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26 Aug 2009 21:26

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U.S.: When Mass. last had an open Senate seat, leg warmers were popular

  • 25 years since both Senate seats weren’t filled by somebody source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Aug 2009 21:17

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U.S.: Mark Sanford: You South Carolina sons of #(^@&! are stuck with me

  • I’m not going to be railroaded out of this office by political opponents or people who were not fans of mine in the first place.
  • South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford • In remarks regarding his status in office after Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer (who, like Sanford, is a Republican) pushed for the governor to resign. We wish that the lieutenant governor were Andre Braugher. He’s a great actor, not a guy plotting against a governor who hasn’t broken any laws. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Aug 2009 21:01

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Biz, World: IKEA changed their fonts to reach Chinese *yawn* customers

Futura didn’t have an extended character set like Verdana does. How do the Chinese repay them? By loitering in their stores. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Aug 2009 20:46

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Biz: Verdana is not a font. We repeat, IKEA: Verdana is not a font.

The 2010 IKEA catalog

Verdana is a mistake. With all apologies to noted typographer Matthew Carter (who we saw speak a couple of years ago and have a lot of respect for), Microsoft has ruined his most well-known font. Its use has become such a sign of amateurism that we consider it a mistake. So its usage in the IKEA catalog, above, requires us to complain. Loudly.
  • Where it looks good Microsoft’s Web site. Internet Explorer interfaces. Computer screens. Body type. That’s about it. source
  • Where it looks good Microsoft’s Web site. Internet Explorer interfaces. Computer screens. Body type. That’s about it.
  • Where it looks bad Just about everywhere the IKEA catalog uses it. Big type. Bad tracking. The kerning sucks. The corners that make the font so distinctive turn in ways that scream personality in all the wrong ways. The catalog looks like something a first year design student at ITT Tech would make, which is the harshest criticism we could come up with. It looks like the font blew out when the catalogs were being printed. source
  • Where it looks good Microsoft’s Web site. Internet Explorer interfaces. Computer screens. Body type. That’s about it.
  • Where it looks bad Just about everywhere the IKEA catalog uses it. Big type. Bad tracking. The kerning sucks. The corners that make the font so distinctive turn in ways that scream personality in all the wrong ways. The catalog looks like something a first year design student at ITT Tech would make, which is the harshest criticism we could come up with. It looks like the font blew out when the catalogs were being printed.
  • The font in context Carter designed this typeface (along with Tahoma and Georgia) for a specific purpose in 1994 – to look good on a computer screen. A lot has changed since 1994. Most notably, we use LCD screens, not CRTs. Improved font rendering makes screens look nearly as good as print. We don’t need Verdana anymore. IKEA needs Futura, an iconic font it used for 50 years. Stupid Swedes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 14 Comments • Permalink

26 Aug 2009 11:24

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Sports: The Humane Society’s new spokesman: Michael Vick. PETA, take notes

  • This is how you should handle a PR disaster like Michael Vick. Don’t call him a d-bag in the press: Everyone knows he is one. Instead, give the dude a chance to show that he can rehab his public image. Kudos to the Humane Society for realizing it. Bad on PETA for screwing this golden opportunity up.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

26 Aug 2009 11:16

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Biz: New home sales bounced back big-time in July

  • 9.6% jump in new home sales, the biggest in four years source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Aug 2009 11:11

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World: Who is #GiladShalit, and why is he trending on Twitter?

  • For more than three years, Gilad Shalit has been held hostage. It is believed he is being held somewhere in Southern Gaza. Since his capture, his parents have received three handwritten letters from him.
  • A petition letter from the Jewish Agency for Israel • Regarding the status of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli prisoner of war who has been prevented contact with his family over three years. This was part of a coordinated campaign to get Shalit’s hashtag to become one of Twitter’s trending topics, and it worked. He’s now only below Sen. Ted Kennedy, plus we learned something new. This is the new activism, kids. Take notes. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 

26 Aug 2009 11:01

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Tech: Teens don’t Tweet, MySpace or Facebook more than the rest of us

  • of Twitter users are aged between 12 and 17, a study says source
  • of MySpace users fit into that preteen age group source
  • of Facebook users can say they’re, like, teens source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Aug 2009 10:50

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Biz, U.S.: A giant business lobby wants a Scopes trial for global warming

  • The U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Full of jerks who hate science. When millions of businesses band together under one massive umbrella to fend off scientific theories with lots of evidence, expect people like us to take notice. The massive business lobby, trying to avoid tightened emissions regulations, wants to have the Environmental Protection Agency to hold a trial on man-made global warming. We hope, just like the Scopes trial, it’s a circus. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

26 Aug 2009 10:41

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U.S.: Solomon Jackson Jr. grinning like he won $260 million in the lottery

Jackson, who’s truly excited right now, says that he plans to give at least some his Powerball winnings back to those who need it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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