24 June 2004 - week 3

nerd|geek stuff

an article in the Houston Chronicle (Getting Gmail put them on the A list) pointed me to gmailswap.com where you can trade a Gmail invitation for something useful. Wonder if I can get a pony for my remaining invitations?

I was tracking down Adam Stiles' site (stilesoft.com) which pointed me to Yet Another Browser: NetCaptor

You can somewhat circumvent sites which force you to register first: Bug Me Not.com

I've played with the AT&T Privacy Bird for several days, and it's sometimes insightful, but mostly irritating (until more sites support P3P [Platform for Privacy Preferences] (thanks, Alec)

a free password manager and one-click web form filler "with some serious Artificial Intelligence": roboform.com

travel & exploration

In an attempt to prove there are websites for nearly everything, I stumbled across SeatGuru.com ("your enlightened guide to airline seating") which lists the best and worst seats on any given aircraft configuration. Fascinating.

I suspect they're talking about places like Addison Circle, or the West Village: New Urban News "focuses on building mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods instead of conventional suburban subdivisions, shopping centers and office parks".

Roundabouts USA (aka traffic circles). My favorites were in Canberra, Australia (the capital); I visited there in 1993.

The Showcopters are the helicopter equivalent of the US Navy's Blue Angels

 job hunting

Right Management Consultants

Ciber.com

M&A Technology has locations in Dallas; Houston and San Antonio. They appear to integrate Intel and AMD systems, including thin clients.

 politics and/or religion

Evil Bible includes the essay "Hitler Was a Christian" which led me to the book Hitler's Pope (apparently well researched)

Conservative Pulse -> The Reagan Dollar Petition (any excuse to get women off our money, eh?)

The Complete Bushisms - Updated frequently. By Jacob Weisberg: "[B]y the way, we rank 10th amongst the industrialized world in broadband technology and its availability. That's not good enough for America. Tenth is 10 spots too low as far as I'm concerned."

DubyaSpeak.com : Fresh Dubya

 just plain weird different

Hiroo Onoda (the Japanese bloke who was still fighting World War II into the 1970s)

Cats and Kittens Magazine: Iams Service Center Funnies

 tree huggers environment|health issues

smallstep.gov is a site done by the US Department of Health & Human Services; it appears to be a 52-step program aimed at reducing obesity.

 useless facts Cliff Claven would be proud

The Slot ("a spot for copy editors since 1995")

US newspaper lists: NewsVoyager.com

Control Your TV.org "provides parents and caregivers with tools to control and manage the programs that come into their homes" (I suppose this means it learns us [sic] to set the rating threshold).

great time waster: SelectSmart.com Selectors Quizzes Tests Decision Makers Select Quiz Test Surveys

Watching late-night television [TV], I saw ads for Liquid Lense (a liquid which purports to repair scratched eyeglasses). The local Fox affiliate (KDFW) says that I should Save My Money (navigate to ON YOUR SIDE/Deal or Dud).

Here are online infomercials, if you're in need of a laugh: As Seen On TV.com; Best Deals on TV.com; Infomercial Goodies.com; J L Ryan.com and TV Has Everything.com. Indeed.

Mystery Shopping Providers Association (both Europe and the USA) bill themselves as a "trade association dedicated to improving service quality using anonymous resources" .. which pointed me to the The Mystery Shopper's Manual. I wonder if the book will tell me How To Spot A Mystery Shopper And Ask Her On A Date?