Where’s the Outrage?

The 2008 political campaign has been going on forever, yet it still has many months to go. Following the campaign can be a big waste of time. So-called “horse race” coverage is often stale within hours of dissemination. Can you imagine anything less relevant than an assessment from July 2004 about the John Kerry-George Bush race?

( Above is some real horse race coverage. The great Native Dancer on the cover of Time in 1954.)

I find that cable TV coverage is the biggest waste. It goes on and on. Yet rarely does it discuss anything other than the presidential race. The “analysts” say nothing that any regular follower of politics does not already grasp.

As for issues, 90 percent of the public knows full well how they will vote. And candidates gear positions to the political needs of the moment. I know a great deal of where they stand from simple party lines.

That said, I do keep up with events.

I get three newspapers each day at home. My local Houston Chronicle, The New York Times, and USA Today. [Read more →]

Tags: Books, Election 2008, Media by Texas Liberal
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Microsoft has tried and failed. Yahoo! is a shadow of its former self. Ask and the other search engines are bringing up the rear. So, can Anna Patterson, a former Google employee, make Google cry “Uncle”? Patterson may have built a better mouse trap but it is still going to be hard to unseat Google. After all, you don’t just search the web, you Google it!
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From CNN:

Anna Patterson’s last Internet search engine was so impressive that industry leader Google Inc. bought the technology in 2004 to upgrade its own system.

She believes her latest invention is even more valuable - only this time it’s not for sale.

Patterson instead intends to upstage Google, which she quit in 2006 to develop a more comprehensive and efficient way to scour the Internet.

The end result is Cuil, pronounced “cool.” Backed by $33 million in venture capital, the search engine plans to begin processing requests for the first time Monday.

Cuil had kept a low profile while Patterson, her husband, Tom Costello, and two other former Google engineers - Russell Power and Louis Monier - searched for better ways to search. (more… )

Tags: Blogging issues by ecthompson
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