A Christian organization recently blasted Lowe’s for featuring in an ad a product they labeled as a “family tree.” The organization said that this is part of the “war on Christmas” and demanded Lowe’s relabel it accordingly. While I disagree with the group’s central foundation (that the war on Christmas is somehow because […]
I’ve been hearing a fair number of questions/comments lately on the downsides of social networking sites, specifically along the line of some uncomfortable situations that can arise when your Facebook or MySpace self interacts with your real world self. What happens when pictures of you posted online carry over into your real life? […]
I’ve been reading a lot of reviews of Kindle, the device I maligned last week. Overall, the reviews have been positive. I’ve read a few bad reviews, but most of them seem to miss the point. The complain about the design, the interface, the marketing, et cetera. Here’s the problem with […]
Thank you, Tony, for clarifying Beacon. In the comments on the previous post, Tony writes “It operates via cookies. Sites in the Beacon program can read your facebook cookies and set values telling facebook to publish a story the next time you log in.”
This is obviously much more horrible than anything I had envisioned. […]
I cannot figure out all the hubbub over Facebook’s new advertising mechanism, named Beacon. The way this much maligned program works, as I understand it: somehow Facebook knows what you have bought, and this can then be broadcast to friends, I assume via Newsfeed. So the story might read something like “Michael […]
What a wonderful day yesterday was. It was Thanksgiving, of course, a jolly time. Lauren and I laid around for a while in the morning, thoroughly confusing the cat, as it’s not a weekend. Eventually, I showered and dressed, ready to head out to Sun Prairie, to my Aunt Susan’s house, where […]
Earlier this afternoon, I learned that two dear friends of mine will soon be heading off for different landscapes, escaping to Hungary to teach young ones the wonders of English. Such an opportunity and such a bold choice! I cannot help but be excited for them as they head out, seeking chance and […]
Amazon has released a product following in the path of products that have failed before - an eBook reader! You can now cuddle up with an electronic screen, displaying pages of a book and using buttons to flip the page. This one is a little more fancy than previous versions - offering access […]
I saw a headline on FOXSports.com which made me upset. It reads, “You mean we’ve gotta root for greedy A-Rod?” For my less sports-enthused readers, here’s what’s up. Alex Rodriguez signed a lucrative contract with the New York Yankees. But after disappointing finishes in the last couple playoff series, he decided […]
It should come to no surprise to most of you readers that CNN is not the best source of news on the planet. Still, recently Lauren pointed out to me how few of the stories listed in the Latest News section of their website is actually news. We counted last night and found […]
I’ve heard that Federal sentencing guidelines relating to crack are being reduced, hopefully to bring them in line with the same sentences for cocaine. It’s the same drug, people! But crack is cheaper and thus more likely to be used by poorer people. If you are poor and messed up with crack, […]
Here is a poem I wrote on November 8, 2007. What do you think of it?
The Media
By Michael Braun
Media, our friend:
Inqui’ring minds want to know.
Welcome to our home.
Media, our foe:
Yellow J’s turn buzz to sting.
Silence is golden.
Media, our truth:
Rake the facts under our feet.
Let reports be kind.
Wow, the Microsoft Zune has really stepped up the competition with Apple. Claiming that people are sick of the same old music players, Chris Stephenson says that Zune wanted to step out from the competition. Rather than adding non-iPod features to a well-designed interface, Microsoft decided to offer fancy engraving to the backs […]
In our usual search for something fun to do during the weekend, Lauren and I decided to go to a UW Women’s volleyball game. We had both been to a game last year (though not with each other) and so knew what to expect, lots of fun. But who knew it would be […]
Last weekend, we all had to move our clocks back one hour. Well, I guess you didn’t have to, but if you’ve been late all week long, this time change thing may indeed be the issue. Now, rather than it being dark in the morning when I get up, it’s light! This […]