June 2008
Let’s face it: judging a book by its cover would be 10 times easier than actually looking up similar readings and receiving recommendations from shady sources. I’m not a fan of the novella, nor am I too adamant about non-fiction jabberings of people with lots of time.
Picking out what to read next is like picking out a new life soundtrack–every mood and phase has to fit perfectly, or its just another boring existential transition (so deep…).
Obviously, computers have the answer. WhatshouldIreadnext.com lets you input your current or most recent read, analyze a database of users, and give you some suggestions about your best bet for smooth page-sailing.
(Better than “look what others who bought this read.”)
A blog that gets credit for pass/fail
FAIL Blog is the best thing since Stuff White People Like. Besides, SWPL got annoying when Stuff People Like-spinoffs began to spawn like blogosphere-Ebola. Seriously, I almost caught it. I started drooling, or whatever.
FAIL Blog capitalizes on the glories of life: the bag of chips hanging sturdily from the snack dispenser rung; the misspelling on the noble sign of an innocent, dedicated protester; the brilliant constructional placement of a Toys ‘R Us next to a Hooters… These are the things we cherish, and thus, FAIL Blog captures it all in no specific sequential order in the form of a photo.
Bravo for failing.
Attention victims of three-digit degree weather
The heat in Texas has all of us at its mercy. For some it means a trip to the pool or careful sun bathing (being cooked), and for others it means staying inside between the hours of noon and six and memorizing the texture of the apartment wall, in addition to media overconsumption.
Well here’s another consumable Internet delicacy for days that blaze: Make-A-Flake.
Ok so it seems totally lame, but I did it, and all though that may mean nothing… ::shrug::
They give you digital scissors and let you cut where you want. It’s reminiscent of kindergarten in the wintertime–You really can’t find nostalgia like that anymore.
Alternative search engines have never really been popular. Sure, we’ve all tried Dogpile because we liked clicking the cute “Fetch” button; and Jeeves just looked like the right guy to ask. But it wasn’t long before it was obvious the underdog couldn’t be rooted for under intense info-searching conditions.
There are a few underdogs to root for though, now that the 21st century (what do you call the 2000s??) has been digitally remastered. One of which, I use often: Bloglines.
Bloglines is (obviously) a blog search engine. While it sounds useless, and its sole purpose is based on its ability to dig up a bunch of Internet rant, it does have its good sides (as in its alternative media, and not Rupert Murdoch). It even goes back to good ‘ol 2003.
The good ‘ol days…
For those who loves their bikes, or who would love to steal one
The Bicycle Tutor is the ultimate Web site for the mechanically-challenged, eco-Austinite.
It’s like some bicyclist squire did advanced View—>Page Source on YouTube and went nuts. Videos like, “How To Adjust Sidepull Calliper Brakes” (what the hell is that), “How To Use A Presta Valve Adaptor” (and that?), and many other big-worded bike parts assemble themselves well on the site, even presenting an option to make comments.
Complaining about high gas prices? Might want to think about using this to fix yourself up for a cheaper ride; bikes shall always prosper!
Mozilla Firefox, the pharaoh of browsers, is releasing 3.0 tomorrow and daring all who bow to its glory to download it and break a Guinness world record for the software most downloaded in 24 hours. 
It’s a good ploy to get the product out, but there also isn’t much to fight about since Firefox speaks Web better than any other browser. The new version supposedly has much more customizable features, and includes one-click bookmarking.
Get your share and become part of nerd history.




