New Yorker's Remick on Al Gore for President

David Remick is on the money with this commentary regarding if Gore had been in office the last seven years and why he should be elected in 08'.

50 ways to help keep our earth green

This is a list of fairly common sense ways that each of us can make a difference.

The Big Year - A brief book review

I have never been interested in 'birding' or bird identification, but when my father recommended the book 'The Big Year' and sent me a copy I was curious. The book tells the story of 3 obsessed birders who spent 1998 pursuing a 'big year' of bird identification in North America. They spent 10's of thousands of dollars, countless air miles and the majority of their waking time in this pursuit. At the end they each had identified over 700 birds by flying to the remote Attu Island of Alaska during a peak year for birds, flying repeatedly to southwest texas for the migration from Mexico and South America, Florida and Minnesota are also prime bird locations for identifying exotics. The book provides a good historical outline of the creation of the Audobon society and scientific information regarding the factors which influence birding. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it highly.

Very cute baby panda sneeze

This you have to watch more than twice...

Cause & Cure for Autism discovered

"Scientists in New Jersey are claiming that children with autism are unable to metabolize key fatty acids that fight brain-damaging inflammations. They have already developed urine/blood tests to identify at-risk children. A preventive cure to autism.

Full article at http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-11/117177694297300.xml&coll=1

Signs that Hillary is going to make smart political decisions

“If the most important thing to any of you is choosing someone who did not cast that vote or has said his vote was a mistake, then there are others to choose from,”.

-Says it all

Real Estate Bubble Burst - The Evidence Is In

This NY Times article should stop the chatter about whether there is a correction underway. It appears that few regions are being spared. It's definitely a time for some disruptive technology businesses to help buyers and sellers retain value in their transactions... ala Redfin, Zillow and Trulia. Now that buyers see their homes sitting on the market a lot longer they should take advantage of these Web 2.0 applications which help sell homes without a realtor and can do a great job of marketing and selling your home. Sellers can benefit too buy getting a percentage of the savings returned to them at the time of purchase, often several thousand dollars. I think the traditional real estate agent is going to be gone in about ten years.

Mark Cuban on the future of computing

This is a very insightful essay about the future of computing and how Google could very well lead the way with thin client emphasis and the distributed computing model. As application become available online, we don't really need a traditional OS or embedded applications. He also suggests that game consoles (or probably media) could easily supplant the traditional desktop computer. The only exception to that would be those of us who use laptops and don't play video games, but I still think his article is probably right on.

OpenID is coming

Microsoft adopts OpenID and this is a sure sign that OpenID will start to get critical mass and the needed adoption to enable a much needed way to have a universal web ID.

Dell Vista Express - Delivered in March!

If you have ordered a Dell PC and purchased it with the intent of having a Vista ready system, as I recently had, you will be shocked to find out what the 'Express Upgrade' to Vista means. I discovered today that not only can I not download and install the upgrade, but Dell won't even ship me the discs until March.

This has to be on the top of my most pathetic business decisions by a technology company. Can you imagine the business team that came up with this decision? "Hey, let's call the upgrade Express and make customers wait two months to recieve it after the order". "Oh yeah, and despite the fact that it could be installed through a download and consumers would love that, let's send it to them in a plastic package with CD's".

Brilliant Dell, what can we expect next?

Rolling Stone on if Gore should run in 08

I have to admit this is a great question. Should Gore run in 08'? The guy was on the mark about a lot of issues (war, climate change, W.)... He's also a lot more experienced than Hillary, Barak or for that matter McCain. I hope he throws his hat into the ring. The debates would be a LOT more interesting.

Dick Cheney says "Hillary won't be president"

The guy whom Senators yesterday asked the question 'was Cheney right about one thing in the lead up and war in Iraq' offers an opinion on Hillary Clinton's prospects as a presidential contender. Given his track record I would have to believe that Hillary has a pretty good shot.

Independent Radio Podcasts

(((Hearing Voices))) is the largest collective of independent radio producers this side of the semi-planet Pluto. We are headquartered in Montana, and reside across the U.S.A. Since 2001 we've produced 250+ stories and specials. We are funded by CPB, NEA and others. There's no real staff here, so we can't accept submissions. But if you’ve something online you want us to hear, send the URL in the email form below.

Move.com vs. Redfin.com debate

Watch this if you would like to see an interesting debate about the direction of commission vs. service based real estate and some insight into how the real estate market is going to be shifting over the next couple of years.

Better than Zillow - Cyberhomes Online Appraisal

This looks better than Zillow and appears to provide better data and higher accuracy for an online comparitive appraisal.

Buying without a realtor and getting money back

For those who are currently shopping for a home, consider this alternative to the traditional approach. Use existing online real estate services and attend open houses to find a home that you feel confident meets your needs. Do your own title search, appraisal by looking at comps and have an inspection performed. Determine the minimum and maximum that you are willing to pay for the house. After these steps if you feel confident about buying the house approach the sellers realtor and tell them that you would like to use their services to buy the house, but you want a 2% commission deducted from your offer. The agent should then recognize that s/he will get a 4% total commission and that it's advantageous. At this point you need to stick to your guns and be happy to walk away if the agent begins to get squirrelly. If you can do this successfully you will be looking at $8000 saved on a $400k home, which is enough to do some significant improvements. It will require that you be pro-active and willing to question "convention".

Harvesting the Collective Intelligence of Social Networks

An interesting article on extending the Digg model of collective guidance to a broader social network. Imagine harnessing and applying the collective hive thinking of Digg to business, politics or entertainment. Hollywood produces a movie based on a collective recommendation or a politicians platform is determined by the collective buzz or a new product includes features which come from what the viral hive has pushed to the surface.

Redfin - A Vulcan Venture

It appears that Redfin.com is offering a very similar offering to the feesible development I've undertaken in the past year. Providing consumers with an alternative to traditional realtors and real-estate. By providing an online set of services which cover most of what traditional realtors provide, the 6% that a seller spends on selling their home with a realtor is eliminated. Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures is funding this Seattle based startup, which will be interesting to track through 07'.

Our place in the universe

This series of images provides a great snapshot of how significant our planet is in the grand scheme of things...

Iraq Study Group Report - PDF

John Burns, the Baghdad Bureau Chief for the New York Times described the report as very insightful and informative. If you want to learn why, you can read the report for yourself...