911 dispatchers in eastern Iowa are having issues with a rogue cell phone that continues to call and hang up.

Unfortunately the dispatchers cannot ignore the phone calls because there potentially could be an emergency on the other end.

The phone is extremely difficult to track down because it is an old line that is not associated with a cell phone provider at the moment. Old phones that are not attached to a service provider can still call 911 due to the rules set in 1994 by the Federal Communications Commission.

A new scam is out to confuse the user into giving up passwords, this scam involves a beautiful blonde, some lingerie and a strip tease.  “The buxom, beautiful blonde who promises to remove her slinky scraps of lingerie,” every time you enter the jumbled letters next to her.  But beware it is a waste of time, she doesn’t get naked.  After you have gone through and you think she will be completely undressed after the last code entered, the program starts over and now it has captured several of your passwords.

The article called “A little striptease for your Web passwords,” on MSNBC says that the woman pops up once your Windows computer has been infected by a virus.

Trend Micro researchers say the scam appears to be isolated for now to spammers trying to register bogus e-mail addresses and flood chat rooms with unwanted pitches. But they worry schemes to infiltrate financial institutions could soon appear.

The crews working on putting the large wildfire in California are using everything they have at their hands. CNN reported that,

Crew-carrying vehicles, mobile kitchen units, mobile communications units, trailers, forklifts, construction equipment, support units, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and insect control vehicles are also in use.

From the air they are making use of helicopters and tactical planes. NASA is also helping by providing satellite imagery to help track the fires.

The helicopters, calling those “Helitacks,” are being used to drop water, foam and flame retardents from a bucket attached to the bottom of the helicopter.

Fire retardant is a slurry mix of a chemical salt compound, water, clay or a gum-thickening agent. Ammonium phosphate and iron oxide give the retardant its distinctive red color.

Posting this one simply because it’s a cool story: Full Article Here

Telling a story from a photograph is an interesting way of looking at things. Check out this site for a few books that are based on the photographs and what story you can tell from them: Extraordinary Places

 

CNN.com has been covering the full story on the progress for the search of Steve Fossett who has been missing 10 days. CNN reported:

Searchers followed up on a tip received Wednesday from a woman who had been staying in a remote cabin just over the state line in California, at Sonora Pass north of Yosemite National Park.

“She was in her cabin, and heard a plane fly over … and then she heard a loud explosion or a loud crash noise and saw a little bit of smoke,” said Maj. Ed Locke of the Nevada National Guard.

The Alpine County, California investigators met with the woman who gave the tip on Thursday. They are attempting to pinpoint where she heard the sounds, and when she heard them. They say it will take about four or five days.

The search is about 80 percent complete according to Maj. Ed Locke of the Nevada National Guard. But that is not to discourage people from wanting to help. Although there has been no sign of Fossett or his plane after ten days.

Searchers are on the ground combing through an area where two witnesses saw a plane fly into a canyon and not come out. CNN.com states, “The Civil Air Patrol suspended its air searches Thursday because of high winds. They were scheduled to resume Friday.”

Fossett went missing on Labor Day and since that point, “hundreds of rescuers and dozens of aircraft have taken part in the air and ground search effort, which encompasses the rugged high desert in western Nevada and eastern California” (CNN.com).

Volunteers have been using the Fossett MTurk project to help find any sign of him. The MTurk allows people to use to find crash sites. People all over the world have been calling in with information.
Related Topics
Amazon Mechanical Turk joins to help Steve Fossett
Fossett still missing has Branson worried.
Adventurer Steve Fossett Missing.

People have been there to help find Steve Fossett; detailed satellite imagery is now available.

Now six days into the search for the still missing Steve Fossett, Amazon has joined to help. Volunteers are able to search through newly taken satellite pictures of the Nevada desert where his plane would have gone down.

So far, searchers have found a half a dozen unknown crash sites, but have not found Fossett’s plane.

Richard Branson started using Google Earth to search for his friend. Amazon has set up a Mechanical Turk project, [Steve Fossett MTurk Project]. You can help too, please review the instructions carefully and join the search for Steve Fossett.

Adventurer Steve Fossett Missing. || Fossett still missing has Branson worried.

This is a follow up to the Multitouch Display.

More cool stuff. Very interesting.

Found on

Just a trifle perhaps, but I noticed that yesterday’s Google News headlines about the release of the Anna Nicole Smith autopsy were accompanied by one of the classy Anna Nicole Goes to Washington photos (left), while today’s headlines proclaiming her death to be the result of an accidental overdose of prescription meds are accompanied by, shall we say, images of Smith at her less-than-glamorous-best (right). 

Granted, those images change as Google refreshes it’s news reader, but for most of the post-release morning, it was the trashy party girl Anna.  Coincidence or subtle reinforcement of stereotype? 

—–

If you work for an ad agency, interactive shop or just have a ton of digital files you need to share, this is a tool for you. Even if you don’t, I’m sure you can find reasons to try the trial. Check out the V3 blog they set up, some interesting usage from the private beta.

The online product is called V3RSION. It’s a tool that lets you manage your assets and give access to others in an easy way.

With this handy tool, you sign up, upload your stuff and give access but what makes this really cool is that they have given the user the ability to add tags that are logical and searchable. Plus you get thumbnail views of the most common formats.

No longer do I have to send emails with attachments, my RSS feed (that my clients subscribe too) get pinged when I have added or made changes.

Anyway, check it out. I have already used it and love it.

—–

As the editor of a fairly well established media and culture site (*cough* Transbuddha *cough*), I receive more than my fair share of e-mail links to viral and WOM sites.  Quite often they are legitimately sent in by readers, but mostly they’re hamfisted attempts at garnering cool cred by those tasked with promoting viral sites and media.  Far be it from me to begrudge an individual from trying to do their job.  In fact, I’m here today in an attempt to make that job a little easier. 

Sending out mass e-mails with ‘OMG check out this funny site!’ to random people who’ve foolishly signed up to receive communications from Company X is one thing.  Sending that same e-mail to the guy who runs a site that discusses advertising and virals at length is another.  If I can see that site X is a product site within two mouseclicks, all you’ve done is piss me off.  There are any number of bloggers and site editors who’ve watched the rise and fall of the various heavy hitters of the viral genre (hell, most of the time they’ve contributed to it), and we’re not a stupid breed.  We’re not autistics that someone planted in front a computer to post stuff.  We’re obviously interested and engaged in the online world, so treating us like rubes won’t do you any favors.  Unless negative mentions are what you’re looking for, that is. 

The fact is most content dependent sites don’t succeed based on pure linkage.  It’s the context and perspective we bring to the table.  We’re filters, you see.  We willfully and happily render ourselves crappy content meat shields so that our readers don’t have to wade through the infinite trench of crap that runs through the heart of this here intraweb.  Our success is as dependent on our ability to provide background and context as it is to find that perfect football to daddy’s crotch video.  Because of that, we won’t just post a viral site because an heretofore anonymous person sent us an e-mail telling us to.  That’d make us chumps, you see?  We’ll post it because we can provide a reason to visit.  We’ll post it because our ability to be in the know (and by proxy let the reader know) makes or breaks us.

So in essence:  Don’t treat site editors and bloggers like they’re dumb, and we won’t immediately consign your e-mails to our ever increasingly vigilant spam filters.  If you (and your client) think your site is mierda caliente, then have enough faith in it to provide us the details we want.  Who built the site?  Who is running the campaign?  What other campaigns go with it?  That information won’t tank a campaign, I promise.

“But, oh no”, you say, “our clever teaser campaign needs secrecy to build anticipation!”.  I got news for you, chump:  No it doesn’t.  On the off chance your viral can live up to even .01% of the hype you think you’ve garnered for it, people don’t like being tricked.  The first response your audience will have upon realizing that the enigmatic billboards, teaser sites, and WOM stuff is for nothing more exciting than gunk you spread on your armpit is a collective:  Well, that sucks.  It’d be like finding out Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory was just 1000 undocumented illegals running production line machinery that used nothing more than milk, cocoa, and sugar.  Letdown doesn’t even begin to cover it.  Blowback, baby.  It’s all about blowback.

Now you may have reams and reams of polling data that says otherwise, but let me kill yet another marketing chestnut:  You’re basing multimillion dollar decisions off the input of people too stupid to get out of completing a market survey.  Well done, Madison Avenue!  You’ve handed your financial success over to the same couple that fills out complaint cards at Wendy’s when the chili is four degrees too cold!  And you wonder why we don’t respect you….

While it may be comforting to believe that everyone who doesn’t work in a marketing office is just two IQ points removed from Play-Doh, or that we’re not hip enough to adequately comprehend just how kick ass your metrosexual soul patch is, the fact is web denizens are much smarter, and much more media savvy than we’re given credit for.  Reward that savvy, and it’ll reward you.  Treat content site editors and bloggers with intelligence and respect, and yes: we’ll do your job for you.  For free, no less.

I don’t know about you, but I feel better.  Now let’s hug this shit out and get back to our collective media ass-kicking.

Oh, and while I’ve got you here:  Were I to be crowned King Awesome of the Internet tomorrow, my first decree would be that Flash based product sites that launch in new, full screen or non-scalable windows would immediately be grounds for that site designer to be cockpunched by a PCP crazed Mr. T.  So cut that shit out already.  It’s annoying.  Seriously. 

—–