The Top 10 Everything of 2008

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/top10

 

Digital Snoops Have Nothing on Joe Sales Clerk

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2008/tc20081223_570151.htm

(in keeping with today’s “Joe” theme, apparently)

Can we defend our privacy by stepping back from these snoopy electronic networks, by getting off the grid? It’s tempting to some. But before logging off, keep in mind that by moving from the digital to the analog realm, we substitute one type of surveillance for another. And despite the wonders of high tech and the prodigious reach and memory of computers, old-fashioned surveillance—the kind attached to two eyes, a nose, and a human brain—remains vastly more sophisticated.

 

Roswell UFO existed, witnesses insist

http://tinyurl.com/cnnroswelltshirt

Why would I buy a t-shirt with a random CNN headline on it? Seriously, can someone explain to me the appeal of this?

 

Colonel of Truth

http://www.grist.org/advice/chef/2008/10/30/

“Recently, the American public was issued a challenge by the folks at KFC (formerly “Kentucky Fried Chicken,” but “fried” just didn’t sound healthy). The fast-food joint argues in its latest commercial that you cannot “create a family meal for less than $10.” Their example is the “seven-piece meal deal,” which includes seven pieces of fried chicken, four biscuits, and a side dish — in this case, mashed potatoes with gravy. This is meant to serve a family of four.”

AND:

“The KFC meal, including Iowa state sales tax of 6 percent, is $10.58. I made the same meal (chicken, four biscuits, mashed potatoes, and gravy) for $7.94 — and I got three extra pieces of chicken and a carcass to use for soup.”

AND:

“In America, if we are what we eat, most of us are fast, cheap, and easy.”

 

It’s the truth

http://despair.com/blogging.html

 

Zombie Simpsons

Mr. B, you’re just about to post this, aren’t you? (From the source, I mean — this route gives what I think is a better all-at-once view)

http://io9.com/5068847/build-your-own-treehouse-of-horror

(And, just for Brain, I’m adding a “Zombies” category to our collection.)

 

Hate your neighbors? Tell me about it.

http://www.rottenneighbor.com/

“Locate, Rate, and Share Good and Bad Neighbors Before and After You Move”

 

Personalized Ads

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122472576115361225.html

I’ve already experienced this – Target Corp sent us a bunch of coupons that were almost entirely for stuff we buy regularly at their store. I don’t know whether to be creeped out by the fact that they are tracking me, or appreciative of the fact that it saved us about $12.