Microsoft Live Labs Photosynth

From Addicted to Digital Media

What if you could take all the pictures of a particular place on Flickr, taken at different angles, and without a 3D model, your computer could stitch the pictures together into a 3D, navigable model where you can zoom in or out, walk around and more?

Okay, you have my full attention. Continue, please.

Enter Microsoft Live Labs' project, "Photosynth"

Wow, this technology rocks. Download the videos on the Photosynth page. I can't wait to get my hands on this. Who said innovation was dead at Microsoft?

Update:On10.Net has a cool interview and more in-depth demo of Windows Live Labs' PhotoSynth

Stop it, you are just playing with me!

After a little research Channel 9 has a video too. That is still downloading as we speak, but Channel 9 is usually my favorite. Channel 9 is so much less like regular marketing and so much more like an actual conversation with the developers that are making it happen.

Tags: Microsoft, Photosynth, Live Labs, Flickr

Mark Cuban's HP Advertisment

Mark Cuban's HP television advertisment is pretty cool. Steven Rubel pointed me towards it with his blog post.

Mark Cuban and his blog are featured front and center in HP's new ad campaign. What's even cooler is that you can play with Mark's computer.

You can watch the ad on HP website.

Tags: Mark Cuban, HP

My HP Ad

So I went ahead and created my own HP "Personal Again" computer ad. Fun stuff.



My hair looks rather insane, but it's the best the seemed able to do. I couldn't seem to find a picture of my face that really works with the software.

Tags: HP

Ted Stevens Interested In Going On The Daily Show

After being made fun of by Jon Stewart for his "Internet is not a truck, series of tubes" comments, Ted Stevens has expressed interest in going on The Daily Show. Pretty please Jon Stewart, invite him on.

Tags: Ted Stevens, Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

Technology Company To Move To Milwaukee

From the Journal Sentinel...

A small technology-based company that predicts risk for trucking firms plans to relocate its headquarters from suburban Atlanta to the Milwaukee area, the company's founder said Wednesday.

Wahoo! This only means good things. More jobs and more people in the "Milwaukee technology arena". It's exciting to see that the company is working in a fairly new area too...

FleetRisk is seeking to carve out a new niche, providing trucking companies and other firms that operate large fleets of vehicles with analysis of their risk for accidents and other losses.

Read the rest of the story.

Tags: Milwaukee

Republicans Blackmail Working America

The Republican Party has done it again. The party that touts itself as having integrity and familiy values has stuck it to every citizen in America that isn't a millionaire. The Republicans have prepared a bill that couples a minimum wage increase that the Democrats want with a cut on inheritance taxes on multmillion dollar estates.

The Republicans will use this in hopes that it will go through and they get at least what they want or if they are so lucky the Democrats will vote it down and the Republicans will be able to use TV ads that say "So and so voted against a minimum wage increase". The later, well being honest at some level, fails to tell the whole story and is "spin" politics.

The shame is that the people really getting hurt here are the people that would benefit from the minimum wage increase. The inheritance tax portion isn't going to really help anyone barely getting by, it's going to help people who are already getting by buy a bigger yacht.

Spin politics hurt America. I wish for the politicans to stop hurting America. This isn't fighting over ideals, it is low-blow politics that does not benefit the people.

Tags: Republicans, Democrats, Spin

Students Against Oil Companies and Their Record Profits

I have just recorded a Facebook group with the name "Students Against Oil Companies and Their Record Profits" as a way to have civilized discourse about why oil prices are really so high. I hope that we can amass a large enough group to send a message to our congressmen and congresswoman that we want action. The message of the group is as follows.

This group seeks to unite students interested in the exploration of why, in the face of blame on OPEC for massive price increases at the pump, oil companies are making record profits?

We are not a group of liberals. We are not a group of conservatives. We are a group of people who drive cars. We are interested in the exploration of why the gas prices continue to go higher and what we can do to make them go lower.

In the 2nd quarter of 2006, Exxon-Mobil recorded profits of $10.4 billion, an increase of 36% over the same period last year. Royal Dutch Shell PLC recorded profits of $7.32 billion, a 40% increase. BP PLC reported its quarterly profit rose 30 percent to $7.3 billion. ConocoPhillips said its earnings rose 65% to $5.18 billion. Chevron rounds out the "big five" oil companies as the under-performer, increasing profits only 18% to $4.4 billion. All of this comes at the expense of you and me.

In an era when prices for services and products such as communication and computers are rapidly falling and quality is rapidly improving, the oil companies have driven the market in the other direction with little improvement. The price for a gallon of gas today is over $3.00. In January of 2005 gas prices were 72 cents a gallon. The average price for a gallon of gas four years ago was $1.36.

To put this all in prospective, Exxon-Mobil in the past year recorded a profit of $1,146 per second. That's enough to drive the average American car 10,294 miles. At the same time Exxon-Mobil committed three-hundredths of 1 percent of its profits ($10 million) to renewable energy.

Unfortunately, the United States government has been relatively quiet on this issue. The government needs to do something to protect its citizens. Excess profits tax? Price controls? Price gouging investigations? We need something.

In order to shake the government out of their long sleep in regards to this issue, we the students need to assemble.

Who's with me?

This comes as a response to Ralph Nader's challenge from his essay blog.

Tags: oil, Ralph Nader

Dear Congressman Ryan

I submitted this letter, albeit too late, to Paul Ryan, my representative in the U.S. House of Representatives about the Deleting Online Predators Act after I was alerted by News.com.

Congressman Ryan,

I wish to offer my regrets that you voted for the Deleting Online Predators Act. I understand the need for the law that protects children online. I think it is important to protect minors, especially when they are using technology at public schools and libraries. I, however, think the act is far too broad. If the bill gets passed into law and is fully implemented at schools and libraries it would restrict access to sites such as Amazon.com and CNet Networks, a popular online news network including sites such as News.com. These sites both provide services where users can post profiles. Clearly, this was not the intention of the bill. I understand the bill to have the goal of targeting sites such as MySpace.com, which if you enter computer labs at our alma mater Craig High School you'll find many students spending "unproductive" time on. It will clearly be both a productivity boost and a safety-improvement for the students and the school if that site is blocked. The blocking of News.com and Amazon.com will damage the ability of the students, however, to conduct research. Amazon.com, a shopping site, is a great site for students to gather information on products and services relevant to their papers and homework; I myself have used it many times for that purpose. News.com serves the obvious purpose of providing news articles and there is no doubt of the academic merit of the site.

I think the Deleting Online Predators Act is far too broad and needs to be narrowed in scope to accomplish the goal of the bill.

Respectfully Submitted,
-Jeramey-

This prompts another question. Is there a good resource out there to monitor upcoming bills, votes, and new laws? I want an unfiltered list, not a nightly news run-down.

Tags: Paul Ryan, Deleting Online Predators Act

The Problem in the Middle East?

Dilbert author Scott Adams thinks he has solved the problems in the Middle East.

Recently we had a heat wave in California. My air conditioner broke because, I assume, it is not designed to operate in hot weather. That was the bad news. The good news is that I solved the problems in the Middle East. Allow me to explain.

Read on.

Tags: Middle East

Scoble Explains Dell's Problems

Robert Scoble has an excellent post on why Dell is having trouble in the market right now. He draws a lot of comparisons to Apple, which is now just another Windows OEM with the advant of Windows on a Mac.

I've had my own problems with Dell in the past and recommend to people to buy anything but a Dell.

Dell now is blogging, in an attempt to get "direct conversations" with the customer, which hopefully will spur some kind "oh, maybe we are terrible at this" turn-around in customer service and certain brand strategies. Wait and see, I guess.

In the mean time, dude you're getting an HP (or Gateway, eMachine, Apple, etc).

Tags: Dell

To Milwaukee

Dearest Fans,

This will be a light posting day. I'm off to Milwaukee for Jazz in the Park tonight. Tomorrow will be a day of doing who knows what, but it will be in Milwaukee and most likely away from the internet.

Pray for the Brewers to win!

-Jeramey-

Jon Stewart and Ted Stevens on Net Neutrality

This will be the best thing you have seen in a long time. Senator Ted Stevens explains the internet with some Daily Show diagrams to go with. Brilliant!

Amazing how absolutely insane Ted Stevens makes himself seem. It's especially amusing since he's the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committe.

Tags: Jon Stewart, Ted Stevens, The Daily Show

Guide to Linking

Micorosft is providing a guide to linking on MSDN.

Thanks to Chris Pirillo who pointed this one out to me with his blog

Microsoft's Zune

You have probabyl heard of Microsoft's MP3 player in the works. Billboard has the story.

I sadly don't have anything more I can add other than I hope it fosters innovation in the MP3 player market.

Tags: Zune, Microsoft

Gotuit

If you thought YouTube was cool, you're going to be blown away by GoTuit. Watch videos on anything, for free. Music videos, sports, news, and entertainment. It's all there. Check it out.

Tags: Gotuit

Google Talk - Not Doing So Well

Turns out Google Talk is not doing so well (unlike say Gmail). The instant messaging software had only 44,000 users in the month of Jone.

Michael Arrington at TechCrunch has the breakdown of how it compares to AIM, MSN, and Yahoo (1% of the market) and more.

Tags: Google

Master Diplomer

Master Diplomer
Originally uploaded by Ross Mayfield.

In case you missed it, here's George Bush assaulting the German Chancellor.

Wal-Mart Attempting To "Go Green"

Wal-Mart has committed to improving the efficiency of a large number of their processes ranging from shipping to lighting their stores to packaging products.

In a speech broadcast to all of Wal-Mart's facilities last November, Scott set several ambitious goals: Increase the efficiency of its vehicle fleet by 25% over the next three years, and double efficiency in ten years. Eliminate 30% of the energy used in stores. Reduce solid waste from U.S. stores by 25% in three years.

Wal-Mart is committing $500 million up-front to achieve these goals, not exactly a small chunk of change.

The interesting thing about these environmentally-friendly reductions is that not only are they going to help the environment, but they're going to save Wal-Mart money. Now let's see some results!

Fortune has a feature-length story on everything about this.

Tags: Wal-Mart

Facebook Offers Up iTunes Promotion

Apple, via the Facebook, is offering up free music in a "back to school" special. If you are a member of the Apple Students group on the Facebook you can download a weekly 25 song sampler for free. I, despite not being a big Apple fan, had to check this out.

It's a fairly simple process to get the free music. First, join the Apple Students group. You can do this by a quick search for the group or by clicking on the banner that is likely appearing on the left side of your Facebook account. Next, there is a banner on the top of the Apple Students group page, click on that. Once you click on the link in the Apple Students group page, you're sent a Facebook message with a redemption code to use in the store. A quick "copy and paste" and the music starts downloading. Finally, sit back and enjoy your music.

As you probably could have predicted, I immediately left the Apple Students group. Hopefully they'll let me join next week and get more free music.

This is a brilliant promotion on Apple's part. It doesn't cost them much to give away the 25 songs for free. On top of that, they get you to pause for a moment on their group page and get to give you a quick "informal" sales pitch. Sneaky. Thousands of people will probably join the group, and unlike me won't leave. Those that stay in the group are advertising for Apple by having the group listed in their "Groups" list on their profile page. There is always the goodwill you receive when giving someone something for free too.

Here is the song list for this week.

Who's going to be next with a promotion like this? Microsoft with their upcoming MP3 player?

Tags: Facebook, Apple

I'm Alive

I made it home alive, by 9. Thank you airport gods!

Montreal

Ben just found out the hard way Montreal is in the eastern time zone. He just about had a mess in his pants when he found out it was 5:20 and that our flight leaves in 25 minutes, not 4:20 with an hour to spare.

Canada

Safely in Canada. Stomach is not quite cooperating at this point, but life is going on.

Adventure

Five hours until the adventure begins and I take on Germany, Canada, and Chicago. I should be home by 10 PM Central Standard Time (home is Janesville).

Rain

My last day in Germany and it rains, how sneaky of those weather gods.

Packer Training Camp

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a nice little guide to Green Bay Packer training camp.

Tags: Green Bay Packers

The Next Jon Stewart (Elizabeth Smart)

Oh, oh, oh, this is good. Me likey.

Elizabeth Smart, who you may remember as being kidnapped in Utah four years ago, was recently on CNN. She was there to talk about the National Sex Offender Registery or so she thought. Nancy Grace, who was interviewing her, repeatedly asks questions about Elizabeth's kidnapping, that she goes along with. Elizabeth rolls her eyes once. And then all the sudden POW, Elizabeth drops the bomb not once but twice, letting Nancy know that she is here to talk not about her abduction, but about the bill. Of course, Nancy babbles something about victims not wanting to talk (after being slammed not once, but twice). Grace's self defense mechanism then goes off when she switches to trying to talk to Senator Hatch of Utah.

Two points for Elizabeth Smart. Subtract two from the total CNN has left (as if they had any left after the Crossfire incident with Jon Stewart).

Way to go Elizabeth Smart.

You can watch the video here. Thanks to the Freakanomics blog for pointing this one out.

Tags: CNN, Elizabeth Smart

What is BarCamp?

This video about a San Fransisco BarCamp helps you get a feel.

Tags: BarCamp

BarCampMilwaukee

A group of us are in the works to prepare a Bar Camp event in Milwaukee and we want you!

BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from attendees. If you're not familiar with what BarCamp is, I'd recommend reading the rules.

Come one and come all. It would be really great if some people from the WI .Net Users Group could come, since I know there are both many excellent speakers and excellent audience participants (read: question askers) in the group that would make this event a huge success.

There is a wiki page up with all the details.

Tags: Milwaukee, BarCamp, BarCampMilwaukee

Germany

It's my last day here.

That fact doesn't really matter though. Everyone but two of my friends has made their way to the Frankfurt Airport already, so it's a pretty anti-climatic day. Oh well.

It was a great time. Thank you Kassel.

Republicans Can't Challenge Kohl

The Democrats have at least one safe seat in the upcoming mid-term elections. Senator Herb Kohl of Wisconsin will go virtually unchallenged in the fall, as the Republicans have failed to find and fund a candidate who actually had a fighting chance of beating Kohl.

Does this mean my beloved Milwaukee Bucks will play better because Kohl will have more time on his hands (Kohl owns the Bucks)? I hope not. I expect to see Herb Kohl visiting every county in the state and attempting to connect with the people.

Score one for the good guys.

Tags: Herb Kohl

Ned Yost Listens To Me

After my recent complaining about Brewers closer Derrick Turnbow's struggles, Manager Ned Yost (who can only be assumed to be an avid reader of this site) is going to take my suggestion and go with Dan Kolb to close some games.

Tags: Milwaukee Brewers, Derrick Turnbow, Dan Kolb

Have You Got a Girlfriend?

Oh god, that's my problem.

Tags: Hugh MacLeod

Nader's Take On the Israel-Lebanon Fiasco

Ralph Nader has posted his take on the Isreal-Lebanon fiasco.

I'll be honest, I'm no expert on the relations of the Middle East countries. I'll keep being honest, I don't think our current administration is much of an expert either.

It seems to me that when a country with a big army goes after a country with a little army all because of 2 people, we should run in saying "stop". This is true especially in the event that they're using our weapons to inflict the damage. That I think would be a positive for the United States.

If I get taken hostage in Canada on Monday, I dearly hope George Bush does not bomb Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

War is obviously not the answer.

Turnbow Blows It Again

I had recently mentioned the struggles of Derrick Turnbow. Last night he blew another game.

Is it time to try throwing Dan Kolb back in there? It seems at this point Turnbow is all but done, which is a shame. It's especially a shame when you have multiple games of good pitching wasted with a blown save.

Tags: Derrick Turnbow, Milwaukee Brewers, Dan Kolb

USA Basketball is Serious Again

After a dismal bronze medal performance in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece the, "Dream Team" is coming back. A complete reversal of the Allen Iverson-led roster demonstrates the commitment Director Jerry Colangelo and Coach Mike Kryewski have to winning.

I had previously been fairly critical of the roster selection of the USA National Team, but this could be one excellent roster. It's currently still in the "training camp" stage, so the final cuts have not been made, but it features an excellent mesh of different playing styles. Michael Redd and Paul Pierce are on the roster providing a previously lacking outside shooting presence. Defensive specialist Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs was added to the roster, a much needed addition. There is a plethora of big, athletic forwards who hopefully will drive other countries nuts.

The point guards on this roster are a huge improvement over the last. Chris Paul, Gilbert Arenas, and Chauncey Billups are all on the training camp roster. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of them not make the cut, but any combination out of those three will be such a huge improvement over Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson.

Want to compare yourself? Here's the 2004 Olympics roster and here's the current training camp roster. Which one do you think would be a winning team?

There are already lots of stories circulating in the news already about how this is a complete reversal of previous team strategies (here's a good one). For the first time in too-long it seems like everyone is genuinely excited to be there.

Oh, and I love this note from a reporter's notes and quotes list.

Michael Redd shooting from the international three-point line is just not fair. The man is money.

That's my man, I can't wait to see him shooting out the lights over other countries.

All I can say is, thank god they're not letting Isiah Thomas run this thing.

Tags: USA basketball, Michael Redd

ESPN Welcomes Milwaukee Back to the "Chromatic Civilization"

OnMilwaukee.com pointed me to an article on ESPN's Page 2 that lists the Bucks purple and green uniforms as the 10th worst sports uniform ever in the "The Uni Watch Hall of Shame"

Now come on, I didn't think they were that bad. Great, no. Terrible, no.

Tags: Milwaukee Bucks

Internet News

Robert X. Cringely takes a look at internet news and what may or may not be wrong with it, compared to traditional newspaper format news.

In response to what comes out in his column, I personally think it's better that stories last longer on the internet (36 hours vs 24 with a paper). It gives everyone a chance to keep up with them.

FlickrInspector

A new Flickr toy is out. FlickrInspector gives you all kinds of data on any Flickr user you wish.

Here's the stats on my Flickr account. Turns out, no big surprise, I'm not too popular. Someday I'll get a picture on the "Explore" page.

Tags: Flickr

Ben Neher Getting A Face

Ben Neher, travel partner and long-time opponent of actually having a picture on the Facebook, just had a startling revelation while sitting next to me. After listening to me babble about the latest and greatest Web 2.0 technologies for long enough he uttered "I'm going to actually go get a face on the Facebook and turn it into a real Facebook profile".

That may seem like a simple statement, but it's a break through for Ben.

Mountain Dew

Mountain Dew
Originally uploaded by compujeramey.

Germany had one Mountain Dew.

They hid it at Subway.

I drank it.

It felt good.

Turnbow Choking

Brewers closer Derrick Turnbow blew his fourth straight save last night. Turnbow, who has gained rockstar status in Milwaukee over the past year and even earned a trip to the All-Star game this year, needs to turn things around or he may be out of a job. It's scary to think that the starting pitching could be on the verge of coming together for the Brewers with the return of Ben Sheets and Tomo Ohka, and now the Crew won't have a reliable closer.

Turn it around Derrick.

The Oracle of Cheese has some additional thoughts on the subject.

Ironically, Turnbow was the last player caught using steroids (when he was with the Anaheim Angels) before they were deemed "bad for baseball". Perhaps his decline is more or less a result of decreasing arm strength due to the fact that he must compete using legal supplements.

Tags: Milwaukee Brewers, Derrick Turnbow

George Bush Singing "Sunday, Bloody Sunday"

Charlie Wanninger passed this mashup video of George Bush singing U2's Sunday, Bloody Sunday.

Tags: George Bush, U2

Ben Sheets Rehab

The Brew Call Ball Blog reports some good news on Brewer's ace Ben Sheets' rehab. His velocity is returning to form and his breaking ball is sharp. All signs point to go for a return to the pitching rotation for Ben Sheets.

As long as Milwaukee can hit the ball, look for the team to improve record-wise now that Tomo Okha is back and Ben Sheets is on his way to the mound.

Tags: Ben Sheets, Milwaukee Brewers

Bucks Happy About Villanueva Addition

You knew I am happy about the Charlie Villanueva trade, you knew ESPN writer Bill Simmons loves the move, but now we know the Milwaukee Bucks organization is happy. Charlie Villanueva met with the media in Milwaukee for the first time yesterday and positive comments were shared all around.

General Manager Larry Harris shared that Michael Redd was pleased with the deal. Coach Terry Stotts displayed his pleasure with the deal. Most importantly, Charlie Villanueva expressed his excitement to be in Milwaukee and that he was aware of his consistency problems and is using that as a motivation to improve.

Once the Bucks finally trade Jamal Magloire, there isn't going to be a moment I won't be excited about the upcoming season. On the plus side, not only will this be a good season, but we're building a team for the future.

I love this game.

Tags: Milwaukee Bucks, Bucks, NBA

How Do Planes Navigate in the Sky?

The Southwest Airlines blog takes a look at how planes navigate in the sky.

Definitely explains why the delays pile up on the east coast of the United States. Doesn't explain why I have never flown out of O'Hare Airport in Chicago without being delayed.

Ironically, everytime I've flown Southwest Airlines from Chicago (Midway Airport is the only airport in Chicago Southwest uses) the flight has been on time. Everytime I've flown from O'Hare Airport on another airline my flight has been delayed or cancelled.

I'm flying Southwest again from Chicago Midway in September. Will my streak of luck continue?

Phone Whores

Scott Adams, that guy who wrote that Dilbert comic, has an excellent post up on his blog about phone whores. The people that go to an airport and just sit and chit-chat on their phone. You know who I'm talking about.

I can't wait to bump into an army of these people when I'm stuck in the Montreal airport for six hours in a few days. I love me some baby talk.

Big Loss for Brewers

While it looks like Ben Sheets and Tomo Ohka both will be returning to the Brewers for the rest of the season, shortstop J.J. Hardy is out for the season. Hardy who has been out since May will undergoe season-ending surgery. It's a shame to see his season end, because it looked like he was turning the corner with his bat after his lackluster first season.

Volkswagon Tour Was Fun

The Volkswagon factory tour today was a good time. It appeared to be much more automated than what I remember seeing at the General Motors plant in Janesville. In light of GM's recent financial struggles, perhaps there is something to be said there?

Who's Listening On the Other Side of the Bush?

Two of my good friends, you know George Bush and Tony Blair, were caught in quite the pickle yesterday when George made quite the comment to Tony, which he thought was not being recorded. Bush comments related to the United Nations handling of recent conflicts in the Middle East.

The surprising part is not his use of a four letter word, but instead his use of the word irony. Get the whole story.

I can not wait to see what Jon Stewart and the The Daily Show has to say about this.

Volkswagon Tour

Volkswagon factory tonight with the international student group, should be a good time to compare and contrast the factory with the local General Motors Suburban/Tahoe factory in my hometown of Janesville.

Last Week

It's my last week in Germany, I should be safely home sometime next Monday evening. In the meantime expect light posting for the rest of the week.

Training Camp Time

Packer's Practice 2
Originally uploaded by todd098.

Is it that time already? The familiar green and gold of the Packers are making their way back to Green Bay in preperation for a new season. Here's to hoping (and predicting) that it's better than the last.

Alive

Yes, I am alive. It was a busy weekend away from home. I'll have more for you later. Stay tuned.

Fun With the Facebook

I have a neat little Facebook feature for you to play with. Turns out there is a way to display all your friends in "mosaic" fashion. Rather than re-invent the wheel, I'll just point you to the blog post where I found out about the feature.

Tags: Facebook

What's So Great About Blogs?

From Hugh's blog...

Post World Cup Germany

In post World Cup Germany every car does not have the familiar red, black, and yellow flag. Every apartment does not have a German flag hanging from the window.

It's almost like post-post* September 11th , when all the Republicans woke up one morning and decided they no longer needed flags on their cars. Of course, then we went to war with Iraq and we all needed ribbons on our cars...

Perhaps Germany will soon have "Support our Soccer Players" ribbons for 2010?


*post-post being the period after the memory of September 11th. The point in time when everyone moved on with their life.

Plane Crashing

There has been a significant amount of plane crashes in the past couple of weeks with Russia having two killing over 200 people and now Pakistan having one that killed 45 people. Will it be Air Canada's turn next when I'm flying home? Let us hope not.

Senator Hatch Helps Free Convicted Criminal

Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah helped organize the release of R&B producer Dallas Austin from a prison in Dubai. Austin was sentenced to four years in jail and deportation following his term after his conviction for posessing 1.26 grams of coccaine. Hatch, a musician himself, employs the same lawyer (entertainment lawyer Joel A. Katz) as Austin.

Interesting how a conservative Republican so obsessed with eliminating crime, getting drugs off the street, and making sure people don't download music illegaly is willing to free a rich American who did something that many would call "stupid". Money talks.

Do you live in Utah? You should vote for Pete Ashdown.

Tags: Utah

World Cup 2006

Germany has taken third with a 3-1 win over Portugal. Wahoo!

NBA Trade Index

Who are the most untradeable players in the NBA? Bill Simmons thinks he knows.

He also writes quite a bit about that T.J. Ford for Charlie Villeanova trade. HE LOVES IT.

I just wanted to comment on the Villanueva-T.J. Ford trade. Disregard Ford's scary spinal cord problems, that he can't shoot to save his life, that he's a free agent two years earlier than Villanueva, even that he lost crunch-time minutes to Charlie Bell last season. Again, I want you to disregard everything in that sentence. From a pure basketball standpoint, since when is a young point guard worth as much as a young power forward who can rebound and shoot 3s? When has that EVER been the case? How fast did the Bucks' front office say yes to this trade? 0.79 seconds? 1.2 seconds? Did they say, "Hold on, we'll discuss this and call you back in a few hours," then hang up and start pouring champagne on one another? If somebody made this deal in my fantasy league, I would have protested it.

Two points for Larry Harris and the Bucks on this one.

Milwaukee Wifi Deal Faltering

I'm a little late on this one, but it's still important none the less. Left on the Lake reports on how the >Milwaukee Citywide Wifi deal with Midwest Fiber Networks is faltering.

Tags: Milwaukee

Germany Pictures

In Berlin
Originally uploaded by compujeramey.

You can follow my travels in Germany by browsing my Flickr photostream. I have created a set entitled "Germany" that includes all the pictures from the trip, along with tagging the photos JGTG (Jeramey Goes to Germany) and JGTB (Jeramey Goes to Berlin).

Barbeque

Barbeque tonight, wahoo! The fact that it's supposed to rain is a little bit of a downer, but apparently we have a location where we can move inside if need be.

Being that it's pot-luck style, I will of couse be bringing the bratwursts. I'm also bringing the buns in an attempt to enlighten the Germans that the bun does not need to be significantly shorter than the meat.

Summer School

Going to class everyday in the summer is a major drag. Having to wake up before 8 a.m. only compounds the problem. The fact that there is no air conditioning, I'm sick, and it's wicked hot outside doesn't help either. It's been a rough week.

Still Sick

Closing in on the elusive marker of being sick for a solid week. I don't feel terrible, but my nose is like the Nile. Every once and a while you have to be ready for the flood.