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The gadget geek in me is jumping up and down, but so is the designer side of me. It’s very cool to read about and look at photos of past technology, crazy inventions, and (what were) futuristic ideas. At the same time, it is amazing to compare the designs from various dates such as 1874, 1940, 1972, and 2010. Design and the technology printing those designs was constantly changing as well. People were creating new ways to share ideas and information. Layouts changed from plain, standard column text to full page ads and articles with lots of photos and flexible regions of text.

Something that everyone should check out: Popular Science Archives

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This could be good. It would be nice to have more mainstream titles added to the Watch Instantly catalog. I doubt however, that this will boost the sale of Warner Brothers DVDs at the time of release. People are turning to Netflix because they don’t want to have to buy DVDs either because they don’t want to own the DVD, don’t want to venture out to rental stores, or because they are trying to cut costs. There are a number of other methods that people can turn to in order to see the new releases, the biggest being the iTunes Store, RedBox, Blockbuster, XBox Live/Playstation Network, Amazon On Demand, video rental stores, and as Gizmodo suggests, peer-to-peer sharing via torrents. I’m guessing the latter of the list will gain some momentum, especially as other companies join in.

Elsewhere:

• Netflix, Warner Brothers End Dispute, Reach Deal on DVDs – Bloomberg on BusinessWeek
• Netflix Is Losing New Release Rentals – Gizmodo
• 28 Days Later: Say Goodbuy to the Netflix New Release Rental – Mashable
• Netflix, Hollywood Politics and the War for Streaming Movies – Gizmodo
• Netflix bends over, agrees to delay renting Warner DVDs – Engadget

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I’m very skeptical of having to pay for tweets. The first concern that came to mind was that I doubt many people would want to have to pay for tweets to begin with. Yes, there are some obsessive fans out there, but what if they are fans of 50 celebrities who all start charging for access to their tweets? I’m guessing each update would be a few cents, but that could certainly add up quickly. Next, what is to stop certain people from aggregating tweets of several people and releasing them under their own account? They could follow a few celebrities themselves, retweet the tweets and then charge a lump sum so that their own followers would then get the updates of a number of celebrities. I’d rather follow and pay for one stream instead of pay for 50 individually.

I can certainly see charging corporations a small subscription fee for tweeting. Many companies are benefiting greatly through both sales and customer relations as a result of their social media interactions, including Twitter. If Twitter wants to make money, it seems like it would be much easier to charge people a subscription fee instead of charging to view individual streams. Of course, as soon as they start charging subscription fees, I’m guessing many will decide to go with other microblogging services to get their link, news, and status publishing fix.

Twitter Japan To Introduce Paid Premium Accounts Next January

6 Reasons Why Twitter Japan’s Subscription Model Might Work (In Japan)

“Misunderstanding”: Twitter Japan Now Says There Won’t Be A Subscription Model (Update 3)

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

“Fantastic video on the progression of information technology, researched by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman, remixed” -- YouTube video description of Did You Know? video.

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With that said, at first I didn’t take it seriously. One day I tried out one of those sites that check to see if your username is taken on various networks. I had already used ‘mepriestley’ for all of the major sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Blogger, etc. There was a whole list of very obscure sites, some that I’d heard of, but even more that I hadn’t heard of. I figured, eh, why not? There might arise a situation where I need the account and I’d like to have my usual username. Plus, I’d rather it be me that comes up for ‘mepriestley’ then someone else.

One of those sites was CouchSurfing.com. I filled out the sign-up information, but left my “couch” closed for the time being. It happens that my friend, Kevin, just recently used CouchSurfing to stay with a whole group of people in Norway. He said it was great. Of course, this instantly reminded me of my profile and I decided to look into the whole thing a little closer.

I started searching for surfers and reading reviews and profiles. The whole thing is very impressive. What’s more exciting is that I have been really itching to take John (and possibly his boys) to DC this summer. I love DC and they haven’t really been anywhere. I think this trip might actually be possible with CouchSurfing. There’s quite a few reliable people in the area, as well as a very affordable National Park in case that doesn’t work out. On a side note, I couldn’t believe that there is a really nice National Park with camping, showers, etc. within 10 miles of DC (1 mile from the subway).

As I get back on topic, I love that there is a site like CouchSurfing.com out there. I have been somewhat disappointed at how closed off people can seem. I am so excited to see that people reach out to host and surf around the world. I can’t wait to host our first surfer (if anyone ever needs to actually come to or go through Bradford). Even more, I can’t wait to try surfing and see all of the things that John and I want to see, but can’t necessarily afford otherwise. Yay!

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I honestly had never really heard of this until this week, but it seems that every day there’s a new article in gadget and consumer news about card skimming. Card skimming is a con where people retrofit ATM machines with hidden cameras to read your credit card numbers when you slide your card in. The mini cameras can be hidden behind plastic fittings that look like the usual ATM casing, inside information boxes, and any number of other spots. Sites like the Consumerist and Gizmodo are recommending that you give any ATM machine a look over before you slide in your card.

A few articles on card skimming:

• Credit Card Skimming: How thieves can steal your card info without you knowing it (via NetworkWorld)
• Rogue’s Gallery of ATM Skimmers (via Consumerist)
• Attack of the Card Skimmers: It’s Happening Right Here, Right Now (via Gizmodo)
• A Man Finds an Actual Card Skimmer in the Wild, in the Flesh (via Gizmodo)
• Credit Card Fraud – Skimming (via Wikipedia)

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So, it all started when I friend of mine ( @kevinohashi ), mentioned that he’d tried a thing called miracle berries. He said they were this cool berry that made things taste really good. I was thinking, eh, that’s cool, but didn’t think much else of it. One day, a few weeks later, I was browsing around for any new products on ThinkGeek.com. Low and behold….Miracle Berry Fruit Tablets.

So of course, my curiosity got the best of me and I just had to order them. The ones that came from ThinkGeek were small, round tablets and cost about $1.50 per tablet or $15.00 for a pack of 10. A friend of mine and I did the first trial with some sour drinks we ordered from a bar. They of course, tasted like a really sweet fruit juice – dangerous if you ask me . Then, my friend, Winn, decided to try the lemon that was wedged on the side of his glass…all of a sudden he attacked the thing, claiming it tasted amazing. My boyfriend, John and I tried some lemons, limes, grapefruit, and oranges one night after dinner and they all tasted fantastic. I thought grapefruit was especially tasty. We tried it a few more times. I tried it with grapefruit a few more times (I couldn’t help it, it tastes so sweet). I told everyone I could about the berries. Most people thought it was interesting, but didn’t really take it seriously.

I had read about “taste-tripping” parties online, even in the NYTimes, in an article entitled, The Miracle Fruit, a Tease for the Taste Buds. I found a few sites where you could sign up for invites to secret parties and such. But I wanted to have one of my own. Time went by and I hadn’t had one, until March came around and I wanted to do something for my birthday. As much as the ThinkGeek berries worked, I wanted to see if I could get a better deal. I went to the site Miracle Fruit World where they linked to several retailers. The most trustworthy looking site was Sour2Sweet.com. They also had several sizes that I hadn’t seen before. They had both a regular (about the same size as the ThinkGeek ones for $12.95 per package of 10) or a large ($14.95 per package of 10). The large ones looked about double the size, so I figured, why not? I ordered 5 packages. The nice thing about Sour2Sweet is that no matter how many packages of their Miracle Frooties you order, the shipping is a low, set price. (Note: Also, Sour2Sweet Customer Service is incredible. I had several questions both before I ordered and one to check on my order and I got quick, enthusiastic replies each time.)

They arrived about a week later (but I think it would’ve been shorter had I not ordered on a weekend). I kept them in a cool, dry place until the party. I invited about 12 people and bought quite a bit of fruit and other foods. Here’s a quick run-down of the things to test:
Strawberries            Kiwis                             Tomatoes
Raspberries             Rhubarb                        Chevre (goat cheese)
Oranges                    Grapefruit                     Yogurt (homemade plain)
Lemons                    Blackberries                  Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips
Limes                        Radishes                        Green Grapes
Sour Cream             Hot Sauce                      Baker’s Chocolate (Unsweetened)
Lemon Juice            Fresh Pineapple           Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce

Before everyone tried the berries, I gave them a quick run down on exactly what they were about to put into their mouth. First, I assured them that the tablet is not a drug. Luckily I’m a very trust-worthy, goodie-two-shoes, so I didn’t have a problem convincing them of that. Second, the berries were first documented as being found in West Africa and they’re small berries are a little bit bigger than a coffee bean. I told them that the berry contains a protein called miraculin which binds with the tongue’s tastebuds, causing sour/bitter foods to taste sweet. The effect lasts about 15 minutes and the cause of the reaction is pretty much unknown; it’s a “miracle” . Many of them were interested when I went into a short history of the berry being introduced into the US. The berry was very close once to being marketed, but each time, the FDA denied it (most likely due to pressure from the sugar/candy industry). You can get the actual berries online, but they cost about $3 a piece and rot very fast. The tablets seem like the best way to go because they are half the price and can last up to 18 months. I let them all know that hot foods would dissolve the effect and that it was a great idea for dieters, chemotherapy patients, or diabetics, because a lot of healthy, fruits and vegetables taste really good. They were sold. Or at least they humored me and trusted that they weren’t going to die.

Out of 14 people, 12 tried the berries. Only 1 person said that it didn’t affect them (they might’ve been playing it up). Everyone at least thought it was really cool. About 6 of us went for a second round of testing. One person, who enjoyed it very much, would’ve gone for a second round, but was a little scared when she noticed that her heart rate went up. I assured her that I had read a lot of material and had found the only side effect can be people consuming too much acid, resulting in heart burn or mouth sores. Being a biology teacher, she agreed that it was most likely her own anxiety that spurred from being worked up by thinking about what might happen when she tried an unknown (to her) tablet. So note to anyone – relax. It’s not a drug, and the fruit’s protein only lasts for about 15 minutes. It can last anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours, but if you do not like how the berry alters the taste of things, you can simply swish some warm water in your mouth and the warmth should “melt” off the coating on your tongue.

The funny thing that a lot of people soon realized after testing fruits is that anything bitter or sour tasted very sweet, sweet things were almost too sweet, and everything, no matter what it was, smelled exactly the same (which was very disconcerting). My personal favorites from the party were raspberries (like heaven), rhubarb (like candy), and anything with sour cream on it. I tried strawberries, pineapple and grapes with sour cream and it tasted like they were covered in really thick, a really good cream cheese/cool whip mix. Yummy!

There’s a few of the items on that list that didn’t really change…but I won’t take the fun out of it. I hear beer (Guiness especially), tastes like chocolate, but we did not have any alcohol at my party, so I haven’t tried it yet. One thing I would like to try is sugar, but I keep forgetting to try it because it’s not something I’d think would be worthwhile with the berry. Apparently it loses all taste and simply feels like sand in your mouth. Interesting.

In any case, it’s an awesome experience. Great for parties, especially where not everyone knows each other (great ice breaking experience to share). The only real difference I noticed between the berry tablets I ordered is that the ThinkGeek tablets are just enough and dissolve fast. The Miracle Frooties from Sour2Sweet are much bigger, and I think are therefore much stronger. The only thing is that they take much more time to dissolve and we all found it best to slightly chew on the tablets to break them up in order for them to dissolve faster. In any case, I’d go with the Sour2Sweet tablets because they are bigger and when you’re paying roughly $1.50/per tablet, why not get more for your money? Try it out and enjoy!

I linked to several articles in the beginning, but here’s a few links for those interested:

PICTURES HERE – Pictures From My Party on Picasa – http://picasaweb.google.com/mepriestley/TasteTrippingBirthdayParty
Miracle Fruit – Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_fruit
Miracle Berry Fruit Tablets – ThinkGeek – http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/wacky-candy/ab3f/
The Miracle Fruit, a Tease for the Taste Buds – New York Times – http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/dining/28flavor.html
General Overview & Retailers – Miracle Fruit World – http://www.miraclefruitworld.com/?gclid=CM_8pfKn0pkCFQ_yDAodlBsLug
Miracle Fruit Tablets – Sour2Sweet – http://sour2sweet.com/
‘Miracle Fruit’ Turns Sour Things Sweet – CNN – http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/25/miracle.berries.weightloss/

Click the picture for the full Picasa Web Album

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‘TWAS THE MORNING OF ELECTIONS

‘Twas the morning of elections
And all through the land
People were cheering
The occasion was grand!

I, in my ‘jamas
Watching polls all around
‘Cain and Palin were down
What a glorious sound!

When all of a sudden
There arose such a noise
I saw there on my TV
Palin expressing her joys.

She knew she was a joke
And McCain was too old.
They both were so greedy
But we just couldn’t be sold.

‘Cain couldn’t believe it
His beady eyes rolled.
He grunted, stirred and wavered.
His expression turned cold.

We’ve seen through all the B.S.
We’re sick of all this debt!
We need a change in strategy
We’ll be out of Iraq yet!

Oh Palin and ‘Cain,
And you so called mavericks!
Did you really think we citizens
Would fall for bad ad tricks?

What a bunch of nonsense!
That ‘Bama’s Socialist or Muslim
We all know Palin’s slow
What’s everyone else’s excuse, hmm?

We all have a chance
For change we desperately need!
Far too long we’ve been strangled!
Get out vote! We’ll be freed!

-MEP

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