AI: Season 6, Round of 6 & Giving Back

Due to work constraints I haven't been able to weigh in on Idol of late. In fact, I did not even see the round of 6's performances. I did however see the much hyped "Idol Gives Back" 2-hour plead-o-rama.

I gotta say: somewhere Jerry Lewis is crying tears of joy, because his attempts to kept the telethon genre rolling had seemingly died, until American Idol decided to pick it up and keep it alive. This is a touchy subject, because no one wants to bad-mouth efforts to do something good, BUT this was 120 minutes of crappy television.

First off, the parade of celebrities was about as ungenuine as it gets. I didn't believe that any of those people were there for any reason other than their own PR. The only celebrities who I believe were doing this out of their own desire to help others were Bono and Madonna. They were the only two that I knew had a solid history of doing good prior to the show.

The other bright spot was Ellen Degeneres, who at least tried to do some creative things to solicit donations.

Why put Simon in a situation where he is clearly uncomfrotable, meeting AIDs patients? And why have him and Ryan in the way of a patient getting to the hospital? Just ridiculous, set up crap to sell the idea of getting people to give. I don't believe for a second that Simon wanted to be there.

Everything else felt like it was produce by the same people who brought us Bob Sagat and America's Funniest Home Videos in the 80s. What was that horrible "music video" with all the celebrities? How scary was that Celine Deion/Elvis performance? What the hell was that? Did we learn nothing about creepy celebrity rebirths with Orville Redenbacher?

And although they gave a bunch of money, I was not impressed by all the corporate sponsors. If those companies really wanted to prove to me that they cared about these causes, they would have given the money and expected no credit for it. No logos, no sponsored music videos, no corporate personailities appearing on TV. Oh, and they would have given enough money, so that we television viewers wouldn't have been asked to pony anything up. The sad thing is that the people who probably gave the most, were the people who couldn't afford to give much anyway.

The whole thing with no one being kicked off was lame. Just tell us you're not going to send anyone home right away. You're just stringing people along and it's lame. I'd understand if you told me that you're not going to send anyone home that night. They should have had enough leverage with all their celebrity appearances, not to need to do that.

Since I didn't get a chance to say it last week, I'll quickly weigh in on Sanjaya's departure: it was a fix. How do you drop from top 5 to being kicked out in one week? You have producers manipulate the numbers, so that your charity show isn't overshadowed by the embarrassment of Sanjaya and the vote for the worst phenomenon. I think it was pretty obvious from Simon's comment, that Sanjaya's departure was timely for more than one reason. I really don't think Idol would survive another season if Sanjaya had won. Alright, enough of that.

A review of where we are:
12: Sanjaya Malakar (Brandon Rogers)
11: Sanjaya Malakar (Stephanie Edwards)
10: Phil Stacy (Chris Sligh)
9: Phil Stacy (Gina Glocksen)
8: Phil Stacy (Haley Scarnato)
7: Haley Scarnato (Sanjaya Malakar)
6: Chris Richardson
5: Phil Stacy
4: Jordin Sparks
3: Blake Lewis
2: LaKisha Jones
1: Melinda Doolittle
Also check out: Vote 4 Idol Online, Vote Fair

Virginia Tech: Blame the shooter

We are all mourning today after yesterday's horrific incidents on the campus of Virginia Tech. But I can foresee the mourning turning to anger and frustration soon enough. I think we're going to start seeing headlines about people demanding answers about the administrations reactions or lack-thereof after the first shooting.

While ideally we would all like to believe that the second half of this rampage, which took exponentially more lives than the first, could it have been avoided, I am not so certain that it could. It is far too easy to look back with all that we know now (which still is not much) and say this could have been prevented. In truth, this student seems to have been on a mission and had predetermined that he was going to kill others. I am not so sure that an "aware" student body would have stopped someone with concealed weapons who was also a student.

Listening to the timeline and first response of both police officers and school administrators, I don't believe, initially, that they fell short of what should be expected of a college campus. I was thinking about what the response would have been 20 years ago, and there would have been no e-mails or web site messages or emergency phone public bulletins. All these things were the right use of the technology. I also don't think there was any reason that the shooter would go on the second rampage that occurred. In fact the police seem to have been questioning their primes suspect at the time of the second murders.

Ultimately, we only have one person to blame for all of this: the shooter. And since that person has been counted among those lost, people need another outlet for their pain and frustration. The easiest target becomes the police chief and the school's president, but this doesn't mean they are deserving of such blame. We must give the administration and police credit for doing what they could with the information they had.

It's so hard to be powerless in a situation like this. We want to be mad at the shooter, the administration, the police, the government… maybe even God. It's natural to feel this way, but it doesn't mean that anyone deserves blame for this shooting other than the man who pulled the trigger.

AI: Season 6, Round of 8 (J.Lo)

Melinda Doolittle (tough genre for her and it showed)

LaKisha Jones (better than Melinda in terms of performance, but lacking the Latin edge it needed)

Haley Scarnato (HOT with a side of too much lipstick… I thought they were faulting the genre more than her performance… at least she could move… everyone else is so fixed on hitting their spot or staring down the camera… she performed!)

Phil Stacy (awful hat, awful song, awful performance… poop on a stick)

Chris Richardson (I just didn't like it very much… hard to compete with Rob Thomas and Santana… whatever they did with the arrangement was too far off the original)

Jordin Sparks (on point… excellent)

Blake Lewis (he proved that he's technically better than Chris and probably going to be the last man standing… his hat needed some LEDs, though)

Sanjaya Malakar (WASH YOUR FACE!)

My (pathetic) countdown prediction:
12: Sanjaya Malakar (Brandon Rogers)
11: Sanjaya Malakar (Stephanie Edwards)
10: Phil Stacy (Chris Sligh)
9: Phil Stacy (Gina Glocksen)
8: Phil Stacy
7: Haley Scarnato
6: Chris Richardson
5: Sanjaya Malakar
4: Jordin Sparks
3: Blake Lewis
2: LaKisha Jones
1: Melinda Doolittle

Also check out: Vote 4 Idol Online, Vote Fair

AI: Season 6, Round of 9 (Recap)

First thought: Haley could stand to wear a pair of jeans or pants or something on nights like this, when no one is voting. She found her secret weapons, but she could stand to tease us now and then. Although she doesn't need to go to the same extreme as Jordin.

These Ford commercials make me want to yak.

Why couldn't Tony Bennett sing a song? I mean Michael Bublé is fantastic and all, but Tony couldn't follow thorugh with a performance?

These past two weeks have been surprising send-offs for me. Gina clearly didn't deserve to go home. She really hit the bottom of the voting fast from last week to this week. The only nice thing was that her song choice was appropriate, "Smile, although your heart is breaking." She is the only contestant whose passion for winning the show were completely obvious. Everyone else seems to be in it, hoping that they will make it long enough to get a break. Gina wanted to win really bad!

My (pathetic) countdown prediction:
12: Sanjaya Malakar (Brandon Rogers)
11: Sanjaya Malakar (Stephanie Edwards)
10: Phil Stacy (Chris Sligh)
9: Phil Stacy (Gina Glocksen)
8: Phil Stacy
7: Haley Scarnato
6: Chris Richardson
5: Sanjaya Malakar
4: Jordin Sparks
3: Blake Lewis
2: LaKisha Jones
1: Melinda Doolittle

Also check out: Vote 4 Idol Online, Vote Fair

AI: Season 6, Round of 9 (Tony Bennett)

Tony Bennett? Oh, why? I'll watch and listen to Tony Bennett, but no one is going to make Tony bennett-like album from this group. Ugh! Let's let them do something modern, something that they want to do, something that will sell today-not 60 years ago!

So, the question is whether or not I'm going to join this growing posse of people who are voting for Sanjaya on purpose. Howard Stern has joined Vote for the Worst in picking Sanjaya as their pony and seeking to 'ruin' American Idol. I think they could potentially ruin Simon's mood for a very long time, but they would actually bolster American Idol by showing the beauty of the contest - that the results are determined by the fans with the most determination and the most votes.

The big key is that with Stern's audience contributing, Sanjaya is safe for weeks to come now. I don't see him in danger until maybe even the top 3 now. Unless, of course they doctor the votes, and I'm sure there will be some people who will/do believe that to be the case.

Blake Lewis (I remember playing Mack the knife in Jazz Band back in the day, and thinking… this song is old… it's still old)

Phil Stacy (if I saw him walking on the other side of the street, I'd run across it and smack him across that big fat bald head, and I tell him, "You're boring! Go home to your wife and stop trying to kiss her ass.")

Melinda Doolittle (I finally could see her place in pop culture with this song - as a lounge singer in a remake of a Dick Tracy movie… maybe a Jennifer Hudson-like move)

Chris Richardson (ok, but nothing very surprising… he just always sings out of the side of his face)

Jordin Sparks (boring song… I'm ready for bed)

Gina Glocksen (discovered makeup this week… and included medusa braids in the front of her hair… totally uninterested in every song this week)

Sanjaya Malakar (creepier than ever… I wore a suit like that to a high school prom and it was as big a mistkae then as it is now… and if you're going to dance with a lady, push her chair in when you're done. punk.)

Haley Scarnato (eatching Haley on Idol is like watching her go through puberty… a few weeks ago she discovered her legs and now this week she discovered cleavage… way to ignore Toney Bennett's advice there, Haley… you shopped that song around to everyone in the audience… she worries WAY to much about pleasing Simon, and has shown her immaturity far too often)

LaKisha Jones (another one to ignore Tony's advice… and he looked pissed that she would add a little tag to the end… Tony likes you to sing it like it's written!… watching her perform is like watching the Yankees or Lakers or Colts play: you know that they're going to be there in the end, and they just have to go through these regular season motions first… and she has a really big forehead!)

Tomorrow's bottom three: Phil Stacy, Gina Glocksen, & Jordin Sparks

My countdown prediction:
12: Sanjaya Malakar (Brandon Rogers)
11: Sanjaya Malakar (Stephanie Edwards)
10: Phil Stacy (Chris Sligh)
9: Phil Stacy
8: Gina Glocksen
7: Haley Scarnato
6: Chris Richardson
5: Sanjaya Malakar
4: Jordin Sparks
3: Blake Lewis
2: LaKisha Jones
1: Melinda Doolittle

Also check out: Vote 4 Idol Online, Vote Fair

Flexibility vs. Simplicity

Apple and EMI made their big announcement yesterday about DRM-free music and premium downloads. It certainly is a big deal, as those who care a lot about technology and music, have been fighting for a wider range of DRM-free music for a long time.

The announcement is really wonderful and begins the slippery-slope of DRM changes that consumers have been demanding. There are a few things that haven't been discussed in the Q&A session that I found interesting.

First, EMI's CEO, Eric Nicoli, made the statement that EMI had known about Steve Job's feelings about DRM far before his well-known open letter about DRM. It seems that this letter was more of a rebuttal to attacks on Apple's iPod and iTunes in Europe than an attack on the music companies. It was as if Jobs was letting the nay-sayers know that he has been in favor of DRM-free music all along, but it was the music companies holding everyone back. Kind of like saying, "I told the big boys already, but their not listening, so stop blaming me and my company." Passing the buck a bit.

Anyway, the really interesting comment to me was from Steve Jobs on choices (Timestamp 41:02): "Life is a balance between total freedom and simplicity. We try to strike the local maximums… where we can give people what they tell us… and what we think they want… and yet keep it very simple."

I connected to this statement, because it Jobs articulates the struggle of design very well. As designers you want to create something that will satisfy the consumer's problem (i.e. I want to buy music easily and securely form the Internet), be flexible (i.e. I want to buy only one song, or a song at a better quality, or without dirty words), and yet keep it simple (integrate the store within the player, make backing-up the music integrated, and give me album artwork automatically, etc.).

To me companies like Microsoft and Sony have always been scoring really high in the total freedom category. Their products can be "modded" and third-party applications abound for them. They allow a person to do virtually anything related to their products.

Companies like Apple and Google have done well with simplicity. Here's one white page with a dialog box, one image, and two buttons. Apple for years had only a one-button mouse ship with it's computers.

To me the race is now on for that balance that Jobs mentions. Google's front page is actually a bit more complex now, including a personalized home page, and customizable widgets. Apple has embraced a mouse with four buttons and a click-wheel. Microsoft is simplifying it's interface to resemble the more user friendly OS X.

Google's Adwords is a terrific example of the two extremes of simplicity and freedom. There are two ways to use Google's Adwords: a Starter Edition and a Standard Edition. The Starter Edition is on the simplicity side of the extreme and the Standard Edition is all about Freedom. Starter has one campaign, one defined area, one set of keywords, etc. Standard has the ability to create multiple campaigns over many specific areas with various keywords. It includes analytics and reports. You have a virtually infinite array of choices.

Jumping from a Starter Edition to a Standard Edition is overwhelming, and I wish now that I could jump back for my NJ Mac Help campaigns. If you have ever "graduated" from Starter to Standard like me, then you perhaps know what I mean. There is no middle ground for Adwords.

Apple, I think has been doing a great job of opening itself up to more flexibility, while still safeguarding it's simplicity. Boot camp, the Intel switch, iTunes/iPods working with PC's: these were all flexibility moves. So, as we see Apple become more balanced or hit those "local maximums," I wonder how many people will seek to reap their benefits.

Hydrogen, Fuel and the Future

I was reading an e-mail by NY Times columnist David Pogue about the future of car fuels, and I thought that he served up an interesting solution via BMW and a new car they a prototyping.

Basically, BMW has created a prototype of hydrogen car that runs on both hydrogen and regular gasoline. Like current hybrids it seamlessly switches between gasoline and hydrogen power, when the hydrogen runs out. This is necessary as there are not enough hydrogen refueling stations to make an all-hydrogen car viable yet. The big benefit here is that hydrogen fuels by product is pure water instead of Carbon Dioxide, and other greenhouse gases.

You can read all of David Pogue's Column on BMW & hydrogen fuel here.

As I was reading about it, I thought to myself that there are probably a lot of opinions about this technology, and I might have my own, but it's certainly not as informed as those who are currently working in fields related to fuel technology. So, I e-mailed three of my chemical engineering friends who do do work in the field to see what they thought. Below is a condensed version of their thoughts, as one statement. I thought their thoughts were worth sharing:

"Fossil fuels are finite."

Agreed. In the meantime oil company salaries are probably only going to keep going up and up as we try to squeeze out every last drop. If you are interested in a good read about the future of oil, check out either of the two books here: Hubbert's Peak and Beyond Oil are both fantastic. Ken Deffeyes weaves an excellent story about the past, present, and future of oil.

"Hydrogen as a fuel."

I am extremely skeptical of the hydrogen economy. In my opinion there is currently no viable technology to store hydrogen. Activated carbons have been promising, but we are nowhere near DOE targets. Anything involving nanotubes is a load of crap. Adsorption on MOFS is partially irreversible. I think all of these chemical storage methods are likely to be better than compression though. How far did that car go before refueling or before the tank heated up? How are they cooling it? If the tank is "a tank so bulky, it makes a visible bulge behind the rear seats," what family is going to want that in their car? How will they fit in their 5 kids? Storage is the big problem. How much weight does it add to the car to have these high-pressure tanks?

"Their primary objection, of course, is the amount of energy that's consumed (and pollution generated) in producing hydrogen in the first place."

Yes! Hydrogen can solve the fuel problem. Burning hydrogen is clean but making hydrogen is not- although it should be cleaner than burning gas. Big Al Gore (and I mean big, have you seen that dude lately?) won't be too happy to find out that although greenhouse gases aren't coming out the tailpipe, they are coming out somewhere else. OK, what about CO2 sequestration? This is not completely feasible at the present time, but it is closer to working than any of the methods to store hydrogen.

"Ethanol?"

The efficiency of ethanol is very low. And corn prices are skyrocketing. This idea is better for the American farmer than anything else.

In conclusion...

I pretty much agree with Pogue. I have bashed all of the technologies out there, but I do think all of them are only in their infancy. Importantly, none of them is the silver bullet. Each will only makeup a portion of the total solution. People out touting the greatness of just one of these technologies drive me nuts. Especially when they quote figures to make a case that their solution can make up 100% of the total. No freaking way. Whatever the final solution is, it doesn't exist right now. In the meantime, we need to conserve. All new vehicles should be hybrid within 5 years, 10 at the most. If we can double efficiency, then we have double the time to come up with a better solution before oil runs out.

I propose a minimum 25-50 cents a gallon tax on gas with all money going toward renewable energy research. This would also encourage people to drive less and buy more fuel efficient cars.

The holy grail is hydrogen from water using sunlight. There is an infinite supply of both.

Many new technologies plus conservation need to contribute to the total solution. I am actually part of a collaboration that is working on solar-powered water splitting to make hydrogen. There is "capital" CO2 produced in making the device but no "operational" CO2 produced to keep it going. Our method is just one of many being tried. Hopefully one will work. At least we are trying, the worst thing anyone can do is the same thing that we've been doing for the last 50-100 years.

Anyone else have an opinion?

Day of Fools!

Yesterday was of course April Fool's Day, and I am catching up on my reading, and beginning to notice some nice web versions of jokes from the day. Here are a few that you also might enjoy… no joke:

Google TiSP: A new type of ISP service, bringing service through your toilet?
Millennium Falcon: make sure you read the press release about this new bird species very carefully.
The Consumerist Mutual Fund