What Kind of Dog Are You?

April 25, 2005 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Life, Television, Web/Tech 

A new British Comedy “Gone to the Dogs” has created a website for the program.  Included in the site is a game where a realistic 60’s-era computer simulation asks you 10 questions, and then determines the breed of dog that you would be.

I came up “Picardy Shepherd” – a French sheepdog.

Dial the Phone

June 30, 2004 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Games, Web/Tech 

I found this today: Dial The Phone

After you get past the Matrix-like intro, it’s just a flash game. It took me just a few minutes to get all the way through, and all of it is work-safe. It does use sound – so you might want your headphones on.

GMail

June 21, 2004 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Web/Tech 

I finally got a GMail invite today. I had posted on GMailSwap offering to write something nice about the person who invited me.

For most of the day (8:30am to 3pm) it said “GMail is temporarily unreachable. However, now it works.

My thanks go out to Kevin Yockey for his invitation. Clearly, Kevin is an individual of the highest caliber, with a keen understanding of the importance of increasing communication in our world today. Without Kevin, our world would be a quieter yet more spam-filled place.

You can now reach me at markrsmith@gmail.com.

Outsourcing – Muppets?

June 8, 2004 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Current Affairs, Web/Tech 

You thought outsourcing your tech job to a third world country was bad?

Take a look at Nokia! Now, they’re outsourcing your job to Muppets!

(Note the angry eyes on the CFO woman in the green dress, and the security guy with the black tie.)

IceRocket Search Engine

April 30, 2004 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Web/Tech 

I got an odd e-mail last night. One of the founders of IceRocket.com sent me a note requesting that I work with him to cross-promote this blog and his search engine.

So I did a little research. It seems that these folks are building a search engine that aims to come up with the most relevant result from all of the other search engines, without being burdened by advertising. Their About US page says: “IceRocket is pioneering commercial search by putting the interests and wants of consumers before advertisers.”

The e-mail that I received offered to make my site a free sponsored listing for any search words that I requested. I’m not clear on how to reconcile the concept of sponsored listings with the “putting consumers first” concept.

At any rate, I decided to test their site with a few searches. I found that their site DID come up with more relevant results for my queries than other search engines. I was heartened to see that they didn’t come up with the usual spam sites (the ones with millions of search terms embedded in them, just to get you there).

So, I’m with them. Over on the left you will find the IceRocket search box. Enjoy!

NOTE:  This was on a prior incarnation of this blog.  It’s not there anymore.

Automatic Swarming Traffic Cones

April 29, 2004 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Web/Tech 

Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have developed automatic wheeled traffic cones that can change their formation as directed by a human operator. (New Scientist article)

This is a really neat idea, but I have to wonder what the potential for mayhem is. Do you remember the “crossing the road” scene in Toy Story 2?

Amazon’s A9 Search Engine

April 15, 2004 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Web/Tech 

Amazon.com has come out with their new A9 search engine. This is their attempt to make a run at Google and Yahoo.

I took a look today. If you sign in (with your Amazon.com account number), it will remember your searches for you. It also knows what you clicked through them to get to and will tell you that in your search results.

This site came up 5th when I searched for “Mark Time”. That’s pretty good – I’m further down the list for Google.

All in all, A9 is worth watching but Google still has it beat for now.

Neat Google Stuff

April 13, 2004 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Web/Tech 

Scott Knaster posts some Neat Google Stuff that you can use in the search bar. You can get a map, check on a car, do math – all in the Google search bar.

He’s right – Google is raising the bar (pun somewhat intended) for search engines.

My Sister – the Writer

April 13, 2004 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Sports, Web/Tech 

My sister, Laura Smith (scroll down – that’s her with the Phanatic), has started writing for a Philadelphia sports fan site. Here is her first article on the Lakewood (NJ) Blue Claws single-A baseball team.

I haven’t seen anything she’s written since she was using the special paper with the solid and dotted lines (the stuff that elementary school kids use), but it looks like she’s learned quite a bit over the years.

I don’t think she’s getting paid for this, but the writing gig for this website does come with a press pass. Laura tells me that they’re supposed to have FOOD and AIR CONDITIONING in the press box, so she’s looking forward to it.

Click the link and give her some more hits!

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