The Internet is cutting into TV viewing and socializing. Really, you don’t say?
SixApart to buy LiveJournal?
Obviously this is all in the rumor mill right now, but the rumor is that SixApart, the company that makes MovableType (the software that powers this site), is looking to buy out LiveJournal. Jeff asks some good questions like what it means for TypePad, the LiveJournal open source code, etc… . ? Matt thinks SixApart is going after LJ for its engineers, but the revenue certainly wouldn’t hurt. Danah brings up some good points about the cultural divide between MT and LJ users. Heck, I’ve even mentioned some local users before.
Obviously this is all rumor, but do take into account what happened last time SixApart bought a blog hosting service.
Links via everywhere, but mostly MovableBlog Asides.
Update on 1/6: It’s official.
You Knew It Was Going To Happen
Someone in a position to warn a crap load of people about their impending Tsunami doom tried his best, but he couldn’t reach anyone.
On a related note, the “official” death toll stands at 158,018 (though the number could potentially grow once they get to some other areas).
Access to GuruNet is Now Free
If you do any sort of research at all online, this is a happy day for you.
GuruNet, the very useful and formerly subscription-based ready-reference web database and client app, full of fast facts and other information from over 100 reference sources, has launched a new site: Answers.com and is now available for free.
That’s right, the complete database, is now accessible via a web interface or a “1-click” client app (Windows or Mac), is available at no charge. Here’s a directory of the sources available from Answers.com.
This is an incredible resources for researchers, so be sure to book mark it.
Oddball Taxidermy
Be sure to check out the photo gallery here.
MART– the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists — is a veritable rout dedicated to a shared mandate to advocate the showmanship of oddities; espouse the belief in natural adaptation and mutation; and encourage the desire to create displays of curiousity.
Thanks simplexr for the link.
Yahoo Offers Traffic Reports
It’s a neat little feature, but so far it’s hit and miss, however. For example, as of right now, it says the Portland freeways are at a stand still (assuming I’m reading that map right), but if you check ODOT’s site, the traffic is running fine (a bit slow in spots, but not bad). Yahoo says they get their data from a number of sources, but ODOT is apparently not one of them.
Mobile Blogging With MovableType
I really should get something like this setup so that if I ever get a stupidly fancy phone I could blog from it. Of course, I will probably never get a stupidly fancy phone, nor be able to afford the cell phone plan for said stupidly fancy phone, but I really should set it up. Really.
I’m mostly just posting this here in case anybody else is interested in it as I can’t remotely use it right now, but might in the not-so-foreseeable future.
Communist Mario?
Some people have way too much time on their hands.
Bathroom Graffiti at a Design School
Only at a design school would somebody be correcting the kerning on somebody’s bathroom scrawl.
Woman Wants To Cleanse Colons In Her Home
And she’s fighting city council to do so.
LOGAN, Utah — A woman is fighting the City Council in Providence to issue her a permit to run a colon-cleansing service out of her home.
Colon hydrotherapy (…) focuses on removing waste from the large intestine by injecting water into the colon, where it loosens and softens waste. The water is injected through the rectum.
And the key quote:
Yates said commissioners are wary because they’re not familiar with the procedure, though she provided them with detailed videos and literature.
I can imagine the city council loved sitting through videos of people with tubes running up their butt. Or was she trying to say that the council members needed to get an cleansing themselves?
Link from Barney.