The Modernish Father

Here’s a quick look at what I was reading online from June 5th to June 19th:

Is this the beginning of the end for Formula One?
Formula One's future was in turmoil Friday after Ferrari, McLaren and six other teams announced plans for a rival series following the collapse of heated negotiations with the sport's organizers over a budget cap for next season. Didn't they learn anything from watching the CART/IRL debacle in North America?
Tags: forumla1

Houston Airport System calls salary data a national security issue
The folks who run Hobby and Intercontinental are fighting an Open Records Act request for salary information on the grounds that it might compromise national security. That's also why they lose your luggage and charge $13 for a tuna sandwich.
Tags: texas houston travel stupid

Only 15 people show up for Letterman protest
Sometimes where there's smoke, there's… just smoke. In a city of millions, only 15 people showed up for a "rally" against David Letterman – about twenty people fewer than the assembled media.
Tags: television new_york politics republicans

It’s time for saying goodbye
A look at how some of the channels in Houston handled the cut-off of their analog signals. Notice that the big four affiliates did what they do best – turn into a cheesy local news piece. Major props to Ch. 39 for doing nothing and just cutting off some preacher dude right in the middle of his sales pitch.
Tags: texas houston television media technology

New Coke machines know what you’re drinking
Coca-Cola is rolling out a new fountain machine that not only offers a much wider selection of drink options for customers, it also keeps track of inventory and consumption data – all of which is sent back to Coke HQ each night. Coke believes the new machines will allow them to test a greater number of experimental products more quickly and efficiently than bottling them for specific test markets.
Tags: business technology food coca_cola

Study finds a ‘tiny chance’ of planet collision in our solar system
Astronomers have carried out more than 2,500 simulations to show how orbits of planets might evolve billions of years into the future and the verdict is: potentially not pretty. In very small number of their sims, the Earth collides with Venus or Mars. Or Venus and Mercury collide. Or Mars gets ejected from the solar system. Fun stuff. Fortunately, not very likely and most definitely a long, long ways off.
Tags: science space earth mars jupiter venus mercury

Astros find a new way to disappoint
As Major League Baseball does all it can to get recession-strapped fans through the turnstiles, a day at 29 of 30 MLB ballparks includes the option of bringing your own sandwiches, snacks, bottled water, soft drinks or, in some cases, all of the above. And the lone holdout who's charging folks for anything and everything? That's right – Uncle Drayton and his retractable-top temple in downtown Houston.
Tags: business mlb astros food

‘World’s cheapest car’ coming to United States
Finally, parents of sextuplets will be able to afford a brand-new car for each of their kids when they turn 16. Wonder how much they'll be worth used?
Tags: business automobile india

Twitter hype punctured by study
Harvard researchers have finally quantified what a lot of us have been suspecting – despite its staggering growth, Twitter is still largely the domain of early-adopters, technophiles and spammers. More than half of Twitter accounts are updated less than five times a year and just 10% of users are generating 90% of the content.
Tags: twitter technology

Swedish pirates capture seat in European Parliament
Avast ye mateys! The Swedish Pirate Party – which is focused on reforming copyright and patent law and is named after the besieged Swedish file-sharing site The Pirate Bay – was able to capture 7.1% of their country's votes, giving them a seat at the table.
Tags: sweden eu politics technology

Middle Eastern prince orders a jet fit for a Bond villian
Any chump with hundreds of millions of dollars can buy an Airbus 380 for use as a private jet. Adding a garage, Turkish bath, virtual prayer mats, a concert hall and a room with a giant screen on the floor showing you what you're flying over – that's what separates the big boys from the wannabes.
Tags: travel technology

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