Earth Class Mail vs EarthMailFree.com???

I was reading this blog tonight and couldn’t believe my eyes! EarthClassMail.com is claiming that EarthMailFree.com is infringing on their copyright because of the use of the two words EARTH and MAIL in the domain name!

The irony at least for me, is I watched several entrepreneur TV shows that specifically talked about Earth Class Mail! I was quite interested and excited of what the company and CEO were doing.  Sure they had their problems with the start up.  Not to mention they rewrote their entire site to Microsoft’s ASP.NET barely finishing and pulling off fixing bugs before the start of a conference they were attending.  I was sorry to hear yet another company were accepting “offers” from Microsoft with no significant technical merit to back their decision.  Rather than perfect their product, they instead wasted precious time getting to market in fixing a new ASP.NET website written in haste! Still, I must admit, I watched the show.

Then I come across this blog, and find that Earth Class Mail is actually suing the domain name owner of EarthMailFree.com! Are you kidding me? Maybe Earth Class Mail are borrowing lawyers from Microsoft as well?

Let me say one thing to this new company.  Piss off enough of us “little” people, and it will spread like wild fire…see you back on the streets in a couple years!

Anna Deavere Smith: Four American characters

I began watching TED earlier this year.  But it wasn’t until I purchased my iPhone until I began watching TED regularly.  TED podcasts have since been removed off the iPhone.  Instead, I download the HD version on my Apple TV.  I prefer to watch it in my home office or while in my living room without distractions.

Maybe I am growing old, but I have noticed lately I tend to listen more in conversations than to speak.  I find it enjoyable to truly process what one has said, combined with body language arriving in a few short sentences on the topic which we are discussing.

It is amazing even days ago that someone told me I am being too quiet during meetings at work.  I thought to myself; actually I only want to speak when I feel something is relevant.  I’ve come to the conclusion that people enjoy sharing their opinions, relevant or not.

There are also the people who speak because they are passionate or at times annoyed about a situation.  I use to be and still am one of those people.  My passion can cause me to dominate a conversation.  I would say I am making progress.  While others would say I am less passionate or disengaged.

The reason I am mentioning this is because I really enjoy listening to the stories shared on TED.  They host very passionate people who have some great ideas to share.  I don’t watch them all completely, but I give each one a few minutes to get started.

Tonight, I watched Anna Deavere Smith portray four American characters. Not only did she act out the parts, but the stories she shared caused me to become fully engaged in each.  Nothing seemed scripted, as she shared true accounts of research she had accomplished while traveling in America.  I highly recommend watching it! Anna demonstrates her acute listening skill by replaying her own encounters with these four American characters.

Overall, TED reminds me to be a better listener and consider what can be learned by each and every person I interact with in my daily life.  Listening better has helped me improve my personal and professional relationships.

Linear TV’s demise?

Apple TV sells you movies and tv shows.  Tivo plays rented or purchased tv shows and movies from Amazon!

When will Comcast and the broadcast networks finally make the big plunge? It seems Comcast has in some ways.  When you watch new episodes of the final season of The Wire, you are already watching a show a week old.  Why? Because Comcast and HBO worked a deal to allow Comcast to release the episodes one week early for Comcast customers.  I was DVR’ing the show, when I realized it was being offered on Comcast’s ON DEMAND network.  So there it was, next weeks show and I just finished last week’s?

What I would like…to pay $24.95 and get to watch every episode of The Wire when I want.  Good for me to watch at my leisure over the next 30 days.

I’ve heard and known of Apple Tv.  Quite tempting.  I have netflix at home.  Convenient.  Now Tivo plays Amazon rented/purchased movies and/or tv shows.  Why am I paying for linear Tv I don’t have time to watch?

I’ve even found the few children shows my kids watch are being replayed from DVR.  Sure they catch a Sponge Bob once in a while, but they don’t like having to see if its on.  My daughter wants to watch sponge bob when she has TV time, not waste 30 mins of her TV time on something the networks want her to watch.  And she’s only four!

Why can’t I pay a monthly fee ($4.95) and get every episode of Sponge bob delivered? Maybe allow the kids to mark their favorite episodes while you shuffle new and old episodes in?

Its getting quite tempting.  I’m about to call Comcast and pull the plug.  But first I have to decide on Apple TV and/or a Tivo like device.

News? LOL…are you kidding me? We actually make sure we set channels back to kids channels, because the news has become too graphic for young children! If I need the news, I can always catch up on it via the internet.  Sorry CNN…but CNN.com sounds better and keeps my kids from stumbling across another sentence with words like bullet, murder, or rape.

What about new cartoon content, or new TV shows? How do you get someone to subscribe? The same way you do with movies.  Premier them.  Give us a free episode or two…heck even let us vote.  Why not…? 

Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon…anyone have any ideas.  Has anyone made the change already? If so, I’d like to hear your input.

When is a Tattoo not a Tattoo?

I read this story and am a bit stunned how simple the solution for non-permanent tattoos really was. I’m not promoting or strongly against tattoos. To each his/her own. I do like the idea that a tattoo can be more easily removed if that someone happened to get a tattoo in Daytona Beach, Florida during Bike Week. I’m not releasing any names.

Researchers Develop Regret-Free Tattoo

I know…right now your thinking. Either way not me. But think about the applications. Movie stars can get tattoos for their next role. And one day when/if it is affordable enough, younger teenagers will get them at a younger age too, because…well they are not permanent. Don’t agree? Yeah, well I never thought I would of heard young girls getting breast implants in high school either. It wasn’t around when I was in high school…and I’m not that old!

Fair tax rally

A rally was held in Georgia in support of Fair Tax, a move to rid the United States of the annual cumbersome tax return due April 15th each year. Sen. Saxby Chambliss went on to point out it would take nearly 10 years of rallying to get such a change.

Whenever I look back at the end of a new year and go, wow that went fast.  I will count down the years for this fair tax.  I can be hopeful that our children one day will have a better government system in favor of the citizens who are honest workers.

Boooooo Boston Officials!

In a corner of the earth where an important American revolution began against their aggressors and staged the Boston Tea Party, surely they haven’t fallen victim to the very fear that terrorists would love to cause in this great nation?

Boston officials — I’m am sorely unimpressed by your over reaction to a light-hearted marketing campaign. Then to go on and claim that corporate marketing greed was the motivator and demand restitution for $750,000 due to an operational cost in addressing the “bomb threat”. Did you ever consider bad judgement and over reaction is what cost your city that money?

Authorities vowed to hold Turner accountable for what Menino said was “corporate greed,” that led to at least $750,000 in police costs. — Source FoxNews.com

It sounds less like corporate greed and more like government greed trying to squeeze some money out of a corporate company to me. Nine other city’s in America did not overreact, and it was up for weeks:

“I find it kind of ridiculous that they’re making these statements on TV that we must not be safe from terrorism, because they were up there for three weeks and no one noticed. It’s pretty commonsensical to look at them and say this is a piece of art and installation,” he [Berdovsky, an artist] said. – Source FoxNews.com

Please tell me that America has not fallen into terrorists hands and are scared to allow fans of a TV show have some fun?

Here is the image that caused Boston officials to shut down parts of their city:

The little magic pill

This is disturbing…

Researchers from Denmark and the U.S. say that there are over 200 industrial chemicals, including metals, solvents and pesticides, which have the potential to damage the brain.

Scientists believe fetal and early childhood exposures to industrial chemicals in the environment can damage the developing brain and can lead to neurodevelopmental disorders such autism, attention deficit disorder (ADHD), and mental retardation. 

Read it here.

Our school system needs help

There are always two sides to the story. But adults who work with children have to always remember what they may feel like doing at a particular moment, may not be the right decision.

Student slapped, teacher resigns
[Local Newspaper link]

School, children and society

This post hits a bit closer to home. Typically in my free, but often mobile time, I ponder things I can improve upon regarding my own actions at work/home or something related to a problem at hand with regards to a work or personal technical project.

Lately, I have been studying people, actions, and pondering the very society that we live in today. There is literature available in books and of course the internet.

I searched Google for society’s effects on children, the results are expected: media violence, divorce, domestic violence, and alcohol. Something which I suspected.