A Tale of Intrigue & DNS: See HughesNet “blocking” my blog, now on YouTube

I have just uploaded my “HughesNet DNS Fail” video to YouTube but you can watch it right here. To be honest it is not my most polished video work, but I think it gets the job done. I have another one in the works that might be more effective. The plot goes like this: At [...]

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Genetic Hemochromatosis or Haemochromatosis? Neither one is good news

I did not know, until someone commented yesterday on an earlier post about genetic hemochromatosis, that the English spell it haemochromatosis. So I thought I would create this post to let other people know, and to link the hemo posts together (if you click on that link it will take you to a menu of [...]

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Most Worst Recession: Most worst copy editing?

Yesterday, I was stunned to read an Associated Press story that cited “more evidence that the most worst recession since the 1930s was losing its grip on the global economy.” Here’s one example of the story. I was stunned, not by the idea that the recession might be ending, but by the lack of copy editing. [...]

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Cobbsblog on YouTube (via Stagecoach not Satellite)

This is a quick post to highlight the video I just uploaded to YouTube. Probably not my finest mixed media effort, it’s a quick screencast to demonstrate the fact, oft-mentioned to friends and colleagues, that the $80-per-month HughesNet Satellite Internet service which I get at my house “blocks” access to my blog. (10/2/2009: Video link [...]

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Healthcare Reform: Where I stand

I think some of my friends are beginning to wonder why I have resisted blogging about the current healthcare debate in America, given that I have–as they know all too well by now–a lot of opinions on the subject. The truth is I cannot afford to get drawn into this one. Why? I am way [...]

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How to Lose Customers: A one-act, two-scene play performed in three tweets

Here is the original form of the play, a short blog post: Act I, Scene I: A United States Postal Service office. Me: I want to send this package to England. Postal Clerk: You can’t send it like that, you have the wrong tape on it. And this paperwork’s not complete. [Me exits building, walks [...]

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And the Damage Done: Hemochromatosis recap

The following is a recap of things I have learned from my partner’s experience with hemochromatosis, a.k.a iron overload. I wrote this up for a support forum which is private, but I thought it would be helpful to make it available to anyone looking for information on this insidious condition. BTW, the circle+arrow symbol on [...]

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Hey 19: Things to do when promoting a cause or company, product or person, band or brand

This is a quick attempt to put into one place various bits of advice that I’ve been giving out to various people over the past few months with respect to raising the profile of a person, place, or thing. The idea is that you have something you want to publicize. It could be a band, [...]

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Sosa Sucks! The social cost of selfish sport star substance abuse

As yet another big name in baseball gets attached to substance abuse [this time it's some pumped up cheater by the name of Sammy Sosa] I remain stunned by the narrow-minded focus of the media. Sure, some of the better sports writers wrestle with what all this means but most coverage is confined to: The [...]

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Sins of iMission: What Apple omitted from the iPhone

If you’ve observed the outpouring of joy and wonder–and cash–with which adoring Apple fans have greeted each new iteration of the iPhone, and if you’ve formed the general impression that the iPhone is the “smartphone” that does everything, think again. Dig a little deeper into the online chatter and you find out, as buyers like [...]

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Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency: The 21 signs and symptoms

So, in the continuing iron overload saga, it now appears that my wife’s hemochromatosis has had three major impacts, or impacted three major glands (thyroid, adrenals, and pituitary). Although a course of phlebotomy is underway to treat the hemochromatosis, dealing with damage to the glands is more complicated. Consider the Human Growth Hormone deficiency due [...]

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Could 1491 Solve the Swine Flu Mystery?

I recently wrote a review of a great book that I am re-reading these days: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. And today I realized that it might contain an explanation for something that has recently rocketed to the top of the news: swine flu in Mexico. Right now there is open speculation [...]

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Earth Day Prizes? Check out my survey and win

Sounds cheesy but it’s true. You could win an earth-friendly prize for taking a very short survey that I created on my technology blog here. The link is bit.ly/bagz which gives you a clue as to the prizes, and an easy way to share it. Good luck!

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Need Help Dealing With Hemochromatosis? Join THE list

Each time I blog about hemochromatosis I hear from people affected by this daunting and life-threatening condition. Often these people are frustrated with doctors failing to recognize the condition and with the slow pace of diagnosis and treatment. Fortunately, if you are one of these people, there is a supportive community you can join, online, [...]

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On the Street Where I Was Born

Recently, on my technology blog, I wrote about the mixed reception that Google Street View has received in England, land of my birth. I admit to having mixed feelings about this technology myself. It is very easy to be seduced by technology that enables me to sit in a cottage on a hill in the [...]

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Hemochromatosis Marches On: Now paging nurse-with-big-needle

Well, I went the whole month of March without blogging about hemochromatosis, more specifically, my wife’s hereditary hemochromatosis or HH. However, March brought good news on the HH front: The blood-letting has begun! (BTW, I trust people “got” that the image which accompanied my February post on phlebotomy was the barber’s chair from Sweeney Todd.) [...]

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Well That Was Fun: Monetate launches Smellr

There are many things I enjoy about working for Monetate and they all came together today: Cool technology, brilliant developers, cutting-edge digital artistry, crafty copy-writing, savvy leadership, and great camaraderie. All of this orchestrated in a concerted team effort to execute a good idea with skill, excellence, and a good laugh. And we succeeded! The [...]

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