onfocus

I recently switched from Twinings tea to PG Tips. Makes the morning stand up a little straighter.

Chocolate Milk

Oh God! It's great!
to have someone fix you
chocolate milk
and to appreciate their doing it!
Even as they stir it
in the kitchen
your mouth is going crazy
for the chocolate milk!
The wonderful chocolate milk!

- Ron Padgett, New & Selected Poems

I don't like chocolate milk. But I like this poem.

Just the promise of stock options used to be as good as a paycheck. But things are different now, as Primedia is finding out in two lawsuits. [via OCR] The End of Free on the Web should also refer to the end of free work.

Great tutorial at Digital Web Magazine on preparing digital photography for the web. I use slightly different methods to achieve some of the same results, but I still feel like Mr. Voss was looking over my shoulder when he wrote the article.

This site and my email were down all weekend. If you sent me a message, it was probably lost in the mists of Internetland.

“I didn't know that Cheshire cats always grinned; in fact, I didn't know that cats COULD grin.” - Alice

Alfred E. Newman, Branded. [via Tom Tomorrow] (click 'Go directly to story' if you get a giant Flash ad.)

Found poetry.

To Be Remo ved

Where the message body contains 'to be removed' or 'to be unsubcribed' or 'to unsubscribe' or 'To remove' or 'unsubscribe at' or 'To be taken off' or 'Removal Instructions' or 'Removes email here' or '"REMOVE" in the subject line' or 'the word REMOVE' or 'To stop future mailings' or 'If you wish to be taken of our list' or 'To be deleted from our mailing list' or 'Opt-out' or 'To be remo ved' or 'delete from list' or 'List Removal' or 'OPT-OUT' or 'to be excluded' or 'To be taken out of our database' or 'stop sending you email' or 'to get removed' or 'REMOVE in the subject line' or 'to receive no further advertisements' or 'no longer wish to receive'
Delete it
    and Mark it as read

Adcritic.com was purchased by Advertising Age. [via Ev] I think it's fine that the site will be back, but will it really be critical now that it's owned by the advertising industry? Marketingspeak drips from that release (my emphasis):

AdCritic.com was founded in 1999 and led the advertising industry into the online world of downloadable video, building up a library of thousands of digitized ads and garnering favorable publicity among advertising fans worldwide.

Is there really such a thing as advertising fans? Are there people who just flip around TV watching the ads? Damn, it's all programs, where are the ads? I think much of what people enjoyed about the site was the critical side that its name implies. If this press release is any indication, the future of the newly marginalized Adcritic.com does not look bright.

On a related obvious note, we have to quickly find a way for independent sites to cover bandwidth costs, make some money, and stay independent.

With the sun in full force and a high of 71, it's going to be tough being inside staring at a monitor all day. Last night I went out to Armstrong Woods for a good hike and tried to remind my legs they exist. They weren't pleased.

It's worth repeating: The CBDTPA bill is bad news for you if you're not one of the six corporations that own and control most media. Dan Gillmore lays it out. He sums it up well, “Do you care if a few giant companies control virtually all entertainment and information?” Between this and the existing DMCA, our individual freedom of expression (and freedom to innovate) in America is being taken away piece by piece in exchange for securing future profits for large corporations. Copyright does not supercede freedom of speech in the constitution, though some paid-for Senators and Judges seem to think it does. Where is our freedom-of-speech champion on Capitol Hill?

EFF Action: Submit Comments Opposing Technology Mandates

Aaron captures the scene when Rob Zombie and VH1 descend on a record store in Lincoln, Nebraska. Rob Zombie and VH1? This is not your parents' VH1.