SundayPaper.com

URGENT: Stay off Internet Explorer for a while

Kristina — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:31:00 GMT

According to Microsoft, there's a critical security failure in the latest Internet Explorer, and it's being exploited like crazy by Internet baddies. The threat has intensified exponentially since its discovery last week. An estimated 0.2% of Internet Explorer users have already been affected. That is not good.

The exploit exposes your computer to being hijacked, and your personal information can be accessed, especially if you've stored any banking passwords or info.

Until the threat is resolved and a new software patch is released that you can download to protect yourself, we recommend switching browsers immediately. Firefox is much safer than IE, just as easy to use, and quick to install. If you absolutely must use Internet Explorer, please don't click anything (save for the links in this article) or visit sites you aren't one hundred percent sure about. As a rule of thumb, a big professional site (Amazon, BestBuy, BarackObama.com, etc.) is probably a safe bet; sites sent to you in an email by a friend ("Check out these photos!") or posted on Facebook or in forums can wait.

For the first time ever, "Job History" means something cool

Kristina — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:03:00 GMT

This interactive web applet uses Prefuse to show the percentage of certain jobs held by men and women over the span of 150 years, and how those statistics changed at the turn of each decade. In addition to marveling at the saturation of males and females in the job market as a whole, we noticed that while there's been a predictable change in the number of farmers and farm laborers in America since 1850, "Craneman/Hoistman" has just never been all that popular a gig.

Indie Craft Experience is this Saturday!

Kristina — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:26:00 GMT

This weekend is ICE 8, the best holiday shopping in Atlanta!

This year, ICE has over 100 vendors from all over the country selling amazing handcrafted items.

Check out the vendor list here. (And notice that Gangbusters is on it. That's me, your darling SP web designer!)

Zano will be DJing.

Some Art Fabric will have fun craft projects for you to do.

Indie Craft Experience T-shirt making is back by popular demand.

Dulce Vegan will be there with delightful vegan baked goods and Grand-o-la will have fancy granola.

Buy Handmade This Holiday Season -- there is no need to brave the mall when you can get all your holiday shopping done at ICE. And you can feel good about yourself for making a donation to Hagar House and Handmade Nation (we make a charitable donation to both of these organizations from the door fee) and for directly supporting the person who made the gifts you are giving.

See you Saturday!

Saturday, November 15

11-6 p.m.

Ambient + Photo Studio
Please note that the building doesn't actually say "Indie Craft Experience," so it may help to look at this photograph so you'll know what you're looking for when you get there.
585 Wells St. SW
Atlanta, GA 30312

$5 admission

Google Video Chat...works

Kristina — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:28:00 GMT

Now that Gmail Video Chat is open, anyone with a Gmail account can engage in high-quality one-on-one webcam chat with family and friends anywhere in the world, free of charge.

Sorry about that, Skype.

I'll look twice if you think twice

Kristina — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:55:00 GMT

Motorcycle safety awareness is vital. But why does the burden of the bumper sticker—"Look Twice, Save a Life"—seem to fall entirely on me, the automobile driver? Where is the public awareness program targeted at motorcycle riders, reminding them that lanes are not to be shared, that being small does not entitle them to make fancy highway maneuvers, and that feats of motorway derring-do endanger more even than their own lives—that by taking their lives so cavalierly into their hands, they're also gambling with the lives of the motorists who may swerve to avoid them?

All I'm saying is that I am very careful on the road, especially around motorcycles. But at least half the motorcyclists I encounter in Atlanta ride dangerously, zipping in and out of lanes and up the shoulder, and that makes me very, very nervous for all of us, especially them. Believe me, being nervous does not make me a better driver. So shouldn't we focus on teaching bikers to follow traffic rules and ride properly, instead of (or at least whilst we're) reminding me to allow them to make me so nervous? Looking twice is good advice, but there's more to it than that.

True, if a motorcycle rider makes an ill-advised move on the highway and causes me to collide with him at 60 mph, I'm probably not the one whose life is at risk. And a lifetime of nerve-wracking omg-what-is-that-guy-doing-two-lanes-over-is-he-coming-over-here skittish driving is, though unfortunate, a small price to pay in comparison. So by all means, let's focus on the cost to motorcyclists and not on the danger to me. Let's be aggressive about educating them. Where are my bumper stickers? I never see any that say, "Think twice, you're ON A DAMN MOTORCYCLE." Don't key my car, but I'd buy it.

The Georgia Aquarium: an all-day experience

Kristina — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:46:00 GMT

We love the Georgia Aquarium. But if you plan to go there this summer, try to plan for a weekday. This Saturday afternoon, the wait just to buy tickets was at least two hours, and those hours are spent completely unprotected from Earth's blazing yellow sun. And the line for advance ticket holders? About the same.

Out-of-state roadtrippers can't just turn around and book it home when they see the lines, but you can. Take heed!

Regis is waiting

Kristina — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:56:00 GMT

Apparently, they're casting for CBS's Million Dollar Password this Friday and Saturday at the Marriott Suites on 14th. If you're selected, you'll be flown to L.A. next week and (presumably) paired with a celebrity or two and put on national television. Sound good?

The audition runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days, and you have to be at least 18 to participate. Other than that, we have no idea what the audition will entail. Hopefully there will be an obstacle course. But probably not.

You can see the flyer on MySpace.

If you get chosen, remember this 47-year-old piece of Password wisdom: If someone says, "Push!" the answer might be, "Shove!" But if they say, "Puuuuush?" the answer is almost definitely "Pull."

You can have that one for free. Break a leg.

Do you like Filter? What about free concerts?

Kristina — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:22:00 GMT

Thanks to 99x.com, alternative band Filter will be playing a free show tonight at the Tabernacle's Pontiac Garage! Filter is joined by local Atlanta bands Sleep Therapy and The Julia Dream. Doors are at 7:30. Admission is first come, first served, so show up early!

“Filter is one of the many bands who shaped 99X’s alternative sound through the mid and late ’90s with “Hey Man Nice Shot” and “Take a Picture.” This show means a lot to us longtime fans of both the band and 99X.” —Eric (Dutch) Van de Steeg

The show is all ages, and you can get more info on it at 99X.com.

Has NZ put an end to frivolous lawsuits?

Kristina — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:12:00 GMT

The two women who drank dishwashing liquid last July are still in the news. They're just now receiving their awards (about $1,500 in damages each) after being served a dangerous chemical in place of mulled wine in an Old Man Rock Cafe (presumably the gentler kiwi version of the Hard Rock?) in New Zealand. But how, after being served and imbibing a genuinely harmful chemical in a restaurant, are these women collecting damages that cover only their medical bills and time out of work? Had this happened in the U.S., wouldn't they be living off this lawsuit for the rest of their lives?

New Zealand does things differently. The government handles all accidents through a Crown entity called the Accident Compensation program. To prevent time-wasting, big-ticket lawsuits, all accidents that take place within New Zealand's borders are insured under this program, and victims automatically recover any resulting bills or lost wages. The keyword here is "accidents" — not "negligence," which is what took McDonald's for a $2.86 million-dollar ride back in ’94. Negligence implies that the responsible party performed a criminal act by overlooking, and not preventing, the thing that turned out to be dangerous. But heating up a customer's hot coffee is certainly nowhere near as hazardous a mistake as filling a mulled wine container with sodium hydroxide, which is what the staff at Old Man Rock did last year.

Does that mean you should only move to New Zealand if you plan to be a liability, and make sure you're somewhere else if you happen to be wronged? Not necessarily. Accident Compensation covers just about everything, including road accidents, streamlining the resolution process by eliminating petty litigation, so that's good for everybody. But if you're a slip-and-fall lawyer or an insurance company, yeah, you're probably going to want to stay stateside where the money's good.

Whatever peace of mind the people of New Zealand are afforded by it, ACC has seen harsh criticism, and is subject to a few major pitfalls. The program is paid for by a flat tax to the residents and businesses of the nation, a levy which favors the clumsy. And, unfortunately, while visiting New Zealand, you are logically a lot more likely to be served lye by a careless waitstaff — the restaurant knows it can't be sued, and has essentially paid in advance for any negligence it may eventually commit. So if you plan to drop by, you can relax if you rear-end somebody in your rental car. But look out for greased sidewalks and nails sticking out of the furniture. It's nobody's fault.