Julia Greenberg in a recent article in Wired talks about Facebook’s efforts to be more than a place to keep up-to-date with the doings of friends and family. Part of me feels like this is the formation of the new networks to replace the old triumvirate of NBC, ABC, and CBS (which vintage radio folks will point out are not as timeless as one might think: here’s looking at you, Mutual).
In the tradition of the Internet and blogs collectively giving you information and confessions of greater interest to the person confessing than to you, the reader, I give you this glorious article that trigger some of my fondest memories of visiting Chicago. But whatever my personal connection, let’s face it: Mold-A-Rama is awesome. It’s only now, with 21st century hindsight, do I realize that, as I was getting models of the U-505 or perhaps a plastic…
Okay, actually, within less than a fortnight, we’ll be past Yule and slowly trudging back to the longest day (no, not that Longest Day). But this piece on Lifehacker by Kristin Wong makes me think about what lighting I need to get through the more-than-long enough winter months.
Mondays, by Industrial Age tradition and Garfield, are generally considered the worst. However, this Monday, CBS had an extremely exciting announcement, at least to a certain strain of geeks such as myself: There will be a new Star Trek TV series! So, there’s a new Star Trek TV show, eh? If that’s so, why the tentative title above? Well, we have to wonder what kind of Star Trek is in store. I mean, technically, Space…
While I’m wary about any attempt to: Place people into neat, cleanly definable generations Ascribe specific, seemingly inviolable characteristics to said generations Such articles are often good jumping off points for discussions about the past and the future… or maybe that’s just the psychohistorian in me. In any case, I found this piece by Fareed Zakaria about Millennials interesting, not in the least because it raises the point that they might actually be a product of…
Cara Giaimo has a wonderful feature article all about the ongoing history of cops and doughnuts sprinkled with multiple anecdotes you didn’t realize you really wanted to know. Reading the article made me think of my own anecdote. When I was going to school in Maine, a local radio station (WBLM aka “The Blimp”) had a rambunctious morning show that would often feature the game “Cop or No Cop?” The format was delightfully straightforward. A listener would…
After doing a little bit of research in writing my post about American Express, I came across this article about the surprisingly heated battle for Costco to sell gas in Washington, DC. It’s from 2013, so presumably the status quo has adjusted to the discount interloper, but I’ll probably follow-up and see what’s been going on.
Devin Leonard and Elizabeth Dexheimer have an interesting feature-length article about the decline of American Express aka “AMEX.” I am surprised at some of the umbrage attributed to American Express personnel in the article. They apparently think their business existing for over 150 years is reason enough to continue to exist. Certainly, service and quality matter. However, in a world where every point of cost is scrutinized backwards and forwards to justify its existence, why wouldn’t…
I feel I have many missions here on this Earth. However, one ongoing mission is definitely to cause people to spew coffee from their noses. In that spirit, I give you Lauren Modery’s open letter to people who live in tiny houses. Feel free to add your comments and coffee choices below.