jtnt://life/unedited

Everyone in the entire world (or in DC) should go to Biscarr Fine Art and check out the work there. The best part, you can also get your own art framed there. Say hi to Harry. Tell him Nicholas sent you.

Flight of The Conchords is probably the funniest comedy act I’ve heard in awhile. And they are definitely the funniest folk parody duo I’ve ever heard. I’m not sure if there is a bandwagon on which to jump yet, but if there is I’m ready to go.

I first caught them on HBO’s One Night Stand, and I’ve been in tears ever since.

I’ve also been collecting whatever media I can. So, here’s what I’ve found: Flight of the Conchords Audio/Video.

If you have any mp3s or videos of the fourth most popular folk parody act in New Zealand, send them to me, and I’ll post them. (Also, if any authority figure would like to tell me that me posting these is illegal in any way, I’ll take any of them down that are illegal to post, but I’d have to think that the guys would like it and benefit from the fact that I’m posting these…)

So-called life hacks are starting to smack of the insipid Hints from Heloise. And this excerpt from a “Finding-your-car hacks” post on LifeHacker is up there on the list of most obvious things ever put into print:

Once you start paying attention to where you parked, it soon becomes an easier-to-remember habit.

#1 finding-your-car hack? Remembering where you parked it.

I predict, nay, I hope for a backlash against all these life hacking sites. I don’t know how one would stage a backlash against a slew of web sites, but I hope some enterprising person figures this out and employs these tactics on these bandwidth-wasting, time-sucking (GTD?) sites.

I feel a bit guilty about my previous post on Dreamhost, and feel that at the very least some more information and clarification is in order.

Dreamhost is rightfully held up as one of the best and most responsive hosts in the industry. Not just out there to make a buck but to provide top-notch service to their customers. They see the value in good hosting and the importance of it to their customers, many of whom rely on them to run their own businesses.

Let me also add that Dreamhost does offer a variety of great and unique services, such as its easy to use list management system, which I wish I had known about before I wrote my own for my company.

They are also to be recognized for thier involvement in civic causes.

My only real gripe about them (since pretty much everything else about them has been positive) is that their control panel is not as easy to use as some others I’ve come across.

So, I apologize to Dreamhost for dragging your name through the mud unnecessarily.

I am convinced that the reason why so many bloggers are so gung-ho about Dreamhost Web Hosting is because they have a fairly lucrative referral deal going. Because, in reality, their control panel is an eyesore, and worse, is often confusing. Most of all their concept of users is so varied and confusing, I’m still not sure what my passwords are for the various different users they make you create for each thing (admin, mail, ftp…).

All that said, everyone should use Dreamhost, because I’ll make a bunch of money if you do.

I don’t understand it when places offer minuscule discounts on multi-year subscsription purchages. Here are some examples:

Flickr: 1 year = $24.95. 2 years = $47.99. Savings = $1.91 or $0.96/year. Woohoo!

Network Solutions: 1 year = $34.99. 2 years = $29.99. Savings = $5 or $2.50/year. I’m rich.

I would guess that the same principles that say pricing something at $34.99 instead of $35.00 will generate more sales are at work here. Some people aren’t really looking at the actual savings. But still, how does the prospect of saving less than a dollar a year provide an incentive for me to basically double my out-of-pocket expenses right now?

If people are still falling for these Jedi-marketing tricks, I wouldn’t be too quick to jump on the bandwagon that the internet is making smarter consumers.

Via Slashdot:

How Battlestar Galactica Killed TV: “Don Melanson writes ‘Following up on the MPAA going after torrent sites, you may be interested in Mindjack’s latest feature - Piracy is Good? How Battlestar Galactica Killed Broadcast TV by Mark Pesce. It includes a post-script written in reponse to the recent Torrent site shutdowns.’ From the article: ‘While you might assume the SciFi Channel saw a significant drop-off in viewership as a result of this piracy, it appears to have had the reverse effect: the series is so good that the few tens of thousands of people who watched downloaded versions told their friends to tune in on January 14th, and see for themselves. From its premiere, Battlestar Galactica has been the most popular program ever to air on the SciFi Channel, and its audiences have only grown throughout the first series. Piracy made it possible for ‘word-of-mouth’ to spread about Battlestar Galactica.’”

This is how it works, people. Just like when bands let people tape and freely trade their music. Ever heard of the Grateful Dead? Phish? Dave Matthews Band? All of them owe their success in part to embracing this sort open trade. They knew that the more people that heard their music the more people would like, and thus buy, their music.

The other part? Quality product. Yeah, that’s the hard part.

I have a feeling I could get along with these people. At least the kindergartners.

(Via: Huffington Post)