Very fast thumb typing

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Because I don’t own a Blackberry or “smart phone,” I have not done any “texting” and have no thumb typing skills (I’m not even sure it’s called that). But many people are very adept at this, including Learfield’s own Tyne Morgan. Tyne is majoring in ag journalism at the University of Missouri and working part-time for one of our networks.

This little clip does not do justice to her amazing skill. She was keying –with one thumb– as fast as many people type with all ten fingers. And she doesn’t have to look at the keys. This might be more useful than the ability to make yourself invisible.

Movie computers

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Computer usability expert Jakob Nielsen has compiled a top 10 list of the most egregious mistakes made by moviemakers. My favorites are:

The Hero Can Immediately Use Any UI
Break into a company — possibly in a foreign country or on an alien planet — and step up to the computer. How long does it take you to figure out the UI and use the new applications for the first time? Less than a minute if you’re a movie star.

Integration is Easy, Data Interoperates
In the show 24, Jack Bauer calls his office to get plans and schematics for various buildings. Once these files have been transferred from outside sources to the agency’s mainframe, Jack asks to have them downloaded to his PDA. And — miracle of miracles — the files are readable without any workarounds.

Remote Manipulators
In Tomorrow Never Dies, James Bond drives his BMW from the back seat with an Ericsson mobile phone that works as the car’s remote control. And 007 drives fast, while also evading bad guys.

You’ve Got Mail is Always Good News
In the movies, checking your mail is a matter of picking out the one or two messages that are important to the plot. No information pollution or swamp of spam.

“This is Unix, It’s Easy”
In the film Jurassic Park, a 12-year-old girl has to use the park’s security system to keep everyone from being eaten by dinosaurs. She walks up to the control terminal and utters the immortal words, “This is a Unix system. I know this.” And proceeds to (temporarily) save the day.

“You can’t Swift-Boat Moqtada Al-Sadr”

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From a blog post titled “Iran’s Smackdown on Dubya,” by Matt Taibbi:

“And we also now can say for sure that the famed cold-blooded ruthlessness of the Bush-Rove-Cheney crew has been proven to be a crock. Those guys are ruthless when it comes to winning American elections. But when it comes to war and diplomacy, they’re a bunch of kittens. You can’t Swift-Boat Moqtada Al-Sadr. When it comes to real enemies, our leaders are useless.”

Taibbi also writes a column (“Road Rage”) for Rolling Stone. In the December 14, 2006 issue, he writes about John Ashcroft’s recent appearance at the Department of Justice for the unveiling of a new portrait of himself.

“Ashcroft sat beneath the infamous “Spirit of Justice” statue –the great lady with the naked stone tit that the religious nutcase Ashcroft once ordered clothed. Now she was unclothed again, her big boob-cone honking at the audience of tight-assed law enforcement officials, and Ashcroft could do nothing but sit under it with a nervous smile on his face.”

If you wonder “who cares?… you’re not alone. Taibbi was the only reporter there.

Results, not ears

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“Who cares if people are hearing the spots unless they’re hearing those spots and acting on them or unless their opinions and intentions are being altered in such fashion that the advertising expenditure is an investment rather than money out the window?

We need to get past the issue of whether or not listeners stay tuned through a break and focus instead on giving the advertiser what they’re paying for: Results, not ears.”

— Mark Ramsey

Now I’m worried about Scott Adams

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Is it even remotely possible that Scott Adams is reading this blog? In October I offered some thoughts on worry:

We know –looking back– that most of the things we worried about did NOT happen. The really bad shit that happens in life is almost always totally unexpected. Out of the blue (or black, if you prefer). Didn’t see it coming at all.

Today, Dilbert’s dad took the idea up a notch or two:

First, I’m not worried about any problem that we can see coming. If you look at the history of the world, almost any time we thought we knew something bad was going to happen AND we had years of warning, things turned out okay.

I’m just saying…

How Google Audio Ads work (PowerPoint slides)

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The folks at ZDNet’s Digital Markets have some PowerPoint slides that illustrates how Google Audio Ads work. And this from Voices.com:

“Google has positioned the Audio Ads system to serve both top-level advertisers, as well as the advertising agencies themselves. The graphic also shows 75% of the transactions coming from the agencies, and only 25% from independent advertisers. This is likely because advertising agencies already have media planning and media buying personnel, not to mention existing relationships with local and regional radio stations.”

The lables in the little blue rectangles are: Radio Stations, Networks and Rep Firms. Which suggests that advertisers will simply have another option for placing their ads on radio stations. And if Google can make it easier or cheaper or more effective (i.e. feedback, reports, etc)… they’ve added value to the process.

Clear Channel’s niche play online

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“The days of listening to two or three radio stations on a regular basis are long gone, a sign of the times Clear Channel is more than willing to acknowledge. In a direct nod to podcasts and satellite radio, the terrestrial leader is looking to expand its online reach by creating its own hyper-targeted programming for two of the most underserved niche audiences on the airwaves — Nascar fans and the gay community.” — AdAge.com

RadioSomebody(s) at Clear Channel has figured out “this Internet thing.” This article is worth a read.

There are probably some NASCAR formats on the air but I’ve never heard one. And I sure don’t expect to hear a station programmed for the gay community. I think this is a brilliant move and would like to hear some of the stuff they produce.

In a very short time, Rock, Country, Easy Listening, News/Talk and similar formats will seem quaint and anachronistic.

I know what you’re thinking. Why not program for gay NASCAR drivers? Why indeed?

Sci Fi Channel: “The Lost Room”

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In the Sci Fi Channel’s “The Lost Room” miniseries, homicide cop Joe Miller (Peter Krause) stumbles upon a key that turns any door into a gateway to this unassuming motel room that’s been frozen in time. Aside from being able to access the room from anywhere, there’s something else odd about it: no matter what you do inside it – sleep in the bed, set fire to the carpet or add an assortment of Ikea table lamps – it always “resets” itself to its original orderly configuration the next time you enter. [AZ Central]

The first (of three) installment of this miniseries was pretty damed good. Sci Fi is airing the first part again this evening at 6pm Central…followed by part two.