MyBlogLog Sunday 26


lord-likely-thumb
Lord Likely persists in locating his other half-brother, the criminal gun-slinger and cattle rapist, Lightnin' Lance Likely. They say opposites attract, but some attractions break the rules of decency.

rodanielthumb
Rob at 2 Dolphins celebrated his birthday recently and since than has had a blogging holiday. Is he getting into the swing for an extended trip to practice his Russian?

i-eat-snowman
Kicking terrorists in the kahunas is a patriotic idea you can savor in another cool post from I Eat Snowman Poop. She is pregnant and clearly thinking for two now. Congratulations.

cr-pitt-thumb
Claire has been hiking recently and taking hot shots of the great British outdoors. It is the best therapy when the internet is on the blink-o. (O stands for Orange, I believe.)

cruisin-thumb
When it is time to join the fad of cruising in safe ocean-going boats the size of small towns, check out this blog for all things cruise.


mikes-mission-thumb
Celebrities, photos, inside news, it all makes for great traffic-pulling material. Over 11000 people visited one day last week ga-ga for gossip. I, sadly, was drooling at Maddy pics and snippets

os9user-thumb
More technical hassles for OS9 User. This time Technorati favorites are disabled. According to the powers that be, he has too many! He has much more success with breaking news.

dtp-thumb
For all you French-speakers out there, truckez on over to DTP for an enlightening experience: Chinese IQ tests, magic faucets and more. Allez allez allez.

rodrigo-thumb
Another blog fluttered by today bearing gifts in Portuguese. Rodrigo seemed a bit peeved by a flag telling visitors to America to speak English. He has a point, but I don't understand it.

flabuless-thumb
I tried to find Flabuless but unfortunately her new Wordpress site crashed my browser. It looked good for the brief moment it was up. Next time I will have more to say!



OK - MyBlogLog Sunday is over for another day.

As a tip to bloggers: if you call by next Sunday, feel free to leave a link to your best post of the week in the comments. That way, even if you don't end up being captured in the widget when I start blogging, at least you get to spread the word about your blog.

So endeth the MyBlogLog Sunday posts for this week .


|

MyBlogLog Sunday week 26

mybloglog-sunday26
Shoot the messenger who delivered MyBlogLog Sunday 26 late! Sorry, I was dreaming about the ocean and then images of storms from last night's film, The Day After Tomorrow, and I got all side tracked and distracted and... anyway. Rock y Roll, as they say in Spain.

The 10 MyBlogLog bloggers who last visited this site prior to my late start at blogging have been snapped and will get a mini review later on today. In the Ed style of things, these blogs will be summed up in a few choice words which include a juicy PR5 backlink and a link to their MyBlogLog community. If the bloggers leave a link to their own fave post of the week, I will stumble that post too.

I don't know if it is me being dumb, but I have Stumbled posts via the toolbar and sometimes I am asked to write a review, and other times I just get the Thumbs Up without any review options. I assume others have already stumbled and reviewed those thumbs-up posts and I am just adding to the votes or such like. Is that right, or am I failing in my Stumbling duties

Prize day
I only saw one Technorati mention of MBL Sunday this week, so the 25th birthday contest was a bit a flop. Rather than draw attention to the embarrassing turn out, I will quietly rethink a new contest. Dum de dum de dum....

Permalink is permanent
All mini reviews from today will stay on the homepage (PR5) all week and are instantly added to the archives for a permanent back link to your mini review

MyBlogLog Sunday info links

All hot mini reviews on MyBloglog Sunday!

Internet buzz on MyBloglog Sunday!

How to participate in MyBloglog Sunday!

Weekly round-up of MyBloglog Sunday!

Be back later.

PS Since last week's first anniversary, I would like to announce that our second year of marriage has been going really well, thanks.

|

Desktop Free View

Having skilfully avoided taggings and memes for many months, I was seduced by Linda (metaphorically, you understand, )and I have joined the Desktop Free View party. So here it is, Ed's desktop!

desktop

This is an illuminating shot of the Plaza in Salamanca when Don Quijote appeared at an open air theatre extravaganza a couple of years ago. That is the demented knight on the left, tilting at windmills, 30 feet up. It seems to reflect the task of bloggers today trying to hit the big time!.

As per the rules of this blog tag, I haven't tidied up the icons, so this is a 100% Mac desktop in all its disarray. I use the computer too much to be artsy anal about a spotless desktop. At the end of the week, though, it should be a little more organised!

To continue the desktop freeview orgy


desktop-freeview

Viola, reveal your desktop if your name is Larry Hnetka and you go Hmmm, or Mike and you go aah at your Celebrity photos, or Matt and you invite bloggers to Blog about your blog, or Jeremy and you Tech It Easy, or Tyler Cruz and you are loaded.

Wot u guys should do


Post a screenshot of your desktop in your blog. You can also explain why you preferred such a look or why is it full of icons. Things like that.

Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

Add your name to this list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants.


List of those who participated in the tag:

iRonnie
skippyheart
thesserie
domlawrenceosb
sasha-says
maiylah’s snippets
My Memoirs
Asara
Coffee 2 go
Are We There Yet??
The Pisstakers


|

How to stand out from the crowd

I remember years ago, being shouted at by a punk rocker with green mohawk spikes and rings through his nose. What the hell are you lookin' at?

Er, you?! It seemed such a dumb question on his part. Why dress outrageously if you don't want to be stared at?

On another occasion I was at the bus station after school and was caught staring at a girl. When she called me on it, on that occasion, I wasn't sharp enough to reply coherently and missed my chance to impress her with my wit and humor. I blushed to my pubescent roots and prayed silently for the earth to open up and swallow me whole. (I saw her years later and thanked my lucky stars I had been a klutz that first time. In her case, time hadn't been kind to her. She looked like she had swallowed a few too many young bucks whole and then been hit in the face by a bus. Ouch.)

And finally, if you want to grab attention, David Beckham style, why not try a subtle and sophisticated Chinese tattoo? Stares and gasps can be yours if you try one of these cool Chinese tattoo designs for size! Go on, you know you want to be gawped at.

I will now don a sober gray suit and crawl back into my private hidey hole to avoid the embarrassing stares and glare of publicity.


|

Oversize business opportunities

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner


Is there no downside to over-consumption? Luckily for corporations, no! Consumption is soaring on a global scale, and the more over-indulging the better. Needless to say, companies servicing the US are best placed to take advantage of new trends. To massacre a slogan from Orange, the future is bright, the future is fat.

XXL


Until recently, the only businesses properly leveraging the growing over-sized community were fashion houses. Maternity dresses, sails and tarpaulins were tastefully adapted to suit the XXL frames waddling around the place. It was a win-win situation. The relatively niche target audience were happy to pay premium prices for comfy designer clothes tailored specifically to their rolls. For their part, the fashion houses were happy to slap designer labels in a prominent location for all to see. The consumers and producers were happy.

Needless to say, an epidemic in over-consumption soon overtook the nation and the former scraps of business from pioneer obese consumers have become big meaty joints. The minority fat market has expanded to a point where a 65% overweight / 38% obese American population (and growing) has plenty of cash to spend, and millions of needy folk are looking for products and services to suit their enlarged frames, swollen needs and insatiable desires. In the tradition of a perfect market economy, US businesses are adapting fast, in order to take advantage of the demand for all things big.

Supersize services


A couple of years ago, I laughingly suggested to a business person that they study the US trends and build a chain of hotels catering to over-size customers. I think I was on to something, because now, businesses that deal with Americans are homing in on all things XXL.

In Caribbean / Mexican resorts patronised by US visitors, some hotels have toilet seats capable of withstanding 1200lbs; scales are callibrated to 1000lbs, and California king size beds come as standard. And those are the obvious ways to cater for larger folk. How about extra -wide re-inforced beach loungers, and towels that wrap easily around a 70" waist?


When it comes to entertainment, entrepreneurs have had to think outside the box. How about the horse-trekking company that is now using Percherons and Clydesdales to take 300lb-ers out on the trails! These mighty beasts can manage the loads fine without breaking into a sweat - they just need to be extra pateint while their riders are winched aboard. The whinnies you now hear from the stables are sighs of relief from the poor old quarter horses that once tried and failed to take the blubber heads into the wilderness!

And if the trail riding proves too much and emergency medical assistance is still required, the nursing staff have syringes with extra long needles to reach hearts with that life-saving shot of adrenalin. And if the resuscitation fails, don't worry, there are undertakers now with coffins 28" wider than the norm. Congratulations on thinking inside the box.

Conconclusion


I don't know where it will end, but if anyone wants to finance a Supersize chain of hotels in Europe, go right ahead. The future is very bright, and your business will grow fat on the back of late adopters. Don't forget, fat cats, you heard it here on The Pisstakers!


widgetbox
If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.


|

Stats suck even more than ever

websitegrader2

Last week I did a tech post on the mind numbingly dull topic of 301 redirects. The message was loud and clear. If you make sure that all links from http://yourdomain.com are redirected to http://www.yourdomain.com, you could seriously improve your chances of being found by those pesky search engines.

After mucking about with redirects, lo and behold, one week later thepisstakers have meteored from the 72% "quartile" to the top 82% slot in the internet heirarchy. Woo hoo. In other words, of the 100 million blogs online, there are only 18 million pulling more traffic, generating more backlinks and spreading better material than me!

Well, interestingly, this rise in "authority" coincides with a slight drop in traffic and a stagnating Technorati rank! Go figure.

Not saying that stats aren't interesting, encouraging and entertaining, but really, what are they worth in the real world? When I started about a year ago, I thought it was best to assume that the internet stats scene isn't the real world, and stats are a gamers' paradise where up is down and good is bad. Unfortunately, many advertisers and opportunist money makers have promoted the internet until it has become its own real world organic eco-system of 0's and 1's, and online stats are very important and highly reflective of the true state of websites published on the web. So people like me need to get over it already and play the game.

I guess I just need to re-jig my brain to "virtual" mode and live by the numbers rather than judge the true entertainment value of the content before my eyes. I need to realise that lists are good, and 7 How To do things lists are stellar; copied and pasted lists are gold, and saying Hi, thanks for the add is a basic building block to fame and fortune in the top 10.

With those simple concepts fixed in my mind I can blog in peace, and maybe one day, I will even understand what all the stats mean and learn how to interpret them and even profit from them.

Have a good day. (In internet terms, I think that really means you will have a bad day at work, but when you get home, you will discover a hot new link train on a I had a bad day at work type of blog?)

Where do you rank according to the Website grader?


|

Hyper rich inflation

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner


At a time when the average Joe is struggling to pay the electric bill, rich fat cats are sweating it over soaring private jet prices and the cost of private catering. All together now, "Aaaaah."

It is hard to sympathise with any millionaire who complains that their cost of living is rising at twice the rate of us poor plebs', especially when we know that the top earners pay less tax than us and spend more than our mortgage on fine dining.

Personally, when I hear that some loaded Chinaman can afford over $200k for a handbag and an ugly New Yorker has just dished out $17000 for a face lift, it makes me want to go stroke a few private assets with the toe of my size 10 boot.

I once worked for a very wealthy guy who had a swimming pool built. He had someone work out the time it would take to fill it from a hose pipe the first time, and he went into a tizzy fit. "
I'm not waiting 72 hours for a swim!" The next thing we know, we are standing watching a fleet of water trucks unloading their tanks into his pool. 4 hours later he was swimming like a beached whale, happy as larry with yet another story of over-indulgence to relate to his friends.

Each to their own, and I would love to be wealthy, but I would also like to think I had the sense to pull my head out my ass and use my money for the good of more than just a handful of handbag makers or surgeons. Meanwhile I will get back to budgeting for the next round of utility bills and Armani iron-on labels.


widgetbox
If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.


|

MyBlogLog Sunday 26 is coming Sunday

mybloglog-sunday-thumb
Hey, don't tell anyone, but tomorrow, Sunday, is the 26th episode of MyBlogLog Sunday. Some say MyBlogLog is going stale, but I like stale and another 10 happy souls from MyBlogLog will get their blogs mini-reviewed tomorrow - whether they like it or not - just like these 250 past stars.

Anyone with a MyBloglog account who calls by this site tomorrow morning may be captured in the screenshot of my sidebar. By sundown they will then suffer a few wise words from sharp shooter, Ed.

Don't be fooled by the spin. This is all a thinly disguised attempt to garner some link love for you guys out there. The Pisstakers is a PR5 site and that means some Technorati and Google kudos for most of the blogs I review. So, join the Sunday phenomenon that is about as big as a Welsh village church congregation. You can even add to its weight with some mention or other of MBL Sunday on your own blog. Take a leaf out of Principled Discovery's book. They gave us a few moments of praise, it felt good!

Last week, to celebrate 25 issues, I did offer some gummi bears and an unidentified electrical appliance for the best review of MyBlogLog Sunday, but the response has been underwhelming. Therefore, i will have to dream up a more inspiring way to give away some goodies! Hasta tomorrow.


|

MyBlogLog Sunday week 25

mybloglogsunday25
Hold on to your horses, folks it's MyBlogLog Sunday 25. Happy Birthday to everyone involved thus far.

For the 25th time in recent history the 10 most recent bloggers to visit this site have been snapped and will get a mini review later on today. In the Ed style of things, these blogs will be summed up in a few choice words which include a juicy PR5 backlink and a link to their MyBlogLog community. If the bloggers leave a link to their own fave post of the week, I will stumble that post too.

Prize day
If you care to write a killer post about MyBlogLog Sunday, send me the link. I will post all the links next week and we can have a little community vote and the winner will get some goodies, including Gummi Bears and an electrical appliance.

A brief history of MyBlogLog Sunday
When I was thinking of new ways to be a good community-minded blogger, I did think about sending free articles, $25 gift vouchers, and a partridge in a pear tree to every visitor to my site. On reflection (and a quick financial appraisal) MyBlogLog Sunday mini reviews seemed to be a more practical way to provide link love whilst adding content worth tuppence to the internet. And so, I launched the format and apart from a mid-summer glitch, every Sunday has been the same here!

Judging by the stats, though, I think that I was a bit idealistic about the aims of MyBlogLog Sunday. It seems that if I had simply added bloggers' names to a link train or some such list, they (and me) would rapidly have a Technorati ranking to die for without needing to suffer 250 mini reviews!

Despite the evidence, though, I prefer to remain idealistic and will continue to mini review MyBlogLog members until the unlikely event that MyBlogLog fizzles out and/or Technorati rankings trail off into statistical irrelevance. Enjoy.

Permalink is permanent
All mini reviews from today will stay on the homepage (PR5) all week and are instantly added to the archives for a permanent back link to your mini review

MyBlogLog Sunday info links

All hot mini reviews on MyBloglog Sunday!

Internet buzz on MyBloglog Sunday!

How to participate in MyBloglog Sunday!

Weekly round-up of MyBloglog Sunday!

Be back later.

PS As well as being the birthday of MyBlogLog Sunday and Lord Likely fan, Andy Fanton, it is my first wedding anniversary, so I have a feeling that the reviews will arrive quite late in the day!


|

Off with his head, Togo style

According to Reuters, the Togo art of decapitation is alive and well. 12 people dead.

It appears that the protagonists of recent ritual murders think that by removing other people's body parts, they will improve their own social standing and feel better about themselves! Each to their own. Read more of the gruesomeness


|

Fox say no more Stewie Rocketman on Youtube

shatner-stweie-thumb
Imagine my excitement on Wednesday when I was alerted to William Shatner's horrendous 1978 rendition of Rocket Man. And even more exciting was the discovery of the Family Guy parody by baby Stewie. And it was stellar tele to see both versions juxtaposed on the same screen.

I was going to share this gut-wrenching experience here today, and we would all have lived happily ever after, a little more enriched by the stomach wrenching embarrassment. Alas, alack, 48 hours later, it looks like 20th Century Fox have spoiled the parody party and had the footage withdrawn from Youtube. Sorry, folks.

If you would care to go to 20th Century Fox store and spend umpteen dollars on a Family Guy DVD, be my guest.

I would have thought that since Apple dragged the music corporations kicking and screaming into the 21st century, there was ample evidence that an expansive on-line presence was all good for media moguls. But apparently, video fat cats still don't get it. Perhaps when another 30 million video iPods have been sold they will wake up? Who knows.

Personally, I am going to express my disgust by not buying any Family Guy memorabilia plus I will stop watching Family Guy too. What do you say to that TCF? Does it feel profitable to be so exclusive and out of touch with how the internet works to the advantage of those who use it properly? And what is it with a company that is so damn good at what it does that it forgot to buy the rights to 21st Century Fox. Next dinosaur for the chopping block, please.


|

Northern Rock, Northern cRock

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner


And I thought it was only the US stock market that had perfected the art of knee-jerk reactions. Wrong. The Brits have also honed the art of freaking out in temporary fright at temporary financial hiccups. Northern Rock account holders are the best!

On Friday, the BBC showed pictures of old age pensioners queueing up outside the Northern Rock Bank. At first it was thought they had got the wrong address for £10,000 Bingo night, but it transpired they were there to withdraw their life savings on a rumor of financial doom. Meanwhile, out back, Toyota trucks were ferrying cash to the bank in order to keep up with demand.

By lunch time Tuesday there was no cash left in the Northern Rock coffers and the Bank of England stepped in. Bless. Here we are Thursday and the bank is doing fine again. Well, Northern Rock is still open for business and worth less than one-fifth its valuation back in January, nobody wants to buy them out, even in a fire sale, and you cannot open a new account, but hey. As you were! How did this happen?

I blame the old folk


Doris Jones from Clapham put her teeth back in and told Pisstaker reporters, "
Yes, my son told me he had read in the paper that America is going bankrupt with sub prime beef loans. As you know, if America catches mad cow's disease, we get totally mental. Here I am."

Her neighbor, Janice Allwright said she was there at the Bank because she had heard that the Germans were coming. "
I just went to the Post Office and withdrew 37 years of pension money I never had to dip into before. (Me dead 'usband, George was such a good provider.) Now I need to get me hands on the money I have been salting away from me part-time jobs at Tesco and winnings at Bingo. I don't want those ruddy Bosch or the Revenue people taking me money, do I!"

"I am skeptical about this run on money," said the voice of octogenarian reason, Phyllis Warstenholme. "Years ago, I sold all my gold when I heard the Chinese were coming. That was a mistake, because they invested in restaurants and actually improved things in our town without changing our culture. But maybe this time there is truth in the rumors that the number 4 bank, and number 5 mortgage lender is going bankrupt."

As we left the High Street carnage, the old folks were on their cell phones to friends and family and even people they didn't like, telling them to get their cash out before the end of the world arrived. Interestingly, the stock savvy oldies also had a second cell phone and were telling the brokers to buy buy buy Northern Rock shares before sanity returned and the decimated stock price started rising again. Bloody old folk.

widgetbox
If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.


|

Blogrush bandwagon

In the world of blogging, there is always the next big networking idea to stir it all up. First MyBlogLog, then BlogCatalog, Wavumi, and now, Blogrush. Never slow to jump on bandwagons, I am there, bottom right sidebar, with my cut-off Blog Rush widget. I will just lean back now and wait to become famous!

I jest, of course, because networking success and fame take time to pay dividends - unless you decide to kidnap the opposition and / or steal back your own material. Read the rest...


|

Latest posts 25

redirectsthumb
301 redirects, oooh, that sounds geeky. Indeed, it is, but 301's, as we call them in the game, are a part of blogmeistery that you need to be aware of.

gibbsthumb
The advert on TV from Gibbs, the career people, has a horrifying message, I think.


china-thumb
Wall St is smarting right now, but it was black too, back in February. The Chinese stock market fell 9% in a day and corporate America did as expected and panicked. China watched and smiled.

stumble-upon-thumb
Garry Conn found a cool way to leverage some link love for the blog posts you Stumble. Look in my right side bar under "Recent posts" and you will see a link to the RSS feed on Ed's Stumble account. Clever, hey!


|

Pisstakers podcasts!

When you realise you have a voice for print, leave it to Odiogo to produce all your podcasts for you. Click and listen. It is quite something to hear what they can do with your RSS feed!

odiogo


|

MyBlogLog Sunday 25 is coming Sunday

mybloglog-sunday-thumb
Roll up Sunday for another chance to visit MyBlogLog Sunday and win a mini review and a hat-tipping PR5 backlink.

The air will be full of 10 mini reviews of well known, unknown and little known blogs from the MyBlogLog network. Many online stars have been featured.

All you have to do to participate is be a MyBlogLog member, and if you visit here on Sunday morning and are caught in the side bar widget when I take a snapshot, you will be reviewed, like it or not! And if you leave a link to your best post of the week, regardless of being reviewed or not, I will Stumble the post too. (See the new sidebar widget that actually generates real link love for the Stumble posts!)

If you are reviewed, perhaps you might find time to link back to The Pisstakers in some simple way, just to keep the momentum going. See you later.


|

Break out Blogger award

Bobbarama, a top notch humor blogger has awarded The Pisstakers with a Break Out Award. My first reaction was That reminds me of when I was called Pizza Face as a kid. Thanks for nothing, Bob.

On closer inspection, it is quite the boost to my spirits, and a great way to start a new week. Thanks a lot, Bob

Read all about the award and meet 5 lucky starlets who have been awarded the award too The one and only Lord Likely, Linda of Are We There yet? TechIT Easy, I Eat Snowman Poop and Wolf Bernz.


|

Star signs and car insurance

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner


According to Allstate Insurance, Aries are the safest drivers on the road, and Virgos the worst. That sums up the useless nature of the Zodiac for me!

On the one hand, if we see an Aries with the personality of a ram behind the wheel of a high performance car, we can all relax? Yet if we spot an easy-going Virgo pottering along at 30, we should pull over, or even head for the hills? (Mrs Ed is an Aries with an accident rap sheet as long as your arm, and I know where I would be if I saw her driving towards me.)

I appreciate Allstate loosening up with their advertising, and quoting stats that might actually mean something to the non bean counters amongst us. But what fud is next?

"Taurans applying make-up while text-messaging are the most at risk of an accident. Second in line for a crash are Cancerians with blonde hair, blue eyes and a 36-24-36 figure looking around to see if they are being admired."

At the bottom end of the scale, I guess Aries Italians would be the least likely to have accidents? Italians are renowned for never looking anywhere except to the front (because they rip out their rear-view mirrors from all cars) and they drive Fiats, (the most likely vehicle to break down, unable to move in a dangerous manner in any direction.)

Do you think star signs reflect how you drive?

widgetbox
If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.


|

MyBlogLog Sunday week 24

mybloglogsunday24
My oh my, it's MyBlogLog Sunday 24. None of us are getting any younger, and it is harder than ever to wake up on Sundays, but now I am up and at 'em, "YEEEEHAAH"

The good thing about blogging on Sundays is that instead of washing the clean car, mowing the manicured lawn or contemplating heaven in a noisy church, I can have fun on my own, promoting 10 MyBlogLog blogs that you may or may not be familiar with. Praise the blog world for such mercies.

In case you are thinking, "wtf is he blabbing on about", today's featured bloggers got snapped in the left sidebar widget and get a mini review for their troubles. With a juicy PR5, this will add to your link ranking, or at least consolidate your technorati rank if you already have a link from me.

Also, as it is Sunday, I will Stumble anyone who leaves a link in the comments to their best post of the week. You have till 6pm Eastern time.

Technorati troubles


Judging by the paucity of back links to MyBlogLog Sunday, I guess there has been trouble in Technorati land.

I just pinged the big T manually and they updated my account. Let's hope that evidence of past MBL Sunday reviews filters through Technorati to the reactions page of 200+ featured blogs.

In a perfect world, when bloggers check their Technorati account and see they have been promoted here, they should be motivated to mention the Pisstakers on their own blog in a good, bad or indifferent way? We shall see if this recent technoratical glitch is the source of a communication break down.

Meanwhile, would people be so kind as to join my Stumble network, currently populated by 2 friends. Maybe Stumble love may prove to be a more balanced indicator of the state of a site's health? We shall see

Permalink is permanent
All mini reviews from today will stay on the homepage (PR5) all week and are instantly added to the archives for a permanent back link to your mini review

MyBlogLog Sunday info links

All hot mini reviews on MyBloglog Sunday!

Internet buzz on MyBloglog Sunday!

How to participate in MyBloglog Sunday!

Weekly round-up of MyBloglog Sunday!

Be back later.


|

Latest posts 24

A quick trip through some recent articles from Ed. There are more in the right sidebar, and even more if you hit Browse at the end of any article.

firefox-thumb
Just when you thought Firefox couldn't get any better, along comes the Campus version of the browser.



zwinky-thumb
Scary to think that 2 million people downloaded the Zwinky drag n drop toolbar on day one of its release. Why is that scary?

aaf-new-thumb
A couple of years ago, Synaptics touchpad specialists lost 60% of their stock value within a few knee-jerk days. As Cramer would say - They know nothing, buy, buy, buy.

shopaholix
An extensive look at on-line shopping stores and carts. No need to spend a dime, just read! (Shopaholix)

body-language-thumb
A wooden boat rescue project too far?



quote-of-the-day
You don't have to pour gas over yourself and set yourself on fire just to break up with me. (Fisher King)



If you have written about any of these topics, let me know so I can link to you.



|

Trip down memory lane

It is a big day in Ed land so enjoy a blast from last September that you may not have seen before.

Just when slimmers thought it was safe to eat out at MacDonalds again...
“We did not expect these new salad entrées to be so loaded with fat and cholesterol,” says Brie Turner-McGrievy, M.S., R.D., the clinical research coordinator at PCRM.
Brie continues
Americans thinking about getting in shape and heading to the beach this summer should steer clear of the heavily hyped ‘salads’ that are smothered with chicken, cheese and other fatty foods.
It burgers belief that MacDonalds' style of salad can be fattier and more cholestrol laden than the famed Big Mac, but it says so here.

Is it not just more honest of the vendors from hell to say

"If you are fat, that's the way we like you, and our salads will keep you that way!"

Good luck to all concerned, especially the Chinese currently in MacDonalds' sights. Just like Mickie D's execs study stats, so the Chinese should record their waistlines now and again in 2017. Compare the growth. It should be stellar results for all concerned.



|

Useless parcel Service

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner


After 4 phone calls repeating the same info 4 times, and after chasing down the road after a driver who already failed to find my house yesterday, I would just like to re-christen UPS - Useless Parcel Service. One of the greatest companies in America has a few issues that any part-time summer job trainee at HQ could address in two minutes flat.

The corporate idiots at the top are the ones to blame. They need to install a GPS in each delivery vehicle so drivers can have access to the same info as us civilian idiots with MapQuest. Or maybe drivers do have a Garmin of some description, they just don't know how to use it?

UPS leaders also need to work out the story and the policy for dealing with tracking issues. Currently their customer servants are told to repeat parrot fashion to irate parcel-less customers "
We are trying to contact the driver." What does this bullshit statement mean? Are their drivers the only people out on the road who do not have a phone for emergencies? Or do drivers have some hi-tech Instant Message gizmo on their dashboard that they don't know how to turn on? Or is it more a case of the drivers can't abide the hopeless leadership and wantonly decide they are too busy to respond to any form of communication whatsoever, (till it is too late for a trip back to where they should have been 2 hours earlier?)

I think I could nail the answer to the vexing mis-communication issue by taking over a dispatcher's job for 2 minutes and announcing, "
Driver A, please return to base immediately, you have been promoted and there is also a bonus pay check waiting for you. Please respond." I suspect that the bastard with no respect for his incompetent bosses would stick it to them and be homeward bound before I even had time to sit back in my chair.

They say UPS is a top rate company. I can assure you, this is typical of the corporate bull crap circulating the world faster than a speeding parcel. Exactly how efficient is a company that invests millions in aircraft that do fly from A to B every time on time, but their ground service has no navigation worth shit. What is the logic in having the best pilots, yet they need to employ a special driver to potter around the neighborhood in a station wagon, making deliveries the regular UPS van man fails to make because he is winging it, mapless and incommunicado? And how about getting with the program and using a database where the info I tell tracker agent 1 is the same as the info staring tracker agent 4 in the face, 6 hours later?

The summer break trainee should insist that UPS take 20% off the cost of parcel deliveries (financed by a reduction in the CEO's pay). As an incentive to get it right first time, the CEO will get his full pay once he has taught the drivers how to find their way around and give them a decent back-up from customer service on down. And to be fair, how about the drivers wise up and get a little more responsive to calls from their bosses at HQ? (One day they may not have a job and a boss to ignore.)

Get rid of the anarchy, and that way the UPS of this world don't get written about and struck off the list of companies I won't deal with again! (In case you think I am unreasonable, this is the second episode in a month, two different addresses, two nightmares, no refund, as you were, Sir!)


widgetbox
If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.



|

1219 posts and rising

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner


The last couple of days I have posted a veritable hotch-potch of posts on The Pisstakers, but I manage to keep some sense of order by sticking them in the relevant Tech, news and celebrity (quirky) sections.

The biggest challenge to a website is keeping articles alive. I could make 296 posts appear when you hit the Tech icon, but in the interest of page loading you get this week's posts. Anyway, a forever changing menu of posts is key to a groovy blog, so it is the nature of the beast that even the most fantastic postings tend to disappear regularly off the front page of each section. (Stickies are a good option, actually, but not for now!)

To make it easy to trawl the morass of "lost" Tech, news and quirky posts, every new post ends with a BROWSE link, giving you easy access to every article in every respective category. ie if you are reading today's Tech story, you should never be more than 2 clicks away from any old tech article of your choice

tweak




According to the stats, (can we ever be shot of these bloody things?) the new Browse link has made a mighty big difference to the number of page views. Visitors seem to open at least one extra page per day, so that worked.

The old ways may be the best.


Until a few months ago I used to travail for ages every day doing a
snazzy homepage summary of all new material on the site. In the name of "efficiency and less stress on my part" I made a change to the layout, dumped the pictorial summary approach and made the Ed the Editor's blogspot the focus of the homepage.

Whilst I have had more visitors than ever, I do wonder whether the wholesale change I made on the homepage back in May, has detracted from the broad and humorous church that is The Pisstakers. ie I made a move away from the news style layout back to a traditional blog homepage, and I think that many new visitors miss the point that the site has loads more to offer than Ed's personal and sometimes arcane editorial rants.

Nothing is set in stone and the only way to find the best balance is to tweak and try. So, in the name of perpetual advancement, I am going to resort to a daily new posts summary on the homepage, but on a scaled down version of former days. When it is up and running, if you find yourself reading more than 3.476 pages every day that you visit, you know you are part of a successful experiment. Let's see what happens.

searchlogo1
btw Google and Swicki are a wonderful thing. With the search box accessible top right of every page, you should be able to stumble across any of the 1219 posts and rising on the Pisstakers. Whether you like what you find, or find what you like, that is another matter!

widgetbox
If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.


|

Pisstakers mobile RSS feedm8 [FM8407-74]

feedm8
We already have a natty mobile version of the site, and now you can keep up even further with The Pisstakers, thanks to a mobile RSS feed. A really simple system from Feedm8 takes your RSS feed and formats it to fit a tiny, or not so tiny phone screen.

I know, sounds like just another way to drive up your phone bills, but at least, as you go bankrupt glued to your screen, you will have a smile on your face.

Meanwhile, if the bumf is to be believed, I will make millions from the ad revenue. So if you fall on hard times because of me, give me a call and I may be able to do a Ben Bernake and bale you out!

Give it a try. Thumbs up to Matt Jones and his slick Blogging Fingers for revealing this slick idea.

Enter your mobile phone #


Powered by FeedM8

|

Latest Posts

A quick trip through articles from Ed in the last 48 hours. There are more in the right sidebar, and even more if you hit Browse at the end of any article.

macbook-pro-tape-thumb
Ed's brain and typing skills are too slow for a Mac Pro - or any other computer with two 2.66GHz Intel processors inside.


funny-quotes-thumb
In the World of contests widgets and funny quotes, I recognise the pioneers who have installed or blogged about the assorted Pisstakers widgets on offer.


dollar-givaway-thumb
Fire everyone! According to the latest string of economic indicators, fewer workers are buying more stuff than ever. Maintain the trend and let your workforce go.

postapoothumb
Postapoo clear up the true message of their controversial St George's Day campaign.



If you have written about any of these topics, let me know so I can link to you.


|

MyBlogLog Sunday 24 is here Sunday!

mybloglog-sunday-thumb
Oh yay, oh yay, Sunday is another chance to visit MyBlogLog Sunday and see the light in mini review heaven.

Ed writes 10 marginally witty mini reviews of well known, unknown and little known blogs from the MyBlogLog network. Many online stars have been featured and get a free PR5 link.

All you have to do is be a MyBlogLog member, and if you visit here on Sunday morning and are caught in the side bar widget when I take a snapshot, you will be reviewed, like it or not! And if you leave a link to your best post of the week, regardless of being reviewed or not, I will Stumble the post too.

And if you are a good marketer, you might find time to link back to The Pisstakers in some simple way. Not many PR5 sites are as willing as us to link to and promote bloggers of all ages.


|

MyBlogLog Sunday week 23

mybloglogsunday23
MyBlogLog Sunday 23 has arrived seven days after the last one. This is proof positive of a weekly event promoting 10 blogs that you may or may not be familiar with.

I see some old regulars have returned, bienvenidos, and I wish bonne chance to the newbies, especially those with the provocative names. I feel some satirical sparks coming on!

Today's featured bloggers can enjoy a double whammy if you play your cards right. You get a mini review by default, but if you leave a link in the comments to your best post of the week before 6pm Eastern time, I will also Stumble you.

Stumble Upon
Talking of Stumbling... Originally I was hoping that the MyBlogLog Sunday feature would do something for my Technorati ranking, but you know how hopes go. I am still languishing! According to the internet popularity game that seems to have evolved, I am considerably less popular than loads of blogs with a fraction of the traffic I attract, go figure.

I am a reasonable person, so, until I get my head around that bizarre state of affairs, I will only raise one finger to Technorati, instead of the preferred 2. That will, of course, change when I come up with a novel game the technorati rankings strategy that adds content not just link lists to the internet.

Meanwhile, would people be so kind as to join my Stumble network, currently populated by 2 friends. Maybe Stumble love may prove to be a more balanced indicator of the state of a site's health? We shall see

Permalink is permanent
All mini reviews from today will stay on the homepage (PR5) all week and are instantly added to the archives, so you can get a permanent back link to your mini review when it appears later.

MyBlogLog Sunday info links

All hot mini reviews on MyBloglog Sunday!

Internet buzz on MyBloglog Sunday!

How to participate in MyBloglog Sunday!

Weekly round-up of MyBloglog Sunday!

Be back later.


|

MyBlogLog Sunday 23 tomorrow

mybloglog-sunday-thumb
A quick reminder that tomorrow is another round of meaningful link love in the epic feature that we call MyBlogLog Sunday.

This will involve mini reviews numbers 221 to 230, and a mighty fine group you are set to join, if your site is reviewed. From the founder of MyBlogLog, Eric, to new kids with no friends in their community, many online stars have been featured and linked to.

All you have to do is be a MyBlogLog member, and if you visit my site and are caught in the side bar widget on Sunday morning when I take a snapshot, you will be reviewed, like it or not! And if you leave a link to your best post of the week, regardless of being reviewed or not, I will Stumble the post too. How much better can it get? Episode 25 will be good!



|

Service is a simile for rip-off

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner


I don't think it is breaking news of earth-shattering proportions, but I woukd like to announce the following:
getting satisfaction from companies in the construction industry is like finding a tooth in a chicken. The construction charlatans have a slick marketing machine (a sign on their lawn) to draw you in for that fatal non-commital enquiry; endless ways to upsell (ie bullshit stories about how bad your roof is); and a state of the art billing system (a hand-written invoice delivered by a stranger wielding a baseball bat.)

To be fair to the local guys who built our place, they do a decent job and have even been known to honor service agreements and put bad things right - eventually. Unfortunately they decided to branch out into a meeting, greeting and cleaning service for summer rentals on the homes they built less than 7 months ago. We signed up and left for the season. Yesterday we returned and yesterday they joined the list of yet another business demonstrating the malaise that seems to pervade the so-called service-oriented industry.

After 3 months, it seems they did the meeting and greeting part, but as the summer wore on, the cleaning element appears to have got lost in the billing mayhem. (Or was it lost in the translation into Spanish?) I just got back to find half a beach on the carpet, and enough food bits on the furniture to feed a small family. Yummy. Not to mention the stains of doubtful origin on the beds, a clean but broken chair and a puddle in the middle of the garage floor.

That water issue is the most galling, because 7 months ago the builders installed the offending air conditioning pump that looks like it has been leaking for 3 months straight. They built the house and everything in it is still under full warranty. Do they have no sense of responsibility, or pride, or embarrassment at such failures of essential appliances? I know I would have jumped straight on that if I were in their shoes. And did I mention the garage door was open and the front door unlocked, probably since Saturday? Thanks guys.

Oh well, today should be a fun day of clearing up the bureaucratic mess. And assuming they want the rest of their money, the cleaners will surely turn up today too? There I go again, assuming.

widgetbox
If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.


|

MyBlogLog Sunday 22



johnc-thumb
John is one of ten writers at Fuel My Blog, head of the Homeless Family, and the main man in Lapland. He will definitely deserve a break after Christmas.


lord-likely-thumb
Lord Likely appears to have more brothers than Andy Fanton has websites. The three hell-raisers, Lordy, Lancey, and Ludlow look set to have a great time in New James York city. Is it a big enough place?

os9user-thumb
You heard it here first, OS9 User has the inside scoop on the wiping out of Iran's military capabilty. Personally I prefer his less world-threatening story about a bulldozing cop hater, but that may just be me.

mouseski
Linda was literally struck down, or glomped as we call it, in the excitement of an all day rock concert, whereas her daughter was not at all star struck in elite backstage company, and even plugged her Art.

selaplana-thumb
Selaplana writes in a language not his own, but I don't subscribe to the Filipino point of view that because he isn't fluent with a pen he is stupid. His ideas on how to write better posts show he certainly ain't dumb.

cr-pitt-thumb
After suffering a 4am start, typical crap English weather, Ryanair and unreasonable baggage limits, Claire deserved a good time people-watching ahead of take off to Italia. Stay tuned.

templora-thumb
Templora has templates, tutorials, a forum, and articles, in fact it seems to have everything you need to get online and stay there. Brilliant looking site, very classy.

fallsofftheorcker-thumb
From Gretsky to Ron Jeremy, ball sports fan Falls interviewed the best of them while in broadcasting. He is a real comedy writer too, so I think I will take a step back and fall off the stage while you enjoy a class act.

big-gun-thumb
Abigun abandoned his personal blog back in June, but has reemerged with Yakov at big guns.com. It is a site I would love to review except, it won't open at the moment. The enigma continues.

craggymcslac-thumb
Behind the hardened shell lies an educational health blog with a heart. And when he can link gun stats to health matters and put a smile on the reader's face, you know the writer is doing a lot right..


As a tip to bloggers: if you call by next Sunday, feel free to leave a link to your best post of the week in the comments. That way, even if you don't end up being captured in the widget when I start blogging, at least you get to spread the word about your blog.

Don't be worried that The Pisstakers aren't in your genre, and somehow a link from this site to your site will be to the detriment of your PR. If you have a neat blog, I will mention it at some stage in the future in an article posted in an appropriate section of the Pisstakers.

Neither will you be seen to be associating with urine lovers!

So endeth the MyBlogLog Sunday posts for this week .

Come back next Sunday to see the next 10 featured bloggers from MyBlogLog.


|

Latest posts from The Pisstakers

A quick trip through articles from Ed in the last 48 hours. There are more in the right sidebar, and even more if you hit Browse at the end of any article.

fiatthumb
Classic cars are rusting away in a yard in rural France. A no top Fiat, a dead Bentley, everything for discerning car fans.

asothumb
A Small Orange have been powering The Pisstakers for a while now. They rock as far as I am concerned and here is why.

jesusthumb
They say John Lennon was killed because of one throwaway modest comment about the Beatles being more popular than Jesus. See if you are at risk from assassination!

keithrichardthumb
Celebrity hair takes a mild swipe at Keith Richard who took a swipe at Swedish journalists who accused him of being drunk on stage. Er, yeah!

motorizr-thumb
I managed to prise Mrs Ed into the Bourne Ultimatum and judging by the bruise on my arm, even she enjoyed the highly improbable action-packed trip round the world of CIA dirty tricks.

If you have written about any of these topics, let me know so I can link to you.


|

Beefburger eater makes history at the tower of London

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner

The Tower of London's genuine Yeoman warders date back to 1485 and their nickname Beefeaters is thought to derive from the daily ration of meat they received.

Yesterday the first 400lb yeoman was inducted at the Tower of London visitor center and crowned Royal Beefburger Eater.

Phillip A. Smalltown topped a shortlist of 5 men who applied for the job via a contest
Weightiest tourist to climb the stairs to the Crown Jewels. He is now entitled to take a £20,000 a year post at the Tower, giving special tours to heavy visitors. He will wear a special uniform so that visitors don't confuse him with traditional Beefeaters.

Phillip said it was a "
great privilege" to accept the job and would agree to work and live at the historic Tower. He posed for the cameras in an adaptation of the famous blue and scarlet uniform worn by the traditional Beefeaters at the Tower since 1485. He said the red and yellow converted marquee with traditional golden arches above the E11R sponsored by MacDonalds insignia was a thing of beauty and he would wear it with pride.

Mr Smalltown started training for this position way back in 1999. Weighing in at a spritely 114lbs, he first joined the military and signed a commitment to eat 3 beef burgers a day plus assorted calory-laden bi-products for a minimum of 9 years. In 2008 he can apply for a further commission to extend his obese tour of duty, or retire with a sizable pension in the form of fast food vouchers. Should he chose to sign up for a further 9 years and maintains his weight, he will also be immortalised as a MacDonald doll.

While posing for a barrage of cameras, he admitted to carrying a tupperware container with spare burgers, just in case he was struck with severe hunger pangs in between meals. "
Thank goodness for the wonderful big pockets in this new uniform. Now I don't have to look so desperate with an emergency food napsack on my back."

He described the Tower as magical, saying
It's just a wonderful job and I'm very very lucky to have it. You wake up in the morning and you know you are going to have a fulfilling day.

Crown jewels



Mr Smalltown has spent 2 months undergoing intensive training to learn the different duties expected of a Beefburger Eater. He will help out visitors who are lost, and also advise young people what they need to do, in terms of diet, to end up looking like him. As a matter of full disclosure, he has to display his medical charts on his back, so visitors following him up to the Crown jewels can read all about his insulin levels, cholesterol count and advanced coronary disease symptoms. "I
am here to educate," he beamed with pride over lunch.

As well as a salary, he will also have subsidised meals at any fast food joint in London. "
To overcome any criticisms that Queen Elizabeth has sold out to MacDonalds, she sold out to them all."

widgetbox
If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.


|

What is in a number?

mybloglog-sunday-thumb
MyBlogLog Sunday grew up last week and I celebrated the special landmark of 21 weeks with a bumper edition presented inside an accordion! Tomorrow is edition 22, an unspectacular number, unless you are a duck, so I will resort to the traditional format.

25 is a lucky number round here, and I may well be throwing some prizes and goodies into the Sunday mix in a month's time. Just so you know!

awstats-thumb
Talking numbers, thanks to the 8115 people who visited the site in August. It looks like over 200 have been visiting daily via the xfruits RSS feed too, so not a bad result for a holiday-riddled month and the visitor trends continue upwards.

pisstakersinternational-thu
5 are better than 1 There are rumors circulating that the Pisstakers are going international and Ed is seeking correspondents in (or somewhere sort of near to) London, Paris, Vancouver, or Sydney. It is mad. The paparazzi say he is offering a slice of the Pisstakers action to select writers who don't want the hassle of running a new blog, but do have the inclination to submit ONE measly article a week with local flavor and a bit of wit thrown in.

It sounds crazy to me, but if you feel like making the rumors come true and piggy-backing off the traffic here, let's talk.


|

Sex and religion - ignite fuse and withdraw

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner


Update to an ultra obscure, poorly written idea.

Adam And Eve didn't get us off to a very good start and, rumor has it that when Eve blew her lid at God's sexist remarks, he decided to disappear from view. Since that day, people put different spins on what god really looks like and worse, they have been fighting over whose invisible god is best. Maybe it is time for a great woman to go find god and tell him to show himself, so we can see who we are really arguing over, and once and for all put an end to all the religious based differences in the world.


How the world became godless


A short history lesson. God obviously made man inferior to woman, but gave us a dick so we had a little something to think with. At the penile presentation ceremony, the first woman got all uppety and said she wanted one too. God reminded her that she didn't need one. He had already given her the upper hand and designed it so her brain was placed neatly in her head, hidden from view, past her man's understanding - get over it already.

Realising she had been programed never to be satisfied with a simple answer, she insisted that God gave her a sexy female organ. Happy to oblige, for an easy life, He handed her a prototype (interestingly it was the same design that is still in operation today). She said it was lovely and would take good care of it. Not without sarcasm, he added that thanks to her new addendum, if She ever fell on hard times, She would always have a means to make money. That was the most ill-conceived sexist remark in the 5000 year creationist history of the universe.

My sources tell me that Her reaction was so ferocious that we have never seen god since that vitriolic outburst. Before he zapped himself into the ether to escape Her venom, his lasts words were, "
Bugger that, if that is the sort of ear-ache I can expect down here on earth, I'm off."

Ergo, thanks to the first woman, mankind has been forever debating and killing over hazardous interpretations of a god who has been in hiding since time immemorial from Woman.

Bringing back god requires a girly touch


God is supposed to be in charge of things overall, presumably for the good of the world. For the reasons I explained above, though, god is nowhere to be seen, and the world is turning to shit. As a modern man in a world abandoned by god, I look to science for answers and when that fails, I look to women daily. And in this case, I look to Lindsay Lohan or her arch rival Hillary Clinton.

To make the world a better place, one of these two role models needs to remove any doubt over whose god is best. I humbly suggest that they talk woman to god, to clear up the mess. If I may be so bold as to put words in a woman's mouth.

Hey god, stop sulking and forgive that first Woman for what She did all those years ago. She got over it.

Since you did a runner, all this faith and belief in holy spirits and non-touchy-feely concepts has done mankind no good whatsoever, and with all the arguing going on, we are giving you a bad reputation. Comb your hair, pluck your ears and show yourself, pronto, the world needs to know you.
Try going to England first, they need help, and you will get a nice cup of tea too.

Obviously I am a dreamer, and it is unlikely that god will get an audience with a woman prepared to lower herself to frank intercourse with a man who ran at the first sign of trouble, but it could be worth a shot to restore order and peace in the world.

Is it safe to come out yet?

widgetbox
If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.



|

MyBlogLog Sunday week 22

mybloglog-sunday22
All the 2's, 22. MyBlogLog Sunday comes to you in the middle of a holiday in the US. Don't feel bad about Ed sweating over a hot laptop while you sun yourself in the shadow of an above-ground pool, sipping on tooth-rotting sodas and gorging on charred barbecue food. It's all good.

Just to remind today's featured bloggers that if you leave a link in the comments to your best post of the week before 6pm Eastern time, I will also stumble the post. (One more MyBloglog Sunday bonus to drool over .)

Permalink is permanent
All mini reviews from today will stay on the homepage (PR5) all week and are instantly added to the archives, so you can get a permanent back link to your mini review when it appears later.

MyBlogLog Sunday info links

All hot mini reviews on MyBloglog Sunday!

Internet buzz on MyBloglog Sunday!

How to participate in MyBloglog Sunday!

Weekly round-up of MyBloglog Sunday!

Be back later.


|