Although, to be fair, this does have the potential to be very helpful with reviews about local business and such. It’s a competitor of CraigsList, with a Facebook type of spin. We’ll watch and see how it evolves. From their about us section:

…the ultimate city guide that taps into the community’s voice and reveals honest and current insights on local businesses and services on everything from martinis to mechanics.

Of course I’ve setup a profile and am going to showcase the best and worst experiences in this great slice of life I like to refer to as Kansas City. What I like about Yelp is that it’s the “ULTIMATE” city guide, as opposed to those other not so ultimate ones… er… k…

Washington Post article.

It seems that Lei Yixin was selected to create the 28 foot statute of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for the Mall in Washington DC. Having lived just outside of DC for most of my young life, a monument to Dr. King is long overdue. It seems some people are are bit upset by the artists selection…

“Dr. King’s statue is to be shipped here in a crate that supposedly says ‘Made in China.’ That’s just obscene,” Winfrey Young says.

According to the article – “She and her husband, Gilbert Young, a painter, are leading a group of critics who argue that an African American — or any American — should have been picked for such an important project.”

I can’t help but quote Mr. Yixix:

“He has always dreamed that people from all over the world will not be judged by the color of their skin — that we would all be brothers and sisters and enjoy equal opportunity. Now I have the luck to get this opportunity…”

He’s got a point. And frankly, the initial concept for the sculpture is rather impressive in my opinion.

Talk about a cool idea. Don’t get me wrong, I love it when I travel with my little angles and they scream, whine, cry, moan, and generally act like little monsters while in the airport. And don’t get me started when I actually ask the bigger one to CARRY something (god forbid). This suitcase could possibly be the solution for the little buggers. On various other blogs adults are asking: “where’s the my size version… I get tired too…”

Apparently the inventor got ripped apart on a BBC show for aspiring inventors/entrepreneurs called Dragons’ Den (never heard of it).

So for $40 (without shipping) you can get a suitcase that holds up to 5 gallons of space, wheels, a puling strap, and potentially a kid who won’t give you such a hard time while waiting to run though security… I’m sold. Read more over at the website for the Trunki.

Let it be known here that I am not typically a fan of Porsche’s convertibles. I know, I know, unthinkable. I love the way the 356 looks with the top down, and the 550 is just awesome, but frankly when they all put the top back up I’m no longer awe inspired. This brings us to a 2 fold post: great new website, “eh” new Turbo.

Porsche (and Volvo, and Saab, and VW) have been creating some fantastic micro sites to promote new auto releases. With Flash, they’ve been incorporating video and audio and 3D unlike many out in the online space. It’s fluid (as long as you have enough pipe to flow all the load), clean, stylish and simply cool to play with. Now, I’m not a fan of introducing navigation that confuses, so it’s always nice when non-traditional nav works well with the informational gathering (and traditional navigation is offered). It’s a cool site.

The other reason I’m not so much a fan of Porsche convertibles… if I’m going to be driving as close to 200mph as possible, and I’ve got 450+hp at my access, I’ll be damed if I don’t have a freaking roof above my head. I really need to look into a roll cage.

Now you won’t be an employee of Google’s, but a Google Representative. All you have to do is own a digital camera, have access to a computer (and internet; come-on people, you’re making me work too hard at this), and I guess that’s it. I mean, I’d suggest you use a car, but for dense cities I guess walking would be your best bet. So what’s the deal? Google is attempting to compile the most accurate small business database around, and they need your help. From the FAQ section:

“As a Google Business Referral Representative, you’ll visit local businesses to collect information (such as hours of operation, types of payment accepted, etc.) for Google Maps, and tell them about Google Maps and Google AdWords. You’ll also take a few digital photos of the business that will appear on the Google Maps listing along with the business information. After the visit, you submit the business’ info and photo(s) to Google through your Local Business Referrals Center, and we’ll pay you up to $10 for each listing that is approved by Google and verified by the business.

All you need to be a successful Business Referral Representative is a passion for helping local businesses succeed, a love for the Internet (some knowledge of Google is great, too), and access to a computer and a digital camera.”

Sounds easy, eh? That’s $2 per pop to submit info, and an additional $8 when the small business confirms the info. I don’t know… hit 10 a day, say 7 of them actually confirm, work seven days a week… that’s $490 a week… 52 weeks in a year…. that’s $25,480 a year working 365 days a year… lets say you can double that to 14 per day, working every day out of the year… that’s $50,960… Dunno if I’d quit my day job, but I love free money.

Now wait, I’d hardly call this free money (great, am i talking to myself in a BLOG… this can’t be good). You’ve got the camera cost, computer costs, gas costs (if driving), varying access to business (a lot of places don’t open on Sundays, holidays, etc.), and then there’s the people hurdle:

You – “Hi, I’m with Google…”
Business – “You work for Google?”
You – “Well, no, I’m a Representative…”
Business – “Do you have a card?”
You – “Well, no, I don’t but I’m here to verify your address and have you heard about AdWords…”

Call me crazy, but this seems like a great idea in theory… I’m dying to see the person who proves me wrong and averages 30 business a day. Good luck people, I’ll be watching.

I totally forgot to mention this while I wasn’t posting for so long (did that make sense?): GrandCentral was acquired by Google a while back and I signed up for the service as soon as I discovered it. Check it out.

You’ll notice the new little box to the right just under my profile… I’ve just started messing with the service. More to come.

Great article from Elliotte Rusty Harold about new elements in HTML 5. Very exciting stuff. Looking forward to playing/testing them in new projects.

I hate being sick, but I love finding ways for cross branding opportunities – too bad this is a shit idea. The Vertu Ferrari phone is being released to commemorate 60 years of Ferrari (again, why a phone???). I was reading about it in my Stuff magazine (I know, talk about a lot of useless information in this months issue). 1,947 will be offered as a limited release (get it, 1947… 60 years… come-on people, keep up). The back is apparently a reproduction of a break peddle (not going to make any more fun of this phone that hasn’t already been done on the blogs so far). What does it cost? Well I’m still a little fuzzy, and my reference magazine is upstairs, but I believe it was in the $7K range (give or take). Granted, a lot less expensive hen a real Ferrari, but I doubt the resale will be any good. Stuff did have a shot of the display, and the graphics looked pixelated and crappy. For $7K+/- my graphics better be a hell of a nicer then my t-mobile crack phone!

Over the weekend the little princess and I were playing Bowling. I’d lost my groove, but am still at Pro status (for those that don’t know what I’m talking about, yeah, I’m sick so I’m not going to go into it, sorry). I mean, I can’t bowel a Turkey to save my life. I’d been messing with a new style, so I attempted to be as consistent as possible. Strike 1, 2, Turkey, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11… one more frame, one more freaking frame and I’d have a perfect 300… and wouldn’t you know it I freaking choked! 297. How pissed was I!?!?