Archive for March, 2005
Flickr Spellr
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I created this in a couple of minutes using Spell with Flickr. I also heartily recommend the Numa Numa dance if you haven’t already seen/heard it. (Double hat tip: Nick Gall.) PS I am still in Leeds. Heading south in a couple of days.
Lew on League: The aftermath — Leeds v. Bradford
Posted by: | CommentsBradford Bulls 12 v Leeds Rhinos 42
On Thursday Leeds were at Odsal to take on the old enemy, the Bradford Bulls. It had seemed that the match would be a close one and indeed the first half ended Leeds 12 Bradford 6. However it was noticeable that whereas the Bulls hurled themselves at Leeds, expending masses of energy, the visitors remained calm, absorbed the pressure and waited for the fury to expend itself, playing well within their capabilities.
In the second half gaps started to appear in the Bulls’ defences and Leeds began to unleash a series of attacks involving slick passing which quickly cut the Bradford defences to ribbons. When Bradford attacked, the Leeds tackling was ferocious. What was apparent in the defences was that whereas the Leeds’ players shared the tackle count a few Bradford players undertook the burden of defence whilst others where not around when they were needed. In the past, Bradford have relied on a huge pack backed up by hefty backs who wear down the opposition. With the loss of Anderson and the increased weight of opposition packs, Bradford now need to change their tactics, but do they have the right players at the moment?
St Helens seemed to be Leeds’ main opposition for the League leadership. But the following day, lacking the leadership of Paul Sculthorpe, they lost narrowly at Wigan. This means that early in the season Leeds are already four points ahead of the second placed team. The question now is will they lose momentum later in the season, or will they continue to increase the lead to finish as runaway minor premier winners. With McGuire and Diskin still to return from injury the portents are good for Leeds.
Tonight Wakefield visit Headingley. This should be a walkover, if we take current form. I doubt very much whether this will be so. Leeds were on fire against Bradford because it was such an important game. They had made heavy weather of Salford just before that game and there is likely to be reaction in this next match. In the end the score should be a clear cut victory for Leeds but they will be made to work for it by a Wakefield team which has a heavy pack and some clever players who will punish any slackening off of the Leeds effort. It is rumoured that McGuire is returning for this match. If so he is sure to be on the bench and will take it easy as he comes back to fitness.
Farewell to Circuits, On the Blogosphere
Posted by: | CommentsJust over one month ago I resolved to start pitching the Circuits Section of the New York Times. Story ideas that I had dismissed because I thought they were already well known had been popping up in Circuits and I decided that I would try a few pitches. Two weeks later, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller announced that Circuits, as a stand-alone supplement, would end on March 24. Yesterday, marked the last edition.
The main reason Keller gave for ending Circuits was that too many of the supplement’s stories were appearing in other sections of the paper, including the front page. In other words, Circuits was no longer specialist enough. Stories about cell phones, wireless networks, websites, blogs, wikis, and computers were (quite rightly) no longer just of interest to techno geeks–they were mainstream.
This is true. But I am also aware how easy it is to assume that people are much more familiar with technology and the Web than they really are. A good example is that when I tell people about my blog for the first time, most do not know what one is. Meanwhile, the media and the blogosphere (especially in the US) continues to talk and act as as though it is already a part of mainstream life.
It is easy to quote numbers of bloggers in the millions and forget that, in general, most people do not read blogs and only a tiny percentage actually write them. And that’s just in the US –the home of the weblog. Elsewhere they are practically non-existent.
Yes, bloggers influence other forms of media that in turn influence those who have never even heard the word “blog”. But, in general, the blogosphere is still unknown. It is limited to a small number of people, living mainly in one part of the world. Circuits may have disappeared into the main body of the New York Times but it will still be some time before the blogosphere slips into mainstream life.
Aaaargh
Posted by: | CommentsHome again and already getting my full dose of rugby league action. Everything is wonderful — except this blog! I’m not sure which version you are looking at now, but if you’re viewing this on a PC using Internet Explorer then chances are my sidebar (which is full of links) looks empty to you and the site in general looks exceedingly messy. Yesterday I couldn’t even log in using Internet Explorer because the login buttons had disappeared.
I’m going to try a fix in the next couple of days in between work and weddings and jetlag, but I’m not sure what the solution will be. In the meantime, if you have Firefox installed (which I recommend anyway) then I suggest you view EINY using it -or Safari or anything but IE. You can download Firefox here. It’s a whole different world!
Greedierbistro?
Posted by: | CommentsI really shouldn’t be doing this when I have a flight to catch in a few hours, but Felix Salmon’s demolition of Galia Gichon’s Mediabistro (finance) class for freelancers is great. Here’s a taste:
Today I came across one of the most egregious such quacks, in the form of Galia Gichon of Down To Earth Finance. Ms Gichon is teaching a MediaBistro course next week, where, for a mere $65, she will dispense advice on how to “get a grip on debt” and other such staples of the personal-finance pages. Judging by her Q&A on MediaBistro today, however, you’d be better off spending that $65 on getting blotto in the nearest bar. Certainly, any halfways-decent personal finance book will be much cheaper and much more useful.
