Don't Ask Jeeves

Yet another archive of a Yahoo post.

Speaking of which, those posts are deleted after a while...what happens to them? It's interesting that millions of online conversations take place on privately-owned (mostly corporate) websites, which places huge amounts of often stupid and pointless but sometimes vital and important dialog in private hands.

CNN used to have a HUGE message board area, with literally millions of posts, but one day they simply all disappeared without any explanation. I'm still not sure why it happened, although I'd noticed that they tended to delete threads that got too critical of George W.

I wrote to Salon suggesting that they do an article about it, but they never wrote back.

Oh well. Here's the comment. The subject was an article about a new advertising campaign by the Ask Jeeves search engine, which is currently ranked a very low fifth in popularity.

Why doesn't anyone use Ask Jeeves?

Simple: it sucks. Maybe if they took some of that ad campaign money and built a decent search engine they'd get some respect...but Google beat them to it, so they're screwed.

What American business needs today is a sort of modern-day version of Bushido. There are a lot of top executives who make really boneheaded decisions, or just plain greedy ones. We'd see a huge improvement in our economy if all of those executives were required to atone for their failures and shame by eviscerating themselves.

Preferably on national TV.

---

Yeah, I'm pretty cranky today. Had about the worst weekend imaginable, barring a car accident or surgery. One of those weekends that's so awful that if I'd known in advance, I'd have stayed at work. Plus I've got a massive headache to boot.

Life sucks.

Don't Ask Jeeves

Yet another archive of a Yahoo post.

Speaking of which, those posts are deleted after a while...what happens to them? It's interesting that millions of online conversations take place on privately-owned (mostly corporate) websites, which places huge amounts of often stupid and pointless but sometimes vital and important dialog in private hands.

CNN used to have a HUGE message board area, with literally millions of posts, but one day they simply all disappeared without any explanation. I'm still not sure why it happened, although I'd noticed that they tended to delete threads that got too critical of George W.

I wrote to Salon suggesting that they do an article about it, but they never wrote back.

Oh well. Here's the comment. The subject was an article about a new advertising campaign by the Ask Jeeves search engine, which is currently ranked a very low fifth in popularity.

Why doesn't anyone use Ask Jeeves?

Simple: it sucks. Maybe if they took some of that ad campaign money and built a decent search engine they'd get some respect...but Google beat them to it, so they're screwed.

What American business needs today is a sort of modern-day version of Bushido. There are a lot of top executives who make really boneheaded decisions, or just plain greedy ones. We'd see a huge improvement in our economy if all of those executives were required to atone for their failures and shame by eviscerating themselves.

Preferably on national TV.

---

Yeah, I'm pretty cranky today. Had about the worst weekend imaginable, barring a car accident or surgery. One of those weekends that's so awful that if I'd known in advance, I'd have stayed at work. Plus I've got a massive headache to boot.

Life sucks.

Trees

There was one thing that didn't totally suck this weekend, actually. I took Sebastian (my 22-month-old son) out as usual on Saturday mornings (so Teri can sleep in), and did quite a bit of shopping. On a long quiet road, though, I spotted a sign for the Franklin State Forest. There was just enough room to pull over and park the car, so I did - and Sebastian and I took our first walk in the woods.

He liked it quite a bit, although he had to watch the ground carefully at times; there were a lot of rocks and sticks. A couple of times we heard the cries of some sort of bird of prey, possibly a hawk or eagle, but he was only interested - not scared. Eventually I had to turn him around and get us back to the car, but he didn't really want to go.

Apart from that his obession lately is The AristoCats, which he has been watching over and over. He seems to be almost in love with the "Mommy Kitty" (voiced by Eva Gabor); yesterday he danced and spun around in front of the TV during a musical number, singing something that we couldn't make out (except for the words "Mommy Kitty", of course).

Trees

There was one thing that didn't totally suck this weekend, actually. I took Sebastian (my 22-month-old son) out as usual on Saturday mornings (so Teri can sleep in), and did quite a bit of shopping. On a long quiet road, though, I spotted a sign for the Franklin State Forest. There was just enough room to pull over and park the car, so I did - and Sebastian and I took our first walk in the woods.

He liked it quite a bit, although he had to watch the ground carefully at times; there were a lot of rocks and sticks. A couple of times we heard the cries of some sort of bird of prey, possibly a hawk or eagle, but he was only interested - not scared. Eventually I had to turn him around and get us back to the car, but he didn't really want to go.

Apart from that his obession lately is The AristoCats, which he has been watching over and over. He seems to be almost in love with the "Mommy Kitty" (voiced by Eva Gabor); yesterday he danced and spun around in front of the TV during a musical number, singing something that we couldn't make out (except for the words "Mommy Kitty", of course).

Blow, Joe

Joe Lieberman is warning Democrats not to commit the horrible crime of being left-wing - which these days just means not being insanely criminal and looting the government.

So Senator Joe can go screw himself. I'm a lifelong Democrat, and have voted pretty much the straight party ticket since I was 18, but if that sanctimonious hypocritical anti-First-Amendment Zoidberg-alike war-mongering censorship-craving insurance-industry-whore somehow manages to get the nomination, I'll know that the Democratic Party is no longer for me or the people and I will switch. And I'm not the only Democrat to say so.

Fortunately it's pretty damned unlikely, because Lieberman has all the personality and charm of an earwax-and-nose-drool casserole.

Blow, Joe

Joe Lieberman is warning Democrats not to commit the horrible crime of being left-wing - which these days just means not being insanely criminal and looting the government.

So Senator Joe can go screw himself. I'm a lifelong Democrat, and have voted pretty much the straight party ticket since I was 18, but if that sanctimonious hypocritical anti-First-Amendment Zoidberg-alike war-mongering censorship-craving insurance-industry-whore somehow manages to get the nomination, I'll know that the Democratic Party is no longer for me or the people and I will switch. And I'm not the only Democrat to say so.

Fortunately it's pretty damned unlikely, because Lieberman has all the personality and charm of an earwax-and-nose-drool casserole.