Facebook Comments - I'm my own Grandpa

The hoped-for grand unification theory for comments still eludes us. Here's what I've found based on a few tests. (Thanks, MattB, for your help.)

• I have my blog feed sent to Facebook via the Facebook Notes feature. So, each new blog post shows up as a complete item on my Facebook wall.
• When a reader comments on the post as it appears on www.roasterboy.com, the comments appear with the post and on my Facebook wall. There may be a time delay of a few minutes or more before the comments appear in both places. 
• Comments made in the comment thread on Facebook eventually appear on the original post as well, although that synchronization can take a bit longer.
• None of these comments is connected to the Notes item. 
• A link to the original blog post is not displayed on my Facebook wall. So, friends would only see the comments. They'd not see the original post unless they clicked on a link the Facebook comment thread. 

Not only that, but it's easy to get caught up in a vortex of integration. For example, when I view my blog post, as displayed on Facebook, I'm given the option to share the item on Facebook.

Happy 10th Birthday, Rocco

Too much excitement

Testing Facebook comments

I've enabled Facebook comments on my blog posts. As a result, if you post a comment, it will show up on this post's page and also on my Facebook page. This will reduce the amount of fake comments because only people with Facebook accounts can post comments.
I realize that this may pose a problem for those who don't have Facebook accounts or who don't wish to use them. Please bear with me during this experiment. I've also seen that, in the past few months, all of the people who've commented directly on the blog posts (on the Roasterboy site) are already Facebook friends.

Charlie Sheen, WCVB, and CBS

A few thoughts as Charlie brings his parade wagon of crazy from town to town:

• I've known guys like Charlie - good-looking, talented enough, articulate, energetic. Most of them are dead. They hit their resonance frequency, that point at which the energy in their systems was too great for the forces that could hold them together, as though they're driving their cars over the event horizon and into a black hole. I don't know what more can be done to help him, except that I am not interested in sitting in the passenger seat with him.
• I heard a long time ago that the media don't tell us what to think, but they tell us what to think about. The comparative sensible WCVB anchor Ed Harding said during yesterday's early evening news that we must clear away any other plans we have for 10PM because there's going to be a special on Charlie Sheen at that hour. Well, Ed, I didn't watch the special and I'm not going to watch your show, either. People are dying for peace and justice in north Africa. People are dying because of earthquakes and floods and hunger and disease and this is the best you've got?
• As someone on Twitter noted, CBS stuck by Sheen when he beat up his girl friend and only suspended the show when he criticized the network. 

I wouldn't give Charlie much thought at all, except that I recognize in him too many friends. He's on fire and the media says to him, "Here, hold this can of gasoline while I get my camera."

Google and the inland whale

Google has recently revamped its search algorithms in an effort to deliver higher quality results. This follows a drumbeat of complaints during the latter part of last year. The tech press was confirming what we'd been suspecting: some companies were gaming Google to have their content placed higher on the prized first page of search results.
Normally, Google is quiet about how they do what they do. They go about their nerdly business, refining their current products and letting new products and features drift out without much fanfare. This is the natural temperament for engineering-driven companies, letting the work speak for itself.
It's also a very dangerous business strategy for a couple of reasons. Good products, even the best products, need marketing in the better sense of the word. Work generally only speaks for itself to like-minded audiences. Digital built incomparably wonderful products based on technological concepts decades ahead of popular acceptance. Digital is now in a museum where people wonder what could have been. AltaVista, DEC's pioneering search engine, was a showcase for its hardware's prowess. It was so underappreciated that it was several after it was too late before they could get their own domain name.
The other reason that an engineering focus is troublesome is that it can be insular. Marketing, when done well, brings in fresh ideas as well promoting products and services. Marketing identifies the problems that current or potential customers are trying to solve. Without that stream of fresh water, companies build what's interesting to themselves. (See  AltaVista.)
Google is trying to learn some of those lessons. They've put Matt Cutts, a senior engineer at Google, as the public face for the company's campaign to showcase better search results. (See Official Google Blog: Finding more high-quality sites in search .)
A major part of Google's reworked search techniques is an effort to deal with what are termed content farms: web sites that gather mediocre content and, through a variety of techniques, promote the hell out of them so that their search rank is typically in the top 20. The recent IPO of Demand Media, widely regarded as the major farmer in this content area, has heighten the stakes. (See Fast Company's of Demand Media The Answer Factory: Demand Media and the Fast, Disposable, and Profitable as Hell Media Model | Magazine for more insight into the their strategy and tactics.)
So the battle is joined - Google trying to provide old-school, curated, high-quality search results against content companies who are cranking out truckloads of good-enough material.
Google has retaken control, for now, although not in all arenas. Recently, I needed to find a few pictures of Phillipston, Mass. A Google search for Phillipston MA brought some pretty good results. Pretty good results. For example, the Phillipston, MA - Local Guide to the Town site included this photo in its gallery of Phillipston pictures:

I can't wait until the ice goes out from the lake so we can go whale watching.

Crime in suburbia

From The Landmark (subscription required):
[Editor's note: There were 9 suspicious items this week.
Holden
Monday, February 14
9:37 a.m. Male destroyed camera when clerk wouldn’t sell him cigarettes because he didn’t have an ID, Main St.
10:58 a.m. Police out on Newell Rd. regarding loose dog
12:40 p.m. Follow-up investigation from previous call, business on Main St
2:55 p.m. Male stumbling and falling, Main St.
3:18 p.m. Male lying in roadway, Zottoli Rd.
5:13 p.m. Female in lobby requesting to speak with officer about unruly son, Main St.
8:29 p.m. Suspicious activity in vehicle with condoms all around the vehicle, Main St., Jefferson
Tuesday, February 15
12:32 a.m. Trash barrel in road, Wachusett St.
5:15 a.m. Report of school bus being driven erratically, stopping in middle of  road, Wachusett/Quinapoxet Sts.
5:26 a.m. Unattended vehicle with motor running, Wachusett St.
4:30 p.m. Person at station to discuss no-trespass order, Old Broad St.
8:55 p.m. Vehicle with flashers on, Malden/Chapel Sts.
10:38 p.m. Suspicious incident, male jumped out of vehicle, Main St./Adams Rd.
Wednesday, February 16
9:44 a.m. Assist store personnel with citation question, Main/Reservoir Sts.
9:50 a.m. License plate found in library parking lot
12:38 p.m. Older male going through mailboxes and trash cans, Main St.
1:39 p.m. Failure to license dog, Brennan Way
7:07 p.m. Male came to door asking to use bathroom, Hawthorne Rd.
9:06 p.m. Police out with person on motorized bike, Main St.
Thursday, February 17
1:11 a.m. Report that two female teens sneaked out of house, Holden St.
2:25 a.m. Suspicious vehicle in parking lot of business, Doyle/Wendover Rds.
8:45 a.m. Suspicious vehicle, Flagler Dr./Highland Ave.
9:04 a.m. Suspicious person at neighbor's house, Brice Cir.
12:20 p.m. Caller reporting past issue with roommate, Rondeau Rd.
1:59 p.m. Assist with car seat installation, Main St.
6:50 a.m. Person reports tenant threw old sandwiches and trash in hallway, Main St.
8:08 p.m. Possible money scam phone calls, Sheffield Way
Friday, February 18
1:40 a.m. Suspicious vehicle near building, Main St.
8:27 a.m. Larceny of phone service, Sheffield Way
1:38 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer, Main St.
2:41 p.m. Transport person from high school to business on Main St.
5:48 p.m. Police assist with vehicle lockout, Main St.
6:30 p.m. Police check on report of flashing light, Whitney St
Saturday, February 19
8:02 a.m. Tree fell on house, Ft. Sumter, power out. Several power outages
Sunday, February 20
3:30 a.m. Parking violation, Steppingstone Dr.
3:45 a.m. Several parking violations, Britney Dr.
10:08 a.m. Pony trapped under car, Bailey Rd.
12:40 p.m. Steel lock box taken from property, Main St.
11:49 p.m. Request for police to remove person from home. Main St. Advised to call Sterling PD.
Paxton
Monday, February 14
11:55 a.m. Police asked to check on home where motion detector is going off, Dunanderry Way
Tuesday, February 15
8:30 a.m. Caller advising his car engine blew, Pleasant St./Turkey Hill Rd.
11:00 a.m. Person reports her white dog jumped over the fence and got away, Lancelot Dr. Dog has Tennessee tags
Wednesday, February 16
7:09 a.m. Report of disabled vehicle, Pleasant St./Asnebumskit Rd. Driver eating cookies
9:38 a.m. Request for officer to help slow down traffic while person changes flat tire, Pleasant St.
2:02 p.m. Loose black and tan mastiff running around area, Camp St.
9:26 p.m. Suspicious vehicle in parking lot, Pleasant St.
9:37 p.m. Husky running in traffic, Pleasant St.
Princeton
Monday, February 14
5:42 p.m. Old German shepherd, looks sick, at house, Calamint Hill Rd. S
Tuesday, February 15
11:11 a.m. Highway dept. requests assistance with female shoveling snow onto Ball Hill Rd.
5:03 p.m. 911 hang-up, child playing with phone, Sterling Rd.
11:10 p.m. Complaint about snowmobiles, Esty Rd.
11:36 p.m. Police transport person walking to residence, Leominster Rd.
Wednesday, February 16
6:12 p.m. Request for officer to speak to youths, Whitaker Ln.
Thursday, February 17
9:38 a.m. Person reports being bitten by dog at Wachusett Mountain
2:55 p.m. Disabled vehicle, Rte. 140N. Police stand by until vehicle is towed
Saturday, February 19
2:23 a.m. Caller reports loud house party, Goodnow Rd.
11:27 a.m. Complaint about snowmobiles, Sterling Rd. Police speak with individual on Stagecoach Rd.
12:21 p.m. Caller reports stray dog at her home, Main St.
1:45 p.m. Tree limbs in roadway, Rte. 140N
3:30 p.m. Report that Bigelow Rd. is in poor condition. Police find road is passable
Sunday. February 20

11:14 a.m. Complaint about snowmobile incident on Feb. 19, Stagecoach Rd.
1:37 p.m. Cat under porch, Parker Place
4:01 p.m. Public service, deliver item, Main St.
Rutland
Monday, February 14
7:13 a.m. Vehicle lockout, Miles Rd. Police gain access
6:25 p.m. Report of lost German shepherd, old and sick, Glenwood Pl.
Tuesday, February 15
1:43 a.m. Motor vehicle stop, Main St, operator transported to residence
2:12 a.m. Police remove branch from Turkey Hill Rd.
6:15 p.m. Van parked at Rail Trail with dog inside, Barre Paxton Rd.
Wednesday, February 16
3:58 p.m. Caller reports an oil spill in his driveway from oil delivery, E. County Rd.
4:05 p.m. Person at station with two juveniles to speak with chief, Main St.
Thursday, February 17
12:24 p.m. Animal control officer dropped off paperwork from selectmen, Sumac Cir.
5:14 p.m. Vehicle stuck in snow at state park entrance, Crawford Rd.
10:20 p.m. Homeowner saw suspicious vehicle in driveway, River Rd. When approached, vehicle fled scene. Other towns report similar incidents.
Friday, February 18
4:13 p.m. Loose yellow Lab, Hickory Dr.
Saturday, February 19
2:30 p.m. Vehicle parked in driveway of house for sale, Peters Ave.
8:37 p.m. Two unattended vehicles at state park, Crawford Rd.
Sunday, February 20
12:14 a.m. Vehicle parked in bad location, believed to be traffic hazard, Barre Paxton Rd.
10:48 p.m. Report of gun fire, Barre Paxton Rd. Found to be vehicle back fire
Sterling
Tuesday, February 15
12:26 p.m. Request to speak with animal control officer regarding loose dogs in neighborhood, Taft Rd.
6:05 p.m. Dog at large in cold temperatures, Hilltop Dr.
Wednesday, February 16
12:29 p.m. Couple arguing, peace restored, Leominster Rd.
4:22 p.m. Golden labrador-type dog loose, Lakeshore Dr.
Thursday. February 17
10:32 a.m. Resident requests police check on girl waiting for WRHS bus, scared about dog in area
12:57 p.m. Officer wanted due to meat solicitor, Justice Hill Rd.
1:06 p.m. Caller locked herself out of house.
Friday, February 18
10:36 a.m. Caller reports possible neglected animal, Boutelle Rd.
8:25 p.m. Caller reports tree or pole possibly hit by lightening, wires arcing and sparking, Albright Rd.
Saturday, February 19
11:21 a.m. Walk in to speak with officer about vehicle parked backwards, Woodside Dr.
11:17 p.m. Suspicious vehicle parked near neighbors house, Tanglewood Rd.
Sunday, February 20
11:04 a.m. Caller wants animal control officer to check on animal, possibly neglected, Leominster Rd.

The latest in pre-planned funeral services

A friend sings at funerals. Recently, the secretary from the local parish calls my friend on a Sunday evening and asks if she'd be available for a funeral on Tuesday.
My friend says that she is available.
"There's just one thing," says the secretary. "The person isn't dead yet."
They both agree that this is one of the more unusual requests.
During the day on Monday, my friend checks with the church secretary. Nope, still not dead.
The afternoon drags along into evening. The church secretary calls, "OK, we're all set. The person died."
With no wake and a graveside services later, the funeral went on as scheduled on Tuesday morning.

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Everyone who's heard this story immediately thought of Monty Python: