U-Turn
A proposal to ease the inequity of the Massachusetts Turnpike toll schedule to take effect Jan. 1 was dropped this week after turnpike staffers persuaded a majority the reform initiative came too late. That means commuters from Central Massachusetts and MetroWest, already shouldering the burden of the Big Dig, will have to dig even deeper in the new year.
Original post by telegram.com- Opinion
Lower-tier candidates jockeying for position as vote nears
I just got back from a weeklong trip, during which I did not read anything about the impending election of 2007 in Worcester. I’ve barely had time to catch up, and when I look over what I’ve caught, I am once again impressed with how shallow our election campaigns can be. And I’m not even talking about the presidential campaign.
Original post by telegram.com- Opinion
Readers offer endorsements as Election Day approaches
What’s wrong with this picture? Our congressman and lieutenant governor are all over the place throwing their formidable weight around, as columnist Kenneth J. Moynihan has noted. I’ve voted for these men, supported them with modest contributions and I’m happy they were elected.
Original post by telegram.com- Opinion
Retraction: Social Advertising Will Be A Big Business
I am officially retracting this post. I should know better than to understimate Seth.
Plus, I just started playing around with Facebook’s new ad flyer system. Take a look at this:
You are targeting
about 40
people between 20 and 31 years old who are single in the United States
who are seniors at WPI majoring in Computer Science.
You are targeting
about 60
people between 21 and 65 years old who are married in Worcester, MA,
Boston, MA, Springfield, MA, and Providence, RI who like Home
Improvement.
You are targeting
about 340
people between 18 and 35 years old who are married in Worcester, MA,
Boston, MA, […]
Original post by Peter Caputa
The Algorithmic Editorial Wall Will Fall
Ethan Stock, Zvents founder, riffed on my google paid links post:
That [Google’s] free cash flow creates an irresistible force — the market, in all
its insane brilliance, attempting to reverse engineer Google’s map of
the Web and modify the link domain to suit the commercial desires of
thousands, millions, of individual participants.
That’s the crux of the problem. Google has this secret algorithm that directs the attention of billions of people looking to find and buy things. On the other end, there are 100s of millions of people trying to sell things who are trying to figure out how to get more traffic from google. Google would love to direct all of these sellers to pay per click via adwords. But, the reality for businesses is that it’s much more profitable to be listed in the natural search results.
It’s a battle. And neither party will ever win.
But, if I was a […]
Original post by Peter Caputa
Hulu is Evil - To Kill Family Values and Work Productivity
Hulu will most likely make watching TV on TV at home after work with the family - a thing of the past. Soon, people will just watch their favorite shows at work. Thanks Hulu - for destroying the American Family units’ last great bonding activity. And for destroying productivity at work. Thanks in advance.
Good review here. First blog post here. Yes, I just watched the Office. My wife and I love that show.
Original post by Peter Caputa
Give help to local Animal Rescue League
Two years ago we rescued a kitten from a litter in which the mother had rejected one of her kittens. We brought him home and cared for him. But the wonderful staff at the Worcester Animal Rescue League Shelter on Holden Street found a foster mother with a litter to care for him. She took him in, and six weeks later we were able to go back and pick up our (now huge) kitten. He is 2 years old, healthy as can be and a joy to us every day.
Original post by telegram.com- Opinion
Needed: Facts, not models of climate trends
Temperature data is collected by the National Climate Center from 1,200 United States stations. Alarmists use 1998 as the hottest year on record. But due to a math blunder the fact is 1934 is the hottest recorded year. Six of the 10 hottest years were before 90 percent of the economic growth associated with increased greenhouse-gas emissions.
Original post by telegram.com- Opinion