So, I know I should go to sleep, but I am puttering around the internet wondering what the hell is up with all this shit.

First up, I don't think that the page rank system that google uses is really terrible. I just think that you should be able to do things like get the results in reverse order, or at random, or like flashcards. I also think that link ranking should somehow be based on the rank of what you link to, so that you could get search results that would run from links to respected to links to disrespect and then everywhere inbetween. This is clearly oversimplification, but I think that the real method of improving the problems with google is not taking away functionality or using subpar rating systems, but rather to develop new rating systems that take into account the fact that people really use this stuff.

Second up, I can add your del.icio.us links to the side bar... Anybody in?

Third, while googling my name, I discovered a strange thing, and that was my address came up with the second hit. This concerning fact was pointed out to me by Eli earlier tonight, and it makes me wonder what I can do about it. It also made me wonder who this person in first was, who is linking to them, and why they rate. I chalk it up to the fact that I have been using a pseudonym almost since the beginning of my service on the internet.

Fourth, slightly further down the search results, I found this disconcerting little album review which I wrote near the beginning of my romance with the internet.

notice the following...

I have found that this music works best around middle-aged women, and people who just need to relax.

and later on...

Great Music to Play While: Romancing

uhhh, wtf?!?!?

Be sure to check out my other reviews on that site for a look into the life of an idiot 16 year old. The one regarding mission impossible 2 is possibly a high mark in the world of action movie criticism.

Corporate Lesson #2:
A priest was driving along and saw a nun on the on the
side of the road. He stopped and offered her a lift,
which she accepted. She got in and crossed her legs,
forcing her gown to open and reveal a lovely leg. The
priest had a look and nearly had an accident.

After regaining control of the car, he stealthily slid
his hand up her leg. The nun looked at him and
immediately said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The
priest was flustered and apologized profusely. He
forced himself to remove his hand. Changing gear, he
let his hand slide up her leg again.

The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?"
Once again, the priest apologized. "Sorry, Sister,
but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the
nun got out gave him a meaningful glance and went on
her way.

Upon his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to
retrieve a bible and looked up Psalm 129. It Said "Go
forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in
your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Link The "Hole-in-the-wall" home
Link
PBS Reportage

Here's the idea behind this computer device via PBS:

Mitra has some provocative ideas on the connection between learning and poverty. "Poverty has two different definitions," he tells me. "Poverty of information is one kind of poverty; poverty of materials is another kind of poverty. The same method may not apply to solve the two problems."

Mitra observes that the developed world has spent billions of dollars over decades trying to solve the problem of "material poverty" with little success. He speculates that if the problem of "information poverty" is addressed instead -- by providing poor people with access to information they need and can use -- then the poor "might just figure out how to solve the problem of material poverty by themselves."

Here's how the idea got turned into a computer kiosk:

Like many great ideas, Mitra's was essentially simple. He cut a hole in the boundary wall separating NIIT from the adjacent slum, put a high-speed computer connected to the Internet in the hole, and turned it on.

I'm intrigued by the physical metaphor of a window, in reality a rear window into a tech company, for people who have not had opportunities to be involved in India's ongoing tech boom. I hope it works as planned but I have a feeling that setting someone loose on the internet without guidance is like dumping a lifeboat in the ocean without a compass. I think I'll write about this more after I think on it for a little while.

[verse 1] G Am Am G last night I had some yellow birthday cake, it was protected by a friend until it got ate. I am on a plan to gain some weight by the end of minute or at least eight. Dm E Am please tell me, mister what you got there. can you spare a change to spare. hey there, buddy, what choo selling, break some off and make a killing. [chorus] Dm Em (Dm transposed 3) E A7 find your self another pathway... this ones been taken for a walk. find your self another hallmark... this ones been taken around the block. [verse 2] let the record spin out and play, I doubt they were listening anyway. speakerboxes on the sidewalks, remaindered visions from somebody elses thoughs. say is that ok, the rip off? I will keep my voice low, so nobody hears... [chorus] [bridge... aka verse with retared ass solo] [chorus to fade out.]

In early january upon my return from Italy I was invited to partake in a seminar on my friend's island, located on the Potomac River opposite of Old Angler's Inn. I spent a solid three day weekend there discussing how to preserve an individual philosophy in a world of perverse intrusiveness. The head of the seminar, Ed Binns, was an educated man who started this group of Urban Coyotes, as he likes to call them, so that we would be encouraged to consider this damn important question.

It just so happens that I am pretty stubborn in my religious beliefs and he just as stubborn in his areligoius beliefs, so arguing with him was lots of fun. It seems, ironically, that taking a break from society brings you only closer to your fellow man. Anyhow I won't bore you kiddies with my old geezer stories (and by kiddies I mean Jonathan Brodsky), but I will be posting a few 'corporate parables' which Ed shared with us.

Corporate Lesson #1:
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is
finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings.
After a few seconds of arguing over which one should
go and answer the doorbell, the wife gives up, quickly
wraps herself up in a towel, and runs downstairs.
When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the
next-door neighbor. Before she could say a word, Bob
says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel that you
have on." After thinking for a moment, the woman
drops her towel and stands totally naked in front of
Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her 800 dollars
and leaves.

Confused, but excited about her good fortune, the
woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back
upstairs. When she gets back to the bathroom, her
husband asks from the shower, "Who was that?? "It was
Bob the next door neighbor," she replies.

"Great!" the husband says, "Did he give you the $800
he borrowed from me?"

Moral of the story: If you share critical information
pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders
in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable
exposure.