Why we should all feel incredibly guilty for even reading this blog...

My favorite quote from an online article today:

"We are uninterested, verging on contemptuous, of the marketing strategies that were supposed to pay for us to enjoy online services for free. We've become totally unwilling to pay for them directly, either; we simply figure that someone, somehow, will pick up the tab."

Any guesses regarding context?

Apparently, our desire for free access to global networking sites that rely on content and participation from the community like YouTube is incredibly selfish, ignoring poor, hard-working companies like News Ltd who scrape an honest living out of selling us things like access to information.

Feeling guilty?

Here is the link in all it's 'young generation expect everything for free' glory: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/how-can-youtube-survive-1734267.html

The Other White Flu

Well, my brother in law is awaiting his final lab results. Will it be H1N1? Will it be the boring old version of the flu? Will it be a brand new superflu, previously unnamed (and hereby known as Murphy's Flu)?

Time will tell. Here is a snippet from 'New Scientist' that kind of explains what the fuss is all about http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/05/so-is-it-a-pandemic-or-not.html

On an unrelated note, my two favorite bank robbers are apparently living it up in China. The girl's sister facebooked (is that a verb?) her status, enjoying the sun and a local asian beer.

Of course, I'm still not convinced that it's robbery when you actually give someone the money and they run off with it. It's kind of your own fault - I'm pretty sure I couldn't walk up to someone who asked for me for money, give them a couple of thousand and then chase them two hours later with police to demand it back and ask for them to be charged because I was only meant to give them two dollars.

Invention convention

A shout out to some of my favourite inventions today:

1. Post-it flags. Colourful, sticky, and you can write on them. Plus the dispensor design is awesome, alternating left and right and pulling the next flag through, so there's always a post-it at your fingertips.

2. Stove-top coffee makers. It's like watching a little chocolate fountain except with coffee. And I love the use of physics to force water up through the coffee and into the pot (which was explained to me by the ShadowChaser, but I can't for the life of me remember.)

3. Facebook (and to a larger extent, the Internet). After accumluating friends all over the globe, it's nice to have one spot to rule them all, one spot to find them, one spot to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.