I have been watching the results this election night and watching MSNBC and CNN call races. They have called Senate races for Democrats when the reported polls are showing the Democratic candidate losing. One case is Maryland where Michael Steele is leading, but they are saying that Cardin is going to win. They are not calling Senate races, except a few solid wins by the Republicans, for Republicans. They are being very cautious. They seem to be trying to solidfy the term of liberal media and ride a semi-Democratic wave tonight.
Navteq to Buy Traffic.com
Today, Navteq announced that it was going to buy Traffic.com for $179 million. Their goal is to bring maps to life.
My question is if they are going to do that, why are they buying Traffic.com? Traffic.com’s service is horrible. Here in Denver their reports are bad and generic. They tell you there is a problem, but not what the problem is and what to expect. They use a weird rating system to rate how bad the traffic is, but it is not relevant to anything and they don’t tell you how long it was going to take to get where you are going.
Navteq could have done better with different technology. Traffic.com is a site that should just go away.
Colorado Amendment 43 Ad is False
I have seen many different ads for politicians, amendments, and referendums. But this has got to be the worst one ever. It makes so many false claims, it is ridiculous. There is no way that this Amendment was put forward to create distractions away from other issues, including Iraq. This is the stupidest thing I have ever seen.
How you can the war in Iraq and say this Amendment was created to distract voters from that in this election takes it too far.
Only In Boulder – Running Naked down Pearl Street
This could only happen in Boulder, Colorado. In the story, “Naked frivolity heats up the night,” that ran in the Rocky Mountain News, over 100 people ran naked down Pearl Street with pumpkins on their head. With temperatures in the 20’s it must have been quite a cold night. I wonder how many drinks they had before they took off. It is amazing they didn’t all fall down.
Operation Education – The University of Idaho Does A Good Thing
The University of Idaho has done a good thing. It has launched Operation Education. Operation Education was launched on June 20, 2006 and was established US Military personnel who were severely or permanently disabled while serving our country since September 11, 2001 by providing an opportunity to earn a college degree.
The program provides funding that is not offered by the Federal Government and scholarships for the disabled veterans to attend the University of Idaho. It also provides opportunities for their spouse to attend college also on a scholarship.
According to the Universities news release, “The university will provide wounded veterans with financial support and resources – such as tuition, fees and books, on-campus housing, transportation, medical assistance, child care, adaptive equipment, tutoring and mentorship – at its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to assist veterans and their families as they re-enter civilian life. The university also has plans to partner with corporations around the country to offer internships and assist in job placement.”
Nothing beats giving our military an opportunity after a life-changing event and to give them some thanks for the sacrifices that they have made.
If you know of a person who was injured and is interested in attending college, let them know about this program. If you feel it in your hear to donate, please do.
Beware of the Key Bridge Marriott in Washington, DC
I recently just traveled for work to Washington, DC, and stayed at the Key Bridge Marriott. I had heard some good things and like its location near Georgetown and was looking at staying someplace new. But I was soon disappointed.
I had a corner room with a good view, one of my windows looking at the buildings of Rosslyn, VA, and windows looking across the Potomac towards Washington, DC. But this view soon disappeared because as soon as I turned the heat on, the windows fogged up with condensation and I couldn’t see anything. And the two windows leaked cold air like they were open.
The problem was that the fan that is supposed to exhaust the humid air from the bathroom, didn’t really work too well. The moisture just hung out in the room. The only way to clear the windows was to run the air conditioner while I was gone during the day. But as soon as I returned and turn the heat on, the windows fogged up.
The Key Bridge Marriott needs to get with it and improve the circulation in their hotel. Until they do, I wouldn’t recommend staying here. There are many other places to stay in Washington, DC, that provide a better room and service.
TWIT Will Return!
Thanks Leo and the TWITs for keeping This Week in Tech going. I think that it is one of the best netcasts and broadcasts (radio or internet) there is.
Thanks again and will be listening here in the Mile High City.
United Airlines Needs to Get a Clue!
United Airlines used to be one of the premier airlines in the country. But with the struggles and their money problems they have lost the focus of who they should be concentrating on, the customers.
On Friday night I had a flight back from Washington, DC, National Airport. It was raining in Washington, DC, but that should not have been a problem. But, United was flying a 757 and they had problems landing at National Airport. In fact, he tried three times to land and couldn’t manage to put it down. He had to go to Dulles Airport to get more fuel and then try and return. Well after all-of-that, we were about three hours late.
The customer service people did not feed us much information. Just that they tried to land three times and that we would be late. We were already an hour late and they were still saying that we were on-time on their website. They finally updated the time, but they never announced more information until it was on the ground.
But did United provide us with anything for being three hours late? NO! The reason was that it was weather. They could have provided a complimentary beverages or given us meal vouchers, but no. I felt bad for all of those who missed connections. At least United had rescheduled their flights and it looked like they were giving hotel vouchers. But for those whose flight ended in Denver, they got nothin.
All of the passengers were really frustrated. Giving someone a free beer or glass of wine would have gone a long way to making friends. But in this new world, they could give a crap about their passengers. How many are they going to lose because of this. Get a clue United!
Make Your Spouse Happy With Gadgets For Both of You…
For those of you who like gadgets, but get in trouble with your spouse when you buy them, might want to consider checking out CNET’s new review entitled “Fully whipped 2.0: Top products with high wife acceptance factor“.
I personally like the Slingbox. Maybe my wife would have some time to keep up with her shows when she travels. When she is at home, we are all too busy with kids and housework to try and keep up. But I think that she would like the IPod Nano so she has more music to listen to as she drives around for her job.
This is also a good article to get some good gift ideas.
Firefox 2.0 Rates a 10!
Well, it took quite a bit to install the new IE7. But just as hard as it was to install IE7, it was just as easy to install Firefox 2.0. All you need to do is to go to GetFirefox.com and download it. Once it downloads, in a few minutes, just open it up and it installs quickly. No closing your browser or having to reboot, like in IE7. It is quick, easy, and painless.
The visuals are updated and more polished. The interface is better and more intuitive.
As you can see from my IE7 post, it was a difficult install and took quite a bit to get it set up and running appropriately. Firefox 2.0 was completely different and a breeze. You can’t go wrong in installing Firefox 2.0.
If you don’t believe me, you can read a review on CNET and see their review, they made it their Editor’s Choice. Overall, it is being well received. See those blog posts that have been cataloged by Technorati.
Go Firefox!
Mile High Soapbox 