The Best Of….Me

As we approach the end of 2009, it seems that everyone is putting out a “best of” list along with the beta release of their newest social software. (There’s like 50,000 apps for Twitter alone.) Since I’m too stupid and lazy to write an app and capitalize on this trend, I can at least provide my own little “best of”. Forget about the best 100…too much work. How about I list the ten or 15 apps and/or websites that I utilize everyday. They may not be someone else’s idea of what’s “best”, but obviously they have some merit if I use them everyday. (Besides, this is my blog..bugger off!)

• Gmail: I’ve used them for years and I’m not going to migrate. It’s an ass-kicking free email service.
• Google Reader: An information junkie’s wet dream; all your feeds and subscriptions in one Gmail type,(sorta), interface.
• Twitter: I’m a Johnny-come-lately to this service; even poking fun at it at one point, but, like Google, I realized the value of real-time data. Besides, I get to tweet the world about my peanut butter preferences.
• Livewriter: How the hell do you think I’m writing this? This is Microsoft’s blogging software and it’s pretty cool. Microsoft gets picked on a lot, but they do have some some fairly neat,(and free), stuff.
• Firefox: Sorry Microsoft, but Firefox is the shit. With the add-ons and extensions, you can tweak this browser to your own version of perfection. Google, I love you, but you’re just not quite there yet with Chrome. However, I can see the writing on the wall and I think the browser and OS,(I guess that’s kinda redundant…the browser is the OS…anyway), have both got very bright futures. What is there, like 500 extensions for Chrome already?

Those are the five apps that I use everyday. There are many others that I use on a sporadic basis, but those are biggies. On to websites: These are ones I check everyday. The list could be huge, (remember I’m an info junkie), but I’m going to limit it to five. (Nice round number:10)

• Makeuseof.com: Their subtitle is “Cool Websites” and they’re not kidding. They point out a lot of free and cool stuff on the net; and they have writers that are very good at explaining complicated stuff that even morens like me can understand.
• Techcrunch.com: It’s one of the most popular sites on the net for good reason. They are usually on top of all the latest computer/internet news worldwide.
• Techmeme.com: The name says it all. Like Techcrunch, they are all over the latest tech news. There is, of course, some redundancy between the two services. But….that’s why there’s that big ol’ “Mark all as read” button in Greader.
• Lifehacker.com: Just like the name sounds, Gina Trapani and friends suggest more than just software “hacks”. It’s a great site.
• Howtogeek.com: The name is pretty self-explanatory. The “Mystic Geek” is a wise sage.

Ok, that’s about enough. I hate writing and reading long articles. Neither list is even remotely complete, (e.g. my Reader subscription list is rather long), but that gives a fairly good representation of things I utilize on a daily basis.
Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Years. Oh….wait a minute, I know people of different faiths all over the world. In that case, I’ll be safe and say: “Season’s Greetings”.

What’s Good For The Goose

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
-John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton

It’s amazing how vehemently certain people and groups will defend a right or privilege; providing of course that it serves their purposes. Take that very same right and exercise it in a way that is detrimental to them and watch how fast these people want to put restrictions on that right. The first amendment is a prime example.

There is a reason that freedom of the press is in the first amendment. To establish any form of government, you have to control at least part of the media. Think about it. I do not like making generalizations, but a vast amount of the media acts as nothing more than the PR department of law enforcement and the government. Stories are “leaked” and are routinely planted in order to serve governmental objectives. The line between the two estates is often very thin.

Now, take that right and use it to point out, let’s say, police abuse and watch how quickly you start to have in problems here in America-land of the free and home of the brave.