16 Ton Satellite Falling To Earth

It'll enter the atmosphere tomorrow at some point, but no one knows exactly where. Wear a hat.

See this Amp at http://bbc.in/n7FqMA

Vatican Bloggers Summit: Catholic Church Engages With The Online Community

Where was my invitation­? Oh wait, nevermind. I'm happy to see the church engaging with people online. Maybe they'll come out of the middle ages and join the modern world.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Caravaggio The Real OG

I love this story about Caravaggio. The boy was talented, there's no doubt about that, ask any art history scholar.

What I mean by "OG" is that Caravaggio was The "Original Gangsta" if I may paraphrase a line from an old Ice-T song. I never learned about any of Caravaggio's antics in any of my art history classes.

Seriously, if one of my professors had mentioned this, I'm sure I would've paid more attention. The moral of the story seems to be that it's not who you know that matters, it's who knows you that really matters.

See this Amp at http://bbc.in/gDZbOa

What is this?

I see the changes in the UI, I see character limits, I see all sorts of other things that both make sense and don't make sense. Alas, the farmer update was making me reconsider posting similar content on multiple locations, but I really enjoyed the different interaction I would get on the different platforms I was using.



Maybe I need to figure something out as far as how much to post where and simply re-evaluate how I'm using the tools/platforms that I have at my disposal.



That's probably the best, and most full of win, option.

TX HB1202 In A Nutshell

I cannot believe this bill. Essentially, it's an ace in the hole for the big mouth Republicans. A "get out of jail free" card, if you will.

Remember how just about every single one of the big mouth republicans, from Meg Whitman on down, end up having at least one undocumented worker in their household staff? This little addendum, gives them an out.

See, the undocumented worker gets deported, but, the person that hired the undocumented worker won't be on the hook for all the taxes etc. that they didn't pay nor will they have to pay the $10,000 penalty.

This is indeed ridiculous for just about any state, but in Texas, it's about normal. Seriously, it is. Have you seen the "geniuses" that we've had for governors the last few years?

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bsvv1

Texas Social Media Awards Winners Announced

The Austin American Statesman has announced the 25 winners of their Texas Social Media awards. The Statesman doesn't say what people did, or had to do, or accomplished in order to win an award.

They explain their methodology for selecting winners as "going through all the nominees profiles and selecting" the winners from the list of nominees.

I don't want to take anything away from the winners, but I would like to know what it is that made some people worthy of an award, and not others.

Out of the 25 winners, I follow only 1, and am familiar with one other nominee.

Maybe I need to take the time to look at each of the winner's profiles and see if I can figure out why they won.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bsna6

How To Get A Page 1 Ranking

Clipped from www.nytimes.com

The company bested millions of sites — and not just in searches for dresses, bedding and area rugs. For months, it was consistently at or near the top in searches for “skinny jeans,” “home decor,” “comforter sets,” “furniture” and dozens of other words and phrases, from the blandly generic (“tablecloths”) to the strangely specific (“grommet top curtains”). This striking performance lasted for months, most crucially through the holiday season, when there is a huge spike in online shopping. J. C. Penney even beat out the sites of manufacturers in searches for the products of those manufacturers. Type in “Samsonite carry on luggage,” for instance, and Penney for months was first on the list, ahead of Samsonite.com. With more than 1,100 stores and $17.8 billion in total revenue in 2010, Penney is certainly a major player in American retailing. But Google’s stated goal is to sift through every corner of the Internet and find the most important, relevant Web sites. Does the collective wisdom of the Web really say that Penney has the most essential site when it comes to dresses? And bedding? And area rugs? And dozens of other words and phrases? The New York Times asked an expert in online search, Doug Pierce of Blue Fountain Media in New York, to study this question, as well as Penney’s astoundingly strong search-term performance in recent months. What he found suggests that the digital age’s most mundane act, the Google search, often represents layer upon layer of intrigue. And the intrigue starts in the sprawling, subterranean world of “black hat” optimization, the dark art of raising the profile of a Web site with methods that Google considers tantamount to cheating. Despite the cowboy outlaw connotations, black-hat services are not illegal, but trafficking in them risks the wrath of Google. The company draws a pretty thick line between techniques it considers deceptive and “white hat” approaches, which are offered by hundreds of consulting firms and are legitimate ways to increase a site’s visibility. Penney’s results were derived from methods on the wrong side of that line, says Mr. Pierce. He described the optimization as the most ambitious attempt to game Google’s search results that he has ever seen. Read more at www.nytimes.com

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bsfjq

Iran Threatening To Boycott 2012 Olympics

They must not be ready to compete at all if they have to go to these measures. Seriously, the logo is hideous, but that's no crime against humanity.

The beef lies in that if you read the logo from top to bottom, going from left to right, it apparently spells the word "Zion." Of course, never mind that the geniuses just figured this out, even though the logo has been public for 4 years.

I bet the Iranian government killed too many of their Olympic level athletes when they were putting down civilian uprisings recently. Now, all the athletes they have left, are best described as "oh limp dick" level athletes.

Yeah, I just said that.

I wonder how long it will take Hugo Chavez to pronounce himself in support of Iran, just like he's pronounced himself in support of Gaddafi.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bs684

Weird Russian Wedding Photos

These photos must all be from the same photographer, or photography studio. They look like they were all shot at the same locations, even though they feature different couples.

Some of the questions I have from looking at these pictures range from "what's the deal with having people be different sizes" to "why os that one bride looking down the grooms pants" all the way to "photoshop much?" and "that's not a very auspicious start, isn't it?"

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/brno2

Regrettable Myspace Photos

This is a sample of the photos on the site. Some have been making the rounds for a while now, but these are ones that I hadn't seen.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/brlxt

Rush Limbaugh Calls Michelle Obama Fat

You know, if this were in a movie or a TV show, the writers would cut it out of the final draft because it's just too absurd and surreal and no one would believe it. Unfortunately, life is not a TV show, so this really happened.

I'm not a fan of Rush Limbaugh (surprised, right?) but this really takes the cake and elevates his stupidity to another level.

I'm reminded of a line from that movie "Snatch:"

You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity" - Bullet-Tooth Tony.

Next, Rush will start talking smack about people addicted to Oxycontin and other drugs. After that, he'll start up on how having your house maid go out and score drugs for you is bad for the economy.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/hjqqpp

Fake Guru James Ray On Trial For Manslaughter

Looks like the trial of James "Death" Ray is underway. He's the fake guru/conman on trial for orchestrating a sweat lodge ceremony where 3 people died.

Obviously, he plead "not guilty" which semantically isn't the same as "innocent" but that's a whole other story.

I say he's a fake and a conman because his whole schtick is about "creating wealth" and creating the "life that you want" or some such bull. However, during pre-trial motions, his attorneys claimed that Death Ray is not a wealthy man at all, that he was broke and barely making it.

Mind you, Death Ray presented himself as a wealthy and youthful person that could "teach you the way to wealth" etc. Ray was one of the prominent people featured in the mockumentary scammy sales video "The Secret" and was also pimped hard by Oprah. So, on the surface, it looked like he was making the money that he claimed.

Turns out he wasn't.

Turns out, according to court papers, the guy is broke as a joke. Maybe all the money is hidden offshore to avoid paying taxes, which to me, really only makes it worse. But the guy is broke.

He was also taking a lot of supplements like testosterone, hgh, a slew of vitamins and other medications to keep up his "youthful" appearance. Even that was fake.

Turns out, that Ray's only "guru" training came from selling AT&T services to people in seminars. Turns out, other than being good at scamming money out of people, Ray has no qualifications to do anything at all.

So, I'm glad he's getting his day in court.

I pray that the families of Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman and James Shore get some kind of closure by seeing the man responsible for the deaths of their loved ones being put on trial for his actions.

Here's a link where you can learn more about James Ray. Be warned there is a lot of off color language on that site.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/ib5DFk

Polyamory Is Wrong

I love this shirt. I'm not sure how I ended up on that guy's site, but I thought the slogan on the shirt was hilarious.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/hCbETP

I Stand with Planned Parenthood

You know, Planned Parenthood is in many cases, the only health care option available to many Americans. Planned Parenthood provides cancer screening, HIV testing, and pre-natal care in the communities that it serves.

Yes, Planned Parenthood does provide termination of pregnancy services, but did you know that less than 3% of it's budget goes to termination of pregnancies? The republican congress wants to cut off all federal funding to PP because of 3% of PP's budget.

Show your support for planned parenthood by filling out the petition below.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/fR9Ys5

Object lesson from -> Nokia's CEO demonstrates true leadership: Drop The Rah-Rah & Tell It Like It Is

Good leadership is hard to find.

While this story is about a huge technology company, the lessons for #leadership should be considered by all. Even as a solopreneur, you are in a sense exerting leadership over yourself.

Can you tell yourself the truth?

See this Amp at http://read.bi/hoAEKJ

Catholic Church Approves iPhone App

The catholic church has given its blessings to an iPhone app that guides you through a confession. I'm sure there's an episode of "Family Guy" or something in here.

So, the catholic church will approve an iPhone app, but won't approve condoms for contraception or to prevent the spread of STDs. Awesome stuff.

Way to go Ratz! Way to stay up with the times.

I also like that the church has determined that using social networking sites is not a sin. I feel so much better about spending time on Facebook now.

Do you think the church would approve an iPhone app that lets people report sexual abuse by priests?

The app would tell you to shut up and think about the good of the church, then it would recommend that you change parish but it won't actually send the report anywhere. The report would just be deleted as soon as it's submitted.

Something tells me, the church would not approve.

See this Amp at http://bbc.in/fcU1xG

Cool Jobs That Don't Pay Much

I came across this list and noticed something interesting. The original article features 25 people that love what they do, but out of the 25, 4 of them are photographers and 1 of them is a driver.

Interestingly, there was a linked article that talked about the most lucrative careers, and none of the careers that people "love" to do are on the list.

I guess, you can make a lot of money, or love what you do but you can't do both.

Maybe not quite that simple, but maybe it is that simple.

See this Amp at http://on-msn.com/h01Egt

15 States Want To Pass Arizona Style Immigration Laws

In further proof that you don't have to be particularly smart to serve in a state legislature, 15 states are currently working on passing Arizona style immigration laws.

Why do I say that these people are stupid? There's this thing called the US Constitution, I'm sure you've heard of it.

The Constitution says (Article VI, Clause 2) states cannot individually create their own laws that supersede federal laws. There's also the question of whether or not state and local law enforcement has the authority to enforce federal laws. By the way, they don't.

There's that little thing, then there's the other problem.

The other problem is that these laws will invariably lead to more racial profiling. The only people that will be targeted by these laws, are brown people that speak with an accent.

The people in the state senates mentioned below are merely pandering, scapegoating, obfuscating and engaging in demagoguery while ignoring the real issues and real problems that we face in this country.

Has anyone else noticed the deficit? Has anyone else noticed the constant budget shortfalls? Has anyone else noticed how much they've cut from education budgets?

I guess none of that is as important.

I'm guessing, it's far more palatable for legislators to say that illegal immigrants are taking away all the jobs and benefits (they're not) than it is for legislators to say that the reason we're so screwed is due to their own ineptitude and mismanagement coupled with the general population's complacency.

See this Amp at http://on.msnbc.com/dZ0Jig

Real Revolution vs Fake Revolution

Methinks this picture speaks volumes n'est pas?

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/e4Elji

Untitled

Seriously, who came up with this idea? This late in the game, they are still trying to rent out this mansion in Dallas. They are targeting a high end clientele, yet their marketing material is, shall we say, "lacking?"

I think that "lacking" is the most polite way to say it since they still haven't rented the place out.

The brochure that they put together for the mansion, is nothing more than a MS Word document, with virtually no formatting, printed to PDF.

Methinks the nouveau riche people that would want to rent out the house for $300k, would at least expect an MS Publisher document or something like that.

Sheeshmon, you couldn't think to download a preview copy of InDesign and use that to design the brochure?

I recommend the agent trying to rent out this place watch a couple of episodes of "Selling New York" so she can get an idea of how to put together a marketing package for high end customers.

Here's the link to the brochure so you can see what I'm talking about.

See this Amp at http://yhoo.it/etjGbh

What Does Your State Suck At?

I love the Utah has the highest use of porn of any other state. Oh the irony.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/h2xtt1

Sen. John Cornyn (R) TX The New Flip Flop Master

I've met John Cornyn, he's really short. Short people, make me nervous.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/i01QPG

The Difference Between A Ninja, A Jedi, A Wizard & A Vampire

I should really say a "vampire" but I digress.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/fONY81

Pictures of North Korea

I've never been to North Korea, but from these pictures it looks like it's a place that time forgot. It looks like everything, except for the military, is falling apart.

Well, those fake tank rock sculptures might prove otherwise as far as the military not falling apart point goes.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/gQGqJM

Planetary map of the Star Wars universe

I like the concept, I don't know how right this thing is. To begin with, why would the princess Amidala head towards Tatooine when there are other planets that are both further out and closer in? Also, Tatooine doesn't seem to be so far out of the way either.

Maybe it's just the fact that this is a 2-d map that makes things looks closer than they should.

Yes, I'm a geek.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bm980

50 States Of Food

For the most part, I agree with their designations, except for Tennessee, North Carolina and a couple more.

How off base do you think this map is?

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/ffmh8j

2011 No Pants Subway Ride Pictures

I'm glad to see that everyone appears to have worn clean underwear. Maybe even new underwear, which is even better. I think this whole event would have had a different feel to it if everyone had worn dirty drawers.

Yes, that's how my mind operates.

See this Amp at http://bzfd.it/gospIn

At least 15 reasons why you can't call yourself an Entrepreneur

I found this to be both amusing and entertaining.

Can you call yourself an Entrepreneur after reading this list?

This was a great read and boy did it it home. If you are an entrepreneur what can you add to the list? I

If you are not an entrepreneur, do not let this scare you.

If it does don't be an entrepreneur?

Pierre Rattini, CCO
BiZ BuZZ MeDia,
Social Media Marketing and Mobile Marketing
http://bizbuzzmedia.net

See this Amp at http://read.bi/eN9MVm

Fat Man To Sue NHS For Letting Him Get Fat

I saw this guy on TV the other day and he's a whiny crying little bitch. He got fat on his own. I don't see how the NHS is responsible for him putting 20,000 calories a day into his fat mouth.

"Ride your bike more" seems like a reasonable recommendation to get more exercise. Seeing a dietician also seems reasonable for figuring out what to eat.

This guy has no job, and gets round the clock care from a nurse that the NHS pays for. He lives by, and thanks to, sucking on the state teet and he has the gall to want to sue.

Take some responsibility Paul, you ate the food, you got fat. NHS didn't let you get fat, you did that to yourself.

70 stone is 980 lbs (444 kg). Paul got a gastric bypass, paid for by NHS, and is now down to "only" 37 stone aka 518 lbs, aka 235 kg.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/e7tNhY

Stunning Eye Photographs

This is a really cool concept. I love the lighting in the shots. I never would have imagined that eyes had such beautiful and complex structure to them.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/huQrzF

The Ruins of Detroit

I love photographs of abandoned buildings. There's just a certain something about the lighting, the fact the building is abandoned and the rest of the mystique of the location that I enjoy.

Detroit seems to be the place to be for photographing grand and abandoned buildings.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/e56uAM