Wednesday, March 16, 2005
All work and no TiVo app makes Steve something something
I don't mind telling you that I just got wood. TiVo is gonna let me make my own apps that will run from my PC but display on the TiVo screen.
My mind is already abuzzz.
All I gotta do is tie their example rss code to something that streams movie trailers or DVD release spots. Hmmm. Maybe putting local movie listings on your TiVo would be helpful. Awww yeah.. I'm gonna make this happen.
My mind is already abuzzz.
All I gotta do is tie their example rss code to something that streams movie trailers or DVD release spots. Hmmm. Maybe putting local movie listings on your TiVo would be helpful. Awww yeah.. I'm gonna make this happen.
Monday, March 14, 2005
2008 Presidential Race
Mar 14, 7:35 PM (CT)
COLUMBIA, MO - Steve Powell on Monday ruled out running for president, responding to speculation fueled by a recent poll showing support for a Powell candidacy.
Powell told blogger.com, "I don't want to run for President at this time," although he seemed to leave the door open to the possibility.
Late this afternoon Powell told TBS's rerun of "Seinfeld," "I will not run for president of the United States."
In a poll conducted in February, 65 percent of voters said Powell should run for the White House. However, it was unclear if the polle question pertained to Steve Powell or Colin Powell.
In a poll conducted this week, 100 percent of voters in Powell's household had heard of Steve Powell.
COLUMBIA, MO - Steve Powell on Monday ruled out running for president, responding to speculation fueled by a recent poll showing support for a Powell candidacy.
Powell told blogger.com, "I don't want to run for President at this time," although he seemed to leave the door open to the possibility.
Late this afternoon Powell told TBS's rerun of "Seinfeld," "I will not run for president of the United States."
In a poll conducted in February, 65 percent of voters said Powell should run for the White House. However, it was unclear if the polle question pertained to Steve Powell or Colin Powell.
In a poll conducted this week, 100 percent of voters in Powell's household had heard of Steve Powell.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
What's the sound of 800 pounds of waste being dumped onto your head?
Sing with me. . .
(from Dave Matthews Band - Ants Marching)
Driving along on this highway
All these cars and upon the bridges
Shit flies in every direction
No words exchanged, no time to exchange and when
All the little boats are floating
White and black fists are waving
They all do it the time
They all do it every other day
What a bunch of shit
http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20050309/D88NJ7J80.html
iWon News
A bus driver for the Dave Matthews Band pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges stemming from the dumping of 800 pounds of human waste from his vehicle's septic tank onto a sightseeing boat on the Chicago River.
(from Dave Matthews Band - Ants Marching)
Driving along on this highway
All these cars and upon the bridges
Shit flies in every direction
No words exchanged, no time to exchange and when
All the little boats are floating
White and black fists are waving
They all do it the time
They all do it every other day
What a bunch of shit
http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20050309/D88NJ7J80.html
iWon News
A bus driver for the Dave Matthews Band pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges stemming from the dumping of 800 pounds of human waste from his vehicle's septic tank onto a sightseeing boat on the Chicago River.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
I just wanna leave a message!
Let's say I call you at work . . .
"Hi. You've reached the voicemailbox of Mitch Johnson. I'm either on the phone or away from my desk. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message at the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Have a nice day."
Then the phone system kicks in. . .
"To leave a message, begin speaking at the tone. Finish by pressing the pound sign or just hanging up. To page this person, press 1 now. To reach the operator, press zero."
Beep.
Another 39 seconds of my life has been lost.
Am I just impatient or is this excessive? When I'm calling from a cell phone, that leaves me 20 seconds or less to talk before I burn into another minute. Ah ha, maybe that's it. The phone company likes long messages so they get more money. Hmm.
Let's analyze the annoyance level of each sentence:
You've reached the voicemailbox of Mitch Johnson.
-- Low annoyance. This confirms to me that I didn't misdial.
I'm either on the phone or away from my desk.
-- EXTREMELY ANNOYING. Two problems here 1) it may not be true, and 2) I couldn't care less
Please leave your name, number, and a brief message at the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
-- EXTREMELY ANNOYING. I'll leave the info I wanna leave cuz this is America, Jack! And I think the wording would be better as "I'll get back to you when I feel like it".
Have a nice day
-- Low annoyance. This confirms to me that you're not an ass, even though you really dont care what kind of day I have.
To leave a message, begin speaking at the tone.
-- EXTREMELY ANNOYING. I type good sentence now but drool on keyburd have me no type good now.
Finish by pressing the pound sign or just hanging up.
-- Somewhat annoying, but useful. Sometime you need more options so just say 'for more options, press pound'
To page this person, press 1 now.
-- Shouldn't this be buried under the pound sign option?
To reach the operator, press zero.
-- Isn't that the point of the OPERATOR button on your phone? They went to all the trouble to print "OPER" or "Operator" on the damn button. Ugh.
Now I call you at home . . .
"Hi. You've reached the Johnson residence. We can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a message at the beep we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks."
I won't even go into an example message where you have some 'cool' song playing in the background. I'm not going to leave a message anyway. You may just get a "wow", click.
If I'm smart enough to know how to dial a phone, am I smart enough to know that the beep is a Pavlovian prompt to begin speaking? There are no instructions on how to dial; why do I need instructions on when to speak?
So the ideal message for work is
"You've reached Mitch Johnson. Have a Nice Day."
Then let the system kick in to dumb-it-down and spell-it-out for me.
And the ideal message for home is
"You've reached the Johnsons. Please leave a message."
Beep
"Hi. You've reached the voicemailbox of Mitch Johnson. I'm either on the phone or away from my desk. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message at the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Have a nice day."
Then the phone system kicks in. . .
"To leave a message, begin speaking at the tone. Finish by pressing the pound sign or just hanging up. To page this person, press 1 now. To reach the operator, press zero."
Beep.
Another 39 seconds of my life has been lost.
Am I just impatient or is this excessive? When I'm calling from a cell phone, that leaves me 20 seconds or less to talk before I burn into another minute. Ah ha, maybe that's it. The phone company likes long messages so they get more money. Hmm.
Let's analyze the annoyance level of each sentence:
You've reached the voicemailbox of Mitch Johnson.
-- Low annoyance. This confirms to me that I didn't misdial.
I'm either on the phone or away from my desk.
-- EXTREMELY ANNOYING. Two problems here 1) it may not be true, and 2) I couldn't care less
Please leave your name, number, and a brief message at the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
-- EXTREMELY ANNOYING. I'll leave the info I wanna leave cuz this is America, Jack! And I think the wording would be better as "I'll get back to you when I feel like it".
Have a nice day
-- Low annoyance. This confirms to me that you're not an ass, even though you really dont care what kind of day I have.
To leave a message, begin speaking at the tone.
-- EXTREMELY ANNOYING. I type good sentence now but drool on keyburd have me no type good now.
Finish by pressing the pound sign or just hanging up.
-- Somewhat annoying, but useful. Sometime you need more options so just say 'for more options, press pound'
To page this person, press 1 now.
-- Shouldn't this be buried under the pound sign option?
To reach the operator, press zero.
-- Isn't that the point of the OPERATOR button on your phone? They went to all the trouble to print "OPER" or "Operator" on the damn button. Ugh.
Now I call you at home . . .
"Hi. You've reached the Johnson residence. We can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a message at the beep we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks."
I won't even go into an example message where you have some 'cool' song playing in the background. I'm not going to leave a message anyway. You may just get a "wow", click.
If I'm smart enough to know how to dial a phone, am I smart enough to know that the beep is a Pavlovian prompt to begin speaking? There are no instructions on how to dial; why do I need instructions on when to speak?
So the ideal message for work is
"You've reached Mitch Johnson. Have a Nice Day."
Then let the system kick in to dumb-it-down and spell-it-out for me.
And the ideal message for home is
"You've reached the Johnsons. Please leave a message."
Beep
