New Blog Location

I have decided to move the blog to a new location.

Different place, different title, same great content.

blog.popanalytics.com.

Enjoy.

Cable Television

Have you ever wondered how cable television works? Interestingly enough, I have.

Last night I was hanging out with some friends and our conversation turned to this very topic. My very technically-savvy friend told me that the Time Warner cable system works via a crazy multicast based system.

Turns out, he was exactly correct. You can read this "white paper" from a hardware manufacturer for more information. It's a great read.

She Sure Gets a Lot of Hype

This weekend is the Amber Alert 300 at the Kentucky Speedway and Danica Patrick won the pole. This is the second time in her rookie season that she has won the pole for a race. Additionally, she holds the record for the highest-placing female ever at the Indianapolis 500. These performances may even earn her the rookie of the year honors.

During this evening's sports segment of a local news broadcast, the anchor was doing a story about Patrick. As the story was bumping out, the anchor, who is female, said the following: She gets a lot of hype for someone who's never won a race.

What?

First, how can you editorialize a local sports cast? Second, why wouldn't a female recognize the successes of a fellow female in a male-dominated sport? Third, given Patrick's resume, her popularity is well-deserved.

Before progressing further into my rant, let's put Patrick's contribution to sport in perspective.

Patrick is not even the first female Indy racer. That honor belongs to Janet Guthrie who raced in the Indy 500 in 1977. Guthrie has written a book about her contributions to Indy racing and recently received an award on Capitol Hill from SEMA. However, Guthrie never won a pole at an Indy race and her highest finish at the Indianapolis 500 was 9th (compared to Patrick's 4th place finish in her first attempt).

Michelle Wie and Anika Sorenstam both get incredible media coverage when they traverse into the fields of the male-only PGA tour. Both are incredibly accomplished on the LPGA tour, but neither have won a PGA tour event. As a matter of fact, neither have ever made a cut on the PGA tour.

In the past, Manon Rheaume was the first female to play professional hockey. The goaltender never won the Stanley Cup, but garnered incredible media attention when she broke the NHL gender barrier in 1992.

I'll stop. But, the point is this: These talented women have won pole positions, shot under par, broke records, and stopped slapshots. They do not need to win races, championships or tournaments for their contributions to sport to be recognized. Moreover, the anchor was completely out-of-line by making that remark.

I am going to call the producers of this local newscast and express my disgust. The anchor's comment was simply inappropriate.

Note: Here is a great article about woman participating in traditionally male-only sports.

I Like Big Bellies and I cannot Lie

Or can I?



If you see a woman's bare, pregnant belly enter a room five minutes before the rest of her, wouldn't you be scared too?

Apparently not, according to this article that is preaching the newest fashion trend.

The Situation with Tucker Carlson

As a die-hard liberal, I must be opposed to the bowtie-wearing republican Tucker Carlson.

I must, I must, I must, but I can't!

For some strange reason, I am drawn to The Situation. At first, it was just okay. The debate was fast-paced and the choice of topics was interesting.

That all changed when Rev. Al Sharpton made his first appearance. Sharpton teamed up with regular commentator Rachel Maddow, from Air America, and took Tucker to task (wow, alliteration) for an entire hour.

Since then, Tucker's been nothing but hysterical. Taking a page from the original Talk Soup (with John Henson) it is possible to hear his producers laughing during debates or interviews. It's a small thing, but it definitely shows that nothing is taken too seriously.

Tucker answers viewer's voicemail every night. Tonight's messages included a call from a college student who developed a drinking game for The Situation. Would you ever drink to Wolf Blitzer?

Tonight, in particular was a special episode. Tucker's special guest was speed eater Sonya Thomas. She actually ate a few Brats live while Tucker offered play-by-play. Would Lou Dobbs ever do that?

The show also features a segment aptly named the Outsider. Max Kellerman, from ESPN and HBO, is the outsider and offers his take on the day's news. I was never a big fan of Kellerman while he was the host of Around the Horn, but I have definitely warmed to him through his appearances on The Situation. He usually answers Tucker's insults with anecdotes that would make even Christopher Walken cringe.

Regular appearances from the show's producer Willy top off the irreverant style of the program. Willy appears at the end of every show for the Cutting Room Floor. The Cutting Room features stories that didn't make it on during previous segments. Apparently guest won't shut up some nights and the Cutting Room Floor is a packed 5 minutes of television. Other nights it meanders along with Willy and Tucker doing some "ad libbed" banter.

Many of you know of my lust for witty, fast-paced, live and fresh news shows. In the past, I have been enchanted with a morning show out of London and a late-night news program on ABC. But now, I am singularly focused on The Situation.

You should be too!

As a matter of fact, if you were watching tonight, you would have heard this breaking news: Jennifer Wilbanks, the Runaway Bride, will be marrying tomorrow (Friday) night.

Another Day, Another 2 States

Whew. I am exhausted.

Today was the final day of my cross-country move. Mom, Dad and I moved the remainder of my belongings to the UIUC. We managed to navigate I-74 in a 16' Budget Truck safely and cram all of my life into a three room sardine can.

Size doesn't matter -- it's location, location, location!

Here is the photo-journal of our move. The interested reader should be very interested in the shots of my dad at the helm of the rental truck. Also, you may want to check out my "Married with Children" pose in one of the latter photos.

Enjoy.

Famous Colleague

I just received a shamelessly self-promoting email from my favorite Google employee. Her message contained this link.

I wish I were famous too!

Some Cincinnatians Don't Like ICE

Some emergency personnel in Cincinnati hospitals think that programming ICE in your cell phone's address book may cause more trouble than it's worth. Check it out here.

New York City Pictures

You may remember that I recently spent a weekend in NYC with the family. As promised in this post, I have published our pictures online.

They can be found here.

You should be on the lookout for the picture of Amanda and I at Rupert G's Hello Deli and the picture of Mom and Amanda standing outside the Ed Sullivan Theatre.

Moved Out

I have completely vacated the Allister Grn housing location. The sound of my voice echoing as I left for the final time was quite interesting. Everytime I have moved (every year in college and several times thoughout the summers), that sound of the empty dwelling calling back is hard for me to stomach.

We had an eventful drive back. My dad was rolling in the 16' Budget rental truck and I was trailing in a "spotting" position. Here is a link to the photos from packing and moving.

I will post about the move again once I am settled in Illinois. Try to contain your excitement.

Photos Here

CS101 Student Featured in Local Paper

One of my students in CS101, Micah Crowsey, is featured in a Daily Progress newspaper article today. According to the article, he entered community college at the age of 14 and received his Associate's Degree by the age of 17.

The article focuses on his entrepenurial spirit. He founded the Computers by Q consulting firm. After graduating from UVa, he plans to pursue degrees in Physics and Astrophysics. Wow.

WiFi

No comments, just a link.

The Kings of Marketing

Well, I think this is it.GoldenPalace is now the official King of Marketing.

Known previously for stunts like purchasing a grilled cheese featuring an image of the Virgin Mary, GoldenPalace bought the rights to brand its logo on 100 cattle.

Marketing students may be familiar with the "purple cow" strategy. GP took this seriously and painted a few of its purchased cattle the royal color.

Read the full release here. There is even video available. It may just be a must-see.

Please note that, as I write this, their marketing department is just laughing -- every person who writes, speaks, or asks about purple cows turns into just another commercial that GP didn't have to buy! Genius.

Update: I cannot access GoldenPalace.Com from Panera. Their content filter will not permit me to frequent the site because it belongs to the 'Forbidden Category "Gambling"'. Oops!

Update 2: Amanda found the video. here it is. Definitely worth the watch!

ICE - Ahead of the Curve

MSNBC.com readers have rated this article about "In Case of Emergency", aka ICE, as one of their favorites.

You may recall that I blogged about "ICE" recently. I recommend that you read both articles and add the ICE acronym to your cell phone address book entries.

Quiet Day

Just wanted to let you know that everything is fine. The lack of posts yesterday represents my ability to do real work for the first time this summer!

I will return later today with more rants about mundane topics. Of course, everything will be written in the third-person.

I know you can't wait.

Backyard Tea Leaves

Do you hear that sound? Its the flames of Hell slowly freezing over. For the first time ever, I will be posting a link to a Fox News story.

Surprisingly well-done, this article details today's special election in the Cincinnati area.

For Cincinnati residents, you may get a laugh out of the Batavia by-line. Had the author wandered near the Batavia middle-school he would have faced almost certain suspension! I hear the principal out there is quite the disciplinarian.

The election comes after Amb. Rob Portman was appointed as U.S. Trade Representative. This stands to be the first contested election in the 2nd district in 12 years -- Portman won every election with at least 72% of the votes.

The Fox News author believes that the Democratic candidate Paul Hackett could be elected. This would mark the first time in 40 years that a Democrat was elected to the House from the Ohio 2nd. No matter who wins, the possibility that Hackett could disrupt the conservative's winning streak serves as a warning sign for Republicans across America.

Aligning yourself with the President no longer guarantees an election win! Do you think Bush's declining popularity bodes poorly for the Republicans who have relied on the President's coattails for their seats?

Update: An alert political operative familiar with the 2nd district called to report that Paul Hackett has no chance. As recently as last week, Hackett faced a huge deficit in the polls and launched a series of attack-ads. Only the final results will tell the tale. Stay tuned.

Update 2: Partial election results are now starting to flow. Check here for an update from cincinnati.com. Otherwise, check here for real-time election reporting from the Hamilton County Board of Elections.

Update 3: Well, as of 9pm the election was too close to call. As I mentioned previously, elections for the 2nd district have been landslides for the past twelve years. This contested election makes for an interesting change-of-pace. I continue to believe that this looks bad for the President and those vying for reelection by simply standing in the shadows of the White House. Could the tide of American opinion be finally turning in the liberal direction?

Update 4: Still too close. Here's a full rundown of how the votes are playing out.

Update 5: Just moments ago Schmidt prevailed with only 52% of the votes. It was a strong showing for Hackett. This was the first time in 12 years that a Republican candidate received less than 70% of the votes in the OH 2nd. "Bellwhether" or not, it was interesting.

Hollywood Operating Sytems

Incredible graphics, quick access to commonly used functions, lots of blinking lights and incredible connectivity! Am I describing the latest and greatest from Microsoft, Cisco or Nokia? No, in fact, I am not.

I am, however, describing the Hollywood Operating System. From War Games to Hackers to Mission: Impossible, we've seen those great software creations that power both the computers and the plotline. demaria has put together a clever list of all the requirements for a Hollywood Operating System.

The author has left out the great "easter egg" from The Net that transports the visitor to a highly secure parallel computing environment. Don't forget about the OS in Hackers that allows full screen video to be played when the laptop is opened. Don't be fooled -- this OS also includes a simple, yet elegant, binary code editor suitable for bug-fixing.

What about newer releases like You've Got Mail? If I remember correctly, the AOL software supported not only their Internet connection, but also their entire computer. I would love to get my hands on some software like that.

What would you add to the list?

Of course, your HollywoodOS is not complete without a genius at the controls. Who was your favorite cinematic hacker? Personally I always wanted to be Boris from Goldeneye. I used to wear my glasses at the tip of my nose just to emulate him. Some even claim he was the reason I started twirling my pen.

There are other great Keyboard Samurai: Jonny Lee Miller in Hackers, Sandra Bullock in The Net, Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames in Mission: Impossible and the unforgettable Matt Broderick in War Games.

Who is your favorite hollywood hacker? What is your favorite HollywoodOS?

Doris Roberts

As you may recall, I was in New York City this weekend.

On Sunday, as we prepared to return to our respective homes, Mom, Aunt Patsy, Amanda and I had a quick lunch. We ate the famous Ray's Pizza place.

To our surprise, we were joined for lunch by a celebrity -- B-list at best. Doris Roberts had just returned from vacation (you know, she's been working for 9 years) and they wanted to have lunch before going to the next stop.

I took a few pictures with the camera phone paparazzi style. Later, Mom and Aunt Patsy blew my cover by striking up a conversation with her! Novices!

Anyways, here are the pictures. I extracted the "excess" from the images and focused only on her. If you look closely, you'll realize why I said, "If it weren't for her voice, I never would have recognized her!"

Atkins Bankrupt

As I predicted, the Atkins fad has come and gone. Today, however, the company formed to promote the diet has filed for bankruptcy protection.

If you say to yourself, "Fruit? Are you crazy?! Send me two more slices of bacon. That's on my diet!" then something is very wrong.

I do not blame the late Dr. Atkins. He realized the utility of the diet and that moderation is, as always, the key. He knew that Americans consume huge amounts of carbohydrates every day that are absolutely not necessary. He also knew that we need some carbs in our diets. His advocacy was aimed at reducing the excess amounts of carbs consumed every day.

So, go ahead and eat that processed flour loaf of bread this afternoon. Tomorrow you start on your new diet: South Beach. Oh wait, wasn't that the diet that almost killed former President Clinton? How can anyone keep up with these diets!