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Directory of Web 2.0 Directories

Steve Rubel points to Categoriz ,  “another big giant directory of Web 2.0 sites and services.”

I think to be considered valid Web 2.0 site, it should be called  Categorizr. (As in Flickr, Flagr,  Socializr ..etc)

A good resource otherwise.   We soon will need a directory of all Web 2.0 directories.

Update (5/7):  I told ya!   Here’s a list of Web 2.0 lists by Richard MacManus

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$250K Buys a lot of Fahrvergnügen

Oh, boy, and I thought $85K was way too much for a Volkswagen .. was I wrong! Apparently you can spend $250K to get your very personal Fahrvergnügen (not to be confused with this)

That’s how much Ron Patrick, owner of Sunnyvale, CA Engine Control and Monitoring spent to build his jet-propelled VW bug. “The purpose of this car is to have fun and be stupid,” he says with a laugh. “This is entertainment. It’s a toy, a toy for silly boys.”

The Flying (well, almost) Bug is street-legal, but he cannot fire up the jet… although “Patrick says that once in a while he puts on a crash helmet (mainly as a sound muffler), takes the car out on nearby Highway 237 in the wee hours of the morning and fires it up for a brief and hopefully cop-free run.”

His next project: digging up his garden to build a missile silo. Can you spell Nucular Proliferation? He has already purchased an SA-2 for a thousand bucks at an abandoned Polish air base and is now trying to get it cleared through Customs. Good luck with that.

(source: SF Chronicle)

Update (5/9): See Matt Marshall’s post on the X1.

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No More Investigation Into Gas Prices, Please

Every time officials launch an investigation into gas prices, the damned thing defiantly climbs further up. 

A few days after President Bush’s announcement we’re now up to $3.49. 

Today I hear the Sate of California is launching an investigation, too – hm, summer just broke out, weekend coming… do I hear $3.79?

(photo originally published at Blinq)

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Raising Boys

Reading Ben’s post about 20 Reasons Not to Have Children I could not resist but post this email I’ve recently received.  For the record: I am very much pro-children and hope (for him) that eventually Ben will change his mind.  

 

Raising Boys

 

a) For those who have children past this age, this is hilarious.

b) For those who have children this age, this is not funny.

c) For those who have children nearing this age, this is a warning.

d) For those who have not yet had children, this is birth control.

 

The following came from an anonymous Mother in Austin, Texas. Things I’ve learned from my Boys (honest and not kidding):

 

1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. Ft.house 4 inches deep.

 

2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

 

3.) A 3-year old Boy’s voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

 

4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can,  to spread paint on all four walls of a 20×20 ft. Room.

 

5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

 

6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn’t stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

 

7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words “uh oh”, it’s already too late.

 

8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

 

9.) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.

 

10.) Certain Lego’s will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old Boy.

 

11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

 

12.) Super glue is forever.

 

13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can’t walk on water.

 

14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

 

15.) VCR’s do not eject “PB & J” sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

 

16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

 

17) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

 

18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

 

19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

 

20.) The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

 

21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

 

22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.

 

23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

 

24.) 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

 

25.) 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

 

 

 

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Pandemic Flu Outbreak on College Campus

Fortunately not in real life, but a simulation at the Legal Preparedness for Pandemic Flu conference in San Francisco:

A hypothetical focusing on a potential avian flu outbreak on a college campus located in a densely populated urban environment will be presented. The story will unfold over a simulated two-week period. Panelists will respond to the medical facts as they emerge and comment on the legal authority of public health agencies to take action, the legal obligations of the healthcare sector and private employers to work with government agencies, and ethical perspectives on how decisions will be made in the face of medical and legal uncertainties. “

I guess it all makes sense, yet a bit shocking that we don’t even know how (if) we will survive the epidemic, but the lawyers are already preparing, as usual

On a lighter note, lawyers in London are losing billable hours big time: 

200px-DaVinciCode_USThe chat in the legal community is that not one billable hour has been done today,” lawyer Mark Stephens said Thursday….”Life in London has ground to a halt because everyone — barristers, solicitors, partners, managing partners, legal secretaries — is working on deciphering it.”  
He is talking about the secret code the judge who presided over the failed Da Vinci Code plagiarism case at London’s High Court hid in his written judgment.

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Why Spam Swicki?

Search activity on my swicki (see right sidebar) skyrocketed all of a sudden. Here’s a partial list of searches performed yesterday:

ags publishing 1
battle realms 1
book publishers directory… 1
bourbon street 1
bourbon street new orlean… 1
brick 1
british industrial revolu… 1
brownie guides 1
brownies uk 1
bunk beds 1
buy cds 1
buy concert tickets 1
c programming 1
california bar 1
california state bar 1
camelot park 1
car audio systems 1
careers 1
cascading style sheets… 1
cd now 1
cd stores 1
cfm 1
cgi 1
chat rooms 1
chat sites 1
cheap airline tickets… 1
cheap cds 1
cheap dvd 1
cheap ink cartridges 1
cheap tires 1
civil war battles 1
civil war information… 1
clock kits 1
cnn 1
cnn interactive 1
cnn world news 1
comp cams 1
computer deals 1
computer hardware 1
computer prices 1
computer sales 1
computers 1
concert tickets 1
concert tickets ticketmas… 1
consumer product reviews… 1
consumer reviews 1
corel draw

There are pages and pages of this crap, it’s clearly an automated “search attack”.  Once again I prove how clueless I am about the business of spamming, but I really don’t see who and how benefits from such automated searches …  Swicki team?  Anyone? 

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43 Best Blog Prank Still Goes On

Alexander Muse reminds us that his 43 Best Blog Experience is still live – 2 months later people are entering themselves and deleting others.  For all those interested may I suggest you also check out Ego-surf.

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Freemium Memeorandum

Tom Evslin at Fractals of Change discovered “clear evidence from technorati that tech.memeorandum predicts the future”.

Memeorandum

He’s dreaming for tech.memeorandum to be able to predict product announcements, earnings releases.   Tom, I have news for you: it’s all coming soon,  along with a lot more… just think of the effect of some predictions on political Memeorandum.   The predictive features will be wrapped into various subscription packages, as part of Gabe’s Freemium business strategy. 

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SVASE VC Breakfast in San Francisco

I’ll be moderating another SVASE  VC Breakfast Club session on Thursday, April 27th in San Francisco, at the Embarcadero Center.  It’s an informal round-table where up to 10 entrepreneurs get to deliver a pitch, then answer questions and get critiqued by a VC Partner. We’ve had VC’s from Draper Fisher, Hummer Winblad, Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield, Mohr Davidow, Emergence Capital …etc.

Thursday’s featured VC is Blake Winchell, Managing General Partner, Fremont Ventures. The Zvents post  has all the info and a map, but please remember to click through to register either from zvents or directly here.  

These sessions are an incredible opportunity for Entrepreneurs, most of whom would probably have a hard time getting through the door to a VC Partners.   Since I’ve been through quite a few of these sessions, both as Entrepreneur and Moderator, let me share a few thoughts:

  • It’s a pressure-free environment, with no Powerpoint presentations, Business Plans…etc,  just casual conversation, but it does not mean you should come unprepared!
  • Bring an Executive Summary, some VC’s like it, others don’t.
  • Follow a structure, don’t just talk freely about what you would like to do, or even worse, spend all your time describing the problem, without addressing what your solution is.
  • Don’t forget “small things” like the Team, Product, Market..etc.
  • It would not hurt to mention how much you are looking for, and how you would use the funds…
  • Write down and practice your pitch, be ready to deliver a compelling story in 5 minutes.  You will have more time, but believe me, whatever your practice time was, when you are on the spot, you will likely take twice as long to deliver your story.
  • Last, but not least, please be on time!  I am not kidding… some of you know why I have to even bring this up.

See you on Thursday! Zbutton

P.S.  Next week’s session will be in Menlo Park, with Tome Cole, General Partner at Trinity Ventures Zbutton

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“Innocent” Trackback Spam Can Knock Your Page Views

I though I’d share this:  recently I’ve seen some seemingly pointless trackback spam that appeared to have come from the main sites of Yahoo, MSN, Google ..etc.  I could not figure who benefited from these, since there was not even a hidden link to any other site.  Still, I went ahead and clicked “delete and block” since, after all these were spam entries.

Today someone told me I came up third on a particular Google search, so of course I went ego-surfing, and voila! there I was – but I clicking through gave an error message. Now, why would Google be an illegal referrer?  Then it hit me: when I blocked those seemingly harmless trackbacks, I actually blocked just about all major search engines!   Checking my firewall entries, I found Yahoo, MSN, Microsoft, Google blocked.   So if you suspect you received such spam, this may be a good time to check your blocked domains.

The good news: despite my stupid act, site traffic in this period not only hasn’t dropped, it actually increased – I don’t even want to know how much more it would be without the bogus blocks…

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