Wired News: Turning Heads With PowerPoint: "LOS ANGELES -- From televised presidential aircraft carrier visits to the glut of unreal reality TV shows, 'American culture is becoming a culture of pageants,' says David Byrne.
'We're surrounded by show, just as the Roman Empire turned to bread and circuses to hide other things that were taking place.'

Turning Heads With PowerPoint
To examine how the medium shapes the message, the former Talking Head uses Microsoft PowerPoint -- the ubiquitous presentation software -- as a creative tool.
His art presentations make babble of business-speak, and question whether the form of what we communicate can affect its truth: Rebellious flow charts stream backward, screens overflow with clip art gone wild, deliverables and leave-behinds assume surreal new roles, and renegade bullet points assault the viewer in a rapid-fire barrage."

Amazon.com: Books: David Byrne: E.E.E.I. (Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information): "David Byrne is the only rocker who could have imagined turning Microsoft PowerPoint into an art form."

Brings back memories of CICA....but also interesting thread re VC & intelectual property rights...
Bootstrapping Start-ups: "Google 'cold calling' and learn the best techniques, on-line -- they do work. Do calls every day! Fill out a spreadsheet with who you're going to call the next day and, just like successful aerobics, get up in the morning and do it without thinking about it. Use a similar spreadsheet to track who you've called and call again the next month. And the month after that."

Skrufff.com: "Skrufff-E "

The effects of the first stage of a relationship, the lust stage, trigger exactly the same responses in the brain as taking cocaine or speed would. It really is like a natural drug.

UK addiction expert Dr John Marsden says falling in love is just like doing drugs (London Standard)

Hmm, strangely like Pete's dream talks - hashe been reading slashdot???? Methinks not..

Slashdot | Have Your Family Gather 'Round the Virtual Table: "dgelift writes 'A new device is helping families and loved ones feel connected even when they're far apart. Part of the Media Lab's Habitat project, a pair of 'cyber-tables' are equipped with radio tag readers, projectors and computers running on Linux and Macintosh operating systems. 'Habitat's designers say the system can give people a sense of what their loved ones are up to and perhaps even how they are feeling'.'"

The paranoids dream, v big bro!
Slashdot | Laptop Thief Caught via AOL Login: "the FBI has caught the guy who stole computers from Wells Fargo. The interesting part is that 'Investigators traced the computer to Krastof when he logged onto his own America Online account at home through one of the stolen computers.' Makes you wonder what sort of hooks the FBI has into AOL or other ISPs and what hardware identification is being transmitted at login.' "

Saturday again & it has been a long week - Harrys b'day (twice) preceeded by fri on vodka & karaoke the Susie's b'day dinner which also gave me a sore head.

Reckon beer tastes funny cos water should not be left standing in the filter jug.. or maybe its the filter...?????

CM201 Clear Writing: Ten Principles of Clear Statement: "Clear Writing: Ten Principles of Clear Statement"

Wired News: Man Arrested Over 'Spam Rage': "SAN FRANCISCO -- Call it spam rage -- a Silicon Valley computer programmer has been arrested for threatening to torture and kill employees of the company he blames for bombarding his computer with Web ads promising to enlarge his penis.
In one of the first prosecutions of its kind in the state that made 'road rage' famous, Charles Booker, 44, was arrested on Thursday and released on a $75,000 bond for making repeated threats to staff of an unnamed Canadian company between May and July, the U.S. Attorney's office for Northern California said on Friday."

Barefoot Doctor Bit: How Should You Handle a Jealous Rival?
Barefoot WARNING
Barefoot Doctor: "The first thing is not to take it personally, the jealousy is their business, not yours and it's the best they can do, given their current stage of evolution, so view them with compassion.

You should also be flattered that someone admires you so much they're envious. In reality, they would much rather celebrate your good fortune with you but just don't have the right mindset, so the best approach is to educate them by example.

Go on the offensive but in a loving way, telling them what you admire about them. You should always choose something significant- there is always something.

In other words, respond to their negative energy with love, by spending time visualising them basking in your love. Within three days you should notice some sort of positive quantum shift in the dynamic between you both."

Nokia 3650 Phone with T-Mobile service: "NEWSLETTER "The number of countries that truly like the US is sadly dwindling. Our 'best friend' Britain seems fractured between those that vociferously hate us and those that don't. Our second best friend, who also sent troops to the Iraq War, is undoubtedly Australia. And so, what do we do when a 30 year old Australian woman, a frequent business traveler to the US and the editor of a middle class Australian women's magazine, flying to the US to interview Olivia Newton-John for an article on breast cancer, tries to enter the country in Los Angeles? Do we smile and welcome her to the US and hope she has a pleasant stay? No. Instead, she is locked up for fifteen hours, allegedly denied any food or drink, not allowed to make phone calls to lawyers or to family or to anyone, given intrusive personal searches, bullied and embarrassed, then marched in handcuffs back to the gate and placed on a return flight back to Australia.

Was she a suspected terrorist, cleverly disguised as a harmless and friendly Australian? Was she smuggling drugs or explosives? Did she - gasp - make a bad joke about bombs? No, none of these things. She was 'guilty' only of a visa technicality - she was traveling on a 'B' visa instead of an 'I' visa. So, instead of politely explaining the problem and then helping her solve it, she was denied all the human rights which the US goes to war over to insist other countries give to their citizens, and then deported.

This story was front page news in Australia, but, sadly, didn't seem to make the papers at all in the US. Do we condone such treatment of our friends and allies? Do we think this is an appropriate response for an offence no more serious, surely, than driving on an expired licence?

Last time I arrived into Britain, I couldn't help but notice the contrast between passing through British Immigration and Customs and the same experience a few days later in the US. In Britain, neatly dressed immigration officers in civvy suits and ties processed each person. I joked about being a asylum seeker and they laughed back at me. A group of suspected illegal immigrants were seated in a corner of the immigration hall, while a lady immigration officer fussed over them in a motherly fashion and gave them glasses of orange juice. As for Customs, I went through the green lane and didn't see a single Customs officer anywhere.

But a typical entry back home into the US involves first of all being interviewed by a hostile uniformed armed Immigration Officer (why do immigration officers at airports, in secure zones, need guns?), then a repeat performance one, two, or even three times by Customs officers before finally escaping into the freedom outside.

The Register
IRC privacy has always been something of a contradiction. ISPs routinely log IRC chat sessions, and by nature, Microsoft and TimeWarner store chat room archives. It'a tribute to the power of fluffy marketing (think: colored balls) that so far, the reaction has been one of unease and curiosity. How IRC users would react to a bot from microsoft.com is an exercise left to the reader

The Travel Insider - Save Money on Discount Travel and Other Helpful Information: "Travel Tips Traps & Tricks"
From newsletter 7 Nov 03
Did you know that in the UK, over 600,000 cellphones are dropped into toilets each year? This would suggest that probably 2 million phones suffer a similar fate in the US. Normally such events are of small consequence (except to the phone's owner) but unfortunate Edwin Gallart of New York got his arm stuck while trying to retrieve his phone from a toilet on a commuter train in New York last Friday. After a fellow passenger heard his cries for help, the train was stopped, and after two hours, a blow torch was needed to cut the stainless steel toilet away from his arm. Ouch!

attheraces: "The profitability of backing riders unable to claim in apprentice-only races is a new phenomenon this year.

Certainly, a glance at the overall level stakes profits provided by the likes of Sam Hitchcott (170 points), Robert Miles (100 points), Lisa Jones (80 points) and Nicky Mackay (50 points) is a reminder of the advantages to be had by employing a claiming jockey who is riding as well as many fully-fledged pilots

NOT FOR YARD ATTATCHED TO!
Claiming jockeys who ride for yards that have lots of runners, but a low strike-rate, often seem to represent very good value during the latter stages of their claim."

Trainer Form

Yorkshire-based Ian McInnes provides an excellent current example of why winners alone are not the sole guide to a stable’s wellbeing. The yard hasn’t yet had a winner in October from seven runners…but there have been plenty of near misses. Shamwari Fire has been second of 15 at 20-1 and also fourth of 17 at 16-1; Rock Concert was third of 15 at 16-1 and third of 17 at 12-1; and H Harrison was third of 14 at 20-1. None of them were beaten far, and given that the yard also H Harrison won three times in September, it’s well worth keeping looking out for any runners in the next few weeks.

Similar comments apply to Neville Bycroft, who has had five horses placed from just 11 runners in the last three weeks at odds ranging from 12-1 to 33-1, with none of the placed horses beaten very far

Guardian Unlimited | Archive Search: "Hijacked your bank balance, your identity, your life
Rachel Shabi
October 25 2003
Whatever you do today, you are leaving a blatant trail of information behind you. It is personal, sensitive information, and it is easily abused. Everything you do to live will create this data trail. "

So true - tempting, but I will resist double posting or mailing this on at all cos it is basic commonsense really...
BBC NEWS | Technology | Web guru fights info pollution: "Having an always-on connection with Outlook permanently open in the background with a notification system was ultimately my biggest mistake - couple that with Instant Messaging and my productivity went through the floor... Now I have got rid of the notifications, don't have IM on during working hours and check my mails on average about three times during the day. Coupled with having created a complicated list of filters and a closed exemption list, I only have to react to spam once a day - usually last thing before I turn my computer off rather than getting notified every 5-10 mins throughout the day..."

i really, really hope that I will never have to look back for this article to use as an outline for setting up seo on my own...PromotionData.com - Web promotion and development community: "If you have ever considered starting a new SEO service company, there are several steps you can take that will get things moving in the right direction. I myself started a company this past year that is already realizing great results"

Barefoot Doctor's Bit: Are Fairweather Friends Better Than None?

Barefoot Doctor: "Fairweather friends are better in the general sense that company of any kind is usually more fulfilling than watching TV, but only if you view them in the same way as watching TV; for entertainment.

True friendship, on the other hand, requires time to develop during which you check out each other's sense of reciprocity, the inherent give and take of any relationship, to see whether it's balanced. Different people give and take in different ways and with different timing, which is why it takes a while to establish that balance.

However, you'll actually know whether someone is a true friend or simply fair-weather the first time you meet them, because you'll feel it in your belly. The trick is to be sensitive to whatever your belly's telling you and that requires breathing consciously and remaining mindful of your inner feelings while engaged in the clatter and clamour of the world."

One for the reading list:
What Should I Do With My Life? by Po Bronson: " what should I do with my life?"

The Observer | Comment | They said what... ?: "'I ended up on a shrink's couch and he told me to write down how much I did in a week - 20 Es, four grams of coke, half an ounce of hash, three bottles of Jack Daniel's, 60 pints and 40 fags a day. He looked at me and said 'Do you wonder you're depressed?''
Colin Farrell, actor "

A little bit of history..
The Observer | Travel: "
Empire built on love of travel
Now celebrating its thirtieth birthday the Lonely Planet series sells more than 5.5 million books a year in English in 118 countries, and also brings out maps and mobile phone guides."

The Observer | Business | Mammon: Betfair co-founder Mark Davies: "Bookies' favourite? Not by a long chalk

Loved by punters, hated by rivals - internet gambling site Betfair must keep the taxman and regulator off its back and forge new markets. All in a day's work for co-founder Mark Davies, writes Nick Mathiason "

The man:Barefoot Doctor Bit: Do Age Gaps in Romances Matter?

Barefoot Doctor: "Age gaps matter as much or as little as any of the other differences between two people matter. There may be cultural differences between you (age related or otherwise) which give rise to insecurity or dissatisfaction for sure but then dissatisfaction is an essential part of the human condition. Perhaps you'll have varying sex-drive levels, but this can apply no matter what the age difference.

In many ways a big age gap can enhance rather than diminish the connection, perhaps because there's generally less competitiveness between you, or perhaps because it reminds you that physical form is only physical form and it's your souls that meet regardless of how old or young your bodies and personalities are.

When the force of destiny, fate, the stars, cause and effect or whatever you call it, brings you together with someone you'll be together and when the force moves you apart, you move apart; all other considerations regarding age gaps or any other interpersonal differences, are merely a play in the mind."

This, from the Guardian, echoes exactly Pete's reaction to my blog url having been sent to AU....
Guardian Unlimited | Online | Why blogs could be bad for business: "There are plenty of areas of business where people are judged on their knowledge, and the competitive edge - and thus the safety of everyone's jobs - is the thickness of a single good idea. Share it all on a weblog, with competitors or (worse) an office rival? You must be kidding."

Some interesting self help stuf...
What's Your Emotional IQ?: "It takes more than, academic
smarts to be a success
Whats Your Emotional IQ?"

Barefoot Doctor Bit: What's the Boundary Between Faith and Delusion?

Barefoot Doctor: "The key to recognising the boundary comes from being able to distinguish the signals originating from your so-called higher mind or spirit from those arising from the delusory mush in the trash of your unconscious mind.

Signals from the former - if you allow yourself to be silent and sensitive enough to be aware of them- will cause your body to feel light and your mind to feel peaceful, while signals from the latter make you feel heavy and manic.

Signals from the higher mind also tend to concern the next small step you have to make for your adventure to blossom, while signals from the deluded mind tend to provoke grandiose scenarios. That's not to say you shouldn't spend time visualising the bigger picture of the life you want ideally, but that's a different story altogether.

Follow the impulses that fill your body and mind with lightness of being and ignore those that make your thoughts race and temples throb."

Booked our holiday yesterday - well the night b4 but online booking with Libra let me down at the last click, after sending credit card details etc - no booking reference or printable confirmation & it was the last vacancy at the accommodation we wanted. Panic - the money went off the credit card - checked with the Halifax but they could not ttell us where it had gone for 3 days & the libra telesales person could not help - no access to that info "ring admin at 9am - but get in quick or you will be on hold all day" was their advise. So had to go to bed knowing I couldnt find anything out until 9am. Luckily got through pretty quick & had the booking confirmed on ph & emailed to me. NB all the email addys on the site bounced - dreadfull.