Here’s a good paper from HP Labs that analyzes tagging patterns on del.icio.us: The Structure of Collaborative Tagging Systems. Lots of interesting stuff on tagging behaviour, frequency, semantics and categories.

You’re It! � Blog Archive � Paper: The Structure of Collaborative Tagging Systems

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Energy Department said Wednesday it accepted bids from energy companies to buy 11 million barrels of crude oil to help replace supplies cut by Hurricane Katrina.

The amount accounts for about one-third of the amount offered for sale from the government's emergency stockpile.

Govt sells 11M barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve - Sep. 14, 2005

On top of the nice firewall protection there is also virus protection software, advanced packet filtering, small enough to fit in hand and uses no computer resources and doesn’t even need to be configured or have regular maintenance done. This is a nice firewall with a bunch of nice extras and for a decent price of $79.

For John, Dave, Geoff and Mike.

Stingray Hardware Firewall : Gizmodo

3G Americas reports that as of August 2005, there are 1.5 billion GSM customers according to the latest subscriber data from Informa Telecoms & Media. Remarkably, it was just in Q1 2004 that the GSM technology reached the one billion customer milestone and with a robust and unrivaled growth, GSM already totaled 1.46 billion customers worldwide at the end of Q2 2005, passing the 1.5 billion milestone in August.

“It took the industry over 12 years to reach one billion GSM customers,” stated Kester Mann, Senior Research Analyst, Informa Telecoms & Media, “but sustained growth from rapidly expanding markets such as China, India, Russia and USA will ensure that the second billion is achieved in little over three and a half years, forecast for Q3 2007.”

BlackBerry Cool » 1.5 Billion GSM Customers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2005--Yankee Group today revealed that wireless substitution thrives, substantially displacing wireline services and leaving fixed-mobile convergence far behind in an embryonic state of development. According to Yankee Group's wireless global practice leader Keith Mallinson--who will include the commercial impact of fixed-mobile convergence versus wireless substitution in a panel session at the 3G CDMA Americas Conference on September 13--low prices, in-network calling and family plans all influence the rising number of people hanging up on landlines. They are using home phones less frequently and many are "cutting the cord" entirely.

In the past 5 years, wireless subscribers and wireless minutes used have grown enormously to a penetration level of 65.4% and 754 minutes per month per subscriber, respectively, by the second quarter of 2005. With more than 95% of the US population exposed to broad wireless network coverage, wireless substitution is the easiest implementation of seamless mobility, influencing consumer decisions to completely displace wireline services. The high saturation of wireless service offerings by the nation's six leading wireless carriers has also contributed to the trend of displacing traditional wireline services.

I haven't had a landline for more than a month since early 2000, and then only because one was in my dorm room. 65.4% penetration is still below a lot of the world.

Yankee Group Finds that Wireless Calling Surpasses Wireline Calling; Exponential Growth of Wireless Service Adoption Leads to Imminent Wireline Displacement across the Entire US Population

If you go to the FEMA website's Claims area and scroll down to the bottom of the page, can only support claims submitted via the Internet Explorer Web browser. Plus, you have to be running Internet Explorer 6, which, as I noted in a post I made on the political-oriented Huffington Post site yesterday, "isn't compatible with some older computer operating systems that may be in place at already cash-strapped public assistance agencies or in homes of relatives who are providing shelter to evacuees."

"Perhaps more annoying," I wrote, "the FEMA Claims site is not compatible with the wirleess Web browser interfaces of BlackBerry and Palm Personal Digital Assistants. Given that some of the relief workers who may be helping untold thousands with claims are sure to use these devices, the fact that these sets are technically disenfranchised from displaying and relaying FEMA Claims is inexcusable.

Based on how well Blackberries performed in the first couple of days of disaster -- you have 3 different text message routes that requires only a small slice of cell-tower availability -- it sounds like they will become more and more "standard issue" for disaster recovery teams.

Why would FEMA make a site that didn't work with everything? It would seem like for a FEMA form:

Step 1. Basic standard HTML, not sexy flashy fancy or even stylized
Step 2. Compliant HTML with some style
Step 3. Maybe some optional javascript for form assistance
Step 4. Maybe some DHTML for realtime form assistance through verification

If you need to do something in a claim form that can't be done in HTML 2.0, you've started on the wrong track.

BBHub

Troops inside the trucks were given malaria tablets and vaccinations against diseases like Hepatitis, Cholera and Tetanus -- ironically the same shots wary American tourists might get before visiting parts of Mexico.

Heads turn as Mexican troops roll into US with aid | Reuters.com

Set a realistic "Ideal Weight" goal for your body,
Try to Feel Good about yourself even if you are overweight.

Did you know:
Almost all "ideal body weight" websites use obsolete formulas or tables created in 1979 or earlier.

A fascinating calculator that provides a series of comparative calculating functions. Each formula or table is rigorously documented, and the limitations considered. "People's Choice"
and the MetLife tables are particularly illuminating.

Better Ideal Weight Body Calculations

Variety is running a story suggesting that Blockbuster may be in financial trouble. Here are a few bits from the story:

# The end of late fees is coming back to haunt Blockbuster in a big way, and that's making the Hollywood studios very nervous. Eliminating late fees has thrown Blockbuster into such a cash crunch that studios have taken extraordinary steps to make sure they get paid for their big fall DVD releases.
# ...one studio successfully demanded Blockbuster pay cash up front on Thursday and began shipping product Friday.
# [Dropping late fees] That strategy is expected to cost the chain about $400million in revenue this year.
# Meanwhile, the retailer has been taking urgent meetings with studios and other product suppliers in the past couple of weeks, appealing for extended payment terms beyond the typical 60 days and making deals to ensure it will be able to offer the biggest titles of the fall to its customers.

I was in a Blockbuster franchise a couple of weeks ago, and they made it clear that they had discontinued the "No Late Fees" campaign. Made it clear with as much visibility as the "No Late Fees" campaign was announced, as well as having the cashier make sure to get verbal confirmation that we understood.

This has been a very expensive idea for Blockbuster, but I'm not sure if they can be blamed. They took off, and dominated the rental market, with a couple of really good ideas -- the pay-per-rental model, etc. Unfortunately, they honned their skills as a storefront operation that they were already too committed when the next shop with a couple of really good ideas (NetFlix) showed up.

More than Amazon versus Barnes & Noble, this is the big B2C "Bricks versus Clicks" battle. Except everyone knows that NetFlix won; even if Blockbuster Online improves and wins all the marketshare, NetFlix as a model won. The major-chain video store model is more dead than the major-chain book seller...

...unless they start putting mini-Starbucks in the stores...

or, more realistically, if they could change their stores into on-demand movie theatres. DVD is killing the multiplex theatres. But imagine if you could go to a video store, and rent a small theater with a big screen. Not everyone has a home theatre, and certainly not as nicely appointed as this could be...

Hacking NetFlix : Variety: Studios Stew over Blockbuster Woes

Blockbuster Inc. on Friday said it will not pay a dividend for the third quarter, the first time it has failed to do so since the largest U.S. video rental chain operator went public in 1999.

The decision, made by the company's board, is the latest sign of financial difficulty at Blockbuster and sent shares down 5 percent, to a new all-time low.

Blockbuster won't pay dividend | Reuters.com