Rambling Reading

- The Sox made it into their second World Series in 3 years yesterday by defeating the Cleveland Indians.

- Don't mess with Bill Maher - he'll kick you out, dammit!

- Apple knows how to sell more than a few iPods and computers.

- Good luck getting World Series tickets.

...And We're Back!

After a longer than anticipated hiatus, we'll be blogging on a more regular basis again (though the exact timeframe is TBD). In any case, it's been a great 6+ months off. Looking forward to bringing you even more fun from around the Web.

Rambling Reading

Before we get into this edition of Rambling Reading, you may have noticed that this blog has been somewhat dormant this month. Well, the reasons are many, but the goal for the next little while will be to post 3 or 4 times a week, as circumstances allow. On to this week's great Web reads:

-I think Shakespeare said it best when he said "Parting is such sweet sorrow." Little did he know that that quote would be applicable to a once hot entertainer and her now shit-holed career.

-The headline that Newsweek uses "Raiders of the Lost Tomb" definitely applies in this case.

-We can't defeat terror, but we know how to disable your garage door opener.

-Bobby, this is what Humpin' Around will get you (That is, humpin' and not paying your child support).

-Manny's still being Manny, kind of.

MyBay

It was announced last week that eBay was trying to hook-up with MySpace on MySpace. eBay is hoping to tap the 50 Million plus MySpace users by allowing them to transact on MySpace via eBay.

This is an interesting move for eBay, primarily because most of MySpace's customer base contains people in the 18-24 demographic (which, btw, is great idea to gain buyers, not so great to gain sellers).

What's in it for MySpace? Good question. Sure, eBay has 180 Million customers that it can introduce social networking too, but let's face it, MySpace is just a big 'hook-up' platform and how many 40 year old soccer moms want to use a site that's geared towards kids in their 20's.

This is just a preliminary deal, and it's unclear if it will actually be consummated, however, if it does go through, I don't see it being a boon for either company. eBay will surely use MySpace as an advertising mechanism, but once they saturate it, what's left?

WikiLobbying

I thought that this recent clip from Stephen Colbert was quite amusing - especially given the wonderful world of Web 2.0:

Valleywag: Money Buys Happier Sex

From the 'Wag:

Men with a net worth of more than $30m, tech entrepreneurs among them, claiming that their wealth had brought "better sex" -- defined as more frequent sex with more partners. The survey, by Prince & Associates and reported by Robert Frank, showed wealthy women were even more libidinous.

Auctionbytes: eBay to Introduce Feedback 2.0

In my opinion, I'm not sure eBay's going to be able to pull this one off - just relieving the headache that the current eBay feedback system causes all involved (including the eBay employees who have to put up with the bitching from various people wanting feedback removed) is a project in and of itself. Allowing buyers to rate sellers in everything from communication to shipping is a nightmare waiting to happen.

From Auctionbytes:

eBay users can now view sample screenshots of eBay's recently announced "Feedback 2.0" system on the eBay UK website. The new system will allow buyers to rate transactions on item description, communication, shipping time, and shipping & handling charges. In late February, eBay will pilot Feedback 2.0 on eBay.co.uk, eBay.ie and in Australia, Belgium, France, India, Italy and Poland. If all goes well, eBay will launch the new system globally in late spring or early summer.

eBay UK announced the forthcoming system to users on Monday on its Announcement Board, with links to screenshots and details. Once buyers leave a rating of positive, negative or neutral along with a comment, they will have the chance to rate sellers on the following four questions:

• How accurate was the item description?
• How satisfied were you with the seller's communication?
• How quickly did the seller deliver the item?
• How reasonable were the postage and packaging charges?

Buyers can give sellers up to five stars on each of the rating criteria. For instance, five stars on the first question indicates the seller's item description was "very accurate," while two stars on the last question indicates the postage and packaging charges were "unreasonable." eBay will include a thumbnail image of the item underneath the auction title to make it easier for the buyer to remember the item.

On the Feedback Profile page, called Member Profile page under the original feedback rating system, eBay has added a new module that provides the average of each Detailed Sellers Rating left by buyers for the seller in the past 12 months. A seller must have at least 10 Detailed Seller Ratings to have an average displayed. In addition to the average, eBay displays the total number of ratings left for each Detailed Seller Rating in the past 12 months.

Rambling Reading

As usual, the following are some random articles of stuff that I've found interesting on the series of tubes known as the internets:

- Now you don't have an excuse for drinking alone.

- "I promise judge, I was alert the whole time."

- Paris Hilton admits she did it, kind of (no, not that).

- Cutting up your mom only gets you six months in New York. I understand he was under undue influence, but still, this is your mother.

- Don't leave home without your passport. Pretty soon, it will be required to go anywhere (I'm sure it's buried in the Patriot Act somewhere).

- $335,000 for 77 square feet, sign me up!

iPhone on SNL

Below is a short clip from SNL this past weekend. Is this the new way of marketing your product? Granted, in and of itself, the iPhone was bound to be pretty popular, but to have your product parodied on a show like SNL with its initial reach on Saturday night, and then to have it played over and over again on sites like YouTube...Steve Jobs must be sitting somewhere lighting his cigars with $100 dollar bills.

Quick Thoughts from the NFL Playoffs

Great weekend of Playoff football over the weekend. The Most interesting games by far were the Bears game and the Chargers game. Congratulations to all the winners.

I couldn't believe the hit Reggie Bush took in the Eagles game - unbelievable! Here's the YouTube clip:

2006 in Review

At this time last year, I made some predictions about what I thought would happen during the new year. Let's rehash that blog and see what happened, and what didn't happen:

• Iran's Nuclear Facilities are removed. Didn't happen, yet. Iran's president keeps toeing the line as to how far he can go with regard to developing nukes. My guess now is nothing will happen until Iran actually tests a weapon.
• The US begins a systematic withdrawal from Iraq. Uhm, not even close to happening. I suppose the holiday egg-nog was still having its way with me when I wrote this. The fact of the matter is we're actually considering sending more troops into Iraq.
• Hillary Clinton announces her run for the presidency. This didn't happen, yet. However, Hillary's by far the leading democratic candidate in a hypothetical race.
  
• Bush announces a strategic plan for a Plastinian State. I'm just making sure you're still reading. Ha, ha, this one still cracks me up.
  
• Abortion part deux takes place in front of the Supreme Court. Well, this didn't happen because of a couple factors: a) the issue was killed (probably a bad choice of words, I digress) in South Dakota, which was the alleyway for the Court to re-try the issue, and b) the GOP had their asses handed to them in October (which was un-forseen at this point in time).
• Osama Bin Laden will be captured or killed. Another year on the run means more time for him to plan the next big one. OBL successfully threw the dogs off his tracks for another year. However, his buddy in Iraq was not so lucky.
  
• The stock market has another so-so year. Not sure what happened here, but I was completely off. The market had a fantastic year, with the Dow soaring past the 12,000 mark.
  
• The Red Sox have a horrible year. I wasn't totally off on this one. I guess it depends on how one defines the word 'horrible'. The Sox were close throughout the year but tanked in August and ended up missing the playoffs for the first time in five years.
• Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey will get divorced. Ha! I was right on this one! Nick and Jess signed the dotted line and ended their three year marriage. Also noteworthy regarding this one is that Nick could already be back in the saddle again.

Next time, 2007 predictions!

Tag Me

I've been tagged. I didn't tag myself. One of my buddies, Shmuly, did it. This tagging game that's going on in blogosphere has been quite entertaining. The concept is simple, someone with a blog tags you, you write five things that nobody knew about you, and then you tag more people. It's kind of like a blog-chain-letter.
So, without further ado, here's five things you probably did not know about me:

-I currently work at the big O (which is why I don't comment them much), but before that I spent some time at eBay. You can read some of my random thoughts about eBay here, here and here.

-I live in Utah, which is more boring than it sounds.
-In high school, I played football and basketball.
-I spend more time on this site, than I probably should.
-I'm addicted to blackjack. This means when Affiliate Summit 2007 rolls around next month, you'll know where to find me.

So, yeah, that's it. I'm now tagging Noah, Danny, Heather, Mark Cuban (even though I'm not a fan), and Bill Simmons (aka The Sports Guy).

Read More: Tagging, FranklySpeaking

Messin' with 'Melo

I found the fight amusing between the Knicks and the Nuggets amusing on many levels, but a couple thoughts stood out in my mind:

1) It would have been much, much better had Kenyon Martin somehow been involved.

2) Why didn't Nate Robinson pick on someone his on size, like Earl Boykins?

Finally, not that it matters much but somehow, the Knicks ended up beating the Jazz tonight, sans their suspended players.

Read More: Video, NBA, Knicks, Nuggets, Frankly Speaking

$100 Million Dollar Man

The Boston Red Sox got their man, today, well at least it looks that way. The Sox agreed to terms with Japanese Pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka (aka 'Dice').

The deal hinges on Dice passing a physical and actually signing the contract. Terms of the contract call for the Red Sox to shell out $52 Million over 6 years to the 26 year old pitcher. Combine that with the $51 Million that the Sox offered just for the right to talk to the guy, and you're looking at $100 Million out the door.

Is it worth the price? Considering that the Dice will be added to a starting rotation of an aged Curt Schilling, a quasi-effective Josh Beckett and a new to the starting rotation Jonathon Papelbon, this move can't hurt.

In the last two seasons, Dice has 24 wins and 19 loses, with a 2.60 ERA. He had 99 more strikeouts in 2005 than he had in 2004 (playing in only 5 more games, year over year).

All in all, it shouldn't be a bad deal for the Sox. Hopefully he can help out where they need it most.

Read More: Red Sox, Dice, Frankly Speaking

Rambling Reading

A few articles that I've found interesting while perusing the series of tubes, also known as the internet:

-In Texas, it's apparently not a good idea to hug your teacher, even if you're only in preschool.

-Big condoms are a big headache (pun intended).

-Paul found, Peter and James up next.

-From the 'No shit' department, Google promotes themselves in AdWords.

-In Utah, you do not have to know anything about a newspaper in order to be put in charge of one.

Read More: Rambling Reading, Frankly Speaking

Rude Awakening

Paris Hilton ruined every male's fantasy today when her rep told MSNBC News that she and gal pal Britney Spears are 'just friends'.

The two have been out on the town with many sites reporting they have been so comfortable with each other that Paris was spotted rubbing Brit's 'upper thigh'. The two have also been caught hanging out at popular LA nightspots, where photographers caught Brit sans panties.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Read More: Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Frankly Speaking

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

Is Ashlee Simpson getting desperate? She's auctioning off her Uggly boots on eBay. She can't seem to get her show back on MTV, and her ex was recently spotted making out with The King's granddaughter.

Damn, Ash, I guess you always have that singing career to fall back on. Oh, wait, your last CD didn't do so hot, did it?

Read More: Ashlee Simpson, eBay, Frankly Speaking

Update: Yahoo CEO Out...Not

Looks like yesterday's post about Yahoo's CEO Terry Semel was a bit premature. I guess it helps to pay attention to the details.

Read More: Yahoo, Frankly Speaking

Breaking: Yahoo CEO Out

As per Valleywag, Yahoo's CEO Terry Semel is out. The company's CFO, Sue Decker, is Wall Street's early favorite to take over.

I'm sure this won't be the last you hear about this.

Read More: Yahoo, Frankly Speaking

MySpace is No Playground

MySpace announced today that through a joint partnership with a company called Sentinal Tech Holdings, they will begin to match users identities with known sex offenders. The company is taking the step with the hopes of curbing the number of attacks that have happened that authorities claim occurred as a result of the perpetrator meeting their victim through the Social Networking site.

Kudos to MySpace for starting to develop such a feature. However, any convicted criminal with any ounce of street smarts should be well aware that it probably wouldn't be a good idea for him (or her) to post actual photos of themselves on the website. I mean, let's face it, if you were an offender of this nature, wouldn't you naturally assume that your parole officer is probably searching MySpace (and other websites) making sure that you are adhering to the terms of your probation.

Also, why is it that in this day and age, that parents still don't actively monitor what their kids are doing and who they are talking to online. Parents, your kids do not need a computer, digital camera, or a camera phone. Take it away. They will still grow up to be perfectly functioning adults without these toys. Every time you allow them to use a computer alone (i.e. in a non-public area) and chat with random people online, the chances of something bad happening to them increases dramatically.

Read More: MySpace, Social Networking, Frankly Speaking