Intellectual Poison

Techdirt: Junk-Mail Firm Straps GPS Devices To People Handing Out Pamphlets. The idea is that the company will be able to track pretty much every step their worker-bees take in the course of their day.

And, as you might expect, the worker-bees absolutely freaking hate it. Their morale drops through the floor, they feel like Big Brother is sitting on their shoulder.

While this may have seemed like a good idea in the boardroom, implementing it in reality means that people will feel like cattle and be completely disinclined to work for you at all.

Tags: GPS tracking, bad idea, people are not cattle, Big Brother

Today's new word is inspired by the near never-ending drivel spewing forth from Tony Snow's fetid maw. And so today's new word is....

Slimformation - passing on just enough information to get by but not really enough to know anything of value.

And also,

Mislimformation - passing on just enough bad information to be plausibly deniable. They've stopped even trying to do this since they are just out and out lying (see Tony Snow's recent lies about George Bush never having said we should "Stay the course" in Iraq despite the literally hundreds of instances it can be found online).

I suppose there might also be a version called slimeformation but that gets a little hard to parse.

As always, all the new words of the day can be found at the IP Fictionarium.

Tags: slimformation, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD

I cannot tell a lie, I absolutely love Krinkle Cut Potato Chips and most especially the Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper chips.

They are spicy but not too spicy, salty but not too salty and they have a superb texture that makes full bags become empty with rather surprising speed.

And no, I was not and will not be compensated for this post. Although I do have a pal who's a distributor and occasionally kicks down a cool shirt or a free bag. But I haven't seen him in several months.

I just like the chips. Alot!

Tags: Kettle Chips, delicious, non-compensated review

There's never a shortage of bad news to report on but maybe its sensible to try and balance out the bad with some good?

In WTF? News, a Richmond mother is in jail (and should rot there) for torturing her 8 year old boy to death. The investigators said that they had never seen something as horrible as what she'd done to her own child. The abuse had been occuring for a very, very long time and raises serious questions about anyone who knew the child and why they did not notify authorities. It makes me deeply, deeply sad to think about what a horrible life that little boy had and that his mother deserves nothing but a dark hole to rot out the rest of her life in.

Also in WTF? News, a San Francisco cop has been arrested in Cambodia for sexual assault on a minor. Somehow he has committed what is being called suicide while in his prison cell by shooting himself not once but twice in the mouth. Which makes me wonder just how in the hell someone shoots themselves twice in the mouth. Methinks I smell a rat. Not that he's any great loss, he went traveling to have sex with children.

In Alabama, a brother got revenge on his brother after an argument about a girl by, this is where it gets freakin' insane, raping his mother. The mother was passed out on the couch and came to while her son was raping her. I'm sure he will enjoy prison.

In good news, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe are getting divorced. Why is this good? Because Reese is a stunningly beautiful and seemingly down-to-earth lady with alot of class. Ryan has always struck me as a pretentious dinkwad. And yes, that does get really shallow but I've always had a thing for Reese and am much happier now that she's "available" again, even if there was little to no chance no matter what and I'm happily married with two kids of my own.

In other good news, the Patriots stomping of the Vikings last night secured my first win in the football this season. And that means I swept the football for the weekend, both fantasy teams won and I took home the prize money from the pool and that totally kicks ass!

I also carved one helluva cool pumpkin last night, check it out in my Flickr window up on right. Hell yeah, that was me!

Oh yes, I almost forgot, another Good News bit, the most annoying talentless jackass in American, Kevin Federline, is about to have his New York show cancelled due to an utter lack of interest. But at least he's got his WWE (or whatever its called this week) player hater status to fall back on. He's becoming a regular on the show and yes, the crowd thoroughly hates his scrawny dumbass.

Tags: good news, bad news, WTF?, sin

If You Can’t Tell Whether Something Is An Ad, That’s Deception

Tags: advertising, deception, bad play

Cheney: Iraq Violence Linked to Election and that it is his opinion that the stepped up attacks are the result of the terrorists trying to influence the elections. Just like Chicken Little bleating about the sky falling.

This is the same Cheney Little who proclaimed the resistance to be in its last throes 17 months ago. And yet, this October has seen more than a hundred US deaths (they don't publicly report the incredibly scary numbers of Iraqi civilians deaths but figure its probably close to 100 times the US casualty rate, maybe 200).

The between-the-lines commentary is that voting Democrat will immediately empower the terrorists to attack the US more boldly and with more deadly results. Because you know, its only fat, white Republican kid-touchers who can properly defend America from those durned turrists.

Fear is a bad leadership technique, Dicky-boy. And it makes you look like an idiot when your proclamations are demonstrably false. Your beliefs are abhorrent and you are a miserable excuse for a leader.

Also, I just saw a bit in the news that Bush says the Democrats don't have a plan for Iraq, which is ironic because he's the asshat who attacked the country without the first consideration for an exit plan and the invasion was based on demonstrable falsehoods. They are grasping at straws, propping those straws up and then blowing them and saying "Look how tough we are". Do not buy their limp rhetoric, do not buy into their culture of fear, do not buy into the Republican spin-machine.

The Republican party is the party of greed, pedophilia and covering their own asses while stuffing their pockets full of yours and my money. I hear some people saying the Democrats are no better than the Republicans and that may be true. But here's the thing, one poison snake is currently injecting its poison into all aspects of our lives and one potentially poison snake is not. Why would you continue to support the party that is actively dismantling your rights and freedoms?

Tags: fear machine, Cheney Little, spin, Iraq, Bush, Republican, greed

Rockstar's New 'Hot Coffee'? Boy on Boy 'Bully' Smooches. Rockstar knows how to stir up controversy, that's for sure. With the new game, Bully, they've incorporated the ability for your male character to approach and make out with other boys. Its not hidden in the game, its not secret at all.

I bet this has Jack Thompson crapping himself with fury.

But the game itself has zero interest for me. I just don't really have any desire to try and play it, regardless of hot boy on boy action.

Tags: Rockstar, Bully, videogame, Hot Coffee, controversy

We made our annual trip out to the pumpkin patch north of Santa Cruz yesterday afternoon. I knew this one was going to be alot of fun because Grady is as mobile as can be and he was off and running from the moment he got down out of the car.

He pulled the wagons, played duck, duck, goose with the pumpkins, crawled into a hay cave and really just had a ball. Sully wasn't as into it but that's to be expected since he's a wee sprite still. But we all had a great time really. And we got six pumpkins to carve up, two big'uns, three mediums and one small.

Tonight there shall be pumpkin carnage a'plenty! I'm still not decided on what designs I'll go with, perhaps I'll do a search and see what kind of fabulousness I can find online and work from there.

What are you carving your pumpkins to be this year?

Oh yeah, the photo with this post was done in-camera with the Color Accent feature that lets you choose a single color and the rest are greyed out. It makes for a very cool effect, I think.

The stream of news from my old company, which I have dubbed EgoCo for brevity and accuracy, continues to amaze, astound and stun. The fake name is, of course, to keep my ass out of trouble by not naming the real company or its officers because the biatch in charge over there would certainly try to go after me if she could.

And EgoCo fits quite nicely since the company is run not by a business plan but by the egocentric whims of the idiot in charge. Who's deathgrip on the reins of control is reminiscent of a pilot who can't let go of the stick even while the ground is approaching at 500 miles per hour and the co-pilot might be able to actually do something to save the plane.

Anyway, the news is coming fast and in most delectable fashion for an embittered ex-worker such as myself. From the failed conference effort to more recent insanity from the "executive" leadership.

First up, let's discuss the recently failed and incredibly lately canceled conference. Citing "communications issues" they dumped the conference the week that it was supposed to begin. The reality? The attendees signed up for the show were nearly all comps, that is, they were giveaways that brought in zero cash. And there were a little over a third of the number that they were shooting for. The problem with comp passes is that you can pretty well plan on half of those not showing up because they have no stake in the event. And a conference where the staff and speakers outnumber the attendees looks, well, stupid. Maybe not as stupid as canceling the event the week its supposed to start but pretty stupid and lame.

The problem with such a late cancellation is that the rooms blocked out at the hotel where the event was to be held have to be paid for and there are a whole bunch of other non-refundables involved. Not to mention speaker travel costs that have to reimbursed and the tremendous loss of credibility it incurs as well. Can you see my grin? All told, EgoCo dropped a crapload of money for no payback and the loss of an awful lot of their credibility.

Another story in the mix is that EgoCo's boss didn't want to pay one of the speakers back for some non-refundable travel expenses. And it wasn't very much money really (think less than $200), in the end the speaker got paid back but EgoCo lost any chance of EVER doing business with his company ever again. Nice, eh? Add them to a growing list of company's that have been shined by EgoCo.

Well, that stretched this out a bit more than I expected. I think, in the interest of not completely overwhelming readers, that I'll cut this one off here and start working on the next ridiculousness from EgoCo. Because it does get better and weirder and that's what they call a teaser!

Tags: EgoCo, failure, Schadenfreude, lost money

Africa’s World of Forced Labor, in a 6-Year-Old’s Eyes. I knew this was going to be painful to read and to have the forced realization of something I think we all know is happening. People all over the world are exploiting and forcing children to work in horrible conditions, with brutal masters and swift punishment for the slightest transgression.

This will ruin your day and there's just about nothing that can be done to completely stop it. The sole silver lining is that many African nations have adopted laws to start to curb the massive trade in children for forced labor. And there are more and more prosecutions for trafficking in children but I don't see how it could ever be enough if even a single child lives their life in what is basically slavery without even the chance at any kind of childhood.

Reading this article makes me feel sick to my stomach. And it makes me want to hold and hug my children as tightly as I possibly can.

I've probably already written about it here but am too lazy to go back and check.

The movie Undercover Brother is absolutely freaking hilarious and classic and I think I want a copy on DVD.

Even if Denise Richards is a skeezer who was Heather Locklear's pal just to get close to her husband so she could scoop on in when they broke up. Damn she makes a fine White She-Devil though! Damned fine!

And Doogie Howser is flipping perfect! The movie is money all the way through.

Tags: movie, Undercover Brother, classic, funny

SFGate: Daily Dish : Richie Checks Into Treatment Center to see why she can't gain any weight. It should be pretty simple really. You need to put food in your mouth, chew it, swallow it and keep it in your stomach until your body can digest it and make use of the calories to rebuild damaged tissue, cells and provide energy.

But no, she thinks she has a rare blood disorder that's keeping her from putting on weight. Since when did a madass coke habit qualify as a blood disorder?

Tags: anorexia, Nicole Richie, attention, starvation, bag of bones

I've got an old returned favorite food fetish that I felt like sharing.

Taqueria's sometimes have these scary vats of jalapenos with onions and carrots soaking in the juices as well. The best ones add a liberal dose of lime to the mix to punch it up just a bit more.

The jalapenos are too much for me and give me nasty heartburn. Nope, I'm a monster fan of the carrots. They take on enough flavor to let you know you're eating hot food but the lime and the spices are also incredibly flavorful and delicious. I feel a little guilty about picking through the tubs and taking just the carrots but I'd be wasting anything else if I took them too.

The ones I had today were about the spiciest I've ever had but I still couldn't help myself from chowing the whole thing.

So there's my latest return food fetish. What quirky food is lighting your fires these days?

I also dig on Tim's Wasabi potato chips and chicken nuggets with lots of Frank's Red Hot sauce on top too!

Tags: food fetish, jalapenos, carrots, spicy

And with that, the Cardinals are the World Baseball Champs!

Congratulations, Redbirds. Either team deserved the win but I'm pretty happy with the end result. It was a decent series.

The interesting thing about the end of the baseball season is that now Barry Bonds can file for free agency. It will be interesting to see what kind of interest he gets on the open market. There was some speculation that he may be frozen out as a means of keeping him from breaking the all-time home run record. But I don't see it happening. I do see his ego preventing him from accepting a reasonable deal that would pay him for production and not just for showing up. But he's already stated he won't sign an incentives-laden contract. So who knows where he goes.

I am kind of bummed that the baseball is over. It is definitely my favorite pro sport but hockey's not too bad of a substitute. The only problem is that basketball becomes far too prevalent for me because I just can't stand the game, nor do I have any interest in wanting to like it.
Tags: Cardinals, World Champs, winner, baseball

Some oldy and moldy Cheddar X to get to.

1. Where do you see your age?
This may sound strange but I see it just in front of my ears, there's a line that isn't a wrinkle but it also didn't used to be there.

2. Where do you feel your age?
In my hips sometimes. I've got genetically bad hips and they sometimes cramp. The worst is when they cramp when I'm riding my motorcycle, there's almost nothing that can be done to alleviate the pain except stopping and stretching. Which looks really stupid on the side of the highway.

3. Where do you hear your age?
Mostly in my ankles and knees, they pop and creak and groan when I run up the stairs.

4. Where do you smell your age?
When I catch a whiff of something that reminds me of Baltimore, like crabs slathered in Old Bay or that strange combination of spice scents from the McCormick factory down near the harbor.

5. What is your most vivid memory of childhood?
Playing Kiss Tag in the field next to my house with my neighbor and a girl I had a massive crush on when we were 8 or 9. I can still remember her pinning me and planting a big wet kiss on my lips. I was both excited and repulsed (wet kisses are kind of alien to a 9 nine year old, ya know?)

6. What was 'old' when you were a little kid?
I think 20 was about as high as I thought age could go.

7. Does that seem so old now?
Um no, 20 year olds are just kids.

That wasn't so bad! Want some cheese? Get to it and get yer own. But please swing on back through and leave a comment on the Cheddar X so others can read your post.

Tags: Cheddar X, questions, answers, aging

Matt Haughey, of MetaFilter fame, has an excellent idea to demonstrate the deep dislike for non-disclosed pay for coverage blogging. Add payperpost.com to your competitive ads filter in Google AdSense. That way they cannot display their ads on your blogs.

Nice!

Note, Payperpost is a system by which bloggers write reviews of products that are listed on the payperpost site and are compensated for doing so (supposedly). The main issue with this type of payola is that Payperpost doesn't require any sort of disclosure that the blogger is being compensated for their "opinion". And that makes it shady and thoroughly uncool, in my book. Other opinions vary from whatever to outrage to cool with it (my gut tells me that newer bloggers are more okay with this concept than longer time bloggers like myself).

TechCrunch does a pretty decent job of breaking it down.

Tags: payperpost, Google, AdSense, disclosure

Rumsfeld Agrees Terrorists Are Saying ‘We’ve Got an Election in Two Weeks in America…We Want to Change Horses Over There’ which is to say, the GOP is revving up the FUD machine to try and cow the populance into leaving them in power to bugger the works for another few years.

Why would the terrorists want a paradigm shift? Because they're tired of dealing with morons. Why would the Republicans fear a change? Because the current run of indictments will look like a drop in the bucket.

Keep grasping at your Fear Straws, GOP. It makes you look worse than you already do. And that's an accomplishment.

And Rummy also has said to back off and give him space to screw it up some more, there is no timetable, despite calls for one and despite Bush's admission that they are working on one. Nice to know the lines of communication are completely shutdown in our government. Maybe Rummy should use one of those internet tubes to get himself a clue, possibly from The Google.

Tags: Rumsfeld, fear, failure, Republican

With last night's win, the Cards inch closer to a Worl Series victory and SmudgeGate loses steam since its kind of rude to investigate the losing team. Don't count out the Tigers yet though because Justin Verlander is the real deal and throws some serious gas. But you know what they say about super hard throwing pitchers, it is, in some ways, easier to take them deep because they put so much more energy into the ball, its just a question of reversing its direction.

Its not over but its winding down.

And Bruce Bochy has agreed to become the SF Giants next manager. I'm not sure how I feel about that. He's a decent coach, for sure, but is he the right manager for the Giants. And the trickle down is that it likely means Barry Bonds will come back for one more year with the Giants. I hope they can sign Barry to an incentive-laden contract and jnot just a monster paycheck contract. Produce to earn, Barry, that'll win you some hearts and minds. Otherwise you'll come off like an aging greedhead with bad knees who's not an asset in the field anymore.

Also, check out this article at Slate about the physics of cheat balls. Its quite interesting to hear some player perspectives. Pine tar isn't seen as such an egregious cheat as vaseline or suntan lotion.

Tags: baseball, smudgegate, Cardinals, Tigers, Bruce Bochy, Giants

First Check Drink Check detects GHB and Ketamine in your cocktails. Just rub a couple of drops on the card and, if it turns dark blue then get the hell out of there, fast.

Its depressing that there exists a need for products like this.

But, on the other hand, its nice to know that there are some defenses against unscrupulous assholes who drug people to have sex with them. I wonder if these are admissable in court?

Tags: date rape, GHB, ketamine, drug test

Cheney confirms waterboarding and calls it a "no brainer". Which is to say, the Vice President of the United States is condoning the torture of POWs in direct conflict with every moral and ethical belief that our nation was founded upon.

Dick Cheney is an evil, vile disgusting excuse for a human being.

Torture is wrong. Torture is what the enemy does. For our "leaders" to condone it so publicly is shameful and he should be pilloried for it.

The American people need to send a crystal clear message that this is not a subject for debate, that we will not stand for the continued moral decay of our nation because these fools cannot do the job ethically.

Torture is Un-American. Condoning torture is Un-American and despicable.

Tags: torture, UnAmerican, Dick Cheney

Fried Coke a big hit at US state fairs. Yes, fried Coke.

This must have been a joke that someone took seriously. And then it won a prize for most creative food in the Texas state fair (you knew it was happening in the South, didn't you?).

Sorry, this is nasty. File it away with the deep fried Snickers bars and Twinkies.

What is the American fascination with deep frying everything? Maybe its the same fascination with SUVs and XXXXL jeans?

By the way, I successfully denied myself a trip to fast food yesterday. I had a short lunch and needed something and nearly went through the Wendy's drive through because I've been craving a burger. But I didn't, I ended up going to Safeway and getting a bowl of their chili, which was excellent. Not sure if it was better for me but I'm guessing it was. I'm now coming up on three months without any fast food of any kind and yeah, I'm kind of proud of that. (Yes, e, this is where you chime in and say its been 27 months or however long!).

Tags: deep fried, Coke, fried, Twinkies

Yes folks, its the Egg Cuber because only squares eat round eggs. Or something to that effect. Unfortunately, the Egg Cuber doesn't really make cubed eggs, it makes cubish eggs which look more like marshmallows than cubes. But its still pretty funny and marginally cool in a goofy sort of way.

I can actually think of several things I need in the kitchen before this one gets to the top of the list. A muddler is number one, gotta be able to make a quality mojito and making do with fake muddlers just doesn't really cut it.

Tags: egg cuber, eggs, gadget, kitchen, muddler

If an ad is memorable but still has no chance of getting me to purchase the product then would it still be considered a success?

I speak, of course, about the Lite Beer Man Law ads (YouTube) featuring Burt Reynolds, Jerome Bettis, some roided up wrestler guy and a bunch of other "stars" all sitting around a table debating various aspects of beer and beer culture. And then they decide on Man Laws as a result.

The problem? Lite beer is about as tasty as cold piss with bubbles. They could give it away and I'd still not drink the crap water.

But the commercials are funny and memorable, if more than a little condescending. I mean, do I really need Burt Reynolds and his sentient toupee telling me what I can and cannot do with my beer? I don't think so.

While I like the commercials, they fail because the product they are hawking is utterly outside the realm of possibility of my ever consuming intentionally. If they are shooting for brand awareness then the commercial is a success but brand awareness doesn't mean squat when it comes time to select some beers to drink. I'll stick with beer that actually tastes good, thanks.

Tags: badvertising, Man Rules, Lite Beer, Burt Reynolds, failure

I heard about the lamest white boy of all time showing up on the lamest fake sport of all time and supposedly getting slammed. Its fake, just like K-Fed and professional wrestling. But its a nice sentiment to think about the scrawny wanker getting manhandled.

Anyway, its not especially good but here's the YouTube - K-Fed Slam. I feel stupider for having watched a couple of minutes of it.

If only it were real. Actually, if only we didn't leave in a universe populated by such pathetic posers. Where idiots like Paris Hilton are useless wastes of space, K-Fed is in a class all by himself. He's annoying in ways that are really beyond comprehension. Has the fool done anything aside from screw The Brit (queen of easy cheese and cheetos and baby seats are for mortals)? I don't think so nor do I really care enough to find out anymore.

That a fool like K-Fed doesn't have to do anything at all and has more money than he'll ever be able to spend on hookers and blow is really just absolutely wrong. I do hope and expect that he'll punch out of this life in a really incredibly stupid way, like dropping a boombox into the hot tub he's floating in or maybe choking on a dorito.

Tags: wrestling, K-Fed, YouTube, slam

Limbaugh Accuses Fox of Acting in Ad and faking his Parkinson's disease for policial gain.

Which is, to say, Rush Limbaugh has not a single ethical cell in his entire rancid body. To say someone with a well known and well documented disease does not have it is shameful at best.

Especially given Rush's history with illegal pain medication. I'm sure his "dittoheads" all just keep nodding in time with his false proclamations, just like they always do. But this serves as yet another reason why GOP bitches like Rush and O'Reilly have no credibility outside their brainwashed listeners.

Or like Bill Frist declaring Terri Schiavo as being "alive" by examining a short ten minute clip of her laying in a hospital bed. At least Frist used to be a doctor at some point, before he became a walkin, talking joke.

If you listen to Rush Limbaugh then you are a fucking idiot. And if you agree with him then you're worse, you've handed over your decision making ability to a jackass who will say and do anything to keep his audience nodding along with him. You are sheep and you have been fleeced.

Rogers has Cards in hand / Smudge raises questions; lefty extends streak. I'm sure the Cards fans are ready to draw and quarter Kenny Rogers for what looked like pine tar on his palm in the first inning against the Cardinals the other day in Game Two of the World Series with the Tigers.

And, to be sure, I can fully understand their sentiment. Cheating in the World Series is among the worst offenses a player can commit within the confines of the sport. Look how strongly fans feel about performance enhancing drugs in the sport. Look how much of a hit Sammy Sosa's legacy took when he got caught using a corked bat (dumbass!) or when Rafael Palmiero tested positive for steroids after he swore up and down to the congressional committee that he was clean.

No matter the outcome, the Series is tainted now. But let's look at the game from a few more steps back. Rogers pitched 8 innings of 3 hit ball. Even if he did have pine tar on his hand in the first inning, it was gone by the second and he pretty well absolutely dominated the Cards. That doesn't dismiss the allegations of cheating but it should diminish them considerably. The smudge was there in the first and gone by the second and he rolled right through the Cards.

Now, it is possible that there was a pyschological effect of thinking Rogers was cheating and it may have helped him dominate the Cards. But that's neither here nor there. The reality is that the umpires should have swiftly stepped in to quell any allegations or to find out if Rogers was, in fact, cheating by using pine tar to add some extra bite to his curve ball. They didn't, Rogers kept going and the Cards ended up going down 3-1 to even the series.

Another thought I just had. Wasn't Bud Selig or some of the other high ranking MLB officials at the game? Why didn't they immediately call an investigation into the matter? Why not recover some of the balls Rogers pitched and see what they looked like? The inaction looks bad, smears the Series and further drags baseball into the cheating sports gutter. And that sucks.

Tags: baseball, smudge, smudgegate, cheating

Techdirt: 'No Harm No Foul' Becoming The Norm In Data Breach Lawsuits

When it becomes incumbent upon the victim to prove his financial loss and not upon the keeper of information to protect user's data from illegal disclosure and loss, then we are facing a very serious threat to our ability to seek compensation for wrongs committed with our information.

Having to prove that leaked data was used in a malicious fashion means that businesses can continue to be negligent about their security practices with little fear. Victims of identity theft have a helluva lot more important things to do, like trying to put their lives back together, than to sit in court and argue semantics of obsolete laws.

If a company contains personal information about me and they do not do everything in their power to secure that information from dissemination then that company should be held liable for negligence. Not doing so opens the door to widespread abuse.

Putting the burden of proof on the victim is wrong and unnecessary. Intent and negligence exist before damage occurs. Just because someone swerves to avoid you while driving drunk doesn't make them any less negligent or drunk.

Tags: security, data, slippery slope, lawsuit

This was more of the fun from Saturday when Grady found the tomato cages and thought they were a great toy. He looks like he's praying and stayed like this for about a minute. The video of him standing up in this and turning around and around is pretty funny too.

That kid is just an incredibly funny and inquisitive little guy, It was great fun to watch him work through how to get in and out of the cage. Great and amazing really. He's growing up so quickly that sometimes I just want to hold him and keep him just the way he is right now.

The Official Reality Dot Appreciation Page lets you play mind games with yourself. Check it out and see how quickly the dots disappear or how quickly you start seeing the green dot when there is no green dot.

I love stuff like this!

Tags: illusion, pink dots, green dots, persistence

The goverment has launched YoungFeds.org, a MySpace clone that I think should be called FedSpace. Since, come on now, you think MySpace is gonna sue them over a copyright infringement?

FedSpace will do about as well as the Wal-Mart clone, that is. Its already dead, nobody's told the family yet.

Tags: MySpace, FedSpace, clone,

Techdirt: Takedown Notice Process Working For YouTube and YouTube has been making good on removing copyrighted material from their site.

Funny thing though. I wanted to see the recent smackdown of Rich Franklin, the then-reigning middleweight champ of the UFC, by Anderson Silva. I checked YouTube and the one link to the fight had been removed due to copyright issues. And, as a lark, I thought I'd try Google's Video service. Sure enough, there it was and I got to see it happen.

Lots of muay thai knees to the body just took all the fight out of Franklin and he was pretty much a ragdoll by the end of the fight. And, upon further searching, I saw him do the exact same thing to another fighter before pounding him into jelly.

You'd think that Google Video would have blocked the UFC content as well. But not yet. Funny that.

NFL kickers, underdogs have their day. Let's see, a 62-yard field goal to beat the Eagles, a last minute field goal to beat the Chargers, a previously beaten-down team upsetting another pretty crappy team.

I have no shame in telling you that my football pickem is probably my worst one ever this week. But that's alright, I can't imagine any of the other players having any better weeks.

And I thoroughly trounced one team in my fantasy league thanks to Peyton Manning playing like he has in the past.

And the Sharks lost to the Wild which means the Wild are definitely one of the elite teams in the NHL.

And Kenny Rogers continued his dream post season with another convincing outing against the Cards last night. I thought that old dog's tank was bone dry but he's showing that he's got the stones to get it done. I still think the Cards are gonna win it all but the Tigers aren't going quietly, nosirreebob. And that's exactly how I'd want it to go. I hate sweeps in the World Series or otherwise lopsided victories. I like the gritty battles that let you see just who wants it more.

I am also looking forward to what the Giants do in the offseason. I hope they work hard to get alot younger!