Archive for 2010
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »Mean Green Machines
[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 20, 2010 by admin in Clean & Green
Sunday, June 20th, 2010Now available in two, four, and eight wheeled versions.
 Photo: Amadeus Photography via PopSci.com |
If you love the growl of a high-performance race car engine, this round up of cars that do 0-60MPH in less than 4 seconds will have little appeal for you. We’re sorry to inform you petrol addicts that these vehicles also won’t be contributing to any of those oil spills you seem so fond of. Just ten years ago, the idea of a stylish, high performance electric car or motorcycle still seemed a bit far-fetched. But as our oil-addicted culture sputters into the 21st century, the number of sexy electrics available is expanding rapidly. You may have heard of the innovative Tesla, which has an even brighter future now that Toyota is getting involved. Toyota’s decision makers were impressed with Tesla’s commitment to Monozukuri, which is part of the origin of Toyota’s 70 year philosophy of “contributing to the society through the manufacture of automobiles”. But Tesla’s not the only electric on the block these days. Finally, you can make a list called World’s Top 10 Fastest Electric Cars. And if the Shelby SuperCars Aero EV (no relation to this super car by Shelby) is for real, there’s some astounding innovation going on; they claim a 150-200 mile range from a mere 10 minute recharge on a standard 110V outlet. Some people have their doubts, but remember, it was just over a hundred years ago that people were calling those two guys in North Carolina crackpots for saying people could fly. This new focus on sexy, high performance EV’s isn’t limited to autos though. The MotoCzysz – a racing bike by American motorcycle developer Michael Czysz – just took a title in the legendary Isle of Man bike race, and Mission Motors lays claim to “Fastest Production Electric Motorcycle in the World” with their Mission One Superbike which can “pop wheelies” at 70MPH. And finally, if two or four wheels don’t strike your fancy, how about eight? The Eliica may look strange, but pulls a faster 0-60 than a Porsche 911 Turbo, and the designers intend to use it to break existing land speed record for street legal vehicles. Read the rest of this entry »
How To Archive Or Back Up Your Facebook Account
[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 19, 2010 by admin in Technology
Saturday, June 19th, 2010There’s no single simple way, but there are some free and cheap tools that will do the job.
Been looking for convenient and easy way to archive your Facebook account? Well, tough patooties. There’s no convenient and easy way to do it, but we’ll outline a few methods you can try below. Like many users, I’ve been pondering how Facebook fits into my life, and how I feel about Mark Zuckerberg’s longstanding arrogant disregard for our privacy. I’m not alone; although Quit Facebook Day was a bust, according to a recent Soros poll 60% of users are thinking about quitting, and 16% already have. And although “How Do I Delete My Facebook Account” spiked as a search term in May, there are no numbers to indicate a mass exodus from Facebook yet. I personally won’t be quitting, but Facebook is no longer the more closed, verified network it was when I joined, and that was what I actually valued most about it. As a result, I’ve decided to change how I use Facebook a little bit until something better comes along, and part of that meant archiving and deleting my wall. I might have just deleted it all, but my friends are just too darn witty, and their comments just too precious and ginormously highlarious to click into oblivion. So how do you archive these sentimental treasures? Unfortunately, you can’t just go to “File > Save As” with your Facebook wall. Because of the fact that the site makes such extensive use of proprietary AJAX-like code, you can save a page, but rarely with the comment threads and older posts expanded. Even if you could do it this way, you’d end up with one massive, browser-crashing web page. So I put several tools to use, because each had its own shortcoming. The first thing I tried was the Firefox plug-in ArchiveFB. It’s based on another plug-in called Scrapbook, and allows you to fairly easily Read the rest of this entry »
Happy Birthday To Us! Dissociated Press Enters Its Terrible Two’s
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on June 11, 2010 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Friday, June 11th, 2010Let us know what you think. Your input may have a big impact on the future of the site.
 This is me in 98 years if I keep writing for Dissociated Press every day. |
That’s right. Dissociated Press turns two years old today. So what does that mean? It means that every single day for two years we’ve served up something for your amusement. You know what else it means? It means we’ll be taking some time off. How long? That depends a little on you. That “Add A Comment” link below isn’t just window dressing, and this Dissociated Press Birthday Fund link works too! While we take some time off, let us know what you think. We value your input, whether it’s your thoughts or your money, so put your money where your mouth is, or put your words where the comment box is. While we (and by “we” I mean “I”; there’s only one of us!) take a quick breather, dig deeper into the site. With over 700 articles, even if you’re a regular visitor, there’s bound to be something of interest. View them backwards by date, or view them by tags, or view them by category. I like to think we’ve consistently offered up an interesting spin on Pop Media, Technology, Politics, and Lifestyle that stays relevant without simply regurgitating the content of the endlessly reposted blogosphere. If you’re a writer or developer, or just curious, read this to learn more about what Dissociated Press was meant to be, and where it might go. And in any case, thanks to all 30,000 of you for stopping by each month!
Dissociated Press Seeks Partners & Contributors
[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 11, 2010 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Friday, June 11th, 2010If you’re a writer, web marketer, or Wordpress whiz, drop us a line.
I originally launched Dissociated Press in June, 2008 merely as a way to force myself to write each day. I wanted to do something more like a magazine than a blog, so set the site up with specific magazine-like categories. At various times over the last two years, writer friends have said they’d start contributing, but never did. So I kept plodding along, and the site traffic grew, but not to a number of page views that generates significant revenue. With a busy schedule, I had to choose between fresh daily content and marketing, and opted for the former. Unfortunately, the organic search traffic (as one might expect) hasn’t provided quite the oomph I need to keep this up, so I’m making the tough decision to make one last stab at soliciting contributors or partners, or moving on to other projects. I’m almost finished with a book, and am also working on a small startup, among other things. If you’re a writer, web marketer, or WordPress whiz, drop me a line and we can discuss possibilities.
How To Outsource Your Life
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on June 10, 2010 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Why live your own life when someone overseas can do it cheaper and better?
 I have an evil plan to outsource myself to myself. |
Recently I was working on a project that became stalled, largely because I did a poor job of assessing the scope of the project in the first place, which led to a serious case of scope creep. I was frustrated, the investor was frustrated, and things were going nowhere. The solution? Ironically, I outsourced myself out of income by agreeing that the best solution to keep the project in motion was to hire an overseas freelancer. This leads to a condition I’m not too fond of, something the self-employed sometimes refer to as being “independently broke”. I set my own hours, have immense creative freedom, and can work from home, among other things. The only drawback? I don’t get paid. This got me joking with a friend though, about how great it would be to outsource my whole life. What if someone could call Verizon and AT&T and resolve the seemingly endless billing problems I have with them, something I’m really good at but never have the time to do? Or what if someone could meet the perfect woman for me, so I could settle down and finally be forced to get a real job? Or maybe even write articles like this for me, so I have more time to market them? Well, I was only slightly surprised that someone had done this, and with hilarious results. Check out My Outsourced Life, by Esquire’s AJ Jacobs. In a nice twist, Tim Ferriss (author of The 4-Hour Workweek