Password: aollover

Wow! Gotta hand it to 'em -- AOL France sure knows how to bid adieu:

(video released the day AOL eviscerates its French office)

Onward to the Past ...

Broadband has all -- CableTV be fired. Also, the house does not really need it's own phone. That saves nearly $1,500/yr.

So my HDTV tuner's all configured (antenna situated so as to pull in the most channels without having to get up and rotate it) ... What is this ?! the 1950's or sumpthin' ?!

...if only I could reduce my remote control to one big ON/OFF toggle with a loud tactile:

>> C L I C K <<

I did find a pretty cool free HDTV listing service at titantv.com (and it works on my iPhone)

I seem to be able to pull in all of the local channels (except the WB -- which has its tower over 35 miles away) -so- not too bad. There are two ABCs, two NBCs, five CBSs, three PBSs, a FOX, and still nuthin' on ;-)

So, I'm also putting together my own linkpage of video streaming sources (found I was kinda jonesin' for live video news from Pakistan when Bhutto's entourage got hit -- didn't really find it at the time -but- I did stumble onto JumpTV.com -- whoa-awesome!!

I spose my next step probably involves scrounging up the parts for another go at a myth box.

If Held Today ...

Ron Paul'd get my vote

(France got it's "real choice" election,
if there's any good left in America's political duopoly,
our next election will come down to Clinton -vs- Paul)

Still my favorite quote of all time ...

"Everything is deeply intertwingled."

-- Ted Nelson
(discoverer of hypertext)

"Uncle!"

... the only way to end a conflict by decree

Groovy Irish Sophie

The Lieberman Effect

Well ... Since it doesn't look like Cheney is going to step-down any time soon, I'm going to go out on a limb a little early and predict that the 2008 elections will see the first stage collapse of America's two-party system. And here's how I think it will happen:

In a fashion similar to Senator Joe Lieberman's 2006 re-election (but writ large), both sides will cleave into a "party faction" and a "base faction".

On the Democrat side, for example, I predict Hillary will control the "party faction" (and the traditional party apparatus). She will be opposed; however, by the "base faction" of the left (epitomized by the MoveOns) -- who will have their own nominee and fancy themselves as in control.

For the Republicans, I suspect Mitt will lead the "party faction" -but- the primary will actually be won by an independent who wins hearts of "the base". That is, unless there's a major terrorist attack.

I think this dynamic is exacerbated by the complete breakdown of the parties' convention mechanism. No longer are the political conventions a mechanism for hashing-out intra-party differences (in order to select the best representative). They're now simply big commercial events -- Superbowls of politics where the outcome is known well in advance of the closing gavel. Because of this, I predict, the real vetting process moves to the net -and- folks begin to realize it's turning into a 4-way race.

Enter the Libertarians, Greens, Reforms, et al.

Everyone decides they have a shot at the brass ring and will attempt to muscle into the final debates (a move both encouraged and facilitated by the internet) -- then -- Katie bar the doors -- we'll have a 5-way, 6-way race?

Where do we end up? In a spot where the next President of the United States is likely to win with less than 40% of the vote.

Mark my words!

Help Me Obi Wan Kenobi ...

Behold: The Cheoptics 360
(10MB download)

Abrams Mischief?

J.J. Abrams (the director taking control of the Star Trek franchise) is suspected of perpetrating various video clips to promote Cloverfield (aka 1-18-08). Though, that is rumored to be a monster movie.

The footage below was leaked to the net (supposedly shot in Haiti last Monday, August 6th). In any case, IMHO: it's the best unexplained viral since SciFi channel sneaked their the infamous Trade Center clip into the UFO mythology.

Check it out:


So, my question is: Who did this?