Easy. Cheesy. Not at all sleazy.
It’s nice to know that what goes around comes around. BBC is announcing a UK version of The Apprentice.
I suppose “The Apprentice” is a good enough concept to make it overseas. However I haven’t heard of the “rich dude” the Beeb found to oversee this show.
I know the increasing tide of spam is the bane of all e-mail users’ existences, but the latest stuff I’m getting is absurd.
It’s no surprise that I have several e-mail addresses. I’ve taken care not to publish or actually use some of them, so they should remain relatively spam-free. That was the case of my Charter.net address until last week. After months of non-activity, this e-mail address is suddenly deluged in spam. Not only is it spam, but it’s viral — each e-mail address contains a .scr or whatever. And it’s every message that includes an iffy attachment.
I know it’s a common tactic for spammers to send out messages to computer-generated combinations of letters coupled with a domain in the hopes of hitting a legit address. I’ve seen it happen on several of my other accounts. This is the first time that I’ve seen such a deluge of pap laden with virii.
Booknotes:For the first time in a while, I read two totally new books. The first was The Sweater Letter detailing the investigation of a suspicious hunting accident in Ontonagon County. The investigation by the Michigan State Police showed that the husband killed his wife and tried to make it look like an accident.
Aside from some jarring asides that don’t add much to the narrative, I thought it was a decent page-turner detailing a rural homicide investigation.
The other book I read was Stone and Anvil from the Star Trek: New Frontiers range of books. I had been putting reading it off because it’s the latest in a series of books by author Peter David that I haven’t read. However, getting into it was really easy and it was a pretty enjoyable read.
And like they say on Reading Rainbow: These and other great books should be available at your public library. Or Amazon.com. Whichever.
You never know what you’re going to find on the Internet, and I’m not talking about some perverted Web site that your co-worker thinks is “funny.”
I was filtering through my junk e-mail box on Yahoo! Mail when this ad from State Farm Insurance loaded on the page:
In case you’re not a fan of PBS, this is money “guru” Suze Orman. I don’t know all that much about her — except Orman and the other members of her same self-help cabel takes over PBS during pledge-drive times (showcasing piles of unpleasantness over the normal, high-quality of PBS programming).
*deep breath* Anyway, I already don’t care for this woman, but this advertisement takes the cake — why would you want advice from a woman with those eyes? A friend just said she looks like a cultist, but I’m thinking about the unblinking eyes of Steve Forbes.
Bottom line — I’m thinking State Farm has made a mistake here. I have absolutely no desire to click through on this ad.
I’ve been struggling off and on for the past few weeks with a leaky faucet. I’ve been really been busy doing other things – so I haven’t really dedicated all that much time to the effort.
However, I’m currently trying to get the handles off of the base and they’re wedged on extremely tight. I’ll keep plugging away at it, but home repair apparently isn’t my forte.
My luck at games of chance is pretty lousy. I guess given the odds that a lot of people have the same luck. Saturday, however, was my lucky day.
I was at the rally in support of U.S. troops in South Range this afternoon. I was primarily interested in seeing how the turnout was (last year’s event was pretty awesome). That, and there would be a pig roast afterwards. (I am after all, not someone who turns down a good meal.)
So while I’m waiting for my friends and dinner to be served, I put my $5 in the raffle for 6 tickets. Dinner is good (potato wedges with ranch seasoning rock). After a while we jet to the movies (but not before Erin and Garrett do an a cappella organ solo).
My friends and I are about to go see a movie (Eternal Sunshine, again). Just as we’re about to go into the theater, I get a phone call. I won the 50-50 raffle with my share totaling $144.
While I’m enjoying the thrill of winning, the gentleman who told me the news asks if I want to give it to the troops. What could I do? I don’t want to be selfish (and be seen as selfish), but I’d like to have a few of those dollars. Plus supporting the troops was the reason for the event after all.
Ultimately, I give $100 back and opt to keep about $44. I hope that I’m not being greedy in wanting to keep some of the money.
Edit: Needed to remove weird text-wrapping from e-mailed post.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I was bemoaning my dramatic drop in Google rankings? I suppose it’s worth noting that I’m back on page 1 in a recent update (instead of page 8 or whatever).
Now, I’m right behind Gimpysoft for the top spot. I guess it was much ado about nothing, but it’s nice to be back.
Notes: Blogger.com got an overhaul thanks to Google. I actually found out about it on National Public Radio. The new interface and commenting function is pretty neat. I also like how the profiles include statistics about the posts.
This, by the way, is my first post using the new blog-by-email function.
The “Friends” finale is airing right now on WLUC-TV 6. About 20 minutes in — it’s funny, but it’s not really knocking my socks off. However, the kicker was pretty good. Ross and Rachel are having a tete-a-tete after a night of romance.
Ross cracks wise about a co-worker who gave him an advice book as a joke that — ahem — helped him out in his time of need. “Who’s laughing now?” he asks.
America, Ross. America.
Hopefully you’ve noticed the addition of headlines from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. It’s my pleasure to present the latest coverage from CBC reporters on my Web site. Click on a headline and the story will open in a new browser window.
Given the tremendous impact the United States has on the rest of the world, it’s refreshing to look at news outlets from the around the world (including the CBC and British Broadcasting Corp.) for information from a different perspective.
Comments? Questions? Drop me a message: send a message to “headlines” at my domain name — rtomedia.com.
There’s a lot afoot at work — we’ve got two new editors at work (Nancy and Mary Ann). Things are going to be hectic as everyone gets up to speed.
I produced my first news section Friday. That was a challenging 9 hours of work, but we made it through alright.
I have the morning off and I’m taking advantage of my time by listening to the final broadcast of Morning Edition featuring Bob Edwards. For the most part it’s business as usual — news updates on Fallujah and a feature on desegregation.
Then after the sports guy talks about the NBA playoffs it gets a little weird — the guy (John Feinstein) breaks format and thanks Bob for everything over the past 15 years at the end of the segment. This sort of thing pops up about 4 more times throughout the program.
It’s a rare moment where the “wall” is broken and a program and longtime host addresses itself. The moments (especially from the commentators) sound heartfelt by and large. Unfortunately, the last segment from Susan Stamberg referring to the tribute on the NPR Web site seems tacked on.
The whole situation just adds to my memories about when I first heard Bob. I didn’t appreciate Bob when I first heard him. It was 1993 and I was in the ninth grade in Roswell, Ga. My first exposure to NPR was going to an early morning student council meeting.
I carpooled to school with a friend on those mornings. The mornings when her father drove, the car radio was tuned to public radio. I remember hearing Bob Edwards’s rumbling voice through the car speakers. The news wasn’t that big of deal to me back then and I thought it was more than a little dry.
Years later, I’m working at my first job in San Diego in 1995. I spin through the dial trying to find something to keep me sane and awake. My fingers land on KPBS after I hear Edwards’ voice as he conducts an interview. Edwards’ presentation of the news and detailed stories helped keep me focused and calm through a lot of morning commutes.
Ultimately, Bob Edwards has been the voice of calm and reason cutting through the static of increasingly bland and inane radio that’s been done in through creeping consolidation and a drive to the lowest common denominator. During the most chaotic of times, NPR and Edwards provided thorough information with a personal touch.
Of course, National Public Radio’s conduct throughout this entire affair has been largely lackluster — putting a man out to pasture 6 month before a landmark anniversary without announcing a good reason is poor form. The network belatedly pays its respects to Edwards’ career with Bob Edwards: 30 Years on NPR. My best wishes go with Bob as he moves into a new role as senior correspondent.
Followup: I was wrong thinking that no one finding anything wrong with Nightline’s tribute running the names of U.S. soldiers KIA in Iraq tonight. The Poynter Institute has an interview with Nightline anchor Ted Koppel about the broadcast and some of the fire directed at the show by talk shows and columnists.
Saying the program isn’t in the “public interest,” Sinclair Broadcasting is refusing to air the program on its 8 ABC network affiliates.
I know it’s really easy to make any thing under the sun political, but the conservatives are making far too much of what really is a simple tribute that requires no journalistic digging whatsoever. It might be that war supporters are opposed to anything that will “undermine” the war effort.
On the other hand, I haven’t seen anything noting the coincidence that the program will end on May 1 — the anniversary of President Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” photo op. Given that, I think the timing of the program could be suspect beyond the fact the program airs during TV’s May sweeps.
When it’s all said and done, what Nightline is airing is a simple tribute that’ll probably tug at a few heartstrings. It’s a far cry from a in-depth report probing the U.S. government’s conduct into the Iraq conflict and the reconstruction since Bush boarded the USS Abraham Lincoln just as it was within sight of San Diego.
