In amongst my podcasts, iTunes downloaded three “PDFcasts”, two from Make Magazine and one from PilotCast. Of all the ways that people on the Internet have found to re-implement the same basic idea as Usenet, this has got to be the worst. If I wanted content that I had to read on my computer, what’s wrong with a web page? Or better yet, an RSS feed for a web page. Or an email list. Or Usenet.
I-79 between Pittsburgh and Eire has a stretch where every few minutes you encounter large signs with black letters on a bright yellow background. They’re full of advice, mostly about wearing your seat belts (the best one was “Seat belts required, next million miles”), but also slogans like “Slow down and save lives”, “Stay alert”, etc. After a while it feels like they’re nagging you. Vicki and I spent some time coming up with suggestions for future signs:
STOP SLOUCHING, SIT UP STRAIGHT!
ARE YOU REALLY GOING OUT DRESSED LIKE THAT?
DON’T MAKE THAT FACE WHEN I’M TALKING TO YOU - I’M TELLING YOU THIS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!
