DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

Google taught the world that there’s always room for a better search engine. Now perhaps Wisenut is going to repeat the lesson.

The Wisenut technology overview is worth reading. Be sure to download their search engine white paper; it details why Wisenut’s WISErank technology is superior to Google’s PageRank in producing relevant results.

Here’s a picture of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates surrounded by the detritus of his dim-bulb ideas, e.g.

• faking evidence in the antitrust trial
• “embracing and extending” Java
• smart tags
• buying Intuit
• Documenting the company’s strategy to discredit Linux/open-source software in the Halloween Documents
• Declaring war on open-source even though Microsoft uses open-source software themselves

If you have anything to add, drop me an email; I’ll update the list.

Here’s how I usually buy an electronics device:

Go to Costco, take notes. Stop by Good Guys on the way home. Compare brands and prices. Return home, research brands on the web for two hours. Ask experienced friends for opinions. Check manufacturers’ websites. Read epinions.com reviews. Do many Google searches.

Review ads in supplements to Sunday newspaper. Check Consumer Reports Buyers Guide for warranty and reliability ratings. Pore over specifications and features. Scan half.com and ebay for deals.

And then, 2-3 weeks later, after having spent 24 hours researching, I make a purchase decision. At a reasonable contracting rate, those 24 hours of work cost me in the neighborhood of $24 million.

So when it came time to buy a DVD player, I employed a new tactic. I can summarize it here:

• Wait until your wife says she’s going to Costco.
• Ask her to buy a DVD player.

There, I’ve just saved you an entire day of your life.

So now panhandlers are using the web to research how to beg more effectively. There is something really wrong with that, like panhandling is a viable career choice. What’s next, Begging for Dummies?

Here’s the site mentioned in the article: Market Research for Panhandlers.

This site has been upgraded to the latest, unreleased, beta version of Monaural Jerk. It should work much the same as before, even though radical changes have been made to the infrastructure. If you see anything that looks wrong, please send me an email.

The changes allow journal entries to be assigned into multiple categories — which in turn enables the new Greatest Hits category you’ll find in the Channels menu to the right.