I’ve been pre-occupied with working out and feeding my The Wire jones, so my blogging has suffered, much to the dismay of millions. But I’m back, so let’s get caught up.
Crow Department: I argued that it would never happen, but I have almost completely surrendered to Google. Between Search, Reader, News, Maps, Voice and Docs, most of my life resides in Google. If they could take a mulligan and buy Flickr, they’d have all of me. Well, that and figure out a way to do tracked changes in Docs. The first cloud app that does that will win the online document game. If you want to pile some Google apps onto your Firefox navbar, GButts can hook you up. I’m not ready to wear the colors to that extent yet, but it’s probably only a matter of time. I’m pretty skeptical about the Chrome OS, but history has taught me not to underestimate Google.
Bad, Bad Genome: Why in the world are The Wallflowers playing on my alt. country Pandora station? Ugh.
Joy Division: The whole social networking obsession bores me to tears. You know what’s not boring? This, for one thing. I wish I could do something that cool for my kids. I mean, seriously, how awesome is that? I am deeply fond of the entire Omega clan. Granny J is a Jedi. Dote on, Obi-Wan.
Put Me in Coach: Like most writers, I have a series of Google Alerts that notify me when someone mentions my blog, articles, etc. Lately, updates from an unrelated blog have been showing up in those alerts (blog posts mentioning Newsome, etc.). I’m pulling hard for Team Newsome. If you have a spare prayer, karma, meditation or good wish, please send it their way.
Side B, Track 4: About every month or so, Penelope Trunk knocks a post out of the park, and only about half of them are about this. Her recent post on self-discipline is a must-read.
Bad Combo: You can count on me to aggressively hate on any undertaking by which some egghead takes it upon himself or herself to tell us who the cool people are. Add that grade school nonsense to the now almost completely irrelevant Technorati, and you have a recipe for slumber.
How to Get a Free Kindle: Be the first one to ask me, in person, for mine if this happens. Dudes, don’t charge me a fortune and then toss ads at me. Seriously.
And While I’m Capitulating: I have to admit, I’ve reconnected with a lot of old friends via Facebook. It still feels a little juvenile to me, but I can’t argue with the results. My page is here.
Consumer Wire: I love it when some tech-savvy consumer punks a company like this. Take the camera away, and you probably get a form letter and a coupon for $10 off an oil change.
Violets are Blue: If you want to send a subtle flora message that almost no one will get, here’s how.
Mike Morgan Department: A long time ago, I mentioned in the hall at my office that I thought the whole-world-underwater thing in Waterworld was scientifically inaccurate. The next day, my buddy Mike Morgan gave me a photocopied article that proved I was right. This was way before Dave Winer invented the internet (but after he invented the printing press). Later, Mike and I wondered if those bags of water you see at restaurants really repel flies. Here’s a semi-explanation that sort of indicates they might. A little.
The 2nd Best Day: The best day of the week is Sunday, because there’s a new True Blood. The second best day is when you read that there is a new installment of There Will Be Brawl. Episode 6 is out. Just because some of you are too lazy to go watch these masterpieces, I’m going to embed this episode, to give you a little sample.
Extreme Irony: This is funnier than the Onion. The epic irony is that the only cat in the world who actually makes a living blogging is the cat who tells you how to make a living blogging.
Department of Music: The Avett Brothers have a new album coming out on August 11, 2009. Here’s the title track. Excellent.
Email Reduction Department: If people would read these sites first, I would get 3-4 less emails a day.
Newsome.Org 