One Site To Rule Them All

I have been predicting the downfall of Google for a couple of years now. I thought at some point an independent auditor would prove that no one actually buys anything as a result of clicking on a Google Ad. Then the bubble would burst, investors would pull out. A new company would come up with a new model and all the free google aps would fade away.

Last week in St. Louis changed my mind. I had a work conference with our software vendor. They have teamed up with Google (.org) for a couple of product upgrades. A google engineer spoke during one of the morning meetings, and among other interesting facts revealed that Google works with the CDC because they can correctly predict disease outbreaks 6 days ahead of the medical community based on searches from the different areas.

Now I'm pretty sure that puts Google in the "too big to fail" category. And at least for the next 5 years, regardless of any actual revenue stream, people are going to be willing to dump money into the company. Even if it comes down to the Federal Government. Bailing out Google might be considered a necessary step for the public good.

Facebook

Over the last few months I've given in to Facebook. I can't really say that this is the reason I haven't blogged since December. I don't actually do a lot of writing or updating on Facebook. For me it is a mostly voyeuristic enterprise. I get to see what everyone else I've ever met is up to.

Month after month I find something that surprises me or makes me think in a new way. I'm especially fascinated with the relationship status of my younger "friends." I think a Facebook app that allowed you to place bets on when a certain friends new "in a relationship" status would change to "it's complicated" or "single" would be one of the 5 most popular. Facebook gives me just enough information to let my mind write my own soap opera.

Pictures are another area in which Facebook shines. It's true that a picture is worth a thousand words, which coincidentally is about how many are in an arrest warrant. What makes an underage person post pictures of themselves and there friends drinking? Pretty soon I do not think we will have any more not-guilty verdicts because all the evidence a jury needs to see will be neatly tagged by "friends" of the defendant.

Most of the early reviews I read about Facebook focused a lot of attention on the applications. It is clear that this is a truly special part of the social networking that is missing from sharing e-mails or bulletin boards. The applications let you become a movie reviewer, or a music aficionado. You can be a trivia expert or find out if your friends know where you want to get your next tattoo (or more oddly what they think is the best part of your body). Or you can spend too many hours becoming a fake crime boss. I've had to give up a few applications already as they have been great time waisters, and Mafia Wars is next on the list.

So please send in your friend request I will be happy to know what your five favorite 80's toys are. And don't worry if you don't get all the details of your life in there. I prefer to let my imagination fill in the blanks.

Stuff I've Thought About Recently

Why did Cannon say "She's not a teapot. She's my sister."?

Shouldn't it be "Eight Are Enough"?

If you are going to say something negative about the customer who just left, make sure they are out of earshot, and please do not expect me to say anything in agreement.

This week, the sports' media is crying over a playoff scenario that is only a possibility. My prediction is that Arizona will win making them 9-7. Denver will win making them 9-7. The Patriots will make the playoffs, no 11-5 team will miss the playoffs and everything that columnists and talkers have been arguing about will have never happened.

I think the Royals are going to be in contention to win their division this year.

I think Traitor was the best movie I watched in 2008. Dark Knight was okay, but I really think if Heath Ledger hadn't died, most of us would make fun of a lot more scenes in that movie. I do not know how many movies I saw in 2008, but since Redbox came to town with free movie Mondays it has averaged 1 a week or more. There isn't much intentional comedy in Traitor. However, when Cheadle is winning a fight against three guys, I did laugh.

Is it a sign of getting older that I often turn think of something I "need" to do on the computer, then by the time the computer boots up, I've forgotten?

For those of you not on Facebook, I've put Christmas pictures here.

Catching Up

Phantastes: A Faerie Romance

I finished reading this book a couple of months ago and wanted others to read it. Since I doubt I can be overly convincing, I am going to share a few quotes instead.

But it is no use trying to account for things in Fairy Land; and one who travels there soon learns to forget the vary idea of doing so, and takes everything as it comes; like a child, who, being in a chronic condition of wonder, is surprised at nothing.

and

All that man sees has to do with man. Worlds cannot be without an intermundane relationship. The community of the centre of all creation suggest an interradiating connection and dependence of the parts.

There are several great stories in this book that reads like a travel memoir. One is a story of a people that will actually die of desire. I hope I have interested you. I have a few more quotes I will share in the future.

Fringe

I enjoy the new Fox show Fringe. I wonder. Would Walter Bishop be considered a good guy? I know he is on the "right" side and helping the good people. But he seems to be driven by curiosity above all else. Is that a humanistic moral good? He has sacrificed himself to help others but the motivation always seems to be more about answering questions rather than helping people. Also, why is Agent Dunham always going to intercept the bad guy by herself? How does that happen?

Holiday Cheer

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