FF breaks ten percent mark
At least according to one source they have. It’s going to be interesting to see how MS reacts to this, as I’m all for the underdog. But for some reason I can’t get the voice of the Architect out of my head.
Denial is the most predictable of all human responses. But, rest assured, this will be the sixth time we have destroyed it, and we have become exceedingly efficient at it.
Good luck with that guys.
Dissecting Word Press part II
Urban Giraffe has put up part II of his dissecting WP themes; I mentioned part I a week or so ago. If you really want to get to the heart of your WP design this is a must read.
Worcester gets heavy on panhandling
So Worcester has realized that panhandlers don’t add so much to the cityscape. Over the last five years we’ve been inundated with folks who have essentially made a full time job out of panhandling at intersections and highway off ramps. We’re not talking about your Key West style trustifarian pan handlers here. Nope, these are the real deal, a few biscuits short of tea with the Queen, big city panhandlers. Personally, I think it’s a good sign, hey if the down and out are taking Worcester seriously; major corporate interests can’t be that far behind, right?
So the city, in a most tactful attempt to just make the problem disappear, is circulating these flyers to residents, to inform them of the disservice they are doing to the community and the panhandlers themselves, by giving them money. A sociological “don’t feed the bears” if you will. That’s a nice enough approach, but it stinks of the same old lack of creativity that Worcester has been drowning in for… well ever.
My solution?
Hire them.
Look, we have a percentage of the population who by choice are hanging out in the most highly trafficked parts of the city. One could easily argue that on any given day more eyes see one or more of our panhandlers and their clever little cardboard signs than any one of our local Clear Channel billboards, newsprint ads or local radio spots; see where I’m going here? If the city labeled the panhandlers as freelancers of sorts and turned them into advertising space we could let them stand around all day and get something useful in return. And I’m not just talking corporate advertising here. We could have them collecting donations for Little Leagues in town, The Jimmy Fund, bands and local event promoters could give them their own signs to hold. The lowest common denominator could be turned, virtually overnight, into the single largest fundraising/promotions outfit in the cities history. All that would be needed is a little protection from liability; we can’t have Jerry Lewis getting sued because one of his collectors got hit by a semi on Park Ave. But if we figure the panhandlers in for a percentage of their day’s collection we can improve their standard of living without affecting their chosen (?) style of living.
But more importantly, we won’t look like a bunch of bullies running anyone on hard times out of town.
South End Style
Here in Worcester, MA we’re obviously making progress in terms of dragging our limp hulk of a industrial city out of the sewer where we festered in for the last two decades, culturally speaking. But this South End Style event my man Andrew Teman tuned me into is the sort of thing we need to emulate if outsiders, and in some cases insiders, are going to take us seriously.
On Thursday, May 5, 2005, the South End Business Alliance (SEBA) will host its inaugural event, South End Style, to be held in the South End at the historical Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama on 539 Tremont Street in Boston from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm. This memorable evening will be filled with an array of gourmet foods from culinary hot spots, talented jazz performers and a spring fashion show by noted designers such as Denise Hajjar and David Josef. Rounding out the night, SEBA will present a silent auction which will feature involvement from the many South End businesses.
The mission of South End Style is to increase awareness and promote the Hip and Historic flare of the South End’s many eclectic shops, artists and superb restaurants while enhancing the lifestyle for all our residents. In addition, South End Style was formed to support and promote the vibrancy of South End businesses while supporting the efforts of various South End non-profits.
I like to think I have a pretty solid bead on the pulse of my city, but what we have here is an excellent example of how business can tie it all together for their customers. Our own local Taste of Shrewsbury St. events are similar in design but seem to have more of a job fair feel.
**update**: via LinneaDates.com
Here’s some additional info on the event:
Tickets are $ 75 per person and will benefit several local charities. You can buy tickets by calling (617)375-8139 and if you use the promo code “weblog” when ordering you will receive a complimentary cocktail. Now don’t say I never did anything for you.
Greasemonkey FF extension
If you use FireFox as your primary web browser, I’m sure you have played around with a few extensions to get a little more out of the software. One of the extensions out there that is gaining quite a bit of steam, even with novice users, is Greasemonkey. Greasemonkey is an extension which lets you use scripts within any webpage to change its behavior; these scripts let you control any aspect of a webpage’s design or interaction, essentially recreating a page based on your needs. The list of available scripts currently in circulation is astounding and anyone who designs for the web should take note. Those google advertisments you feed your kids with: gone. That sidebar on your blog that you spent over 36 hrs deciding the perfect order for your blogroll: gone. Xeni: gone.
Makes you wonder how much of your content is really being seen the way you want it to be seen.
**
Just wanted to add, after rereading this post I realized I had only mentioned a few of the things GM can get rid of. There are an amazing number of functions that GM can ADD to every page you visit. It’s not all negative.
Google video upload program
It must be nice to have a seemingly endless supply of server space and bandwidth.
This sort of ties in with my earlier post, the DHB video project post not the one about breast milk. As part of their Google Video beta program, Google has developed an upload tool so wannabe producers can add their content to the mix. THIS IS THE SHIT. There is absolutely no excuse for every man woman and child to not immediately head out to Best Buy and pick up a cheap mini-DV camera from their open box section.
Your work deserves to be seen.
You’ve made a great video. Now who will watch it?Whether you produce hundreds of titles a year or just a few, you can give your videos the recognition and visibility they deserve by promoting them on Google - for free. Signing up for the Google Video Upload Program will connect your work with users who are most likely to want to view them.
Sign up and upload…
We’re accepting digital video files of any length and size. Simply sign up for an account and upload your videos using our Video Uploader (please be sure you own the rights to the works you upload), and, pending our approval process and the launch of this new service, we’ll include your video in Google Video, where users will be able to search, preview, purchase and play it. Find out more here.
For major producers…
If you’re from a TV station or production facility, we have a separate process to help you join the Google Video Upload Program. Find out more here.
Why are you still here? Go now and get a camera you fool.
Think they will be accepting amateur porn?
Update: Boing Boing reader Michel adds:
Here is the link to the Google Video Uploader 1.0 application. Also, you can charge for your videos and Google will take a small revenue share to cover some of their costs. The complete FAQ is here.
Breast milk for sale
Since my kid would rather scream at me than eat on the days that were home together, I’ve decided to start selling the milk that momma Paxton so kindly pumps for young Oliver. So if you’re a pervert with a breast milk fetish or a kid whose moms teats have gone dry, get in touch and i can provide you with a few bottles on the side for a reasonable fee.
DHB tv
I’ve talked to a few people about video blogging, trying to get a leg up on what I’m sure will be the next step in self produced content delivery. Seems like a pretty natural way for producers and directors to get their product in front of a few faces using the word of mouse power of the nets. Well it looks like DHB is thinking along the same lines. Their new software project, DemoTV, was announced today via their Participatory Culture Foundation.
Announcing a new platform for internet television and video. Anyone can broadcast full-screen video to thousands of people at virtually no cost, using BitTorrent technology. Viewers get intuitive, elegant software to subscribe to channels, watch video, and organize their video library. The project is non-profit, open source, and built on open standards. Today we’re announcing the project and releasing our current source code. The software is launching in June.
On a side note, has anyone else noticed the lack of cross linking between DHB project sites? Is this an intentional move to insulate themselves from legal strikes, or just bad design?
Bubble Bobble
This is the making of an unproductive work day.
Bubble Bobble 2 video game, in Flash.
Dissecting WordPress
RadioBall is published using a beautiful hunk of blogging software called WordPress. It’s really an amazing piece of software if publishing yourself on the web is your thing. But like any software there is a learning curve when it comes to making it look and feel all your own. I tend to take the easy route and manipulate existing templates to spruce things up a bit but over at Urban Giraffe there is an excellent piece on customizing your WordPress install. This is part one of who knows how many articles, but if pulling WP apart sounds like something you might be doing in the future, this guide should start you on the right track.
Or you can just pay the guys from Blogudio to do it for you.
