Ubuntu 10.04
April 29, 2010
Upgrading the notebook to ubuntu 10.04 is a painful experience for opening night.
See attached image of the screen and notice the transfer rate.
This post is from my blackberry, so I apologize in advance for any typos now.
The download rate is horrific to say the least but I am seeing 20 mbps from other sites. Clearly this is ubuntu’s ftp.
I know use a torrent.
But that’s not the point. I wish the default ubuntu upgrade used a torrent. If that was the default the process would be 1000 percent more enjoyable than my current week long update.
I know I am complaining about free software but I am offering advice on future upgrades. At least offer the option to upgrade via torrent in the next release using the standard upgrade process.
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Comical parodies of madness in Arizona spring up
April 28, 2010
Clearly people are viewing this as a complete mess. There are people rioting in the streets, protests that are expected to reach millions regarding the immigration issue.
Yes, that picture is expected to show up across 70 or so cities in the nation over the next few days.
But what showed up as the most widely circulated spoof of the situation was a simple Crayola box. The simple picture states much about what is happening in Arizona.
The racism behind it has rallied millions of people to the streets. Not sure if this was a good idea Arizona … best to leave the international immigration policy to Washington.
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The Art of war - Google vs Microsoft
April 27, 2010
Search Election is providing us with a hard hitting example of what it’s like to see Google vs Microsoft in Action.
http://www.searchelection.com/
The only problem is that it appears to be a stalemate no matter how hard one matches the skillset, will and drive.
It sort of makes you feel like you are playing Wargames (circa 1983) with the WOPR (Joshua).
Would you like to play a game?
Regardless it’s quite comical, and most likely the truth. Both companies have their fans and their loyalists. Granted I am partial to Google winning the game, but I might (and I stress might) still be in the minority.
Enjoy the battle… let us know if you won or not.
If you did win, make sure to send us a screen shot.. or at post it from here…
Again.. good luck…. hope you can take over the world, and don’t forget the screenshot.. We are considering a reward for the first person that can beat the computer.
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Facebook fan page : “WILL NOT PAY $3.98 A MONTH TO USE FACEBOOK” reaches 600,000 members
April 27, 2010
In a blatant use of Facebook to condemn Facebook, the fan page called “I WILL NOT PAY $3.98 A MONTH TO USE FACEBOOK” has passed 600,000 fans. This is a perfectly valid use of social media, and hopefully Facebook will get the message. That if they charge like that… dozens of competitors will show up.
The problem is, it’s misguided. Facebook isn’t planning on charging users to post or use instant messaging on the service. It’s a farce, it’s not true at all.
But low and behold, 600,000 people fell for it….
It’s fairly amazing to see something that is completely groundless spring up to a powerhouse in terms of followers and overall presence.
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Single Dad part #2
April 25, 2010
Evidently as I noted earlier being a single parent is more difficult and more taxing than what would be normally expected.. but at the same time it has a level of joy that isn’t measurable by any standard measurement.
I decided to film a snippet of what a typical life is being a single dad with my son.
This is it, that is what a typical night is with us being at home. It is what it is, but I do suspect it is vastly different than a single mother with her children.
Not saying that being a single dad or a single mom is superior, just saying it’s different. I’ll give you a quick written record of the 5 minutes prior to the video being shot, and 5 minutes afterwards so it could be placed in context.
He’s five (just turned 5) this was filmed a few days ago when he was still technically 4.
He asked if he could use the computer to see how to get past this level on the X-box, I told him go ahead and use the laptop on the table. He turned it on, went to Youtube and found the video he wanted. (again he was 4 when this was being filmed, so that by itself is amazing, considering the laptop runs linux).
Meanwhile I was recording a show for him that he requested (circa 1948 Tom and Jerry).
After it was filmed, he then proceeded to shut down the computer and watch Tom and Jerry with me.
Does this count as quality time in people’s minds? Actually in focus I would like to ask the single mom’s if this video is what would be considered quality time?
Please respond below.
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Walmart advertising test makes customers pay more for products
April 24, 2010
EDIT: Clearly we are getting reports that this isn’t just in one location, but from multiple locations in the North Eastern part of the US.
Walmart has generally been fairly honest with their advertising, but this is just wrong.
I am completely amazed at how well Walmart advertised this special. I want my Gain Laundry Detergent, and I am willing to pay full price. I don’t want the rollback price, I want the full price.
People were buying this… thinking it was a discount. Now taking the typical Walmart shopper the chances are they had a basket full of goods and this just looked like another discounted item, but to add insult to injury Walmart practically posts on the Rollback price “idiot, you’re paying $15 bucks for something that is only worth $12.77″
If you are going to make fun of people, at least just raise the price.. not advertise that people are not paying attention.
In line I saw several people with the item in question in their shopping cart.
There is two possible reasons for this.
1 - simple mistake
2 - advertising test
I have to state that by the way it was repeated though the store, there were too many instances to be counted as a mistake. The chances are very high that this was an actual advertising test, and the individuals making that test must have been on the floor laughing each time someone purchased Gain.
Honestly Walmart, care to explain how the in-store advertising test went?
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Off Topic : Being a Single Dad
April 21, 2010
This isn’t about Advertising today, it’s more about something I have noticed. Recently I become a single father. I am not going to go into the details of how it happened, I am not going to say “who is to blame” ..
The details below are said in general terms, not about my situation.. but more to highlight the fact that as a culture single fathers are seriously given a rough treatment.
As noted earlier I recently became a single father of a 4 year old. It is what it is, but I never realized the level of social bias that is in our society that completely ignores single fathers.
In school, there are “mommy and me” days, but no “daddy and me days”, “Deadbeat Mom” as a percentage outnumber “deadbeat dad” something along the lines of 12:1 yet the popular term is “deadbeat dad” … even though technically it should be “deadbeat mom”.
There are no homeless shelters for “Men in Crisis” but there are tons for “Women in crisis”. Recently while discussing the topic, I was alarmed to find out that one single dad wasn’t allowed to bring his kid into a shelter in the area… he had to leave the kid there.. and sleep outside… whereas the shelter was filled with single mom’s and their kids. He pretty much is punished for being a single dad.
The vast majority of custody agreements are awarded to the mother, in many cases even though the father is the more responsible one to raise the child.
It’s more of a societal problem that really needs to be addressed. The issue is that more and more fathers are being awarded primary custody of their child. But there isn’t much assistance for that… because of course concrete sidewalks are awesome compared to a warm bed when trying to get your child and yourself in a shelter.
Another thing that is “almost funny” is that I was told that in general “single moms” don’t want to date a “single dads” When asked why this is the reply : “Because it completely removes the victim card”
Clearly it does… because let’s face it.. due to our cultural bias, if you are a single dad it means mom must have really screwed up… or in some situations dad could just provide better (IE: better school district).
Still the bias in the United States is strong, even though college graduation rates for children raised by their fathers is nearly double that of children being raised by their mothers.
I am not saying that “Mothers are bad parents” because there is a serious flaw in the below study … but the statistical evidence does state that Dad’s make better parents.
In 1995, Canadian Press published the results of a massive Statistics Canada study of 23,000 children across the country during an eight month period in 1994 and 1995. The central conclusion of the study was that children raised by single mothers face increased risks of emotional, behavioural, academic and social problems. Whereas if they were raised by a single father, the risk ratio was nearly identical to a family without divorce.
The flaw is simple however, 93% of custody awards go to the mother, and in general if they go to the dad is shows the dad must be far better suited for being a parent. Hence the problem with the study… single dad’s are generally cream of the crop…. most likely higher income, higher education, no criminal record and so fourth as compared to the mother in question.
It’s still completely crappy though that there is no father and me day at school for him.
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wordpress for blackberry
April 20, 2010
Testing the new version of wordpress for blackberry. With a photo.
The fact is if this post from my mobile works in theory it should go directly from my blackberry to the tribble ad agency, from there to google news, twitter, facebook, and reach everyone from a two inch keyboard.
Now with a photo of my back yard.
I really love now as compared to 15 years ago when I started doing SEO.
This was a pipe dream in 1995.
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Omnicom Brass - Boy do they get paid at the ad agency
April 17, 2010
Jim Edwards at B|Net outlined just how the Omnicom Brass handled the recession. While tossing thousands on the street, they had some of the following:
The total perquisites and other personal benefits include: for Mr. Wren, personal use of aircraft hours ($105,364), an auto allowance and a medical allowance; for Mr. Weisenburger, personal use of aircraft hours ($77,125), an auto allowance and a health club membership; for Mr. Harrison, employer premium payments for health and disability insurance ($66,627); for Mr. Robertson, an auto allowance ($25,447), club membership, personal financial planning services and entertainment expenses; and for Mr. Simm, a car lease ($22,302), an auto allowance and parking.
Such complete garbage, the advertising agency canned roughly 5000 people over the past 360 days, people were begging on the street for a public option for health insurance when Mr. Weisenburger enjoyed a $66,627 health insurance policy (Wonder what his feelings are about the public option).
Meanwhile the vast majority of the 5000 Omnicom employees that were fired over the past year are still looking for a job.
Enjoy the new reality.
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Are you dead to me? (in the social media sense at least)
April 15, 2010
I have a random post as well — mainly because there is fuck-all interesting going on in the “ad” industry at the moment (and for the past few months to be honest…its become one huge circle jerk out there)
I’m wondering how many people out there signed up to all the social media networks (your Twitters, Facebooks, Linked Ins, etc.) have people you’d consider “dead wood” and if it came down to real life — well you wouldn’t piss on them to put the fire out…
I realize today that on my Linked In — well I have a vast number of people on it (and consequentiality a lot of them “ad industry people”) — and if they wrote me to ask for help, I’d more than likely ignore them than even ponder the thought of considering their request.
Mainly because now, I consider them useless pinheads who couldn’t form a coherent thought — much less a sentence — and have no desire to deal with them in real life, much less the tiny effort of dealing with them virtually.
Now I could go eliminate them all because the number of social media “friends” I have doesn’t equate to the size of my “e-penis” — but more to the fact that I really couldn’t be bothered to make the effort — so it continues on…. I read about the lame “triumphs” of their company on Linked in & Facebook and left wondering “Does anyone really care about this shit?”
Just because you feel compelled to be a “fan” of your clients on Facebook or tout the new business win on Linked In (and don’t get me started again on the lameness that is 4sq.com — no one cares that you prefer to take your morning dump at the Starbucks at Times Sq….really!) — no one gives a flying fuck…
Consider this the next time you log in — food for thought if nothing else on a slow news day…
(ED: that all being said — you can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ondownlow — Hypocritical wanker FTW!)
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