Looking for a new place to live sucks. We’ve all dealt with this so I don’t need to say anything more. Looking for a new place with a significant other adds another dimension of pain er… complexity to the process.

Luckily Craigslist is there with its world-beating number of listings all of which are free to be browsed and in my case, shared via email with my girlfriend.

By necessity this means using the email this listing to a friend feature as this is one of the fastest ways to do this (short of cutting and pasting urls into an email which I guess I could do but that would defeat the point of this post).

The problem is the location of the buttons on this page and the way they want to direct you once you’ve completed the process.

Here’s what I mean. The “email this listing to a friend” button (link) is at the upper right-hand corner of the window. The fields to enter the to and from email information is on the middle left. Do this long mouse move enough times and it gets annoying – why can’t the email this to a friend link be closer to where you enter the required data (or vice versa?)

Further, once you have sent the email the only link that Craigslist presents you with is one to go back to the listing. The problem is that in order to go back to your list of results you then would have to go back in your browser, through the entire email a friend process in reverse in order to return to your original list.

Just think how many additional clicks this is costing users if many of them want to see results again after sharing a listing with someone.

By the way, I wanted to share this feedback directly with the CL feedback forums but if you’ve ever tried to navigate them it simply takes too much time for someone that’s busy at least it was for me.

Any other ideas like this out there? What bugs you most with sites (or products) you use all the time?

Recently, I’ve been working with a new tool that I think anyone that uses the web regularly is really going to appreciate: Pearltrees.

The company – which is based in France – has been developing this tool for a few years but in the last few days they have released their latest version and in my opinion it is now ready for prime time.

In a nutshell, Pearltrees allows you to very quickly and easily discover, organize and share the things you find on the web. This tool, which is truly a social web curation and collaboration tool, will enable you to quickly see a whole constellation of content specifically related to a post. More importantly, as additional links (or Pearls) are added to the original Pearltree, the tree in the post is updated in realtime making each Pearltree on a given topic a living reference to that topic. Furthermore, if you sign up for Pearltrees yourself, you can “pick” any specific Pearl or Pearltree you like from anyone else and then add it to your own personal Pearltrees content. Then, when the original creator of any Pearltree you picked adds content to that Pearltree, your own Pearltree is automatically updated with this new content. It’s a great way to drill down on a topic, to find people that share your interests and it’s also one of the fastest and easiest ways you’ll ever find to quickly and conveniently organize and share all the interesting stuff you discover while browsing the web.

For many, the most difficult thing about Pearltrees is understanding what it is and how it works without actually seeing it in action. Luckily, the new release has a feature that not only solves this problem it also makes this tool a new, and possibly indispensable new addition to any blogger’s arsenal.

Rather than try to explain in any more detail than I already have above, I thought that actually showing you a Pearltree that I’ve created would be one of the best ways for you to get familiar with what Pearltrees is and more importantly how it can help you organize content you have found, discover new content related to your interests, and finally share that content in a variety of ways.

Here’s what a Pearltree looks like:

As you can see, this is a Pearltree on Biofuel. When you look at it initially you are seeing a central structure with “Pearls” radiating off from it. Each of these individual Pearls is a URL (link) that the creator of the original tree has already placed within this tree – hopefully because it bears relation to the rest of the content in the tree.

By clicking any of these Pearls you’ll see an overlay appear on the site at which you are viewing the content. This overlay has the same controls as the actual Pearltrees site itself. These controls allow you to browse through the links one-by-one, to comment on the links or to “pick” a single Pearl or even the entire tree. This latter functionality requires that you create your own Pearltrees account (which is free).

When you pick someone else’s Pearltree you can choose where in your own Pearltrees account you’d like to place it. Once you do this a couple of cool things happens. First, the creator of the original Pearltree is notified that someone has picked one of his or her Pearls and secondly, as the original creator modifies that particular Pearltree (and most interestingly adds new Pearls to it), those updates appear simultaneously on the Pearltree you’ve added to your own account. In many respects “Picking a Pearltree” is like subscribing to an RSS feed only it’s visual – and providing that the creator is curating the content in a logical fashion – it is likely to be highly relevant to the primary topic of the tree.

There are a bunch of other really cool features associated with this new release. These include immediate notifications (both within Pearltrees itself and via email and eventually other modalities) as to when someone else picked one of your Pearltrees or commented on something in your account.

Beyond this, the new release features much improved navigation a short but very informative video on how you can get started using Pearltrees yourself and a much improved search algorithm. This last is really cool. When you enter a search term in the search box you’ll immediately see that lots of other Pearls congregate on your screen. The closer a Pearl is to the center of the screen the more closely related it is to your search.

The other way you can search is even more interesting. When you are browsing within your own account and you select an individual Pearltree you’ll see a small black “Pearl” right next to the Pearl you’ve selected. Clicking this will cause Pearltrees to perform a search that relates specifically to the content that you’ve already “Pearled”. This is the “discovery” part of the tool that I think people will find really interesting and useful. That’s because the search results this type of activity yields will give you a look at other people’s Pearltrees that are likely closely related to exactly what you find interesting.

One way to think of Pearltrees is like a very sophisticated, visually driven version of Delicio.us but with a much more socially oriented and collaborative way of discovering content and sharing new stuff you’ve found.

For content creators, embedding a Pearltree in your blog post or article will allow you to provide much more information, better context and a very interesting user experience to your readers while at the same time keeping them on your site.

As an example of how this could be used, think about websites that track celebrities. The owner of the site could create a Pearltree for each celeb they cover on that celebrity’s profile page. Then as things related to that celebrity are posted on the web the site-owner could add those links to that celebrity’s Pearltree. Not only will this provide a lot more information about the person, but people interested in news about that celebrity will be able to get that news all in one place. By maintaining the tree and keeping it current you will give people a reason to come back to your site over and over as new information is added.

There’s even more to Pearltrees than I’ve covered here but the best way to really understand what it does and how you can use it for browsing, blogging, research and more is simply to create your own account and get started using it.

As someone with a focus on social media I think this is a development that pushes social media in a new and exciting direction, one that has tremendous value to just about anyone that spends time browsing the web but especially for people that deal with lots of information and most particularly for people that want to share that information in a new, collaborative and highly effective way.

Good news: It was a normal day in  Sharon  Springs, Kansas when a Union Pacific
crew boarded a loaded coal train for the 234 miles trek to Salina .

The Bad news: Just a few miles into the trip a wheel bearing became overheated
and melted, letting a metal support drop down and grind on the rail, creating
white hot molten metal droppings spewing down to the rail.

The Good news: A very alert crew noticed smoke about halfway back in the
train and immediately stopped the train in compliance with the rules.

The Bad news: The train stopped with the hot wheel over a wooden bridge
with creosote ties and trusses.

The crew tried to explain to higher-ups but were instructed not to move the train!

They were instructed Rules prohibit moving the train when a part is defective!

RULES IS RULES!

(Don’t let common sense get in the way of a good disaster!)

Vengeance is My Name

I’m dark and I’m dirty,
I’m hungry and alone
The concrete’s hard beneath my back
The cold wind chills my bones

I wasn’t always like this I didn’t call this sidewalk home
I had a wife we had two children
And a house we’d made our own

I never thought that it could happen
Never dreamed in my worst dreams
That I’d lose what I loved most
Or have to hear their screams

Tried to drink away the sadness
Tried to drug away the pain
I tried to kill the past or kill myself
I tried to dowse the flame

But if you see into my heart
It burns there just the same
It burns white hot with hatred
It crackles with my rage
It paces like a tiger, restless in its cage

It drove me to this madness
And it left me in this place
It burned a hole right through me
It vaporized my faith

I’m cut loose from my moorings
Lost my compass and my map
My perfect storm is howling
And I’m about to snap

I’ve asked the gods and asked myself
How much can one man take
I’ve asked myself and asked the gods
When will I finally break

But only the wind answers
I can hear it call my name
Except that I don’t speak its language
Or understand its game

I know that I look broken
And I guess it’s likely true
But I’ve never been a quitter
When I’ve got work to do

The knife I’ve got is razor sharp
I’m loaded and I’m locked
I’m well prepared for violence
I’m watching like a hawk

Don’t think that I don’t see you
Even though you don’t see me
This grime is just my camouflage
The mask I wear ain’t me

So I’m waiting for my moment
Waiting til the time is right
I’ve got nothing if not patience
I will get you in my sights

You’ll never hear me coming
You won’t have time to scream
Your life won’t flash before your eyes
A white light won’t be seen

I’ll wipe you from this planet
And you’re going straight to hell
But I don’t think you’ll be lonely
Cause I’m going there as well

Though I might not come directly
There is still so much to do
I’ve got to find the others, the others such as you.

You can warn them that I’m coming
You can tell them that I’m near
But this will never stop me
Nor move me from path
I’ve dug the graves for each of us
I’ve crushed the grapes of wrath

See my hands are steady
And I know what I must do
My heart is set on bloodshed
The first victim is you

Don’t think that makes you special, privileged or unique.
My list is long with targets cause it’s revenge I seek

Although my body’s weary
Although my soul aches
I’m driven by my madness
And the lives I’ve vowed to take

I’ll sleep well when it’s over
When I put to bed this pain
Until then I’ll keep hunting
Cause vengeance is my name

I’m going to put big money on an affirmative.  That is unless we, the people, do something to prevent it.  From “The Pen”

Impeach Bush Before He Pardons Himself

According to Seymour Hersh there is a conga line of insiders waiting
until January 20th to spill the beans on the gross criminality of the
Bush/Cheney administration. Waiting . . . because if they did it now
the two of them would be tarred and feathered on the way out the
door.

But we the people do not have to wait. We can and must demand the
immediate impeachment of both Bush and Cheney for what is already
known. At the very least the defiance of congressional subpoenas at
the behest of the White House is an open and shut case for
accountability now.

Impeach Now Action Page: http://www.usalone.com/impeach_now.php

Because as his final constitutional insult, his final spit in the
face to the American people and all rule of law, it is transparently
obvious that Bush is planning the most wholesale and wrongful pardon
of the worst political criminals in American history, his whole
criminal gang, INCLUDING himself.

And don’t think that is not their precise plan. Please, what power
has Bush NOT abused? What heinous, self-serving, shameless and
dishonest act has he ever shied away from, when he was torturing and
eavesdropping and lying us into wars of corporate aggression. Does
anyone doubt that is what he is planning on doing?

And when you submit this action page, you will have one last chance
to get one of the “Impeach Both!!!” caps, which after January 20th
will no longer be available from us for love or for money.

Impeach Now Action Page: http://www.usalone.com/impeach_now.php

Will Congress now act? That is not the yardstick of the worth of our
activism. We speak out because we must speak out, whether we are
heeded or not. Let history record that we spoke out until the last
minute to the eternal shame of those who did not. Because when enough
of us speak out at once, the worst thing that can possibly happen is
that we are building the progressive base for the REAL change of the
future.

So Bush most certainly is planning on pardoning himself. And all the
right wing lock down ideologues in the corporate controlled media
will call it “healing”. Let’s all make nice with war criminals? Shall
we all make nice with the gang rape of our economy, our environment
and our Constitution? We think not.

And one more thing. You know that come January 20th the right wing
will start calling for the impeachment of our new president, over a
endless litany of the most ridiculous of trivial trifles. In fact it
has already started even though he has not even taken office. If they
are so hot on impeaching someone, let them speak out now, when it
truly is called for, or shut the hell up in 73 days.

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed
to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.

If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at
http://www.usalone.com/in.htm

I’m not a guy that’s driven to review movies. Generally speaking, I figure that my taste and my opinion don’t matter much to other folks when it comes to cinema; and when you consider that I’ve lived in LA for the better part of the last decade yet still regularly fail to identify celebrities when they’re sitting at the next table in a restaurant there are certainly loads of people better qualified than I to provide general cinematic criticism.

So why this film?  It isn’t the special effects. They’re only average. The dialog is decent but by no means exceptional.  The score is very good – perhaps a bit too noticeable at times but well chosen and interesting. The casting is good – the characters seem to fit the roles and vice-versa.  The plot is definitely clever and the pace is reasonable.  Hancock is smarter than your typical comedy too.  There’s an emotional undercurrent in this movie that makes it much more interesting than your run of the mill summer comedy.

So why, given that what I’ve written above seems to indicate that this movie is perhaps just slightly better than average would I  offer a sincere recommendation to you to see this movie – even if it is the sole move you see at a theatre all summer?

There’s a simple reason, really.  Will Smith.  Make no mistake about it.  Will’s potrayal of this lonely, conflicted, non-communicative super hero is an acting tour de force plain and simple.  If this moview were of a more dramatic rather than comic bent Smith would be on everyone’s list for an Academy Award.  As it stands, in spite of the problems presented by giving the best actor nod to a lead in a comedy, he still might get the Oscar.  He’s that good.

Smith is so good in fact that I realized while I was watching the film that I was seeing a truly great actor at the peak of his skills.  His scowl, his puzzled expression, the waft of his hand under a barrage of critism, his look of puzzlement when he’s complemented instead of derided – the small gestures, the pursed lips, the furled brow- they simply work and make this film so much greater than the sum of all of its other parts.

I’ve always enjoyed Will Smith.  His easy, engaging, accessible humor and the fun, avant garde roles he selects have kept him within striking distance of my favorite actors and films for years but with this role he makes the leap from near the head of the line to far beyond it.

This is a movie well worth seeing in the theatre.  It’s a film that you can enjoy with friends or with your kids.  It’s lighhearted and silly but deep enough that you get to see what a master craftsman does with a role that requires extreme overacting yet subtle, nuanced acting in the same role at the same time.  Few people could pull off such a task yet Smith does so brilliantly.

It’s so good I’ve already seen it twice and it was even better the second time.  As I said at the beginning of this post, I don’t make a habit of reviewing films  or even making reccommendations to friends – but then again, I rarely see a movie where I was so impressed by an individual actor as I am with Smith in Hancock.  Hopefully, those of you that take my advice and see this movie will enjoy it asuch as I did.  Either way, please let me know what you think in the comments.

Have you ever been THIS BRAVE? I haven’t.

I was browsing videos on disclose TV recently and came across a rather bizarre clip. In the clip, which is being shot by the passenger in a vehicle headed down the highway, everything appears normal when suddenly, something falls from the sky and slams into the car’s windshield. The driver apparently panics and as a result loses control of the vehicle and wrecks the car.

We do not know if the individual’s in the automobile were injured, killed or lucky and remained unharmed. What we do know, thanks to video editing software and the fine features of a Macbook Pro are that the “entity” that fell from the sky was a cat. (as the images below which are frame grabs of the video clearly show. We have no idea, whatsoever, how this particular cat came to be so substantially airborne that it needed a parachute and a better choice of locations for its landing. (I do not believe it fell from the overpass which should have been well behind the car. This leaves it open to several possibilities: high tension wires? Falling from an aircraft? Dropped by a large bird of prey? Released after alien testing? New species of cat that can fly but needs work on coming down? Your guess is as good as mine…

This is a fairly unusual post, but then I find myself living in unusual circumstances at this time and thus I suppose it makes sense to use any means at my disposal to accomplish my goals.

I am currently in need of excellent legal council to pursue a number of claims against several unrelated parties. While I am reluctant to detail these issues in this public forum, the topics that need to be addressed relate to legal ethics and the California BAR as well as legal malpractice, retention of confidential business documents, employment law and unpaid wages, privacy at work and breach of fiduciary responsibility. I also have a breached consulting contract claim.

The majority of these issues (they are not all related) are likely to be decided in Northern and also in Southern California, however one cause of action; the breach of contract and non-payment is most likely to be adjudicated in the United Kingdom. I realize that I will need to retain a solicitor in the UK for this action but believe that having representation here to help identify council and review the proceedings would be in my best interest.

Please contact me directly if you have interest in pursuing this work. either at my current email address: oliver @ <remove-this-first>owstarr.com or via phone at 310-779-9816 or 415-704-4544

I look forward to speaking with anyone whom feels they are up to this challenging task and is ready to get started on it right away.

Thanks.