C-SPAN Debate Hub

I got an email today from a reader telling me about C-SPAN Debate Hub.  I checked it out and takes the concept of live debate coverage to a whole new level.  Not only do you get the C-SPAN debate video coverage, you also get streams of the latest tweets, blog posts, and youtube videos about the debates.  After each debate is over the video is linked with the debate transcript and can be navigated using a pretty nifty timeline.

I think I'll give this site a shot during the first Vice President debate this Thursday (I have a feeling this one will be extra interesting).  Visit the C-SPAN Debate Hub or read more on Gizmodo.

Related Posts:

Joining The Ranks of Twitter

Analyzing The Debate

How To Display HTML Tags In a Blogger Post

To actually display a tag you need to HTML encode all of the the '<'s.  This is done by replacing '<' with '&lt;'.  And that's it!

as a side note if you want to display '&lt;'. as I just did you need to encode the '&' by replacing it with '&amp;'.  This continues recursively.

I have foud that bloggers spell check can mess this up by HTML encoding it again (it did this to me once), so you may want to enter these after spellcheck.

ABC Video Player Blank Screen Issue

I have been getting search hits on a post I did awhile back about the ABC blank screen issue.  That post did answer the question, but it was kind of an afterthought so I thought I'd bring it to the forefront.

I had this same problem. 

Solution:

Install flash player 9 and restart browser.

Hope that helps!

Analyzing The Debate

Well the first debate is over and after carefull analysis, of course, everyone thinks their candidate won (Obama really won of course).  I came across two blogs today analyzing the debates in ways that really have little to do with the winner or loser but are interesing none-the-less.  

Twitter Update Graph

Twitter posted a graph on their blog that shows the frequency different campaign related words appeared in updates throughout the debates.  Not sure exactly how the data is useful (perhaps to help identify the most controversial statements and subjects), but it certainly is interesting

Word Cloud

Francis Deblauwe posted a word cloud for each candidate in the debate.  The bigger the word the more times that candidate said it.

Ever Want To Know When Politicians Are Lying?

Have you ever wished you could tell when politicians are lying?  A startup called RealScoop claims it can do just this using "leading voice analysis technology."  The site features videos with a believability meter at the bottom so you can see which statements are questionable.  How accurate is it?  TechCrunch calls it "rubbish".  However, accurate or not, it certainly in entertaining.  I have embedded a video example below.

How To Make Links In Your Blog Open In a New Tab

This is just a quick tip for new bloggers who want links in there blog post to open in a new tab when clicked.  The advantage of this is that it will not lead people completely away from your post when they click a link.

Step One: Create a Link

For this method to work you must create a hyperlink, just pasting a URL in your blog content will not work.  An example is this link to my blog.

If you look at the HTML it will look something like this: 

<a href="http://www.outragedpotato.com/">this link<a>

In blogger to look at HTML click the "Edit HTML" tab.

Step Two: Add attribute

Now all you must do is past target="_blank" into the html tag as shown below:

<a href="http://www.outragedpotato.com/" target="_blank">this link<a>

And that is it.  Now when a reader clicks on the link a new tab will open with the link and they will still have your blog open!  Try this link built with the steps above.

Joining the Ranks of Twitter

I have finally given in and joined the ranks of Twitter. For those of you who may not know Twitter is a place where everyone answers one simple question, "what are you doing" in 140 characters or less. People don't always answer that question, they often post random thoughts or reactions. This may seem pretty silly at first, but it produces some interesting results. Just by watching the constant stream of tweets it is pretty easy to find what everyone is currently excited about.

Twitter has even launched a new page specifically for viewing tweets about the election. This is a good place to go and see peoples reactions to the latest election news in (almost) real time. For more info check out Twitter's blog post on the new site.  Obama and McCain even have their own Twitter accounts so people can stay up to date on their campaign activities.

You can follow my updates on http://twitter.com/outragedpotato.

With Your Ideas and Google's Money...

Google has launched Project 10^100 on Wednesday to celebrate its 10th birthday.  In this project Google is asking people to submit ideas on how to help people.  There are no strict guidelines on who or how your idea would help people, though they ask you try to fit it into one of the following categories: community, opportunity, energy, environment, health, education, shelter .  These ideas will be judged and Google has promised $10 million in cashy money to fund the 5 winners.  What do you get if your idea wins? To quote Google: "You get good karma and the satisfaction of knowing that your idea might truly help a lot of people."

Seems to me like a great idea but as Thomas Claburn points out, Google isn't being entirely selfless here.  As far as PR campaigns go, however, I can't think of one that I've liked better.

Click here to see Google's blog entry about Project 10^100.

Why Google Chrome is Awesome

I have officially converted to Google Chrome.  I have been using Chrome since the day it was released, and there are three main reasons why I am not going back to firefox>:

1. Chrome is super fast. 
2. The ability to drag tags between windows, drag a tab to create a new window, and consolidate> windows.  I am a little OCD about all the windows open on my computer so I love the ability to consolidate and split them simply by dragging.
3. One tap hanging does not crash the whole browser.  The one thing that bothered me most about firefox was the frequency of crashes.  Chrome has gotten around this by making each tab its own process.

Here is Googles post about it:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/fresh-take-on-browser.html

What others are saying:

http://www.fistfuloftalent.com/2008/09/lets-get-geeked.html

http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2008/09/24/is-google-chrome-losing-its-shine-already/

http://myusefulweb.today.com/2008/09/25/google-chrome-the-new-web-browser/

http://blog.chromium.org/2008/09/google-chrome-memory-usage-good-and-bad.html

Trying out Yammer.com

Want a Twitter like app just for your company?  Try Yammer.  Its almost exactly like Twitter only you can create a community for people only in your domain (email@domain.com).  It could also be described as a group IM that is always setup.  Let me know what you think!  I'm still undecided.  It's definitely cool, but I can't tell if it really helps productivity.

Some bloggers who like it:

• http://www.marktrefgarne.com/internet/yammer-is-cool/
• http://www.conviodesign.com/2008/09/24/tools-for-a-geographically-dispersed-team/
  
• http://james.cridland.net/blog/2008/09/15/yammer-quite-good-really/

And some who dont:

• http://shua.typepad.com/shuablog/2008/09/is-yammer-missi.html
  
• http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2008/09/11/yammer-this-thing-is-a-prize-winner/
  
• http://www.chrisbrogan.com/twhirl-makes-yammer-irrelevant/
  

Learning the Dvorak Keyboard Layout

Most people would be surprised to know that the QWERTY keyboard key layout (the one you are most likely using) was designed to maximize the distance between consecutive keys while typing.  The reason it was designed this way was to minimize typewriter key jams.  The unfortunate side effect of this is that it also tends to maximize finger movement which in turn increases fatigue and decreases maximum typing speed.

There is a better way, and this is called the Dvorak Layout.  This layout was designed to be comfortable, efficient and fast.  I started learning this layout around 6 weeks ago and am at the point where I can type fairly comfortably in both layouts.  At home I use Dvorak (as I am right now), but at work I still use Qwerty.  I still haven't decided if the switch is worth the hassle.  I ran across this blogger, who learned but wouldn't do it again.  I also found this nice color coded diagram for those interested.  Also, to be clear, using Dvorak does not require a new keyboard, it is just a settings switch.

To learn I used this free tutorial.  I also simply switched my home computer layout and refused to switch back forcing me to learn.

ABC Video Player Gets a Face-Lift

I went to ABC last night to stream some Lost in HD and noticed some big changes in their site.  

The Good:

1. Full screen viewing - finally, this had been the only major issue in my opinion.
   
2. Upgraded Navigation - their old episode navigation was a bit tedious.
3. New "Shared Link" concept.
   

Issues:

1. Minimum screen resolution is 1300x770 - they say this is only for HD, but it seems to be a problem for standard definition as well.  The issue lies in the fact that button to click to exit the commercial is off the screen.  This was an issue for me because I watch it on my 720p TV, but I found a workaround: when I start the show with a large screen res an my monitor it is still usable when I switch to my TV at 1280x720 (though the continue button is very close to off the screen).
   
2. Need to upgrade to flashplayer 9 - this isn't an issue in and of itself, the issue lies with the fact (at least when I did it) the warning to do this was hidden in black letters up top of the screen and it took me three tries to notice.

All in all this is a great improvement and I plan on watching more Lost tonight!

Bailout Cost Per Person

Not hard math, but I decided to see how much the bailout was going to cost per American Citizen.  The bailout will be roughly 700 Billion and there are roughly 300 million people in the country.  700 Billion / 300 Million = $2,333 per person.  And its even worse than that because not everyone pays taxes.  Consider a 4 person family with one bread winner.  That would mean that one worker owed $10,000!

I realize its not that simple, but it seems a good enough approximation to demonstrate just how much money is being spent.  However, this doesn't see as much when you see that the total per person debt from the government is around $37,000.

New Title Image

Check out the new title image for my blog and let me know what you think.  For a reference you can see the previous one below.  Its quite the big improvement.  For those who may know him the artwork was done by Isaac (same as did our band logo).

Strange iPhone UI Bug

I found a completely harmless but interesting iPhone UI bug awhile back.  By performing the following steps you can get the UI hang as shown in the pic:

1. Slide your finger to move UI halfway between screens
   
2. Touch the clock on the top of the screen with your other finger
3. Release both fingers at the same time

As a side note for those who don't know how to take screenshots:  Hold down the button on the front of the phone for 3 seconds then without releasing push the button on the top of the phone.  The screenshot will then be stored in your pics.

Band Logo for Rock Band 2

You know you are a little obsessed when you spend hours making a band logo for your Rock Band.  Here is the logo for our all female band "The Objects."  And yes, we are making shirts out of it.

Also note, my blog pic is currentlf being designed by the same guy who drew this, so the current one (which I drew in 5 minutes) will be replaced.

Lessons in Blogging Part 1: Say Something Idiotic

As a new blogger I'm still at the point where I am trying to get people to notice my blog. I recently was able to get my blog indexed by Google by following these steps.  However, before I can get a lot of search traffic I need to increase my page rank by getting links to my blog.  To date the second biggest jump in readers came after writing this post about prosper.com (the biggest is from stumbleupon when someone stumbled upon my beaver post).  Using Google analytics I found that these readers where being referred from a forum post titled idiot blogger .  Naturally I had to check it out.  Apparently I had used the word "default" incorrectly and also was mistaken for endorsing prosper because of two good months worth of profits.  (to clarify that was meant to be the first post in a series exploring the value of prosper.com).

This is how I learned that saying something idiotic can help get attention.  This I believe is just one manifestation of the larger blogging rule of writing about controversial issues.   Saying things such as "Radiohead is NOT the greatest band in the world" and "I actually like the new Microsoft ads and don't care if they where made on a Mac" can spark controversy and ultimately drive people to your blog.  Next time I use this method I hope it results in more of a conversation and less in everyone pointing and laughing.

Get Your Blog Indexed by Google in Minutes

As a new blogger, one of the most important things is to get noticed.  One way to drive traffic to your blog is through searches, and we all know Google is the most used search engine.  The problem is that it can take awhile to get indexed, even if you submit your blog url to google.  One way I found to get indexed immediately is to add your blogs feed to google reader.  To do this follow the steps below:

1. Setup a feed for your blog.  (Blogger already has a feed, but you can customize it with Feedburner)

2. Setup Google Reader

3. Add your feed (to do this click "add subscription and type in your feed url")

4. Your blog should be indexed before you know it.

I received my first google search referal very shortly after completing these steps.  Next all you need to do is write interesting posts and get a high page rank! (something I'm still working on)

Why Hello There...

Ran accross this on my way to lunch today:

Top Ten Zapp Brannigan Quotes

Top ten according to me that is (subject to change).

1. "You win again, gravity!"
   
2. "And like all my plans, it's so simple an idiot could have devised it!"
   
3. "If it's one thing I don't need, it's your "I-don't-think-that's-wise" attitude!"
   
4. "Stop! The spirit is willing, but the flesh is spongy and bruised."
   
5. "Yup. Uh huh. That's whatever it is you were talking about for you."
   
6. "Scissors cuts paper... and rock crushes scissors... but Paper smothers rock!!! Kiff, we have a conundrum...  Kiff search them for paper, and bring me a rock"
7. "In the game of chess you can never let your opponent see your pieces."
   
8. "What makes a good man go neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?"
9. "Men, you're lucky men. Soon you will all be fighting for your planet. Many of you will be dying for your planet. A few of you will be forced through a fine mesh screen for your planet. They will be the luckiest of all."
10. "I like your style, Fry.  You remind me of a young me, not much younger mind you... perhaps even a couple years older."
    

For more quotes by the Zapper go here.

How to Get out of a Sprint Early-Termination Fee

Most cell phone plans have early termination fees and everyone hates them (except maybe cell phone companies).  The good news is you may be able to get out of it.  The trick:

1. Don't call support 
2. Go to a Sprint store
3. Be polite
4. Have a good reason! (They probably won't go for "I want an iPhone")

After hours on the phone with support I finally tried a store.  They were very helpful and actually understanding with my issue of having too little reception to make calls from my apartment.  The money I saved came in handy when I went to buy my new iPhone!

Should You Trust Your Money to Prosper.com?

Prosper.com is a P2P lending site that allows people to either become lenders or borrowers. Lenders bid on small chunks of loans requested by borrowers.  This site has been around for a few years now and I have heard both good and bad reviews.  

I decided to try it out for myself and a few months ago I transferred $500 to prosper and put it all in an automated high-risk portfolio.  So far I am happy to say that I have had no late payments, and my total account value is $513.83 (not to shabby for only 2 months of interest).  

So, while two months is a short time I'll remain cautiously optimistic and see how my investment pans out.  Check back for updates!

Note: I am not recommending prosper and have no plans to further my investment (see comments).  However, for better or worse I've invested some and I will post back with updates.

Ambitious Beaver

We came accross this taking a walk out in some trails near my parents house in carnation.  I can only assume that the beaver who attempted to gnaw this tree down is in a coma somewhere nearby.

Real Gas Saving Tips

I keep coming across site after site with the secret to saving money on gas (and so I thought id add mine to the list). Everyone has the miracle such as keeping your car clean, drafting trucks on the freeway, drive slower, buy a hybrid, etc. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of good advice here (except I would not recommend drafting unless you're more concerned about your fuel economy than your life). The point I want to make is that if you really want to spend less on fuel, then what you need is a lifestyle change.

My wife and I combined spend about $100 a month on gas, and we haven't done it using any of the advice mentioned above. I drive a 97 Subaru Impreza, rarely washed, that gets 25 mpg on a good day.  While the below methods won't work for everyone, I think most people could benefit from them (as could our environment).

1. Move to the city.  This will put you closer to every thing you need (work, shopping, etc)
2. Use public transportation.  I get to work just as fast on the bus as I would in a car and I save not only on gas, but also on parking.
3. Walk.  If its a mile or less away, walk.  In the city this is often easier because you don't need to deal with parking, and you get exercise.

I'm clearly not the first with these ideas, as they seem like common sense.  If you do want to squeeze every mile out I recommend Car Talk's tips.

Metallica is Back!

The new Metallica album Death Magnetic has been released and I was happy to find it is much better than the last. Its not my favorite album of theirs but it has some great songs such as Unforgiven III and The Day that Never Comes. The majority of the songs are much harder than some of there more recent albums, so if you like old Metallica definitely check it out!

Rough Weekend

Click on image to enlarge.

Streaming Netflix and Hulu Straight to Your TV

It's been years now since I have had a subscription to cable.  I have never been the type to just turn on the TV and channel surf.  Instead, I have a collection of shows which I like to watch sequentially.  To do this with cable it requires either living your life around the TVs schedule or getting a DVR and setting it up to record your shows.  Neither of these seemed particularly appealing so I contented myself with waiting for the DVD release and ordering the show from Netflix or watching on the Internet at my computer if I would be watching alone.  What I always really wanted, however, was to stream Netflix and Hulu (as well as other online shows) straight to my TV.  The solution I found works great and cost me less than 50 dollars!

To set this up all you need is a computer with an DVI output, a TV with an HDMI input, an DVI to HDMI cable, and an audio "Y" cable.  Most new computers and TVs will meet the first two requirements, and if yours don't then this solution will not word for you (though I would highly recommend upgrading).   The cables can be found at most electronics stores.  I picked mine up at Fry's for cheap.  DVI and HDMI use the same signal, with the exception that HDMI also carries sound, which is where the audio cable comes in.  Next all you need to do is connect the cables from your computer to your TV.  You will also likely have to go into your TV settings to configure it to take audio from the audio cable rather than the HDMI input.  Also note that if your TV still displays a blank image once the HDMI input is selected then you likely need to adjust your computer display settings to the resolution of the TV (or at least below its maximum): 1280x720 for 720p and  1920x1080 for 1080i or 1080p.

Sites that stream online video:

1. Netflix
   
2. Hulu
3. South Park
4. ABC (Including all 4 seasons of Lost in HD)
5. NBC
6. Fox
7. SciFi Channel
8. and more...

Architecture at its Finest

This is the view out of my downtown Bellevue apartment. I sure hope my building wasn't built by the same people.