Lethargy

I've felt like writing a lot, but haven't been in the mood to blog it. I've also been feeling extremely tired for the past few weeks, making it difficult to get things done. I'm drinking these energy drinks in the morning, but by the end of the day I'm still worn out. When I get some more things done I'll write more..

Wal-Mart Damage Control Site

Wal-Mart has created a website to tell the English-speaking world the truth about itself. They've even purchased a sponsored area on Google, Yahoo, and Altavista to make sure everybody will visit their new site. I've looked around but haven't found anything on the third world or pollution, but they reassured us that they require all contractors to follow all laws. No comment on whether contractors in other countries are allowed to break laws.

NYC Peach

Want a phone with a bunch of Swarovski crystals stuck to it? NYC Peach can do it for you if you've got the cash. It doesn't look practical, but I'll admit it looks pretty. Phillip Torrone had his wife's phone done recently in pretty pink crystals.

Del.icio.us

I've heard about the link manager del.icio.us a while ago, but I didn't see the point because I had a blog to post any links I found. A blog's better for posting links with commentary, but it's tedious to come up with something for every single link found. Del.icio.us makes it easy to post links with keywords called "tags" and share them, no commentary needed. It's really easy to use and RSS feeds are provided, so friends can subscribe to your feeds. Better than a reblog and just as useful. Visit my del.icio.us now!

Bittorrent Sites Still Up and Running

Even though the MPAA shut down a few torrent sites there are plenty good ones still around. Here's a nice status page of what torrent sites are working and whether they have RSS feeds and require registration. Now if you miss your favorite TV show you'll still be able to find the torrent file for it. The MPAA has a long way to go before they get every site and more pop up all the time. When will they find out how to use bittorrent and other p2p networks to their advantage?

Having a Blog Can Get You Fired

Due to many employees getting fired for talking about their companies on personal blogs, it's a good idea not to talk about work at all on a blog. Even if you're anonymous your bosses and supervisors can find out and terminate you. What bothers me the most is this statement,

Usually the blogger has little protection. "In most states," said Gregg M. Lemley, a St. Louis labor lawyer, "if an employer doesn't like what you're talking about, they can simply terminate you."

Having opinions that aren't in step with company beliefs and sharing them with the world is risky and always has been. A blog only makes it easier for employers to find out what you think and fire you faster. As blogs become more popular companies should eventually have policies on blogs like they do with internet surfing and email. But I doubt it'll be a smooth transition. More people will be fired for their blogs before more companies wake up.

For now the best way to avoid getting fired because of your blog is to use common sense. When you're hired for a position you're not allowed to reveal company secrets and financial information, so posting that on a blog is a big no-no. Don't post any embarrassing or mean stories about coworkers; be even more careful by not posting any work stories without their approval. Don't complain about and criticize the company you work for, especially if you're new. Probably not a good idea to make racist and hateful statements either, even if those are your beliefs. With political beliefs you have more leeway because it's unpopular (and possibly illegal) for an employer to terminate workers on that basis alone. To be even safer, especially if your employer doesn't have a blog policy, never post anything about work at all.

Aishwarya Rai on 60 Minutes

In case you missed Aishwarya Rai's interview on 60 Minutes like I did, here's a video of the full interview. I did get a chance to see her on Letterman, but I didn't like that interview because I found her giggling and smiling to answer questions distracting. She'll be on Oprah soon and hopefully she presents herself better.

via Bobby Maisnam.

Update
After testing out the video link on a PC it seems that the Windows Media Player clip doesn't work on Microsoft Windows XP like it does using Mac OS X. Strange. Here's another link to the video that lets you use Windows Media Player, Quicktime, or Real.

Flickr Graph

Cool application that lets you view your network on Flickr. Not really sure how useful it is, but it's fun to play with.

How Not to Write an Essay

These essays may be a hoax, but they're pretty funny. It's a good idea to avoid using profanity and pictures when one it trying to get a point across. He should've used Citation Machine for his works cited page. I'm more surprised that the teacher gave the student a D than by the paper itself. That's just enough to pass the class and move on to the next grade without knowing how to write. Very sad if they're real papers.

via Alayna.

Citation Machine

If you're like me, you wait till the last minute to write papers and essays. I'll collect my resources early, but won't start taking notes and writing until it's almost too late. Actually writing something down's not always the hardest part. Writing bibliographies and works cited pages can be time consuming and confusing. Am recommends Citation Machine to help with the hassle of citing sources. It's easy to use and is a lifesaver when you're pulling an all-nighter.

If you have to do a ton of citations and haven't left them until the last minute, I recommend EndNote. I've never used the program myself but my mom recommended it to me, and I told a classmate about it and he said it really helped him. I'm a bad student and never had enough time to learn how to use it. I have the commercial version but anybody can download the trial version which works just as well. I plan on learning how to use this before my next big paper.

LiveJournal Expectations

Now that LiveJournal has been bought by Six Apart I'm hoping for some big changes to make the experience better and more attractive to new users. One of the most off-putting features of LJ is its lack of good design. The 6A team should find somebody to create better templates that are still unique to LJ but not fugly. LJ should continue to be community based, but I wouldn't mind if some elements of blogging were implemented like a linkbar, site statistics, viewing posts for an entire month, and categories. I doubt these additions would break the communties down at all. These are just a few suggestions off the top of my head, but for now LJ is still the same as before it was sold.

Go Daddy's Second Super Bowl Commercial Axed

Anybody who was watching the Super Bowl and the commercials probably remembered Go Daddy's 30-second spot featuring a buxom brunette in a tank top twirling around in a court room. This was too racy for the NFL and Fox, so they decided not to air Go Daddy's ad again, according to Bob Parsons. Personally, I didn't like the ad, probably related to me being female, but it wasn't very creative or tasteful. Check out the 30-second and 2 minute ads here and judge for yourself.

Update
Just saw the story on CBS Evening News and it looks like Go Daddy may want to sue Fox. I was too focused on my grilled cheese sandwich so this may not be correct.

Hotmail Email and MSN Messenger

I'm still having problems with MSN Messenger disconnecting at random times, so I rarely use it anymore. Last week when I checked my Hotmail email there was a message from Microsoft saying that I could now send and receive instant messages using Hotmail. I didn't pay any attention to it at the time, but now I'm looking for this new feature and can't find it. Has anybody else read this message? Or was it something Microsoft tried for about two days and then gave up?

Update
Ironically, I've been chatting on MSN Instant Messenger with Am, who is also having the same problem and we think it's a wireless problem. He's on a PC and I'm on a Mac, both wireless, and our firmware's updated. I want to email Microsoft about it, but the last time I tried emailing them I was going in circles looking for a way to contact them without getting charged some fee.