From NYTimes.com: Mr. Whipple Left It Out: Soft Is Rough on Forests

The national obsession with soft paper has driven the growth of brands like Cottonelle Ultra, Quilted Northern Ultra and Charmin Ultra -- which in 2008 alone increased its sales by 40 percent in some markets, according to Information Resources, Inc., a marketing research firm.

But fluffiness comes at a price: millions of trees harvested in North America and in Latin American countries, including some percentage of trees from rare old-growth forests in Canada. Although toilet tissue can be made at similar cost from recycled material, it is the fiber taken from standing trees that help give it that plush feel, and most large manufacturers rely on them.

One of the very few benefits of having bronchitis is that I got to see the return of Tiger Woods today.  During the live coverage of the WGC Accenture match play tournament, they ran this great Tiger Woods Nike commercial.

Welcome back Tiger!

From OMGposters.com

From Eonline.com

An "interview" of the kids from Slumdog Millionaire.  The kids are cute but Ryan Seacrest is a tool.  Can he be more annoying?  The image below is of Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, but the interview starts with the little kids.

Saw this on Huffingtonpost.com.  I played soccer throughout my youth and I can't even imagine what it would be like to have moves like this!  I think if this 6 year old kid were coming at me I'd probably have to tackle him to stop him.

I'm not the only one fascinated with the sugary bear shaped confection.

From artist Ya Ya Chou


For more creations visit Ya Ya Chou's website.

From bloggingstocks.com: Pepsi introduces throwback beverage

It's sad that using cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup is considered "throwback". 

I think that soft drinks sweetened with cane sugar tastes better than soft drinks using high fructose corn syrup, but guess which one is cheaper for Pepsi?

Cincinnati.com: Ch. 64 flooded with calls after switch

Channel 64 was the only area TV station to turn off analog at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. It was one of more than 400 stations nationwide which switched totally to digital broadcasting this morning, according to Associated Press.

All other stations in Cincinnati, Covington and Dayton delayed ending analog until spring, under legislation approved earlier this month by Congress.
...
"We've received quite a few calls from elderly people who aren't familiar with electronics, and don't know how to hook up their (converter) box," Lawhead says.

I didn't really see the point in delaying the switch to digital.  As long as the analog signal is still working, many people won't bother to take the time to make the switch.  But, once they lose Matlock or Judge Judy, then people will make the change.

There is a cost in having this delay.  It's estimated that the delay will cost Public Television 22 Million due to broadcasting both a digital and analog signal.

From NYTimes.com: Automakers Seek $14 Billion More in Aid

The price tag for bailing out General Motors and Chrysler jumped by another $14 billion Tuesday, to $39 billion, with the two automakers saying they would need the additional aid from the federal government to remain solvent.

How many times are we going to see GM and Chrysler back asking for government money?  It almost seems like they either don't know how much money they truly need or are purposely asking for smaller amounts more frequently because they always have the threat of unleashing several hundred thousand unemployed workers.

This is almost an argument for never letting a company get too big where it could actually affect the economy if it goes under.

I think the Barack Obama handwriting font looks great, but when would it be appropriate to use it besides quoting the President?

From the insignedesign.com website:

44th President" is based on the handwriting of President Barack Obama. A number of sources were studied and the font produced from those references. Barack Obama is the 8th left-handed American president. His left-handed stroke is quite obvious. As seen in recent legislation signing ceremonies, President Obama uses the "hooked" style of left-handed writing where the paper is held horizontally and the pen is "pulled" diagonally over the writing surface, and his signature is bold and elegant. The script flows swiftly with a clear and fluid motion, and includes a complete standard character set and Central European, Baltic, Romanian and Western European character sets. "44th President" is available for immediate download for $15.95, and 20% of all profits will be given to charity.

NYTimes.com: Microsoft Plans to Open Retail Stores

Microsoft plans to open its own stores despite the economic downturn that has left many retailers struggling.

The company said Thursday that it had hired David Porter, a 25-year veteran of Wal-Mart Stores, as its corporate vice president for retail stores. Mr. Porter was head of worldwide product distribution at DreamWorks Animation SKG since 2007.
...
The "Gurus" seemed to be Microsoft's answer to Apple's in-store "Genius Bar." With its newly announced retail store intentions, the software maker is taking yet another page from Apple's playbook. Apple credits its stores, concentrated mostly in the United States, for helping raise its profile and draw new customers.

I feel sorry for the "Gurus" who work at the store and I hope that there's at least 50 at each store because they seriously are going to need them!

I can understand how Microsoft sees the success of the Apple Store and craves them as the marketing tool they are.  But, the main difference is that there are far fewer locations to find Apple products.  Windows PC's are sold in almost every office and discount store.  Why would one need to go to a Microsoft store?

Sony has their own store with lots of their own branded products to sell.  They're arguably "cooler" than Microsoft but every time I walk past them to go to the Apple Store, there's almost no one in there.

It's interesting that Microsoft chose a Wal-Mart executive to head their retail.  Apple chose Ron Johnson from Target to start the Apple Stores.  Sort of the differences between Microsoft and Apple in a nutshell.

Say hello to the iBoo iPod docking station.  Cute iPod speakers, reminiscent of the ghosts from Pacman. 

This company also makes an iPig and iPanda speakers.

From LATimes.com: Steve Wozniak, of Apple fame, to hoof it on 'Dancing With the Stars'

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is going to appear on this season's Dancing with the Stars.  I've been salsa dancing for a couple of years and I understand how difficult it is to learn to dance.  I'm curious to see how the Woz will do.

Here's a picture of me and the Woz from 2002 when he came to Cincinnati to speak at an event.

NPR.com: Foreclosure Protesters Target Executives' Homes

This is a story about a protest organized by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America to pressure execs of Wall Street firms to do more to help homeowners.

However, what caught my attention was one guy at the protest

But there were all kinds of people at this event. And it's harder to see some of them as victims.

"I was two months out of college, and they gave me $465,000," says Chris Donohue, a structural engineer who makes about $40,000 a year.

He clearly couldn't afford the house he bought. He got the loan from IndyMac bank, which collapsed last year after many of its loans went sour.

"Every single other bank in the country told me no -- wisely," Donohue says.

Still, Donohue would like his payments lowered. Deciding where to draw the line on loan workouts will be a challenge for the government going forward.

The guy makes $40,000 and was able to get a loan of $465,000?  The guy doesn't need to have lower payments, he needs to experience a little bankruptcy. 

Even if you charged him 0% interest on a 30 year mortgage, you still have a $1300 monthly payment.  Add to that property taxes on a $465,000 house, and insurance.  That would probably add another $1000/month.  If he's making $40,000, after taxes his take home income would be around $30,000 leaving you a $2500/month.  So, his mortgage, even with interest relief would pretty much take up his entire salary.

This Chris Donohue is a structural engineer.  I wouldn't want to be in any building that this fool has worked on.

From Washingtonpost.com: GOP Sees Positives In Negative Stand

After giving the package zero votes in the House, and with their counterparts in the Senate likely to provide in a crucial procedural vote today only the handful of votes needed to avoid a filibuster, Republicans are relishing the opportunity to make a big statement.  Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.) suggested last week that the party is learning from the disruptive tactics of the Taliban, and the GOP these days does have the bravado of an insurgent band that has pulled together after a big defeat to carry off a quick, if not particularly damaging, raid on the powers that be.

The Republicans have learned from the "disruptive tactics of the Taliban"?  I have a suggestion.  Why don't the Republicans take a page from Osama Bin Laden and go hide in the mountains for a while?  That would be a better tactic that we'd all be happier with.

The Republicans are playing their little game of politics and feeling proud of it as the economy sinks deeper and deeper.  The consensus of most economists that I've read is that the stimulus proposals from the Senate may be too small to really get the economy going.  But all I hear from the Republicans is the same tired old rhetoric of cutting taxes.  If you don't have a job, cutting taxes isn't going to do a darn thing for you. 

If the Republicans were truly in favor of small government, they should have done something with their 8 years of running the country besides rack up some of the biggest deficits ever.

From Washingtonpost.com: Treasury Secretary Geithner Sheds His First-Class Image

Cabinet members flying coach?  I think it's a good example to set if there are no security issues.  These days, things can't be business as usual in Washington D.C.

Jason Freeny has two interesting art pieces on one of my favorite blog subjects, gummi bears.


Visit Jason Freeny's site Moist Production for more interesting art

Time.com: 25 Things I Didn't Want to Know About You

If you use Facebook, you know what this is about.  I've been tagged a couple of times, I refuse to do these things.  I guess I'm not a good social networker.

SUMMARY:
Beware of SPAM texts on your cell phone.  Companies have agreements with the major mobile carriers for "Premium Text Messages".  These companies can send you a text message and unless you opt-out of it, a "service" charge could added to your phone bill!  If you receive a text like this, respond to the text with "Stop".  Wait a day or so and then call your mobile carrier to see if you have any charges added. 

This whole story started with two annoying, but somewhat benign looking SPAM text messages that I received on my iPhone.

The two bubbles on the left are the the two text messages that I received from SJA.  Here's the text for those who can't see the image.

First Message
272 is the password ---- Web Access plus SMS Queries, Send-to-Phone SMS Features, 866 559 1313 9.99 mthly and Other Value Adds.

Second Message
SJA Web Access Plus SMS Queries- Call Us Anytime 866 559 1313 9.99 mthly help, stop, info, Unlimted SMS Queries.

Just the fact that I received SPAM text messages on my iPhone is really bothersome to me.  But unlike email SPAM, I'm actually PAYING for this as it counts toward the 200 text messages that I get with my plan.  So, I decided to a little research into who's sending this and how they're able to do this.

It turns out that this is a problem that's bigger than just getting annoying text SPAM.  The SPAM text message is just a first step in placing a service charge on your phone.  Companies are able to send you a "Premium Text Message" that somehow establishes a "service" with you that you can be billed for.

This has been going on for a while and I found an article on Skydeck.com, titled TEXT MESSAGE FRAUD: PART 1 OF 2

At Skydeck we believe that anyone should be able to send a text message to anyone else, but premium services should require 'double opt-in' before charging. I spoke with Sprint about the issue. While the conversation went well and ended with the service rep filing a fraud report against SJA Mobile, one of the first explanations I was given surprised me because it implied that their partners can bill for services on an opt-out basis: "SMS businesses under contract with Sprint can send text messages to Sprint's customers, and begin charging them if the recipients don't 'opt-out' of their service". The only SMS I ever received from SJA's short code (23907) contained the following message: " ... ". Seriously, that's it. I was supposed to recognize that "..." meant I was now enrolling in a $4.99 per month service, and had to opt-out?

Lots of information on this site about SJA.

After reading this, I called AT&T to complain about this and they told me that all I had to do was to respond to the text message with "stop" and that I wouldn't get billed for it.  I did that and I received the following text as a response.

Text Message:
No further text messages will be sent.  Not satisfied?  Email support@game-cheats-master.com 

 

From CNN.com: Numb and number: Is trillion the new billion?

"A million seconds is about 11½ days. A billion seconds is about 32 years, and a trillion seconds is 32,000 years," Paulos said. "People tend to lump them together, perhaps because they rhyme, but if you think of it in terms of a jail sentence, do you want to go to jail for 11½ days or 32 years or maybe 32,000 years? So, they're vastly different, and people generally don't really have a real visceral grasp of the differences among them."

I agree with the article.  It's hard to get a grasp on how much money is involved in the economic stimulus package.

Genius!

This little piece of SPAM made it through my filter into my email box.

Greetings!!! You have a bank draft of $970,650.00 USD,which await the outstanding payment of $195USD.Contact the UPS courier company for claims with your informations.Contact person Mr.Kenny Smith Email:XXXXXX@xtra.co.nz. Tel:+XXXXXX474807.

Greetings indeed!  Wait, all I have to do is pay $195 to get a bank draft of 970.650.00?  When you hear of people getting ripped off by these scams, you have to really wonder.