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The modern news consumer ignores Weblogs and online citizen journalism at his own peril. But not everyone has the time to keep track of what's going on the Web. With this blog we hope to track the highlights of what's being discussed online so when news breaks from the Web, we're ready.

Will Femia is a Weblog enthusiast who, through good fortune and dumb luck, was introduced to the form as his position as chat producer for MSNBC.com careered into obsolescence. On any given day, Will can be found having already spent an unhealthy amount of time squinting at a computer screen.

Send a message to Will at spotter@msnbc.com



Bad medicine

Posted: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 11:42 AM by Will Femia

I don't know if DXM is a new thing or an old one. Maybe I'm revealing just how big a geek I am, but I always thought people drank/abused cough medicine for an effect that was like alcohol. It turns out the particular drug in Robitussin and other cough medicines is a hallucinogen. The greatest revelation to me, however, is the apparent popularity of kids videotaping themselves high on drugs and posting the clips to YouTube. I couldn't get the inline videos to play in this article so I copied the URL and watched them at YouTube where the related videos feature produced clip after drug addled clip. To my mind this is a more disturbing practice than schoolyard fight videos.

Speaking of drugs, see it before the layers pull it: The uncut trailer for Pineapple Express - NOTE: It's a rated R trailer, some cursing, no nudity. The movie is a pot comedy - a Gen Y Cheech and Chong.

"A tribute to the fantastic biomechanical creations of H.R. Giger and the vegetable portraits of Giuseppe Arcimboldo"

World's Largest Solar Power Plant Coming to Arizona in 2011 - I'm not sure how a "plant" differs from a "farm" - like the world's largest solar farm announced recently. Meanwhile, the claim of "world's largest solar" anything is a popular one, perhaps because the field is still pretty thin.

Speaking of solar, Sharp Developing Home Solar Power Batteries - One of the most appealing things about solar power is paying energy back into the grid when you're not using it. Batteries like this would be for emergencies or people living totally off the grid. Regardless, solar storage batteries contribute to the larger picture of burgeoning alternative energy industry.

I feel like we've seen 3-D room planners before, but this is really cool and works surprisingly well. You can play with the "get started" demo without registering or anything. It didn't ask me to download any software either. I guess it's Flash based?

"All the revenue models you can find in the media industry" - not counting charging for the content itself. This is a little dry, but it's a nice follow-up to that piece the other day about making money from a site loaded with AdSense.

Top 20 Parent Hacks: Tips for Organization, Kid Optimization, and Happiness - Heh, "kid optimization."

Yahoo has changed its Buzz page to be more like Digg. From what I understand it's drawing from a limited set of sources right now, with plans later to make it include the whole web. So at least it's not spammable and the content is guaranteed to be of a certain quality. I have to think that's their strategy for making sure they don't reproduce the Netscape mess. (I can't find a succinct link, but you'll recall AOL turned their front page into something resembling Digg but it never took off and they apparently gave up on the idea because when you go there now it looks more like MSN's front.)

While it's too late to save Jennifer Love Hewitt, definitive proof that the biggest problem with the Garfield cartoon is Garfield himself has been realized in Garfield minus Garfield. Previously we'd seen his text bubbles removed, but it turns out removing his presence entirely is the best idea.

"In the brawl for the hearts and wallets of young male fans, ultimate fighting has boxing and wrestling on the ropes." I haven't watched professional wrestling since I was young but I do follow boxing and watching the Klitschko snoozer on HBO this past weekend all I could think was how much better it would be if it was a UFC fight. Even Friday's Pavlik/Taylor match, while satisfying in its result (and I say this as a Taylor fan) did not provide the adrenaline rush that comes so reliably from the octagon.

And to go from reading the above article to learning that Floyd Mayweather is going to do some kind of pro-wrestling stunt... well, that's a sad state of affairs indeed.

I'm not exactly timely with this one but The Echo Park Time Travel Mart is the best thing in time travel since the Time Traveler Convention. And the best thing in real world theme marts since the 7-11/Kwik-E-Mart stunt.

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Comments

Dude.. I realize you might think of yourself as a geek or whatnot ... but I would MUCH rather have one of my children (21,19,9) have a bad experience with too much cough syrup than having their ass beat in a schoolyard beating... Are you for real? you would really think violence is worse than some idiots abusing cough syrup? Did you never smoke or drink when you where younger (and did stupid things with a camera or tape recorder) ... You really have to re-address this ..This was your exact quote  "To my mind this is a more disturbing practice than schoolyard fight videos"


John McCormick, Largo, Florida (Sent Wednesday, February 27, 2008 12:25 PM)

John, read the article closely.  "Doses higher than 500 mg can lead to long term brain damage, psychotic breaks and death."  I'm thinking that we should all aim for neither bullying nor drug videos.

DTF, Arlington Heights, IL (Sent Wednesday, February 27, 2008 1:24 PM)

John, just to be clear, I'm talking about the practice of posting videos of it, not actually doing it, but yes, even with a re-read/re-think, that's what I believe. When I see one of those fight videos, they are totally scary, never glamorous and almost always disturbing. I don't think watching those makes anyone want to go out and do it.

Watching drugged-out kids video tape themselves laughing and being silly and using cool drug lingo, to my eyes that encourages drug use. And while you may minimize it as a bad experience with too much cough syrup, watch the video of those two dickheads cooking the stuff and you see real fast how dangerous this particular one is.

To the point I think you're making, yes, I'd rather get happy on drugs than have my ass beat on the schoolyard. (Though to answer your question, when I was younger I didn't drink or smoke or do stupid things on camera - but I did eventually come around.:) )

Will Femia (Sent Wednesday, February 27, 2008 1:42 PM)

Hmmm...using chemicals to manipulate your brain or getting your t-shirt torn and your eye-blackened?  I gotta go with the latter.  At least you can learn something from a fight (that they should be avoided if nothing else.)  Getting high with drugs an alcohol is perhaps one of the least productive things people do.  Too many of our most creative people have been destroyed by these chemicals (most recently Heath Ledger via very similar OTC medications.)  The idea that their abuse is being celebrated with online videos (and condoned by some parents)is VERY disturbing indeed.

Dan (Sent Wednesday, February 27, 2008 2:00 PM)

The Echo Park Time Travel Mart is within walking distance of my place.  Nice to see bits of my neighborhood popping up in cyberspace...however, I have yet to see any celebs making their way into the place.  Then again, I don't stalk the entrance like the paparazzi--thank God!

Michael T, Hollywood (Echo Park), CA (Sent Wednesday, February 27, 2008 2:26 PM)

Thanks for the response Will.. I am a regular reader of your column and it usually makes me laugh and lead me to some wild websites... I still have the pictures of those kids making movies with legos on my harddrive

John McCormick, Largo, Florida (Sent Wednesday, February 27, 2008 4:56 PM)

the solar farm is an array of PV, photovoltaic, panels.  generic panels make ~18 volts at 5 amperes (~90 watts), and that dc electricity is normally stored in batteries and then inverted to make the 115 volts needed for homes and the power grid. that installation has tracking mounts so the PV panels track the sun, for higher efficiency.  the cost disadvantage is that the batteries go bad and have to be replaced.  

the solar plant, on the other hand, uses mirrored solar concentrators, to concentrate the sunlight for higher temperature, which is focused on water, boiling it into steam.
the steam pressure is used to power a mechanical steam engine
or the steam heat to power a stirling heat engine.

but you are right, either could be a "plant".

and here, from ATS, http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread337501/pg1

a water vortex generator, &  

a link to a smallest wind generator:

http://www.jetsongreen.com/2007/10/windbelt-microw.html#more

x (Sent Wednesday, February 27, 2008 7:39 PM)

I seem to recall that there already is a mirrored solar array "plant" in (I believe AZ) already in service.  I started to read through the link you provided but lost interest when I hit the "only if congress approves blah blah blah bill" and couldn't take the remaining part seriously.  It is exciting to see more varied solar options and energy storage options.  It would be interesting to see a level-headed analysis from an expert in the energy engineering business of the various approaches to solar/wind generation and, especially, energy storage.  The environmental and safety impacts are also interesting along with how an increase in demand for the raw materials needed to produce these new technologies affect the economics involved.

KRW (Sent Thursday, February 28, 2008 8:20 AM)

for krw, the short answer is to look for the money.

most power is nuclear, some is grandparented coal plants and hydro, and a bit is "alternative".  of the alternatives, the giant windmills are best, except that they kill birds.

the power companies have already done the research you are looking for, ask your local company.  

in general, nuclear is half the cost of anything else, not counting the cost of cleaning up the mess we are making with underground disposal of the radioactive wastes.

at present, a solar pv or focusing system or coal plant designed to current regulations makes electricity at about twice the cost of nuclear.
so yes, we could all be non-nuclear if we all agreed to pay twice as much for our electricity.

gradual improvements in batteries especially, and panels and inverters, will make solar increasingly competitive; if we guess at say 1% improvement per year, that's ~2060 for $ parity.

the same applies to a personal system; the electricity you make yourself costs twice what bought power costs, so self-electric makes economic sense only if you are far from a power line.

in addition, for personal power, there's the fuss-factor, you yourself are responsible for the fragile solar panels, acidic batteries, corroding cables, breaking inverters, tracking mounts, focusing mirrors, turbines, and/or stirling mechanicals.  way too much work for most folk.  

what worked best for me, least fuss, was extra batteries in the car trunk, with an inverter; the extra batteries charged during normal driving, then powered the simple house (small lights, tv, vcr) for 3 hours in the evening.

x (Sent Friday, February 29, 2008 2:38 PM)



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