemberton Festival - Printable Schedule and Maps

This weekend, I'm heading from Vancouver to Pemberton for the first Pemberton Festival, which runs from July 25, 26, and 27, 2008.  In preparation, I've found the Pemberton Festival printable map and printable schedule (.pdf).  The line-up of artists is fantastic, and I'm looking forward to the Flaming Lips, Vampire Weekend and Matisyahu.  Camping on-site is encouraged.

My only complaint is that some of the bands that I'm really looking forward to are scheduled to play on Sunday night, like Coldplay and DJ Shadow with Cut Chemist.  If the music ends at 11pm, it's going to be hard to get home in time to work on Monday.

How to travel the world by cargo ship

How to Travel by Cargo Ship

Why BC Hydro needs moderate rate increases

British Columbians have taken cheap electricity for granted for too long – Vancouver Sun

 

Reflecting on the recent power outages and electrical cable vault fire in downtown Vancouver, a BC Hydro engineer writes in the Vancouver Sun about the need for BC Hydro to upgrade its aging infrastructure and for BC residents to accept moderate rate increases.

 

Top 20 Canadian Web 2.0 companies

Blogs and Blog Networks in Canadian Web 2.0 Top 20

From Backbone Magazine, here are the profiles of the Top 20 Web 2.0 movers and shakers in Canada.

The companies on the list aren’t exactly obvious, but they do represent Canada’s global leaders across a broad spectrum of Web 2.0 niches.

 

In short, here is the list:

01. Club Penguin
02. FreshBooks
03. ConceptShare
04. Cambrian House
05. Smallthought Sytems’ Dabble DB
06. Octopz
07. Open Text
08. Kaboose
09. Standout Jobs
10. NowPublic
11. blogTO
12. Jiibe
12. Something Simpler
14. Mob4Hire
15. MovieSet
15. b5media
17. SmartHippo
18. ThoughtFarmer
19. Protagonize
20. Store Ops-Center

 

Feeling Hungary? Looking for something to eat?

Food and Beverages in Hungary blog

If you've wondered what Hungarians eat when they're hungry, look no more. The blog of Food and Beverages in Hungary has lots of pictures and recipes of Hungarian food, which often feature paprika and stews.

This stuff looks really tasty!

RE: When restaurants provide meals for staff

Family Meal - CITY Magazine

(Whoops, I forgot to include the link)

Erin Bremer went around to many of New York's favorite restaurants, and ate with the staff during the "Family Meal".  The author ate with the bussers, the cooks, the servers, the managers, the chefs and the dishwashers. Among the restaurants she visited were Gramercy Tavern, Chanterelle, Buddakan, Mercer Kitchen, Centovini, Allen & Delancey and Thomas Keller's Per Se.

http://city-magazine.com/familymeal/

Amazing free show tonight in downtown Vancouver

There are some free dance performances by the Aeriosa dance troupe as part Vancouver’s Dancing on the Edge 2008 festival.  They are dancing on the side of the main Vancouver Public Library building, while suspended by ropes.  Check out some of Aeriosa’s videos of past performances.

 
July 11, 5:30pm & 8pm
July 12, 6:30pm & 8pm
South Plaza Library Square
(Robson & Homer)

 

When restaurants provide meals for staff

Family Meal - CITY Magazine
The author went around to many of New York's favorite restaurants,
and ate with the staff during the "Family Meal". Erin Bremer ate
with the bussers, the cooks, the servers, the managers, the chefs and
the dishwashers. Among the restaurants she visited were Gramercy
Tavern, Chanterelle, Buddakan, Mercer Kitchen, Centovini, Allen &
Delancey and Thomas Keller's Per Se.

Metro Vancouver Bike Routes

For local travel around Vancouver and the Lower Mainland on evenings and weekends, where are the bike routes in your neighbourhood?

As a driver or pedestrian, you might not be aware of just how extensive the cycling networks are throughout the entire Lower Mainland.  Whether you are considering commuting to work or looking for a leisurely weekend ride, you don’t have to battle heavy traffic or ride like a maniac to be a cyclist. Many bike routes are on quieter streets that are just one or two blocks away from the busiest driving routes, with direct routes and cyclist-activated traffic lights.  Other bike routes are on busy streets with designated bike lanes, where motorists will leave you alone.  Our local governments have been working hard to make riding a bike a safer and more accessible option for you and other Lower Mainland residents to enjoy this summer.

 

Translink has a great cycling page, with maps and links to make riding a bike in the Lower Mainland safer and easier. http://www.translink.bc.ca/Maps/cycling_map_guide.asp

• For a map of cycling routes in Lower Mainland West (Vancouver city, North Shore, Richmond, Burnaby, New Westminster, Delta, Anmore, and Bowen Island) http://www.translink.bc.ca/files/pdf/cyclemap/Bikemap_WEST.pdf
•  
• For a map of cycling routes in Lower Mainland East (Coquitlam, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Maple Ridge and Aldergrove) http://www.translink.bc.ca/files/pdf/cyclemap/Bikemap_East.pdf

Pirate enclyclopedia (pic)

Pirate enclyclopedia (pic)

 

 

Milk-Crate Crab Pots

Milk-Crate Crab Pots

Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools is one of my favourite websites, but his Street Use site focuses on “ways in which people modify and re-create technology”.  In today’s link, someone has a crab trap made from plastic milk crates.  Sounds like an inexpensive way to go fishing for some delicious seafood!  Just make sure you know the local fishing regulations!

"The War of 1812" song

A song for your Canada Day celebrations.

"The War of 1812" (mp3) - Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie  (not the Arrogant Worms mp3)

Breaking: Chris Walks for President

The Chris Walks Phenomenon - News Channel 3

Chris Walks for President.  My good friend Richard pointed me to this web news story from News Channel 3.  Apparently, I'm receiving consideration for the 2008 Presidential election, without my knowledge.  I need to check this out a little more, and you probably should too.  Walka-mania.  It's sweeping the nation!  

Food Court musical!

Food Court Musical - Improv Everywhere

From the geniuses at Improv Everywhere, comes Food Court Musical.  It just goes to show you that people can burst out spontaneously into song, and not just in a Broadway Musical.

When the world is your soccer pitch

Remi Gaillard video - Kottke.org

In celebration of the upcoming Euro 2008 Final between Germany and France, here's a great video of a guy with a soccer ball.  He scores amazing goals through windows, into fountains, garbage cans and more with some crazy trick shots, as he drives the unknowing "goalkeepers" crazy.

Transgendered in Albania

Women Who Wear the Pants

From good old Metafilter, the story of an old Albanian tradition where women could take a pledge to live the rest of their lives as men.  It links to a New York Times article that talks to the last few remaining women that still live their lives as men.

The Sneakiest Goal in the History of Soccer - YouTube

While it's not at Euro 2008, this soccer goal is a classic!

read more | digg story

SEO tips for dummies

Google's Cutts: Good directions drive traffic to your website

USA Today has an article on Search Engine Optimization tips that everyone can use to improve their ranking in Google (and other search engines). 

Of course, when everyone is using the same competitive advantages, who really has the advantage?

CopyRight Criminals 2.0 - Charlie Angus

Remix this Public Service announcement video for the Canadian DMCA.

read more | digg story

Top Secret - Photos of Spy Satellites

Photographer Documents Secret Satellites — All 189 of Them (Wired magazine)

Wired.com article about a new exhibition of photos of secret spy satellites by Trevor Paglen.  

Paglen has previously worked on projects about other top secret operations, such as secret prisons, secret military projects and torture taxis, planes that shuttle secret prisoners.

The Leading Expert on Canada's new proposed Copyright Legislation

Michael Geist

Canada's proposed DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) is terrible, and University of Ottawa professor, Michael Geist explains why and what to do about it.

• The Copyright Protest Surge
• The Canadian DMCA: A Betrayal
• Catching Up on the Canadian DMCA Coverage
• Copyright Bill's Fine Print Makes For a Disturbing Read
• The Canadian DMCA: Check the Fine Print
• Canadian Copyright Reform: The Comic Book Edition

Fair Copyright for Canada - Facebook Group

William Gibson interviewed by io9

William Gibson Talks to io9 About Canada, Draft Dodging, and Godzilla

An interview by the science fiction blog io9 with one of my favourite authors, Vancouver's William Gibson.

Say farewell to a Canadian icon

'Hockey Night In Canada' Is Over,  Thanks to Licensing Spat - Wired.com

The CBC has decided to replace the theme song to "Hockey Night in Canada" after 40 years.  The hockey theme song is known as "Canada's Second Anthem" for Canada's most popular sport and show.  Apparently, the CBC will be holding a contest to replace the song, but Wired points out that if the original song was entered, it would win in a landslide.

Uniqlo website

UNIQLO TRY

I'm not sure what it all means, or what they're saying, but this Uniqlo website is really innovative.

Swirling masses of video interviews with pretty music.

I haven't seen anything like it.  It doesn't even matter that they're doing market research in Japanese for a new bra top.  It's Web 2.0 with a beautiful, innovative interface.

Security: The War on Photography

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/06/the_war_on_phot.html

The bottom line: only terrorists in the movies take pictures of their targets.
People that take pictures of public places are called... Photographers, and they can be professionals or amateurs. Don't let paranoid thugs intimidate you.
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Why New Atheists like Christopher Hitchens are as dangerous as Christian fundamentalists

From Salon, foreign correspondent and intellectual provocateur Chris Hedges explains why New Atheists like Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens are as dangerous as Christian fundamentalists.

Forbes.com Secret behind Steve Jobs & Apple's new iPhone

http://mobile.forbes.com/sitehtm/go.php?CALL_URL=/technology/2008/05/29/stevejobs-iphone-apple-tech-intel-cx_bc_0530stevejobs.html%3f
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The economics (and the future) of web video

All Your Video Is Belongs to Us - Blog Maverick

Mark Cuban is the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, as well as HDnet (a digital media company) and a popular blog author.

Today's link is an excellent post on the current state of the business of web video, and where it will go.  Mark argues that most independent video producers do not understand that Google/ Youtube currently subsidize the distribution of online videos.  Google is still working on developing a better business model to monetize video, and Mark Cuban argues that monetization will come at the expense of producers, either with pay-per-post or by requiring producers to license their videos to Google.

The best quote:  "At some stage in your life, asking your friends to work for free is no longer 'hanging out', its imposing or freeloading. Its at that point you are going to realize that you are working really hard and scared shitless about whether you will be able to make a living doing what you love. Then it will hit you that you are subsidizing the cost of video advertising inventory for Google or MySpace or whoever, while not being able to make ends meet."

That wouldn't be very encouraging if I was trying to start a career in video production.

Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto is the Walt Disney of video games - NYT

Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo Expands His Empire – NYTimes.com

Today’s link is a New York Times profile of the godfather of video games, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto.  Miyamoto is responsible for creating

some of Nintendo’s biggest franchises including Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda, and now Wii Fit, and these series birthed Nintendo’s most memorable characters including Donkey Kong, Mario and Zelda.  Miyamoto is also the brains behind the innovative Nintendo Wii.

 

 

 

 

60 Free Charlie Chaplin movies

Charlie Chaplin Online
Over 60 classic films from Charlie Chaplin films that stream from the Charlie Chaplin Online blog.
The copyright on these entertaining works of art have expired, so they're now in the public domain.

Here's more links from Metafilter:
A Dog's Life (1918, 35 minutes)
The Kid (1921, 67 minutes)
A Woman of Paris (1923, 84 minutes)
The Gold Rush (1925, 71 minutes)
The Great Dictator (1940, 125 minutes)
Monsieur Verdoux (1947, 133 minutes)
City Lights (1931, 87 minutes)
His final directorial effort was A Countess From Hong Kong

REAPER | Inexpensive Multi-track audio production for Windows

Pro audio production software for the masses.

http://www.reaper.fm/
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Maximize your produce & reduce waste

less waste, more taste: maximize your produce : AzSustainably.com

 

Eat better, more economical and in a way that’s better for the environment by reducing food waste and taking these four steps to healthier and more sustainable diets:

1. Buy locally grown produce
2. Start a garden
3. Buy less more often
4. Store your produce properly and strategically (with an item-by-item guide to storing fresh fruits and vegetables)

 

Steve Nash and endorsements

What Rhymes With Nash? - Forbes

Forbes takes a look at the choices and issues that have affected the marketability of the NBA’s Steve Nash.  Nash is outspoken politically, and it has affected which companies he has chosen to associate with as a pitchman, including companies such as Nike and BC Hydro.  There is some thought that American sports fans may be coming around to Nash’s way of thinking about Iraq and the environment, and that this could boost the appetite for his endorsements.

Ali Hewson (aka Mrs. Bono)

Ali Hewson: ethics girl (London Telegraph)

A profile in London's Telegraph on Bono's (from U2) better half.  It's a rare interview with a private woman who's an entrepreneur, a mother and a social activist.

Video - NYT's Mark Bittman on What's wrong with the food we eat

TED Talks video - Mark Bittman: What's wrong with what we eat

TED has all kinds of video presentations that they describe as "Inspired talks by the world's greatest thinkers and doers". Linkjockey has linked to food journalist Mark Bittman's writing before from the New York Times, but this is the first video.

A local's guide to New York City

The NonGuidebook Version of What to Do (and Not Do) in NYC I've never been to New York, but this is what I would read before leaving the hotel on my first day there. Bonus points for mentioning that public bathrooms are getting difficult to find in other cities as well.

"Electricity" Misconceptions Spread By Textbooks

http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/miscon/elect.html

I've got a lot to learn when it comes to electricity, but this figures to help. It's an faq of electricity myths.
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Baseball Dominican Style

Baseball, Dominican-style.  - By Bryan Curtis - Slate Magazine

This is the story of baseball in one of its biggest hotspots, the Dominican Republic.  Starting with a Major League squad's recruiting academy, Bryan Curtis looks at the six team Dominican pro leagues and talks to the first Dominican player in MLB, Hall of Famer Juan Marichal.

First Pecha Kucha in Vancouver

Pecha Kucha Night : Vancouver

At the Vancouver Museum – 1100 Chestnut Street in Vancouver (in Vanier Park)

Wednesday, 7 May 2008

DOORS 19:00   START 20:20   DOOR $11

 

Pecha Kucha is an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.  The key to a Pecha Kucha Night is its system where each presenter shows 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up.

 

See also the Wired article:  Pecha Kucha: Get to the PowerPoint in 20 Slides Then Sit the Hell Down

 

nin: the slip download link

Your friend Nine Inch Nails has invited you to download nine inch nails new album "the slip". To download your file, click on the link below and follow the instructions on the download page carefully. If the link below is not clickable, copy it and paste it into your web browser's address bar.

http://dl.nin.com/theslip/confirmation?token=262o5b2W

When you click the link, you will be prompted for a token.

Your download token is: 262o5b2W

Enjoy,

The Staff
www.nin.com

Concert Presale Passwords

Free Presale Passwords

My wife, Mrs. Wonderful, found out that Neil Diamond was coming to Vancouver.  Presale tickets went on sale this morning, and we didn't have a pre-sale code.

I did some Googling, and found out that there's a thriving market on eBay (and other places) where people charge for passwords and presale codes.  There's also free presale passwords on a page appropriately named Free Presale Passwords.  To make a long story short, they had the Neil Diamond presale code for Ticketmaster, and Mrs. Wonderful and her girlfriends are going to the show, with good but inexpensive seats.

Adam Platt Travels to Tokyo to Eat Fugu, the World's Most Dangerous Meal -- New York Magazine

http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/46462/

When I was living in Japan, I had the opportunity to try fugu- the poisonous blowfish sushi. The taste was nothing special, but it did leave my tongue tingling a little.
Still, every year a few people die when it is prepared incorrectly.
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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

Japan: URL's Are Totally Out

http://www.cabel.name/2008/03/japan-urls-are-totally-out.html

Apparently in Japan, advertisers no longer use URLs. How do they encourage people to go to their websites? Search boxes.
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Who's going to make the NHL playoffs?

Sports Club Stats - Your Team's Chances of Making the Playoffs

Sports Club Stats calculates your team's statistical chances of making the playoffs by running simulations of all the remaining games left in the season. Sports Club Stats has statistical analysis for the NHL's Eastern and Western Conferences, the NBA Playoffs, NFL Playoffs, NASCAR Sprint Race for the Chase, European Football, and MLB.

I'm currently working on my other website Fantasy Hockey Pool Stats .ca, and developing predictions in a spreadsheet for how each hockey team and player will do in the 2008 NHL Playoffs, and Sports Club Stats is going to be helpful with that.

"Once-in-a-millennium" celebration of holy days

Good Friday! Happy Purim, Eid, etc... - Time Magazine

In 2008, March 21 has special significance for Christians, Jews and Muslims, as well as Persians, Hindus and Buddhists. In what is described as a "once-in-a-millennium" statistical event, on the same day as Christians remember Jesus' death on Good Friday, there is the Jewish Purim (celebrating the biblical story of Esther), Persian New Year (Narouz), the Sunni
Eid Milad an Nabi (celebrating the Birth of the Prophet), the Hindu Small Holi (an Indian festival of bonfires) and Magha Puja, a celebration of the Buddha's first group of followers, marked primarily in Thailand.

What would it be like to be in a crayon world?

Crayon Physics Deluxe - Youtube
For a totally different type of computer game, watch this video of a game where the object is to draw your way out of problems with a crayon. It doesn't hurt that the music is really chilled out too.

Luckiest NHL Goal ever?

Floobster - Rob Davison scores from nearly 200ft on Vesa Toskala (video)
As the 2008 NHL Playoffs approach, everyone's paying a little more attention to the end of the hockey regular season.

Last night, the New York Islanders' Rob Davison scored an almost unbelievable shorthanded goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs, that nearly went the length of the ice. You've really got to see it to believe it. Why is it "almost" unbelievable? Because was playing against the Leafs...
Golf Leafs Golf! Thanks to Digg for the link.

How ESPN’s Multi-Platform Strategy Hasn’t Improved Ratings

Taking aim at Bristol

Properties, rival networks anonymously take shots, but ESPN contends they miss the big picture

Sports Business Journal has a detailed look behind the buzz over "The Emperor’s New Clothes: How ESPN’s Multi-Platform Strategy Hasn’t Improved Ratings," a sharply critical PowerPoint presentation making the rounds of sports league offices and advertising buyers in recent months.

H1-B Visas: The Biggest Users

Want to get an H1-B visa to work in the United States?
http://www.businessweek.com/table/08/0305_h1b.htm

You would probably have a much better chance if you got a job with one of these employers first. Business Week magazine reports that these are the top 200 companies getting H1-B visas approved.
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Sympathy card messages

A sympathy card was circulated around the office today for a co-worker whose mother had passed away.  I struggled to think of the right thing to say, without copying the wording from any of my colleagues.  So, I turned to the web and these are the best sympathy card messages and tips I found:

 

How To Write A Sympathy Card

Sympathy Card Wording

Words of Sympathy

Sympathy Quotes and Words of Sympathy

Sympathy Flower Etiquette

20 Websites That Will Make You A Better Web Developer

20 Websites That Made Me A Better Web Developer

From sixrevisions, here are 20 websites that can make you a better web developer. 
The top 5 are:

1) Alertbox: Current Issues in Web Usability

2) TheBestDesigns.com

3) A List Apart

4) Getting Real by 37 Signals

5) Digg / Technology

6) Web Design from Scratch

7) mootools

8) ReadWriteWeb

9) Zend Developer Zone

10) css Zen Garden

Now if only I would take my own advice...

Everybody’s An Expert

(linkjockey@gmail.com) saw this on newyorker.com and thought you'd like to see it.

A review of a book on making predictions; “Expert Political Judgement: How Good Is It? How Can We Know?” by Philip Tetlock. So who is the real expert? Is it the conventional experts? Are crowds wise? Or is everyone equally bad at predicting the future?

Click here: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/12/05/051205crbo_books1

New NIN album for download

Nine Inch Nails has a new album online called Ghosts I-IV.  It's available for several different price points, including a free download.  

Upon listening to Ghosts I-IV for the first time, I can say that it's good, it's instrumental and that it's enjoyable on the first listen.

Yes, MSG, the Secret Behind the Savor - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/dining/05glute.html?em&ex=1204866000&en=cad5d6c699ee65ec&ei=5087%0A
MSG = Delicious?
Is Umami just MSG?
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How to Make Fire Balls!

A pretty darn cool idea and video from YouTube. Haruken!
Ingredients for fun: cotton strip, cotton thread, needle, lighter fluid and a match.

The story of a teenage phone phreak

Wired:  Teenage Hacker Is Blind, Brash and in the Crosshairs of the FBI

 

From Wired Magazine, the story of a blind teenage hacker whose exploits included phone phreaking and “swatting”; phoning police with fake hostage crises and murders.

Rick Roll the Baby

It seems as though babies don't mind getting rickrolled.

Thanks YouTube.

Report: Alberta Oil Sands Most Destructive Project on Earth

De Smog Blog .com - Report: Alberta Oil Sands Most Destructive Project on Earth

 

Environmental Defence released a report (pdf) calling the Alberta Oil Sands the most destructive project on Earth.

You've been invited to a movie through Cineplex!

Linkjockey has invited you to see Tristan und Isolde (Wagner) - Metropolitan Opera at Cineplex Odeon Park & Tilford at 3/22/2008 9:30:00 AM

Short Story Library

The Short Story Library - American Literature
Thousands of short stories from the greats in literature.  Short story of the day available as a daily RSS feed.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Blog

The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Blog

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/kareem/

One of the most intelligent and articulate men in sports has a blog with the LA Times.  It's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the top scorer in NBA in history, writing on sports, history, culture and whatever interests him.

Thanks to Metafilter

http://www.metafilter.com/69135/Inventing-the-Bloghook

The Story of a New Basketball Offensive Strategy

SI.com - Writers - Grant Wahl: Fast and Furious - Tuesday February 12, 2008 5:04PM

The Dribble-Drive Motion offense is apparently a relentless and innovative attack that's all the rage among basketball teams at all levels, from high school to the pros.

Find out what makes it different from Knight's classic motion offense (which is based on screens) or Pete Carril's Princeton-style offense (which is based on cuts).

Pirate LOL Cat