Want to be More Popular

Do you wish you were more popular? Are you unhappy because you can't sit at the cool table?

Then this video is the answer to your pain ...

Thanks to topsurf

Today, I saw the new X-Files movie The X-Files: I Want to Believe starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, stars of the original Fox TV series.

The TV series ended a bit more than six years ago (1993-2002), so I was unsure how it would play after such an extended hiatus. This film did not disappoint in any way. The aura of the original TV shows transitioned seamlessly into this movie. If you are a fan of the X-Files on TV, you're bound to enjoy The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

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Caution: Lunatic at the Wheel

Image via WikipediaYesterday, as I'm driving through a residential area near my home, a lady in a big, white Cadillac sedan pulled out of a side street in front of me. She apparently was going in more or less the same direction as I was traveling so as I continued on I was following her.

At the first red light, she was the second car in line, I was the third. When the light changed, the first car drove off and white Cadillac just sat there. After waiting several seconds, I gave two quick, light taps on the horn. White Cadillac gave me a friendly wave in the mirror! She then realized what was going on and drove off.

At the next red light, the entire routine (minus the wave) was repeated! At the next light, I had to stop for a left turn, but white Cadillac proceeded on into the next block where there are two left-turn lanes. She obviously wanted to turn left (Of course, that's speculation on my part as she used no turn indicator.) She couldn't seem to decide which left-turn lane she wanted so, she straddled both lanes.

Beautiful Wind Turbines

Image by clearbrian via FlickrI previously posted a number of times about implementing wind energy. These Beautiful Wind Turbines illustrate that wind turbines can be attractive as well as productive additions to the environment.

Thanks to topsurf for the heads up on this site.

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Eternal Condominium Coming Soon

These pictures are of construction of a new addition to the mausoleum of a local cemetery. I find the prospect of spending eternity in one of these little spaces rather unappealing. It made me think of a condominium for eternity.

The NEW Math Redux

This video based on a Tom Lehrer song is very funny if somewhat dated.

Thanks to Tor Erling

Penn & Teller Expose Bottled Water

Penn & Teller reveal the truth about bottled water. (Language Advisory)

Part 1


Part 2


Earlier post: Thirst for Bottled Water

Thanks to Tor Erling for pointing me to this video content.

I wonder what would happen if you tried to hold them to this offer?Less than 50 cents a meal! That IS what the sign says.
Grammar Police! Grammar Police!

Wikilook 1.3.1 -- Firefox Add-On

Wikilook 1.3.1 is a Firefox add-on that allows you to look up the meaning of a word on a web page without leaving the current page. Simply hold down shift, then hover the mouse pointer over the word whose definition you want, wait a second or two. A box will appear with the definition of the word, a usage example, and a direct link to the word in Wikipedia.

Fireworks Rant

The Fourth of July holiday has come and gone, though I'm sure the amateur fireworks shows will still be going on for days to come. I was very annoyed yesterday as the explosions began to reverberate through the neighborhood mid-afternoon and carried on relentlessly until past 11 o'clock.

A few of the blasts were window-rattlers! I don't know what sort of devices were being used. It seems each year more and more powerful fireworks are becoming available to the public. These home-grown pyrotechnic displays aren't something that can be limited to the privacy of one's own backyard or driveway.

If such devices are to continue being widely available, and many of their users are unable or unwilling to exercise good civic responsibility, there may need to be restrictions placed on appropriate times for these events to occur. A few days ago, I awoke to the rumbling of fireworks at 2:30 am!

Plurk Plus One Month

In early June, I began using the micro-blogging site Plurk. I posted previously a few days in. About a month later, though it seems longer, I'm updating my impressions.

First, Plurk is not a Twitter clone or substitute. The principle difference, aside from the obvious cosmetic ones, is the ease with which conversations are carried on. It's easy to follow the evolution of the sometimes lengthy conversations that develop in the drop-down that appears below the original entry. You don't need to scroll through a lengthy list of posts picking out the threads of a discussion.. Plurk verges on being a chatroom, far more immediate and decidedly more social than competing sites.

During the past month, the Plurk development team has been steadily rolling out more features: conversation muting, private messaging to individuals or groups, search, and more. Plurk has bugs, no question. I find it odd that features that function well for some don't work for others. For instance, I have a friend who can't send private plurks though most people can. The conversation mute feature works sporadically for me.

One of the nicest and most used features of Plurk is the ability to link to images and videos with a thumbnail. Clicking that thumbnail will open a Plurk window for inline viewing without opening a new tab or browser window. Not that this is perfect yet. You can't go back to your timeline while continuing to play the video, something that frequently causes me to decline playing an entire video. However, in the Plurk media window is a direct link that will open the item in a new tab/window.

The people who populate Plurk are it's true strength. Most are very friendly and open, interested in the type of social exchange that seems unique to Plurk. I can usually pick out a new plurker who has a hardcore Twitter history. They tend to make announcements and don't get very conversational. Included in a plurk member's stats are two key number: plurks and plurk responses. I generate a sort of social index (plurk responses divided by plurks) that I think somewhat quantifies a plurkers sense of community. A plurker with a small quotient tends to make a lot of announcements with limited engagement in social conversation.

Plurk is not going to be for everybody. I don't think it was ever intended to be. But, for the people who use it regularly, it seems to be a genuinely good experience.

(Notice, a blog post about Plurk with no discussion of karma!)

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What IS the Happiest Place on Earth?

This story from the Today Show this morning spiked my interest.

The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research study cited Denmark, Puerto Rico, and Colombia as the happiest nations in the world with Zimbabwe as the least happy.

I was curious and did some quick investigation. This story from BBC News names Nigeria, Mexico, and Venezuela as the happiest places and Russia as the most morose. Meanwhile, this story from HappyNews.com cites London-based market research company GfK NOP as giving the top spots in the happiness sweepstakes to Australia, the US, and Egypt with the most disconsolate people in Hungary.

So, who really are the happiest people in the world? And anyway, isn't Disneyland "the happiest place on Earth"?