I really hate online advertising. This is basically my Most Hated list.

- Pop-unders: modern browsers block pop-ups now because they were abused so heavily by malicious hax0rs and the user unaware alike. Circumventing these restrictions using pop-unders is even more annoying as they *always* invoke new windows, even when the user forces all other links to create new tabs.
- Expanding Flash ads: as someone who is currently developing expanding Flash creatives, I certainly feel like a hypocrite here, but ads that expand are severely annoying. In my company's defence, however, we ensure that...

a) The ad doesn't fly out if you just brush over it, you have to hover for a meaningful period of time
b) Buttons to close it are prominent, instead of being obscure 8px text
c) The thing does actually close if the user asks it to
- Floating Flash ads: worse than expanding ads, these horrible abuses of technology hover over a section of the page (usually the content you came to the page for) and move as you scroll in any direction.
- Ads that use audio: I dislike audio on the web anyway. Unless I'm watching an online video or listening to a song, my speakers are off and my headphones are out of my ears. Random blasts of noise are always unwelcome.

I get that advertising is a much more welcome alternative to subscription-based content, but if you can't get a user's attention by creating appealing, usable advertising, you don't belong in business.

If you're like me, you'll want to block annoying advertising, and regardless of which browser you use, you can do this very simply without using add-ons. If you know the web domain the advertising is coming from, all you have to do is open your hosts file (c:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\hosts - you can open it with Notepad) and add a line like this:

127.0.0.1       a.tribalfusion.com www.tribalfusion.com

And yes, that is a line from mine, as Tribal Fusion are the single-most annoying advertising company I have come across so far.

UPDATE: I didn't think I was alone, and this article seems to prove it.

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Microsoft, please cease all efforts to compete in the portable music player/online music store space. You're embarassing yourselves.

I remember a time, early on in the iPod's domination, when some bigwig or other at Microsoft slagged off the iTunes Store ecosystem, saying it didn't give customers choice. It didn't take them long to release the Zune and the Zune Marketplace, effectively copying the Apple model wholesale... albeit totally ineffectively.

Oh, and by the way, early on the Zune couldn't play files from Microsoft's partners' stores that used their similar but incompatible PlaysForSure DRM. Oopsies! Needless to say, the devices didn't sell well, but that may be because they were only available in the US, and looked like they were fashioned out of Bakelite.

Then when Apple announced that it was trying to get rid of the DRM the record labels had insisted on, Microsoft were caught on the hop and fumbled a response.

And now their latest bullshit. Now they're trying to put the boot to the iPod by saying their Zune Pass allows you to fill your Zune for less than iTunes allows you to fill your iPod:

http://www.zunepass.net/?WT.mc_id=Display-MMN#/videos

Many, many, many things they neglect to mention here.

1. If you cancel your Zune Pass membership, you do not own that music. You get ten songs free every month, and that's that.
2. They suggest that you can only fill an iPod with music from iTunes. I pay just ten bucks more than their Zune Pass and get 100 DRM-free MP3s from eMusic every month. I also buy CDs, with prices as low as $7 a disc - far less than the $1 per song they quote for the iPod.
3. Not all of the songs in their library are even available with the Zune Pass.
4. Song purchases are slightly cheaper with the Zune Marketplace, but you have to buy fucking point cards in blocks of 400 at a time to shop on their store. You can't use a credit card directly.

I'm not an Apple fanboy. I have many criticisms about their devices and software. However, Microsoft are constantly ragging on them while totally glossing over their own more abundant flaws. The Zune HD looks like an attractive piece of hardware, certainly compared to its siblings, but it is far too little, too late.

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Squirrels

This is a post all about how much I love my dog.

We have had Eva for six months now, give or take. Even in that small amount of time, she's changed a lot, and so have we.

The most obvious change with her is that she's bigger. We knew that while the dachshund in her would keep her stumpy, she would still be bulkier due to the shepherd; but compared side by side with other dachies, she's a bit of a giant and it's strange to see. She's doubled in weight since we got her, and is clearly big enough for her paws now.

Her personality has also been refined a little. Not changed - she was always really well behaved - but due to us being yuppie scum and taking her to doggy daycare, she's very well adjusted and great around adults, children and dogs alike. When a dog is approaching on the street, she will lay down to either let them pass or make the first move. People think we trained her to do that, ha!

Jess has trained her to do tricks, though. She has the basic repertoire - sit, lay down, shake paws, go in a circle, go under your legs - but somehow Jess has her responding to silent gestures as well as verbal commands. I put it all down to food: she also knows which way to drag me to get treats from local dog-friendly businesses. Sneaky.

Her only real issue is that playing with great danes and labradors all day has made her a little rough with smaller dogs. Toilet accidents are few and far between, we weened her off of gnawing things she shouldn't by buying her own toys, and she almost never barks. We definitely lucked out.

We've also changed. At first, every slight sniffle or irregularity with her toilet habits would make me panic (you're welcome for that money, local veterinary clinic), but you soon get used to it and work out what's causing things. We've had to stop feeding her lamb-based food, and know to keep her away from grass. Other than that, we tweaked our schedule to include her toilet and meal needs, and all is dandy.

It annoys Jess, but a pleasant side effect for me is that all of my jeans are now loose, I've effectively gone down a size and a half. I get up around 6.30am to take her out for her first toilet break of the day, bring her in so I can get ready for work, then walk her for 20-30 minutes to day care every morning. At night, when it's my turn to take her out, we usually walk a bit longer so she can get all of her sniffing out of the way. I've never been the type for exercise, so this was a covert way to get me off of my backside.

Dogs have other strange side effects. I've met more people as a result of Eva than I would have ever met of my own accord. Even if I don't know them by name, I'm on friendly terms with a lot of people around our neighbourhood and can at least name their dogs (because dog people all have ninja memories for dog names). It's amazing how many you notice when you have one of your own.

I would recommend dog ownership to anyone, and if you're considering a new pet, I strongly recommend you find a local shelter or rescue centre rather than funding puppy mills. The American Humane Society has some great advice for would-be dog owners, and can even help you find a place near you.

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Why do you blog?
Submitted by Syafira.

'CAUSE I GOT NO PLACE ELSE TO GO.

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Littering, long showers, not recycling... What's your biggest pet peeve about the way some people (mis)treat our planet?
Sponsored by One Million Acts of Green brought to you by Cisco.

Littering has always been up there, especially douchebags who drop shit on the ground mere feet from a bin.

My biggest beef, really, is the automobile. Specifically...

- People who buy cars that are larger and more fuel guzzly than they need for their day to day usage.
- People who drive short, walkable distances.
- People who drive to places that are easily reachable on public transport.

Heck, I used public transport for most of my journey to and from work when my house and office were two hours apart by car (and significantly more by public transport).

Walking is free, a bike is cheap, public transit in a big city like Chicago is cheap, reliable and likely to go pretty much anywhere you need to get most days. The impact on your pocket and health is pretty substantial if you replace car journeys with walking and biking.

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Downloads:
- eMusic: http://www.emusic.com/album/Patrick-Watson-Wooden-Arms-MP3-Download/11443563.html
- iTunes (US): http://ax.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=313783404&s=143455
- Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Arms/dp/B0028JSDFA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1243605993&sr=8-2

You must buy this album. Patrick Watson (the band, lead by Patrick Watson, the singer) are the point at which Andrew Bird, Tom Waits, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, Antony & The Johnsons and Bjork all meet.

These are my favourite songs:

Tracy's Waters

Patrick Watson

Big Bird In A Small Cage

Patrick Watson

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What is your favorite classic video arcade game?
Submitted by northerngeek.

My mum and step-dad went to Ibiza one year. They decided to leave all of us kids with my step-dad's parents in Staffordshire.

Being rather hip and with it despite their advancing years, they decided to take us to not one but two theme parks over the course of the week. Alton Towers being one of the largest in the UK, and Drayton Manor being a smaller deal, albeit one with a mini-zoo and an arcade.

It was in this arcade that I, along with three unknown Japanese tourists, completed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game. I don't recall putting any more than £1 into the machine - and in those days, a credit was 20p, so that was a mere five credits.

The game remains the nuts. Go download it on Xbox Live Arcade.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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I got an email from Microsoft at both of my Hotmail addresses. Um, maybe I said No for a reason?

"Dear Windows Live User,

We are contacting you regarding your communication preference settings for Windows Live and MSN.

Currently, your settings do not allow Microsoft to send you promotional information or survey invitations about Windows Live and MSN. We would like to communicate important product updates to you, so if you would like to change your settings, please visit your account profile here to change your preferences.

Sincerely,
The Windows Live Team"

You can't even block the junk mail I already get, why would I ask you to send more of it?

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I haven't posted much lately. Here are some more songs I am in love with. All of them are from albums that deserve your money and already got mine.

Our Braided Lives

Matt Pond PA

Soft Shock

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The Vague Archive

Grammatics

2002

Josh Freese

Effigy

Andrew Bird

And on the subject of Andrew Bird, last night we saw him at the Civic Opera House in Chicago and once again he was absolutely magical. A genuinely funny between-song talker and an utterly insane, talented musician.

This time, he had a backing band, but still managed to use his trademark layered looping to excellent effect throughout a set mostly comprised of songs from Noble Beast.

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What would you like written on your tombstone?

WTF? UR DEAD M8! LOL!

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