Matt’s Cuppa

Hatians eating dirt and the ethanol connection
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Glassbooth - Quiz to help you choose best 2008 presidential candidate

It’s definitely time to start thinking about who you’d like to see in the Oval Office next term. There is so much buzz out there by now about why this candidate is better than this one, but, to be a responsible voter, you really have to take it down to the level of where each candidate stands on each major issue. And that’s not easy. My biggest problem is where to start.

I first heard about Glassbooth.org on CNET’s Buzz Out Loud podcast, but, of course, I don’t remember which episode. Anyhow, Glassbooth has pretty much solved the “Where do I start?” problem. They start you off by asking you to weigh a number of major issues, and then they send you on to take a quiz. Once you’re finished, you’re shown the candidates that you are closest to, by percentage. You can drill down to see how similar their stance is to yours on each issue. Glassbooth.org does an awesome job at providing quotes from the candidates complete with links to original articles and videos.

I’ve been putting off digging through the piles and piles of internets full of political draggle trying to find a good summary of which candidates have values similar to mine. If you’ve been stalling like me, I highly recommend Glassbooth.org. However, I encourage you to use Glassbooth as a starting point for your political discovery rather than an end point. The more informed we are about our political choices, the more likely we are to put a quality candidate in office, regardless of our partisan leanings.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Flipping the Linux switch: Penguin on a (USB) stick - Download Squad

The two little distributions — Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux Not — have been chosen for their flexibility and very different approaches to the same issues.If you’re not willing to devote an entire machine to Linux, you might want to take a look at the next two Flip the Switch posts from DLS. I’ve mentioned both Puppy and Damn Small Linux on the old blog, and I’m sort of partial to Puppy at this point.

Don’t forget that either of these can be installed as a desktop OS on an older machine. I can say from personal experience that my Puppy box runs faster than my XP machine, requires less RAM, and crashes less, even though the Puppy box was purchased off the store shelf in 1998 and hasn’t been modified since!

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GreenPrint - new free edition saves you money and saves the trees - Download Squad

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I was feeling rather negative after my last post, so I made myself go out and find something out there that’s positive. 

With StickK, you literally draw up a contract that says that you will achieve a given goal. What I like most is that you can wager money that, if you choose, goes to charity if you fail.

stickK.com - Put a contract out on yourself!

Although you don’t really need a web application to create a contract for your goals, as their FAQ’s state:

In a word (make that two words): social psychology. Let’s say you sign
a contract promising to pay a friend a sum of money if you don’t
achieve your goal. Chances are, if you renege on your commitment
contract, your friend won’t take your money, or will be soft on you and
renegotiate the terms of the contract (after all, aren’t friends
supposed to be understanding?). Well, and don’t take this personally,
we’re not your friend. So we hold you to the contract!

A bit harsh perhaps, but probably effective. Anyone out there trying StickK?

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I spend a lot of time searching the internet and writing about unique web-based products. Call me cynical, but 1.) This is friggin’ morbid. 2.) If it’s that important, do something more than put it in an email. 3.) It would creep me out if I got an email from a dead person.

I’m a bit disturbed that this is an attempt at a serious business venture.

 
Record your last words, last messages, last wishes,last will: leave departing messages

MyLasteMail.com is a unique service whereby you can record your last words, your last message or last wishes to be conveyed to any one you nominate after your death in order to leave your departing messages for your love ones. Your final message will be delivered to the one you wish. After departing, message from the grave can be a great relief to the ones you leave behind.

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Popularity: 13% [?]

web20_generator

Looking for the next Web 2.0 innovation to take to your investors? Let this little web app come up with your next big web app!

Popularity: 14% [?]

Testing typeroom lite beta
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REI Woodland Vest - Men’s from REI.com

After our cold snap last week, I have to rave about this vest from REI. I’ve been looking for over a year for a good vest that I can wear under a coat, since layers are a must for surviving the Minnesota winter. I got this one from REI as a Christmas gift.

The fabric contains 85% recycled polyester and is a part of REI’s eco-friendly initiative to find better and more efficient materials and manufacturing processes. And it is so freaking warm! Last week, when I was waiting for the train and the temp was below zero, I swear I was the only one in the state that didn’t have to thaw their internal organs after coming inside. Thirteen degrees below zero is cold no matter how many pairs of underwear you have on, but I survived, thanks to my eco-friendly REI polar fleece vest! Disclaimer: I’m an REI member.

Popularity: 14% [?]

A first look at Mobile Firefox - Download Squad

Mozilla has just revealed a first look at its new Mobile Firefox interface.

I am truly looking forward to the release of Mobile Firefox. I wrote glowing reviews of the Opera mobile browser, but have since become disillusioned. Mainly because the feature I raved about, the ability to switch between a horizontal and vertical screen view, stopped working on my phone as soon as it went out of beta, In fact, the whole application has been behaving pretty crappily since I ditched the beta copy for the release version…

Now that I think about it, what would be really really exciting to me is if Sprint offered Mobile Firefox as a native browser on their phones instead of their current proprietary basically-functional-but-less-than-exciting mobile browser. But I’m sure that’s purely wishful thinking.

If you, like me, can’t wait any longer to play with Mobile Firefox, you can now download the emulator here. It feels a bit like sitting behind the wheel of your parents’ car when you were six and pretending you’re flying down the freeway when you are, in fact, still in the safety of the garage, but it means that running Firefox on your phone is one step closer to reality.

Popularity: 23% [?]