I never knew

First day of the spring “laptopping” outside. :-p

Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest.—Worldmapper

We’ve known for a while that trackback is broken. Initially it was an interesting thought, instead of writing a long winded (perhaps somewhat off topic) answer in comments, you write it on your own blog and “ping” the original post. Nice. Then people started threading the comments and trackbacks with the comments, in one display block instead of separate. Then spam arrived.

Now not only have a lot of people stopped offering trackback urls on their posts but most have stopped using the system completely, prefering the simple link, has effective now that referal tools and services like Pubsub and Technorati are making it easy to find who’s linking you.

So, having said all of that, when’s the last time you’ve seen a trackback ping that brought anything at all to a discussion? Actually, when’s the last time you’ve even clicked on a trackback link, except maybe by mistake, thinking it was a comment? I did it this morning for the first time in maybe as much as a year. Not out of interest for the linked content mind you, I just noticed that on this post on Techcrunch the first 20 items under “comments” were such trackbacks and pingbacks. I clicked all of them and didn’t find one piece of information. Just quotes and copies of the chart from the post, that’s it. Pretty much no commenting at all.

I’d be ready to bet money that it’s the case everywhere you see trackbacks. Obviously people are simply using it as a form of “soft spamming”. They’re interested in the subject, are reading the blog, actually have a blog themselves so it’s not completely fake like spam but, really, what else are they doing but trying to grab traffic? Why do people keep trackbacks on their sites? Free advertisinig for the pingers?

Note: Trackbacks are used in a whole different manner on Yulblog (and all such metablogs) so I don’t include that type of setup in my criticism, obviously.

Macedonia claims to be the first country of its size to have a broadband wireless network covering 95 per cent of its population. The network, based on Motorola technology, uses WiFi hot-spots to bring high-speed internet access to schools and villages, while mesh technology is used to blanket urban areas.—Broadband network is envy of the west

Anyone using digg want to raise their hands (and user name) so I can add friends and see how that part of it works? Also, used to be that I’d find stories on Digge that I didn’t know about already. Seems to me in the last few weeks it’s less “cutting edge”, I’m seeing more stories I already know of. Am I the only one seeing this? I’m guessing it’s caused by the loads of new users, probably less on the ball than the early adopters?

Mouahahahah. One of my most recent posts Gizoogled Yo.

I love summer. You can just walk outside and go somewhere, most of the time there’s no need to worry if you need to wear a huge jacket, boots, whatever. Something missing for dinner? Slip on the sandals and take a pleasant walk to the grocery store. Not so in winter. And of course, summer has beautiful tanned and scantily dressed women everywhere.

Still, being a guy who enjoys stylishness in everything, there’s certainly something to be said for fall and spring. Like this week for example, warm enough that a variety of clothes can be comfortable but still nippy enough that we’re not all wearing the minimum. This kind of weather is, I think, where stylish women (and guys) shine the most.

Layered shirts, sweaters and jackets, little boots of all shapes and sizes, useless but cute scarfs swinging around, nice skirts, one inch of skin showing instead of eight, fun little hats and caps cocked on one side, hair flowing instead of tucked in tuques, everyone out on terrasses, buttoned up because it’s not that warm but still wanting to sit outside. Everywhere you look there’s another fetchingly attired lass smiling at the sun*. Looking good Montréal, looking real good.

*That phrase is sponsored by St-Patrick’s day.

Nice ressource for “bedouin workers”, Delocator lets you search by zip code to find independant cafés in your area.

Cafés are vital social outposts that have historically provided subjective, social, local, and at times, irrational interaction, inspiration, and nourishment to artists, hipsters, musicians, activists, intellectuals, radicals, and others alike. Currently, independently owned cafés around the world are under aggressive attack; and their numbers have been sharply decreasing for many years. Delocator.ca is a means to preserve these local businesses.

Strangely, they also give the adresses of nearby Starbuckses, kind of defeats the purpose but I guess it makes sense in some areas. At least the others are displayed more prominently.

The fastest-growing city on earth, Dubai is spending mind-boggling sums on construction and is about to swallow up P&O in its bid to be a global maritime power. Given the scale of its ambition, could it become the most important place on the planet?—Boom Town

I love this! A design student created a brochure for a fake, fun, country and it worked!

The brochure—an aesthetic cross between McSweeney’s and Edward Tufte—evokes a fantasy culture where poetry and bicycle riding are exalted pastimes, and geographic features have names like Sea of Enumeration and Untold Islands. “I wanted it to seem rich and detailed, like a fairy tale too good to be true,” says Spielman, who has worked as a graphic designer for Time Inc. and in art production for Food and Wine and Martha Stewart Living. Her tongue-in-cheek dream city features free ATM machines, a ban on plastic foliage, and an official motto of “people who don’t read can’t be trusted.”

Look the brochure over, nice design and a lot of little humorous touches. Great idea.