Published at September 26, 2006
in shortpost.
Science at its best. By utilizing gene identification techniques Allerca was able to identify cats that do not produce the Fel d 1 protein responsible for allergic reactions in human pet owners. Once these cats were identified good old fashioned selective breeding produced hypoallergenic cats. By avoiding laboratory genetic modification of the DNA these cats should be free from unexplained side-effects such as: spontaneous combustion, talking or taking the Porsche for a joy-ride while the owner is on vacation. It’s okay kitty, sometimes parents just don’t understand.
update: it seems the man behind Allerca has a rocky past of failed start-ups, less then faithful promises, and pie-in-the-sky ideas. An in-depth article was printed in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Published at September 25, 2006
in shortpost.
Did Pat Buchanan really just contrast the immigration policies of the United States to those of the Native American Indians in the 17th century? Yes, I think he did.
Jon, look at the Indians. Look at the Indians, they had a liberal immagration policy, look what happened to them Jon. (The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, September 25th, 2006)
Published at September 25, 2006
in general.
All you need is a good cause and you can get musical performers to set up shop in your living room.
Colin Meloy, frontman of The Decemberists, will play an intimate, solo show at a Portland home on Friday, October 6, 2006, beginning 7:30pm (a mere three days after the release of The Decemberists’ highly-anticipated new album, The Crane Wife).
Proceeds from the show will benefit OLCV’s efforts to elect pro-environment candidates to office throughout Oregon.
Tickets are $75/seat; seating is very limited. Ticket price includes refreshments prepared by Stephen from The Decemberists’ tune “The Apology Song.”
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When they arrive in Toronto this November we can only assume the set will resemble a a recent show in a tiny bar for 200 (as seen in the accompanying photo) (via stereogum)
Published at September 22, 2006
in shortpost.
It’s a prime marketing tactic that occurs all the time and, I’m pretty sure, upsets people who hear about it. I’m talking about the “no, don’t cancel your subscription because we have this special price to keep you around”. Why should people who complain get the best price?
I bring this up because I was on a free trial of emusic.com, and due to an error with my calendar I missed my un-subscribe day by one and got stuck with a one month subscription for $9.99 and 40 songs (which I guess is another annoying tactic — the inverse opt-out; you agree to be billed unless you tell us otherwise cause it’s just easier for us to get your money that way). Great, now I have to find 40 songs to download. I started to go through the motions to cancel the account so that I wouldn’t get charged again next month. Do you want to cancel? Yes. Then they throw it out: “Wait! what if we gave you 20 songs for $5.99, would that make you stay? That’s only 30 cents a song.” No, it’s to late. Perhaps if you had offered that up front we wouldn’t be in this particular situation.
Thus I am seeking recommendations for downloads that can be obtained from emusic.com.
And that’s why tree’s shouldn’t play with fire.
Published at September 21, 2006
in shortpost.
Read an article today about the rumored sale of Facebook for $1 billion. The best part of the article is the apparent way found and CEO Mark Zuckerberg deals with the big players Microsoft and Yahoo.
During one series of talks with Microsoft, Facebook executives told their Microsoft peers they couldn’t do an 8 a.m. conference call because the company’s 22-year-old founder and chief executive, Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg, wouldn’t be awake, says a person familiar with the talks. Microsoft executives were incredulous.
At one point in the Yahoo negotiations, the talks extended into the weekend, says a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Zuckerberg, this account continues, said he couldn’t take part because his girlfriend was in town. Others pointed out they were closing in on a billion-dollar deal. Mr. Zuckerberg said it didn’t matter: his cellphone would be off, this person says. (via Techcrunch)
I’m not at all shocked by this. If the deal is really worth $1 billion, and if these players are truly interested, I’m fairly confident they can wait until Monday to close the deal most any week of the year.
Published at September 16, 2006
in general.
An interesting study just came out that concludes that people who consume alcohol earn significantly more income than those who do not. Men can see an increase of 10% while women can see an increase of 14%. Those men who visit a bar at least once per month can see an additional 7% increase. [source] I’m not sure how this study was conducted, or what assumptions they made, but it’s interesting either way. They essentially link drinking to networking and the improved relationship management skills and opportunities that result. They hope that this study will be helpful in persuading schools to rethink dry campuses, as drinking can lead directly to ‘increased social capitol’.
I like a lot of the points they make but can also identify a few broad stroke comments that could use some clarification; such as:
“Not only do anti-alcohol policies reduce drinkers’ fun, but they may also decrease earnings,” the study said. [source]
Do they mean that drinking in general leads to more fun? Or that people who drink have less fun when they don’t drink. I know a number of people that don’t drink and I’m sure they would insist that they have as much fun, if not more fun, than people who choose to drink. And also, do people drink because they have money? Or do they have money because they drink. I suspect the debate will continue. [PDF of study findings| secondary source]
Published at September 13, 2006
in general.
After many years of waiting in anticipation I shall wait with bated breath a while longer. An independent artist from Kitchener-Waterloo by the name of Paul MacLeod will be releasing a second studio album later this month in late October mid-November tentatively titled The Poet Of Sweetgrass. I stumbled across this news as I was seeking photos to use as album art for a concert bootleg I recorded in 2004 at The Bombshelter Pub. Paul has begun to make use of MySpace, having posted 4 new songs for our listening pleasure. The pleasant surprise is a studio version of Annalisa — a biting love song that recounts the efforts to dissuade in the face of ignorance. The 4 tracks posted retain his singer/songwriter roots (i.e. not overproduced rockers like some tracks from his band outing Hibakusha) and are welcome additions to his cataloge of solo material.
Busted Flat Records will be releasing the new album as well as reissuing his first two releases Close and Play and Tell the Band to Go Home. I look forward to seeing Paul play his solo material live again — it’s been far to long.
Please enjoy the following two tracks. Ghosts is the lead off rocker from Paul’s first album Close and Play, while Holland is a live track from a performance in Guelph, Ontario.
Paul MacLeod | Ghosts
Paul MacLeod | Holland
Published at September 12, 2006
in shortpost.
With all the new Apple announcements today I was a little disappointed, but in a different way then most. With the release of iTunes 7 Apple has finally included functionality long asked for by consumers — mainly gapless playback. On Installing the new iTunes it informed me it was ‘analyzing my library for gapless tracks’ and in their documentation is indicates that it works with mp3s etc. On the completion of the analysis, albums that I know are gapless were not indicated as such and I had to indicate it myself. Does this analysis only work with music purchased from iTunes? Also, when I made the changes for gapless my mp3 files were modified. My disappointment with Apple is a lack of explanation about how these new features work. How exactly does it make a song gapless? Can I rescan my library? Does it work with my own album rips, or only purchased songs? Sadly with their forums being down at the time of this writing I have no way to find the answers.
I’ve given up trying to find an email address at apple.com to send questions to.
Published at September 7, 2006
in asides.
I just noticed today that Google’s SMS service now works in Canada. By sending a text message to 46645 (GOOGL) I can now get driving directions, location of the nearest stores, movie times, translations, conversions, definitions, and other random facts.
With September just beginning you know what time it is in the retail world — Christmas. Sufjan Stevens in the past recorded Christmas EP’s for friends and family, (which must have got onto the net because I’ve seen them) but this year the label Asthmatic Kitty is re-releasing these recordings in one handy box set, titled Songs For Christmas. on November 21st. Get the back story and complete package description at Asthmatic Kitty.
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