Hi. I'm Newley Purnell. I cover technology and business for The Wall Street Journal, based in Hong Kong. I use this site to share my stories and often blog about the books I'm reading, tech trends, sports, travel, and our dog Ginger. For updates, get my weekly email newsletter.
I got all artistic with my camera last night and took some shots using the night scene (long exposure) feature in my darkened bedroom (yes, I am a complete dork). I recently picked up a small tripod and took the following pics by twirling my mini-headlamp around to various effect.
This one reminds me of the rings of Saturn or something:
While in this one we see that my laptop (iRene the iBook) is so heavenly that she boasts a halo:
Here’re a few more similar images.
This is why I was dubious about the Braves’ post-season prospects. If you can’t hold onto a 6-1 lead in the 8th inning, you don’t deserve to win. Even after 18 — 18! — goddamned innings.
David Z., an Atlanta native and a life-long Braves fan, excoriated me via email the other day for my fair-weather-fan, boo-hiss-the-Bravos-will-disappoint-yet-again post, arguing that the team had accomplished an amazing amount given injuries this season, and that some highly impressive rookies have done some highly impressive things. He’s right, of course. And I agree, as DZ pointed out, that 14 consecutive division titles isn’t something to dismiss lightly.
I was all prepared to link to this summary of MLB teams’ payrolls and moan about the underachieving Braves, but then I realized that, hey, they’re 10th on the list. (The real question is how, with a payroll some $80 million higher than the next highest team — which is the “Cinderella,” “underdog” Red Sox, by the way — the Yankees aren’t uttterly, utterly dominant. I suppose it’s time I give “Money Ball” a read…)
Since, as I mentioned, the Braves have won a remarkable 14 straight division titles, manager Bobby Cox is either A) a managerial genius with the ability to spur good teams to consistant excellence; or B) a mediocre manager who succeeds, year in and year out, in delivering his team to the promised land — the playoffs — but then lacks the ability to win the big games once they get there. I think A is more likely than B, but I just don’t know anymore.
They’re partying in Quito, Cuenca, Guayaquil, Esmeraldas, and all points in between at latitude zero: Ecuador drew 0-0 at home with Uruguay yesterday to book their passage to World Cup ’06 in Germany this summer.
Elsewhere, four teams from the African region — newcomers all — have clinched their spots: Angola, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Togo. Here’s a complete run-down of the nations that have qualified so far.
Cool chair. The $2700 pricetag is tough to swallow, though.
Have you ever seen two dogs get their asses kicked by a cow? Now you have.
UPDATE: I just talked to my mom on the phone and she argues that in her view, the dogs must’ve attacked the cow, and the cow simply reacted in self-defense…
J3tlag.com (that’s Jetlag.com to non-hackers, I guess) is an interesting new blog devoted to — from what I can tell — the intersection of travel and style. Or something like that. It’s got plenty of style and not much travel-related substance so far, but it’s early in the game. They’ve got a diverse group of contributers lined up, however, and that seems promising.
Wow. Google’s just released a new RSS feed reader.
I’ve only just poked around a little bit, but it looks very, very cool. You’ve heard me wax elegiac about Bloglines before; will this be a Bloglines killer? The main advantage I can see now is that Google’s feed reader doesn’t use frames, like Bloglines does, and it appears to be more responsive. Bloglines, however, allows users to create folders for various feeds, and you can’t do that with Google’s service.
One interesting thing to note: Google doesn’t call this an RSS service; they call it a feed reader. Which is smart — RSS sounds intimidating, and “feed” is a more tangible, intuitive way to describe RSS.
(Via BoingBoing.)
I had to laugh when I saw an ad on TV last night for American Express’s new credit card: 1% of eveything you charge on your card is put into a savings account with a 3.15% interest rate. There’s a $35 annual fee for the card.
Okay, so let’s do the math. You wanna save some cash. But you have a hard time putting aside the dough on your own. The solution: keep buying stuff on credit — stuff you probably wouldn’t pay for cash for — and then you won’t have to worry about building your nest egg.
Go ahead and buy that new 42″ plasma screen TV for $2,200 — and a whopping $22 will go into your savings account! What a bargain! Throw a $2,000 Rolex (it’s used, so it’s cheap!) on the card, as well, as you’ve saved another 20 bones. When you substract the $35 annual fee, you’ve come out seven dollars ahead! (Of course, you could always pay cash for a cheaper TV and a less extravagent watch — and save the difference, plus the interest you’d have to pay on the credit card — but we all know what a hassle that can be.)
When most people think about saving money for the future, they try to figure out a way to make more cash — whether it’s through higher income or a hairbrained 1% savings plan like this. It’s much simpler, of course, to simply modify our lifestyles so we spend less than we make. It’s not necessarily easier, but it’s simpler.
One of my favorite passages in Rolf Potts’s excellent book “Vagabonding : An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel” is when Potts recounts a scene from the 1987 film “Wall Street.” Charlie Sheen plays a young stockbroker on the make; at one point, he tells his girlfriend that he wants to work hard and make a killing so he can one day retire and “ride a motorcycle across China.” As Potts points out, Sheen’s character — or anyone — could work for a year cleaning toilets, living inexpensively and saving as much as possible, and have enough funds for such a trip.
(Or, of course, assuming the journey might cost $3,000, you could always charge $300,000 on your new AmEx card and have the necessary loot saved for you automatically! Making the minimum monthly payments might be tough, however…)
AP: “Piggies swim in a pool during a piggy sports contest held in the Yaohai Park in Hefei, capital of east China’s Anhui Province, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Liu Bingsheng)”
(Note: “piggies”!?!)
(Via Robot Wisdom.)