Bookmark Search Tool
As I am surfing I use my bookmarks a lot. I currently have 1220 bookmarks and use many of them frequently. To keep my bookmarks sync’d across all of my computers (home, work, etc.) I use the great little Firefox extension, Foxmarks. With so many bookmarks though, I sometimes find it hard to remember what site I was on when I read a particular article. I would like a search tool that searches my bookmarked sites for specific content.
For instance, I might have read an article a few months ago about using gradients in Photoshop and now I would like to send a link to the article to a friend. I probably wouldn’t be able to find my needle in the Google haystack but then I remember that the article was on one of the 27 Photoshop sites that I have bookmarked. Using this new search tool I would be able to select multiple bookmarks (and/or bookmark folders) and search only those sites for the article using keywords. With the search results significantly narrowed down I should be able to find the article quickly.
I know Rollyo is an attempt to do something similar but I find it cumbersome to use. I don’t want to have to sign up to use it. I don’t want to manually add sites to the list; they are already in my bookmarks folder or on Delicious. Importing bookmarks from my browser doesn’t count either because it is still a manual process that I have to perform periodically to stay current.
Does anything like this already exist? Would you find it useful? Maybe you are an enterprising young programmer or know someone who would like to work on something like this. I think many people would find it useful. Leave a comment and tell me what what you think.
Telespam - The Do Not Call Registry isn’t Working
Is it me or is telemarketing now worse than before the Do Not Call Registry arrived? The Registry was supposed to save us from annoying unwanted calls throughout the day. Even though my phone number is registered on the Do Not Call Registry, I am not only annoyed but am being harassed. I get calls from the same organization several times a day, every day. If you ignore them (using caller ID) they just keep trying, and if you answer and decline their request they still don’t take the hint. I’ve had some keep calling even after I had explicitly told them to take me off their list and to stop calling me. There must be some statistics that tell the telemarketers to be persistent even through rejection.
Since the Do Not Call Registry does not apply to charities, political organizations and pollsters, it is my hunch that the telemarketing agencies immediately latched on to charities (legitimate or otherwise) and offered to raise money for them. They are now back to their old tricks and things have gotten worse, not better. It is also my suspicion that they use the Do Not Call list as a cheap and easy way to get your phone number. Oh the irony!
I’m not sure an unlisted number would help either. If they randomly dial your number and you or your answering machine picks up the phone, they immediately know the phone number is active and will continue to hit it every time they have something to sell beg for. Have you solve this problem? How do you combat telespam?
photo credit: l0ckergn0me
Confessions of a Dandelion Killer
OK, I admit it and I’m not proud of it. The rumors are true, when I was a little boy I used to pluck dandelions from the ground singing “Mamma had a baby and its head popped off” and then with a flick of my thumb the dandelion’s head would fly off of its stem. I know some of you are now reeling in horror so I will pause while you compose yourself………..
Why confess now after all these years? Well, after reading a report on The Dignity of Living Beings with Regard to Plants (PDF) I realized that deep down inside I knew what I had done was morally reprehensible and the guilt had become too much to bare. The report, published by the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology, opened my eyes and allowed me to see that I wasn’t treating plants as living organisms that have worth and therefore rights that I trampled upon. An article by Wesley J. Smith in The Weekly Standard has a nice review of the ECNH’s report and in it he summarizes the ECNH’s findings:
A “clear majority” of the panel adopted what it called a “biocentric” moral view, meaning that “living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive.” Thus, the panel determined that we cannot claim “absolute ownership” over plants and, moreover, that “individual plants have an inherent worth.” This means that “we may not use them just as we please, even if the plant community is not in danger, or if our actions do not endanger the species, or if we are not acting arbitrarily.”
I can see the pain and destruction I have caused. Now that I have gotten this out, I hope there is enough time for me to seek forgiveness. I know some of you may see me differently now (I can’t even tell you about the torturous “She loves me, she loves me not” episodes) but I hope that this won’t come between us. Let the healing begin.
photo credit: la bella rivolta
A Name Like No Other
Our four-year-old daughter just informed us that she doesn’t “want to be named Kate anymore.” She wants to be called “Velvet, Velvet Gold.” I’m not sure where a name like that will take her but it is hard to imagine. “Paging Dr. Gold, paging Dr. Velvet Gold” or maybe “In Johnson vs. Noland, Chief Justice Velvet Gold wrote the majority opinion stating that… .” With a name like that we will definitely have to steer her clear of a career in the entertainment industry.
They Don’t Make Doctors Like Him Anymore
I have the best doctor. I recently needed to see him and he offered to meet me at his office at 8:00 pm the same day. It wasn’t an emergency. Although I was very uncomfortable, it could have waited until the next day. He once treated my wife, Amy, in the evening at his home office, on New Years Eve no less! He often calls to check up on us a couple of days after a visit. I believe he makes house calls and even carries a little black bag. He can’t be a day younger than 80 and my first impression after meeting him was that I was going to have to find another family doctor. He is definitely old-school but has certainly kept up with current medical techniques and treatments. He doesn’t have a nurse. He takes your weight, pulse, blood pressure, etc. himself. He also does all his own paper work and even shows you exactly what he is writing in his notes. If you would like to travel back in time, presumably to the late 60’s or early 70’s, you just need to enter though his office door. The wood paneling brings me back as do the funky chairs, formica counter tops and green carpeting. While he won’t be getting any style points he makes up for it by being very thorough, caring, transparent, and accessible.
I think doctors like this are rare but I hope others will notice the potential market and fill the void. Dr. Jay Parkinson is certainly someone trying to fill that void by reinventing how he practices medicine. I hope he is successful and others take notice.
Remember Tax Day on Election Day
Another tax filing deadline has come and gone and it has me painfully aware of how much of my money is given to the government in the form of taxes. With programs like TuboTax it becomes so easy to focus on the little box at the top which keeps a running total of your refund that you forget you actually paid the government a significant chunk of change. Ask five people you know how much they paid in taxes this year and I bet they don’t know the figure but I’m sure they could recite the amount of their refund check to the nearest dollar.
Why do I bring this up? Because 2008 is an election year and I think it is important to remember that April 15th feeling on November 4th. In fact, I’ve heard of two ideas I believe would have a large impact on our government. First, move tax day to October 15 or there abouts. Second, discontinue the practice of employers withholding taxes from employees paychecks thereby forcing everyone to have to write a big check on tax day. That would make you think twice before you pull the lever for a candidate. More importantly politicians would be more likely to become accountable for their spending. This of course is a pipe dream as the politicians who make the laws would obviously not be on board with this.
Meanwhile candidates are telling us we don’t deserve tax cuts, that we are not taxed enough, especially “the rich”. I came across a blog post on current candidates plans to raise taxes and it includes a little parable titled “Barstool Economics” that I found funny and poignant. (If you have some time and really want a laugh, check out Leo’s comments following the parable.)
So to recap, please remember April 15th on November 4th.