YouTube has rolled out a feature that empowers video creators in understanding the traffic their videos receive. Web Analytics have often been associated with Webmasters or at most Web site owners, but this gives people some real-world insight into what Web sites know about the, all from the kind folks at Google. Read more…
Comcast, a national broadband provider, was repeatedly criticized for slowing down BitTorrent traffic by means of packet shaping. Recently, they agreed to lift throttles placed on all users who download Torrents and only limit access to users who consume the most bandwidth. This is not just a step for downloaders, but a step to defend Net Neutrality.
I’m often asked if there are other online services to use besides AOL, but still have the same ease of use. To help summarize my response, I’ve put together a small list of alternative services which are free that are similar or better than the AOL equivalent. Read more…
Boris Epstein of BINC, a professional headhunter service, blogged about some of the troubling thoughts from former Yahooligans who left the company in the past few months. The upcoming merger with Microsoft is only hemorrhaging employee morale even more. Check out the original blog entry listing the top nine reasons why talent is being lost out the front door of Yahoo. Read more…
Scottsdale (a very affluent region of Phoenix), netted $2 million in revenue from one highway due to speed enforcement cameras, along an 8-mile stretch on the 101-Loop in a span of two years. That is, more than 200,000 citations were issued. The tickets also carry additional surcharges, resulting in $5.4 million for the State of Arizona. Read more…
In the past week or so, there was an instance of a criminal act of posting ads for Craigslist readers to raid an unsuspecting person’s house (for free items). Today, there was another similar instance of this activity. What is causing this, are Anonymous Communities to blame? Read more…
AOL’s discontinues their personal financial management services (”Bill Manager Plus and AOL Bill Pay”), effective April 30, 2008, in an e-mail to users. The e-mail fails to provide a reason for the closure of the service, except to advise users to use Yodlee if they would like to continue using a similar service. Read more…
My intermission of blogging has ceased. I feel at this point I am finally “home,” back in Arizona, with my new employer. (Before I fully disclose my employment status here, I think it’s a good idea to run it by the bosses to let them know before they Google me and find out that way.) It was a fun, long and enjoyable three weeks of packing and traveling across the country to re-establish myself.
It was somewhat frustrating though because as I left, the weather where I lived became livable at 60F. Only those who live in NoVA would understand, that 9/12 months of the year it’s cold, overcast and it’s disappointing to be homebound for all that time. In addition to the fortunate weather pattern, there were many headlines that broke that I would’ve loved to dish my two cents on. Well, I digress from that, and will opine on the following headlines that I recall:
I don’t claim to be a political pundit by any means, nor do I believe I have all the answers, but I just want someone to shrink the size of government. This will accomplish two things: force people to become independent thinkers, lower taxes and once again restore the very qualities that makes America the best, freedom. I’m tired of empty promises, facist propaganda and corporate interests in DC! As I ponder this deeper, expect a future entry dissecting the very values of the two political parties, since that too is on my mind.
Another topic that I’ve had some time to think about — Photo Traffic Enforcement. For those who may not know, Phoenix was one of the first cities to deploy technology that combated Red Light Running (since, they’re #1). That technology eventually matured to include speed enforcement. I think it’s a great idea to make intersections safer and a good way to exploit technology to allow human resources (police) to handle higher priority matters. On the contrary, I disagree with speed enforcement, since speeding is subjective since it varies with the conditions of the road. My five priors are evident of this belief, but I must say the enhanced Radar speed limit signs that blink when you exceed 5MPH are keeping me off the gas pedal. Also, I am less likely to accelerate to beat the yellow mainly since if I get tagged, I will get two tickets in the mail and I wouldn’t exactly want that.
My new apartment is very spacious, good views, good neighborhood (sans theft) and I’m loving my Cox Cable package. The results speak for themselves:
I feel I got out what was on my mind for a while. My apologies for the lack of any pictures. Most of my driving took place at night, and there really wasn’t anything that interesting on the way. When I eventually get my pictures off my camera I’ll post them.
~Joe
Earlier last week, I informed you that I’d be moving to Arizona. I just wanted to share an update as to things and apologize for the lack of blog entries.
The ride over here wasn’t so bad, I did go through a few rain storms and one patch of snow in Texas at the time. Texas took forever, but eventually I got out of it. Later, we made it to El Paso and instead of resting at a hotel like any sane person would, I continued driving all the way to Tucson, all powered on Rockstar energy drinks.
My sister has some pictures, but the problem is there really wasn’t any interesting pictures, since most of my driving occurred during the night.
Aside from that, all I need to do today is sign my lease, get utilities in my name, and unload all the stuff from my moving truck. I’ll get some help from a few friends whose payment is in the form of pizza or a fine sampling of alcohols.
For the remaining fragment of visitors here who do drop by frequently, thanks for your patience. My stats have shown there’s a number of folks who still checked the blog out despite having stale content. In the meantime until my next blog entry, share some suggestions or topics that you’d like me to pursue. I appreciate it. 
~Joe
Well, not exactly. I’ll be trekking 2300 miles back to Arizona to join my new employer as well as being generally closer to my family. I’m excited, but very occupied in packing all my possessions. As a side effect, you’ll probably notice some reduced activity here, but I’ll try to give some updates or post some interesting photos.
Some notes on the title:
