But what do they do in winter?
Tags: denmark, speed bandits, speed control
Wal-Mart is Off-Mart Today
Posted on November 24, 2006 ·
“SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The Web site of leading retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was offline or otherwise “unusable” for much of Friday, which is the busiest shopping day of the year, according to an Internet performance-tracking company.
Those that managed to gain access to the site had to wait up to 30 seconds for search results and even longer to complete a purchase, according to Ben Rushlo, a senior director at Keynote Systems, which monitors Web-site performance.
A message on the company’s site blamed the problems on “high traffic volume.”
Not expecting hight traffic volume on Black Friday? Give me a break … this is pathetic.
Update (11/26): News.com’s report just hit Techmeme.
Wow, That’s a Lot of Fahrvergnügen
Posted on November 23, 2006 ·
What Is It With Bike Accidents Around the President?
Posted on November 21, 2006 ·
President Bush:
– fell off a Segway (isn’t that almost impossible) in Maine
– fell off a mountain bike in Texas
– fell off a bike at the G8 summit, hitting a local cop,
Today three Honolulu Police Department motorcycle officers were injured when they crashed while accompanying President Bush’s motorcade on Hickam Air Force Base this morning.
I guess Bush and Wheels just don’t match 
Foodie VC Blogs
Posted on November 20, 2006 ·
I guess there’s more than one foodie VC Blog. I’ve been a faithful reader of Trinity Partner Tom Cole’s Consuming Ambitions for a while, and today I found out from Robert that “Paul Matteucci, one of the VC’s who funded PodTech, writes a good foodie blog called FoodCrunch.”
They don’t really compete, though. FoodCrunch appears to be quite international in coverage and focuses on ingredients and recipes, while Consuming Ambitions has a definite Bay Area focus, featuring restaurant reviews, local farmers’ markets, wineries, recipes – anything worth mentioning, including private food-tasting hosted by fellow VC’s.
Ahhhhhhhhh, I’m getting hungry. Bon Appetite. 
Smoking Forbidden – Even at Your Home
Posted on November 20, 2006 ·
The city of Belmont, CA is about to introduce radical anti-smoking regulation:
“Belmont City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to proceed with the drafting of an ordinance that revises the city’s current smoking ban in workplaces and most public areas, to now include any residence except single-family detached homes. (CBS5.com)
Frankly, I’m not sure what to think. I do not smoke, and I can’t stand second-hand smoke. Having lived in smoke-free California for a while, landing at any European airport is a pain, I literally suffocate from the dense smoke… same experience at many places on the East Coast. But here in CA we’re as smoke-free as we can be.
Talk about smoke, how about wood-burning fireplaces? A great American tradition – banned for new home construction in most CA communities, yet every day I open my windows for a bit of fresh air, I am getting bombarded by a *fresh* dose of carcinogen courtesy of my neighbors. I really hate it, but I don’t think owners of older homes can be ordered not to use this amenity.
The list can go on – unless you live in the middle of a 15-acre property, you won’t be completely isolated from your neighbors. How far can cities go in issuing ordinances, over-regulating every aspect of our lives? Shouldn’t our homes be the ultimate sanctuary, off-limits to regulations?
What do YOU think?
The Oval Office Redesigned
Posted on November 20, 2006 ·
The SF Chronicle has an interactive pic (Flash required) to show the White House, redesigned in San Francisco-style. Amenities include a jacuzzi and a massage table. Click the pic, then roll over the items to see their description.
The Chronicle opened up the design process to readers, asking them: What should Bush put in the Oval Office to reflect San Francisco styles?
The very first reader proposal:
“How about an exit sign? And make sure it is well-lighted, so they can find it!”
Web Security: How to buy a 65” Plasma for $.99
Posted on November 14, 2006 ·
I have no clue if this is real: Edgeblog describes a way to change the price on certain shopping sites using the CartIt.cgi shopping app before the item is submitted to the server.
He than goes on:
Doing a simple Google search for cartit.cgi+plasma, I found a web site that sells plasma TVs (Which shall remain nameless to prevent being sued). The website thinks it is selling TVs for $7,599, but we can pay whatever we want by intercepting the POST and changing the price. If you think the company would catch this error, think again. Many companies outsource the fulfillment of orders, and never check the prices being charged. Note: I do not endorse e-shoplifting, so I did not complete the above transaction, but I know for a fact that the site will accept the order for $.99. Now, $.99 is extreme enough to *maybe* raise a flag. A simpler approach is to just move the decimal over 1 or 2 places. This way, if the company does notice, they will assume it was a processing error on their side. So maybe this article should be titled: “How to buy a 65″ plasma for $75.99.”
Wow. 
Valleywag an Eyesore
Posted on November 13, 2006 ·
Valleywag’s Nick Douglas is leaving. Nick *was* Valleywag. Not much to add here, it’s the top item on Techmeme:
Good Morning Silicon Valley, Mathew Ingram, Master of 500 Hats, Thomas Hawk’s Digital …, Things That, WebProBlog, Federated Media …
But WTF is this new design?
Frankly, it makes me want to puke… except that it looks like someone has already puked on it
SMS Lingo Allowed at School Exams
Posted on November 11, 2006 ·
Secondary school students will be able to use text speak in written examinations this year, legitimizing a language loved by teenagers.
In New Zealand, that is. Here’s a reader comment:
“u mst b joking. or r u smoking sumthg? lol. so what if kidz pruv they no sbjct mtr? f u cant communic8 yr noldg, it’s prty much wrthlss. nz alrdy has svr prbs w stndrd nglsh speling, punc. and grmmr. dont make wrs!!! “
I think I undestand (?)what the commenter says, and I wholeheartedly agree. Or, to quote another reader comment:
“Wot a ld o rubish! Our edukshun sys is bad ’nuff alrdy. Mre dum kids who cant spel.”
Update (11/12): the AP version of the story got Slashdotted and it’s on Techmeme today.
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