FYI: I'm back.

I was swamped beyond belief these past two weeks but now I'm back. A new post (probably about Pause) will be coming very soon.

I know all three of my fans are excited.

Yikes!

Apparently it's Monday already.

With midterms and papers, I got a bit distracted and the days just flew by. That said, I missed the memo on capturing Friday's snowstorm after-effects.

But lucky for me, I live in Boston where snow melts nice and slowly.

Here are some "after the after-effects" of the snowstorm I caught today, three days after the storm:

In front of my apartment some cars are still not shoveled out.


Melting snows.


An interesting parking job in an otherwise cleared parking lot.

Tech-savvy pets looking for love

People aren't the only ones searching for that "special someone" online -- dogs and cats are in on the trend as well.

It looks like there are several Internet dating Web sites for not only pet lovers but also for pets.

(For the record, I stumbled upon these while doing research for a paper).

The slogan for Date my Pet,"Date me. Date my pet," basically says it all.

Here's the basic premise:

DateMyPet.com is the leading online dating website created exclusively for pet lovers. Whether you are looking for a life partner, a buddy for your pet or just someone to hang out with, here you'll be able to find exactly who you are looking for - pet lovers like yourself. It's fun, interactive, safe and anonymous - until you decide to take it further.

And take it further is what many people do according to the site's testimonies.

For example, Charlene wrote:

I have not had much success meeting anyone of quality online before. I had heard of your service online and decided to give it a try. I love all animals and thought it was a great idea to meet other animal lovers.

The site, which was founded by Robert Yau and his dog, Hershey and launched September 2004, is very user-friendly site. On the homepage you can do a quick search to see what the Web site has to offer before you even register. Basic membership is free. When you sign up, you include what pets you have and your options include dog, cat, reptile, fish, horse, bird, small animal and other. You then have your own profile page where you can upload a picture and include details about you and your animal, and what the two of you are looking for.

The site also features the latest "Pet News," and currently there's this story from the AP about candidates and their pets. (Also according to the news feed, My Catspace and MyDogspace recently launched).

There is also a link for "Pet advice" and "Dating tips."

Other sites with similar ideas are Pet Dating Online and Pets Passions.

The philosophy of Date my Pet -- which is probably similar for the other sites -- is that if potential suitors are both pet lovers, the dating process will go a bit more smoothly.

And even though it's a bit unconventional, it could even lead to some puppy love.

Safety at Northeastern.

After the tragic shooting at Northern Illinois University I find myself wondering about the safety of Northeastern University.

But according to Reader's Digest I'm pretty safe -- Northeastern ranked second on their list of safest universities in the country.

Reader's Digest asked 291 colleges and universities in the country to "participate in a survey to see how well prepared they were to handle various safety and security issues. 135 agreed."

The survey looked at several safety issues including residence hall security, whether students must show ID to enter the library and the number of full-time university police.

According to Reader's Digest:

We realize that each campus is different and that its security needs are unique. Therefore, we believe it is fairer to say that certain schools are excelling in the safety arena; others are doing a good job, and some would benefit by putting more resources into campus safety and security.

The Northeastern News* ran this story Thursday about Residence Hall safety. When I first lived on-campus, I found signing in guests to be a big pain but now I realize it is important. In addition, students are not allowed to have more than three people in their room at one time and students are 100 percent responsible for their guests.

But there are loopholes in some of Northeastern's safety procedures.

For example, students do have to show ID to get into the library but they just wave their ID and keep on walking. It's pretty easy to flash someone else’s ID, especially when the library is busy.

Maybe it's details like this that made Northeastern not fair too well in another survey.

Reader's Digest also compiled crime data for 285 universities from 2004 and 2005. They then put universities in either a "lower," "moderate" or "higher" category.

Northeastern received a ranking of 101, putting them in the moderate crime category. For a city campus I guess this isn't too bad. A large chunk of the crimes were burglaries, and there were no murders.

In general, I do feel safe on-campus.

I can't help but wonder though whether these safety procedures are enough to protect a tragedy as big as Northern Illinois or Virginia Tech.

*I am a former managing editor of The Northeastern News.

Like I said, dogs are awesome

Here's a video from behind the scenes at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show done by Nightly News:

Dogs are awesome

In addition to having the world's coolest cat, I also have two adorable dogs that live at my permanent address with my parents in New York -- Fredy the Dalmatian (yes that's one "d") and Cracker the Dachshund.

They're an unlikely couple but they're perfect compliments to one another.
As a result of having such diverse dogs, I have always adored all breeds of dogs and that's why the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show makes me say "awww" out loud, one too many times.

I didn't get to watch it on T.V. this year because I don't get the channel, but lucky for me the New York Times has a Times Topic section that indexes on one page all stories, Slide Shows and other multimedia about a certain topic.

Today's "Hot Topic" of course is the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Now I can sit at my MacBook and easily look at Slide Shows of one adorable pup after the other.

One of my favorite stories is the interactive introduction to the four new breeds in this year's show, which has audio and Slide Shows. Check it out here.

YouTube of course also offers some video of the show. Here's Uno the Beagle winning Best in Show, the first ever Beagle to receive the award (YouTube doesn't allow you to embed this video). Look how happy he is when he wins.

Aww.

And here's another video, the intro to the 132th show:

How can you not get excited with an opening segment like that.

I think next year I'll enter Fredy and Cracker. They're sure to give Uno a run for his money.

Talking politics on the playground

In fifth grade to learn about the voting process my class held a mock election for the 1996 presidential race. I can't remember who won, but I do remember I voted for Ross Perot because I liked his ears.

These days it appears kids take politics a tad more seriously than I did.

The Associated Press article, Kids love campaign 2008 on MSNBC, talks about Eyck Freymann, the 13-year-old writer of the political blog Opinions and Analysis from the Young Sentinel.

And whoa is this blog impressive.

It contains links to many major new organizations and blogs (Al Jazeera, International Herald Tribune News and The Politico to name a few), an eye-catching layout and well-thought out, well written posts.


Freymann doesn't just post what others are saying of the election, he analyzes the election himself.

For example, on Wednesday he wrote:

For a while now I have been torn between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton has a more comprehensive health plan and would be, I believe, a strong President. Obama, on the other hand, could unify the party and would probably stand a better chance of beating McCain in November. After Super Tuesday, the two Democrats are locked in a dead heat, but I am beginning to question Obama's electability. Last night when analyzing the exit polls, I noticed a disturbing trend.

In the end he said:

I still believe that Obama is more electable with Clinton, but we can't take it for granted.

It's interesting that Freymann doesn't put his age on the blog, and makes me wonder if those posting realize the author is in eight grade.

Freymann may be the most knowledgable child on politics out there, but he not the only one.

Take this YouTube video of three young sisters talking politics:



(I think the Obama campaign should embrace the "If it can't be our mama, it has to be Obama" slogan)

Parents are clearly a big part of this political interest in children but for as long as I can remember the children's channel, Nickelodeon, has also embraced politics and brought it to its viewers.

And this year for the first time the network held a primary election Jan. 18. On the Web site it said:

So what if you can't officially vote until you're 18? You can still be a part of the political process RIGHT NOW! Nickelodeon's letting YOU pick the issues AND the president.

Obama and John McCain won the kid's primary.

On Nickelodeon's Kids Pick the President main page, kids can learn more about the candidates and have discussions on message boards, which range from pleas against for/against Hillary Clinton to endorsements for Mike Huckabee to discussions on immigration.

There are also several cartoon videos explaining voting. Here an example:

TERMS

I'm pretty impressed with the kids of this country.

It looks like there's hope for the future.

Back to presidential basics

Several media outlets have created online-multimedia election packages, often times concentrating on the presidential candidates and their stances.

However the Associated Press (AP) is approaching the election a bit differently.

They are creating multimedia package called "The Measure of a Nation" that goes back to basics.

The AP writes:

We're starting not with the candidates but with the American people and their culture, and the principle that politics is a mere reflection of the enormous changes occurring in the nation.

The AP package contains magazine-style writing pieces, documentary videos and photo galleries, and will be updated throughout the year. AP writers Ted Anthony and Ron Fournier and online producer/videographer Jaime Holguin are leading the project.

Click on the picture to link to the video:



The first story is The Mythic Presidency. It examines what the public expects from a president and where these beliefs came from.

Anthony and Fournier write:

You think the presidency is about politics? Sorry. It's the values. No wonder we expect so much.

The AP will concentrate on nine specific areas. They hope this package is a "multimedia user's guide to the American presidency," and perhaps even serve future presidential candidates.

I came across this multimedia package on CyberJournalist.net and think that it's a great project. The AP has taken a story that has been covered to death and found a way to make it exciting and new.

Super-easy Tuesday

The Los Angeles Times is making it easy for people to remember who -- and what -- they want to vote for this Super Tuesday.

They created an Electronic Voters Guide, allowing readers to mark their vote on a mock ballot on the Times Web site. Their choices are then texted or e-mailed to their cell phones.

Therefore when they go to vote tomorrow they have their own little cheat sheet in hand.

In addition, the page is a one stop shop for voters and contains information ranging from absentee voter deadlines to where to vote. The page also links to stories and Times opinion pieces about the candidates and California propositions.

It's a great idea on the part of the Times to make the voting process as simple as possible. It also gets voters thinking about the issues before they get to the polls and gives them time to research the topics.

However, I can't help but wonder if a phone message is necessary. I mean, how hard can it be to remember your own opinion?

The fourth annual Puppy Bowl.

Forget the Super Bowl -- it's all about the Puppy Bowl this year.

For those who aren't into football and prefer to just watch puppies play, Puppy Bowl IV is on Animal Planet during the Super Bowl.

Here's a clip from last year's Puppy Bowl:


Click here for a preview of this year's Bowl.

It's adorable and pointless but it's a nice break from the Patriots/Giants.

Super Bowl. Finally.

It's Super Bowl time. Finally.

After a week of non-stop talk about all things Patriots, I have never been more ready for a game to begin. And be over.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the sport but I am sick and tired of the news being 75 percent Patriots non-stories. Who cares that a professor at Bridgewater State College is named Tom Brady? Does that warrant Boston's Channel 5 do a story on him? (In case I am wrong and you are actually interested in the story, here it is).

So now that it's time for the game, I'm embracing all things Super Bowl for the next few hours. I may not be the biggest football fan but I am intrigued by the media frenzy that surrounds this event.

All the news sources I'm checking during the game have live blogs going. Here are the links to a few of them I'm reading:

The New York Times: The Fifth Down
MSNBC's live blog
Channel 5: All Patriots Blog

MSNBC lets you watch the Super Bowl ads online, in case you miss them the first time around or if you want to see them again.

Heres a Bud Light ad:


And for those who aren't from the United States and do not understand the details of the game, the BBC has this post about the Super Bowl and its history.

Chicago crime upgrade

Chicago crime is no more -- chicagocrime.org that is.

On Friday, Adrian Holovaty, a programmer/journalist who created the Web site, announced on his blog (holovaty.com) the site is being taken down because of an outdated server.

The site, created in 2005, was a combination of Google maps and Chicago police data. It allowed residents to interactively search crimes in their neighborhoods and surrounding areas.

Instead of upgrading the server, Holovaty wrote that all pages will be redirected this his latest project, EveryBlock, a new generation of chicagocrime.org.

Holovaty wrote:

I've often described [EveryBlock] to people as "chicagocrime.org on steroids — more than just crime, and more than just Chicago." It's brought to you by the same people (Wilson and me from chicagocrime.org, plus Paul and Dan, who've worked on similar projects), and it has the same philosophies. As we developed EveryBlock, we kept chicagocrime.org firmly in our minds — this new thing we were making had to be a superset, an expansion, a significant step forward. So there's almost nothing you could do on the old chicagocrime.org that you can't do on EveryBlock. And, unlike chicagocrime.org, which was always a side project, EveryBlock has a team of four people improving it full-time, meaning we have the resources to add features, such as e-mail alerts (just added yesterday), that chicagocrime.org never had. We hope EveryBlock is a worthy successor.

Currently EveryBlock serves three cities -- Chicago, New York and San Francisco.

I learned about Holovaty through journalism class and find him quite innovative.

Holovaty is known through the journalism world as a pioneer. He is one of the earliest journalist/programmers and works for Washingtonpost.com.

Chicagocrime.org won the 2005 Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism.

For more information about Holovaty, check out this interview from the Online Journalism Review.