Self-publishing Gains Credibility

While self-publishing your own book, regardless of genre, has become technologically and logistically easier thanks to the advent of on-demand printing, many in the traditional publishing industry, including writers, look down on it as less professional.

However, that didn’t keep Terry Fallis’ self-published novel from winning this year’s Stephen Leacock award.
Technorati Tags: Terry Fallis, Stephen Leacock, self publishing, iUniverse

How Newspapers Can Embrace Video

The Editors Weblog has a great article on how the Washington Post is training reporters to take video to accompany their stories online.

Yes, newspapers are hurting now, but don’t count them out.
Technorati Tags: media, online video, washington post

Our Thirst for Bottled Water is Driving Up Oil Prices

Thanks to the faddish explosion of the green movement, bottled water has become the latest—and purest—symbol of crass conspicuous consumption, writes Meghan O’Rourke in Slate.

Between the oil required to make enough polyethylene terephthalate for the bottles and the fuel needed to transport the bottled water, “our attachment to spring water” creates a sizable carbon footprint.
Technorati Tags: bottled water, green movement, oil, water, environment, slate,

Mmmm….. Spam….. *drool*

Happy spamiversary! Spam reaches 30 – tech – 25 April 2008 – New Scientist Tech
Technorati Tags: spam

Because Government Bureaucrats Clearly Have Nothing Better To Do…

No ‘Weed’ allowed on N.B. licence plate
Technorati Tags: Nonsense, government, New Brunswick, pot, marijuana

I’m Not Really Sure Why I Twitter Either

Wired columnist Lore Sjöberg concludes the internet is to human interaction as Pringles are to potatoes. And yet he continues to try out new social networking sites.

Technorati Tags: Lore Sjöberg, Wired, Twitter, social networking, Pringles

Drunk Vader

A man posing as Darth Vader attacked a Star Wars fan, who had founded a Jedi Church, a court has heard.

[via Warren Ellis]

Twitter Jitters

I’ve recently started using Twitter, if only to see what all of the fuss is about. Truth be told, I only have three people following me and I’m only following them.

I’m actually using it more as a tool to update my Facebook using a Facebook application called TwitterSync as well as a method of updating my Remember the Milk tasks via SMS, Google Chat or by sending an e-mail.

The latter use is starting to become almost essential, but as Matthew Ingram points out, for a service that is supposed to be all about real-time communication, Twitter has been doing very little to address recent reliability issues.

Whether you believe Twitter is merely a fad or a legitimate new method of communication, anything that markets itself as “real time” should take reliability seriously.
Technorati Tags: Twitter, Matthew Ingram, Web 2.0, social networking, blogging, micro blogging, Remember the Milk, Facebook

Next Up: Ode de Soiled Diaper

Perfumes adopt the sweet smell of baby: Several perfumers have created fragrances that try to capture what
consumers think of as new baby smell, that aroma of baby powder and
lotion that so readily conjures up memories of happy, peaceful newborn
bliss.

I much prefer to smell like BBQ chicken wings, and I can do that by sitting close to kitchen when I visit the pub.

Technorati Tags: Nonsense

Why I’m Putting Off the New Computer Purchase

Microsoft Vista Update Causes USB Problems: I don’t want to get on the anti-Vista bandwagon, but it’s stories like this that have me upgrading the hardware on my four-year-old XP machine rather than buying a brand new system.

Any OS should at least get the basics right.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista, USB, PC Magazine, OS