bl In which I can now worry significantly less about something terrible happening to 126 things... By journal.neilgaiman.com Published On :: Fri, 15 Mar 2024 16:12:00 +0000 I spent yesterday in Dallas, at the Heritage Auction headquarters -- I had decided to auction off some artwork and memorabilia to benefit two charities (The Authors Literary Fund and the Hero Initiative, which help authors/writers and comics creators who have fallen on hard times or who need help), and, just as importantly, I wanted to give something back to the artists whose art I was entrusting to new custodians. It seems to me fundamentally wrong and inequitable that art that artists sold for $50 or a hundred dollars thirty or forty years ago now sells for hundreds or thousands of times that amount, but the artists, most of whom are old, some of whom are no longer working or not working as they were, never see another penny. I decided the best way to change that would be to set an example, and show people another way of doing it.Here's the New York Times article before the auction: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/23/arts/design/neil-gaiman-auction-collectibles.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Xk0.5PkB.9iQtuvn6Bwof&smid=url-shareAnd here's me in Dallas two nights ago, walking around the exhibition before the auction with Robert Wilonsky from Heritage, with guest appearances by my oldest friend Geoff Notkin, whose fault this all is: and for the very curious, the whole live auction is also up on YouTube. I tell a lot of stories about the things that are up for auction.The auction made a lot of money, and it's going to do a lot of good, and that makes me very happy. Thank you to all the lovely helpful people at Heritage Auctions, to all of the bidders, lucky or otherwise, and to all of the artists, craftspeople and geniuses without whom it could never have happened. Full Article Authors League Fund geoffrey notkin artists Hero Initiative auctions
bl 2004 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible from Australia and New Zealand By www.carsurvey.org Published On :: Remarkably solid machine, and great fun to drive and own Full Article
bl RSS feed no longer available By www.nytimes.com Published On :: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 00:36:31 GMT This New York Times RSS feed is no longer available and you should unsubscribe from it. Available RSS feeds are listed on this page on the New York Times website Full Article
bl Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT, Blood Clot in the Legs) By www.medicinenet.com Published On :: Thu, 28 Jul 2022 00:00:00 PDT Title: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT, Blood Clot in the Legs)Category: Diseases and ConditionsCreated: 2/15/2000 12:00:00 AMLast Editorial Review: 7/28/2022 12:00:00 AM Full Article
bl Niclas Dürbrook: Der Islamismus bleibt eine der größten Bedrohungen für unsere Sicherheit By www.ltsh.de Published On :: Full Article
bl What is the impact of a blog? By artlung.com Published On :: Mon, 04 Nov 2024 14:15:30 +0000 James’ post The long view of a blog is a terrific first read of the day for me today. New month. New week. New day. New UTC time offset. And it’s about one of my favorite questions, “what does my website mean to me?” The modality and presentation of content is part of the long view of... Full Article general blogging indieweb-carnival musings
bl Political Mood 2024: None More Black By gloriousnoise.com Published On :: Wed, 06 Nov 2024 18:52:06 +0000 POLJUNK, the National Affairs desk of Glorious Noise Here we are again. In the year of someone’s Lord 2024, we are back in time. We had a slight reprieve with four years of competent governing that resulted in record economic growth, withdrawal from historically disastrous military entanglements in the mideast (brought to you by the formerly worst president in US history), and at least some sense of normalcy, but I guess we are going back. This was after what many thought was an aberrant Trump presidency–surely that was a blip in the American experience, right? As it turns out, the aberrant is the accepted. It’s America’s true face, one we occasionally veil but never actually change. I could list all the reasons Donald Trump is a terrible person and worse “leader,” but we all know them. And that’s the point: This isn’t some unknown or misunderstood element. This is Donald Trump. We know him and unfortunately, he knows us. Better than many of us know ourselves. Trump isn’t some genius, he’s just a guy who is willing to do what others won’t because most of us live between imaginary lines of decency. Read more at Glorious Noise... Full Article Articles Election Features politics POLJUNK
bl Google Chrome Portable 130.0.6778.70 By www.majorgeeks.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 09:28:15 -0500 Google Chrome Portable is a web browser that runs web pages and applications with lightning speed. It's designed to be simple and stylish. It's packaged as a portable app, so you can take yo... [License: Freeware | Requires: 11|10 | Size: 2 MB ] Full Article
bl Mozilla Firefox Portable 132.0.2 By www.majorgeeks.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 09:30:36 -0500 Mozilla Firefox Portable is the portable version of Mozilla Firefox so you can take your Firefox anywhere you go preserving all your settings, add-ons and more. [License: Freeware | Requires: 11|10 | Size: 138 MB ] Full Article
bl Bush Administration Immune from Whistleblowers... By tedshelton.blogspot.com Published On :: 2006-09-07T04:51:00Z Posted without comment for your consternation:On Labor Day, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) issued a press release whose title summarizes its contents all too neatly: Bush Declares Eco-Whistleblower Law Void for EPA Employees. Here's some of it: Washington, DC - The Bush administration has declared itself immune from whistleblower protections for federal workers under the Clean Water Act, according to legal documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). As a result of an opinion issued by a unit within the Office of the Attorney General, federal workers will have little protection from official retaliation for reporting water pollution enforcement breakdowns, manipulations of science or cleanup failures.The rest of the post on the terrific blog Effect Measure Full Article
bl Diebold Delivers Georgia for Republicans By tedshelton.blogspot.com Published On :: 2006-09-24T13:58:00Z In a follow up to his story on the 2004 election, "Was the 2004 Election Stolen," Robert Kennedy brings us, in the latest issue of Rolling Stone, specific details on how Diebold has rigged voting in Georgia, with the confessions of a Diebold employee, Chris Hood. "Will The Next Election Be Hacked," is a frightening article that shows exactly how far some corrupt politicians are willing to go to insure that they keep control of our government out of the hands of the people. Folks, our democracy is in danger. Full Article
bl Trembling Blue Stars By www.bibabidi.com Published On :: Wed, 15 Dec 2021 21:03:00 -0800 Robert Wratten was a heartbroken guy.For a few years, in the late 80s, early 90s, he was in the Field Mice, the beloved jangle-pop outfit signed to Sarah Records. When they fell apart, Wratten and his girlfriend and bandmate, Annemari Davies, formed Northern Picture Library, and continued to write rather melancholic songs, but with a certain duskiness and lonely chill rather than the peppy twitchiness and innocent twinkle from before. (Their first LP, Alaska, is very good.)Northern Picture Library ended when Wratten and Davies split, and thus Trembling Blue Stars was born. (I see your breakup album and raise you a breakup band!) The first album, Her Handwriting, is a monument for the forlorn, the devastated, sometimes in an uncomfortable way. Admittedly, many of the musicians from this era, from this general grouping, were rather downcast, dark, and meek, but what Wratten made stands apart, perhaps because it's boldly... adult, not concerned with obscuring its vulnerability. And he seemed keen to revel in his smooth craftsmanship, his adept songwriting. There's a maturity, conflicted, pained as it is, that beckons through a confident voice and a tender humanity. I find these records moving, particularly with songs like "The Rainbow," a sweet trip-hop song that poignantly features—and celebrates—Davies. Full Article Downtempo Electronic Indie Pop
bl Adorable By www.bibabidi.com Published On :: Sun, 20 Feb 2022 14:18:00 -0800 "How does it feel? / The way I feel / Doesn't feel quite real"With lyrics like those (not to mention a name like theirs and a debut album titled Against Perfection, a perfect encapsulation of melancholic Gen X irony), why Adorable posters aren't plastered on dorm walls and their songs on all high school first-love and breakup mixtapes out there is... baffling. Formed in Coventry, England, and fronted by Piotr Fijalkowski, the band was around at the apex of the shoegaze scene, but they perhaps slid left, right, up, down a little much—too melodious in their waves of distortion, too jangly to be grunge, too poppy to be punks, too pretty and straight to be Madchester ravers. Too often, it's a group's hard-to-place-ness that prevents them from turning a passing sizzle into something sustainable.A reputation for cockiness and label pressures and spats certainly didn't help. Sometimes, though, a perfect moment is meant to only last for that perfect moment, and it's wonders like this record, so assured and contained, that remind me that the "what if?" question we often find ourselves confronting is a distraction, a red herring, an impulse to fan the flames of infatuation not with deeper connection to that subject of interest but with, well, more shit. In the case of Adorable, that desire led to the recording of Fake, a modest LP that tilts towards a flat, less complicated dourness and downcast spirit, one the debut wasn't informed by. Against was a gleaming gem of Echo & the Bunnymen's arena-filling, heartswelling post-punk anthems crossed with the warm fragility of the Jesus and Mary Chain and the fried, blown, tattered brawn of Ride. Often, it's one-and-done series that are the most meaningful. A sense of an ending is a precious gift. Full Article Alternative British Indie Rock Shoegaze
bl Troubleman By www.bibabidi.com Published On :: Fri, 20 May 2022 15:25:00 -0700 In the 90s, Mark Pritchard was best known for his work in ambient house, IDM, downtempo, primarily through the duo Global Communication, who always managed to be unusually patient, supple, loving, elegant.When that union dissolved, he pushed ahead in the same direction but with a shift in contextual foundation; he left the cerebral chill of Northern Europe and let his mind and ear drift across the Atlantic to the unhurried and free-spirited coastal enclaves of Brazil for a bossa nova and samba record under the alias Troubleman. Time Out of Mind is a tranquil and warm album that seems built around the possibility of making electro-bossa music, very much in vogue in the post-Theivery Corporation and MPB-revival era, with white privilege and collector culture not at the epicenter. It's a sincere record, one that compassionately seeks to not only reference but build upon and expand another culture's sound through thoughtful, meditative reverence.Most the elements are live, a celebration of organic sound and meandering arrangement, influenced by Brazil's storied musical tradition and yet so very imbued with Pritchard's precise and club-oriented, Western electronic wizardry.Highlights are "Toda Hora," a collaboration with Brazil-born Smoke City vocalist Nina Miranda, and the pair that is "Paz" and "Zap," the latter song being not much more than the former in reverse. Eerie and sensual. Full Article Bossa Nova British Dance Downtempo Electronic Lounge
bl Atender a Familias Vulnerables y Recuperar Servicios Esenciales: Prioridades en Mira Tras la DANA By herencia.net Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 00:21:30 +0000 La alcaldesa de Mira, Miriam Lava, ha tomado cartas en el asunto tras la devastación causada por la reciente DANA que afectó gravemente a su municipio. En un esfuerzo por mitigar el impacto sufrido por las familias vulnerables, muchas de ellas de nacionalidad rumana, Lava ha firmado un Protocolo de Colaboración en Emergencia con la […] Artículo publicado en : Atender a Familias Vulnerables y Recuperar Servicios Esenciales: Prioridades en Mira Tras la DANA Full Article Nuestra Región actualidad atender DANA esenciales familias Mira Prioridades Recuperar servicios tras vulnerables
bl Izquierda Unida C-LM Establece Abril de 2026 Como Fecha Límite para Definir su Estrategia Electoral para los Comicios Autonómicos y Municipales By herencia.net Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 06:51:30 +0000 Izquierda Unida de Castilla-La Mancha ha fijado abril de 2026 como la fecha límite para presentar sus candidaturas para las elecciones autonómicas y regionales de mayo de 2027. Así lo ha anunciado Pedro Mellado, el coordinador general de la formación, en una reciente entrevista. Mellado destacó el compromiso de IU de informar con un año […] Artículo publicado en : Izquierda Unida C-LM Establece Abril de 2026 Como Fecha Límite para Definir su Estrategia Electoral para los Comicios Autonómicos y Municipales Full Article Nuestra Región abril actualidad autonómicos clm Comicios como Definir Electoral Establece estrategia Fecha Izquierda Límite los municipales para Unida
bl Expose Your Blog. By nancythroughthelookingglass.blogspot.com Published On :: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 20:24:00 +0000 Many of my readers will have probably first found my blog through the old blog traffic exchanges like Blog Explosion and Blogazoo, they were a good source of traffic for bloggers and increased readership, sadly those sites have all gone now. But don't despair there is another Blog Only traffic exchange I've found, Expose your blog has a long timer so visitors definitely read your blog. There is currently a weekly referral and surfing contest too (see the sites forum for more details) so sign up now and start recruiting your blog readers. If you've never heard of a traffic exchange before let me explain, you add your blog and once it's approved you surf "other peoples blogs reading each one for 30 seconds (or more if it grabs your attention) you then click a button to move onto the next blog and earn credits as you surf. The ratio on expose your blog seems tight at first but there are bonus credits that appear as banners and about every 10 pages theres a verification page where you earn bonus credits. If your looking for traffic to your blog it's a good place to start. Also make sure you remember to surf at least 5 blogs to activate your blog when you sign up, I recommend surfing more in fact to gain as many credits as possible. For more advice on increasing blog traffic see my other post on the subject: My Tips On Increasing Blog Traffic Full Article blog traffic exchange improve blog traffic increase blog traffic more blog hits
bl Email Your local MP telling them to stop Cuts to support for disabled people. By nancythroughthelookingglass.blogspot.com Published On :: Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:47:00 +0000 38 Degrees appear to have finally started a campaign to put pressure on the government to stop cuts to support for disabled people. Click here to email Andrew Turner (or whoever your local MP is) it only takes a minute you just need to provide your postcode and fill in your address. MP's do respond to emails too I've had several letters from the house of commons in response to emails I've sent. Full Article 38 degrees email mp stop cuts for disabled
bl Should We Blame ATOS? By nancythroughthelookingglass.blogspot.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:12:00 +0000 Today I have read a blog post where the author basically suggests disability campaign groups are wrong to go after ATOS to the extent that they are, and that ATOS are only the IT company in charge of a system put in place by the DWP and they are the ones we should really be targetting. I've also seen several leading disability campaigners openly support this view, and even not support DPAC's protests at the Paralympics (which are being sponsored by ATOS). I do agree with this argument to an extent, we do need to clearly target the people behind this assessment process, and not just ATOS. I thought we had been from day one though? We have constantly lobbied the government and named the ministers responsible for this crisis as well as targeting ATOS. But the defense "we are only doing what the government/DWP is telling us to do" is an empty one in my view. Wasn't it also the defense many NAZI's also used when being tried after WW2 was over? "we were only obeying orders"? Recent documentaries that used secret filming have shown us that ATOS assessors are having crisis's of conscience over the process, they cope by blaming it on "the decision maker" (which sounds incredibly Orwellian to me). I think these individuals need to be made to take responsibility for their own actions, they could speak out even if it is anonymously, or they could quit their jobs and find another one. At least the NAZI's had the defense that they would have been executed if they disobeyed Hitler's orders, no one is going to shoot an ATOS assessor for walking out and saying "I can't do this anymore". When a disabled person goes to one of these assessments their life and quality of life is in this persons hands, the decision maker makes their decision based on what box these people tick. In my case after examining the criteria I can clearly see 3 places my assessor should have awarded me points and failed to, and I appealing their decision. All I wanted was to be put in the work related activity group where I would receive the help and support I need to get back into work after 10 years of unemployment. Just one year to give me a fighting chance of finding a job I can reliably do with enough hours to support myself and some kind of support system that ensures I do not lose my job if I become ill again for a short period, and I would stick my middle finger up to the DWP and never claim again. But they did not give me that, they only awarded me 6 points, and I was lucky to get that by all accounts. I have the support to be able to make an appeal which I am confident I will win, but many others don't. Many people will not be able to act when they receive that dreadful letter saying they have been turned down for ESA, they will just sink into despair and lose everything, end up homeless and destitute. Some will harm themselves or even kill themselves alone, they may not be found for days or even months. So I'm sorry but I say YES we should and must blame ATOS, we must blame everyone responsible for this horrific mess. If anything we need to focus more of our attention on the organ grinders and not the monkeys, but we must not give in and let up in our campaigns against ATOS to gain sympathy from the right wingers. We must continue to target every one of them, and not rest until they ALL are bought to justice. Full Article ATOS work capability assessment
bl High Court rules Work Capability Assessment arguably unlawful By nancythroughthelookingglass.blogspot.com Published On :: Sun, 16 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000 This is a press release from earlier this year about the judicial review that is due to be heard at the Royal Courts Of Justice on the 15th, 16th and 18th of January 2013. Lets pray it goes in our favour as it will open the floodgates for legal action over the WCA if it does. Thursday, July 26, 2012 The High Court has today granted permission to two disabled people to bring a claim forjudicial review against the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to challenge theoperation of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA).WCAs are face to face interviews carried out by healthcare professionals (HCPs)employed by Atos Healthcare (a private contractor), to assess disabled people’sentitlement to Employment and Support Allowance (a sickness benefit that has replacedthe old Incapacity Benefit). Each existing recipient of Incapacity Benefit is now beingassessed for eligibility for ESA, at the rate of some 11,000 people per week. WCAs havebeen the subject of serious criticism by all relevant stakeholders in civil society includingdoctors and NGOs working on behalf of disabled people.The present case concerns some of the problems with the system as experienced bypeople with mental health problems. Although medically trained, Atos HCPs typicallyhave very limited knowledge of mental health. The interviews are often hurried, and relyon applicants to explain the limitations on their ability to work.This is a serious problem for people with mental health conditions who lack insight intotheir conditions, whose conditions fluctuate in seriousness, or who cannot easily talkabout their disability. Such people are placed at a substantial disadvantage in navigatingthe system. Even if they appreciate the need to get expert medical evidence forthemselves, they are often less able to navigate the system successfully and to obtainthe medical report that they need. The Equality Act 2010 requires the DWP to makereasonable adjustments to avoid such disadvantage.The reasonable adjustment to the process that the claimants seek is for medicalevidence to be sought by the Atos HCP and the DWP at the very outset of the claim.This would ensure that very sick people for whom having to go through a WCA would beextremely distressing are exempted from the process, and for those that do attend aWCA, the assessment of fitness to work takes place in the correct medical context, sothat dangers associated with forcing people back to work are correctly identified.At present, the DWP do not routinely ask for expert medical report from an applicant’scommunity-based doctor. The judge has held that it is arguable that this failure is abreach of the duty to make reasonable adjustments, and is therefore unlawful.In granting permission to apply for judicial review, the judge stated:“I consider that it is reasonably arguable that the reasonable adjustmentsrequired by the [Equality Act 2010] include the early obtaining of independentmedical evidence where the documents submitted with the claim show that theclaimant suffers from mental health problems and that this has not been done, orat least not done on a sufficiently widespread basis”.The claimants, known as MM and DM, were granted anonymity by the court. Theirsolicitor, Ravi Low-Beer of the Public Law Project said:“The present system results in many thousands of unnecessary appeals at greatpublic expense, with a high success rate. What is not counted is the cost inhuman misery for those people who should never have had to go through theappeals process in the first place. This could be avoided if doctors were involvedin the assessments at the outset. The Government’s policy of by-passing doctorsis inefficient, unfair, and inhumane. We gain heart from the court’s finding that asa matter of law, it is arguable that something has to change.”For further information contact Ravi Low-Beer onr.lowbeer@publiclawproject.org.uk/0845 543 5944or Adrian Lukes ona.lukes@publiclawproject.org.uk/0845 543 5946.Public Law Project (PLP)PLP is an independent, national legal charity which aims to improve access to justice forthose whose access is restricted by poverty, discrimination or other similar barriers. Tofulfil its objectives PLP undertakes research, policy initiatives, casework and trainingacross the range of public law remedies.For more information on our work, events and publications: www.publiclawproject.org.uk Full Article
bl Paint Your Red Nose Black In Protest 2013 By nancythroughthelookingglass.blogspot.com Published On :: Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:39:00 +0000 This year I and others are painting our red noses black and intend to boycott the television shows we'd like you to join us, and I'm sure you'd like to know why? We are not against Comic Relief or the good work it does and encourage you to buy a red nose if you can afford it. But this year Comic Relief saw fit to include clips of David Cameron in the music video to One directions charity song. We feel including the Prime minister in this video is a slap in the face to the millions of people he has plunged into poverty in this country with his misguided austerity measures. There are currently 3.6 million children in the UK living in poverty according to barnardos 58% of them are in a family where someone works. Yet the Coalition have pushed through measures to ensure benefits even those for disabled people and people in work, like tax credits only go up by 1%. Further punishing children who will be forced further into poverty as their parents incomes are reduced even more compared to inflation. These cuts risk putting the UK in breach of the UN Economic and social rights convention we are signed up to. Food poverty has risen so sharply that there has been a massive rise in emergency food banks already. The cuts to housing benefit for many people living in social housing deemed to be over occupying their properties dubbed “The Bedroom Tax” Will see people expected to move to a smaller property or pay a charge for their extra room, even though there is a huge shortage of suitable smaller properties for them to move to. This will further increase the poverty people are suffering in the UK as they are forced to make up shortfalls in their rent or face eviction and homelessness. The coalition also rolled out across the country a new and untested Work Capability Assessment when they came into power in 2010. Between January and November 2011 10,600 disabled people who clearly wrongly had their benefits stopped died within 6 weeks of losing benefit. (a sharp rise in the statistics compared to the year before). Yet despite all these alarming statistics David Cameron's ministers continue to claim these cuts are fair and needed. Though they have made no cuts to their own wages, continue to claim massive expenses, and have not sufficiently cracked down on tax evasion by large multinational companies. But apparently we are “all in this together”. We presented all this information to comic relief and they have ignored our requests to remove David Cameron from the video, and have even promoted pictures of David Cameron's wife Samantha baking in her tax payer funded kitchen at Number 10 with her children. Making cakes she will apparently sell to downing street staff to raise money for the event. Well it's alright for some isn't it? Join us by liking the facebook page where there is a list of actions you can take and by tweeting your disgust at this flawed decision by comic relief using the hashtag #blacknoseday. Full Article
bl List Of Brands Available In The UK That Use Monsanto Products. By nancythroughthelookingglass.blogspot.com Published On :: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 19:03:00 +0000 Complete list of UK Brands that use Monsanto products, so these companies products probably contain Genetically Modified ingredients. Boycott all these companies for the good of your health! This site is very useful too called "How To Avoid GM Foods". And also check out "GM Watch" And if you are in the USA watch the video at the bottom of the post for a full list of products you should be boycotting too. Betty Crocker Cadbury Campbells Capri Sun Carnation Coca Cola Quakers Green Giant Heinz Hellmanns Nestle Spam Kellogs Knorr Kraft Lipton Minute Maid Ritz Crackers Ocean Spray Pepsi Pilsbury Power BarPringles Proctor and gamble Quaker Ragu Weight Watchers Schweppes Uncle Bens Unilever Full Article genetically modified gm list of uk gm foods monsanto
bl More Propaganda Broadcast "Don't Worry Disabled People Are Fine, Go Back To Sleep..." By nancythroughthelookingglass.blogspot.com Published On :: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 11:45:00 +0000 Just been listening to BBC Radio Four, they were discussing disability and finances and how disabled people have more of a hard time getting loans. they also went into how it costs more day to day if you are disabled, how this is worse in the current economic climate, and mentioned welfare reform and bedroom tax, giving an example of one woman who has to now pay £20 a week she can ill afford. The report quite good and balanced up until that point, then they read out the government response. They said that they are "Committed to helping disabled people" still spend 58 billion on disabled people, and that a number of disabled adults and children are actually getting more money under welfare reforms. Then went on to say something about some scheme to help disabled people say no to dodgy loans and expanding credit unions. I couldn't believe it, I only know one disabled person who is in fact getting more money as a result of welfare reforms. I know many people who have lost money and are afraid they will lose more money when PIP comes in. Nearly every one of my friends who has mental illness has lost ESA on appeal, including myself, the mentally ill are always the first to be screwed over when there are cuts after all. They completely ignored all the negative impact their reforms have had in their response and as usual didn't apologise one bit or admit welfare reform had gone wrong, it was a disaster, and they were sorry, let alone tell us they were working on putting it right. They just gave this reassuring response that practically said "go back to sleep, disabled people are fine..." even though the show had just given an example of a person who was suffering. And to add insult injury those of us who campaign to raise awareness of what is actually happening are now labelled extremists. I just hope the general public aren't falling for all this rubbish, though lets face it they probably are... Full Article
bl I've moved the blog! By nancythroughthelookingglass.blogspot.com Published On :: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 03:47:00 +0000 You can find all my old articles and new posts here http://nancyscrazyadventures.wordpress.com/ Goodbye google Full Article
bl Le ''droit au logement opposable'', cette fausse bonne idée, par Jérôme Dubus By poypoye.over-blog.com Published On :: Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:12:37 +0100 Depuis une décennie, hiver après hiver, l'histoire bégaye : la France fait mine de découvrir la grave crise du logement à laquelle elle est confrontée. « SDF » qui nous renvoient le miroir de nos propres insuffisances ; « mal-logés » qui se réfugient... Full Article
bl Tout est possible dans notre République ! By poypoye.over-blog.com Published On :: Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:02:58 +0100 Révélateur, entre-autre, d'une certaine conception de l'effort pour combler le déficit public... On apprend dans Le Canard enchaîné que l'homme qui justifiait sa faramineuse augmentation de 206% par un souci de transparence perçoit toujours depuis le... Full Article
bl Vijesti :: Sigurno i bez pirotehnike u nadolazećim blagdanima By www.osijek031.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 12:22:54 GMT Autor: Redakcija 031 Naslov: Sigurno i bez pirotehnike u nadolazećim blagdanimaPostano: 12.11.2024. 13:22 (GMT 1) Kako bi još jednom pred nadolazeće blagdane, građanima poslali zajedničku poruku da je od izuzetnog značaja tijekom veselja i slavlja voditi računa o sigurnosti. Zajednički možemo postići da nam nadolazeći blagdani budu mirni i spokojni. Suzdržite se od uporabe pirotehnike i na taj način kreirajte mirno i sigurno okruženje za vašu obitelj, prijatelje, susjede u vašem kvartu. Vodimo računa jedni o drugima posebno u vrijeme blagdana. Iz policije podsjećaju da petarde i rakete nisu dio blagdanskog ozračja i njihovo neoprezno i nestručno rukovanje može izazvati teške posljedice. Pirotehnička sredstva nisu bezopasna, pogotovo kada su u dječjim rukama, i od njih mogu nastupiti teške tjelesne ozljede šaka, ruku, očiju i lica. Petarde uzrokovati požare, a njihova uporaba može biti itekako opasna u zatvorenim prostorima i na mjestima gdje se okuplja veći broj ljudi. Kazne za one koji ne poštuju propise su dosta visoke. Učinite svoju okolinu sigurnom, brinite za svoje susjede posebno starije životne dobi, kao i kućne ljubimce, kojima detonacije petardi nisu nimalo ugodne. Foto: Pixabay.com/Ilustracija Full Article
bl Vijesti :: Blagdansko ozračje u restoranu Corner [nagradno darivanje] By www.osijek031.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 19:15:00 GMT Autor: Redakcija 031 Naslov: Blagdansko ozračje u restoranu Corner [nagradno darivanje]Postano: 12.11.2024. 20:15 (GMT 1) Mjesec prosinac, mjesec darivanja i druženja s dragim ljudima. S prosincom završavamo i još jednu uspješnu godinu, a zašto ju ne bi završili uz nama drage ljude. Restoran Corner vas povodom toga poziva na božićno okupljanje. Idealna prilika da se opustite i uživate u ukusnoj hrani i veseloj atmosferi. Božićni domjenak traje od 20:00 sati do dva sata iza ponoći. Restoran Corner je pripremio i buffet menu: Predjela: - Roastbeef s Waldorf salatom, tostirana focaccia - Winter Rolls, rolice od hrskavog tijesta punjene carskim mesom i kiselim kupusom s umakom od hrena - Domaći kroketi punjeni pilećim prsima i sirom s curry makom - Rižoto od cikle s dimljenim šaranom, orasima i sirom - Domaći krumpir & sir s umakom od majoneze i tartufa - Arančini Glavno jelo: - Zalogajna jela s roštilja - Pork belly s rižom i coleslaw salatom - Pileći odrezak punjen celerom, šunkom i sirom s njokima od bundeve u umaku od sira - Pohani Šokački odrezak s pireom od krumpira - Gulaš na Tikveški s lovačkom roladom - Punjene lignje, parisienne krumpir s espumom od blitve Salate: Turšija iz lokalnog OPG-a - Šopska Pečena paprika s uljem češnjaka i peršina - Zelene salate - Povrće sa žara na salatu s maslinovim uljem i tostiranim pinjolima Desert: - Slatke domaće štrukle s malinama - Štrudla s jabukama - Torta od mrkve - Božićni tiramisu Piće (No limit): od 20:00 do 02:00 sata ŽESTOKA PIĆA I LIKERI: Dewars, Pelinkovac, Višnja, Šljivovica, Jagermeister, Gin PIVO: Karlovačko pivo, Karlovačko crno, Karlovačko radler, Crni radler VINA: Graševina Belje, Cabernet Sauvignon Belje, pjenušac La Belle Grand VODA I SOKOVI: Jamnica, Jana, Coca cola, Fanta, Tonic, Pago Jabuka, Pago Naranča KAVA: Instant kava (samoposluživanje) Božićna interakcija: - Foto kutak s božićnim motivima - Svečano osvjetljenje i dekoracije Cijena po osobi (za hranu i piće u neograničenim količinama) je 60 eura, a za sve informacije i rezervacije možete se javiti na broj: 091 250 00 24 ili putem e-mail adrese: uprava@corner-osijek.hr. Kako do restorana Corner? Corner Osijek nalazi se u Osijeku u Velebitskoj ulici u gradskoj četvrti Jug II. [Nagradno darivanje] Portal Osijek031 daruje Alasov pladanj za dvije osobe. Nagradno darivanje možete pronaći na našoj Facebook stranici. [klik za uvećanje] Full Article
bl Un haut responsable du PCC appelle � la promotion d'une communaut� Chine-Vietnam d'avenir partag� By chine.in Published On :: 2024-11-12T22:23:14+01:00 Le haut responsable chinois, Li Xi, a rencontr� Phan Dinh Trac, membre du Bureau politique, secr�taire du secr�tariat et pr�sident de la Commission des affaires int�rieures du Comit� central du Parti communiste vietnamien (PCV), mardi � Beijing. ... Full Article Chine
bl Chine Nouvelle publie un rapport sur l'�veil du Sud global au Br�sil By chine.in Published On :: 2024-11-13T02:24:46+01:00 L'agence de presse Xinhua a publi� en langue chinoise, anglaise, espagnole et portugaise un rapport intitul� "L'�veil du Sud global" � l'occasion du Forum des m�dias et des groupes de r�flexion du Sud global tenu ce lundi et mardi � Sao Paulo au... Full Article Br�sil
bl (CIIE) Des responsables et entrepreneurs �trangers pr�sents � la CIIE font l'�loge de l'ouverture de la Chine et des opportunit�s qu'elle offre By chine.in Published On :: 2024-11-13T10:43:13+01:00 Lors de l'Exposition internationale d'importation de la Chine (CIIE) de cette ann�e � Shanghai, Ghazaryan Koryun, conseiller commercial � l'Ambassade d'Arm�nie en Chine, a pr�sent� aux visiteurs, dans un chinois courant, les vins et fruits de grande... Full Article CIIE
bl Chine : la partie continentale d�clare que les consultations entre les deux rives du d�troit sont possibles en reconnaissant le Consensus de 1992 By chine.in Published On :: 2024-11-13T17:59:59+01:00 Les consultations entre l'Association pour les relations entre les deux rives du d�troit de Taiwan (ARATS) et la Fondation pour les �changes entre les deux rives du d�troit de Taiwan (SEF) pourraient reprendre si les autorit�s de Taiwan... Full Article Chine
bl It's Official - Blog Bloke has moved By www.blog-bloke.com Published On :: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 13:01:00 -0800 Hi Blokesters. It's official now and InstaBloke has moved over to Blog Bloke dot com, so please make a note of it and update your bookmarks as well as the newsfeed. You should also check out my latest post explaining all of the gory details. It's a doozy.See you there! Full Article
bl Blog News from Blog Bloke By www.blog-bloke.com Published On :: Mon, 1 Sep 2008 01:07:00 -0700 Blogging News as it happens, updated 24/7TechBLOKE: More Blog and Technology News...More links: blog bloke, instabloke, blog, weblog, blogging, blog tools, blogtech, webtech, web 2.0, blog search, blog resources, diary, writing, write, computing, internet, computers and internet, technology, tech, software, hardware, search engine, google, music, audio, ipod, podcasting, podcast, video, media, business, marketing, daily fisk, political football, news, world news, us-news, in the news, news headlines, headline news, news and politics, politics, political, current events, current events, opinion, rant, ramblings, random thoughts, terror, terrorism, terrorist, london bombing, society, law, legal, dispute resolution, music, entertainment, fun, funny humor, humour, canada, canadian, canadian news, canadian-news, canada news, canada-news, canadian politics, canadian-politics Full Article
bl TECHBloke: Blog Technology News and more... By www.blog-bloke.com Published On :: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 01:39:00 -0700 Technology News as it happens, updated 24/7Blog News from Blog Bloke...More links: blog bloke, instabloke, blog, weblog, blogging, blog tools, blogtech, webtech, web 2.0, blog search, blog resources, diary, writing, write, computing, internet, computers and internet, technology, tech, software, hardware, search engine, google, music, audio, ipod, podcasting, podcast, video, media, business, marketing, daily fisk, political football, news, world news, us-news, in the news, news headlines, headline news, news and politics, politics, political, current events, current affairs, opinion, rant, ramblings, random thoughts, terror, terrorism, terrorist, london bombing, society, law, legal, dispute resolution, music, entertainment, fun, funny humor, humour, canada, canadian, canadian news, canadian-news, canada news, canada-news, canadian politics, canadian-politics Full Article
bl EBSQ Art of the Day - July 20, 2018: Peach Sunflowers by So Jeo LeBlond By www.ebsqart.com Published On :: Fri, 20 Jul 2018 00:00:01 GMT EBSQ Art of the Day July 20, 2018 Peach Sunflowers © by: So Jeo LeBlond View today's art on EBSQ Search for EBSQ: eBay ImageKind Etsy ArtByUs.com Full Article
bl RFE - source code now available By www.wehlou.com Published On :: Sun, 4 Apr 2004 15:10:46 +0200 On request, I've posted the source code to the RSS Feed Editor. Full Article
bl Inverted tables: an alternative to relational structures By www.orafaq.com Published On :: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 08:52:30 +0000 articles: WarehousingThe inverted table format can deliver fast and flexible query capabilities, but is not widely used. ADABAS is probably the most successful implementation, but how often do you see that nowadays? Following is a description of how to implement inverted structures within a relational database. All code run on Oracle Database 12c, release 12.1.0.1. Consider this table and a few rows, that describe the contents of my larder: create table food(id number,capacity varchar2(10),container varchar2(10),item varchar2(10)); insert into food values(1,'large','bag','potatoes'); insert into food values(2,'small','box','carrots'); insert into food values(3,'medium','tin','peas'); insert into food values(4,'large','box','potatoes'); insert into food values(5,'small','tin','carrots'); insert into food values(6,'medium','bag','peas'); insert into food values(7,'large','tin','potatoes'); insert into food values(8,'small','bag','carrots'); insert into food values(9,'medium','box','peas'); The queries I run against the table might be "how many large boxes have I?" or "give me all the potatoes, I don't care about how they are packed". The idea is that I do not know in advance what columns I will be using in my predicate: it could be any combination. This is a common issue in a data warehouse. So how do I index the table to satisfy any possible query? Two obvious possibilities: First, build an index on each column, and the optimizer can perform an index_combine operation on whatever columns happen to be listed in the predicate. But that means indexing every column - and the table might have hundreds of columns. No way can I do that. Second, build a concatenated index across all the columns: in effect, use an IOT. That will give me range scan access if any of the predicated columns are in the leading edge of the index key followed by filtering on the rest of the predicate. Or if the predicate does not include the leading column(s), I can get skip scan access and filter. But this is pretty useless, too: there will be wildly divergent performance depending on the predicate. The answer is to invert the table: create table inverted(colname varchar2(10),colvalue varchar2(10),id number); insert into inverted select 'capacity',capacity,id from food; insert into inverted select 'container',container,id from food; insert into inverted select 'item',item,id from food; Now just one index on each table can satisfy all queries: create index food_i on food(id); create index inverted_i on inverted(colname,colvalue); To retrieve all the large boxes: orclz> set autotrace on explain orclz> select * from food where id in 2 (select id from inverted where colname='capacity' and colvalue='large' 3 intersect 4 select id from inverted where colname='container' and colvalue='box'); ID CAPACITY CONTAINER ITEM ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- 4 large box potatoes Execution Plan ---------------------------------------------------------- Plan hash value: 1945359172 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Id | Operation | Name | Rows | Bytes | C --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 0 | SELECT STATEMENT | | 3 | 141 | | 1 | MERGE JOIN | | 3 | 141 | | 2 | TABLE ACCESS BY INDEX ROWID | FOOD | 9 | 306 | | 3 | INDEX FULL SCAN | FOOD_I | 9 | | |* 4 | SORT JOIN | | 3 | 39 | | 5 | VIEW | VW_NSO_1 | 3 | 39 | | 6 | INTERSECTION | | | | | 7 | SORT UNIQUE | | 3 | 81 | | 8 | TABLE ACCESS BY INDEX ROWID BATCHED| INVERTED | 3 | 81 | |* 9 | INDEX RANGE SCAN | INVERTED_I | 3 | | | 10 | SORT UNIQUE | | 3 | 81 | | 11 | TABLE ACCESS BY INDEX ROWID BATCHED| INVERTED | 3 | 81 | |* 12 | INDEX RANGE SCAN | INVERTED_I | 3 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Predicate Information (identified by operation id): --------------------------------------------------- 4 - access("ID"="ID") filter("ID"="ID") 9 - access("COLNAME"='capacity' AND "COLVALUE"='large') 12 - access("COLNAME"='container' AND "COLVALUE"='box') Note ----- - dynamic statistics used: dynamic sampling (level=2) orclz> Or all the potatoes: orclz> select * from food where id in 2 (select id from inverted where colname='item' and colvalue='potatoes'); ID CAPACITY CONTAINER ITEM ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- 1 large bag potatoes 4 large box potatoes 7 large tin potatoes Execution Plan ---------------------------------------------------------- Plan hash value: 762525239 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Id | Operation | Name | Rows | Bytes | Cos --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 0 | SELECT STATEMENT | | 3 | 183 | | 1 | NESTED LOOPS | | | | | 2 | NESTED LOOPS | | 3 | 183 | | 3 | SORT UNIQUE | | 3 | 81 | | 4 | TABLE ACCESS BY INDEX ROWID BATCHED| INVERTED | 3 | 81 | |* 5 | INDEX RANGE SCAN | INVERTED_I | 3 | | |* 6 | INDEX RANGE SCAN | FOOD_I | 1 | | | 7 | TABLE ACCESS BY INDEX ROWID | FOOD | 1 | 34 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Predicate Information (identified by operation id): --------------------------------------------------- 5 - access("COLNAME"='item' AND "COLVALUE"='potatoes') 6 - access("ID"="ID") Note ----- - dynamic statistics used: dynamic sampling (level=2) - this is an adaptive plan orclz> Of course, consideration needs to be given to handling more complex boolean expressions; maintaining the inversion is going to take resources; and a query generator has to construct the inversion code and re-write the queries. But In principle, this structure can deliver indexed access for unpredictable predicates of any number of any columns, with no separate filtering operation. Can you do that with a normalized star schema? I don't think so. I hope this little thought experiment has stimulated the little grey cells, and made the point that relational structures are not always optimal for all problems. -- John Watson Oracle Certified Master DBA http://skillbuilders.com Full Article
bl Need to Know Players: Toronto Blue Jays By www.fulltimefantasy.com Published On :: Tue, 29 Mar 2016 16:25:25 EST Dr. Roto discusses two players from the Toronto Blue Jays Fantasy Baseball owners should keep an eye on in 2016! Full Article Fantasy Baseball
bl Daily Dr. Roto: Disabled List Woes By www.fulltimefantasy.com Published On :: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 16:43:47 EST Dr. Roto discusses the significance of the DL in Fantasy Baseball. Full Article Fantasy Baseball
bl You SUCK! Becoming an A-List Blogger By dailyfisk.blogspot.com Published On :: Fri, 24 Feb 2006 15:02:00 -0800 Guy Kawasaki is running a contest to come up with a caption for a cartoon about his:"abhorrent" article that I wrote called "How to Suck Up to a Blogger." Is this fun or what? I think it's flattering to know that you're worth skewering! Nice try Guy. First you put your foot in it and then try to spin it off as a joke. A classic PR stunt to save face if there ever was. Well the joke is on you bud and so the FISK has taken up the challenge to "skewer" his good buddy Guy one more time. Here goes.Headline:Schwag won't cut it this time: So Kiss my Royal...Bloggers' Response (shouting in unison):And while you're at it kiss mine too!DEFINITION of A-List:"A" stands for anal retentive, and "List" means getting in line behind the rest of the suckers....related posts: blog weblog blogging internet entertainment fun funny humor humour guy kawasaki scoble canadian news daily fisk Full Article
bl Is Blogging Just About Getting More Traffic? By dailyfisk.blogspot.com Published On :: Thu, 2 Mar 2006 21:52:00 -0800 I may regret this. My mom always told me to stay out of other people's fights. But I was always too headstrong for my own good so here goes. Over at Copyblogger Brian tells us: " Steve used a clever little PR gimmick (that would never work for an unknown blogger today, mind you) to literally propel himself to the enviable point he is now. Nothing wrong with that, unless of course, two years later, you look down from your A-List perch and proclaim that traffic is now bad." Frankly I'm a little weary of the term "A-List". But I have to agree with that thought. It's easy to mock the tail that wags the blog when you're at the top.A commentor said: "Anyone who says traffic doesn't matter, relative to having a web presence, is either disingenuous or has a ton of traffic already. In Steve's case, likely both." P.S.: It's called HYPOCRISY! Steve Rubel has redefined the art of tagging wrapping all his posts around ever popular keyword themes. "Blog", "Technorati, "Google", "Top Ten", "Best", "Success", "Killer", "Sex", "Porn"... whatever works. Slog that Technorati gravy train Steve and keep those numbers up.Another commentor also mentioned performancing.com -- that self-absorbed group of omni poobahs forever beating their own drum. Until a couple of months ago nobody had ever heard of them. After spending a little advertising money at Technorati and a few smug posts later they have somehow transformed themselves into self-proclaimed blog experts. Which only proves that if you toot your own horn loud and long enough you will begin to believe your own press. It also demonstrates how many gullible bloggers there are eager to jump on the blogging gold train.Taking notes? ...shameless self-promoting tags: daily fisk blog weblog blogging blog tools technology tech fun funny humor humour technorati technorati tags keywords steve rubel link bait link baiting Full Article
bl Ten Observations of a Rookie Blogger By dailyfisk.blogspot.com Published On :: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 21:39:00 -0700 Whilst perusing Dave Winer's blog I accidentally came across Guy Kawasaki's ten observations that he's learned in his first 100 days of blogging.The ones that are the most revealing are: 1. "The more popular a person thinks he is in the blogosphere, the thinner his skin and the thicker his hypocrisy. This should be exactly the opposite: the higher you go the thicker the skin and thinner the hypocrisy." Only happy to oblige Guy. We'll test that theory shall we.5. "An expert who blogs is more interesting than a blogger who experts". What I'm not certain of is whether Guy is talking about himself. Would a hundred days of blogging count towards becoming an "expert"? (NOT).6. "Blogging technology is a piece of cake. TypePad powers my blog, and this product is very well done. Plus, almost all the things that one would want a blog to do are (a) available and (b) free--or very cheap"... Hmm, what Guy doesn't seem to realize is most of us seasoned bloggers didn't have it served to us on a silver platter. We had to learn (and sometimes create like Dave Winer for example) the technology and hack our blogs into shape the hard way.9. "I love this Technorati ranking thing. I know it probably doesn't mean much, but it's fun. I'll never play in the NHL, and I'll never start a billion-dollar company, but I could get into the Technorati top ten"... That's all we need. A class system in the blogosphere. I can see the headlines now: "Former writer rises to the creme of the blogosphere riding his own shirt tail."And my most favorite of all: 3. ... "It's a good thing I have eight books to plagiarize." That sez it all don't you think? Nothing new here. And lastly:10. "It's hard to make money blogging. The advertising revenues don't add up to much, but there are other significant rewards like helping people change the world." Heh, don't flatter yourself Guy. But thanks for the laughs anyway. You provide us with so much material. It's much appreciated and welcome to the blogosphere. We're looking forward to the next 100 days. Seriously.Related links: writing, write, guy kawasaki, satire, humor, blogging Full Article
bl Guy Kawasaki: 120 day Blogging 'Expert' By dailyfisk.blogspot.com Published On :: Fri, 28 Apr 2006 13:50:00 -0700 I'm beginning to think that I should change the name of this blog to the daily FISKing of Guy Kawasaki. So-called expert Guy Kawasaki (blogging 120 days and counting... and no, I'm not giving him a link unless he returns the favour) throws us more pearls about how to evangelize huckster our blogs.It seems that one of his favorite pastimes is to email everyone that has the misfortune to come across his computer. Then again, Guy has his own unique definition of what constitutes spam: "When I started this blog, I sent out 10,000 email announcements... for example, when a bozo includes you on a large carbon-copy email, mine the addresses." I rather liked Dave Winer's response the best:"Disclaim: Scripting News does not meet the high standards of 120-day blogger Guy Kawasaki."Guy calls it "evangelizing". I call it a pain in the ass.UPDATE: Better Bad News picks up the ball with "Who Gives a Shiitake". And the blogfather himself Dave Winer liked the post so much that he even linked to it. I'm honoured folks.Related links: business, marketing, daily fisk, guy kawasaki, humor, dave winer Full Article
bl McCain Attacks Bloggers, Sinks Ship with Loose Lips By dailyfisk.blogspot.com Published On :: Sat, 13 May 2006 23:55:00 -0700 That's no easy feat even for an old navy man such as John McCain. He says bloggers are old enough to fight his damn wars but not enough to speak our mind.Think Progress notes McCain's attack on the blogosphere: When I was a young man, I was quite infatuated with self-expression, and rightly so because, if memory conveniently serves, I was so much more eloquent, well-informed, and wiser than anyone else I knew. It seemed I understood the world and the purpose of life so much more profoundly than most people. I believed that to be especially true with many of my elders, people whose only accomplishment, as far as I could tell, was that they had been born before me, and, consequently, had suffered some number of years deprived of my insights…It’s a pity that there wasn’t a blogosphere then. I would have felt very much at home in the medium. Damn the torpedoes and full steam ahead. I think we've just been broadsided matey.Very wittily said John, but all you've accomplished is to demonstrate your ignorance of the Blogosphere. If you only knew how old I really am (but don't you dare ask).So I guess we've all been told. So much for freedom of speech. Maybe we should put an age limit on it. Now there's an idea for you John. There outta be a law.In 2000, John McCain called Rev. Jerry Falwell an “agent of intolerance.” Yesterday, in a naked attempt to broaden his political base, McCain delivered the commencement speech at Falwell’s Liberty University. McCain’s hypocrisy was noted on many blogs. He returned the favor in his speech at Liberty by attacking the blogosphere. A commentor also noted: McCain’s lurch to the right begs the following question: Could it be possible that Republicans are also saddled with shitty consultants?Psst... here's a dirtly little secret. McCain's a mole. So now you know.Related links: daily fisk, news, us-news, in the news, news and politics, politics, political, john+mccain, blogging, blogosphere, humor, fisk Full Article
bl The Blogosphere is Rigged By dailyfisk.blogspot.com Published On :: Sun, 21 May 2006 19:22:00 -0700 (Un)equal Opportunity Bloggers Jessica Guynn poses the question: Why is this supposedly democratic medium recreating real-world inequality? A blogarchy has emerged from the Internet equivalent of an "American Idol" popularity contest. This elite clique of bloggers -- the so-called A-listers who get checked out more often than Lindsay Lohan -- attract the largest online audience. All those eyeballs can deliver cachet, cash and the coveted contract for a blook (a book based on a blog).Jessica goes on to discuss inequality in the blogosphere where it seems that 1% is getting 99% of the traffic. But she goes too far when she whines that most of the A-listers are men. She seems to have forgotten that the Huffington Post, Ann Althouse, the Wonkette et al are blogs run by women A-listers. So I don't want to turn this into a pissing match between the sexes. Trust me when I say there are a whole lot of male bloggers that are in the same boat. No matter how hard they try and tweak their sites they just can't seem to crack the barrier.But the truth of the matter is there is a disproportionate amount of traffic going to only a privileged few that have eked out there own network hierarchy within the blogosphere. And so, a complex social phenomenon becomes purely mathematical: The more links pointing to you -- especially from big-time bloggers -- the more readers you will have (according to the method of judging blog popularity by number of links)... talk about creating a powerful, self-reinforcing and very exclusive network.The Blogosphere is Rigged Unfortunately this sort of BS becomes self-perpetuating when blog search sites such as the Truth Laid Bear, Technorati, and Sphere et al reinforce the A-list mentality with their stupid juvenile ratings. Even Google's Blog Search has a "Sort by relevance" filter which is the default setting.The A-listers bank on the gullibility of blogging newbies who don't know any better. After all, we just want to belong don't we? So we hang around the A-lister's like a pack of stray dogs at the corner store hoping they will throw us a bone or two (i.e. links).Search Filters: We can't even install a news reader today without a ready-made A-list, and a perusal of the search engines (I call them search filters) will quickly point us in their direction.So where does that leave the rest of the 99%? On the outside looking in that's where. Like I said before, the Blogosphere has turned into one big frat party. And here I thought I left jerks like that back in school. What a crock. Feh!More Signal, Less Noise: These blogarchy types subscribe to the theory of "More Signal, Less Noise". Meaning -- YOU are the noise.Sure, some of the blogarchy deserve to be there. There's no questioning that. BUT I can find better blog writers any day of the week than most of these so-called A-listers.So here is a dirty little secret for all of you not yet in the know. The blogosphere has been rigged. The majority of the A-listers only got where they are because they have high profile jobs, are members of elite blog networks they have created, or were linked to by other A-listers that they sucked up to. It is a self-serving megalomaniac gang of social climbers that there ever was.So what can you do about it? Well for one thing you can stop blogrolling these A-list nincompoops. Don't give them any of your link love. If you still have a morbid curiosity and want them within easy reach then just bookmark them. But whatever you do DO NOT give them a pagerank boost by linking to them in your blog.Start your own blogroll with bloggers who have a similar focus. Visit them often and link to their posts. Comment on their posts and create your own cosmos support group. That's a good start.Or better still, just suck up to them and hope you get linked. Just kidding (I think). Show me love. ;-) Related links: daily fisk, fun, funny, humor, humour, satire Full Article
bl Uber Microsoft Propogandist Scoble Jumps Ship By dailyfisk.blogspot.com Published On :: Sun, 11 Jun 2006 18:56:00 -0700 Slippery Bloggers getting their Palms Greased Robert Scoble has joined that elite group of A-listers who have successfully exploited their new found fame in the blogosphere. He is reported to be leaving Microsoft for a more lucrative job offer. Scoble was quoted as saying: "I wish to thank Bill Gates for giving me an opportunity at Microsoft catapulting me onto the blogger A-list. But above all I wish to thank my loyal suckup fans who have made this all possible. For without you I am nothing". Amen brother. Todays Blog Quiz: So what is the difference between a self-serving politician, and a self-serving blogger?Absolutely nothing. Related links: computing, internet, computers and internet, technology, tech, scobleizer, humour, humor, satire, microsoft, bill+gates Full Article
bl MarketingSherpa Announces Blog Awards 2006 By dailyfisk.blogspot.com Published On :: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 12:49:00 -0700 Well whoop-dee-doo! MarketingSherpa has announced the winners of their annual awards for business and marketing blogs. I'm sorry but I can't take this all that seriously. Especially when I see who some of the so-called winners are. I mean, who are these people? I could easily find better bloggers that are far more deserving of an award. Take for example Andy Wibbels. Is that a name or a condition? Give me a break. Have you ever heard the guy speak? Letsth justh sthay I've heard canariesth with lessth pitch in their warble. And of course I can always count on my favorite link baiter (Seth Godin) to lead the charge.These turkeys are a bunch of self-congratulatory egoist hucksters marching to the beat of their own drum. Need proof? Have you ever heard of stuffing the ballot box? Here is an example of its electronic equivalent if there ever was (http://andywibbels.com/post/1143): "The nominations came through and I’ve been nominated for a MarketingSherpa award… help me nab the prize! Vote early, vote often!" Have you no shame. I can only wonder how many times Andy voted for himself. Obviously enough times to win. He probably nominated himself too. Thank goodness for anonymous proxy servers.So congrats to all the winners (there goes that tongue in my cheek again). Related links: daily fisk, humour, humor, satire Full Article
