Valleywag: The Billion-Dollar Blackhole of Social Media
What does it mean that Yahoo was willing to pay $3.5 billion for GeoCities, but not $3 billion a few years later for Google?
– Owen Thomas, “The Billion-Dollar Blackhole of Social Media”
April 25, 2009
November 13, 2008
Worst of Craigslist: Tri Magna
The blogs BikeSnobNYC and OneLesCar do a blogging exercize called “The Worst of Craigslist,” where they ridicule infuriatingly stupid or dishonest ads in the bike section of Craigslist. I ran across one this morning that I cannot allow to escape ridicule. Here’s a screengrab in case the ad comes down:
Here’s the text of the ad:
Mens 15 speed Glacier Point Magna. Put road/hybrid tires on it, but will include set of trail tires with the sale. In very good condition. Used it in my first triathlon – time to move up.
For readers unfamiliar with bikes, Magna bikes are almost exclusively sold at discount stores like Wal-Mart for less than $100. It’s absolutely ludicrous that our friend in Buda would ride a Magna in a triathlon. Shoot, riding a mountain-style bike in a triathlon would be torture, let alone a heavy, poorly-adjusted bike from Wal-Mart. I see a lot of folks dishonestly trying to sell poor-quality bikes on Craigslist, and they all seem to come from outlying suburbs like Buda, Round Rock, or Kyle. What do they put in the water out there? Do they think so little of people they think they can get away with lies like this?
Anyway, be skeptical of bikes sold on Craigslist and watch out for slimebags in the burbs.
September 26, 2008
Ban the Gay Penguins?
I learned an interesting factoid from Michael Zimmer’s post on Banned Books Week 2008. The most commonly challenged library book in 2007 is a book about a same-sex penguin couple rearing an unwanted chick. I wonder if it was a bestseller in Wasilla, Alaska.
September 13, 2008
Infuriating Hurricane Ike News
Science blog Effect Measure asks the important question, “Why would any sane person put a Level 4 biodefense lab in Galveston?” Fortunately for us all, the lab is still under construction and not operational – so we don’t have to worry about an Ebola outbreak during the Ike cleanup – but certainly millions of dollars have been wasted. One would think Homeland Security and the UT System could find a drier and less populated location in Texas. I’ll nominate Lubbock.
In other Ike-related news, the Galveston County Sherrif’s department decided not to evacuate the county jail, although it was expected that the entire island would be covered by Ike’s storm surge. Considering the outcry after New Orleans prisoners died in their cells after Katrina, this is a pretty brazen decision. But the Lone Star State has never been known for its compassion toward prisoners.
September 5, 2008
McCain's "Mansion" last night
As someone who’s had to track down stock photos as part of a job, I have to echo Josh Marshall and say, “That’s not stock-photo searching we believe in.” Seriously, if McCain can’t find people who can competently find images of Walter Reed Medical Center – rather than Walter Reed Middle School – he should not be running the country.
August 30, 2008
Robert J. Elisberg: The Worst Vice-Presidential Nominee in U.S. History
It’s not that Sarah Palin is inexperienced. It’s that this is gross political misconduct.
Robert J. Elisberg: The Worst Vice-Presidential Nominee in U.S. History
August 9, 2008
TPMtv: Dazed and Confused
Although I check Talking Points Memo a few times each day, I rarely watch the TPMtv videos. However, this clip reel of McCain’s senior moments is pretty darn funny and should leave every viewer wondering if McCain is fit to lead the country, particularly during a time of war.
For bonus points, read TPM’s account of McCain’s offer to enter his wife in a biker-rally bikini contest in Sturgis, SD.