October 2004 Archives

From the transcript of Neil Cavuto's commentary on his "Common Sense" bit, today:

Switching to something a tad less controversial, actually, maybe more so, depending on your loyalties -- the Boston Red Sox. I don't like them. I don't even know why I don't like them. It's not as if I’m some baseball expert. I'm not. And it's not just because I’m from New York. Even when I lived in New England, I didn't like them. But I do admire them. And I think we all should. How many times did the experts say the Sox were done? Finished? That the odds of coming back from a three-to-none game deficit were too daunting? The Sox just kept plugging. One inning at a time. Then, a game at a time. Then, suddenly it was their time. And it was the Yankees left with no time. So the next time you look at that massive inbox at work, think the Red Sox. Or fret over that seemingly impossible assignment that can't remotely get done when your boss wants it done, think the Red Sox. Or that day you feel cursed in life, remember how a baseball team came back to life. Curses can be broken. The unbelievable "can" happen. Don't believe me. Just ask the Yankees. Boy, did it kill me to say that.

:mrgreen: There was a moment, right before he said "Just ask the Yankees", when I was sure that he was going to say "Just ask the Red Sox." If he had, it would have been a good speech, etc--but when he said that, the entire room went silent for the space of three seconds, and then every person in the room busted up laughing. Good on you, Neil.

:grin: My heart is somewhere in Boston, tonight. Take that, evil empire. The lucky red socks worked!

No Need to Click Here - I'm just claiming my feed at Feedster

I'll be completely and totally honest here. Gnomedex 2004 (Geeks Gone Wild) has been awesome this year. Unfortunately, in contrast to the overall experience, the panels haven't been compelling at all. I think it was very different because last year, although a lot of the same people were speaking, I'd never heard most of this before. But post-GD2003, I started reading a lot of the blogs etc. of the corporate geeks. I've heard it all before, now. Telling me that news feeds are the future of the internet is nothing new. Telling me that the DMCA is evil is nothing new. Telling me that security measures are failing is nothing new. In fact, telling me is nothing new. I'm tired of being told. These panels are supposed to be in the service of geeks—but if the conference is for us, why are the panels made up of those entrenched in the industry? I propose that Gnomedex would be vastly improved if the panels were split in half—half industry reps, half geeks. Or, for something truly revolutionary, have the industry reps sitting in the audience taking notes. Let us tell industry what we want, instead of industry telling us what we're going to get. I mean, this is the internet, right? We're talking about blogging, which is overthrowing industrial-strength news in favor of personal insight. We're talking about news feeds, which give users the power to (hopefully) dictate their own consumption flow. How about a little variety of opinion, here? Maybe your users have something to say that's new.

...and there was much chanting. Chris Pirillo, on seeing the GODMUG site: "OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! Woz is going to SHIT HIMSELF!" I'd totally forgotten he was going to be here. I can't wait for the keynote.

Mac users at Gnomedex, unite! Talk to Tyler, Sam or me, and join GODMUG today!

Rather than going into a tirade about John Ashcroft and how he made Tyler (and consequently, Sam and myself) wait at the airport for hours, I will instead leave you with a link to the most disturbing thing ever sold in an airline catalog. Also, the Phoenix airport is boggling in its disorganization and inefficiency. That is all