August 2008
25 posts
Rainy Day Retail Research
It’s rainy today, but the precipitation paused for me to get to work. I’ve bean caught in too many summer showers to count this season, and sometimes it’s so refreshing — nearly cathartic — to be in the rural middle of nowhere with nobody around and to dismount a bicycle for a prance about in a sudden downpour that would make my shower head jealous.
But in the autumn...
EcoDriving USA →
Apparently California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) didn’t get the memo that proper tire pressure is silly. Good for him.
How to Start a Roth IRA (and Where to Do It) →
A year-old Get Rich Slowly post on an year-old item on my to-do list.
And former Wall Street Journal colunminst Jonathan Clements guest posts on similiar finance blog:
[H]ere’s the sweetener: At any time, you can withdraw your original Roth contributions without triggering taxes and penalties. Let’s say you stash $5,000 in a Roth every year for four years. You could pull out your $20,000 in...
Computing in the Cloud: Who Owns Your Files? →
All Things Considered reports [6-minute audio] on cloud computing, which is using the internet (other people’s computers) to store and share personal files and information.
While it’s true that no one reads the fine print and companies can in theory do virtually anything with you and your data (which is something about which we must remain aware), (1) a lot of that legal wording is...
Developers Improvise as Economy Falters →
Morning Edition continues reporting [8-minute audio] on the urban frontier, this time on the U.S. eastern seaboard where developers in the far-out suburbs, such as Chester County, Pa., aren’t wavering in the face of rising fuel prices and falling real estate value.
What’s fascinating is that from a business perspective maybe they’re right. The knee jerk reaction would be to...
Could Bike Lanes Cause Pollution? →
Rob Anderson was A1 on The Wall Street Journal yesterday, and he does not believe in bikes:
Cars always will vastly outnumber bikes, he reasons, so allotting more street space to cyclists could cause more traffic jams, more idling and more pollution. Mr. Anderson says the city has been blinded by political correctness. It’s an “attempt by the anti-car fanatics to screw up our traffic...
Fort Hunt GIs Sent WWII POWs Care Packages →
All Things Considered reports [9-minute audio, with a photo tour] on a secret interrogation camp just outside Washington, D.C.:
Soldiers allowed some POWs to swim at the camp pool as a way of making them more willing to cooperate. Many GIs at Fort Hunt were Jewish and had family members perish at SS-run concentration camps, and some have said it was difficult to watch German generals enjoying a...
Moving Targets →
The New York Times reports on a consequence of bicycle popularity — bicycle-related incidents with bipeds and four-wheelers, including an anticyclist element in recent road rage. I’ve bicycled around Montréal today and not a single cyclist obeying an arrêt sign or red light have I witnessed. These share-the-road efforts that are popping up lately online may be worth your click.
Why one in two people still don't search the web →
According to a report by the Pew Research Centre, only 49 per cent of people who use the internet use a search engine every day. [emphases mine]
I was really surprised [boldfaced] for a minute until I thought about the frequency [italicized]. I may google and gmail daily, and that’s probably normal for some part of my demographic brackets, but I can imagine that not being the norm for many.
WatchHitler speaks out on Twitter service performance. Only Twitter enthusiasts, tech-savvy venture capitalists, and those not offended by Nazi parody/humor may find this video amusing.
Kayak (via Degeeked, via Twitter, via me) →
Degeeked (who just added me on Twitter, which led me to them) writes:
What makes Kayak different than Orbitz or Cheaptickets.com is that Kayak does not actually sell tickets. They act as a search engine for all the travel sites on the web allowing you to find the cheapest tickets no matter who is offering them.
Kayak is a DGpick for its simplicity, speed, and many advanced (but easy to use)...
Flesh-Eating Fish Perform 'Pedicures' →
“What’s happening is, the American conception of the bicycle-as-toy and the...”
– David Montgomery, writing on the return of the bicycle to Washington, D.C.
“I wear heels and skirts, and I’m not the only girl in town who does....”
– Alexandra Dickson, D.C. commuter featured in yet another story about bicycles in The Washington Post. Girls + Skirts + Bikes = Awesome.
WatchA talking head on presidential candidate Sen. Barrack Obama:
He is an arrogant arugula-eating fancy berry tea-drinking celebrity.
Only in America does salad become political or ‘fancy’ tea involve fruit.
Malwebolence →
Mattathias Schwartz goes under the bridge and into the field to meet trolls and explore the subculture.