adage.com: Recent internal research by Procter & Gamble Co. indicates that consumers who fast-forward through ads with digital personal video recorders such as TiVo still recall those ads at roughly the same rates as people who see them at normal speed in real time. [...]"That's probably not an unusual finding based on the way people recall things," Mr. Schar said. "People hardly recall anything. So you're dealing with low numbers anyway, and differences with low numbers take a lot to be significant." [...]
P&G has in the past shared other TiVo research that found only about a third of TiVo users actually fast-forward through ads, (!!!) though fast-forwarding becomes more frequent the longer people use the PVR technology.
blipverts
space elevators again
Wired article on Highlift Systems. It's a pretty fluffy overview, but it does have a claim that they'll have a carbon nanotube ribbon strong enough for elevator use in 2-3 years:
On a recent day in his small office there, Edwards holds up a black strip 2 feet long. It's a prototype of the ribbon, hundreds of hairlike fibers strung together to distribute tension. The strip represents what could be Highlift's first commercial product, a nanotube composite four times stronger than steel. When it hits the market, it could be used to, for example, make superstrong tennis rackets, create cars and planes that are at once lighter and sturdier, and add decades of durability to infrastructure projects like bridges or freeways. Within two to three years, Highlift should have a material strong enough for the space elevator ribbon.
Tags: computers, mad science, space, the future
Current Music: Bozo Porno Circus -- Release the Kraken ♬
I think of this ad every friday night at DNA
Tags: dnalounge, parts, perversions
Current Music: My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult -- Ride The Mindway ♬
that's what happens when you kick over the clothespin hive
Tags: perversions, pranks
Current Music: My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult -- Ride The Mindway ♬
xscreensaver 4.09
Bouncing Cow is the funniest. Thing. Ever. I can't explain why it's so damned funny, but I just can't stop giggling every time it comes on.
"glslideshow" is a clone of the OSX slideshow screensaver, with the slow panning and the smooth fades. It's nice, but it will hurt you bad if you don't have hardware GL.
Tags: computers, firstperson, linux, mac, xscreensaver
Current Music: Ministry -- TV Song ♬
DNA Lounge: Wherein Shane has his records back.
False alarm!
It turns out that one of the other DJs walked off with Shane's bag by mistake, so he has his records back! Apparently the guy didn't even notice that he had a bunch of records that weren't his: Shane only figured it out when we spent an hour or two paging through 17G of webcam stills from the last couple hours of thursday night. Shane spotted a couple of shots of him packing up: one that showed Shane, the other DJ, and Shane's bag; then the next in which both the other DJ and the bag were no longer there. "Computer: enhance 34 to 46. Pull back. Track 45 left. Stop. Enhance 15 to 23. Give me a hard copy right there."
The Goldie show tonight was good. We were worried for a while about whether he was going to make it: he got hung up at an airport in Phoenix, apparently, and didn't make it to the club until after 1AM.
I really liked the records he was playing: very dark and menacing stuff. But the problem I have with a lot of jungle and drum-and-bass is that while I really, really like the music, I just cannot stand MCs, which so many d&b DJs feel the need to include. I was able to ignore them for a while, but it doesn't take long to reach the point where I'm thinking "will you please just shut up so I can hear the music." Especially since MCs always seem to be the sorts of logorrheic guys who just can't fathom letting 30 seconds go by without filling it with their voice. "Oh my god! Goldie y'all!" Yeah, we can see that. "Here comes another record!" Yeah, we can see that too. Also they always rap in exactly the same rhythm on every song, making all the songs indistinguishable. I finally left when I couldn't even perceive the music any more, just the MCs.
Though one of them was occasionally playing harmonica, which was cool, and something I hadn't seen before. It kinda worked, but I can't hear a harmonica without thinking of, like, Sanford and Son or something.
There was a girl here tonight who, I swear, didn't look a day over fifteen. So either A) I'm really getting old, or B) she had a remarkably convincing ID to have gotten past the door guys. It didn't allay my suspicion when I noticed that she was drinking a Long Island, the signature drink of amateurs and cheapskates.
