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Disposable Objects 26

The Truth about BLOGS
OK, so maybe we’re a bit behind the times here on DNJ, but when Jeff Prosise of Wintellect sent us the URL to his ‘blog’, we were baffled. Turns out to be shorthand for a ‘Weblog’, in this case of Jeff’s efforts to write his sixth “and probably final” book for Microsoft Press, tentatively titled Programming Microsoft .NET. Started on 13 July, the blog was running to nearly 4,000 words by 12 Aug, by which time he had just finished work on Chapter 2 (or, to be more accurate, he’d just returned from a week’s holiday in Grand Cayman).
     You can check out Jeff’s blog at www.wintellect.com/instructors/prosise/blog/, but if you really want to explore the blog micro-culture, point your browser at www.blogyou.com. Here you will discover the Consumer’s Guide to Weblogs, the history of the Blog-A-Thon. and the mysteries of the Sutherland rating system. Weblogs are rated on a four Sutherland system, ranging from four Donalds (equivalent in artistic merit to MASH or Ordinary People) down to one Kiefer, described as “not so much a rating as a dire warning.”
     Why Donald Sutherland? Well, to quote the site, “This may have a good deal to do with Mr. Sutherland's quite frightening visage and his downright creepiness. In utilizing Mr. Sutherland for our rating system, we wish to apply the same dogged and dangerous presence that Mr. Sutherland exudes in his performances.”

enchmarks
Just to prove that the Americans don’t have the monopoly on zany behaviour, we are pleased to report from the St Edmundsbury Borough Council web site, where we discover the World’s first Internet park bench, sponsored by MSN. This may look like an ordinary park bench, situated in the Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds, but behind its wood exterior it hides four dial-up Internet connections. Apparently it’s already been hacked - two youths discovered they could make free international calls from the bench and tried to phone Bill Gates. In their favour, they did inform the council of the blunder, and the bench is now restricted to local calls only. For further details see www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk.

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