http://www.grotto11.com/blog/ The Life of Brian: Macs, Tech, Politics, and Randomania en-us btman@grotto11.com A lot of people have been talking excitedly about how the iPhone/iPad paradigm has brought about the apogee of Flash's penetration into the web for basic site structure and navigation. What with the imminent ubiquity of HTML 5 and CSS 3, and the video delivery and animation effects they herald, and what with major media sites backing away from Flash content in order to cater to mobile users, it's been quite fashionable lately to claim that Flash is soon to be relegated to the web pages of history alongside clickable imagemaps and the blink tag. What's more, the same people are eagerly expecting that the iPad will usher in a shining new era of post-Flash web design, one where all the best and newest features are vibrantly supported and every site looks and works great.But I'm not so sure. Apple claims that the iPad's web experience will be the "best" you can get. And Flash aside, it's probably not far from it: intuitive tactile interaction, smooth zooming, pleasantly antialiased text, and cutting-edge HTML/CSS... http://www.grotto11.com/blog/archive/1267715321.shtml 2010-03-04T7:8:41-08:00 Wuh-oh. Looks like the USPS is reading the writing on the wall, and announcing some big changes in the era of FedEx and email... but it doesn't sound like much of a reason to celebrate. The Postal Service experienced a 13 percent drop in mail volume last fiscal year, more than double any previous decline, and lost $3.8 billion. The projections anticipate steeper drops in mail volume and revenue over the next 10 years, and mounting labor costs only complicate the agency's path to firm fiscal footing.In an effort to offset some of the losses, Potter seeks more flexibility in the coming year to set delivery schedules, prices and labor costs. The changes could mean an end to Saturday deliveries, longer delivery times for letters and packages, higher postage-stamp prices that exceed the rate of inflation, and the potential for future layoffs. So in order to keep the doors open, they're going to... eliminate Saturday deliveries and rapid, cheap first-class letter service.You know how they say that one of the... http://www.grotto11.com/blog/archive/1267547447.shtml 2010-03-02T8:30:47-08:00 Well, well. A true surprise at Geneva that nobody was expecting.This must be what they were talking about when they said Porsche in the post-Wiedeking era would be getting back to its pre-Panamera, pre-Cayenne roots: the 918 Spyder. Yeah. That's more like it.Oh wait: Yeah, no exhausts, because it's a HYBRID. A 500-hp hybrid, no less. What is it? A plug-in hybrid that Porsche says is capable of lapping the “Nordschleife of Nürburgring in less than 7:30 minutes, faster than even the Porsche Carrera GT.” What’s more, Porsche says fuel economy should be somewhere around 78 miles per gallon. How does it do it? The 918 Spyder concept is powered by a 500-horsepower gasoline V-8 and electric motors on the front and rear axle (the two electric motors make a combined 160 kilowatts of power, or the equivalent of 218 horsepower). Total power output is 718 horsepower. Porsche is not saying whether the 918 Spyder concept will go into production, but don’t bet against it. The technology is just too promising, the... http://www.grotto11.com/blog/archive/1267544765.shtml 2010-03-02T7:46:5-08:00 Clawing my way back to the surface here... No power outages that I could see, at least in my area; but the storm pretty much shut down all commerce for two days. Even the Taco Bell forgot to unlock its doors today, and it wasn't even snowing anymore. http://www.grotto11.com/blog/archive/1267325862.shtml 2010-02-27T18:57:42-08:00 <McCoy>Well this is fun.</McCoy> UPDATE: God dammit, can't a respectable news source hire writers with some command of the English language? The historic and record setting storm system that wrecked havoc in the Northeast has stalled near Long Island and will now slowly wind down through the rest of the weekend. That's WREAKED HAVOC, you illiterate ninny. GOD.And lately I've been driven to distraction by people who apparently never learned that "should of" is really "should have". I mean, hel-lo, do you know how verb tenses work? Or are you just repeating meaningless syllables the way you hear them, like a parrot? How do you go through life using tools without comprehending the principles of their function? http://www.grotto11.com/blog/archive/1267220381.shtml 2010-02-26T13:39:41-08:00