Waking Badger » news

We're #1 :)

bill — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:49:20 +0000

Hmmm…looks like federal statistics show the metro area near me, Raleigh-Cary, NC, is the fastest growing in the US, according to an associated press story picked up by our local CBS affiliate. This isn’t terribly surprising as the area has seen huge growth due to the proximity to many tech companies & UNC, NC State, & Duke University.

Oooohhhh…packaging design… (no, seriously)

bill — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:04:08 +0000

Happened across a link on Twitter to The Dieline, a package design website. I honestly had no idea I would find it as fascinating as I do to review design and marketing choices in product packaging. Two particularly caught my attention:

General Mills Retro Cereal Boxes (seriously, check it out…I bought the Honey Nut Cheerios retro box today at Target)
Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwback (the retro labeling is meh, but temporary return to the sugar sweetened versions sounds like something I need to check out)

NEWS: Commuter plane crashes into home in NY

bill — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:57:05 +0000

MSNBC is reporting that a commuter plane has crashed into a home in Buffalo, NY killing all 49 people on the plane and one on the ground. They’re also reminding us that this is the first fatal crash of a commercial airliner since 2006.

Truly sad and so far, no one has any real idea of what went wrong. The pilots seemed to have complained that the wings were picking up ice, but it doesn’t sound as if they thought it was an emergency.

Blockbuster CEO confused by Netflix's appeal

bill — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:12:21 +0000

Daring Fireball Linked List: Blockbuster CEO ‘Confused by This Fascination That Everybody Has With Netflix’

Oh…my…God…

You’ve got to be kidding me. The Blockbuster CEO is confused with people’s “fascination” with Netflix. He also seems to be amazed that ANYONE really wants to rent from outside of the new rentals section or anyone who desires a large library to draw from.

It is simply amazing…

Mass. stops Defcon subway hacking presentation

bill — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:36:18 +0000

Slashdot | Massachusetts Sues to Halt Defcon Subway Hacking Talk

Judge orders halt to Defcon speech on subway card hacking

As is so typical, governments and corporations sue to hide evidence of their own mistakes and malfeasance. It’s unclear how much the MBTA knew regarding the non-security of the card system that is in use when it was purchased, but in all likelihood, there knowledge that these systems can be hacked and are not guaranteed unbreachable. No system is. Rather than working with researchers to plug the most obvious and dangerous holes in security, this is the typical result. Use of the legal system to gag knowledge…

600 Starbucks Stores Closing

bill — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:53:13 +0000

Starbucks Closure List: All 600 Stores, Searchable

I know a lot of people who like Starbucks, but I’m not much of a coffee drinker. However, I thought some of you might be interested…

Not much closing in NC and only one store in the Research Triangle region…

NORTH CAROLINA

Chapel Hill, NC:

11525 CHATHAM DOWNS 141 CHATHAM DOWNS

Charlotte, NC:

10420 WILKINSON BLVD 3220 WILKINSON BLVD
10836 NORTHLAKE COMMONS 9335 CENTER LAKE DR
11056 PIEDMONT TOWN CENTER 4620 PIEDMONT ROW DR
13533 WORTHINGTON 1520 OVERLAND PARK LN
14141 PROVIDENCE RD & SHARON AMITY RD 2921 PROVIDENCE RD

Greenville, NC:

14183 FIRETOWER RD & ARLINGTON BLVD 1889 E FIRETOWER RD

Hickory, NC:

11136 VALLEY HILLS MALL 1960 HWY 70 SE

Wilson, NC:

11925 NASH STREET 2113 NASH ST

Winston Salem, NC:

8716 HARPER HILL COMMONS 4912 COUNTRY CLUB RD

George Carlin dies at 71

bill — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:31:16 +0000

Daring Fireball: George Carlin Dies at 71

I don’t think he would want us to mourn his passing, but I think John Gruber at Daring Fireball gave a short, but proper eulogy for the man who taught us to ignore society and sometimes (all the time?) just say the wrong thing.

Go read John’s piece and then murmur ”shit” and “fuck” for good measure

Finding fingerprints still on heated, cleaned metals…

bill — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:03:37 +0000

Slashdot | Fingerprints Recoverable From Cleaned Metal

Interesting information. I doubt this will radically change forensics, but it could still prove an interesting tool, if found to work practically, for law enforcement. I also can’t imagine we’re going to be able to go back and find new clues in old crimes due to time, corruption of the evidence, etc.

Cars … on ice … FTW

bill — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 03:01:21 +0000

Having just covered the Sesame Street Live we attended yesterday, this story caught my eye over on Daring Fireball.

A Cars ice-skating show (with supervision of effects by John Lasseter) will begin touring in September… Oh, HELL Yes. Not that I love ice skating, but Ben loves the movie Cars and he would eat … this … up! Sign this dad up

Karl Rove's Apple equipment to hasten our demise?

bill — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:08:01 +0000

Macenstein | Will Karl Rove’s iPhone kill us all?

I thought this was pretty darn funny. It seems Karl Rove now has an iPhone and a MacBook Air that have made him drastically more productive. Wow, that could very well be a scary thought…

This is definitely one guy the world does NOT need to be more productive! Damn it, Apple. Couldn’t you just have declined to sell to him?