Sometimes, the truth hurts

From BuzzMachine:

Then she said that news is “an industry with a lot of oversupply that is now exposed.” I liked that hard economic talk about the business. It reminds us that we are an industry and need to reexamine our business assumptions like every other industry.

So maybe the problem with journalism today isn’t that there are too few reporters and and editors but too many. I’ve talked before about the foolishness of sending 15,000 reporters to the political conventions, about papers sending TV critics to junkets or golf writers to tournaments. Inside the newsroom, too, there are overwrought processes. Meanwhile, of course, revenue is sinking and staff will follow.

Some good points here. As much as I hate to admit it, I think this probably goes for tech writers, too.

A step in the right direction

Buy A Customized Jessica Simpson MP3 At Yahoo! Music

No, I'm not talking about the song itself, but the idea that a major music service is considering selling music not crippled by "digital rights management" software.

Own your own flamethrower!

Brookstone Weed Burner

Product Description
Eliminate weeds quickly and permanently with a propane-fired weed burner. Use this lightweight burner to clear weeds and their roots in driveways or walkways in summer, or to melt dangerous ice patches in winter. Adjustable regulator valve lets you control flame intensity

The real Super Mario Brothers 2

Interesting story about Super Mario Bros. 2, the oddest game in the franchise. As it turns out, Nintendo had created a different Mario sequel but found it too hard for U.S. audiences. So it Mario-ized a completely different game called Doki Doki Panic and sold it as Part Duex.

Personally, I never liked the version they released in the U.S. It felt too different and was just, well, weird -- at least in terms of the Mario universe.

About.com has a long-overdue review of the real Super Mario Bros. 2.

Study Documents ‘Ghetto Tax’ Being Paid by the Urban Poor

From the New York Times:

Study Documents ‘Ghetto Tax’ Being Paid by the Urban Poor - New York Times

Drivers from low-income neighborhoods of New York, Hartford and Baltimore, insuring identical cars and with the same driving records as those from middle-class neighborhoods, paid $400 more on average for a year’s insurance.

The poor are also the main customers for appliances and furniture at “rent to own” stores, where payments are stretched out at very high interest rates; in Wisconsin, a $200 television can end up costing $700.

Those were just two examples among several cited in a report Tuesday showing that poor urban residents frequently pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year in extra costs for everyday necessities. The study said some of the disparities were due to real differences in the cost of doing business in poor areas, some to predatory financial practices and some to consumer ignorance.

From Deuteronomy 24:14:

Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns.

And there's plenty more where that came from.

Happy birthday to me

I'm 37 today. That sounds so old...