1. The movie Avatar is coming out
2. Avatar is a fantastic movie
3. If you are a geeky, smart guy, you should wait in line for days to see Avatar because hot chicks with tattoos will flash you and then desperately want to, as they put it in the show, “pitch a tent” with you.

I’m fine with product placement even if it is a bit obvious, but when the product placement is the entire ‘B’ plot of an episode you’ve basically jumped the shark.  Five seasons is more than enough (particularly for a show with no arch) — come to and end and move on.  Oh and I forgot to add that I also learned that a normal sex life involves having sex 10-15 times per week.

1. Tracks cost 2x as much as on iTunes and Amazon
2. Tracks are DRM’d
3. Tracks will only play on the mobile device you bought the track on

Essentially, you are being asked to pay 2x as much for the ability to play a track on a single device — one that you will likely be replacing in less than 2 years.  And I’m sure that if your phone breaks and you get a warrantied replacement, you’ll have to buy the track again.  When asked about this puzzling plan:

What is your message to consumers – why should I come to you instead of Amazon or iTunes? What do you offer that none of your competitors do?

There’s a whole bunch of people who are very loyal to MSN on the web and there’s now almost a million users of MSN Mobile every month, within the space of 12 months of it being launched.

So there’s a whole bunch of people who are using MSN on their mobile phone for a whole variety of reasons. And we’re saying to them, if you want to download music, it’s available here. If you don’t, that’s fine.

It’s a consumer’s choice and they will decide if they’re happy with the MSN Music service or if they want to go somewhere else.

So what they are offering is to milk the fools who use MSN for as much cash as they can get.  Nice…

Today Microsoft announced that they’ll be firing laying-off 1,400 employees today.  While the prevailing economic climate has a lot to do with the layoffs, launching products that don’t provide a competitive advantage but rely on customers being locked into your brand can not have helped.

Seen on Slashdot.

P.S. I still HATE Exchange.

Six months ago as a part of the renovation of 4545, I (and my furniture) was moved to the basement — where I had my own office. Being in the basement didn’t bother me because I wasn’t anywhere near a window on the third floor and I had my own office that I could keep as dark and warm as I wanted. I got a lot done because very few people were around to bother me.

Then a few months ago I was moved up to the fourth floor to a cubicle. I lost all of my furniture, including my desk that was claimed by someone else that was moving the same day (but to an office) and my table that was sent to Sandpoint. I’ve put up with the noise, the air flow, the crazy lights, and the non-optimal setup, because I knew I was going to get moved again around the end of 2008.

The “final” word came down that we were going to be moved back to (a different part of) the basement and have our own offices, except for Darlene who was getting put in a super-cube. The area isn’t bad — I’m getting my boss’s old office. But instead of real furniture they are giving us pieces of cubicle furniture that Safeco “donated” (really ditched + tax deduction):

I’ve put up with a lot of crap, but this is entirely unacceptable. The furniture doesn’t fit well, it forces me to work with my back to the door (which drives me insane), doesn’t give me the legroom I want, and it is far worse than what I have in my cube! All I need is a large table — just like the one I was forced to give up. Some drawer space and a meeting table or couch would be nice — but not necessary. I’m getting tired of being in an overlooked group that gets bumped around and given garbage.

I am not accepting this.

And like many this Prius was not in a parking spot but just on a curb — hates them.

The stunning, widely used footage of firework “footprints” leading to the Olympic stadium during the opening ceremony was, it transpires, computer-generated. We now know why a film director was asked to run the event.

Lin Miaoke, the little girl who apparently sang the Chinese anthem, was in fact lip-synching to the voice of another little girl. A meeting involving a politburo member decided that although Yang Peiyi was the best singer, she was not pretty enough to take part in the ceremony. She should be heard, but not seen.

Then again, cheering crowds are being bused into stadia by the government, armed with noise-makers and decked in colourful attire to improve the leaden atmosphere inside. In some cases the visitors are taking the places of real fans, who have found themselves unable to buy tickets.

Or that at least half of the Chinese woman’s gymnastics team aren’t actually 16 years old:

According to reporting from U.S. news organizations, half of China’s six-member women’s gymnastics team that won the gold medal today was not old enough to be competing in the event. The rules say competitors have to turn 16 in the Olympic year to be eligible for the Games, meaning they have to have been born in 1992 or earlier.

This is where China’s math and the rest of the world’s math diverge. Yang Yilin, a medal contender in the all-around, was born Aug. 26, 1993, according to the official 2004, 2005 and 2006 national registration lists previously posted on the General Administration of Sport of China website, the Associated Press has reported. That means Yang is still 14, with her 15th birthday approaching.

But, interestingly enough, on the 2007 registration list, her birthday became Aug. 26, 1992.

How about He Kexin, a medal favorite on uneven bars? In articles and registration lists from 2005, 2006 and 2007, found by The New York Times and the Associated Press, she was born Jan. 1, 1994. Oh-oh.

But her Chinese passport says she was born Jan. 1, 1992. (Doesn’t this happen with aging Hollywood actresses, only in reverse?)

And Jiang Yuyuan, another pillar of China’s team? A list of competitors at a 2007 provincial competition listed an Oct. 1, 1993, birth date.

When the perceived stakes are high, those with complete power will break every rule for their own benefit.

Then this morning because it was raining and I was running behind I headed up to 75th and 15th to catch the 373 bus. While waiting, I noticed that the light was out and began alternating cringing and shaking my head because of drivers not paying attention (running the intersection, tailing, not yielding the right of way, etc). Then finally a woman in an SUV was t-boned by an elderly woman in an older Lexus. The SUV limped out of the intersection to park south of me (at the bus stop). The Lexus was left in the intersection. I called 911 and eventually summoned police, fire, and an ambulance. The woman in the Lexus was clearly disoriented — most likely because of the airbags (according to the first episode of Burn Notice the blow from an airbag will save your life but it’ll disorient you enough to have your hands cable tied to the steering wheel). A couple other witnesses came out — one a white woman driving West bound on 75, and two Latino men (not sure where they was during the accident, but they had a large truck for construction work). The primary Latino man was talking to the elderly woman trying to determine her condition and get her car out of the way — the last thing we needed was another accident.

By this time the SUV driver was out of her car on the phone (I believe to her insurance company, but possibly 911) asking if the Lexus driver needed an ambulance. When she got off the phone she came up to me got my info and started asking about fault. I indicated that to me the collision was entirely the fault of the Lexus.

The Latino men and I pushed the Lexus out of the intersection to the East side of the intersection on 75th — and the Lexus had to be told several times to apply the brakes to stop her car, and then several more times to put the car in park and turn the engine off. The female witness spoke with the Lexus driver some.

A fire truck showed up first and the crew dispersed to each vehicle. The lead firefighter spoke with the SUV woman, me, and the female witness — the Latino seems to have disappeared (probably had to get to work). Then the police officer arrived and started taking statements. After speaking with me and taking my info, he let me go.

Of course I missed both the 373 and 72, so I walked to work to the sound of thunder booming in the distance.

In the heart of the University District, University Way (“The Ave”) does not allow passing. It is fairly common for cars to try to pass a bus that is embarking/disembarking passengers — I always am extremely careful when exiting a bus and then passing in front of the bus to use a crosswalk. Today I saw a Metro bus try to pass an articulated bus that was embarking a passenger with limited mobility. The offending bus was a #30 — I wasn’t able to get a good look at the bus but the bus number was something like 3036 — but it was whichever one was at 45th and the Ave at 12:27PM today. As the #30 bus was accelerating by the parked bus, the driver of the parked bus had the presence of mind to lay on his horn to indicate to the rogue driver that he was about to run down some pedestrians in the intersection. The #30 stopped in time so that I (and all other King County tax payers) won’t have to pay for the wrongful death settlement.

Bus drivers have to put up with a lot of crap that they shouldn’t have to — particularly from passengers, but NOTHING justifies this kind of reckless behavior. This driver deserves to be fired immediately.