Blackbaud is definitely making an effort to expand its use of social media. I wonder why more companies aren’t following suit? Perhaps they’re waiting for a high-priced consultant to explain it to them. /sarcasm.

While most companies remain firmly entrenched in the 20th century, more of us migrate across the digital divide every day. Today’s convert is Eric, who just made the move to Twitter (Memo to non-Tweeters: You will be assimilated)…

Speaking of Eric, here’s his theory about a sign that an economic crash is coming:

The 1920s were another season of the fast buck, janitors were looking at the stock market, the good times were rolling. Then the bottom fell out.

I saw this phenomenon close-up during the early 1980s gold fever. I worked part time for a silver and gold broker, and a lot of ordinary folks were scraping their money together to buy Krugerrands (if y’all remember those things). The gold market topped out at around $850 per troy ounce, then did an unbelievable swan dive to the $300-something range, practically overnight. This taught me something: When you see taxi drivers looking at a certain investment, expect it to crash. (Back then, I used the term “taxi drivers” as my metaphor for average Joes, and this was nearly 20 years before I became one of those taxi drivers. How prophetic is that?)

Alligators in your hotel lobby? No, this isn’t a St. George joke, it’s Louisiana…

PALIN-DRONE

The Governor of Alaska continues to serve as a national litmus test for… well, SOMETHING. Write your own tag. And with tonight’s debate promising to be a ratings smash, she’s on a lot of minds at the moment.

Marianne of Conservative Amazons tells us why she thinks Palin supporters like the woman so much: Character.

World politics, to some extent, can be taught.  That is, after all, the point of my (useless) poli sci degree.  Character can’t.  And while a good president can surround himself/herself with very knowledgeable advisers, they can’t really borrow the courage to make a tough decision.

Meanwhile, Saphyre Rose gets in a zinger about the new Sara Palin doll:

I was wondering with the list of things that came with this doll and stand, podium, Alaska state seal, microphone, stage, 2 US flags, 3 floral arrangements and a nice backdrop portrait.

Where is the folder of her ex-brother-in-law’s employment records when he was a state trooper or the fistful of cash from Citicorp, Goldman Sachs, Meryl Lynch et al and most importantly where is the screw that we all know is loose on this woman?

TODAY’S RECIPES
Pecan Cheddar Biscuits

Asian Sunflower Seed Curry

ETC., ETC.

Jared has a new Wii, which in a roundabout way leads to a very interesting observation about Opera. Is there new reason to remember this pioneering browser?

The Wii fascinates me. It can’t play DVDs without a hack, but yet it can run — and run quite well, I say — rich websites. (I also like the Forecast Channel for obvious reasons. ) The Wii is quite a powerful little box and I’m looking to experimenting with it more.

I think devices like the Wii stress the importance of embracing Web standards and a strong commitment to testing sites on multiple platforms, including Opera. Opera’s a nifty little browser; few people use it on their PC, but it’s literally everywhere else, whether it be in the Wii or on portable devices (many BlackBerry users, including myself, use Opera for the Web instead of the built-in RIM browser). Its share on traditional desktop machines may be low, but anything outside of it and you’ll run into Opera. It’s increasingly in any developer’s best interest to ensure that a site they create is accessible not just by computer but by mobile devices and other specialty devices like the Wii; anytime those devices fail to work, that’s lost audience.

Today’s funniest flowchart comes via The Rev. BigDumbChimp, but you’ve kinda gotta be in on the whole Richard Feynman thing to get the laugh…

Check out Farrah’s cause documentary for the SC Burned Children’s Fund.

PARTING SHOT

So let me get this right: Jim Wallace was riding his bike, got hit by a truck and transported to the hospital with head trauma, and the cop GAVE JIM A TICKET FOR NOT HAVING AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE?

I’m sure somebody has a rationalization for this, but to put it bluntly: I don’t care. Rationalized official stupidity is still stupid, no matter how rationalized, no matter how official. Thank you for listening to today sermon, and please tip your ushers on the way out…

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 at 1:11 pm by xark and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.