meltdown at Dell

News from PC Magazine: Dell To Announce Massive Laptop Battery Recall: "Although Dell officials did not comment on how the battery risk was discovered, two recent high-profile incidents involved Dell batteries spectacularly exploding. In the first, a Japanese businessman watched his Dell notebook go up in smoke in late May. More recently, a worker in Illinois watched his own Dell laptop melt. "

Hey, I guess we're really lucky--we just watched ours, in a Dell Inspiron laptop, not work any more after a couple of months. The laptop has been on life support, plugged into the wall socket, ever since.

Then, after having keyboard problems for ages with this Inspiron laptop, we got notice in the mail that Dell had lost a class-action lawsuit and would submit to replacing our keyboard, now that they were being forced. One thing I figure I can count on now, with Dell, is that they will take care of their own interests first, until they are forced by overwhelming evidence to take care of the customers' interests--they're using the Ford Motor Company business model for customer relations. I personally have voted with my feet. Our two Dells languish until they die, and we are now buying IBM for anything new in the business. We had had it with Dell a long time ago.

good news: it's opportunity time

Home-price gains slow in many cities nationwide - MarketWatch: "The biggest year-over-year decline came in Danville, Ill., where prices fell 11.2%. The rest of the top 10: Detroit, Mich.; Davenport, Iowa; Rockport, Ill.; Cleveland, Ohio; Youngstown, Ohio; Green Bay, Wis.; Yakima, Wash.; Bloomington, Ill.; and Toledo, Ohio. "

Instead of wailing and rending our garments, for a change how about cranking up a killer marketing campaign, with the Columbo-like close of, "And by the way, we're cheap." We do have it all right here, and it's affordable, and we don't have to offer any more tax abatement to be attractive. There are enough incentives there naturally, and it's time to put an end the civic inferiority complex.

August 15th: "The Feast"

Cleveland - Little Italy an urban neighborhood with fine restaurants, galleries, and specialty stores--This sure has been a jam-packed summer, and we almost blew by "The Feast." Today's the last day. Here's the text from the site:
Feast of the Assumption August 12, 13, 14, & 15 - We look forward to seeing you! The Feast of the Assumption officially begins at noon Saturday. There are rides for kids in the churchyard, entertainment throughout the day, and lots to eat at various stands on Mayfield Rd. Most of the shops will be open extended hours, so this is a fine time to visit Little Italy. The schedule of events will be repeated on Sunday. On Monday the opening time is 6 pm for the church festivities but shops will be open at noon. Tuesday is the big day to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. It starts with mass at 10 am followed by a procession, it has been a religious tribute for 108 years, continuing into the night and ending about 11pm with fireworks.

but first, let's define "free markets"

FCC's McDowell Pushes Free Markets
On the surface, what he says sounds fine to me, but it's sort of open-ended. Read it yourself, see what you think.

more convergence, as Segways approach bike-ness

New Segways Steer Like a Bike
We could have used knobby tires on our Segway at the Burning River Fest last weekend, and going out Carnegie later today, we would probably want racing slicks. Do you think Segway riders will ever take over bars and small towns and have their own leathers and colors? Can we make a Segway B-movie?

seems Shakira has set the country free

this internet is getting to be a whole lot of fun--enjoy--dance along

tomorrow, on Whiskey Island, 11-8

Great Lakes Brewing Company Burning River Fest
Isn't this just the best logo? We're planning on being there tomorrow for the duration with the Meet.The.Bloggers* contingent, booking sessions for the last two quarters of this year.

we've been saying this for years...

Vote — or Else - New York Times: "The unhappy effects of low turnout are clear: ever-greater polarization in the country and in Washington, which in turn has led to ever-more rancor and ever-less legislative progress.
Here’s why. With participation rates of about 10 percent or less of the eligible electorate in many primaries to 35 percent or so in midterm general elections to 50 percent or 60 percent in presidential contests, the name of the game for parties is turnout — and the key to success is turning out one’s ideological base. Whichever party does a better job getting its base to the polls reaps the rewards of majority status.
And what’s the best way to get your base to show up at the polls? Focus on divisive issues that underscore the differences between the parties."

Mountain live at the Beat Club

Here's a clip of Mountain from the Beat Club, whatever that was, around 1970. I missed it.

the priceless "database of intentions"

A Face Is Exposed for AOL Searcher No. 4417749 - New York Times

John Battelle, the author of the 2005 book “The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture,” said AOL’s misstep, while unfortunate, could have a silver lining if people began to understand just what was at stake. In his book, he says search engines are mining the priceless “database of intentions” formed by the world’s search requests.

“It’s only by these kinds of screw-ups and unintended behind-the-curtain views that we can push this dialogue along,” Mr. Battelle said. “As unhappy as I am to see this data on people leaked, I’m heartened that we will have this conversation as a culture, which is long overdue.”